#Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon

[samasmith23]

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 1)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 1: ANGEL ATTACK”

Well it's time to officially start this marathon of the entire Evangelion anime franchise, beginning with Episode 1 of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, "ANGEL ATTACK"!

Just as a quick heads up, there will be SPOILERS for the entire franchise all throughout these blog posts! This your only warning, so if you have not watched the series yet, go ahead and do so right now! You can watch the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series + movies on Netflix, while the Rebuild Teatrology is available on Amazon Prime.

Also, for a reminder of how I plan on watching the series throughout this marathon, check out my prologue post here:

And with all that out of the way, "Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon"... LAUNCH!!!

First of all, words can not even begin to describe how legendary & phenomenal this series' opening credits theme is! Seriously, no matter how many times I watch this series, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" will forever remain one of the greatest anime openings in history!

Not only is the song itself, "The Cruel Angel's Thesis" (残酷な天使のテーゼ, Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze) by Yoko Takahashi, Toshiyuki Ōmori, Hidetoshi Satō & Neko Oikawa, an incredibly unique J-Pop theme, but the accompanying visuals convey so much symbolism and important plot & character information that it would be impossilbe to discuss all of it within a short span of time!

I will state, however, that I'm personally fond of the visuals of Shinji staring out into the distance as silhouettes of Rei & Asuka float across the blue skies (emphasizing Shinji's loneliness and longing for human connection, as well as his internalized issues with women), as well as the proceeding visual of Misato glancing upward into the twilight sky as Shinji judges her from afar (highlighting the overt parallels between the two characters, as well as Misato's struggles to embrace the role of a surrogate-mother figure for Shinji).

However, I will provide a link to the video, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis Explained - What's in an OP," by anime YouTuber Geoff Thew from channel Mother's Basement, who does a far better job at analyzing the themes than I possibly ever could!

Moving on past the opening credits, it’s still hard to believe that Evangelion takes place in the year 2015. In-universe, the near-apocalypse known as Second Impact occurred 15-years earlier in at the dawn of the new millennium. In the real world we’re now in 2023, and the predicted total apocalypse known as Third Impact still hasn’t occurred yet.

2016 on the other hand… woof! Now that was certainly the year for an apocalypse since that was the year Donald Trump was unfortunately elected the President of the United States (geez... it still hurts to say those words...)! I guess Hideaki Anno and the staff at Studio's Gainax's predictions for the date of the end of the world were just one year off...

Actually, maybe that explains it all! Maybe we actually all died in Third Impact, and we’re all living inside a false dream reality where Trump managed to seize control over the White House for 4-years as a result! And we’re unfortunately still living in that nightmarish vision of Human Instrumentality considering the existence of bullcrap like Ron DeSantis’ outright fascist policies in Florida (God forbid he become president in 2024) and the Supreme Court rolling back the clock on civil rights by unconstitutionally undoing Roe V. Wade and openly threatening to go after gay marriage next.

That’s gotta be it! Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and every conservative Justice on the Supreme Court somehow discovered SEELE’s plans for Third Impact, and hijacked their Human Instrumentality Project to create the Hellscape that we’re all currently living in!

Getting back on track though, I love how these opening establishing shots not only establish the this series' post-apocalyptic setting through the half-submerged ruins of an old Japanese city, but also build-up tension for the reveal of this series' iconic monsters!

While the inital shots of the mysterious creature largely obscure its full apperance from the viewer, Anno & crew effectively convey the scale of this approaching threat through both its shadow beneath the water as well as extreme close-up shots its masked-face rapidly swiming past the sunken buildings.

So although the audience is still unsure of what exactly this monstrosity is, we already understand that its incredibly large and otherwordly through what little we see of its physical features!

The tension is further hightened through the quick-shots of dozens United Nations military tanks and their missile-armed cannons aiming directly towards the submerged ruins where the creature is approaching from, as well as audio of an emergency broadcast ordering the population of a nearby costal city to evacuate and take shelter.

Right off the bat, Anno demonstrates his talents as an animation director!

It is during this opening sequence that we get our official introduction to series' main protagonist, Shinji Ikari, and his future commanding officer/surrogate-mother figure, Misato Katsuragi!

I love how the first on-screen apperances we get of both Shinji & Misato are not through direct in-person interaction, but rather through photographs possessed by each other. With Shinji we're given an ID-badge photograph possed by an off-screen Misato driving her car, and with Misato the first apperance of her face is through a signed photograph in Shinji's possession as he's unable to get reception at a payphone!

This introduction scene for Shinji does a phenomenal job at conveying one of character's core defining attributes: namely his sense of isolation and aimlessness!

Not only is Shinji completely alone in the middle of the evacuated city-streets, but he quickly surrenders to a self-defeatist mentality when he's unable to get reception on the line, grunting to himself, "It's no use. This is dumb. I shouldn't have come here."

Although Shinji's frustration in this context is relatable even if the viewer doesn't also suffer from depression like he does! I mean, I too would personally be frustrated and confused if I was asked to wait to be picked up in an unfamiliar setting by a person whom I knew nothing about outside of a picture of herself that she mailed to me.

Speaking of which... lol! Misato’s inappropriately suggestive postcard (and in particular the “Check this out!” text & arrow pointing to her cleavage) NEVER fails to get a laugh out of me! But aside from functioning as a joke, this postcard is also important in establishing the fact that sexuality is a major element of Misato's characterization!

Also, since I'm still fairly early into the plot of the pilot episode, I want to take a brief aside to discuss some personal observervations I've made between the specific media I'm watching the series on:

So here’s a weird feature for the "Perfect Collection 0:1" DVD. None of the other original DVD releases by ADV Films have this, but in their first disc for whatever reason they removed all the kanji on objects like Shinji's ID badge or Misato's picture shown above, and instead added these weird overhanging white English text replacements where the kanji used to be that look very obviously superimposed… thank goodness ADV scrapped this weird design choice that for all the future DVD releases and instead just kept the original kanji and included subtitled translations for the text.

Conversely, over on the Blu-Ray side of things, the HD remasters for these episodes look FREAKING phenomenal! The animation and color palate on the GKids "Collector's Edition" boxset is incredibly clear and vibrant, whereas the image quality of old DVD copies could be quite muted and blurry by contrast. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that this Blu-Ray version utilizes the copies of the episodes from the old out-of-print “Platinum” DVD collection ADV released a while back (my DVDs are from the "Perfect Collection" first edition). Although I've also heard that the versions of the episodes on the American Blu-Ray release are the HD remasters that were originally exclusive to Japan before Netflix acquired the International licensing rights back in 2019 after the original series + movies were stuck in copyright Hell for over a decade after ADV Films (the original owners of the TV license in America) went out of business and Manga Entertaimnet's license for Death & Rebirth & The End of Evangelion expired.

Also, this remastering of EVA on the Blu-Ray makes a few minor soundtrack rearrangements during certain scenes. But most importantly it removes the notorious "Gainax Jitter," wherein the screen would frequently shake due to all of Gainax's anime during the 90s being produced on outdated softwares. Watching NGE on my original DVDs honestly made me feel dizzy sometimes due to that annoying jitter effect. So thank goodness that the "Gainax Jitter" is completely absent on the Blu-Ray version!

Returning to the episode proper though...

I love the sudden and mysterious appearance of Quantum-Rei off in the distance as Shinji is waiting in the phone booth for Misato to pick him up, and how instantly and just as mysteriously she disappears! Considering that Quantum-Rei also similarly appears before Shinji during the final scene of The End of Evangelion, this feels like an incredibly unique bookending device for the original series + movies, with Rei's entrance and disappearance in Shinji's life marking both the beginning and the end of his long tumultuous journey over the course of the narrative!

And here we see the first appearance of the mysterious beings attacking the Earth following the Second Impact, referred to within the series as Angels! And this bad boy here is classified as the 3rd Angel, Sachiel! When conceiving Evangelion, Anno & Studio Gainax wanted to distinguish the series from other giant-mecha/kaju anime which were airing at the time, and therefore decided to base the EVA's lore and mythos off of religious symbols and iconography lifted directly from Christianity, Judaism, and especially Kabbalhaism (i.e. Jewish mysticism) since said-faiths were uncommon in Japan, while also including references to Buddhism and Shintoism.

Concerning the etemology and translation of the Angels, most of my information about this comes from the Evangelion Fandom Wiki, but basically while both the ADV and Netflix dubs refer to these kaju as "Angels," in the original Japanese they were referred to as "使徒, shito" which roughly translates to "Apostles." However, the word "Angel" in this context is also derived for the other Japanese word used to refer to these creatures in the series, "天使 tenshi," which also translates to "sky messenger." So the term "Angel" still makes sense in-universe considering that the Angels are framed as to be destructive descendants, or "messengers," of the god-like being known as Adam, who was meant to be the original progenitor of life on Earth.

Returning to Sachiel specifically, according to Wikipedia this Angel's name is a reference to a being of the same name from "kabbalistic and Christian angelology. Sachiel (Ge'ez ሳቁኤል) [refers to] an archangel of the order of cherubim… the name 'Sachiel' originally occurs in the late 1500s grimoire called The Heptameron.”

Misato certainly knows how to make a badass entrance!

I always loved the animation during the sequence where Sachiel smashes one of the missiles with his bare fists!

Dang! This fight between the U.N. airforces and Sachiel is not only incredibly exciting in its own right (aided by composer Shiro Sagisu's phenomenal soundtrack, "Angel Attack"), but it also further communicates the threat-level that the Angel's represent, since all conventional human weaponry proves to be completely ineffective against its defenses!

Speaking of said defenses, the second-in-command of the mysterious NERV organization that's working alongside the U.N., Kōzō Fuyutsuki, refers to the Angel being protected by an "A.T. Field" (or "Absolute Terror Field").

These signature energy shields serve as a reoccuring thematic motif throughout the entire series since they're representative of the impenetrable walls that both protect the Angels from exterior damage and prevent humans from truly understanding each other.

So the name "Absolute Terror Field" possesses a double meaning from both a literal and metaphorical perspective! I love it!

Also, this angel’s weird gill flaps that are present while it’s regenerating after having this unvierse's equivalent of a nuclear bomb dropped onto it are so eerily uncanny, and further serve to hi-light just how truly alien this creature is despite it being referred to as an "Angel."

Also also, it makes sense that while the N² Mines in EVA generate nuclear-level explosions, they lack the subsequent radiation fallout considering Japan's own traumatic real-life history with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki during World War II.

The fact that not even this world’s equivalent of a nuclear explosion is capable of killing an Angel is such an effective way of convincing both the U.N. and the viewers that NERV possesses the only means of truly destroying these eldritch threats to humanity’s survival!

Dang! Exactly just how strong are Misato & Shinji! The fact that both of them were able to push the former's capsized-car back to its proper position simply by leaning against it hard is quite the impressive feat! I mean, I know Misato drives an old beat-up sports car (literally held together by duck-tape; lol!) which is much lighter in weight compared to a SUV or truck, but still!

So why exactly did Misato steal all those batteries for her beat-up old car? Wait... I guess I just answered my own question there... lol!

The developing dynamic between Shinji & Misato during their car-ride to NERV HQ is already incredibly fascinating witness! Despite being a seasoned veteran military officer, Shinji quickly realizes just how immature and quick-tempered she can actually be.

Not only is Shinji unafraid to scold Misato for her borderline illegal car-battery shennanigans, but when she childishly mocks him for being too uptight (voice actress Allison Keith's delievery of Misato's playful teasing is absolutely hilarious) and Shinji calls out her immaturity, Misato aggresively responds by jerking her car back-&-forth!

Geez! Shinji and his father Gendo Ikari (the leading commander of NERV) haven’t even encountered each other yet, and already we’re seeing just how cold and detached Gendo’s attitude towards his estranged son truly is. As soon as Gendo decides to activate Evangelion Unit-01 and Professor Fuyutsuki accurately points out that they don’t have a pilot, Gendo simply replies, “Not any more. Another spare is being delivered.”

He essentially views his own son as just a backup program. And this gets even more revealing when you remember that Rei was originally the one who was supposed to pilot Unit-01 instead of Shinji!

Even Gendo's letter suddenly requesting Shinji’s presence after abandoning him a decade earlier only states, “COME! -Gendo Ikari.”

Man did I forget how much I absolutely hate Gendo’s guts! There's a reason why this scumbag is almost universally regarded as one of, it not the, absolute WORST fathers in all of anime!

On a more positive note, however, stairlift-like automobile conveyor-belt that Misato & Shinji utilize to travel underground to NERV Headquarters is honestly really cool! I wonder if we'll ever see futuristic technology like that IRL someday?

Ooff. Shinji's line, "What am I saying? Of course he wouldn't have sent me a letter unless he needed me for something," when asking if he'll be working for Gendo's secret agency effectively illustrates Shinji's internalized sense of self-loathing. Due to having been coldly abandoned by his father when he was only 4-years-old following the death of his mother, Shinji has suffered from severe depression and lack of self-esteem. Only finding value in his existence if he can be of use to others.

This correlates with a commonly misunderstood yet central element of Shinji's characterization that's been unfortunately subject to bad-faith criticisms on the Internet. Despite Evangelion's immense popularity and influential status within anime communities, several individuals have actively dismissed the entire series simply because they found Shinji's character to be overly whiny and annoying.

Except... Shinji is both clearly suffering from depression derrived from a childhood of isolation and paretnal neglect. To reduce Shinji's feelings of self-loathing and existential dread to simple whining is honestly insulting to other people who suffer from depression IRL (such as series' creator Hideaki Anno, who modeled Shinji as an authorial stand-in to discuss his own personal experiences with depression...), since depression is a LEGITIMATE mental illness rather than simple whining...

Also, Misato makes an interesting comment in response to Shinji's dismissive attitude towards his father: "Hmm... sounds like you don't get along with your dad. Ah, you sound just like me."

Dang! The reveal of NERV's underground headquarters directly beneath the city of Tokyo-3, the hollowed-out spherical cavern known as the "GeoFront" (which possesses upside down-skyscrapers attatched to the ceiling as well as a forested surface with a lake next to the large pyramid building functioning as NERV HQ itself), is still FREAKING epic & gorgeous!

NGE is already leaing heavily into hard science-fiction with such creative environments! Even though the idea of a gigantic hollowed-out cavern beneath a major metrpolitan city retro-fitted into a heavily armed military fortress/bunker would be completely implausible IRL, it makes for such an aesthetically unique location!

I can totally relate to Misato's feelings of confusion while navigating NERV's complex network moving walkway bridges! It definitely seems like an easy place to get lost in!

Lol! The way Ritsuko Akagi suggestively bumps into Misato on the elevator while still wearing her bathing-suit (she just finished scubba diving into the robot holding pen submerged in a weird red liquid substance)! While this was probably not the animator's intention, this still feels like some deliberate queer-coding! And this is the first interaction we see between the two characters!

Hey, I can totally see Ritsuko as being a closeted lesbian! She’d definitely be in a much healthier relationship with either Misato or Maya than the one she’s currently in with FREAKING Gendo. Like, NOT only is Gendo twice Ritsuko's age, but the bastard also previously slept with her late mother, Naoko Akagi! Gross!

Wait, time out! Fuyutsuki just said that this is Shinji & Gendo’s first meeting in 3 years, but I thought it was 10 years considering that Gendo abandoned Shinji shortly after his mother died when he was still 4-years-old?! Did I miss something?!

And here it is! The moment of truth! The official reveal of the giant robots that this series is well-renowned for: the titular Evangelions (with specific model Ritsuko & Misato are showing Shinji is known as "EVA Unit-01")!

So here's some interesting trivia regarding the EVA's that Ritsuko alluded to with her description about the "0-9 System" designed to control the mecha's activation! The physical designs of the Evangelions were directly inspired by demonic ogre-like creatures from traditional Japanese folklore known as "oni" (which "0-9" is a pun for BTW!). According to series' mecha-designer, Ikuto Yamashita:

"'So why did Evangelion wind up with that shape?' … The director instructed me to make, 'the image of [an oni].' A giant just barely under the control of mankind. I get the feeling I've seen that correlation before … The image I had for the design concept was the fairy tale, Gulliver's Travels. Enormous Power Restrained. … What I came up with was a giant that looks like a relief on a wall. … I happily discarded the efficiency and feeling of giant size that you can guess at by sight alone. … after the designs were handed in, it caused a stir — even among the staff, positive and negative opinions were flying. And from here on out, I imagine it will cause a stir among comic readers and animation viewers."

In addition to the activation system being named after a mythological "Japanese devil," we recieve more clues that there's far more to the EVA's beneath their metalic exteriors, as Ritsuko also describes Unit-01 as a "synthetic lifeform" (or even more suspiciously, "synthetic human," in the subtitled version)!

While it’s not stated in this episode, it will later be revealed that the EVA’s are not only cybernetic beings whose flesh was cloned from the Angel’s original Seed of Life, Adam (or in Unit-01’s case, humanity’s Seed of Life, Lilith), hence why they’re capable of killing the Angels, but that they also literally possess human souls inside of them. Those souls being the dead mothers of the pilots (who’s ability to synchronize with the EVAs is strongest at age 14 due to hormonal changes & all that jazz…).

It's also during the unveiling of EVA Unit-01 that Shinji is offically reunited with his father Gendo, who once again is as cold and distant from his son from both a figurative & literal sense!

Honestly, the visual symbolism of Gendo standing high above Shinji when they first reunite is an incredibly effective method of communicating both the distance between the two in their relationship, as well as the massive inferiority complex Shinji feels because of his abusive father.

Such masterful direction and visual storytelling on Anno's part!

And of course, the moment father & son are finally reunited after years apart, Gendo further demonstrates what a complete & unempathetic douchebag he is by immediately orders that Shinji pilot the EVA Unit-01 to fight the approaching Angel in hand-to-hand combat!

Again... looking back, it feels incredibly unfair that people have repeatedly accused Shinji of being whiny simply because he refusing to get in the robot as soon as Gendo & Ritsuko insist him to do so during Sachiel’s attack. Except, can you really blame Shinji here?

I mean… his father coldly abandoned him after his mom died when he was only a toddler, and now as a 14-year-old his dad suddenly calls him out of the blue to demand that he pilots a giant robot he’s neither seen nor heard of before (and possesses ZERO training experience), to fight a giant alien monstrosity he personally nearly just got killed by! That’s not Shinji whiny, that’s him being realistic!

Honestly, the whole "Get in the damn robot Shinji!" argument has always annoyed the absolute heck out of me! It was easily the epitome of early-to-late 2000s bad internet media criticism!

Also, criticisms like, "But Shinji's refusal to pilot is selfish because the fate of the entire human race is at stake," don't exactly hold water either since that can be easily explained away by Shinji lacking trust in his own abilities due to his depression and low self-esteem!

Also also, yeah it is technically a selfish descision on Shinji's part, but that's an INTENTIONAL character flaw on Anno's part, rather than being indicative of "bad writing"...

Seriously... so many people on the Internet have and still lack any media literacy skills... uuuggghhh!!!

