#also really love and appreciate how his dynamic with Sakura is portrayed

[tcookies777]

Thank you for writing back in such details for my question, I wasn’t expecting that but I really appreciate you putting in the time and effort to answer it. I haven’t read you sasusaku story because I usually wait until they are completed before I start reading but I couldn’t help but click on TAOL because I’m a sucker for professor/student trope which is something you brought up when you said how you can write kakashi in many different ways as opposed to Sasuke. Kakashi and Sasuke are somewhat alike but so different aren’t they. This is why I’m excited to see how you will bring Sasuke into the story and see how the dynamics will work between sasusaku and kakasaku within one story. You brought up that “pervert” aspect of kakashi and I was reminded of naruto/lee SD series where Sasuke was categorized as a “casual pervert”, whatever that means haha. In boruto SD, he was also portrayed as a pervert when it comes to sakura. I know Sasuke image is more of a stoic person now but can you imagine writing Sasuke as a pervert like kakashi but a different species of pervert in a fanfic?

And thanks for bringing up such an excellent question!

Ooh, I remember in either SD series, someone transformed into Sakura holding a ladle and in only an apron I think, and Sasuke gave a thumbs up in approval lol.

There's also an actual diagram from the SD series categorizing which male character is which type of pervert. I have to admit, Closet Pervert Kakashi is really fun to write and I love that dorky side of him. I've always headcanoned that Sakura is a Closet Pervert too, especially after how she reacted to Naruto's Sexy Reverse Harem jutsu against Kaguya. So you can imagine, with 2 closet perverts together, how she and Kakashi are going to get really kinky in future chapters in TAOL once he's taught her some things 😉

With Sasuke as a Casual Pervert, I guess he's just so casual about it that I never even noticed. I know a lot of fans headcanon he's asexual because of his seemingly lack of sexual attraction to anyone but it's cool to see how he can be a pervert when it comes to Sakura (at least in the SD). Lol but when I imagine him as a different kind of pervert other than his Casual Pervert, I can't help but think of that Sasuke from Road to Ninja 😆

#cookie answers

[myanimeforlife-blog]

Sad Anime That Will Make You Cry – Sad Anime Recommendations

Is it accurate to say that you are searching for a lamentable anime that will make you cry? Alright, look no further, our Top Best Sad Depressing Anime Suggestions will cause you to sob and to feel for the characters. These accounts are solid, with lamentably tragic scenes and passionate minutes. 

As sad anime can cause you to holler your eyes out, such anime sort is scandalous, so for what reason do we watch them? For what reason do makers of anime love to make their fans cry? Also, why would that be a ton of miserable anime out there? 

Anime designers appreciate seeing their fans cry. There have all the earmarks of being a lot of anime made exclusively to cause us to wail our eyes out. Anime has discovered innumerable approaches to break our hearts and make us cry, from the sincere shows of high school love, lonely emotions, and relationship dramatization to the more reasonable stories that talk about subjects like demise, war, and sickness. 

Sad anime encourages us to have a decent cry whenever we want to cry, yet pitiful anime additionally causes us to see one another and even advantage from one another without truly feeling any of those miserable minutes or allowing them to understand that they are in good company in whatever damnation they are in. 

Here is an accumulation of surveys in no request for a rating of an extremely miserable, awful, and dismal anime. 

1. Chrono Crusade 

Chrono campaign 

Studios: Gonzo 

Scenes: 24 

Circulated: Fall 2003 

Chrono Crusade is a great, tragic anime arrangement with clever, profound, and fascinating characters. 

The Americas in the Roaring 20s. Not too far off, after the carnage of the Great War, it is a confident, prosperous second. In any case, prowling in the dimness is a dull factor prepared to remove the harmony. Sister Rosette Christopher, an exorcist functioning as a feature of the Magdala Order, must fight the fallen angels that come and exact obliteration. However, she normally ends up causing more harm than the actual devils, alongside her companion Chrno! On a particular task, they meet with a young lady with a beautiful voice named Azmaria, whom her stepfather focused on. Rosette is as yet looking for her sibling, whom an evil presence has detracted from her. 

