#anime pilot teen mecha | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

scoutception · 2 years

Text

Ranking the 5 anime I’ve recently watched: mecha edition

For a while, I was actually pretty reluctant to try out watching mecha anime, only really touching Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and the original Mobile Suit Gundam before. Recently, though, I became inspired to dive deeper into the genre, and after going through a little mini binge of it, I can say with confidence, it’s a pretty great genre. Already, many of the ones I’ve watched have been stylish, very entertaining, and just plain unique experiences, with one of them quickly managing to become my new favorite anime, period. This was actually the hardest ranking I’ve done so far, due to just how much I enjoyed most of the shows here, and since I have a lot to say, let’s just jump right in. As usual, this is absolutely bias city.

5. Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ

Number of episodes: 47. Language options: subs only (technically an English dub was made, but it’s mostly lost media). Streaming availability: none.

Produced by Sunrise, a name that is going to show up a lot in this post, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ is the third full Gundam series, the sequel to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, and the third series taking place in the Universal Century setting, taking place merely days after Zeta Gundam.

In the year 0088 of the Universal Century, the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG), freshly out of a costly victory against the Titans, finds itself faced with yet another opponent: Axis, the remnants of the Principality of Zeon, led by Haman Karn, the supposed regent for Mineva Zabi, the young final heir of the Zabis, the original rulers of Zeon. The Argama, the AEUG carrier ship which proved a key player in the prior Gryps War, limps its way to the decrepit colony of Shangri-La for much needed repairs. While there, Judau Ashta, a young teen who, along with several of his close friends, works as a salvager for a living, attempts to steal the now vacant Zeta Gundam in hopes to provide for his little sister, Leina. However, Mashymre Cello, a romantic and idealistic officer of Axis, soon arrives at Shangri-La as well, and devoid of other options, the crew of the Argama recruit Judau and his friends to serve as mobile suit pilots and fight against Axis.

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ is a weird one, to say the least. In response to how miserable Zeta Gundam got towards the end, ZZ was deliberately made much more lighthearted in comparison, which I don’t think was necessarily a bad idea. Being lighter than Zeta Gundam isn’t hard, and transferring all that depression between series would be a bit too much. Unfortunately, the way they tried to lighten it up consists of pretty flat attempts at humor, usually cheap slapstick, unthreatening villains, and some generally annoying characters, particularly Beecha and Mondo, who quickly do everything they can to try to sell out the Argama, and never face proper punishment. Even if these aspects were handled better, it’s just too jarring a change considering it takes place so soon after Zeta, and that the story still consists of young teens having to fight and kill others on a regular basis. Most of the new mobile suits are pretty forgettable, and the fights aren’t very interesting early on either, mostly due to Judau’s initial incompetence as a pilot. Throw in just plain weird things, like the Moon Moon two parter that just plays like a very by the numbers episode of Star Trek, or the surreal first episode, which consists of a recap for both the backstory and lore, a random mobile suit quiz, and only a tiny bit of actual plot, and it’s easy to see why so many fans shun ZZ.

That said, I don’t think it deserves all its reputation. It definitely gets off to a weak start, in no small part because it takes an absurd 8 episodes for the Argama to even leave Shangri-La and get the plot really started, but around episode 20, the tone starts balancing itself much better. It never quite goes to the depths of Zeta Gundam or even the original series, but it does become much more serious without completely losing its humor, even containing some of the most tense and interesting sequences in the franchise up to this point, I’d say. The soundtrack has some neat songs, and the OPs especially are fantastic and super catchy. The cast isn’t nearly as classic as in the original or Zeta, but there are still plenty of winners. Judau starts a bit annoying, but manages to grow into a surprisingly good protagonist. Haman Karn, who was already very memorable in Zeta, takes a much more prominent role, and gains a surprising amount of depth throughout as well, always making her one of the highlights. There’s also some other decent antagonists as well, such as Mashymre, the wannabe knight who manages to be a strange balance of pathetic and surprisingly sympathetic thanks to a strangely large amount of character development he gets, and is definitely one of the more entertaining parts early on, or Glemy Toto, who manages to be surprisingly memorable by the end. The biggest highlight of the cast to me, however, is Roux Louka, whose first appearance really marks the point the show starts its climb towards improvement. Between making an awesome first impression, being more mature than most of the rest of the new main characters, while still having some quirks of her own, and generally being very competent and witty to a very entertaining degree, she’s easily the coolest character in the series to me, and one of my favorite characters in the franchise so far.

Overall, ZZ is definitely a mixed bag. The low points within the first half are difficult to ignore, and even when it does improve, it’s usually not quite as tightly written as the series that came before it. The climax is cool, but not quite as good as original Gundam’s or Zeta’s, and it’s pretty lousy at handling some of its characters, with instances like Mashymre being absent for most of the series and not really doing anything once he comes back, or several other seemingly meaningful villains vanishing entirely without resolution. That said, I do think the high points of the series generally make up for it. It’s definitely not an awful watch, and is worth a fair try by any fan of Gundam.

4. The Vision of Escaflowne

Number of episodes: 26. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation.

Produced by Sunrise, this classic 1996 anime is definitely the furthest from the traditional mecha format than any other I’ve watched as of now. Instead of just being mecha with other elements added on, The Vision of Escaflowne is a more or less equal mix of romance, fantasy, and mecha, all of these elements being quite important to its identity. I don’t even know whether it can be classified as a real robot show, like Gundam, a super robot show, like Gurren Lagann, or something else entirely.

Hitomi Kanzaki is an average high school girl whose only real distinguishing traits are an astonishing talent at reading tarot cards and a strange pendant left to her by her grandmother. One day, an attempt from Hitomi to earn her first kiss from her crush on the track team is interrupted by the appearance by the appearance of a pillar of light, out of which comes Van Fanel, a young man with a sword, along with a dragon. After slaying the dragon with some assistance from Hitomi, the pillar of light returns, taking both Hitomi and Van to Gaea, the world from which Van hails from, and where the Earth can be seen in the night sky. Van, as it happens, is the prince of the kingdom of Fanelia, and was assigned to kill a dragon as part of his rite of ascension. Almost immediately after Van’s coronation, however, Fanelia comes under attack by the forces of Zaibach, a highly advanced empire ruled by Emperor Dornkirk, who, using a device that allows him to see into the future, has enacted a plan requiring the devastation of several other countries, Fanelia among them. In the chaos, Van and Hitomi are forced to escape aboard Escaflowne, a special and powerful mech known as a Guymelef that, as Dornkirn soon discovers, is the largest source of uncertainty that stands in the way of Zaibach’s goals. Soon allying with a knight of the kingdom of Asturia known as Allen Schezar, Hitomi and Van set out to discover a way to stop Zaibach and avenge the devastation of Fanelia, pursued by Dilandau, a psychotic commander of Zaibach who leads the elite Dragonslayers, and Folken, a mysterious traitor to Fanelia who answers directly to Dornkirk himself.

The Vision of Escaflowne is just a plain well made series. It has a solid, well developed, and memorable cast, such as Hitomi, who gets to be surprisingly proactive for a character of her kind, and gets several great moments throughout the series, or Dilandau, who manages to be a villain both very entertainingly crazy and surprisingly sympathetic, something he shares with almost the entirety of the other antagonists. The plot moves at a very fast and unique kind of pace, pretty much constantly being on the move, but never feeling exhausting, and has a lot of very neat twists and turns throughout, especially its fascinating take on the concept of fate, as reduced to a scientific concept. One of the writing biggest strengths, however, is the effectiveness of its examination of the horrors of war, which a pretty typical theme for the genre, differentiating itself by focusing a lot on the sheer destruction that is caused by it, and the aftermaths even after individual battles have ended. It also handles fight scenes quite interestingly, as only a handful of episodes really have big dedicated fight sequences, and while they are quite well made and exciting, they’re also often very disturbing, especially the ones in which Van goes on a rampage, something that you would normally be expected find cool. Indeed, the series as a whole has a lot of gruesome and disturbing sequences or elements that just further the nightmarish atmosphere it likes to put on. It’s all very effective, and sends its messages very well.