I FREAKING love this exchange between Shinji & Misato after they realize that the Angel is directly above NERV HQ, with her sternly telling Shinji to "Get inside" the EVA before calmly asking him, "Why Shinji? Exactly why did you come here?"

It was at this specific moment in Episode 1 where it officially dawned on me during this rewatch just how incredibly efficient the NGE's pilot episode is at subtly establishing numerous elements that would help define the dynamic between Misato & Shinji throughout the rest of the series!

In addition to Misato earlier comparing Shinji to herself when he mentioned that he doesn’t get along with his father, she also compares Shinj’s more standoffish mannerisms to Gendo during the elevator ride with Ritsuko. This not only symbolizes Gendo's role as an older version of Shinji, but it also lays the groundwork for Misato’s own Elektra Complex in the sense that always views the men in her life through the lens of her strained relationship with her dead father.

And here in the present scene, we witness the struggle between surrogate parental-figure and commanding-officer that heavily defines Misato's relationship with Shinji. Despite pragmatically pivoting to Gendo & Ritsuko's point of view that Shinji needs to get in the EVA (which she intially understandably argued against...) to prevent Sachiel from destroying mankind, Misato simultaneously displays the motherly aspects of her personality by trying to positively uplift Shinji.

She confidently encouraging Shinji to find the answers to his questions of exactly why he came to NERV at Gendo’s request, ultimately telling him that he "mustn't run away."

As much as I love this scene though, one weird difference I noticed between the versions of it on my DVD & Blu-Ray copies respectively is that the timing of the soundtrack, "I, Shinji."

In the original ADV Films "Perfect Collection" DVD, the score continues to play after Sachiel's cross-shaped explosions begin targeting Toyko-3, and Misato gives her advice, whereas it stops after the explosions in the GKids "Collector's Edition" Blu-Ray version.

I honestly can't tell which version I prefer more, but considering the fact that the score on the original Japanese audio track more closely aligns with the Blu-Ray's English audio track, I'm guessing ADV didn't properly align the soundtrack during the intiall dubbing process (but later fixed it for their HD "Platinum Collection" DVD re-release I'm guessing...).

Le gasp! A “Sound Only” on Gendo’s monitor when he instructs Fuyutsuki to wake-up Rei to pilot Unit-01 in Shinji's place! EPIC FORESHADOWING!

So... why exactly was merchandise of the injured bandaged-up Rei Ayanami so insanely popular? I honestly just don’t see the appeal…

Another clever usage of foreshadowing here! Not only of Unit 01 going berserk in the very next episode, but also of the EVA’s true nature in that it houses the soul of Shinji's dead mother, Yui Ikari, considering how quickly it moves into to protect Shinji from the falling debris, plus Gendo’s unsurprised smirk there!

Joy! Shinji's first ever utterance of the iconic, "I musn't run away! I mustn't run away! I musn't run away," line as he glances at Rei's blood on his hands before finally deciding to pilot the EVA!

This reoccurring motif is such an important element of Shinji's character throughout the series, and Spike Spencer delivers this famous line pitch perfect! He totally sells Shinji's sense of anxiety and struggles to suppress his fear in the heat of the moment!

Also, even though I've rewatched this episode and the entire series countless times, I still find myself going back-&-forth on what exactly motivated Shinji to "not run away" here!

Was it purely for altrustic reasons after he saw how unfit for combat Rei was due to her critical condition? Did he feel legitimate sympathy for Rei despite meeting her for the first time? And if so, did he recognize her from the Quantum-Rei vision at the start of the episode? Was Shinji taking Misato's earlier words of encouragement to heart? Or did Shinji finally decide to pilot the EVA purely out of either a self-centered desire to prove his own worth, or out of guilt and not wanting Rei's death on his conscious?

Questions like these are a major element of why I adore EVA's writing so much! Despite being extremely vague open-ended with no one single universal interpretation, the series' characters are so humanized and complex that it actively engages the audience to speculate and analyze their underlying motivations!

It's why even as a long-time fan of the series, I still keep finding new & fascinating elements I didn't notice on my previous viewings!

And so begins the iconic launch preparation for EVA Unit-01, beginning with the insertion of the pilot's control vessel known as an "Entry-Plug" into the mecha's body!

Also, considering that EVA is famous for its usage of Freudian psychoanalytic and psychosexual symbolism (alongside all the religious imagery), as well as the fact that Shinji's character arc is analogous to the Oedipus Complex and the soul of his dead mother is inside of EVA Unit-01, the fact that Shinji's is placed inside a suggestively-shaped Entry-Plug that's then directly inserted into a hole on the back of the EVA's neck, I can’t help but be reminded of an old quote from Mystery Science Theater 3000...

Yeah, expect me to reference that MST3K quote a lot throughout this marathon…

Yeesh! I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying of a feeling that must be to intially feel like you're drowning as the capsuel is filled with Liquid LCL! Even though that mysterious fluid is breathable for humans, having your lungs completely filled with a foreign substance has got to be uncomfortable!

I don't blame Shinji at all for feeling incredibly nauseous before his lungs adjust!

Also, Misato's a bit overly harsh with her comment, "Stop complaining! You're a boy you know!" (This will be another reoccuring motif in Misato's interactions with Shinji BTW...)

Also also, the first appearance of LCL, or as it's been commonly referred to by EVA fans for the past two-and-a-half decades: "Tang!"

Those who have already watched The End of Evangelion know exactly what I'm talking about!

And so the episode ends with an exciting conclusion to the launch sequence as EVA Unit-01 is slowly released from its holding pen and all safe guards are switched off before the giant mech is launched up a tunnel network exiting the GeoFront and onto the now deserted-streets of a nightime Tokyo-3, exiting the hatch directly in front of Sachiel, teasing a deadly kaju battle between the two!

What a phenomenal way to close the series' pilot and pique the viewer's interest for the next episode!

So that was NGE, "Episode 1: ANGEL ATTACK," and it’s still really darn great! I’m honestly incredibly impressed with just how much subtle characterization and thematic elements are set up for later developments throughout the rest of the show within this 24-minute pilot episode! It honestly surprises me whenever I hear people argue that the tone of EVA drastically changed as the series progresses considering how even from the very start Hideaki Anno was laying the ground work for all the complex developments which defined the later half of NGE as well as EofE!

Also, hearing “Fly Me To The Moon” in the end credits of the DVD is simultaneously incredibly nostalgic and sad considering all future releases completely scrapped it! Seriously, screw Netflix and that copyright bullcrap! “Fly Me To The Moon” is an important part of the series darn it, so just pay the extra cash to keep it in! And heck, just buy the rights to the original dub instead of spending all that extra time to create an inferior half-assed new dub from scratch. The original dub has its flaws, but it still has heart and passion put into it!

Sorry about the tangent! I’m just still bitter and confused by Netflix’s choices when it comes to EVA.

Anyway, onto the second episode!

#Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon #neon genesis evangelion #evangelion #nge #eva #hideaki anno #shinji ikari #misato katsuragi #gendo ikari #fuyutsuki #ritsuko akagi #rei ayanami #Quantum-Rei #eva unit 01 #NERV #angels #sachiel #90s anime #anime and manga #mystery science theater 3000 #mst3k

[dadsbongos]

the end of evangelion - s.geto & s.gojo & s.ieiri

part of the jjk movie marathon event / movie selection … warnings - children being traumatized by toji, you are killed and then revived :) , plasma vessel arc spoilers, i fucking love tragic character relationships <3 word count - 3.8 K / rating - PG-13

Satoru notices three things before him. Bangs. Mole. Bug eyes.

He doesn’t really remember their names, he supposes he probably should if he wants to seem polite.

But he wasn’t good at any of that, so he simply places his hand over his chest and proudly declares, “Gojo, Satoru, and I hope none of you think I plan on carrying the class.”

The one staring with wide, bashful eyes suddenly sours, glaring at him from beside the girl with the mole. A quiet laugh rumbles from the chest of the pretty boy with his bangs hanging over his eye. Satoru’s teacher sighs quietly before clapping him on the shoulder, the large hand heavy on his bony shoulder.

“Please, take a seat by Geto and we can begin.”

Satoru pauses, hands jammed in his pockets. His eyes are narrowed behind pitch-black, square lenses. Geto, Geto, Geto…

“Which one was that?”

The big-eyed one guffaws while the girl with the mole snorts. The both of them turn to the other boy. Ah, so it must be him, then.

“Geto, here,” the one with the bangs raises his hand, eyes straying towards the door as if he’s already prepared to bolt.

Yaga waits for Satoru to find his seat before standing in front of his four first-years. He looks out at them and sees two very different paths. One full of bountiful success; First Grade sorcerers chock-full of household names in the jujutsu world. And one of shameful failures, a crew barely able to work together long enough in the Kyoto exchange event let alone actually operate missions as a team.

Though, he watches as you and Shoko re-introduce yourselves to Satoru. The six-eyes user, surprisingly, nods along and seems to genuinely retain the information. Yaga feels hope bloom in his chest.

With such unique techniques gathered in one room, there is real potential here for a fruitful future.

“Just one more, c’mon!” Satoru nuzzles his warm cheek between yours and Suguru’s, and begs as if he doesn’t have you both trapped beneath his arms. For such a scrawny guy, he sure does have a good grip.

“We’ve been here for hours, ‘Toru!” you whine, but your body is already completely lax against his side.

Suguru hums along to your point with a gentle nod, “Yaga-sensei still has a reservation we need to get to, Satoru.”

“Aw, let the prince have this!” Shoko, for once, sides with the wonder boy beside you. She holds up her camera and grins, “One more and then dinner!”

“Quickly, please?!” Yaga calls from over the girl’s shoulder, “If we’re late, one of you has to pay for the replacement dinner!”

“Not it!” you call at the same time Suguru purrs it. Satoru rolls his eyes, arms squeezing even tighter around both of your necks.

“As if it would’ve been anyone else.”

“Alright, smiles!” Shoko glares over the lens of her camera, lashes narrowed, despite the uptilt of her rosy lips, “And hold up the awards - Yu and I worked hard on those!”

You, Satoru, and Suguru display the thin, crinkle-edged papers with crudely drawn-on golden trim and sky blue ribbon. In large black crayon scrawls are your names over the front with ‘OFFICIAL FIRST GRADER’ below. It must’ve taken less than a minute each, but you’re already mentally plotting where exactly you want to hang yours in your dorm. Maybe you could even goad Satoru into buying you each matching frames.

“Alright, alright,” Yaga calls, checking his watch for the umpteenth time since Shoko called for another picture, “Let’s go! Goddamn!”

“Okay,” Shoko lowers the camera, flicking through the many photos she’d collected over the evening, “There may be some actual salvageable ones in here.”

“At least you can’t tell when ‘Toru blinks,” you bounce over to her side, carefully cradling the homemade paper award to your chest.

“No,” Shoko pouts suddenly, staring into the sharp glare in Satoru’s glasses, “Dammit - you can see me in those stupid shades!”

“Good!” you lean over to follow her gaze, “That way everybody who sees it will know you were here, too.”

“But I look goofy…”

Suguru towers over the brunette’s back to look at the photo, “Yeah, you do.”

“Hey!”

“He’s right,” Satoru snickers, having not even glanced at the camera screen.

“Hey!”

All three Grade One Tokyo branch students sent as escorts are fatally injured. Two dead. Both later revived.

You can feel it all down your neck. Cold and prickly and squeezing. The base of your throat cinches, heart banging against every bone rung in your chest - trying desperately to free itself. Instinctively, your shoulders bunch up towards your neck; the tips of your fingers go numb, and the numbness spreads up your hands. As if your body itself is trying to shut down. Some unfair, automatic reaction in the face of a bigger predator.

Your knees buckle.

Toji has a hand on his hip, head tilting with a lazy grin, “You’re not on the list, y’know?”

You swallow thickly, eyes scrambling hurriedly over the hulking form before you. Broad shoulders and muscles, at least three times the size of your head, doused in midnight black. You think you make fists.

“You can run, kid,” Toji raises both brows high along his forehead, “If you don’t think you’ll win, you can run.”

It’s cold. So cold it burns. Your jaw clenches. Air fails to reach the hull of your lungs before it’s all punched back out.

“I do it,” Toji jerks the sword in his hand.

Snapped third blade.

Maroon handle.

It’s shiny. Blinding.

Your eyes flicker from the blade to Toji. The blade. It’s familiar. You’ve seen it in a picture. It has a name. The blade glints, sunlight sliding across the metal. Your stare shoots back up to Toji. Toji Fushiguro.

Your legs are going numb now.

Toji’s eyes glide downward, your own snapping to where he glances. Your hands are balled into fists. They’re shaking. Is it fear? Is it anger?

Or are you just tensing too harshly?

Your eyes fall past your hands. Lingering on the concrete beneath your shifting feet.

“I…” your throat tightens, choking off your words. No saliva is willing to slip down and coat the dryness, but you try again, “I won’t run…”

Toji laughs. Head thrown back. Hand still on his hip, Toji twists the blade in his grasp, nodding to himself, “Alright.”

It’s humiliating.

The way your legs tremble as you try to attack. The way your arms lock into place as you barely manage to meet Toji’s eyes.

It’s humiliating: the way you’re on your back so soon.

Toji’s eyes are still, steady in their hold on your own. However, you don’t return his simple gaze. Darting from Toji’s face to the blade above your chest to the gate Suguru and Riko had run through. The blade plunges down.

Your whole body starts to tingle. Deadening. You hear a crack right below your ear. Sunlight dancing off the sword in Toji’s big hands, it’s a lot brighter up close in your chest.

Air startles in your throat, and you cough. Crimson bubbles up with it. Somewhere in the back of your head, you know what this means. A punctured lung. Severed thoracic artery. But that isn’t your main focus.

Toji rips the sword from your chest, his palm pressing against your throat to keep your body down as he pulls the cursed tool free.

You and Shoko had to do a report on that tool back in your first year.

The Inverted Spear of Heaven. Cuts through any technique.

She’d probably laugh that you got attacked with it if she didn’t know you were dying. If she knew that she’d probably try healing you.

Toji turns his back to you, stuffing the Inverted Spear into the worm looming around his body. His hands go into his pockets. Jaw unhinging in a heavy yawn while he approaches the main chamber of Tengen’s tomb. You don’t think he hears you giggle. It probably wouldn’t matter anyway.

The blood is warm against your cheeks. Pooling beneath your head and soaking into your hair.

You giggle, remembering how childishly your stoic friend described the complicated nature of her reverse cursed technique.

How was it again?

Fwoy… then hiyo?

Your eyelids droop. Gaze unfocused on the sky.

Fwoy. Then hiyo.

“How do you feel?” Shoko scrubs her thumb over the smooth surface of her Zippo lighter within her pocket. Her tongue dances over her bottom lip, chapped and rough. She briefly wonders where her chapstick tube is before returning to the present, “Stronger?”

Satoru snickers, an arm draped over your shoulders loosely. It feels odd, somehow an indent against the back of your uniform and yet entirely weightless. He shrugs, “Nah. I was already the strongest, anyway.”

“No more bragging,” you nudge an elbow into his side, but the hit fails to connect, “Your ego has been fed enough for tonight. Don’t you think, Suguru?”

“Hm?” the boy’s hair flutters around his shoulders, head jerking into attention. His arms are folded across his chest and it takes an awfully silent pause before he responds, “Yeah,” he steps closer, blinking up at Satoru, “No more ego-feeding, now you get to feed us, hm?”

“Fine,” Satoru groans, as if that hadn’t been the plan since you all knew he was being promoted, “We have to be quick finding a place, though,” he tugs at the collar of his uniform stiffly, “I didn’t exactly call anywhere ahead.”

“You’re Gojo, Satoru,” Shoko jams a hand in her other pocket, searching for her missing chapstick, “You’ll get us anywhere.”

“So irresponsible,” you muse.

“Well! This is my night, you know?! Why am I supposed to be the event planner?”

“Just ‘cuz Yaga-sensei isn’t here,” Suguru ‘tsk’s, waggling a finger at his friend, “For shame, Satoru.”

The overhead neons and flashing bulbs cast menacing shadows over the pale plains of Suguru’s face. Shadows falling under the bags beneath his eyes.

You contemplate asking.

You know it’ll be pointless.

“Hey, have you been okay?” you whisper against Suguru’s side. His body is warm and tense beneath his loose, hanging, boring beige shirt.

His faraway stare sparks suddenly, shortening back to where you stand beside him. He smiles down at you, it doesn’t reach his eyes so he manually crinkles them shut. He nods curtly, “Yeah…” and then nods again, “Yeah.”

Special Grade is sent as a replacement.

“You’ll be okay,” your hands are cupped over the searing, jagged incision in Kento’s stomach, blood pooling around your fingers and knuckles, “You’ll be okay, right?”

Kento can’t hear you very well, just the bland rolls of your voice. Crackling and raspy from the pressure of screaming.

“Oh, God, Shoko- “ you look around the morgue, trying desperately to unlock that flame from last month. The one you harnessed to save yourself, now desperate to save your friend, “Haibara… God, oh God,” you want to reach out and cradle the other boy, “Nanami, please don’t die.”

The blond blinks up at you, and you’re not even sure he understood your weak plea.

You need to keep your hands on Kento’s wound, but you want to take Yu into your arms. If there is any chance that he could still be living, you want his last moments to be warm and loving. Yu is not someone that should die, but if he has to - it should be kindly. And this was not kindly.

“I’m here!” Shoko barges into the cold morgue, skin bristling with the chilled air. The metal door clangs loudly against the wall, her body moves swiftly through the area as if she’s done this countless times. She almost crashes into the steel table that Yu rests on, “I’m here, I’m here, I’m here…” she lays her hands on his cheeks, wiping at the blood splattered up his neck and chin, “I’m here…”

She cannot bring herself to look down at where the cloth over his body suddenly dips.

“Shoko,” your arms shake, “Shoko, you need to take care of Nanami.”

Her shoulders are tensed up to her bobbed hair. She steps back from Yu and joins your side at Kento’s body. Her hands overtake yours and you withdraw. The blood flows down your fingers and drips onto the floor.

“You,” Shoko whispers, shoulders still high, “Thank you.”

“I could only keep him alive,” you’re not nearly as adept at reverse cursed energy as Shoko, but you hope it was enough to at least save one friend tonight.

“Thank you,” she whispers, staring at Yu’s bisected corpse.

Satoru and Shoko are on opposite sides of Japan. Satoru is in Osaka, and Shoko is in Yamagata. Yaga-sensei is in Kyoto for the next week. You and Suguru are in Tokyo. You clasp his hand in yours.

“I’m really proud of you.”

Suguru brings you closer, his hand is warm. And large, “You’re Special Grade, too.”

“But I’m proud of you.”

He can still remember you as you were brought to him by Satoru. Blood drying and muddying in the weeds of your hair to your skull, crimson dyeing the cracks in your lips. Chest still and unbeating. No warmth in your veins. You would soon be ice cold.

You could have been.

And then you coughed and sputtered and shot up in Satoru’s arms, throwing him entirely off balance. The both of you had fallen over and you were the only one laughing it off.