Chrono Crusade is known for making the group shout for activity, satire, and sentiment. It's a concealed pearl that begins gradually, yet you'll be dependent after you watch the initial 3 scenes. 

2. Violet Evergarden 

Violet Evergarden 

Studios: Kyoto Animation 

Scenes: 13 

Broadcasted: Winter 2018 

Violet Evergarden is a profound and amazing anime, even though there are a few cases that will surely help the tissues hit you. Numerous individuals refer to this anime as being one of only a handful, not many that at last left them demolished. 

The chief character, Violet Evergarden, was raised principally to be a weapon for use against enemies. Yet, as the war concluded, after mending from her injuries, she needed to locate another explanation behind her life. She is beginning to work as an Auto Memory Doll, a job that assists with changing the feelings of individuals into words on paper. 

3. Plastic Memories 

Plastic Memories 

Studios: Doga Kobo 

Scenes: 13 

Circulated: Spring 2015 

One of those arrangements that offer you a supporting portion of authenticity and the way that nothing endures forever is Plastic Memories. The show's entire thought is around the presence of androids who are practically hard to recognize from real individuals. 

The greatest qualification, in any case, is that they have an exceptionally little, restricted life expectancy. They will get by for pretty much nine years and no more. With one of these androids, the hero begins to look all starry-eyed even though we need to observe him comprehend that his experience with her is running out. 

4. I Want To Eat Your Pancreas 

I Want To Eat Your Pancreas 

Studios: Studio VOLN 

Scenes: Movie 

Circulated: Summer 2018 

It may resemble an ecchi or a zombie awfulness anime by the name however it's an adoration show successful in making you cry basins pressing. I want to eat your pancreas.

At some point, in the medical clinic, a secondary school young lady, seen a book. The title was "The Journal of Coexistence Disease." This was a journal written stealthily by her student, Sakura Yamauchi. Inside, her days have been checked due to her pancreatic malignant growth. It resembled she got pulled into her. However, the universe uncovered a youngster with a similarly brutal truth experiencing an ailment. 

5. Nana 

Nana anime 

Studios: Madhouse 

Scenes: 47 

Circulated: Spring 2006 

Nana is a shoujo sappy sentiment anime with great music and something lovely that allows you to celebrate on it for certain characters and feel a few episodes similarly as strongly as the actual characters inwardly. 

Nana "Hachi" Komatsu wishes that she will get to Tokyo and put behind her impulsive love life. In the realm of rock and move, Nana Osaki, who shows up nearby simultaneously, has plans to score high. While these two young ladies come from different foundations, in a tornado universe of sex, culture, style, dramatization, and throughout the late evening celebrating, they quickly become best mates! 

Nana is a pitiful anime that shows how individuals hold their things and how it is a human defect. You will shout, sob, and find Nana's two-section solid relationship. It gives numerous life exercises, its tests and its blunders, we don't need to do. 

6. Clannad: After Story 

Clannad After Story 

Studios: Kyoto Animation 

Scenes: 24 

Circulated: Fall 2008 

Clannad: After Story  is splendid about how it portrays life, the significance of family, and the intricacies of adulthood. 

The anime variation of the realistic novel of a similar name is Clannad. It's conceivable that this is the most well-known miserable anime. The anime comprises of two seasons: the 23 scenes long Clannad, the 24 scenes long Clannad: After Story, and its boundlessly more discouraging development. Albeit the principal half arrangements with secondary school show, chiefly kinships, and dating, the subsequent part is a significantly more extraordinary and effective glance at grown-up issues (with an accentuation on the significance of family). 

The continuation of the widely praised cut-of-life arrangement Clannad, Clannad: After Story, begins after Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa move on from secondary school. They feel the psychological rollercoaster of growing up around one another. Tomoya, unfit to settle on a way for his future, perceives the significance of a decent hard-working attitude and understands the force of consolation from Nagisa. They push ahead to face their passionate issues, reinforce their former connections, and fabricate new ties through the couple's responsibility and solidarity of aim. 