Moving aside from the writing, The Vision of Escaflowne’s other aspects don’t drop off either. Both the animation and the art direction are quite good, especially where Zaibach’s creations are concerned. The music, composed by Yoko Kanno, best known for Cowboy Bebop, along with Hajime Mizoguchi, is also quite good and effective. I chose to watch Funimation’s 2016 English dub, and overall, I just found it decent. There’s several good performances, such as Caitlin Glass as Hitomi, Aaron Dismuke as Van, and Joel McDonald as Dilandau, but nothing I thought was outstanding. I’ll probably give this a rewatch subbed in the future. All in all, The Vision of Escaflowne is a pretty unique and solid series, handling all its different aspects quite well, and definitely carving out a unique place in the mecha genre for itself. The only reason it’s lower on this list for me is that I just found myself enjoying the others coming up more. 3. The Big O

Number of episodes: 26. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Hidive (first season only).

Here we have one of the big cult classics of the mecha genre, produced once again by Sunrise. This series has a very interesting history, as it was originally cancelled after its first season, comprising the first thirteen episodes, only to get a revival courtesy of, of all things, Cartoon Network, who helped co-produce the second season a few years later. Unfortunately, to my understanding, this probably turned the series into a bit of a licensing hell, so only the first season is available on Hidive. I did watch the second season as well, though, through other means.

The Big O takes place in Paradigm City, the seeming last bastion of civilization in the world whose inhabitants were all inexplicably and simultaneously struck by amnesia forty years ago, depriving them of their pasts. One of the city’s many inhabitants is Roger Smith, a professional negotiator who, on the surface, is merely hired to help secure deals between parties in conflict or ensure they are carried out smoothly. His jobs, however, often reveal themselves to be far more complicated affairs, forcing him to moonlight as a private investigator and, in the event of serious emergencies, serve as the secret pilot of Big O, a gigantic and immensely powerful “Megadeus”. Working alongside his butler, Norman Burg, R. Dorothy Wayneright, an extremely sophisticated android whose creators were assassinated during one especially convoluted case, and Dan Dastun, Roger’s former commanding officer in the Paradigm City Military Police, Roger finds himself forced to rely on Big O increasingly often, as a string of bizarre incidents involving other megadai begin occurring, many of which appear to be connected to Alex Rosewater, the man in charge of the Paradigm Corporation, and thus the effective ruler of the entire city.

The Big O is a very unique series, to say the least, and one with many strengths. It has a very enjoyable cast, from the stylish and extremely entertaining Roger, to Dorothy, who manages to be one of the more effective and memorable characters of her kind, in my opinion, to Dastun, who gets a very interesting arc across the show dealing with his struggle to actually contribute anything in the face of the megadai, to Schwartzwald, an extremely bombastic and psychotic character who manages to be the show’s coolest and most enjoyable villain by far, with any episode he shows up instantly becoming great. The first season is mostly comprised of monster of the week type plots, with the more dedicated story arc occurring across the second season. The Big O pulls this off better than a lot of other series, however, thanks to just how diverse these monster of the week episodes manage to be, such as an alleged ghost assassinating officials from the military police. The plots to them are crazy, but never jarringly so, instead managing to make the setting of The Big O into one where you can accept just about anything that goes on in it. That doesn’t mean the weirdness of the series doesn’t get jarring, as it definitely ramps up as the series goes on, with the first and last few episodes of season 2 being the most obvious with it, complete with an ending that seems out to defy any attempts to understand it.

Moving onto its other aspects, The Big O is an absolute visual treat, taking heavy inspiration from film noir, giving it a very unique look from almost any other anime series, and its cast taking heavy inspiration from that of Batman. The action scenes are pretty fun and exciting, and the music is very good and very memorable. This is all topped off by a plain great English dub, fitting perfectly with the aesthetics and tone of the series, with Steve Blum as Roger, Lia Sargent as Dorothy, and a magnificently hammy Michael McConnohie as Schwartzwald especially sticking out to me. Overall, The Big O is a fascinating and extremely enjoyable watch. Between its heavy sense of style, great cast, and fascinating story, it definitely earns its reputation as a classic. My opinion on it is only slightly below the next one coming up, and is absolutely worth a watch for anyone curious about it.

2. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

Number of episodes: 50. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation.

The second full series in the Gundam franchise, produced (shocker) by Sunrise, here we have one of the most important, popular, and influential parts of Gundam as a whole. If not for Zeta’s success after public opinion miraculously granted the original Gundam a much deserved reevaluation, the franchise definitely would have died out, and one of Japan’s biggest media franchises would have never come to be.

In the year 0087, seven years after the end of the One Year War between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon, humanity finds itself deprived of peace once again due to the rise of the Titans, an elite branch of the Federation’s military created to ensure the various space colonies can never form a power like Zeon again. Unfortunately, however, the Titans, unrestrained by the Federation and comprised only on those born on Earth, have become a bullying, oppressive, and elitist force that viciously punishes the colonists for the slightest of reasons. In response to the Titans’ ways, the Anti-Earth Union Group is formed, dedicated to stopping the their abuses and encourage humanity to leave Earth behind entirely in favor of the space colonies. In the middle of all this, Kamille Bidan, a violent, arrogant, hotheaded, and all around troubled teen finds himself in conflict with the Titans, assaulting one of their members, the arrogant rookie Jerid Messa, over an offhanded comment about his name. Managing to escape right as the AEUG is launching an attack on Kamille’s colony, the field base of the Titans, Kamille manages to hijack the Gundam Mk-II, a successor to the original Gundam developed by the Titans, and goes off to join the AEUG and end the tyranny of the Titans.

Compared to the original 1979 Gundam series, which definitely had plenty of rough edges, mostly early on, Zeta Gundam is definitely a much more consistent experience, with many strengths. It has a memorable, complex, and developed cast. Whether it be characters “Quattro Bajeena”, an extremely flimsily disguised Char Aznable, giving a shot at trying to be a decent person and mentor to Kamille after the tribulations of the One Year War, Emma Sheen, a mature and collected Titans officer who quickly deserts upon seeing their corruption, Paptimus Scirocco, a magnificently sinister and manipulative Titans fleet commander who has big plans of his own, or Jerid Messa, Kamille’s almost shockingly sympathetic rival, who undergoes a great deal of character development throughout the series and manages to stand out as one of the most human of the antagonists, there’s plenty of characters to enjoy. Even more minor characters, like Buran, an extremely competent Federation officer who pursues the protagonists for a handful of episodes, manage to leave an impact. The story is even darker than the original series, examining the state of humanity as its central government collapses into apathy in a very interesting way, and most of the goofier super robot elements from the original series, as enjoyable as they could be, are pretty much all done away with, culminating in an infamously depressing ending that hurts even if you’ve heard of it in advance.

The animation is much, much better than that of the original series, allowing for generally much better action scenes, and it has some great designs, both for characters and for mobile suits, and the soundtrack, composed by Shigeaki Saegusa, is much more diverse and memorable than that of the original series, giving the series a pretty epic feel. It’s easy to see why Zeta made an impact, but that said, I do still have a few nitpicks, like the cast as a whole not being quite as classic as that of the original series to me, whether it be Kamille being a much more unlikeable protagonist compared to Amuro, even with him eventually growing out of it, or the Titans generally being much nastier and one dimensional characters compared to many of Zeon’s characters, though several of them still manage to be enjoyable in their own ways, or the tone, which goes for extremely bitter, and doesn’t really do anything to combat it. While it is a large part of the series’ identity, it can get plain exhausting. Still, even if I do prefer some elements of the original Gundam, Zeta Gundam is still a very, very good series otherwise, and my second favorite watch of the franchise so far (the first currently being 0080: War in the Pocket).

1. Eureka Seven

Number of episodes: 50. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation.

And now, here we are, the anime that managed to steal my heart more than any other I’ve watched so far and has officially become my new favorite anime not even two weeks after finishing it. For a change, this was produced by Studio Bones, who have officially become one of my most enjoyed studios between this, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Soul Eater.