You haven’t laughed like that since it sunk in what the darkness you saw before waking up was.

He remembers the anger he felt when he wasn’t able to maim Toji himself. The anger he felt over Toji being allowed to live into adulthood at all. That he could breed and eat and love like he was some kind of person. He should be dumb and drooling and helpless under Suguru’s palm like any other wild animal. That anger was so palpable that he couldn’t sleep for the next two days.

Then there was the mourning.

He never wants to see you like that again. Not to a bare-fisted, feral monkey. And not to a curse.

He’s sick at the thought.

“I’m proud of you, too,” he squeezes your hand. The lights of Tokyo continue to do his gaunt face no justice. Pale skin stretched over aching bone. He smiles, and he does not bother trying to make his eyes squint up.

He wishes that you being a fellow Special Grade could ease his worries. But even as you walk hand-in-hand back to the dorms, that image of you - still and cold - refuses to go down.

“I just want you to hear it from me. I know what I’ve done. I’m in my right mind. I just couldn’t let them… this village was full of non-sorcerers who tortured two girls with cursed energy. I have to make this world better for… I can’t sit back and let them form curses and kill us off. I can’t let a corrupt world continue to cut away at everyone I love. Do with this as you will, I won’t be mad if it becomes evidence against me. Just… don’t show Satoru. If I can keep some sort of reputation with him, then for now I’d like to. But I don’t regret it. I just regret not being able to say this in person.”

You play the voicemail again.

And again.

And again.

And you don’t show Satoru. Or Yaga. Or Gakuganji.

It was a simple job. Get in. Exorcize a curse from a dead-end 9-5 office. Get out. You and Satoru were quick enough - got in and exorcized the curse in the dead-end 9-5 office - and now to get out.

You watch your janky, funhouse reflection in the steel elevator doors. It’s a blurry and stretched thing, but it’s you. You look up and watch the floors tick, tick, tick down.

Satoru is leaning against the wall to your right, his left leg is bent out with his shoe jammed rudely against the wall. His eyes pierce the back of your head. He can’t tell if you’re intentionally ignoring him or just that dense; either way, he hates it.

He scoffs, “I don’t get it.”

“Get what, Satoru?”

Satoru folds his arms - he can't pinpoint it, but these days you make him sick - “He just left. Like it was that easy. Like…”

He wants to see you react. He wants to watch you clench your fists and bow your head, but you don’t. Instead, you say, “It was that easy for him. He hated how the school does things, so he left. He hated that village, so he got rid of it.”

Kicking himself off the wall, Satoru throws his arms out for emphasis. Too bad you’re still staring at that damn floor counter, “So just picking up and leaving us was that easy? He could’ve called us! He could’ve said how he was feeling!”

You swallow thickly, heat clings to the back of your neck.

“But he didn’t,” your hands are limp at your sides, voice shallow, “Trying to find purpose in things you’ll never know the answer to will drive you insane. He left - he isn’t coming back. And if he does, it’ll be to die.”

“We could’ve done something!” Satoru’s voice cracks in the middle, his nails stabbing into his palms.

“But we didn’t. And now we can’t.”

“Why aren’t you angry?!” he shoves you from behind. His hands are neither hot nor cold. Not soft or rough. The space of his infinity doesn’t feel like anything even though it still stubs against your uniform, “Dammit, don’t you care?!”

You stumble from the force of his push, quickly regaining balance and turning to look at Satoru. Your brows crinkle just slightly, lips tugging down at the corners, “Trying to find answers for something you’ll never know will drive you crazy. It’s best to just let it go.”

There’s a flame behind those crystalline eyes, his fists dig into his thighs, “How can you do that?”

“What? Move on?”

“Not care.”

“I care.”

“You don’t,” his throat bobs, white eyelashes batting shut and chin tucking down to his chest. His voice wavers, “Suguru was the only other person that could understand my every thought. He wasn’t someone you could find just anywhere. He was someone I couldn’t imagine going a day without, and now every day is one without him. He never told us what was going on, and he left without so much as a goodbye. And you don’t care! Why don’t you care?!”

“Suguru had his reasons,” you reach out, fingers brushing against the sheer nothingness of his infinity and entwining your hand with his. It isn’t hot or cold. Just imperceivable space between your palms, “I’ll never know them, not like he did. So I can’t waste my time pretending that one day I will. It hurts that he’s gone, and I wish I could’ve done more. But I didn’t. And I can’t. Suguru isn’t coming back, and if he does it’s to die,” you lean down to try and catch Satoru’s eyes through the pitch-black shades of his glasses, “We might even have to be the ones that kill him. I’m letting it go before I go crazy.”

“You already are,” he sniffs, “That’s why you don’t cry when your friend goes off to die.”

“And you’re too obsessive over it,” you release his hand, winding your grip into the front of Satoru’s uniform and yanking him close, “That’s why you’re so blinded by Suguru leaving that you can’t see me and Shoko still on the sidelines. Have you even asked how Shoko is?”

Satoru snatches your wrist. The pressure is intense and unmistakably inhuman, “Let go of me.”

“Or what?”

Despite not being too far from the colored flushes of busy Shibuya in Tokyo, Jujutsu Tech has a grandiose view of the stars. Especially if you sneak up onto the roof of the dorms, edging slightly past the lower hanging trees. You can stare up at the endless void of space and get an eyeful of the stars blinking down at you without having to squint through gaps in leaves. You can sit quietly and feel the gentle breeze caress over your exposed skin. And you could pretend you are alone until the creaking of a second pair of feet echoes behind you.

There’s no need to turn, having already known who the second pair of skittish feet belong to. And knowing that, means knowing what you want to say first,

“I don’t know how to do this for the rest of my life.”

“You don’t have to. Sorcerers don’t usually live long enough for it to matter.”

“It should matter!” Satoru snaps, he glares at you sharply, “I should’ve been able to be a kid! We should’ve been able to be kids!”

You sigh quietly, looking off to the side, afraid that staring too deeply into Satoru’s uncovered eyes may have the same effect as the sun, “The life of a sorcerer is pointless. An under-manned army that gets no thanks. You can accept that and come back, or don’t. Don’t, and go live a more fulfilling life, knowing that you are the strongest and knowing that you made a choice unlike any other sorcerer before you. But someone else will have to take your place.”

Satoru blinks up at you slowly. His long white lashes frame his eyes, his cheeks are sunken and thin. Eggshell, almost, in color. His chest rises, a loud inhale flowing with the movement before he blows it out just as noisily, “That’s bleak.”

“Right?”

“You sound like you’re guilt-tripping me.”

“Maybe a little.”

Because maybe you are. But you mean every word you say.

Satoru can make any decision he wants, but he will have to wake up knowing there are many lives he could’ve saved. And he’ll pretend it doesn’t haunt him the same way Suguru tried to. And he will fail the same way Suguru did.

“Whatever you pick, just remember that Shoko and I are still your friends,” you sit beside him and lean into his side, “We were friends with Sugu’, too.”

“I know. It’s just hard.”

His skin is warm and flush against yours. His head leans onto yours. Hair soft and tickling your forehead.

“Then let it be hard, but don’t pretend you’re all alone.”

And Satoru can’t very well leave you and Shoko and Kento to die as the only remaining students at Jujutsu Tech, so he will return and doom himself to the life of a sorcerer. And he will kill Suguru so that you do not have to.

#jjk x reader #jjk x you #jujutsu kaisen x reader #gojo x reader #geto x reader #shoko x reader #shoko ieiri #satoru gojo x reader #satoru gojo #suguru geto x reader #suguru geto #jjk movie marathon event

[ifuckinglovedinosaurssomuchjesus]

GODZILLA MOVIE MARATHON: Godzilla vs Megalon (1973)

Oh hey, remember when I was doing this? I am at the whim of my hyperfixations and, luckily, I'm in a Goji mood again. So it's time to pick up right where we left off a year ago and keep this marathon going.

We're deep in the champion series, where Godzilla movies were made every year for Toho's annual movie festivals, which meant cookie cutter scripts and shoe string budgets.

The script is pretty standard by this point, except with the aliens replaced by hilariously incompetent Atlantians. It gets the job done ok, it keeps itself relevant and is relatively entertaining, even if you're still spending most of the runtime waiting for a rubber suit monster to show up.

Speaking of monsters, the plot mainly revolves around a little robot by the name of Jet Jaguar. He spends most of the movie getting yanked around by whoever is in control of him till he inexplicably against consciousness and joins the battle for good. He's an obvious Ultraman rip-off, but he's also a cult favorite for his goofy design and his antics. He gets a lot of love from fans, Evangelion even references him in the Jet Alone episode, and it's easy to see why. He's not the strongest, but he's got spunk, character, and a catchy theme tune. You can't help but love him.

The same goes for the other debut creature, the titular Megalon. The Kaiju in this movie have so much personality, Megalon especially is super expressive. I love his child-like personality, where he gloats and taunts when he's winning but throws a tantrum when he isn't. He cackles and claps and slaps his butt, and despite having no facial expressions, he might as well be talking with how well the suit actor portrays his thoughts. My favorite is his obvious "what the hell" pose when Jet Jaguar and Godzilla escape his fire trap. He's also ridiculously pathetic, dumb as bricks, he ultimately gets knocked down by swallowing one of his own bombs. I love how he just lays there while Goji and JJ just stare at him with contempt. Even his final departure is hilarious with him face planting into a hole as it collapses onto him.

Gigan also makes his return, as cackling and sadistic as ever, and he matches Megalon's energy perfectly. They really do make a perfect duo, real team rocket energy of bumbling bafoons thinking they're badder than they actually are. Gigan's justification for being here is the best, the Atlantians straight up just call the cockroach aliens from the last movie and ask to borrow their monster. Sure, why not?

And of course, Godzilla is here too. He's a full on children's hero, accentuated by the goofy circus music that plays as he walks up to the battle. He's got some cool moments, like singlehandedly stomping both Megalon and Gigan when he first arrives and of course the iconic tail-slide kick.

Overall, many people lump this movie in with vs Gigan as the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the franchise, which I think is unfair. They're both similar movies in that they both live and die by the final battle. While vs Gigan had a really slow, boring fight that really didn't justify having to sit through the rest of the movie, vs Megalon has one of the most fun final battles in the series. If you can sit through the rather tediousn, but not all bad first hour of human plot, you get 20 minutes straight of some of the most expressive and enjoyable Kaiju action of the Showa era.

Interestingly, for some reason a US executive decided this was going to be the Godzilla movie to grab that American demographic, and it was marketed and distributed far more than nearly any film before it. While not an immediate success, it did result in this easily becoming the most common Godzilla outing in video rental stores and late night TV reruns. It shaped Godzilla's image in America more than any other film, for decades the name was synonymous with cheap costumes, goofy effects, and bad dubs. Even to this day, the Monsterverse's take on a heroic Godzilla fighting evil monsters has its roots going back here. Some people may hold resentment towards it for that, but for me personally, I really enjoyed it. It's not the best the Showa era has to offer, but it's certainly up there, so 7/10 seems fair to me.

#kaiju #godzilla #movie review

[ramrodd]

COMMENTARY:

This video has made me love Bart Ehrman the way Jesus came to love the Rich Young Ruler, who was probably John Mark, the author of the Gospel of John. Bart Ehrman truly loves the Gospel of Mark as the defining literature in his life. If he played rugby, I would love him because he plays rugby, whether with me or my opponent, we pray at the same alter, we share the same bread, we drink the same wine.

The problem is, he doesn't understand it is literature and presents it as a wondrful little toy you can wind up and delight in its performance, then put up in a little box when it runs down. The critical historic method he employs posits the proposition that you can capture lightening in a bottle and deploy it like an episode of I Love Jeannie at his discretion. That was the conceit of Pat Robertson after the Holy Spirit averted a hurricane from the Dismal Swamp in 1985 and Pat Robertson took credit for it. The heat wave the world has just gone through is a direct result of the spiritual toxins released by Robertson's death that he had gathered around his Id and broadcast throughout the CBN footprint, but without any moral filter

The Spirit of God of Genesis 1:1 is absolutely existential and still hovering over the waters. It's a real thing and it a supernatural mechanism the Universe has provided mankind as a media to infest the Universe like the fleas in the women's barracks of Corrie ten Boom's sister at Ravensbruck which kept the Nazis out of the building. The Way to accomplishing that objective is the Christian servatnt leadership Jesus is demonstrating by His ministry. The expectation of the Jews He grew up with, including John the Baptist, was that the Messiah would kick ass and take names and replace the Temple Worship of Judaism with the Temple Worship of Jesus and all his friends would get window offices in the new religion.

"Euangelion" is the operative word in Mark 1:1. It is a specific reference to the intelligence report Pilate sent to Tiberius regarding Resurrection,. He sent this intelligence rport under the Roman signals protocol of what the US Army would call a FLASH message to the Emperor. A message with an euangelion delivery status is what Pheidippides carried from Marathon: "we won". Fade to black. In Vietnam, "Routine" signals were weather, personnel, and various other status reports that is necessary to the housekeeping of the military enterprise. :Urgent" messages was all the operational chatter of military units engaged applied sociology, "FLASH" messages war characterized by the "Fire Mission" I would initiate with my artillery support five or six clicks away. It mean" Some asshole is shooting at me and I want you to blow that motherfucker away right now" or words to that effect. A "Flash" message was not casual chatter between Ham radio operators.

"An evangelion" TO the Emperor or King had that urgency on steroids. Sn "euangelion" message FROM was news from the Oval Office that we killed bin Ladin. That sort of thing.

The most significant information Pilate has to communicate to Tiberius in that euangelion has to do with the Talking Cross in the Gospel of Peter, which compels Tiberius to propose elevating Jesus to the Roman Pantheon, which the Senate rejects because they were consulted, according to Tertullion. The Talking Cross represents the divine covenant between God and the centurions of the Italian Cohort of the Praetorian Guards represented by Cornelius, who is the author of The Gospel of Mark.

Tiberius doesn't issue his own euangelion, but makes this proposal to make Jesus legal AND he introduces the emergent slang for the Jewish Jesus Followers, Christians, a construct of the Roman Soldiers in the same way we called the godless commie cocksuckers we were killing in Vietnam for Christ "Charley" and the French called the Nazi occupiers "Boche"

Based on Titus Kennedy's archeological Christian gestalt, Jesus is crucified in 33 and not 30. Peter J. Williams holds the same opinion on the timing based on the astronomy and a Lunar eclipse. The important thing to understand about the historioscity of the Bible, generally, is that Roman Standard Time doesn't begin to kick in until after Acts 10, when the Jerusalem Church of Peter and Paul and the Roman Christian Fellowship of Theophilus intersect and everything Christian begins to move to Rome and the clandestine Roman Christian Chapel of the Centurions.

I have said the same thing to Dr. James tabor in this manner: if Bart Ehrman abandons the dialectical Marxism of the critical historic method of Post Modern Historic Deconstruction and adopt the critical literary method of Hegel's Historic Gestalt and dialectical synthesis. all his scholarship will refocus in delightful ways for him and his true students who love him.

Jesus is God's atonement for the torment Job suffers as a result of The Satan tricking God into making a bet to satisfy His own vanity and a promise to never purposefully add to human suffering in complicity with The Satan nor to violate the Free Will of human consciousness by requiring devotion Atheists are encouraged to sustain their spiritual requirements by altruism albeit unmolested for undiluted narcissism. The 5th Amendment is the Constitutional mechanism of Free Will as defined by the Book of Job and the atonement narrative of Jesus in the faithfulness of God that N.T. Wright describes in Pauline Theology.

The Way of Jesus isn't about suffering. It's about Servant Leadership. God was opposed to the shift from the Judges to the Kingdom model of Samuel, but the God of the Book of Job didn't know for sure, I am a process theology guru like the guy who invented the phrase "Be All You Can Be:" and a working hypothesis is that God is a Becoming God and one of the objectives of Jesus was to create a stronger working relationship between God and Humanity. God's objective for secular governance is modeled on the honey bee swarm which is a sentient organic society that navigates by a constant working consensus. The combination of the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the internet are all we need to achieve that dynamical status, which will be close enough to the Kingdom of Heaven for government work.

What the actual meaning of Mark 1:1 is "this is the background to the content of the euangelion communication between Pilate and Tiberius" and is an abstract of the intelligence archive on Jesus that the X Legion began to collect on Jesus when He took command of the Galilee Militia from John the Baptist at His Baptism. Cornelius knew Jesus, professionally and personally: he is the centurion in Matthew 8:5 - 13. He is the equivalent to the Command Sergeant Major of the Caesarea Command in Judea and Pilate's Chief of Staff and Administrative Head. He was in the room with Pilate during the interrogation of Jesus. He and Pilate's wife were up to speed on Jesus the Entertainer.

The Gospel of Mark was composed immediately after Cornelius and his household was baptized by the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord, just like the Jewish Jesus Followers around Peter that the Roman Soldiers designated as Christians. Which Pilate conveyed to Tiberius. Which became associated with Tiberius and hated because of Sejanus. And spread through the Roman Empire by the osmosis of trade and tourism util it got to Antioch by 48 CE, after Roman Standard Time began to define the narrative. Sejanus was murdered a la Jules Caesar in October 31 CE. The hatred for Tiberius was just building, historically, in 33 CE, when Tiberius tied his legacy to the Talking Cross of Christianity. By the time Cornelius and Peter got together, it was dangerous to be a confessed Christian in Rome. But the Lord's Prayer represented a critical military technology, like something out of Oppenheimer, and they needed to get it into the military inventory as quickly as possible.

Watch how Bart Ehrman lights up when he's describing the Gospel of Mark. That's why it's the Greatest Story Ever Told. Whatever the Spirit of God did for Cornelius while he was composing this military intelligence report conveys the Spirit of God to the spoken word, If he adopts Hegel, the gestalt of his scholarship will blow up in his mind like a Maye West Life Vest on the 4th of July.

[animodaoactive]

What is Anime and For what reason is it so famous?

It is common of doubters to excuse the widespread allure of Anime, as over-excited fanboying over hyper-brutal kid's shows. This can't be further from reality. Anime is typically a term given to any type of an energized item that emerges from the Japanese Movement Industry.

The movement separates itself from its western partner, by zeroing in additional on lively, hyper-enthusiastic characters, and generally dull, frequently brutal, and mature storylines.

Say, Animedao  isn't just for youngsters and partakes in a far more extensive fan base inside the youthful male grown-up segment. It is famous to such an extent that we can see its persuasions in some large spending plan Hollywood blockbusters like the

For what reason is anime worth watching?

The characters are exceptional and fascinating. Anime flaunts such dynamic quality and variety in its characters. Individuals in anime have dynamic characters, they're entire individuals (in any event, when they aren't human); they have dreams and objectives, and past that, there's simply such a lot of difference in what they are.