7. Grave of the Fireflies 

Grave of the Fireflies 

Studios: Studio Ghibli 

Scenes: Movie 

Circulated: Spring 1988 

Perhaps the most deplorable film you could at any point see is Grave of the Fireflies. The film, set in the most recent days of the Second World War, recounts the narrative of a kid named Seita and his more youthful sister, Setsuko, whose lives were annihilated by the brutal and savage war that left them without guardians and homes. 

Left in the Japanese wide open to battle for themselves, the young any expectation of the kin is stunning even with unfaltering difficulty, giving them the fortitude to keep on getting away from an inescapable fate. Grave of the Fireflies is a film that is strongly miserable, profoundly sentimental, and capably moving that can leave nobody apathetic. 

8. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day 

Anohana The Flower We Saw That Day 

Studios: A-1 Pictures 

Scenes: 11 

Broadcasted: Spring 2011 

Need to cry explicitly for each scene? Might you want to obtain the stunning ability to sob on interest after hearing a tune's first notes? We have you covered if your answer is yes. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is A-1 Pictures unique anime that debuted in the spring of 2011. This anime of eleven scenes tell the story of a gathering of companions, presently grown-ups, battling to adapt to the passing of their beloved companion Menma, who kicked the bucket when they all were extremely youthful. 

The gathering of companions had self-destructed a long time since Menma's passing, yet the apparition of their tragically missing friend may simply be sufficient to arrange them once more. The gathering is brought together so Menma can really make her desire and proceed onward, while simultaneously offering her companions the solace they need to push ahead without her. All through the plot, surprisingly terms with their inability to adapt and overcome their sensations of regret, we perceive what Menma's demise meant for every one of her mates. Anohana is a tragic, passionate experience that you certainly don't have any desire to miss. 

9. Your Lie in April 

Your Lie in April 

Studios: A-1 Pictures 

Scenes: 22 

Broadcasted: Fall 2014 

The fall 2014 Anime, from A-1 Pictures, Your Lie April is joined by a well-known kid performer, who after his mom's demise, lost the capacity to hear the sound of his piano. After two years, Kousei experiences Kaori Miyazono, a dynamic violin player who causes him to comprehend that music can be played normally, and not in the inflexible, formal way that his mom instructed him. 

The anime tends to Kousei's recuperation story when he finds that music is something beyond playing each note (and becomes hopelessly enamored with Kaori). Shockingly, Kaori's happiness just masks the inescapable catastrophe, similar to the clear shading range of the anime. Your Lie in April is a staggering and contacting story that investigates mental injury, overcomings misfortune, and advancement. This anime is without a doubt going to make somebody shed a few tears. 

10. Orange 

Orange anime 

Studios: Telecom Animation Film 

Scenes: 13 

Broadcasted: Summer 2016 

As far as I might be concerned, Orange was a roller seaside enthusiastic ride. Feelings are things that rouse us and figure out what choices we take and how our lives end. Orange is an arrangement that investigates how emotions will change our course. 

A letter from ten years is sent one day to Takamiya Naho. At the point when Naho peruses, the letter says the specific day's occasions, including the exchange to the class of another understudy, Naruse Kakeru. after 10 years, Naho says continually that she has a few second thoughts, and she needs to fix them by guaranteeing that the Naho from the past will decide effectively – especially comparable to Kakeru. Seriously astonishing that Kakeru will presently don't be with them ten years after the fact. Naho needs all her nearby eye on him.

Top 10 Sad Anime That Will Make You Cry – Sad Anime List — Click To Watch the video!

#Sad Anime

[saikagerights]

A New Possession- Entry #12

Another day, another filler entry...

Well it isn't just another day really. It's actually Independence day in my country. But to me it feels like an ordinary day in 2020. Switching between playing Persona 3 and checking my phone for another update on the current horror story that is the United States response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Or some more unsurprising evidence about how corrupt the police system is in the country. Or overall how embarrassing it is to be an American in this time in history.

I had to cancel an upcoming flight to visit my out of state sister, but on the bright side, I still kept my days off from work. Away from the same shift dealing with conspiring coworkers that brush off the severity of the issue and a good percentage of customers that don't wear masks. I got a full week off of work, but that week is soon to end in 3 days, and I am dreading my return as the situation in my state gets worse by the day. But I figured that with this day off, I should probably do some writing.