Renton Thurston is a young teen stuck living with his grandfather in a dead end city known as Bellforest. Renton’s father, Adroc Thurston, years ago sacrificed his life to save humanity during a near apocalyptic event known as the “Summer of Love”, leaving Renton to be raised by his older sister, who herself mysteriously vanished years ago. Perpetually stuck in his father’s shadow, and with seemingly no possible future besides becoming a mechanic as his grandfather stubbornly insists, Renton’s only escape from his depressing reality is his idolization of Gekkostate, an anti-government group whose counter culture magazine Ray=out fuels Renton’s dreams of becoming a professional lifter, essentially one who surfs through the air. One fateful day, however, the Nirvash typeZERO, a mech known as an LFO that was the very first of its kind, crashes into Renton’s home, in need of repairs. Its pilot is a member of Gekkostate, a mysterious, emotionally reserved girl known as Eureka, whom Renton instantly develops a crush on. Soon, however, the military launches an attack in an attempt to capture the Nirvash and its pilot, and in the confusion, Renton is given the Amita Drive by his grandfather, a strange device created by Adroc that allows the Nirvash to reach its full potential. Soon finding that the Amita Drive only seems to work properly when he’s present, Renton is invited to join Gekkostate by Holland, its leader. Soon after accepting, however, Renton slowly finds his idolization of the group crumbling, as he is constantly denied respect from its other members, particularly Holland, who quickly seems to gain a grudge against the boy. As reality seems determined to go against his expectations and ideals, Renton is forced to question his place in the world and true desires, while, all the while, a sinister plot by the military threatens to bring disastrous consequences upon the world.

The big thing that defines Eureka Seven, the thing that separates it both from the rest of its genre and even many other anime series out there, is the focus it places on Renton and Eureka’s relationship. It isn’t merely more prominent than usual, or even just an important element. It is the core, reason, and appeal of the series, period, one that ties into every other element of the plot and defines the focus and tone of the series from the very start. The result is one of, if not the most endearing, developed, well written, and just plain sweet romances I’ve experienced in any media. The series only improves with every step it takes in developing the two’s relationship, and with it their development as people, and what starts as a silly, one sided crush becomes something so adorably innocent and pure that almost every scene between the two in the second half of the series just had me smiling.

Don’t get me wrong, Eureka Seven is a bit of a slow burn series exactly because of that. Eureka really doesn’t get much focus early on, and the often cruel treatment Renton is initially subjected to can make the earlier episodes a bit of a drag. Eventually, though, it does change, and whether it’s around episode 11, like it was for me, or around the halfway point, like I’m sure it was for others, it reaches a point where it stops playing around and never looks back.

As you may suspect from all that ranting, this relationship is a very, very large part of my emotional attachment to this series, but that’s not nearly the only strength it has. The cast, even beyond the eventually fantastic Renton and Eureka, is one of my favorites out there, with many well developed, complex, and sympathetic characters, whether it be Talho Yuki, the pilot for Gekkostate with a unique understanding of Holland, Dominic Sorel, a young intelligence officer in the military who gradually finds himself unfit for the duties he’s meant to carry out, Anemone, a highly unstable and dangerous girl cared for by Dominic, or Charles and Ray Beams, a very charming couple of mercenaries for hire who are the focus of one of the best arcs in the series, there’s so many characters to love. Even the other, less important members of Gekkostate are very colorful and memorable in their own right, especially considering just how many of them there are. The actual plot, setting, and lore are also very interesting and compelling, taking a lot of fascinating, if confusing, twists and turns the whole way through. It’s also very unapologetically super robot as hell, in a way that reminds me of Gurren Lagann, where the sheer sincerity of it just makes it enjoyable.

Even past the writing, Eurka Seven’s other elements hold up. The look of the series is great, between the animation, the genuinely great character designs, and sleek look of the LFOs. The soundtrack, composed by Naoki Satō, is great and distinctive, and the OPs and EDs are some the catchiest I’ve heard. The English dub is great, with many strong performances, such as Crispin Freeman as Holland, Kate Higgins as Talho, Peter Doyle as Dominic, and Kari Wahlgren as Anemone, though the best performances among them belong to Johnny Yong Bosch as Renton and Stephanie Sheh as Eureka, in what I think are definitely some of their best performances out there. That said, I definitely plan to rewatch this series subbed someday, just out of pure curiosity.

All in all, Eureka Seven is a fantastic watch, one I can’t recommend enough. It’s a unique, emotional, and all around very memorable experience, one that’s so warm and positive that it actually just made me feel good and refreshed watching it. It doesn’t go overboard with it, as there’s plenty of depressing or creepy parts throughout, and it deals with some dark subjects throughout. It’s through refusing to push these elements aside and still managing to keep the emotional core of the series intact it manages to work so well. Even as someone who rarely rewatches anything, especially not longer series, this is definitely one I’m going to revisit a few times, if only for the sake of getting friends to watch it.

And with that, this post finally draws to a close. For once, this is a case where I’d recommend every series on this list. I definitely need a bit of a break from anything mecha for now, but there’s still plenty of other series out there that I plan to give a watch eventually, especially within the Gundam franchise. Till next time.

-Scout

#anime #eureka seven #gundam #the big o #the vision of escaflowne #mobile suit zeta gundam #mobile suit gundam zz #mecha

24 notes · View notes

parsleysagerosemarytimemachine · 3 years

Text

'Iron Widow' is a great, fun teen fantasy about giant war machines, sacrifice, and making it out alive. Inspired in equal measures by Chinese history and anime, this is a world where the last of humanity fights against strange alien attackers in transforming mecha, powered by male/female pilot pairs - and often the death of the girl. The book doesn't shy away from the horror of this; the main character is a girl determined to get revenge for her sister's death, and to break a patriarchal system that sees her survival as a horror of its own. It's also extremely readable; her anger and drive pulled me through because I always wanted to see what she was going to do next. Of course, it's not all anger and trauma - there's also a love triangle swiftly resolved by her determination not to let restrictive social norms keep them all from loving each other, and I really enjoyed the way all three of these characters balanced each other. There's also cool mecha fight scenes and really interesting use of traditional qi elements in the energy of the pilots that drive them. There's even an ending that promises another book to resolve all the open questions about the world that they characters couldn't explore in the middle of their struggle to survive. I really loved this and read the whole thing in a day, and I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a good exciting fantasy.

#books #reading #mtg custom #Iron Widow #Xiran Jay Zhao #couple #really been enjoying the fun social media the author's been putting out for this too

43 notes · View notes

floatingcatacombs · 3 years

Text

Dear Brother... and Homosociality

12 Days of Aniblogging 2020, Day 4

I’ve been watching through Oniisama e…, known in English as Dear Brother, at a delightfully glacial pace. Never more than one episode a day, and generally I only get around to 2 or 3 episodes a week. It’s something worth savoring.

Dear Brother has a deeply elegant and timeless feel to it. It’s an adaptation of a manga written in the 70’s by Riyoko Ikeda of Rose of Versailles fame. In the director’s chair is Osamu Dezaki, who I’d describe in a nutshell as ‘the guy they brought in halfway through the Rose of Versailles anime to make it super artsy’. The artwork is gorgeous and like nothing else that was coming out in the 90’s, and Dezuki makes the most of the overall lackluster animation quality by saving it for bursts of action and otherwise relying on interesting shots and dramatic watercolor freezeframes.

oh you know, regular teen girl stuff

But the real draw here is female homosociality. This is a show all about the messy web of friendships, rivalries, animus, and truly uncategorizable relationships that emerge between young women. That’s broad enough to describe whole genres, but what sets Dear Brother apart is its setting, subject matter, and commitment to the melodrama. This elite girl’s academy has a deep class layer to it, with students from prestigious families and wealth locked in a cold war with the new blood. The real arbiter of power here, instead of a student council, is the school’s elite sorority. By unexpectedly admitting our commoner main character Nanako into their ranks, they effectively place a target on her back.

In Seiran Academy, emotions run wild. Typical teenager feelings of jealousy and inadequacy are amplified into rage, hatred, depression, and a deep sense of longing. It’s melodramatic in the way that the best teen dramas are – strong emotions hiding just below everyone’s surface that occasionally boil into absolute and terrifying events. It’s pensive, it’s slow, it’s bittersweet at its happiest, and it’s great!