BEST FREE Anime Sites To Watch Anime Online [2023 LIST]

Contrasting Some Best Anime Streaming Destinations myanimelist

9anime.to

Amazon Anime

Crunchyroll.com

Funimation

Gogoanime.io

AnimeFreak

Chia-Anime

AnimeDao

Tubi television

Soul Anime

Anime Planet

Hulu

AnimeLab

Netflix

What is the elective site from Animedao's point of view?

animedao.to second most comparative site is mangakakalot.com, with 49.2M visits in April 2023, and cutting off the best 3 is asurascans.com with 127.0M. mangadex.org positions as the fourth most comparative site to animedao.to and animixplay.to positions fifth.

Which application has the most anime?

On the off chance that you need the greatest library of titles with a blend of exemplary titles, for example, Naruto and new hits including Spy x Family, you can't show improvement over Crunchyroll. After Crunchyroll converged with Funimation, it possesses the biggest anime library and by far most of new occasional shows.

Which anime earn the most?

10 Highest-Grossing Anime Franchises Of All Time, Ranked

10 Pretty Cure.

9 One Piece.

8 Neon Genesis Evangelion.

7 Sailor Moon.

6 First Of The North Star.

5 Yu-Gi-Oh!

4 Dragon Ball.

3 Hello Kitty.

Is BTS or anime famous?

Aside from being in-your-face music sweethearts, BTS are additionally uber anime darlings. The Japanese-styled TV series is all around the world well known with a large number of day to day watchers. They end up being BTS' top picks also since the Explosive producers love to marathon watch anime in their extra energy.

What is the best paid anime app?

Best Anime Streaming Services of 2023

$8 at Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll. Best Animedao streaming service overall. $8 at Crunchyroll.

$8 at Hulu. Hulu. Features dedicated anime hub. $8 at Hulu.

$7 at Netflix. Netflix. Mix of popular anime and original creations. ...

$5 at Hidive. Hidive. Inexpensive, carries uncensored content and throwbacks.

#Animedao

[insomniacowl]

Neon genesis Evangelion Analysis Chapter 23: Katsuragi Misato Part 2 Dear Shinji, this is my will.

Misato: So you don't want to meet your dad?

Just like me

Let us start from the beginning. The scene in the first episode where Misato drives down to meet Shinji. Her first words to him were, "Sorry, I made you wait." This, I believe, is the first of many times their interactions will revolve around the theme of "Waiting." The line also contrasts with her final words to Shinji, "Let's continue when you get back."

Her cross is first brought to our attention through Shinji's eyes as Misato shields him from the blast of explosions from the Self-defense force's missiles used against Sakiel. Then, on their way to NERV, Shinji confides to her about his feelings towards Gendou. Misato empathizes, saying, "You're just like me," pointing to their commonalities.

She later consoles Shinji as he refuses to pilot Eva-01 and tells him to "Not run away from himself." At this point, she was already seeing herself reflected in Shinji, and those words were meant for herself as well.

After this point, Misato constantly finds herself reflected on Shinji. While it has a positive influence, like in episode 1, it also frequently caused Shinji to hurt. One criticism viewers lay on Misato is the sarcastic tone she sometimes takes when talking to Shinji about his actions. "You don't want to pilot the Eva? With that kind of determination…. What a pain!", Is one of the harsh words directed at Shinji. Even in episode 12, her cold reaction to Shinji's contemplation regarding Asuka is also, in its own way, infamous.

Yet, if we consider that she sees a lot of herself in Shinji, those lines come to represent her self-contempt rather than how she sees the fourteen-year-old. Misato was not really in the position to take care of teenagers if we consider her character flaws.

While such actions are worthy of criticism, there is room to empathize considering the traumas she had to endure, which has shaped the kind of "Adult" she became. As a young child, she was in the center of the Second Impact, and the psychological impact has led to her being mute for a few years. However, she seemed to have eventually recovered. Perhaps to compensate, we are told that she became an overly happy and talkative person. On top of this, she has studied hard and become a student at the Second-Tokyo city University. She met and began living with Kaji in the year 2005, at the age of twenty. According to Ritsuko, she even had a week-long sex marathon with Kaji, where neither of them left the house during the period.

To elaborate on her constant need for physical pleasure, we can start from the glimpse of her inner monologue we get during the instrumentality. We learn that it was one of the few things she had control over that made her feel alive when she was intimate with Kaji. Yet she breaks up with him because She saw a glimpse of her father reflected in him, although that was what got her attracted to him in the first place.

What are you embarrassed about? You wanted the man you love to see you for who you were. NO!

I wonder about that. You wanted your father to see you for who you were. That's not true!

We can identify Misato as struggling with Electra Complex (Oedipus Complex for girls) regarding how she views her father. She then attempted to quench the thirst for affection her father failed to provide her from a different man who felt similar to him. This can be observed through Kaji and Shinji. Two people sharing the same character flaws as her father (Workaholic and being bad at human interaction) being the two people she opened herself up to (Mentally, emotionally, and sexually). Misato was hoping to compensate for the loss she suffered and recover from her past trauma using her relationship with these two.

Consciously or unconsciously, she likely understood this side of herself. She felt disgusted by herself, leading to her breaking up with Kaji while punishing and labeling herself as someone "Undeserving to love." While her relationship with Kaji was open and overtly described in the series, some of you might wonder how Shinji is involved in this process. Especially regarding the sexual aspect of this analysis.

We can definitively say that Misato and Shinji do not share a simple Guardianship relation. But the discussion about Misato and Shinji can wait for now. First, let us discuss Hyuga Makoto.

Hyuga is seen approaching Misato as more than just a direct superior at work (Especially after Kaji's death). "Only if it's with you (I don't mind dying from the base self-destructing)." It is a telling line that highlights Hyuga's feelings that he begins acting on in the latter part of the series. Turning him into a more dimensional character. While Misato seems to be aware of such advances, we never see her acting on it. Neither accepting nor rejecting him outright. Since this is at the low point of her emotional journey, Misato would have been okay with anyone. Thus, it makes us wonder if there could have been more intimacy between the two off-screen. I'd argue that Hyuga died a virgin (or at least that there was no sexual relationship between the two) based on Hyuga's fantasy during the instrumentality.

To bring our discussion back to Kaji, we are shown that he was the first man she trusted and gave her first intimacy to. At the same time, she was someone Kaji was able to trust and be vulnerable with. We never see either of them refer to each other by their names. While the reason is not depicted, we can make an educated guess and say that it stems from their determination to interact professionally. Without letting their (embarrassing) past hinder their work.

But perhaps it was destined that this guise was not meant to be. In episode 15, we see the two confide in each other. Misato laments about her father and her regret of not being a good lover for Kaji. Kaji embraces and accepts her of it. The last time they ever shared a bed, Kaji gives her his final present. His death led to Misato shedding many tears, but the present helped guide her to her next step. Before this point, we see her constantly drinking her favorite beer, but never after this event. All we see her drink from then on is canned coffee, Kaji's favorite drink. And now, two peoples' worth of "Will" lived on inside her. One from her father, the other from Kaji.

Now, let's discuss the last "Male" in her life: Shinji. As mentioned earlier, Shinji was more than just a child under her care. Shinji's first introduction of Misato was through her photo that she sent him. It is a revealing photo of herself with arrows drawing attention to her breast. As a side note, the actual words in this image were written by Anno himself, and the lipstick mark was from one of the female Gainax staff.

From the photo, we can see that Misato wants Shinji to see her as more than a potential caretaker (as ethically should), but as someone of opposite gender and a "potential" love interest. Although, of course, we can brush it aside as a part of her quirky and fun-loving attitude. But the problem arises in the latter part of the series where this attitude crosses the line. The suspicion is confirmed in the official pamphlet's character introduction describing her as Shinji's family + co-worker + superior + "lover."

Misato: Shinji, I'm going in. This is about all I can do for you right now.

Shinji: No!

The scene central to this discussion happens in episode 23 when she takes her seat next to Shinji, who is grieving the death of Second Rei on his bed. Although surface-level reading is, Misato wants to hold his hands to comfort him. If that is the case, the line "This is all I can do for you right now" is unnecessary. And not only that, but Shinji's rejection of this advance is also too strong to justify the conclusion of the surface level analysis. If anything comes to mind about an act that two grown-up adults do on the bed is "Sex."

Even if we try to give the benefit of the doubt and stay at the surface-level conclusion that is psychologically comfortable, this is Evangelion. It refuses psychological comfort. The film book released by Gainax has a note about this scene that says, "Misato is attempting to give Shinji her body." This is even alluded to in the shot right before the line, the head of the chair being where Shinji's Penis would be, and Misato coming to sit right on top of it.

Throughout the series, both Misato and Asuka approach Shinji as the "Other sex." it's natural for Asuka since they are the same age. However, it is unnatural to think of Misato (Who is twice his age) approaching Shinji sexually (neither should be accepted). So let's dive into how Misato might think about that. As early as episode 2, we are shown Misato yelling at Ritsuko through the phone, saying, "There is no way I will lay my hands on a boy!". This is perhaps foreshadowing what she will be doing in the later part of the series. So what changed in her throughout the series that she would end up trying to lay her hands on Shinji sexually. Did she genuinely believe that it was the only way she can console Shinji? Or perhaps there was a more selfish reason, to distract herself from the sadness of losing Kaji? Well, it could be both. There is a middle ground and an explanation that I prefer. Kaji was the only man she allowed herself to be vulnerable with. Because the best means of communication between the two have been sexual, she most likely believed this to be the most effective way to empathize and be vulnerable with Shinji.

We can see this as another manifestation of her Electra complex if we consider that Shinji also reminds her of her father.

As many of you are aware, Evangelion borrows concepts from psychology and is strongly influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis. Psychological terms are heavily used, especially in later episodes. The characters' internal conflicts are put into the spotlight in episodes 18, 19, and 20. All these episodes use terms from psychoanalysis for their title. Let me touch on each of them briefly over here. Episode 18's title is "Ambivalence." It refers to the coexistence of two conflicting emotions (Love and hate) regarding something and was coined by Eugen Bleuler in 1911. Freud borrowed this term in his analysis. His followers believed it to be an essential state that leads to the sadistic sub-phase of development. Episode 18 is also when the dummy-controlled Eva Unit-01 destroys Bardiel. Thus the title can also help us understand the Destrudo-led sadistic destruction of the dummy program.

Episode 19's title is "Introjection" and was a term heavily used by Freud. It is the unconscious adoption of the ideas or attitudes of others and a psychological defensive mechanism used by the ego to minimize anxiety. Almost every human being goes through this phase and is a part of healthy development as an individual. Episode 19 is when Shinji emits a strong dose of Destrudo and achieves a 400% synchronization rate. Here, we can try to explain the use of this term for the episode title in two ways. The first is to refer to the synchronization process of the pilot and the Evangelion. Secondly (and more specifically to the episode), to refer to Shinji becoming an individual that has become a part of Unit-01. Becoming a part of Unit-01 who have just absorbed the S2 engine and become as though god.

Last is episode 20, titled "Oral stage," and is the stage central to Freud's theory of Libido's development. Libido is the potential sexual energy, and Freud categorized the development into four distinct stages, starting with the oral stage. During this stage of development, the child clings onto its mother's breast for nourishment. This is also when the child begins to develop the ability to distinguish between themselves and the other. The significant happening of episode 20 is salvaging Shinji from Unit-01's Core, trying to bring Shinji back as an individual and away from the comfort of his mother. This can be seen to parallel the child leaving its mother's womb and coming to be born into its own person. And to add, they had to inject Libido into the Core to salvage him.

To return from our long detour, Evangelion is a series that heavily draws its conceptual inspiration from Psychology and Freudian psychoanalysis. What Freud posits, and perhaps most central to his scholarship, understands that desires created by both Libido and Destrudo, any forms of mental energy are irresistible and irrepressible. That is to say, if during one's development if any of such mental energies' expressions are disturbed and blocked off, it will results in the development of harmful coping mechanisms as an adult. In the case of Misato, her father's absence resulted in the absence of ways to healthily release her Libido. Therefore, Misato's inappropriate advance towards Shinji could manifested the harmful coping mechanism she developed as a child.

Losing her father as a child resulted in dysregulation in Libido. Losing Kaji, the only person she truly loved, left Masato broken. At this point, she had no other way to release her desires other than laying hands on a vulnerable child. When both Shinji and Penpen refused her the physical affection she needed, she could only find comfort in listening to Kaji's final voice message in repeat. Yet, she did not lose all possibility to recover. She was able to dry out her tears and began to follow the road her father once took. This leads her to analyze the evidence Kaji passes onto her and begins questioning the truth behind Rei. By the end, she manages to reach close enough to understand the "Truth." This is how she was able to explain to Shinji what was going on. She also experiences character growth through this process, becoming able to fully understand and empathize with the pain of others.

This is also when we see her starting to differ from Asuka. While both lost Kaji, whom they both loved, Misato comes to accept this loss and can carry herself as an adult. By the end, she was mature enough to send the grieving Shinji to Unit-01 during the End of Evangelion. While Misato has always convinced Shinji to get on the Eva, now, she was different from the past. Unlike in episode 4, where she emotionally manipulated Shinji into piloting Eva. Unlike episode 12, where she drew a hard line and coldly forced him. In EOE, she was no longer forcing Shinji out of her own hatred of the angels. All there was, was a grown adult's desire to convince a child that "Life is worth living." Even if she were to die during this process. All there was, was Misato's advice as an adult to the crying child. And it was this "will to live" that was passed on from Misato to Shinji.

Misato places her necklace on Shinji's hands and wraps his hands around it. Just as how she once held onto it while facing death in its face. Her father's memento. The love towards one's family. Hope for humanity. And all else that the cross symbolized. And the cross passed on from Misato to Shinji like the passing of the torch. To pass on the will to live. This was followed by a grown-up's kiss, just like how Kaji showed her, the perfect way to, perhaps the only way to fully communicate this will and pass it on. To want the other to continue living and hoping to live on as a part of their memory.

With the kiss, Misato stopped pretending to be Shinji's inept guardian.

She sent Shinji off, hoping that he could become a grown-up who can stand by himself.

Misato: You will be alone from this point on. You need to choose for yourself.

Shinji: No. I can't.

Misato: Crying isn't going to solve anything, either!

Misato: You hate yourself, don't you? That's why you hurt others. Deep down, you know that you suffer more when you cause someone else pain than if you just let yourself get hurt. But Shinji, that was your decision, so that makes it a valid choice. That's what you wanted, so that makes it worthwhile, Stop lying to yourself, and realize that you do have options. Then accept the choices that you made.

Shinji: But you're not me. You don't understand!

Misato: So what if I'm not you?! That doesn't mean it's okay for you to give up! If you do, I'll NEVER forgive you as long as I live.

Misato: I'm not perfect either. I've made tons of stupid mistakes, and later, I regretted them. And I've done it over and over again. A cycle of hollow joy and vicious self-hatred. But even so, every time, I learned something about myself.

Please, Shinji. You've got to pilot Eva and settle this once and for all. Find out why you came here. Why you exist at all.

And when you've found your answers, come back to me. Promise me. See you soon.

Kaji: Go and do what you can. No one will force that choice on you. Think for yourself and decide for yourself. GO and do what you must right now. So that you don't live to regret it.

Misato: If I had known it would end like this, I would have changed the carpet as Asuka suggested.

Many discussions about Eva centered around her last words, the one about the Carpet and Asuka. Most of the theories have interpreted it with the spilled coffee during the instrumentality scene. I'll touch on the scenes shown in instrumentality in future chapters. But for the discussion here, note that the coffee was not spilled on the carpet during the instrumentality scenes. So I'd instead interpret this line separately from it. Personally, I believe this to be Misato, as an adult, regretting not being as kind and compassionate as she could have been to Asuka.

Unlike Shinji, who she managed to pass on her will and true feelings, she did not have that privilege with Asuka. Instead, she wallowed in her sadness, not looking out for Asuka, who was herself suffering from traumas and grief. The regret of not being a good guardian and not making the home comfortable for Asuka would have hit her as waves of regret crashed in as she laid bleeding cold on the floor of section R-20.

After Shinji, who she just sent off, Asuka, who she feels sorry for, After Penpen, who was always there for her, Kaji now crosses her mind. Was she waiting for his praise for passing on his will to Shinji?

As though she can see him, she stares at the sky. Right before the explosion, we see Rei standing over her. Perhaps it was Lilith who traveled through time.

And we come to the final scene of the EoE. Shinji and Asuka are lying down on the shore, staring at the sky. At this moment, we are reminded of Misato through the cross, now nailed to a wooden post. The cross has come to symbolize Misato's hope and dreams for the two children who will now be growing up into two adults. Will Misato be able to revert back to her human form by her soul desiring it? Nobody knows. But I don't think that matters. Because now, Shinji carries on her will.

Let's continue when you get back.

I'm back. Welcome back.

Welcome Shinji, this is your new home.

I'm back.

Welcome back!

Sorry, made you wait!