Enough of my clamoring over my current situation, now to today's entry

Also available on AO3

February 20th

This afternoon marked the first meeting of the former “Team 7” since the year’s beginning.

And what I mean by that is a chance for just the three of us to privately update each other on the current status of our lives at Naruto’s only place of business, Ichiraku. This in fact, is a special occurrence that doesn’t happen too often.

What I’ve learned about normal adulthood is that it is increasingly more challenging to get into contact with your friends, a case I currently find myself in.

I don’t by any means miss the person I was 2 years ago, nor the state the world itself was in. But I kind of miss the accessibility I had to my peers; my teammates in particular. In those days it was typical to find Naruto haunting Ichiraku or to encounter Sakura at the library. During my time balancing my duty to ROOT against missions with team 7, I was left with little off time.

The personal schedule of a shinobi is never consistent, comprised of missions that can span from a few days in length to a maximum of many months. And while multiple factors depended on such time spans, you could never predict when a C ranked mission suddenly escalates into one that was equal to that of an A ranked mission, prolonging the ordeal to an immeasurable period of time.

This occurrence isn’t as frequent as before, but it is still possible given that our “clean up” efforts thus far have been quite messy.

Therefore, my schedule since ROOT’s disbandment has left me with more freetime, but everyone else now has their time tied up. Even more so with Naruto now that he was in the middle of wedding preparations. He took every opportunity he could to complain about said preparations.

“The Hyuuga clan is making all of the plans, but I still have to sit at every long and boring meeting, you know?”

Meanwhile, Sakura could only be found buried in her work at the hospital and was never seen anywhere else in the village. Ino claims that they meet for lunch often, but Ino has explained to me in much detail about how she is “a special case” when it came to Sakura. The explanation itself was a little too lengthy for my preference over the simple fact that she was more available for Sakura since she sometimes took shifts at the hospital.

It was pleasant to see them again. Naruto complained about the pressures of his upcoming wedding and Sakura continued to pester me about my volunteer work at the children’s center.

“It’s hard to schedule an appointment when I’m just so busy.”

Sakura would begrudgingly accept my excuse with what I believed to be a teasing remark

“Everyone is just so busy! I’ll accept that...for now. But I better catch you there soon. I’ll even make sure that Ino’s snout is on your trail as well.”

Naruto would then begin to laugh while I smile constantly at another successful positive interaction.

It was an enjoyable gathering to say the least. Up until the point when we ran out of conversation topics and resorted to the typical lull of small talk.

“Any word from Sasuke?”

“Nope.”

“Any new missions?”

“Nothing I can disclose to you.”

“Any more wedding details?”

“I can hardly pay attention in those meetings.”

And with that concluded our rare meeting. What was a small portion of today can actually go on to bring me a feeling of joy for the rest of the week. Especially as I am about to  embark to investigate another case of Kakashi’s suspicions.

The talk we had also served as another gruesome reminder of how active Naruto and Sakura’s lives really are in the grand scheme of things. Naruto is barreling towards a new stage in the life of the human being, with the companionship that is said to come with marriage. And although Sakura is constantly waiting for Sasuke’s return, it was only a matter of time until he did return to “pick things up” where she said they left on.

And all I can do is sit there and nod my head all the while doing the same thing I’ve always done for as long as I can remember.

And I still don’t know how to feel about that.

________________________________________________________

And with that is another 700 word entry. Not as large as the previous ones, but we are leading up to bigger things soon enough.

Surprise surprise!

I'm not sure if you caught that, (I'm sure you didn't, but that's okay I'm about to tell you) but this entry actually concludes the 2 month period of supplement entries and we will finally cover the events of the Sakura novel!

I actually prefer this novel over the Shikamaru novel purely for the moments between Sai and Ino that seem more genuine and actually showcase their dynamic, which is what I love to see and will love to portray soon.