Did I mention that it’s gay as well? Outside of the sorority leader, the crown jewels of the academy are not one, but two butches - Kaoru-no-Kimi and Rei Asaka. Kaoru-no-Kimi is essentially Andre from The Rose of Versailles but a girl, right down to the dark curly hair and strong sense of justice. Predictably, half of the girls in the academy have a crush on her. But Rei Asaka… Rei Asaka is something else. Terrifyingly nicknamed Saint-Juste after the French Revolution’s angel of death, Rei is gangly, unsociable, drug-addicted and worst of all, drop-dead hot. She’s got the perfect toxic allure to her that makes her impossible to escape.

It’s worth mentioning that ‘Andre, but a girl’’ is my type

Rei is also something of a primordial archetype in yuri melodrama at this point, being one of the first truly influential brooding lesbians. You can see traces of her in Juri Arisugawa, for example. But the media most worth pointing out here is the mecha visual novel Heaven Will Be Mine, in which Veteran Pilot Luna-Terra is the most obvious Saint-Juste expy imaginable.

Shoutout to the ladies over at Worst Girls Games for basing all of their characters off a combination of yuri melodrama archetypes and slutty Utena side characters

While their appearances are the most obvious point of comparison, Saint-Juste and Luna-Terra have the same terrible personality too. Their approach to bearing unknowable pain is identical, as is their coping/dating mechanism of appearing brooding and intimidating, trying and failing to hide that they’re actually the biggest bottoms imaginable. Everyone is madly in love with them.

At the time of writing, I’ve only made it 15 episodes through Dear Brother. I can only imagine that the twists and turns and moments of escalation are only going to get more severe in the show’s second half. I’m excited for all of it. If you like girls being exactingly cruel to each other in a not-entirely-heterosexual way and can savor a slower show, then I strongly recommend checking this one out.

#12 days of anime #oniisama e #dear brother #rei asaka #luna-terra #hwbm

316 notes · View notes

whatthehelliswrongwithme · 3 years

Text

Voltron Part 46

It’s the last 2-parter episode post!!! Oh my gosh, we’re so close to the end! This ones really long, sorry. So like, be warned... Season8 episodes 9+10... Enjoy! :

So, Allura took on that small red energy ball. And supposedly it’s the “Path of Darkness”

Prediction Nr.1: She won’t actually use that thing and they’ll save the day, by the power of friendship

Prediction Nr.2: It’s the Set-up for Allura to fake-die at the season-finale again (~Cuz, thats sorta her thing~)

During that *way-too-serious* discussion about the Space witch situation, everybody talked. Except for Pidge and Hunk, because they’re forever doomed to play second fiddle

Maybe I didn’t notice it in the other seasons, but a lot of the animation-frames look sorta unclean?

So basically, Allura is now Harry Potter in the second last book

Secretary Lady’s asking the same questions I do... I love her

This is a weird episode

Quote, Keith: “I think, we are the thots”

Moustache man, just said that Team Voltron’s in distress and Shiro had a *WAY TOO* calm reaction to that

Does he want to seee how it turns out? Did he bet 20$ or something?

This episode just reminded me, that the Paladins have a psychic link between them. They could have done so much cool stuff with that, why was it never used as a story-telling aspect?

Quote, Keith: “We’re all in this together”

Hey Y’all!!! It’s the return of “Keith as a Yoga Instructor-AU”!!!!

During that cheesy animorph-scene, our second fiddles had to share a screen

What sort of horror-movie shit was that lake/getting pulled into the nightmare-stuff scene?!?!

And why wasn’t Keith affected?

The fun-thing is: The shadows that attacked Pidge and Allura, respectively had an axe and a bow. Which were their weapons, during the DnD-episode!

Lance got attacked by sword-shadow-guy. You can read into that, whatever you want

Allura’s now got anger-issues to work through. On top, of ! still being racist against Galra !

That flashback of the first Paladins was just the first episode. Exactly. Downright to the “yellow Paladin is fat”-joke

Okay, If the shadow people are actually the original Paladins souls, it explains, why Kaith wasn’t affected

Allura’s dad really just said, “Moustache man, you’re her father now”

Message to the original Paladins: You’re dead, the series’ almost over, we don’t know you and don’t really care about you. Can you please stop talking?

And now, Keith’s having a really shitty day

Does anybody else feel, like Keith should talk with Shiro now. After all the other Paladins had their bonding-moment with the ex-pilot

Just like, even aside from a shipping-point. I feel like this should happen

Wait, so are the original Paladins back for real now?

That’s stupid. Why?

Does this mean, that now they’re the B-Team. And Shiro’s gonna be a Paladin again, but with the B-Team?

They’re entering Space witch’s mind. What will they find? Erotic photographs of Zarkon? Child-Lotor drawing a choo-choo-train? “Shiro” being a nannycam? Who knows!

.-•-°-•-.-•-°-•-.-•-°-•-.-~☆

They’re supposedly undetected, cause of some bullshit-science (Even though Pidge only talked about humans.......)

Quote, Pidge: “It’s just a theory” A GAME THEORY!

Now that Allura’s the leader again, she adapted Keith’s edge

So the OG!Paladins aren’t back for real. Only in this weird friendship-thought-realm, they’ve got going on?

One of the Robeasts getting recycled again..

What weird shit is this???

Do you think that this whole “adventuring in Space witch’s mind” is affecting her somehow? Does she have a headache? Is she just popping ibuprofen like they’re Tic Tac’s?

How are all these cinematic shots of the OG!Paladins in Space witch’s memories?

Why did they have to destroy those vines/memory veins(?)/brain wiring(?) to see her memories?

Even the Kallura-shippers are getting fed! They held hands~

And now Mecha-Zarkon’s here again.....

I love the dynamic between Keith and Zarkon: Powerful, evil conqueror, whose thousands of years old VS:. Teen with a unhealthy diet of confidence and dumbassery

And they just keep on arguing, on who their pets favourite person is

(Can’t they just like, put Black in the middle of the room. Stand in different corners and look who she’s coming to?)

WhAt Is ThIS ePiSoDe?!?!?!!!

Young Zarkon is.....unsettling

When Zarkon said the names of the OG!Paladins: Those aren’t names! It sounds like he’s chocking on something. But those definetely aren’t names!

“Allura, what are you doing?” Well. It looks like, she’s taking away Zarkons bending. But I think, that that might be the wrong show

I just like to imagine, that after this whole ordeal, Allura’s forced to go to anger-management-classes, by the other Paladins

Space witch wants her happy ending. Okay, got that.

“She knows you’re here” Cue Symposium Magarum

Zarkon said some bullshit about his Galra lineage and about the Black lion to Keith. And just like, are we not going to acknowledge, that he was originally Red’s pilot?

“The power of 10 Paladins working together, is the strongest power in the universe” HoW dO YoU kNoW ThAt?!?!!

Once again, things are solved by the ~Power of Friendship~

Allura, it’s not your time to “die” yet, honey. We’ve still got 3 episodes left

27 notes · View notes

scope-dogg · 3 years

Note

So I always see gifs about Getter Robo here and there and have only heard positive things ( I also dig the fat rounded mech designs!), but never anything in detail unfortunately. Seems like one of those properties where everyone who likes it is very invested though! As a mech enthusiast, could you explain what about the series you find appealing and what a recommended watch order (if there's any need for one) watch location might be? I understand some series of that age just aren't available legally in the West anymore, which is a big bummer

Honestly for a series as long and storied as Getter it can be hard to pin down the underpinning appeal to one single thing, but I'd say the closest you'd get to capturing the fundamental appeal to most people it'd be that it's perhaps that it's practically the archetype for a super robot series with a harder edge than most. It stood out on that basis even when the mecha genre was still in its relative infancy and it's managed to keep that distinction to this very day. It's a franchise that's never shied away from violence - from the genesis of the genre until today, the archetypical mecha pilot has been a spunky and/or sensitive teen, while your average Getter pilot, while still fundamentally heroic, is a borderline psychotic hard bastard, the kind of person that would probably be in jail in real life. Even when they're up against some really nightmarish shit they always seem to revel in the battle and resolve to win through sheer determination. You've probably seen Gurren Lagann, in which case that description might sound somewhat familiar. That's not a coincidence, Getter Robo is one of TTGL's biggest influences and even though the two series differ in many other ways, it occupied a somewhat similar space in the collective consciousness to the one that TTGL now occupies in the minds of most (and still does to a degree, it's one of the genre's most important founding works and as such has remained relevant for basically its whole lifespan.)