TBC Chapter 24: Ritsuko Part 1 Mother and Daughter

#Neon genesis evangelion #Evangelion #Eva #End of Evangelion #Nge #Nagisa Kaworu #Lilith #Sci-fi #Ikari Shinji #Soryu Asuka Langley #Asuka #Ayanami Rei #rei #Anno Hideaki #Katsuragi Misato #Kaji Ryoji #Anime #Analysis #Review

[inumaki-roll]

hi!! could i please have a danganronpa romantic matchup? sorry this is long i think!!

i’m a bi (asexual?) girl with an intp and 5w4 personality type. My sun is scorpio, my rising is libra and my moon is capricorn. I like lolita, especially sweet and gothic lolita but i usually dress casually but cutely e.g white lolita peaterpan collar shirt, pastel pink heart hair clips, black cardigan, pastel pink pleated skirt and creepers (shoes) with frilly socks ^^. physically i have pastel pink hair a bit below my ears, have green/grey eyes and put lots of effort into making my eyelashes look big and curly with mascara, eyelash curlers, and oils. i’m 5 foot tall and generally prefer short boys from like 5 foot to 5’8… maybe less? and i don’t care abt girls heights. i have ocd and depression and recently got diagnosis with autism but i’m still in a bit of denial/kinda feel like i’m lying/am an imposter. according to a quiz my love language is quality time but i think that they’re all important. i would describe myself as stoic, quiet and somewhat shy, loyal and i try to be sweet and funny ^^. i’m good at english and kinda good at statistics but am an airhead in like all other areas. i don’t really take things seriously, usually because of a lack of understanding, am a bit mischievous and think i’m kinda annoying accidentally. i often also kinda offended my friends when trying to make jokes (i.e the time i said my friends boyfriends mustache looked like pubes. but worse:/). my highest kins are: sonia, chiaki, peko, gundam and i also kinda relate to ibuki, mikan, himiko and even though i love him i hate to admit it but kokichi. outside of danganronpa i kin: L, ryuk, the cat from ghost stories, rei from evangelion, kenma, annie and pieck, greg from over the garden wall, himiko toga, ririka momobami, and relate a bit to catra, spinel and menma. i love to play video games, sleep, daydream while cuddling my plushies, go shopping for clothes, collectables (like dinosaur and anime figures). i like plushies, iced coffee, pizza, the smell of vanilla and strawberries, lucky bags, claw machines, am interested natural disasters (specifically tsunamis and earthquakes), air conditioning, running, cute metal music like lady baby, baby metal and candye syrup but i also like soundtracks (especially for my daydreams), pop, indie pop, metal, rock, vocaloid and idk how to describe it but somewhat repetitive/robot/machine like music. i also like tiny spoons, airports, rain when it’s not an inconvenience, pastel pink, strawberries, thunder storms, early spring, fire, ocean storms (i want to go on a ship to be in one), cute things, video games, sugarbunnies (sanrio), heart shaped things, dinosaurs (especially from the cretaceous period), sitting on countertops and walking and running at night.

a/n: omg u are so cool pls,,, thank u sm for participating in my matchup event!! and ty for the lengthy desc!! it really helped me get a good matchup with more detail!! i hope you like your matchup<33 also you’re a pieck and rei kinnie hey lol😏😏ALSO WE BOTH KIN RYUK AND THATS SO FUNNY TO ME

matchup status: OPEN

more info in my pinned post!!!

i match u up with...!

mikan tsumiki!! (runner(s) up: korekiyo shinguuji & tenko chabashira)

i feel like she’d be a little intimidated to talk to you at first but as soon as she sees how sweet of a person you are, she’d start to feel more comfortable and less frantic like she normally is. you seem to have tons of interests and mikan knows a bunch of conversation topics. she would gladly learn about dinosaurs just to talk about them with you! she’d probably be nervous to talk to you and learn so many little facts about the things you like the night before so that she knew she would have something to talk about with you.

and she probably thinks your style is so cute!! the first thing she would say to you would probably be complimenting the way you dress or look just because she thinks it’s so cool!! like and it wouldn’t be some superficial compliment, it would be a genuine one like complimenting your eyes or how cute she thinks your shoes are. and even though she’s not very tall herself, she thinks how your short is so cute!

i also feel like her love language would be quality time as well!! sometimes she feels like she’s too awkward for conversations so just being there with your partner is nice for her. and she’d be so happy if you invited her to go shopping with you!! (she’d also be ecstatic if you let her try on one of your outfits but that’s another conversation) she’d love seeing what clothes you recommend for her and the ones you pick out for yourself!! honestly, she just really likes hanging out with you and spending time with you & she’d be happy for any date ideas you’d have for the two of you. walks during night!!!! she’d absolutely love that, even though she’d be concerned and worried at first for it being dangerous and not getting enough sleep at night is bad for your health, but as soon as you both start walking around at night she’d stop worrying about it and start enjoying the nightscape, the way it’s quieter at night, and how pretty the stars are. (if you do start running while on these walks and you trip and scrape your knee you know she’d be walking you back to the house, politely scolding you saying that you shouldn’t have been running and wrapping your knee in bandage)

ALSO back to store dates, she’d always bring extra quarters with her just to do the claw machines!!! and if it’s ones that you have to use the claw to grab the thing inside, and you asked her to ‘win’ the thing inside for you she’d be so nervous about messing up and not getting it, so she’d frantically wave her hands in front of herself, quickly talking about how she’ll mess it up somehow. spoiler alert: she actually would win the thing inside, despite being a nervous wreck.

i think mikan would have so many ideas for what to do on rainy days. like so many. she’d suggest so many things. baking together, board games, puzzles, painting, reading, making jewelry together, movie marathons, watching the rain, dancing in the kitchen, etc. but she’s completely fine with just relaxing and staying in bed for the day!!! (rainy days are my fave so i love writing abt rainy days)

arcade dates as well!! she knows you like games & pizza so that seems like a cute idea to her!! she would love watching u play the video games and would love it if you taught her how to play a game and would feel extra special if you let her know some of the little tips to the games.

i also think she’d be really giggly around you just because she’s so like,,, happy yk?

if you do make jokes around her and they offend someone, even if they don’t mean to, she’d say she thinks they’re funny anyways and laugh. she’s used to being bullied, she can tell the difference between being straight up mean and just joking around with friends. and she never thinks you’re annoying!! she’s always thought of herself to be a pest and to annoy others so she’d never want you to think of yourself that way!!

#avas matchups #mikan tsumuki x reader #mikan x reader #danganronpa matchup #mikan tsumiki #danganronpa x reader

[404-403-error]

Day 7: Favorite Movies

Movie topic is gonna be hard to dig up around here. I mean should I give one from every genre? Favorite remakes versions? Favorite sequels? Animation? Anime? 2D? 3D? Live Action? This could go on forever.

So I guess I’m gonna select my top 5.

1. Lion King (1994), my ultimate Walt Disney Animation that hooked me into animation. I remember my parents said I was very quite, very anti-social, embarrassingly shy, and emotionless. But while watching Lion King, I cried, made my parents let me buy more animation VCD/DVD. Also, I love all Lion Kings, likeLion King 2: Simba’s Pride and Lion King  ½.  Lion King will always be forever my muse, mu juju, my mojo.

2. Corpse Bride (2005), my absolute favorite from Tim Burton stop-motion animation and also the first one I’ve ever got to watch when I was in the 5th grade. I was so immensely drawn by the beautiful visual, yet incredibly creepy, but I just can’t look away the entire time. I watched it with my sister at night, so it sets the right mood. The piano scene, OH MY GOD. My all time favorite. It was creepy, romantic, sweet, and heartwarming. It’s perfect.

3. Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, my favorite ultimate remake movie/anime of all time. The 3.0 arch is when Kaoru Nagisa joined the gang, shared his intimate emotions with Shinji in a piano duet, also making Shinji lost a person he cared deeply when Kaoru turned into the First Angel. I didn’t get it why I was so into it when I was a kid, but during my research for my bachelor thesis, it hits on a different level. I felt like I was having an epiphany but in the most harmful way. I can never forget that feeling.

4. The Batman Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012) by Christopher Nolan. Sorry fam, can't choose one in this trilogy you have to have them all together. I saw Batman Begin in the 5th grade, alone, and I was blown away. After that I did a lot of research about DC Comics, but Spiderman was more popular in that era. Then The Dark Knight, I watched it in the 8th grade, also alone, I remembered I needed to get out from my chaotic house thanks to my family drama. Last, The Dark Knight Rises, I watched it with my sister. I was devastated because this is the last trilogy, and because my sister said it was boring. Not gonna lie, I was damned hurt that afternoon. The silver lining with this trilogy, I watched it to “escape” my burning-down family thing. Whenever I feel down and need something dark and entertaining, I do The Batman Trilogy marathon.

5. Inside Out (2015), this movie has a very special place in my soul. I was figuring things out about my mental illness in 2015, I was still in denial whether I need professional help or not, and Inside out succeeded at making me cry my eyes out, even before they started the movie. I already crying since the short animation, Lava. In 2015, I was feeling so alone, lonely, felt like an outcast, I have no grip in life. Just like I was a kid with no ability to show emotion and Lion King helped me, Inside Out gave me the catharsis I needed in that period of time.

I have some thrillers and other movie with different genre that I love, but I can’t really think of anything by now.

#writing #30 days of writing #30dayswritingchallenge #day7 #movie #lion king #batman #evangelion anime #inside out #writing challenge

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Pokemon, Episodes 1-3

And so we begin our longest journey yet with our first tentative step. Does this show still hold up 20 years later? Is Ash as annoying as you remember? What’s it like to look back on where it all began after marinating in everything it’s become? Welcome, folks, to my adventure through the Pokemon anime!

The Wayback Machine

This is gonna be the weirdest analysis I’ve ever done for this blog.

I am not that familiar with Pokemon as an anime. The most I’ve watched of it has been the movies up to Arceus and the Jewel of Life, as well as pretty much the entire Diamond and Pearl saga. At the same time, though, I am hugely familiar with Pokemon as a cultural phenomenon. I bought all the games from Emerald to Black and White, I dove headfirst into the increasingly dense Pokedex data, and I absolutely fucking loved learning about each and every new critter Game Freak added to the canon. I devoured their stats, their lore, their type advantages, the mythos behind them, what kind of concept they were all based on, the human characters that interacted with them from trainers to villain gangs to gym leaders to Elite Four, and everything in between. I’m familiar with Ash, Misty, Brock, Team Rocket, Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, Giovanni, Pikachu, Mew, Mewtwo, and all the rest of the original 151 pocket monsters. I love OG Pokemon. I don’t know a single nineties-aughts kid who doesn’t. It really was the perfect toy concept, endlessly merchandisible and utterly ubiquitous. Pokemon was just as much my childhood as everyone else’s, a staple of the young imagination that took root like nothing else.

And now’s the first time I’m actually freaking watching it.

This is the kind of prior expectation setting that no other franchise could possibly hope to match. Pokemon is a giant, massive, multimedia franchise, with trading cards and video games and plushies and everything in between, and it’s entirely possible to get the “story” of Pokemon in its entirety, as it were, without ever having to actually watch the most story-based element of it. I now know pretty much everything there is to know about Pokemon (at least up until Gen 5, after which I lost interest for a while), all the heaps and mountains of context that color what this franchise has become. But this original anime didn’t have all that outsized context. All it had were the initial few games and the barest beginnings of the goliath Pokemon would become. It had to be the bedrock upon which everything else was built, the foundation that would grow into the inescapable tendrils of pop culture that ensnare us today. The kids of twenty years ago didn’t go into Pokemon with decades of cultural expectations built up; they went into it with fresh eyes, discovering an entirely new world, with entirely new characters, being told a story that had to hook them in completely with its own merits. And now, here I am at last, analyzing a marathon right from its starting point when all I’ve ever known of it has been its finish line. How the heck am I even gonna make sense of all those conflicting patterns of thought? It’s almost like I’m gonna be re-watching a series I’m experiencing for the first time.

But you know what? I tackled all 367 episodes of Gintama no matter how many times it left me emotionally broken. I suffered through abominations like Guilty Crown and Future Diary and lived to tell the tale. I re-watched Neon Genesis Evangelion, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and Angel Beats, three of my top five anime ever, and still found new and exciting things to say about them. This blog has been nothing but me overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds, finding the words to communicate the extreme, indescribable, sometimes incomprehensible feelings anime can leave me with. I am a writer who lets nothing stand in my way. So what’s one more impossible task to complete? What’s another thousand episodes of setting familiar eyes on something I’ve never seen before? If I’ve survived talking about anime as long as I have, then I can survive Pokemon too. Who knows, maybe that dichotomy of past and present experience will make my analysis even richer than it otherwise would have been. After all, there’s something really powerful about standing at the end of a long journey and casting an eye back to where it all began.

So bring it on, Ash Ketchum. You and I both have a long-ass journey ahead of us, so let’s make every step count.

Living in a Pokemon World

So, with all that rambling word salad introduction out of the way, all qualifiers and asterisks set aside, how are the first ever few episodes of Pokemon? Well, they’re good! Very good, even, in some respects! It’s definitely far from perfect, and the product of being cash-cow kids’ show translated by an equally cash-cow marketing team isn’t exactly subtle. The animation isn’t always the best; there’s a particularly goofy moment where instead of animating Pikachu’s thundershock attack, the screen just pinwheel-cycles between four still images of the attack as they rotate around the screen’s corners. Some of the dub voice acting is quite good, while some characters- Gary Oak, Misty, and Officer Jenny- can get seriously grating with how rough-edged their voice-actors are. I’m also taking a little to get used to Ash’s voice, as the only version of Ash I ever heard was after the actor changed in Diamond and Pearl. It’s goofy and corny and very simplistic at times, with characters who can act like insufferable brats in the worst-case scenario. But you know what? I’m still really fucking enjoying it. For all its numerous flaws, it’s driven by a sincere, imaginative passion that really shines through. There are so many charming moments, so many clever touches, and so many ideas that really made me sit back and say, “Wow, no wonder this show caught on like it did.” This isn’t just a cash-in money mill for the profit machine, it’s trying to be a genuinely inspiring, horizon expanding adventure story. And despite how long the road ahead looks, I’m genuinely excited to follow it.

I think what stands out the most is how deeply committed this show is to wringing out every last ounce of potential from its concept. It doesn’t just want you to love Pokemon, it feels like it sincerely loves Pokemon itself. I can only imagine what this must have looked like to the kids of twenty years ago experiencing this world for the first time, not knowing all 151 original Pokemon and seeing everything with fresh eyes. Why is a three-headed bird crowing like a rooster to signal the dawn? Why does Ash’s alarm clock have a face on it and spring open to reveal a bird figure inside? Who are all these mysterious creatures we see Ash running by as he escapes from the murder birds, and what cool powers might they have? What’s that giant fucking water serpent that almost eats his face off? What’s that majestic bird we see flying over the rainbow at the end of the first episode (side note, HOW IS THERE A FUCKING HO-OH IN THE FIRST EPISODE WE’RE NOT IN JOHTO YET ARE YOU SHITTING ME)?  It’s easy to forget with how ubiquitous the brand is now, but the concept of a world populated by hyper-competent super-animals that integrate perfectly into human society is kinda freaking bizarre, yet this show completely sells it. You feel just how much deeply entwined humans and Pokemon have become, how carefully this entire society’s been constructed around their presence. Even that one scene of Caterpie and Pikachu talking in episode 3 was really charming; it’s remarkable how much chemistry you can establish between two characters who can’t even use words. I can only imagine what it must have been like seeing all this for the first time, marveling at the endless possibilities this world would allow. And we’ve only just got into Type advantages and Evolutions; how fucking cool must that have been seeing it for the first time?

And heck, even for a grown-ass adult like me who’s been marinating in this stuff for decades, there’s still stuff here that really sparks my imagination! I love the goofy primitive voice chat that uses corded telephones connected to the computer monitor, the wet dream of communications technology past. I love the bizarre way that actual living beings can be stored and transferred through a network connection at the Pokemon Center. Heck, I’m even intrigued by the mystery of that mural in the Pokemon Center with the four legendary beings depicted on it; at first glance it just seems like the three Legendary Birds, but Ash seems to think one of them’s really Ho-Oh, so is that actually true? And who’s the fourth Arcanine-looking guy in the bottom right? And then there’s the residual angst of seeing Ash break so many of the rules from the video games, which made for more than a few moments of complete expectation readjustment. Seriously, he catches a Caterpie without any damage, he catches a Pidgeotto with just a single Thundershock’s worth of damage, he gets to keep his Pokeballs even after failing a capture with them, and he takes down two trained and dangerous poison Pokemon with a single use of fucking String Shot, and then his Caterpie evolves after just two battles? Somebody get Game Freak on the phone, because they’ve been stiffing us poor players for years while Ash gets to break all the rules. Clearly, even a lot of stuff I think I know can no longer be taken for granted in the wild world of Pokemon.

Gotta Ketchum All

If I’m being honest, though, the most promising aspect of the Pokemon anime isn’t the fascinating of the world itself and all the ways it can incorporate the titular critters into it. Shockingly enough, what gives me the most hope for this anime success is none other than Ash Ketchum himself, the perpetual butt of jokes since 1997. It’s easy to pick on this perpetual ten-year-old for his brash arrogance and how it took him 22 years to actually become a Pokemon Master, but I was stunned by how quickly he wormed his way into my heart here. Sure, he’s definitely reckless and a little too proud of himself, but what sticks out the most about him is just how committed he is to doing the right thing. He’s gotten so much shit thrown at him already, between oversleeping, Gary’s jackassery, Pikachu’s initial disdain for him, and his constant bickering with Misty, not to mention a certain trio of Poke-nappers gunning for his new companion. But for all his exasperation and attitude, he consistently tries to do right by the people around him. When Gary’s giving him sass in the first episode, Ash still tries to make friends with him over their shared love of Pokemon, eager to hear about which one Gary got from the professor. When Pikachu’s refusing to obey him, he does his best to listen to its demands and give him free reign instead of confining to for a Pokeball. And even after bristing against Pikachu’s stubbornness, he doesn’t hesitate a second to throw his own life on the line to keep his new pal safe from the attacking Spearow flock. Ash is the kind of guy who can easily bitch and moan about his misfortunes, but when the chips are down, he’ll quickly step up and make the right call, because his heart’s genuinely in the right place.

In short, Ash Ketchum is one part the animal-loving softie of Steve Irwin, one part the prickly defensiveness of Yusuke Yurameshi, and one part the wanderlust-driven traveler Gon Freecs (side note, when did Hunter x Hunter start in comparison to the Pokemon anime? Because the whole concept of a shonen protagonist kid setting off on an adventure across a modern, yet undiscovered world, chasing the profession that his absent father once performed... yeah, I got questions, Togashi), and that combination makes for a surprisingly fun protagonist to be around. He’s driven by a genuine love of Pokemon, and it’s clear he has great respect and admiration for the many remarkable critters he comes across. When Misty’s freaking out over his Caterpie, he doesn’t hesitate to comfort the poor guy and give it the encouragement it needs. He’d even let it travel on his shoulder alongside Pikachu, because that’s how quickly he’s come around to the idea of treating Pokemon with kindness and respect. Heck, when Caterpie’s crawling off in a huff, he even crawls right alongside it rather than just spend five seconds getting out of his damn sleeping bag. This kid might be a few good multiple choice answers short of an SAT, but he’s ready and willing to jump right into the thick of things, mess up however he has to, and keep on trucking until he finds the right way forward. If nothing else, you really gotta respect that gumption.

To Protect the World

And now, folks, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the moment when the true stars of the show take their first bow. Drum roll, please!

*ahem*

To protect the world from devastation!

To unite all peoples within out nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love!

To extend out reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

James!

Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!

Surrender now or prepare to fight!

(Meowth, that’s right!)

Christ, is there a single more iconic villain motto in any other anime? In any piece of media ever? Heck, is there a more perfect villain introduction than these three hooligans using a fishhook to snatch their own wanted poster from the comfort of a hot air balloon emblazoned with their head honcho’s face, only to complain that their photos aren’t flattering enough? You tell me, because I’m not seeing one.

There’s no getting around it folks; there is no set of fictional antagonists quite like Team Rocket. Jessie, James and their talking Meowth are the stuff of villain legend, some of the most perpetually entertaining foes ever to grace the silver screen. And even with just two appearances under their belt, I completely understand why they exploded in popularity to such an extent: they are an absolute delight. They’re all the pomp and circumstance of villainy mixed with the buffoonish incompetence of the Three Stooges, masters of showmanship and grace but complete morons at actually, y’know, being evil. So they’re able to be as enjoyable over-the-top as the best scenery chewers without any of the associated sense of danger that more competent villains give off, and the result is possibly the single most perfect villainous banter and chemistry of all time. You get all the enjoyment of the villainous flamboyance with none of the associated risk, because these lunkheads can barely go two seconds without descending into infighting. There the rarest of all treasures, some of only few villains who you’re capable of loving unconditionally, even rooting for their success safe in the knowledge that they’ll never cause any actual harm. Bottom line, I’m already enjoying the hell out of them, and I look forward to many more happy blast-offs to come.

Odds and Ends

-Yep, that theme song is still killer.