Anyway, I appreciate the increasing support on this story. It's been an interesting and bumpy ride so far, but I do appreciate ya'll who have stuck with me since the beginning. And I also appreciate newcomers who have also read my most recent one shot, "Newlyweds" which is separated from this. Probably the most fluffy thing I've written thus far and it still manages to be depressing.

I guess that's my motto right now.

Again, thanks for the support. And as always, comments and criticism is welcome.

See ya,

-Saikage

#Sai Journal #saiino #sai yamanaka #naruto fanfiction #si fanfic #naruto

[thatshinobilife]

Top underrated relationships in Naruto?

Well I think underrated can mean two things. 1.) Not explored as thoroughly as it deserved in canon or 2.) slept on by the fans and not appreciated enough for what it was. A few examples of both: Naruto/Sakura - So hear me out on this one. Obviously NS has a pretty decent following so this may seem like a confusing inclusion but I do think their friendship is under appreciated. It almost seems like the only people interested in their relationship are those that want them to be together romantically, and anyone who doesn’t ship them doesn’t really care about their interactions. Sakura is such an important person to Naruto and vice versa, outside of any romantic narrative, not enough people care about this. Kakashi/Gai - speaks for itself T B H 

Tsunade/Jiraiya - I mean, I have a lot of issues with the way Jiraiya was portrayed in the manga but their relationship wasn’t one of them. Their conversation before Jiraiya left Konoha for the last time really struck me - I mean Tsunade would have died for him in a heartbeat. 

Naruto/Shikamaru - It’s taboo to say anyone but Sasuke is Naruto’s best friend but I honest to god think Shikamaru and Naruto are better “friends” in the traditional sense than whatever you would call what Sasuke and Naruto have. Also special shoutout to Choji/Shikamaru in part 1 who were very flawless. Sand sibs - Tbh sand sibs really isn’t that underrated by the fandom but considering how much potential it had the manga really didn’t give it the attention it deserved. Gaara was one of the most popular characters and while his initial change was sparked by Naruto you cannot honestly tell me his siblings weren’t responsible for helping him through the majority of his journey to the light side. This is obviously my bias peeking through but I love them so idc.

Tobirama/Hashirama - I understand why people don’t pay much attention to this cause it was only really covered in one arc but I really enjoyed it? Their dynamic is pretty comedic at times but there’s a lot of fucked up history between them that’s interesting to explore as well. Anyway let me know if I missed anybody. There were a lot I wanted to put on here but I couldn’t decide if I would consider them underrated or not. 

#my text post #naruto #sakura #kakashi #gai #tsunade #jiraiya #shikamaru #choji #sand siblings #gaara #temari #kankuro #tobirama #hashirama #idk why I just wasted all that time tagging everyone #shoulda just tagged it #ninja kids #like I always do #Anonymous

[animeindoblog-blog]

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku ‒ Episode 3

New Post has been published on https://animeindo.org/blog/2018/04/29/wotakoi-love-is-hard-for-otaku-%e2%80%92-episode-3/

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku ‒ Episode 3

As a comedy about otaku, Wotakoi is contractually obligated to include at least one Comiket episode, and here it is! (However, since it technically lasts only half of the episode, don’t be too surprised if they return in the winter.)

Narumi moonlights as a BL artist of some renown, so naturally Comiket is a big deal for her. This was alluded to in episode one, but it’s nice to see that passion of hers in action—the frazzled, sleepless passion of a woman with only two weeks to prepare for the biggest nerd gathering of the year. I just spent the month of March using most of my free time to prepare a panel for Sakura-con, so I felt her pain quite acutely. Anime conventions are serious business! Luckily for Narumi, Hirotaka is a good boyfriend, filling in her screentones and providing moral support over his gaming headset. It’s the kind of uniquely cute bonding activity we should expect from a show about otaku love, and the rest of their time at Comiket is full of fun little moments like this.