Later entries see the series get a lot more existential, and start dealing with the concepts of the future of human evolution and the fear of an unknown and possibly terrifying future that sees mankind blunder into the clutches of forces beyond its control and understanding. While the series initial core appeal of seeing hard men use their robot to battle hellish enemies remains, that cosmic horror aspect was really important to the franchise's maturing identity and is likewise a huge part of what makes it remain so appealing to so many - it's pretty much at the core of all the franchise's best installments.

As for where to begin, it's complicated and at the same time, not. As for anime, it can be tough to pick one. There's the Toei original series and its sequel Getter Robo G, though these, in addition to being old and dated, are arguably a softened-down version of the story meant for kids' TV that, while popular in their own right back in the day, don't really capture what most people now find appealing about the franchise. You're probably better off overall looking at one of the OVAs instead. In release order, those are Getter Robo Armageddon, Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo, and New Getter Robo. All three of these are basically various attempts to blend together various chapters on the manga, along with aspects from other works done by the original author Ken Ishikawa. The thing is though, Armageddon and Shin vs Neo both assume at least some level of familiarity with the existing characters and lore, even if each one is in its own continuity. New Getter Robo is kind of like a reboot and as such is more self-contained, but at the same time is probably the one that veers off from the established tone and lore the most wildly.

In my opinion, the best thing to do is go to the source, and read Ken Ishikawa's manga from the beginning. The Getter Robo saga consists of five different chapters, those being, in release order, the original, Getter Robo G, Getter Robo Go, Shin Getter Robo and Getter Robo Arc. While the original and G are definitely old they've been touched up for rerelease and are still very readable and easy to get through while having a ton of old-school charm to them. However, once you hit Go, that's where the party truly begins. Its the quality of work that started there that really built the series up from a relatively simple good-guys vs bad-guys story into what it is today. If disciples of Getter seem very invested in the franchise, it's most likely because of ideas that first get explored here. Go's followed up by Shin Getter Robo, which is a prequel to the events of Go that explains some important things but also sets up stuff that's important for the final chapter, Getter Robo Arc. Sadly, Ken Ishikawa died before the manga could be completed, leaving the story without an ending - until now. An anime adaptation of Arc has been airing for the last few months. The final episode, presumably featuring the final true ending to the Getter Robo saga, airs this upcoming Sunday.

20 notes · View notes

etesienne · 3 years

Text

dysphoria and desisting

After reading accounts from a number of dysphoric women (some desisted/detrans, others still deeply entranched in gender ideology), I’ve decided to reflect upon my own experience. It’s a bit long and not very well articulated, as I’m not that eloquent in English, so please bear with me.

I won’t bore people with a story of my whole childhood. Just know that I was a healthy kid who performed well in school and primarily had female friends, though I was more of a loner. I loved books, dinosaurs, animals, art, mythology, video games and ghost stories, and never felt like I was a tomboy or ‘boyish’ because of that. Maybe a little different from other kids, though, but I liked what I liked, and my mother never commented on it.

When I got into high school, I befriended the “weird” girls, the nerdy ones, the ones who didn’t wear makeup and preferred anime and video games to what I considered petty drama. Along those teen years, I developed some obsessive-compulsive traits – I had always suffered from dermatillomania, but this was more along the line of rigid thinking and creating rituals to alleviate my anxiety. That, and somewhat disordered eating that followed me for years. Self-harm, too.

Though I couldn’t formulate it yet, puberty brought me an undeniable discomfort with the idea of being female – having a body that was fertile, ready to be impregnated. A body that could betray me. It made me feel sick. I never liked children and always knew I’d never want to be a mother. Everything about sexuality made me sick. Knowing that I could be sexualized, knowing that I had organs that could be penetrated, violated. Knowing that anyone, man or woman, could fantasize about my breasts or legs or whatever. Feeling that my body was inherently sexual, inappropriate. Being female felt like a waste of myself, since I had no use for my reproductive system. I wanted nothing more than to be “neutral”, to have no discernible sex. To be uninteresting, forgettable, a bit ugly even. Too skinny and damaged to be desirable. I fantasized often about being dead, being a ghost, so I could live my own life away from others.

I’m not sure exactly when I began to feel ashamed of being a woman. Around 15 years old, perhaps. At this age, I spent of lot of my free time on forums and now defunct teen-oriented websites. I knew from experience that on the Internet, declaring yourself a girl would always attract unwanted attention from men – some of them well-meaning but too pushy, some plain creepy. So I quickly learned to keep my gender unspecified, or to click “male” when the first option was unavailable. It was easy to ‘pass’ as male in writing - blunt, cold, cynical. Eventually, it became natural to call myself a boy on these forums and on chatrooms. I liked it better that way. Girls would be intrigued by that thoughtful and well-spoken ‘boy’, and guys would actually talk to me instead of being inappropriate. While I didn’t actually perceive myself as a “boy-trapped-in-a-girl’s-body”, I was relieved to have an escape from being a girl in my everyday life. To have an ideal self, a version of me that was more carefree, less anxious. I wondered what I would look like as a boy - how different my life would have been that way. If you asked me to design an original character or an avatar, I’d always go with a male one. ‘Male�� was the default.

I didn’t hate women – I just wasn’t comfortable anymore being one. I didn’t fit with the other girls at school, even my geeky, nerdy friends. I had very little interest in makeup, fashion, shipping, romance. It eventually became harder and harder to relate to other women, especially fictional ones. Female characters in movies, anime and video games obviously influenced the way I perceived womanhood. Male characters went on adventures, avenged their loved ones, composed music, wrote poetry, discovered new technologies, fought in wars, died for their ideals, solved mysteries, piloted mechas and space ships. They were allowed to be soft, to be sick, to be different; they were taken seriously. Their pain wasn’t sexualized. They had depth, they felt human. Female characters fell in love, bickered with each other, compared their bra size, died or became irrelevant as their male companions saved the world. They were accessories, trophies, damsels in distress; even if they were strong, they weren’t strong enough to win or stay relevant throughout the story. I couldn’t see myself in those vapid, love-obsessed and hypersensitive women. I hated what woman meant – weakness, submissiveness, superficiality. Always less than. Boring, annoying, one-dimensional. But I, of course, wasn’t like that. Did it mean that I wasn’t a woman ? Nonbinary identites weren’t a thing yet, and I hardly knew anything about transgender people, so I identified as what felt right, with the words I had : no-gender, genderless, asexual.

Eventually, as I approached the end of my teenage years, say around 2010-2015, gender ideology made its way into the Internet spheres I frequented. I learned about hormones, transition, dysphoria. It felt incredible to be able to finally name what I had felt for years but couldn’t name. Dysphoria. I had always felt oddly disconnected from my breasts. I’ve never liked them. Ever since puberty, they felt wrong, out of place, vulgar. I had managed to ignore them most of the time, but now I hated them with a burning passion. Flattened them under sports bras and hid them under baggy shirts. I felt like dying every time I had my period, and often considered starving myself so I wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore. I had learned to idealise the male body – its broad and strong shoulders, veiny arms, square jaw, narrow hips. I felt envy when I looked at sculptures and paintings of male bodies. Sorrow. I should have been male. I should have been a son, a brother.

It’s no surprise I started identifying as a trans man when I started university. People were so accepting, so ready to refer to me by my chosen name. Did it felt right ? Did I feel validated ?

The truth is – no. Or yes. But it wasn’t enough. People referred to me as a man because I told them to. Not because they recognised me as such – if I had said nothing, they would have referred to me as a woman, because physically, that’s what I was. I knew that, but it only made things worse. I was a paranoid wreck, always wondering how my friends referred to me to their parents, to their other friends. Would teachers remember to call me by my preferred name in front of the class ? Would my mother remember to schedule an appointment for her son instead of her daughter ? It took so much energy from me just to go outside. People were trying their best to accommodate me, and it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. But it wasn’t their fault - I was the one making myself sick, making myself even more depressed and self-obsessed. Talking on the phone was out of the question. Meeting new people made me so anxious I couldn’t stop shaking. I was terrified that they wouldn’t understand, that they’d laugh at me. “Poor girl, she’s clearly delusional. She thinks she’s a man.”