-asdjhasd I didn’t expect it to start with the freaking game graphics

-WHY DOES HE HAVE CHEELREADERS ISTG GARY

-”The early bird gets the worm. Or in this case, the Pokemon.” Wow, Professor Oak really let him open all those empty pokeballs instead of just telling him up front. ASSHOLE.

-”Shocking, isn’t it?” PUNS? That settles is, Professor Oak is the real villain of the series.

-”Oh, you’re playing catch! You’re friends already!” Ash’s mom is a delight.

-”Enjoy your last moments of freedom!” Don’t think about it too hard don’t think about it too hard don’t think about

-”It also comes to open fields to steal food from stupid travelers.” WOW, way to call him out, Pokedex.

-”I’ll give it back someday!” Ash Ketchum, Kanto’s Most Wanted.

-I. I forgot about the Pokerap. Why is there a Pokerap. WHY.

-”You know there’s a driveway.” The way Nurse Joy says this, it makes me think Officer Jenny must barge in through the front doors a lot. Hmmm. Hmmmmmm.

-”Oh my goodness, I left my motorcycle parked at the front desk!” ...fuck it, I ship it. JennyJoy for life.

-”I suppose that proves it!” Oak continues to be the most chaotic presence in this entire show.

-”Well... money isn’t everything, right?” akjsdhaskjdhaskjdhaskjdh

-”Mmm, anchovy, spinach and pineapple pizza!” Out of all the surprises I was expecting from the Pokemon anime, Professor Oak being the secret evil mastermind was not one of them, yet here we are.

-Okay, so some of the Pokemon’s voice actors are putting in a lot of effort to sound like animals, and then there’s Goldeen. Just... Goldeen.

-Ash Commits Domestic Terrorism(tm)

-”No, not this again!” He’s already sick of their intro askjdhasjkdhasd

Hot damn, here we go. Still over 1,000 episodes to go. Can we make it? Only one way to find out. Thank you all for joining me on this new adventure, and I’ll see you next time!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #pokemon #misty pokemon #brock pokemon #ash ketchum #pikachu #gary oak #professor oak #team rocket

[lokiarsene]

so great akeshu gods, what do you recommend for anime? yall both have good taste

mod krist and i don’t go to anime

so now i will list every single anime i’ve ever actually seen all the way through:

1. dragon ball/z/gt/super (my fave anime series by far but super is bad don’t watch it)

2. gundam wing (just started a rewatch last night ackshully)

3. rurouni kenshin (though i legit haven��t seen this since i was like 11 so i have no idea if it holds up)

4. record of the lodoss war (did u ever want D&D in anime form? congrats watch lodoss)

5. neon genesis evangelion (which mod krist references regularly. not for the faint of heart)

6. yuri on ice (it’s cute)

and that’s it. that’s the only anime i’ve ever watched all the way through.

my anime years were between 1996 and 2002, and it was always constrained by what my brother was able to get his hands on. i grew up in NJ so my brother (who’s 6 years older than me) would occasionally go to chinatown in NYC and come home with fansubbed VHS tapes. we started berserk, too, but that was real hard to come by so we never got far with it. i do want to go back to it at some point because i love dark souls a whole lot and apparently dark souls is berserk: the video game. i also vow to watch cowboy bebop one day. yuri on ice only happened because a good friend of mine sat me down and forced me to marathon watch the whole thing in a day.

i am a simple creature. i watch like three “reality”-esque shows (chopped, forged in fire, and ghost adventures), spongebob, horror movies, and a bunch of documentaries and that’s really it lmao my heart belongs to vidya and books.

mod krist’s list is only marginally different from mine, and also from the same general era.we could recommend you video games far easier and with much more passion and gusto, because that’s our main hobby by far.

so in an attempt to not take up more space on this blog for uninterested parties, pls be advised that questions like this should be directed towards our personal blogs instead, since ppl come here for akeshu stuff.

you can find mod krist at @softspokensansa

and mod sirea at @sapphire-weapon

#mod sirea #this is the ask tag #Anonymous

[animesavior]

"Hey, Pops? If i said i wanted to stop throwing fights altogether, what would you do?"

-          Joe “Junk Dog”, Megalo Box (Ep. 01)

The Toonami Trending Rundown for December 8-9, 2018. One of 2018’s smash hit anime titles fights its way to the better cartoon as Megalo Box makes its English Dub debut. And among other great moments, we’re introduced to Joe, the Junk Dog who has been throwing his fights for cash, but might be getting his big break to the big leagues, while Josuke and Okuyasu have to bail out Koichi from Rohan’s grasps, and we see the finale of Asta and the Black Bull’s fight with Vetto.

#MegaloBox would no doubt be the talk of the town on the night as it would make the US trends list along with Hunter x Hunter and Black Clover. Meanwhile on Tumblr, #Toonami would trend along with My Hero Academia and #JJBA. The full list including tweet counts for many shows (including a character trend in Josuke when we learn why he gets angry when people talk bad about his hair) can be seen in the list below.

This week’s feature was a game review of the critically acclaimed Red Redemption 2. It received a 9 out of 10 score.

For the holiday break, Toonami will once again opt for encore marathons, with 14 episodes of Dragon Ball Super for the Christmas Marathon on December 22 and the first 11 episodes of Boruto for the New Years Marathon on December 29 (with the regular scheduled episodes of Pop Team Epic, Gundam IBO, and Samurai Jack to fill up the night).

Sad news for Ghost in the Shell fans this week, as it has been confirmed that Toonami has lost the bid to air the new Stand Alone Complex series (titled SAC_2045) to Netflix due to high costs, who will be adding the series as a “Netflix Original.” This is especially unfortunate for those who wanted to see GITS and the new Blade Runner in the same block, as both are being made at roughly the same time, but as the old saying goes, you can’t win em all. Combined with Funimation partnering up with Hulu to give them first dibs to co-distribute new titles (Although the latter’s deal mostly involves subs, mainly as a move responding to the Funimation-Crunchyroll split), among other things, some fans have been rather restless to say the least, but Jason has assured everyone that Toonami isn’t going anywhere, that they still maintain good relationships with Funimation, Sentai, Aniplex, and Viz Media, and that plans are in place for the future. We’ll let you know what those plans are as they’re announced, and as Spike Spiegel would say: “whatever happens, happens”.

And speaking of Netflix, there have been rumors that Neflix might opt for doing a redub of the original Evangelion series when it joins the service in 2019. Fans have feared of a potential recasting of Spike Spencer, Amanda Winn Lee, and many of the franchises’ regulars, and have created a petition in hopes of having them reprise their roles if it were to be needed. If you wish, sign this petition by clicking here as well as let Netflix know.

Next week will be the final regularly scheduled Toonami for the year, so make sure to tune in or set your DVRs. Until next week, congratulations to Atlanta United on winning MLS Cup, and Stay Gold.

Legend: The shows listed are ordered based on their appearance on the schedule. Show trends are listed in bold. The number next to the listed trend represents the highest it trended on the list (not counting the promoted trend), judging only by the images placed in the rundown. For the Twitter tweet counts, the listed number of tweets are also sorely based on the highest number shown based on the images on the rundown.

United States Trends:

Toonami [#9]

#MegaloBox [#7]

#HunterXHunter [#9]

#BlackClover [#12]

Tweet Counts:

#Toonami [5,060 tweets]

Toonami [8,501 tweets]

#Boruto [2,087 tweets]

#DragonBallSuper [7,503 tweets]

#MobPsycho100 [1,292 tweets]

#MegaloBox [2,742 tweets]

#JoJosBizarreAdventure [2,927 tweets]

Josuke (From JoJos Bizarre Adventure) [1,657 tweets]

#HunterXHunter [1,687 tweets]

#BlackClover [1,944 tweets]

Amr Rahmy Counts:

#MyHeroAcademia [#3 with 3,804 tweets]

#Boruto [#17 with 1,381 tweets]

#DragonBallSuper [#6 with 3,173 tweets]

#MobPsycho100 [#11 with 1,154 tweets]

#MegaloBox [#7 with 1,822 tweets]

#JoJosBizarreAdventure [#13 with 1,413 tweets]

#BlackClover [#13 with 2,383 tweets]

Tumblr Trends:

#Toonami

#My Hero Academia

#JJBA

Notes and Other Statistics:

#MegaloBox: @WhoTrendedIT reported that @mariannemiller and @BangZoom started the trend in the US.

Special thanks to @AmrRahmy, @coreymbarnes, and others I forgot to mention for spotting some of the trends on this list.

#Toonami #Adult Swim #Cartoon Network #Toonami Trending Rundown #Megalo Box #MegaloBox #My Hero Academia #Boku no Hero Academia #Boruto #Dragon Ball Super #Dragon Ball Z #DBZ #Mob Psycho 100 #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Josuke #Hunter x Hunter #Black Clover

[samasmith23]

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 10)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 10: MAGMADIVER”

Continuing my Evangelion re-watch marathon with NGE, "Episode 10: MAGMADIVER”! For my thoughts on the previous episode, click the link to the post below:

Now this is going to be a very interesting episode for me to revisit since for a lot of EVA fans this is widely considered to be one of the weakest/worst episodes in the entire original series. The most common complaints I’ve seen directed towards this episode include that it contributes nothing to the overall series narrative, that the science involved with defeating the Angel in this episode is completely unrealistic and implausible, and most especially that this episode in particular is loaded to the brim with gratuitous and unnecessary fan-service. I remember reading all of these complaints a few years after I first marathoned NGE back in college and to be perfectly honest… I never understood nor agreed with any of them since… I always personally really loved “MAGMADIVER” and think it’s seriously underrated/overhated. 

No seriously, “MAGMADIVER” was always one of my personal favorite episodes in the original series, right alongside Episodes 4, 19, 22 & 24! I’ll provide my own counter-arguments the aforementioned fan complaints directed towards this episode as I go through it! 

But with all of that out of the way, let’s finally dig into the episode itself!

Oh boy! Right off the bat this episode establishes that it’s going to heavily focus on one of the most important thematic elements surrounding the entire Evangelion franchise: sexuality. 

While themes about sex & sexuality have already been heavily present throughout NGE so far, particularly in relation to Misato’s personality and mannerisms as well as the interactions between Shinji & Asuka in the previous episode, “Magmadiver” is particularly notable in how much it emphasizes developmental feelings of sexual desire as a central tenant for characters like Shinji & Asuka. 

In relation to Asuka, the themes of adolescent sexuality are effectively conveyed in this opening scene where she’s out shopping with Kaji. In addition to Asuka obsessively clinging onto Kaji as they’re walking down the streets of Tokyo-3, Asuka immediately sets her eyes on a provocative bikini in the local department store which she claims that, “Oh come on Kaji, this is what all the girls are wearing,” in response to Kaji’s understandable concerns that Asuka is still too young to be wearing such a swimsuit.

This interaction not only further establishes Asuka’s adolescent one-sided infatuation with the much older Kaji, but it also feels like a very honest and sincere portrayal of teenage sexuality. In addition to plenty of teens in the real-world often developing one-sided crushes on older individuals, celebrities or even fictional characters (for instance, one of my personal earliest childhood crushes was supermodel/actress Rebecca Romijn’s portrayal Mystique from the live-action X-Men movies), several adolescents will simultaneously struggle with wanting to be perceived as being more “mature” and “adult” than they actually are like with Asuka here. 

And skipping ahead a little, but this is something that Kaji acknowledges during a flashback in Episode 22 when he rejects Asuka’s inappropriate advances towards him precisely BECAUSE she is still a 14-year-old girl, stating that she shouldn’t rush into engaging in adult activities like sex BECAUSE she is still a minor who’s developing and learning, and that she should hold onto her youth while it lasts.

“Public middle school?” I thought that Asuka & Shinji were freshmen in high school, since that’s what grade I was in back when I was 14-years-old (they could be in 8th grade, but still)…

I love how naturally the little tidbits of world-building are established throughout this series! We get a glimpse of just how big of an event the Second Impact was, as well as just how much the near-apocalyptic disaster affected the daily lives of every single person on the planet through Kaji’s comment here about how his generation never got to go on school field trips!

While Asuka’s reaction to the news that neither she or Shinji will be allowed to go on their school field trip due to being on standby in case another Angel attacks can definitely come across as overly whiny, I feel that it’s rather effective in highlighting one of the major downsides of being an EVA-Pilot. Namely that because Asuka & Shinji are essentially serving as child-soldiers who pilot giant robots to fight against alien monsters threatening to destroy the world, the two are essentially being forced into adulthood far too early and are unable to enjoy the youth of adolescence like their fellow classmates are. It’s an interesting subversion and deconstruction of the Japanese mecha genre, as while plenty of mecha anime similarly feature teenagers piloting giant robots to combat kaju, EVA actively explores and interrogates the implications of forcing such a heavy burden onto literal children instead of focusing on the escapist power-fantasy elements of the genre. 

Additionally, Asuka’s reaction here also conveys an interesting contradiction in her characterization! While the previous shopping scene with Kaji portrayed Asuka’s misguided efforts to “act more grown-up” by wanting to impress the object of her one-sided crush by buying an inappropriate swimsuit, Asuka’s outrage of being unable to go on the scuba-diving field trip highlights some double-meaning behind her earlier excuse of, “This is what all the girls are wearing,” in that she was not only wanting to impress Kaji but that she also wanted to “fit-in” with her classmates. This not only conveys themes of peer pressure, but also a contradiction in Asuka’s facade of “adulthood” since there is a part of her that still wants to engage and participate in the activities of other 14-year-old girls like herself.

Lol! Asuka’s description of Shinji as a “housebroken male” is absolutely hilarious! It makes it sound like she views Shinji more like a pet than as an actual person. I wonder if that was intentional on Anno’s part?

Also, I just noticed that Shinji’s wearing more a more feminine shirt in this scene! Yet further confirmation to the fan-theories that Shinji is a trans-femme egg!

Double lol! Asuka predicted modern debates about the value and effectiveness of numerical grading within the public education system!

As much as I praise the levels of nuanced character writing for the main cast of NGE, credit should also be given for the little bits of development that Anno also provides for the background extras which helps makes EVA’s universe feel more alive and three-dimensional! For instance, this scene within NERV HQ’s Central Dogma during down-time is heavily effective in how it not only portrays the main staff members Maya, Hyuga & Aoba outside of an intense and chaotic action scene, but distinguishes each of them with their own unique personality traits. This information is visually conveyed to the viewer through their reading material and demeanor during casual down-time at the office, as we see Maya intently focused on what appears to be a regular novel (establishing her a steadfast analysis), Hyuga giggling over what appears to be a Shonen Jump manga (making him the more nerdy fan-boy of the group; in other words he’s essentially me…), and Aoba drumming his fingers to punk-rock magazines (which is in line with his more pessimistic attitude that’s later on display in The End of Evangelion)!

I love Misato’s insightful response to Ritsuko’s questioning about the idea of having a school field-trip during the middle of an Angel invasion: “I guess the idea is to let all of the kids to have time to get out and act like kids.” 

Not only does she make an incredibly valid point here in-and-of-itself, but her words interestingly parallel the aforementioned themes about youth and adolescence in relation to the expectations of the mecha genre. While one could easily argue that Misato’s words are hypocritical since she’s an leading presence in the militaristic weaponization of the EVA pilots as child soldiers, her insight here helps illustrate how in contrast to other NERV personnel like Ritsuko, Misato is willing to continuously question and doubt the ethics of the methods utilized to combat the threat of the Angels.

Also, because Aoba is tuning out to punk rock in this scene, he is therefore automatically on Batman’s crap-list!

I’ll NEVER… EVER… get tired of referencing the dark knight’s all-consuming hatred for rock-&-roll!

I actually never noticed this before, but this underwater shot of Rei swimming laps beneath the overhead nadatorium light strikingly mirrors the animation from the “Fly Me To the Moon” ending credits segment where Rei’s silhouette is spinning in front of the moon in an underwater setting! In addition to directly evoking both the imagery of the end credits theme (as well as the Ocean of LCL during Human Instrumentality in The End of Evangelion), this scene not only further foreshadows Rei’s true identity as the reincarnated soul of Lilith, but it also reinforces the idea that Rei feels more comfortable when submerged in liquid substances like water or LCL (an idea that will be later expanded upon in one of the stanzas of Rei's poem from Episode 14)!

Speaking of the swimming pool scene… oh boy there is certainly a lot to unpack here! 

This scene in particular is easily one of the primary contributors to the negative dismissal of this episode from a sizable portion of the EVA fanbase, as many argue that it exists solely for the purposes of gratuitous fan-service. Specifically, while Shinji is trying to study for a physics exam on a nearby table, Asuka is standing in front of him in the same provocative bikini that she tried and failed to impress Kaji with earlier and was unable to wear on the school field trip, and Shinji can’t help feel uncomfortably embarrassed at the sight of Asuka’s chest as she leans in to help answer his homework questions.

The situation isn’t helped when Asuka answers Shinji’s questions about “thermal expansion,” i.e. the idea that objects will increase in size when heated and contract in size when cooled, since she making a suggestive analogy to the size of her breasts to try and explain the scientific concept to him.

Many critics write off this scene as nothing more than stereotypical anime fan-service tropes being played completely straight, which is sadly symptomatic of a larger criticism that I’ve seen some people direct towards the Evangelion franchise as a whole. Except, while I will concede that the usage of gratuitous fan-service is definitely a problem with the Rebuild movies based on everything I’ve seen and heard about them (which is especially uncomfortable since the characters in question are underage…), I personally heavily disagree with the argument that it’s also problem with the original NGE series and especially The End of Evangelion movie, and that both entries instead actively subvert the usual problematic tropes of fan-service in anime in order to discuss complex themes about sexuality, adolescence, and adulthood. And this scene at the pool is a prime example of this IMO.

The primary reason why I feel that NGE actively avoids perpetuating problematic fan-service tropes largely comes down to framing, and what subjects that the camera chooses to direct the viewer’s attention towards. In the case of the Shinji & Asuka pool scene, the camera & framing makes it very clear that the narrative is critiquing Shinji objectification of Asuka instead of encouraging the audience to do the same. Instead of simply focusing on Asuka’s chest like a lot of other anime do with their female characters, the shots here instead emphasize Shinji’s line of eyesight & POV which directed towards Asuka’s body, along with his visible sense of discomfort and confusion. A motif which is continued after Asuka walks away, as Shinji not only can’t help but continue to stare at Asuka as she bends down to grab her scuba gear, but also blushes and quickly jerks his head away when he witnesses Rei drying herself off. Shinji’s dialogue also accompanies the visual framing, as he attempts to write off Asuka’s innuendo about thermal expansion with, “How should I know?! I don’t think about things like that!”

Essentially, this scene is emphasizing that Shinji is a teenage boy who is struggling with his latent sexuality along with his complicated and borderline sexist views towards women. It also serves to highlight the growing romantic chemistry and toxic tension between Shinji & Asuka which becomes even more prevalent as the series progresses. So while the scene does utilize some close-up shots that you commonly see in fan-service scenes from other anime, EVA’s directing instead places all of the focus and attention onto Shinji’s perspective and reactions.