I really appreciated that Hirotaka never once expressed discomfort over helping his girlfriend write and sell her smutty BL doujin. I was honestly waiting for that lame comedic plot to show up, dreading the inevitable gay panic or fujoshi denigration, but I’m so glad Wotakoi didn’t go for this low-hanging fruit. Amusingly, what does prompt Hirotaka to take a break from Narumi’s stand is not discomfort, but jealousy over all the attention she gets from her customers and fans. In a similar fashion, Kabakura’s only minor hangup about Hana’s drag cosplay is all of the attention she gets from fangirls. To be fair, she’s stunningly handsome when crossdressing, so I was right there with Narumi as Hana reduced her to a swooning and sobbing mess. Neither of the boys seem to share their partners’ particular passions, but that’s okay! Relationships aren’t built on identical sets of interest; they’re build on support and understanding, and that’s what Hirotaka and Kabakura do well.

The episode’s only notable misstep comes when Hirotaka has to temporarily take Narumi’s place selling her doujins. It actually starts out great, because Hirotaka happens to look like someone who could have jumped out of a BL manga, so naturally he attracts a crowd when he starts hawking gay porn. Narumi rushes to save him from this onslaught, but the ever-unflappable Hirotaka was just fine and even had fun manning the BL stand. Unfortunately, one of the customers was a total creep who sexually harassed him, and the way Wotakoi treats this is bad for two reasons. First, it tries to make this into a humorous situation with Narumi’s and Hana’s over-the-top reactions, but there’s nothing funny about unwanted physical contact or being unduly harassed by a stranger at an anime convention, no matter the context. These are still very real problems in the community, not things to make light of for a cheap joke. Secondly, this faceless creep is the only gay person who’s been portrayed in the show, which is a pretty busted debut. There’s plenty of otaku romcom shenanigans tp pull from that don’t involve creepy behavior or putting sexual minorities on blast, so I hope Wotakoi is smarter about this in the future.

Comiket ends, but the dirge of the gang’s 9-to-5 drones on into infinity, so Narumi and Hirotaka soon find themselves at work again, making plans to drink at his place. They’re still early in their relationship, but it’s nice to see it progressing at a measured but believable pace—something that feels both comfortable for them and non-glacial to the audience. Of course this includes the possibility of new physical intimacy, a concern that manifests in Narumi racking her brain to recall the color of the underwear she put on today. It’s funny and neurotic, but it’s also 100% true-to-life. Nobody wants their first romp in the sheets to be marred by a lame-ass pair of underwear you’ve been hanging onto for no good reason. Narumi’s worries end up unfounded when the furthest she and Hirotaka get that night is a kiss, but I’m sure she’ll be more careful about her undergarment choices from now on.

Hirotaka leans pretty hard into the clueless nerd stereotype in this second half of the episode, completely missing the romantic implications of inviting Narumi over for the night. However, his decision to turn it into a sleepover with Hana and Kabakura is adorable enough to forgive. His chemistry with Narumi remains strong, and their equal-opportunity teasing of each other remains extremely representative of the nerd couples I know. All four Wotakoi members also act like believably buzzed young adult nerds, i.e. they play lots of Mario Kart, drink lots of beer, and perpetually act like goofballs. The hunt for Hirotaka’s porn stash is a pretty dated way to spend the evening (as the characters themselves are quick to point out), but I can’t say I haven’t been part of sillier group activities.

Between all these goofy drunk otaku antics, there are some genuine moments of vulnerability and deepening relationships. Hirotaka comments on how nice it is to hang out with everyone and that it’s a new sensation for him. As much as Wotakoi is ostensibly about romance, it also focuses extensively on the four leads together as friends, and how all of these dynamics, both romantic and platonic, are emotionally valuable. We also learn that Narumi and Hirotaka became friends by trading cards like Yu-Gi-Oh!, which pulled my soul right back into elementary school recess. He then tries to segue some sad childhood talk (he was a shy kid with few friends, who could have guessed?) into a kiss, which I’m sure he thought was smooth in his head, but in reality it definitely wasn’t. It’s not so much a bad move as a clumsy and inexperienced one, so it definitely fits Hirotaka’s character. Likewise, Narumi reciprocates with the headbutt he deserves, and they get back on solid footing right afterwards. There were always bound to be some bumps along the way, but hopefully Hirotaka takes his sore forehead as a lesson in communicating more clearly with your partner.