I thought I was a man. I felt like one - like the image of the men I idealized. Polite, well-mannered, stoic, smart, helpful. Do these men really exist outside of anime and classic literature, I don’t know. But it was what I wanted to be, more than anything I was right now. I frequented the Manosphere, I watched those “feminists destroyed by facts and logic” videos. While I was repulsed by incels and their misogynistic theories, while I was always staunchly pro-choice, I was a misogynist myself. I identified as an anti-feminist. I did think that women were privileged, hypersensitive, annoying, unoriginal, cringy. Even if all my friends and acquaintances were women, I found that I couldn’t sympathise with them, couldn’t see them as complete human beings with rich inner lives.

But I wanted to be taken seriously, not having my interests questioned and mocked and treated like frivolous phases. Men, I thought, can have their own life, they’re never judged as harshly. Living as a woman, I felt like my life choices were deadends, I felt suffocated - liking things that were typically masculine, not wanting children, not wanting love, being repulsed by sexuality. I know many women never marry or have children, but for me, it went deeper than that. All attraction, to me, is repulsive, no matter who it comes from. I’ve ended friendships because of it, I can’t accept having people being attracted to me. And that’s what I’ve always tried to escape. Being a woman, for me, meant that I would always be an object of desire. Something to be won, to be conquered, to be seduced. And people aren’t going to believe me if I say I hate it, because they don’t care anyway. It’s not about what the woman wants - she has this female body and it’s enough to humiliate and degrade her. Anything she does or say is perceived by some pervert as an invitation, a justification. Even at her lowest, at her ugliest, she can still be objectified, raped and violated. And it terrified me, I feel like it traumatized me. On my good days, I wanted to be a man so I would never have to think about it; on my bad days, I just wanted to die.

I have this one clear memory of going shopping for clothes with my mother, before I came out as trans to her. I wanted new pants, men’s pants - baggy, plain, comfortable pants. I tried on a few pairs, and when I found one I liked enough, I stepped out of the changing room and showed it to my mother. She wasn’t impressed, of course she knew it didn’t fit well. “It’s because you lack this”, she laughed and gestured toward my groin. It was just a joke; she couldn’t have known how it killed me inside. Of course I lacked this. I lacked everything. I was a fucking failure of a person. I was a woman.

Looking back at this period, I truly was at the lowest I’ve ever been. I fantasized often about dying. Being diagnosed with a rare cancer, being run over by a truck. Having the guts to finally kill myself. I was spiraling down. I restricted my food intake. I cut myself, then picked at the scabs to the point of infection, multiple times. Anything to make my body disappear bit by bit; I hated it so much. The only thing I loved about myself was my thinness, my bones. I loved running my hands over my ribs, loved encircling my forearms with my thumb and middle finger. I even made a short-lived pro-ana blog here on Tumblr. It’s a miracle how I managed to hide these feelings and behaviors to everyone around me. To this day, nobody around me knows about it, the depths and ugliness of my self-destructive tendencies.

Taking the bus or the subway to go to uni, I’d spend so much time looking at my reflection, thinking about how strangers perceived me. Did I sit in a masculine manner ? Were my hands, my legs, my choice of accessories too feminine ? How did men look at me ? When would I be considered “one of them” ? Did they still sexualize me (and if yes, did it mean that they were gay ?) ? Did they feel pity towards me ? Did they think I looked like a lesbian ? Of course they had to know I wasn’t really a man. But If they could see inside me, surely they would realise that deep down I’m too masculine, too weird to be a woman.

I mulled over my feelings to an unheathy extent, trying to understand why I felt the way I did. Maybe there had been an error when my mother was pregnant – maybe I was meant to be a boy, but my body messed up, so I had a male brain stuck in a female body. Then surgery and hormone therapy would fix me, make me "right". Or maybe I was mentally ill, maybe I was crazy – stupid self-important little thing, trying to sound more deep and interesting than I really was (because of course women can’t really be deep and interesting). Couldn't I just be a masculine woman ? Wouldn't be easier ? But I didn't want that, didn't want to be a woman of any kind. ‘Female’ felt like an insult, and it cut even deeper because I knew it was the truth. "Deep down, surely I'm a man. I feel so much kinship toward them. I get them." And women ? meh. Couldn't relate to them. Didn't really want to. There were no women like me in my classes or around me growing up.

I eventually came out to my mother. She clearly didn’t take me very seriously (and she was right). She told me how she too went trough a masculine phase when she was in her twenties, how she wore her father’s shirts and cut her hair short. It wasn’t the same thing, I argued, I feel like a man inside, I want to be a man, not a short-haired woman. But she agreed to call me by a shortened version of my name, and it was enough for me.

Somewhere around 2016 or 2017, I remember finding on Tumblr a dressing guide for FTMs detailing shirts, boots, jackets, belts, patterns – I cried like I hadn’t cried in years, because I understood. Even after my transition, I would need to watch my every move, my every word and mannerism so I would pass as male. Transitioning, hormones, a new wardrobe... everything that I hoped would save me. It wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t change the truth. It’s like I finally saw the path I was going down - how useless, meaningless it all was.

To my friends and family, those who were there from the start, the truth would be obvious : I’d always be female. Even without breasts, even with a beard, my blood and my bones would always spell female. Like a dark, unspoken secret. My childhood photos, my birth certificate, every memory that my mother had of me - a little girl who loved dragons and dinosaurs, a moody teenage girl with short hair and skinny wrists, a young woman who couldn’t make a phone call without shaking. I saw myself in action : a woman who hates her body so much that she’d be willing to destroy it. A woman who lies to herself because she has no hope.

Buying giant men’s sweaters and ill-fitting shirts eventually made me feel ridiculous, like I was putting on a disguise. I knew I had a perfectly normal, female frame, and I was trying my best to hide and reshape it. Tighter sports bras. Always tighter. What I did was nothing but all mimicry, roleplay, and making everyone around me play along, or else I’d cut ties with them.

So what was the point ? I would never be a man, but I didn’t want to live as a woman. I contemplated suicide. Briefly, but actively. I wrote a suicide letter, planned a possible date. I really thought that it would be the ultimate solution to alleviate my pain. Perhaps I could make it appear like I ran away, so my mother wouldn’t have to find my body in the bathroom. Even then, I didn’t want to imagine her suffering, wondering what happened to me. I love her so much.

I didn’t do it, obviously. I still had classes to attend, essays to write. I didn’t have time to kill myself. Deep down, my personal little tragedy seemed too pathetic to justify my suicide. So, whatever. I moved on. I lived on.

I let some time pass. I went to another university, far away from home. Tried to reconcile with myself. To my friends, I made it look like this cringy phase was over and not to mention it to me again. That I felt better, haha, not to worry about me. But there was mourning in that process, there really was. Telling myself to get real, to grow up, to stop envying every male I found aesthetically pleasing and appreciate myself. This is my only life. This is my only body. Make it mean something.

I told myself, and that was the hardest part : even if you transitioned, even if you passed, you would still be yourself. You can’t get out of yourself, you’re not piloting some kind of flesh-mecha. Even with a full beard and the coolest leather jacket, you’ll still be that same person. That person who loves her mother and watches mecha anime and likes the scent of chlorine. That person who picks at her skin, is a master of sudoku, never had a brainfreeze, has the smallest handwriting, and tried to start smoking many times but never got addicted. It’s not that bad. Being you is not that bad. You have to live on.

I’m a woman. I’m female. I was born like that and I don’t get to change it. In itself, it doesn’t mean anything, it’s a neutral fact about me. Though I don’t really like what it means to be a woman in this day and age. I’m not into fashion, I don’t shave, I don’t like to wear makeup. I tried to let my hair grow to my shoulders and I hated it. I’m not emotional, I never cry. I have very little empathy. I’m self-centered and pretentious. I’m a failed woman, I guess. I’m too lazy. Not good enough. Can’t bother to learn what my body shape is, what colors suit my skin tone, how to walk in high heels. But I’ll always be a woman. And the ‘me’ inside - that brain, that nexus of experiences and memories and interests - will always be a woman, no matter how ‘masculine’ she may seem.