Additionally, the pool scene also further fleshes out Asuka’s struggles with wanting to grow-up too fast and her developing relationship with Shinji due to the preceding events with Kaji in the episode’s opening. At this point, Asuka is beginning to simultaneously perceive Shinji as both a substitute for her infatuation with Kaji, as a well as a rival who threatens her alleged "superiority" as an EVA pilot.

Essentially, Asuka is overcompensating for these aforementioned insecurities by treating Shinji like a child who’s ultimately beneath her, not only purposefully flaunting her sexuality in order to get a reaction out of him, but also bragging about her more advanced education due to her having previously already graduated college early. And when Shinji dismisses Asuka'sefforts to attempt to feel “more grown-up” than him, she can’t help but disappointedly write off Shinji as a “boring little boy…”

Elements such as these are why I honestly get incredibly annoyed whenever I see others dismiss “MAGMADIVER” as “the disposable fan-service filler episode,” since not only does the framing and blocking of the pool scene instead actively subvert and interrogate the very same problematic fan-service tropes that many people mistakenly believe the episode to be engaging in, but it simultaneously utilizes this subversion of tropes to reveal important information about characters like Shinji, Asuka & Rei in relation to EVA’s overall themes about sexuality.

Also, in addition to all of the rich thematic subtext and character development on display here, the pool scene also establishes the Chekhov’s Gun of this episode, as thermal expansion will come into play 2 more times throughout the course of “MAGMADIVER”! So the scene is also incredibly plot-relevant as well!

Alright! Now we’re getting into the major meat of this episode and why it’s titled “MAGMADIVER”! NERV has just detected the 8th Angel, Sandalphon. Except unlike all of the previous Angels seen so far, Sandalphon is unique in that it is currently still in its embryonic chrysalis-like state. And while Misato & Gendo see this as a golden opportunity to capture and study a live Angel before it hatches, the downside is that Sandalphon’s cocoon is buried deep inside the magma chamber of an active volcano. Which means that Asuka’s EVA Unit-02 will have to dive straight into the lava and enter an environment far too hazardous and pressurized for normal methods of human intrusion to retrieve the Angel egg before it hatches! 

I’ve always loved this premise for an Angel battle, as the idea of the Evangelion essentially scuba-diving inside of an active volcano whilst having to contend with increasing pressure and the possibility of the Angel prematurely hatching is not only an insanely creative concept, but also allows for a foreboding sense of tension and peril with multiple ticking-clocks! Weirdly though, the Sandalphon fight seems to be another strong point of contention for “MAGMADIVER” detractors, arguing that the scenario is scientifically implausible. Except I have to ask… how is a giant robot being lowered into a magma chamber any more scientifically implausible than connecting an entire nation’s power lines to a giant sniper rifle within the span of only 10-hours?! This is exactly the kind of silly yet strategic creativity that I love when it comes to EVA’s fight scenes!

Plus, this episode also gives the viewer some insight into the Angel’s life-cycle that’s not explored in previous episodes, revealing that they spontaneously appear in random environments and enter an embryonic chrysalis stage similar to caterpillers before fully maturing into giant kaju, and that each Angel uniquely adapts to its surrounding environment. 

Also, it’s rather neat seeing Sandalphon in an embryonic stage since the only other Angel we see like this is their progenitor Adam from back in Episode 8 (Sandalphon’s egg even kind of resembles the Adam fetus now that I look at it…)

I can’t help but find it really fascinating how Gendo adopts Asuka’s mindset from earlier in the episode about shifting from a defensive to an offensive position as soon as Sandalphon’s cocoon is discovered. It makes me wonder whether or not Anno was trying to evoke some parallels between the two characters?

Also, SEELE’s Human Instrumentality Committee makes another brief appearance here as Gendo receives begrudging approval for the plan to capture the Angel egg. Haven’t seen them since Episode 2… and I still maintain my previous theory that they’re all secretly Marvel & DC cosplayers in their spare time!

Yeah… I can’t really blame Asuka’s sense of humiliation when it comes to not only EVA Unit-02 being covered-up with bulky and dull-gray D-Type Equipment to help shield the mecha from the crushing pressure of the lava chamber, but also the fact that Ritsuko’s attempts to make her plug-suit more heat-protected essentially make Asuka look like Violet Beauregarde when she transformed into a humanoid blueberry in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory…

Thankfully there are no Oompa Loompa’s to roll Asuka around… or else this whole situation would be even more embarrassing than it already is for her!

Also, I love how just like in the previous episode, it’s once again Rei who triggers Asuka’s feelings of wounded pride, since when Rei volunteers to operate Unit-02 when Asuka refuses to do the mission while looking like Blueberry-Violet (especially if Kaji’s watching), Asuka immediately refuses to let Rei lay a single finger on her beloved Unit-02!

Did… Misato just say, “God’s gift won’t be coming, he’s got no business here,” when Asuka asked if Kaji was there to watch at the Volcano? A very interesting choice of words for someone whose thus far demonstrated nothing but verbal contempt for Kaji…

Speaking of Kaji though… I’m curious as to who the woman he’s talking to on the gondola about “frozen assents” is? This definitely feels like some serious double/triple agent shenanigans here…

Yet another reason for me to hate Gendo’s guts: he’s willing to have the UN drop N² Mines on Shinji & Asuka if they fail to successfully capture or kill the Angel! What kind of a father would be willing to essentially nuke his own son?!

I love how Asuka telling Shinji to watch her imitate a diving maneuver while Unit-02 enters the lava mirrors the previous scene at the swimming pool, effectively conveying that Asuka is beginning ti crave for attention and acknowledgement from Shinji in particular!

Man oh man do I FREAKING LLLOOOVVVEEE the lava-descent scene! This entire sequence is just oozing to the brim with tension! Not only does Asuka have to deal with intense heat and near-zero visibility, but as she continues to descend deeper and deeper into the lava chamber the environment is becoming increasingly more pressurized and starting to take a visible toll on Unit-02, as not only are visible cracks beginning to form on the protective D-Type Equipment and cooling pipes, but the pressure also forces Asuka to drop her progressive knife! And the tension of this scene is only further enhanced by not only the NERV staff calculating the continuously increasing depth level, but also by the lack of background music as well Asuka being forced to defend even deeper than previously calculated due to the lava flow altering the Angel egg’s position. 

This scene also reveals some rather interesting new insight into Misato’s character while she monitors the mission, as she ignores the safety protocols and orders Asuka to continue descending to levels too dangerous for human intrusions. This demonstrates that despite Misato’s previous concern for the safety and well-being for the EVA pilots, there is simultaneously a part of her that is willing to risk the lives of these kids if it means destroying the Angels at all costs. Hyuga’ s look of concern towards Misato perfectly encapsulates the viewer’s feelings right now!

Oh! Two clever bits of foreshadowing here! Not only does Asuka repeatedly express her desire for a shower after the mission is completed (I mean, can ya blame her considering how much of a heat & sweat trap that Blueberry-Violet plug-suit is?), but Ritsuko can’t help but discern how Misato’s aforementioned conviction during the descent and capture of the Angel egg is intrinsically connect to fear of causing another Second Impact! Yup, this will definitely come into play later on in Episode 12!

And things go from bad to worse since the moment Asuka captures the Angel-egg in her electromagnetic cage and begins to ascend back up to the surface, Sandalphon begins to prematurely hatch and escapes from the containment field, immediately shifting this mission from a retrieval-operation into a combat-operation! And to make matters even worser, Asuka is left without a progressive knife as Shinji is forced to drop Unit-01’s knife down into the lava as this Angel with an ultra-thick lava-proof armored-shell along with razor-sharp teeth and tentacles is rapidly swimming towards Unit-02 and begins to bite away at its cooling vents and life-line!

On the subject of Sandalphon itself though, I love how in addition to this Angel being perfectly adapted to this uniquely hostile environment, we never get a real good glimpse at the Angel’s physical appearance in this episode due to it being heavily obscured by both the lava and the heavy red color pallete. I remember being annoyed by this when I first watched it on my original DVD copies due to their fuzzy image-quality, but upon rewatching this scene in HD on the Blu-Ray collection I now feel that this framing helps further add to the suspense of this fight, truly enhancing the zero-visibility conditions of the setting by making obscuring the monster’s appearance to not only Asuka, but to the viewer as well! 

But for the sake of interest, here’s what Sandalphon looks like unobscured according to official concept artwork:

In regards to this Angel’s name, according to Wikipedia “Sandalphon (Hebrew: סַנְדַּלְפוֹן Sandalp̄ōn; Greek: Σανδαλφών Sandalfón) is an archangel in Jewish and Christian writings, although not in scripture. Sandalphon figures prominently in the mystical literary traditions of Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity, notably in the Midrash, Talmud, and Kabbalah and is generally seen as gathering prayers and passing them on to God.”

Additionally, Sandalphon’s name symbolically correlates with the episode’s depiction of the Angel’s life cycle, as some theological texts depict Sandalphon as being “instrumental in bringing about the differentiation of sex in the embry.”

I’ve seen some people criticize method by which Sandalphon is ultimately defeated, wherein Shinji remembers his physics homework about thermal expansion, meaning that if Sandalphon’s thick armor shell is designed to protect itself from the highly pressurized heat of the lava, then extremely cold temperatures will force the armor to contract make it brittle enough for Asuka’s progressive knife to penetrate its core. This gives Asuka the idea purposefully rip open the pipes to her cooling vents and force-feed a stream of liquid-coolant straight down the Angel’s throat, lowering its internal body temperature enough for its exterior armor to contract and for Asuka to stab its core. Detractors have argued that this portrayal of thermal expansion is scientifically inaccurate, but I’m willing to suspend my disbelief as the entire scenario is just so FREAKING cool!

That moment of horrific realization as Asuka looks back up at her life-line beginning to completely break-apart after severing her cooling vents to kill Sandalphon, as well as the lava pressure crushing her exposed D-Type Equipment? Absolute chills! Tiffany Grant once again nails Asuka’s sense of despair as she quickly realizes that despite successfully defeating the Angel she’s still going to die, almost as if she’s simultaneously reluctant yet accepting of her fate!

And her reaction to Shinji & Unit-01 sliding down the remaining life-line into the lava without protective armor to grab Unit-02’s hand before Asuka sinks down into the depths? Absolute perfection! Not only do we get a quick shot of Unit-01’s eye’s glowing (implying that it entered a partial berserker-mode again), but Asuka’s comment to Shinji, “Idiot… you show off!” 

Despite being an insult, Asuka says that line in such a grateful, playful, and almost affectionate tone (once again, kudos to Tiffany Grant’s voice acting)! It shows a hidden tenderness to Shinji & Asuka’s relationship that we haven’t seen before!

As much flack as we give Kaji, him mailing Pen Pen to Misato and the EVA pilots for their post-mission hot-springs bath was an incredibly thoughtful gesture on his part… though stuffing a live penguin inside of a box seems counterproductive. Hoped he poked airholes in the box at least…

So umm… Shinji overhearing Misato & Asuka on the other side of the hot springs when he throws the body shampoo over the fence and it accidentally hits Asuka, leading to Shinji overhearing a rather… suggestive… conversation where Misato seems to be teasing and tickling Asuka. I’m curious as to how much of that was real, and how much if that was just Shinji’s imagination over-exaggerating it. I know that Misato is very forward with her own sexuality and that public bathing and standards of privacy are very different in Japan than they are here in America, but I’m really hoping that she was NOT doing anything sexually illicit behind that wall. I instead prefer to believe that a lot of what Shinji was hearing was grossly exaggerated by his own perverted imagination as a teenage boy with complicated feelings towards both Asuka & Misato (the latter being a product of his Oedipus Complex), especially since this leads to the final instance of “thermal expansion” in this episode which understandably embarrasses Shinji and freaks out Pen Pen (the poor penguin was just having a good time swimming).

While critics like to also cite the ending hot springs scene as further evidence of “MAGMADIVER” being “fan-service filler trash,” not only does the aforementioned stuff with Shinji continue to convey the character’s struggles with latent and developing sexuality and complicated attitudes about women, but once we finally see Asuka & Misato on the other side of the wall and the two watching the sunset, we get two major pieces of important foreshadowing for both characters! In addition to Asuka noticing a massive scar which runs straight across Misato’s chest, which the latter reveals was a byproduct of the Second Impact, Asuka asks Misato whether she knows about her own past, leading to Misato stating that it’s “ancient history.” 

Not only does this indicate that Misato was directly present in Antarctica during the events of Second Impact, but it also hints at Asuka’s deeply traumatic childhood which serves as the foundation for the character’s struggles for attention as an EVA Pilot and misguided desire to be perceived as an adult instead of the child that she actually is.

Overall, that was NGE, “Episode 10: MAGMADIVER,” and upon rewatching it I still consider this episode to be one of my personal favorites in the series and wholeheartedly disagree with the general criticisms that most other fans lobby against it! Not only does this episode cleverly subvert the usual problematic fan-service tropes that unfortunately plague most modern anime, but through doing so it’s able to effectively communicate interesting and nuanced themes about Shinji & Asuka’s respective struggles with their own developing sexualities, perceptions of adolescence versus adulthood, as well as how the characters perceive themselves and others through this lens. Part of what makes Evangelion stand out among other anime before and after it is how its portrayal of adolescence is so earnest. EVA discusses the more difficult & uncomfortable aspects of teenage growth with careful respect & maturity, instead of creepily fetishizing these issues in a juvenile & gross manner like a lot of other anime sadly do (even the really good ones…). 

So while I can definitely understand other people’s discomfort with NGE’s depiction of these uncomfortable themes, I feel like arguing that the series as a whole (as well as this episode in particular) actively perpetuates rather than subverts negative fan-service tropes like I’ve seen a few critics argue misses the mark on a lot of the insightful themes that EVA is trying to convey through these otherwise uncomfortable subjects. Despite Misato’s running gag in the “Next Episode” teasers about “promising more fan-service,” the original NGE and The End of Evangelion are in fact very critical towards the anime fan-service tropes that were popularized by Japanese Otaku subculture.

Additionally, the lava-fight with Sandalphon was FREAKING phenomenal in just how creative and suspenseful it was, even if the weaponization of thermal expansion used to defeat it is somewhat scientifically inaccurate! So yeah, I definitely still really love “MAGMADIVER” and feel that this episode gets far more hate than it deserves! 

Next up is Episode 11!

#Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon #neon genesis evangelion #evangelion #nge #eva #hideaki anno #shinji ikari #asuka langley soryu #misato katsuragi #ryoji kaji #rei ayamani #ritsuko akagi #sandalphon #mystique #rebecca romijn #x men #batman fortunate son #punk is nothing but death crime and the rage of a beast #90s anime #anime and manga #willy wonka and the chocolate factory #gendo ikari #pen pen #maya ibuki #makoto hyuga #shigeru aoba

[magicalgirlagency]

Hey! I just found out your blog and i love you Wondaria world! (It was a little complicated at firts because there SO MUCH characters but i dont regret it xd) and i have two ask for you. You did WBMR/HH to Aoyama? And what do you think about all that is happening with him in the manga?i'll be honets, It was because of your blog that I caught up with BNHA, because after season 3 I lost some interest and I got worried when you talked about how it drain you, so I started watching anime and manga arc summaries (not even joking I'll watch all that amount of chapters) and well... I'll just say that I've never been so worn out in my life :). The arc of the war left me bad, especially what happened to nemuri, and the whole thing with the traitor and Aoyama... it didn't leave me better :"). I know that a story has to have conflicts, and I don't expect that world of BNHA is perfect, but I feel that the author is exaggerating too much. Considering everything that the characters are going through now, it seems like a whim that they want to add aoyama's betrayal (which is honestly unnecessary, because the fact that the league of villains always know where they are going, it can be explained by the simple fact that UA makes VERY public anything they do with their students, for example the tournament, they literally show their identities on national television :/) and if that were not enough, I think it's very hypocritical that they treat Aoyama like that (okay, what he did wasn't nice but he didn't have many options to say) when they're completely fine with Endeavor (okay, maybe they just do it because they need his strength but I still don't like it) Im sorry if this is too long, it's that I needed to unburden myself. Dont fell push to answer this, i know that you probably dont want to know anything that is happening in the manga.

Oh, wow; that's one darn long ask! Let's take one step at a time, shall we? Alright...

I'm so glad you enjoy my dream universe! It's a neat coping method for me to help me deal with the constant frustrations caused by stupid narrative decisions, and I'm surprised at how much it has grown! Honestly, I still think that there are some more Heroes and civilians to be rescued and I'm still waiting for more to be requested, but I've gathered quite a good amount of refugees so far! Not to toot on my own horn here, but I think I'm doing a better job than most showrunners out there!

I agree. Like, not only BnHA has become one huge false advertisement, it has become very VERY condenscending, like a show from The CW. Horikoshi's trying to send some sociopolitical message about how the system is horribly flawed and how the villains were right all along, but he has transformed it all into Evangelion but with Superheroes, just like how OG Madoka Magica is Evangelion but with Magical Girls (and the fact that he actually marathoned Evangelion with Gege Akutami does not help). Also, it feels like the mangaka doesn't know what the message of his story should be... like, in one moment the characters talk about how the Hero Society is unfair and corrupt, but then on another moment they say that the government and the police knows what they're doing, aS IF THEY HAVEN'T PLAYED A PART IN THE DISCRIMINATION AND EUGENICS OF SOCIETY. And NO, I will absolutely not feel sorry for Shigaraki and Dabi, or any of the other villains; it's hard to root for the villain when they have zero remorse about torturing, raping and/or murdering all those innocents to "prove their point". Just because they have been hurt that doesn't give them the right to hurt others (specially if they have nothing to do with how society is broken).

Yes, I know about Aoyama. But do not worry, I've filled in a WBMR/HHP request for him way before the revelation. I personally think it's dumb, not only for the reasons you've told me, but also because Aoyama is a side-character, and he hasn't been given the same amount of exposure as the main characters. Horikoshi thinks he's being smart and that he is good at foreshadowing like the veteran Eichiiro Oda, but no, he's not. Like, there was no hint of Aoyama being the traitor (or any other UA student, for that matter) prior to the revelation; we only learn about what he has been doing behind the scenes AFTER we learn that he's the traitor! And we all know that if a certain action is done off-screen (specially if it's CRUCIAL to canon), it's not good story-telling.

Of course, I haven't forgotten Nemuri. She has been requested and done, as well. I had a hunch that some female character was going to kick the bucket anyways; you know how the Shounen genre isn't keen on developing women of agency...

As for Endeavor... you all already know that I hate his guts; but when I say this is because I wanna see the consequences of his actions coming at him HARD. Like, I don't mind Shouto forgiving him in the end (FYI: Your trauma is still valid even if you end up forgiving your abuser), but I want an ending where he leaves Rei and her children alone for good; he's already aware that he doesn't deserve to be forgiven anyways. Like, make him turn himself to the authorities and be sent to jail; or make him permadie in the final battle! When someone asked me about his "redemption arc", I've tried to write an angsty one-shot, where I came up with a final fate for him (emphasis on TRIED. Angst is not my forte).