And that was another episode of Wotakoi! It went by super fast again, and I still find it very charming. Aside from one busted jokes, this was another perfectly pleasant 22 minutes spent with some endearing dorks who love each other almost as much as they love mercilessly trolling each other in Mario Kart. It’s tricky to tell what the long arc of the show will be, if any, but as long as it keeps up the solid character writing and relatable nerd fiascos, I’m content to relax with it each week this spring. I just hope we solve the mystery of the big tiddy porn in Kabakura’s desk.

Rating: B

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku is currently streaming on Amazon.

Steve is a longtime anime fan who can be found making bad posts about anime on his Twitter.

[recentanimenews]

My Week in Manga: April 17-April 23, 2017

My News and Reviews

Well, I didn’t manage to post my in-depth manga review for April last week after all. Today I’m starting in a new position at a different library, meaning that last week I spent most of my time tying up as many loose ends as possible at my previous job. This included writing a lot of documentation. And since I was doing so much writing for work, by the time I got home I didn’t want to do anything but read, so that’s what I did. (Which goes to explain why I ended up finishing Cixin Liu’s excellent novel The Three-Body Problem much sooner than I had originally anticipated.) But never fear, I’ll be posting my review of Nagabe’s The Girl from the Other Side later this week in addition to the monthly manga giveaway.

In other news, Seven Seas continued its string of licensing announcements, adding Orikō Yoshino and Z-ton’s light novel series Monster Girl Doctor, Kazuki Funatsu’s Yokai Girls manga, and Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki’s To Love Ru and To Love Ru Darkness manga to the slate. Recent announcements from Viz Media included Sankichi Hinodeya’s Splatoon manga, a Hello Kitty coloring book, picture books of Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke, as well as the My Little Pony: The Movie artbook. Kodansha Comics had a couple of announcements to make recently, too, such as the upcoming release of full-color hardcover edition of Gun Snark’s Attack on Titan: No Regrets (I’ve previously reviewed the series’ first English-language release) and a hardcover omnibus edition of Yukito Kishiro’s Battle Angel Alita. (The series was originally published in English by Viz Media but has been out-of-print for quite some time.)

I also came across a few other interesting things last week: Over at The OASG, Justin interviewed Mariko Hihara and Kotoyo Noguchi, two independent manga creators in Japan. Noguchi also had some questions to ask in return. Frederik L. Schodt (whose work I greatly enjoy) was recently profiled at Nippon.com. The article takes a look at his involvement as an ambassador for manga over the last four decades. Caitlin from I Have a Heroine Problem presented a panel called “Is This Feminist or Not? Ways of Talking about Women in Anime” at Sakura Con 2017 and has made her slides available. A very nicely designed site called Persona Problems offers criticism of Persona 5‘s English localization and delves into translation theory and practice that even people who don’t play the game may find interesting. Finally, the author and designer Iku Okada has started a series of autobiographical essays called Otaku Girl and Proud which explores Japanese gender inequality and identity and how popular culture can impact that experience.

Quick Takes

Dorohedoro, Volumes 17-20 by Q Hayashida. Despite being one of my favorite ongoing series currently being released in English, I seem to somehow always forget how incredibly much I love Dorohedoro. I tend to forget how tremendously horrific the manga can be, too, mostly because it simultaneously manages to be surprisingly endearing. Hayashida’s story and artwork is frequently and stunningly brutal, gut-churning, and grotesque, but Dorohedoro also carries with it a great sense of humor. Granted, the comedy in Dorohedoro tends to be phenomenally dark. Lately, as Dorohedoro continues to steadily progress along what I believe will be it’s final major story arc, the series has become fairly intense and serious, but it remains exceptionally weird and has yet to completely lose its humor. The plot of Dorohedoro does meander a bit and because it’s been so long since I’ve read the previous volumes I’m sure that I’ve forgotten a few important details as the story takes multiple convoluted turns along the way. Ultimately, it doesn’t seem to really matter though since the world and characters of of Dorohedoro follow and operate under their own peculiar sort of logic; Dorohedoro doesn’t need to make a lot of sense in order to be bizarrely enjoyable.