I’m still dysphoric, though the discomfort has lessened significantly over the years. My breasts still feel alien to me, though. It’s also kind of funny because I eventually returned to my giant sweaters and men’s shirts. I cut my hair shorter than ever and completely stopped plucking the hair above my upper lip (something I did obsessively during my uni years, not sure why, as it might have helped me pass). Nowadays, I get called ‘sir’ more often than I did when I identified as trans. I’ve made peace with things like gender roles - reading bits of feminist theory here has helped me greatly. Making peace with my sexed body isn’t as simple, but I’m working on it.

More importantly, it feels quieter in my head. I’m much, much less anxious. I have a lot more time to myself - to draw, to read, to think about nature, music, poetry, things that make me want to live. It’s easier to look at myself, to laugh at myself. I feel healthier. No more voyeur inside my head, dissecting every move I make, every word I utter. I wear the clothes I want to wear and I don’t care how strangers perceive me. I’m me. Simple as that. I’m not afraid of people’s judgement; I just don’t want to participate in society’s game of seduction and desirability.

If I could drink a magic potion and become a biological man, would I do it ? I can’t say for sure, because it will never happen. And maybe it’s for the best, because I’ve worked so hard to unlearn my misogyny, becoming a man would feel like losing all the progress I’ve made.

Ultimately, I'm glad I didn’t transition – because it would not have changed my biological sex, and above all because it would not have healed or fixed the person inside. And as I read what other women write on the Internet, I realise that my experience is far from unique. I’m not a failed woman – I’m a woman like many others. This whole post is very boring in fact. I too am afraid of violence. I’m tired of being sexualized. I don’t enjoy most traditionally feminine things. I wish I didn’t have to prove that I can be just as good as a man. I wish people would believe me when I say I’m not interested in romance, in having kids. I wish I didn’t spend all these years making myself believe that because I don’t fit the stereotypes of femininity, then I’m not a woman at all. I wish I had loved myself and, above all, other women a bit more.

#personal #dysphoria #desisting #detrans #gender critical #radfem #radfem safe #radical feminism #long post

110 notes · View notes

cherry-valentine · 2 years

Text

Fall 2021 Anime Season

Here’s what I’m watching this season!

86 Season 2 is probably the series I’m enjoying most this season. A surprisingly dark sci-fi series following a small group of teen soldiers who pilot mechs against a mysterious threat called the Legion, season two finds them taken in by a neighboring country who actually treats them well (unlike their home country, who used them as disposable pawns against the Legion). The first few episodes have them taking a stab at living normal lives, pursuing hobbies, getting regular jobs, taking classes, etc. But they’re soldiers at heart, and none of them are content to live in “peace” while a war is going on right outside their doors. The show has a lot to say about war, violence, PTSD, trauma in general, and found-family dynamics. While season one was almost evenly split between Shin and the 86ers fighting the Legion and Lena’s attempts to help them through political and military machinations from inside the Republic, season two is much more strongly focused on Shin and his group as they fight the Legion for a new country, one that has shown them kindness and respect. It’s been interesting to see how other countries are dealing with the Legion, and just how other countries are governed overall. It’s a bit of world-building that the series really needed. The music remains powerful and affecting. The battles are glorious to behold, with gorgeous backgrounds and impressive mecha designs. I’m warming up to the character art, which is still somewhat generic but at least it’s drawn well. Highly recommended.

World Trigger Season 3 is a lot of fun so far. Though I prefer the large-scale invasion arcs we saw in seasons 1 and 2, the smaller tournament arcs between teams have been good, especially when they involve upwards of four teams at a time, creating a somewhat chaotic but exciting feel. The show continues to balance a huge cast very well and has the right mix of action, humor, and emotional moments. The art and animation aren’t the most flashy but they do the job well enough. The show is getting pretty long by this point, so it’s getting harder to recommend it to new viewers, but if you’re looking for a shounen action anime to try, you can’t really go wrong with this one (provided you skip the filler arcs that took up the later episodes of season one). It has plenty of strong lady characters, doesn’t rely on fanservice to make us like them, and has a main protagonist who is more skilled in strategy than actual fighting (in fact he’s one of the weaker fighters in the entire series at this point), which gives the story a fresh take on the genre and avoids predictability.

Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2 is starting out by adapting the Mugen Train arc again, this time adding in some scenes that the movie didn’t have time for. To be honest, I kinda wish I’d just waited and watched this version. Sure it’s broken up into episodes, but it’s basically an extended cut of the movie that’s much more enjoyable. In particular, the first episode of the season is almost entirely new content that wasn’t in the movie, and I really wish they’d found a way to cram even a few minutes of it into the film. It’s actually Rengoku’s introduction, and it does far more to make him likable and endearing than the entire movie did. So if you somehow haven’t seen the movie yet, at least watch the first episode of season two before doing so (and if you have seen the movie and are planning on skipping these episodes, also watch the first episode, since that’s where the bulk of the new content seems to be). It’s hard to talk much about the animation/music/etc. because most of it was taken from the movie, which had a much higher budget. Of course it looks gorgeous. Of course it sounds fantastic. The new arc starts soon, so there’s that. In general, Kimetsu no Yaiba’s strength is in its execution. It’s proof that you can take a fairly simple (even somewhat generic) story and elevate it to something amazing by giving it an incredible presentation. That’s not to say the show is all style, no substance. The characters are fun and there are some truly heartfelt moments. Recommended to anyone who wants to enjoy some beautiful animation.

The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window is the only brand new show I’m watching this season (and I’m going with the English title because it sounds so cool). It’s a BL (Boys Love) series. I think. The BL stuff is definitely on the back burner as the series focuses on its supernatural plot. The basic idea is that a young man named Mikado can see ghosts/spirits/whatever, which have always terrified him. One day he meets Hiyakawa, an exorcist who recruits him to work for him, with the promise of helping him to not be afraid all the time. There’s also a girl named Erika being forced to put curses on people by some shadowy group, and the plot so far surrounds Erika and the boys helping her escape. Right away, you might notice something odd: the fact that a female character has such a big role in a BL series. I was very surprised by how important Erika is. It’s nice that she’s there and has her own story and is not exclusively used to make one of the boys jealous (there’s a little of that, but it’s definitely not the only, or even the main, reason she’s there). She’s an interesting character for sure. But I do wish the BL elements were a little more present in the story. Another interesting character, and my favorite, is the police detective (or whatever his title is) named Hanzawa. His super power is not believing in any of this supernatural shit, which effectively makes him immune to all of it. His disbelief is so strong, in fact, that his blood or saliva can be used to make barriers to protect others from supernatural attacks! He’s a somewhat cranky older guy, middle aged and married and having no time for nonsense. I love him. Other than that, the art is decent. The character designs look good but the animation isn’t exactly high quality. The opening and ending themes are pretty good.

Note: There were several shows airing this season that looked interesting, but I’ve been so busy with holiday-related stuff that I didn’t get the chance to try them. If I watch them later, I might add them to later write up posts for future seasons. In the meantime, if you know of a good anime that’s airing this season, please let me know so I can look into it. I hate harem and I’m not crazy about isekai. Otherwise, I’m open to anything.

Carry Over Shows From Previous Seasons:

Shaman King

Best of Season:

Best New Show: The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window Best Opening Theme: Kimetsu no Yaiba Best Ending Theme: Kimetsu no Yaiba Best New Male Character: Hanzawa (Night Beyond) Best New Female Character: Erika (Night Beyond)

#Anime #Anime Reviews #Anime Recommendations #Seasonal Anime #Fall 2021 Anime #Text #86 #World Trigger #Kimetsu no Yaiba #The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window

7 notes · View notes

thisweekingundamwing · 3 years

Text

This Week in Gundam Wing (Aug 29 - Sept 11, 2021)

That’s right folks! Because of the long weekend last weekend, you all get a two-for-one this round-up! Lots of excellent stuff from the fandom the last two weeks, so take a look and show your fellow fans some love!