And lastly, but not least important, I honestly cannot wait for BnHA to end for good. It had gigantic amounts of potential to be a good story, but it's now giving me Superhero Fatigue like Marvel Studios. It's imitating western superheroes and it just keeps grabbing the worst aspects of it! Fuck that shit. Wanna watch a better superhero anime? Go watch Samurai Flamenco. It's crazy, it's cool, it's rightfully gay, it's quite intense, but it's sweet and it won't leave you drained or hurt.

[radramblog]

Retro Games WTB

So for reference, this and the last two posts were written on the same night. We went from serious discussion about sensitive and graphic material in media, to silliness about shooty mans, to this. The thing is, I’m going away on a weekend camping trip (Melbourne got delayed again but at least getting to go on this is a silver lining?), and when this post goes up (assuming I figure out how to schedule it right) is the one day where I’m just never at home. The Saturday of a weekend trip. I don’t know if the place is going to have cell signal, and I’m not letting that of all things get in the way of me posting more bullshit.

It’s been a long night.

I was originally going to do, like, a tierlist thing, but staring at the list of these was just depressing. Motherfuckers put Homestuck in the Video Games section multiple times, and I had to stare at the fact that someone went out of their way to make a FNAF shipping tier list. And lots of people played it. Fuck, man.

I don’t know if me talking about a bunch of games I want to buy is actually more interesting, but I’ll be damned if I can’t do that easily and for a lot of words. Plus, it’ll force me to actually come up with a complete list.

(editors note this is ridiculously absurdly long and it has no images it’s just 2.5K words of jack shit and me tiredly trying to make jokes about old games you probably haven’t heard of you’ve been waaaarned)

N64

The prospect of collecting all the N64 games I want is somewhat daunting, especially considering my region-based issues. But I’ve made some solid progress since that one time I talked about my collection (and I cannot be fucked dragging that post up at the moment). I’ve acquired Banjo-Kazooie and a Kirby 64 cart that I sure didn’t know was coming in fucking box.

Anyway. I’d like to pick up Smash 64 at some point, if only for the novelty of it. I’ve played it, like, once? And that was a very long time ago, the first time I ever played an N64 (possibly the only time I even touched a controller before I bought my own), and I wasn’t as mediocre to functional at Smash as I am now. 64 is kind of a whole different animal, though- no competitively viable maps by modern standards and the engine is fucky- every character combos so well that they run 5-stock matches instead of 3.

(From this point on, I’m literally looking at a Wikipedia list of games and picking ones to comment on, so it’s alphabetical)

Banjo-Tooie would be nice, I suppose, but I’ve barely played the first one- let’s maybe do that before I start thinking sequels. I didn’t realise until I actually picked up the game that Kazooie is like, a massive asshole? Extremely rude? Apparently that’s their character trait and I just didn’t know. Banjo seems like such a cool bloke, why does he hang out with them?

Even though I’d never be able to play it, the Australian version of Beetle Adventure Racing actually replaces the titular cars with Holdens, which is fucking hilarious and I need to see it.

I’ve heard a lot about Conker’s Bad Fur Day, that it’s basically Banjo/DK but M rated. I…don’t imagine it’s aged particularly well. Man, remember when he showed up for Project Spark, though? Yeah, me neither.

Donkey Kong 64 is another classic, and I’m sure it’s really good. I have managed to pick up an Expansion Pak, so there’s half the cost of it gone, too. I’ve never actually finished any of the Country games, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t play like one, so. I also never watched the HBomberguy charity marathon, so I am pure and unspoiled as to the grisly details of this jungle bash.

On the one hand, Goldeneye is arguably one of the most iconic FPS games of all time. On the other, it’s not aged particularly well, and I don’t have a cadre of people to hang around being nostalgic for it, because we’re all either younger than this game or barely out-age it. I hope someone reading this feels old now. (sorry)

Even as a Pokemon fanatic, I’m not buying Hey You, Pikachu. That game barely worked with people in the USA, imagine that shitty microphone trying to decipher my accent on fucking N64 hardware. Also it’s pretty lame even if you can get it to work, so.

Majora’s Mask is currently my White Whale, because I want nothing more than to play that game. I’ve heard so much, it sounds and looks so fucking incredible, and as I said I have the Expansion Pak now so I can actually run it. One day, man, one day. Once again I should probably finish Ocarina of Time first, but like, I know I’m going to play this one, so.

I guess Mario Kart 64 would be worth picking up, apparently it’s one of the better ones. I reckon if people showed up to play fucking Beetle Adventure Racing before knowing the game was actually really good, they’ll show up for Mario Kart. I’d rather buy 64 than 8, frankly.

I could barely get any interest in my bootleg-ass copy of Mario Party 3, I’m not going to spend stupid money on the other ones.

Oh, apparently Mega Man Legends came out on the 64 as well? I thought that was just on the Playstation. I mean, people really seem to like that sub-series, but then people also liked Star Force, so I don’t know if I can trust the Mega Man fandom on anything. (MMBN legacy collection when, Capcom)

Yo so there was a Neon Genesis Evangelion game for the N64, and apparently it’s a fighting game? Japan-only, of course, but my console can run those anyway. And like, that sounds funny and cool, I’ll punch Sachiel to death, why the fuck not? Who needs a progressive knife. Congratulations joke.

God Paper Mario is so fucking expensive god damnit

Perfect Dark rounds out the trio of “hey I have the expansion pak now”, but I know substantially less about it. So, maybe?

The Pokemon games I’m missing (and care about) are Snap, Puzzle League, and Stadium 2. I’ll consider Snap if I can find a cheap copy, as I know it’s pretty limited (and the new one just came out), Puzzle League is probably meh, and Stadium 2 sounds fun but I’d need to then buy a GSC cart to get the most out of it and they aren’t cheap. Unless I get a Japanese one, but apparently, they’re only compatible with Japanese Stadium 2 (er, Stadium GS), so I’d have to double down on illegibility.

Oh fuck, right, Star Fox. Man I thought I was going to get away with just talking about Star Wars here (I’ve already got the good ones), but I forgot about fuckin Star Fox 64, aka The Good One. Shit I gotta get that don’t I? Fuck me. At least searching for one will be slightly easier because the PAL version has a different name.

Oh, and Yoshi’s Story looks like a trip and I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Like, this just looks worse than Yoshi’s Island if I’m being honest.

 GBA

I haven’t actually talked about by GBA collection on here have I? TL;DR- it’s a console I’m very nostalgic for, but my collection is lacking because all the carts in Malaysia were bootlegs.

Jesus there’s so many more GBA games than N64 ones. Like, in general, not just on this list.

Advance Wars is a solid maybe, because the carts are super fucking expensive, I’ve never played the series, and the remaster is coming soon. But apparently they’re good? Big shrug energy.

Wow, they made two whole Banjo games for the GBA. Both of these look like shit, though, so fuck it. No wonder I never hear anyone talk about them.

Boktai is an interesting series I’d like to maybe give a shot. It’s a JRPG made by fucking Hideo Kojima, where the cartridge had a light sensor in it to encourage you to play outside by buffing the main character. Which was an interesting choice on the notably not backlit GBA. It also has crossover stuff with something we’ll get into later.

I’ve played Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow to death, and as a result I’d love to pick up a copy of it’s GBA prequel, Aria of Sorrow- it’s apparently almost just as good. I’ve not heard much about the other two GBA Castlevanias, but they’re apparently similarly excellent- a stark comparison to the mediocre to bad N64 ones.

If someone buys me a cartridge of Crazy Frog Racer I will play it and that is a fucking promise.

There are like three whole Fire Emblem games on the GBA, though only two came out in English. I actually have a bootleg of one of them. It’s another one of those ones that are unreasonably expensive because it didn’t sell well and they didn’t make that many as a result, though. So probably not worth getting a real one unless I fall super head over heels for the series- I don’t see that happening soon.

Oh right, Golden Sun. Another JRPG franchise for the GBA. There were a lot of those, huh? Anyway there’s like no way this guy is getting into Smash, don’t get your hopes up.

Harvest Moon is basically Stardew Valley, but older. Two games of it came out on the GBA, and I’m probably not about to commit to buying one of those rather than Stardew. And that game has yet to successfully appeal to me, soooooooo

I have a bootleg of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, and that’s one of the ones where it probably doesn’t matter at all that it’s a bootleg, so I’m satisfied with it. Don’t have Nightmare in Dream Land, which I’ve played before on emulator and wouldn’t mind retrying, so maybe. I’ve never been massive on remakes if the original is viable, but I don’t have an NES so I’m sure not buying Kirby’s Adventure.

There are two Zelda games on GBA- a port of A Link to the Past which I have, and Minish Cap which I don’t. Minish Cap is very expensive!!! Aah!!!

Yo they ported The Lost Vikings to GBA? Wack. I guess Blizzard gets a shoe in this console’s door, then.

Yeah okay so there are like a million Mario games here, huh. Superstar Saga was the first Mario and Luigi game, and the one of those I’ve played (Partners in Time) was good enough that I’d bite for the original. Or I’d just go buy Bowser’s Inside Story. Mario Kart and Golf on the GBA don’t appeal super hard, and I’ve played Mario Pinball Land (long before that Alpharad Deluxe series), to the point where I don’t feel the need to actually buy it.

Speaking of Alpharad, I played Mario Party Advance on one of my Malaysian Bootlegs long, long before he made that video reminding people it existed. That game actually kind of fucks, for what it’s worth, and since my copy can’t save, I’d consider buying a real one. Assuming that Alpha’s video didn’t lead to a mass buyout or price spike.

Okay, so Mega Man Battle Network is kind of the big one on this list- definitely the White Whale so far, since to my understanding the series had extremely limited release in Australia. I do have a Japanese copy of 4 (Blue Moon) that I picked up because it was like 5 bucks, but A. 4 is godawful relative to the others and B. it’s a JRPG and I can’t read Japanese. But I would Do Things to get copies of 2, 3, or 6. Not so much 1 (because it’s not great), or 5 because I’ve nearly 100%’d the DS version on my flashcart.

Seriously, I’ve considered writing multiple blog posts on this series, I think it’s a super underrated gem. It’s an eSport on GBA for fucks sake! It’s also the series that crossed over with Boktai from earlier- apparently Kojima’s kid was a huge fan, so he got in touch to get some cross-promo content going. Funny how that works.

It’s not like they’re ever going to release Mother 3 anyway. Y’all aren’t even going to let me pay for this game, so you can’t complain if I buy a Chinese bootleg with the fan translation on it. I paid five whole bucks, and if they released it in English for real, I’d easily drop more on it. It’s a 10/10 game.

Oh alright, there’s Pokemon. I’m actually 4/7 on the GBA Pokemon games, which is pretty good considering the price just keeps going up and up. I’ve actually considered making a Living Dex solely in Gen 3- however that would either require all the ones I don’t have (save Pinball) a Gamecube with Colosseum/XD (which I have thought about), or maybe both. A long-term project, for sure, but one I’d enjoy doing.

Apparently the Sonic GBA games are pretty good, save for the infamous remake of the first Sonic game- Sonic Genesis. That is, however, the only one of them I’ve actually played. And for a long time was the only Sonic game I’d ever played. Great first impression, huh? The Marble Zone OST unironically slaps, though.

Yeah okay so there’s like over a hundred games still on this list and I care about, like, none of them. Except maybe some of the Wario games and Yu-Gi-Oh games- and I know some of the latter are complete and utter garbage. Like, I’ve played The Sacred Cards, and that game is genuine shite. I’ve still only played one Yu-Gi-Oh game I’ve liked.

I guess I can close off this wall of text by saying I want to get a GBA flashcart so I can run romhacks on console, but there’s a bunch of different types and it doesn’t seem like anyone can agree on which one is the best, so I guess I’m in limbo a bit on that one. Still, it’s worth a look at some point- I’ve gotten so much mileage out of my DS one after all.

And that’s a full-ass list. Perhaps a little daunting, but something like this is a long-term project, and there’s plenty of time to adjust, or make trades rather than buy, et cetera. I don’t ever expect to like, complete a collection, but I’m happy getting things bit by bit.

Anyway it’s like 2AM now I need to be up in 5 hours oops if I’m late then sorry james lmao except you won’t possibly be able to read this until Saturday and it’ll be too late then ha HA

#ramble #retro games #gba #n64 #collecting

[recentanimenews]

ESSAY: In the Middle of the Pandemic, I Watched Anime With Friends

For the past few months I’d been talking to friends at work about starting an anime club. Now that we were heading into 2020, I decided that it was long past time to make those dreams a reality. I reached out to some interested peers, and made a date to meet up and watch. I puzzled over my DVD collection. Perhaps we could watch a great movie, like In This Corner of the World? The first episode of a TV series, like Mushishi or Haibane Renmei? Or I could throw them into the deep end with the first episode of Penguindrum? I eagerly awaited the experience of watching anime together with friends. Then the pandemic hit.

  In the following weeks, despite difficulties of scheduling and communication, my friends and I managed to keep our anime club alive. All this despite watching remotely, coordinating through Google Hangouts while finding workarounds for faulty internet connections and temperamental audio. With 12 episodes of Mob Psycho 100 down, we’re looking toward the future. But this experience, fun as it was, has me thinking about how I watch anime today. When did I forget how fun it was to watch anime in a group?

    The way I’ve watched anime has changed over the years. In middle school, I caught episodes on TV channels like Aniplex and Toonami. In high school, I navigated carefully between episodes of Naruto divided into thirds on YouTube, their opening and ending animations excised. Now it’s easy: go to a video service like Crunchyroll or Funimation, click on an episode, and (if you pay a small fee each month) watch without ads. No more having to spend money on DVDs or videotapes or having to miss out because the show wasn't available in your region.

  For me watching anime has become a ritual, a solitary pursuit. Park in front of the computer. Find the most recent episode of a new series. Endure 24 minutes in silence. Post a hot take on Twitter, maybe a screenshot or two, repeat. It’s not the way most people watch television. There are plenty of folks out there who’d rather cook or exercise while half-paying attention to something like The Floor is Lava, which is absolutely valid. But I’d reckon there are now thousands of folks out there hooked on their niche entertainment, watching episodes of a series only they know about on a format that caters exclusively to them.

    Watching Mob Psycho 100 with friends reminded me of a few things. The first is that group watching is a great way to see old favorites through new eyes. I’d already seen and loved the first season, returning to scenes on occasion as the mood struck me. Very little in the show now comes as a surprise. But being able to see and listen to my friends react to it, even remotely, reminded me of what it was like to see it for the first time. In the first episode, when a character whose chin looks exactly like a butt walks past, a friend of mine yelled “this show rules!” In the fifth episode, when Mob weakly punches an incensed Teruki, another friend told me that despite the good amount of anime he’d seen, he’d never seen a punch like that. A punch that spoke of weakness instead of strength.

  Group watching is also a great opportunity to remind yourself of the sheer amount of craft that goes into a series. The frequent use of paint by glass animation, a difficult and time-consuming technique that is used for key scenes. Great moments of character animation. Funny music cues. Being reminded that what makes Mob Psycho great isn’t the fights (though they are very good) but instead the attention paid to Mob’s growth and how he interacts with the rest of the cast. Mob Psycho 100 is not a particularly complex series, and there are no mysteries to tease out in the same way as, say, rewatching Evangelion can be surprising. But I came out of this watch-through with an even stronger appreciation for it than I had before, while acknowledging some weaknesses I’d missed the first time.

    Years ago, I used to watch anime with friends more frequently. A blogging friend and I marathoned through Honey and Clover in college, another series that stands out to me as being heavily informed by the life experiences you bring to it. Before that, we had the honor of rewatching Penguindrum with friends, including one of the original writers on the Altair and Vega blog back in the day, which obsessively broke down episodes of the series each week it aired. Penguindrum has far more moving parts than Mob Psycho 100, and rewatching it involved talking through what bits we’d missed the first time, what bits had aged well — and, of course, where the series dropped the ball completely. But getting through to the end reaffirmed to me what Penguindrum had always meant. Years later, I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have had that experience.

  In this Age of COVID, many of my friends are scared and alone. It’d be easy, if you have the luxury, to hole up in a corner with your favorite series and take comfort on your own. There are times when this is needed. But if you’re able, I’d recommend doing what I did and watch some anime with friends. You can use an app like Netflix Party, or you can do it like we did, the old-fashioned way, synching up your Crunchyroll players and hitting the Play button at the same time. In the process, maybe you’ll find a new favorite, or discover something new about a show you loved. Maybe you’ll learn something new about your friends.

    As for me, once I round up my coworkers again, I’m set on introducing them to Kyousogiga. A series I never fully appreciated the first time, but want to give a second chance, with friends. Join me, will you?

  What are your experiences watching anime with friends? Were you around for the era before streaming? Never heard of Kyousogiga? Let us know in the comments, and go watch Kyousogiga right now!

      Adam W is a Features Writer at Crunchyroll. When not corralling people into an online chat box to watch anime, he sporadically contributes with a different loose coalition of friends on a blog called Isn't it Electrifying? You can follow him on Twitter at: @wendeego

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

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[communist-ojou-sama]

tagged by @14193

1. Nicknames: noms or nomnoms on discord, otherwise none

2. Gender: no thanks 3. Star sign: Scorpio

4. Height: 5′9″ 5. Time: 9:11pm 6. Birthday: October 26th 7. Favourite bands: Snarky Puppy, the Robert Glasper Experiment, the band apart

8. Favourite solo artists: Janelle Monae, Noname, Chance the Rapper

9. Song stuck in my head: blkjuptr by Smino

10. Last movie I watched: Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo (I marathonned the rebuilds recently) 11. Last show I watched: Pokémon Sun and Moon lmao, before that 3gatsu no Lion season 2 12. When did I create my blog: uhhhh a while ago 13. What do I post: aesthetic stuff, my good and correct opinions, other people’s good and correct opinions, nico 14. Last thing I googled: “london fall off stage” (I saw that vid of the guy falling off stage and wanted to kno the context”

15. Do I have any other blogs: I’m hoarding lots of urls but dont have any actual side blogs

16. Do I get asks: yes and im a shit who doesnt answer like literally half of them im so sorry y’all 17. Why I chose my url: it is the perfect ideology

18. Following: 289 (jeez)

19. Followers: 890

21. Average hours of sleep: 6-ish 22. Lucky number: 257 23. Instruments: violin, to an extent piano

24. What am I wearing: pajama pants

25. Dream job: historian of music, chamber musician, violin teacher and chamber coach, and translator all at the same time

26. Dream trip: starting in Morocco, travelling east thru the north of the African continent to egypt, from there to Jordan, eventually ending in Shirâz, Iran 27. Favorite food: my answer has always been gumbo so im gonna stick w/ that

28. Nationality: just a plain ol’ american descended from chattel slaves, my ability then to identify with any kind of “heritage” is basically null   30. Favourite song right now: idk lmao, I’ve been listeint to I Wanna Be by Stance Punks and Miracle by Donny Trumpet & the Social Experiment ft. Chance the Rapper I like lotsa songs tho, any convo abt music necessarily becomes long w/ me