FukuFuku: Kitten Tales, Volumes 1-2 by Kanata Konami. Before there was Chi’s Sweet Home there was FukuFuku Funyan, Konami’s cat manga which started in the late 1980s. The series featured an elderly woman and her cat FukuFuku. More recently, Konami created FukuFuku: Kitten Tales, a spinoff of FukuFuku’s first series which, as can be accurately assumed by the manga’s title, shares stories from the loveable feline’s youth. While Konami’s artwork in FukuFuku: Kitten Tales is black-and-white rather than being full-color and the manga is only two-volumes long rather than being twelve, the series is otherwise very similar in format to Chi’s Sweet Home. It’s actually been quite a while since I’ve read any of Chi’s Sweet Home, but FukuFuku: Kitten Tales feels like it might be a little more episodic as well. However, it is still an incredibly cute series. Each chapter is only six pages or so but manages to tell a complete story, accurately portraying the everyday life and antics of a kitten. FukuFuku: Kitten Tales isn’t especially compelling or creative as far as cat manga goes, but it is an adorable series which consistently made me smile and even chuckle from time to time.

Magia the Ninth, Volume 2 by Ichiya Sazanami. I enjoyed the first volume of Magia the Ninth immensely. I’m not really sure I could call it a good manga per se, and I don’t think I would necessarily recommend it broadly, but personally I got a huge kick out of it. That being said, I can’t say that I’m surprised that the series only lasted two volumes. (I don’t know for certain, but I get the feeling that Magia the Ninth was cancelled.) What did surprise me was how well Sazanami was able to pull everything together to conclude the manga in a coherent (and almost satisfying) fashion when obviously it was intended to be a series on a much grander scale. To be honest, Magia the Ninth probably would have done much better for itself if the manga had had that level of focus from the very beginning. Magia the Ninth is a strange and somewhat goofy little series about demons, magic, and music. While the series wasn’t always the most comprehensible, it’s stylishly drawn, has tremendous energy, and even manages to effectively incorporate legitimate music history into the story. Magia the Ninth may not have lived up to its potential, but I had fun with it.

The Prince in His Dark Days, Volumes 2-3 by Hico Yamanaka. More and more of The Prince in His Dark Days seems to revolve around Itaru, but at this point I would still consider Atsuko, who is serving as Itaru’s double, to be the real lead of the manga. Unfortunately, Atsuko is casually threatened with sexual violence on a regular basis in the series which frankly makes me uncomfortable. In general, the power dynamics in The Prince in His Dark Days tend to be fairly disconcerting. It doesn’t really help when other characters’ try to play it off as a joke, either. If anything, it only seems to emphasize the fact that so many of them are unrepentant jerks. I know that I’m supposed to empathize with some of their personal struggles, but I find it difficult to spare a lot of sympathy for entitled assholes. However, the themes that Yamanaka explores in The Prince in His Dark Days are of tremendous interest to me, most notably those of gender expression and sexual identity. I also appreciate the manga’s melancholy mood and the slow blossoming of love in unexpected places. There’s only one volume left in The Prince in His Dark Days and despite some of my reservations about the series I am curious to see how it ends.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu. If my memory serves me right, The Three-Body Problem is actually the first contemporary Chinese novel that I’ve read. It initially came to my attention when it became the first work in translation to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Interestingly, when The Three-Body Problem was translated into English by Ken Liu, the order of the chapters was restored to what the author originally intended and a few additional changes were made in consideration of some of the real-world scientific advances that had developed since the novel was first published in China. As a novel that leans heavily on hard science, I found The Three-Body Problem to be fascinating. (At one point in my life, I actually considered going into theoretical physics.) But what makes The Three-Body Problem so compelling are the social aspects of the narrative. In particular, China’s Cultural Revolution and the characters’ responses to it play a critical role in the story’s development. The Three-Body Problem is the first book in a trilogy, Remembrance of Earth’s Past, and so while largely being a satisfying novel on its own, it’s obviously only the beginning of a larger work. I definitely plan on reading the rest.

By: Ash Brown

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