--Mod LAM

Fanfiction

Dirty Computer (CH 11/?) by @doctormegalomania

Pairings: Heero x Duo, Wufei x OFC

Characters: 5 pilots

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: minor violence, espionage, unreliable narrator, post-war, reference to past injury, implied/referenced self-harm

Summary: Years after the war, nothing is what anyone hoped for. Peace reigns supreme.

Man Lion Thing Dude (CH 14-16/?) by @anaranesindanarie

Pairings: Trowa x Duo, Triton Bloom x Duo

Characters: full cast, original Trowa Barton, OCs

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tags / Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, whump, blood, alternate universe, supernatural, were-creatures, family problems, arranged marriage, mentions of torture, smut, magic

Summary: Duo Maxwell is estranged from the last of his remaining family who are demanding that he return home for an important announcement. Meanwhile, Duo has been having strange encounters with 'wild' animals, all of whom seem to be hunting him.

The Life of the Immortal Jellyfish (CH 15-16/35) by @lemontrash

Pairings: Duo x Wufei

Characters: 5 pilots + Relena, Hilde, Noin, Une

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: post-canon, post-Endless Waltz, UST, roommates, Preventers, slow burn, insomnia, friendship

Summary: Is it chance that lands Duo and Wufei in the same university dorm room? They’re not stupid enough to believe that but too tired to fight it. Duo’s dragged himself back from the brink of going too far and remains teetering on the edge while Wufei’s doggedly trying to prove himself to the ‘good guys’ in the aftermath of the Eve Wars. Sleep and normalcy eludes them both. As they become increasingly aware how damaged they are, they start to edge towards friendship, or something more, but all too soon the peace seems jeopardised by a new and manipulative threat.

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles for @bryony-rebb

Pairings: Wufei x Sally

Characters: Wufei and Sally

Rating: PG

Tags / Warnings: flashbacks, future fic, tropical diseases, best partners evar

Summary: “I’d come for you”, he said. “No matter what, when you need me, I will be there.”

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles for @boxofhatebrains

Pairings: Duo x Quatre

Characters: Duo and Quatre

Rating: PG

Tags / Warnings: music, friendships, concerts, foul language, complicated relationships with faith, cherry-picking manga

Summary: “You free Saturday night?”

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles for @heartensoul

Pairings: Duo x Relena, Heero x Trowa

Characters: Heero, Duo, Trowa, Relena

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: REO Speedwagon, future fic, receptions, reunions, getting together, smoking, shotgun kisses, first kisses, cherry-picking manga, FT what FT, look at my life look at my choices

Summary: The reception, at least, was a welcome reprieve from most of the events that she’d been forced to attend in the last half-dozen years.

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles for @noirangetrois

Pairings: Duo x Relena

Characters: Duo and Relena

Rating: Teen and Up

Tags / Warnings: stargazing, criminal trespass, future fic, FT what FT, discussion of panic attacks and mentioned ptsd

Summary: “Well, guess we’re here until the solar storm clears,” Relena sighed...

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles for @seitou

Pairings: Heero x Trowa

Characters: Heero, Trowa, Relena

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: 1+R friendship, dates, home cooking, future fic, beers, fade-to-black sex, sweet dumb men in love, everyone ships it

Summary: “I have good MREs that I was saving for a special occasion.”

Katahimikan by @ktsskb / katopiyoon AO3

Pairings: Duo x Quatre

Characters: Duo and Quatre

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: post-Blind Target, Pre-Endless Waltz, non-confessions, pre-relationship

Summary: “I’m just taking a little rest,” Quatre smiles. He lets himself get slightly more comfortable, loosening his posture.

Orgel by @ktsskb / katopiyoon AO3

Pairings: Duo x Quatre

Characters: Duo and Quatre

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: alternate universe, fantasy elements, established relationship, injured character

Summary: Duo comes home late with a gift.

Fanart

Doodle Prompts (1x3x5) by @seitou

Heero x Relena (elf AU) by @lokineko

OZ Military Ball (13x11) by @keiko1183

Zechs and Duo Hairbraiding by @keiko1183

Several by @gundayum

Wedding Bells (3x4)

Snuggles (1x2)

Trowa’s a Pathetic Clown

Duo as the Little Mermaid

King of the Hill (Heero, Relena and Bobby/Mariemaia, and Trowa)

Kinbaku WIP (3x5) by @2pcbart

Relena as John Cena by @farshootingstar

Quatre learning to knit by @farshootingstar

On the Wing by @theboringbluecrayon

Snuggles (3x4) by @circusoftrash

GW Crack by @circusoftrash

Heero EW Redraw by @mei-jimenez-art

Relena FT Redraw by @mei-jimenez-art

GW Kiddo Doodles by @lemontrash

Jellyfish Fic Art (2x5) by @sparkchemy for @lemontrash

Summer (1xR) by @alphaikaros

Zechs and Relena by @alphaikaros

Belated MerMay Relena by @serenestorm

Sexy Trowas (Part I, Part II, Part III) by @serenestorm

Summer Duo by @owlinpajamas

Relena and Heero by @darksharinganz

Other Fanwork

Gunpla and Cosplay

Duo Maxwell Cosplay (Part I and Part II) by @itsjesskage

HGAC Wing Zero by @macks-mechas

Headcanons and Discussion

The Accidental (?) Seduction of Trowa Barton (3x4) by @a-river-of-stars

GoL Thoughts with @kittykatz

Dorothy and Treize, Cathy and Trowa

Treize and Zechs

Treize, Dorothy, Heero, and Epyon

Lieutenant Trant Clark

Other Fun Stuff

GW Sims 4 Portraits by @eslanes

Power Stances, with Zechs and Treize by @the-reanimated-bhg

Quick: look pensive with gloves by @the-reanimated-bhg

@incorrectgundamwingquotes still making us laugh (example)

Memes and Macros

This is my boyfriend’s boyfriend (Rx1x2 and Hx1x2) by @portrayalmuse

Dad Jokes Zechs (Part I and Part II) by @bonmotfic

Heero’s Romance Novel by @the-reanimated-bhg

Coffee Puns with Cathy by @the-reanimated-bhg

Requesting Leave with HR by @the-reanimated-bhg

Zechs, the master of pick-up lines by @the-reanimated-bhg

Spaghetti Westerns by @the-reanimated-bhg

Calendar Events

@gwcocktailfriday is back with this week’s prompt! Be sure to post your responses on Friday (September 17) between 3-5PM EST!

@gundamzine has opened up the mailing list, so be sure to register to get your FREE PDF on October 1! In the mean time, be sure to follow the account so that you can learn about the stellar 2021 Zine Crew members. Also consider donating to the team’s chosen charity, World Literacy Foundation (donations are optional, but encouraged). In the meantime, check out some of the previews, with more to follow.

September is National Prostate Awareness Month and @expewrites and @boxofhatebrains are hosting a GW Prostate Health Event at @prostatehealth-gundamwing beginning September 1. More info is available on the Event AO3 Page but in brief, options are to (1) create something or (2) donate to your prostate health organization of choice.

Sign-ups are officially open for the 2021 Holiday Gift Exchange with @thisweekingundamevents! Sign-ups close September 30, and participants will get their assignments in October, followed by the creation period November-December and finally posting in early January 2022.

@/ficwip (Twitter) is hosting a “Rise of the Dead Fandoms” event. Contributor sign-ups end on September 30, so be sure to register soon! Creation period runs September-October; posting will be in November. More info at their FAQ.

The @weedgrandpacookbook is an homage to the fanon of Mike Howard as the Gundam Wing’s chillest Weed Grandpa. Check out the Zine Calendar and FAQ for more info and be sure to complete the interest check before September 30.

Spooky prompt idea generation for the GW Hallows Event will kick off mid-September, and posting period will happen in October. Stay tuned to @thisweekingundamevents!

Keep an eye on @gwoc-october while you’re at it for news on the GW Original Character (OC) October Event. You can expect a prompt calendar to go live in September with posting in October…but you can also just use the month to showcase works with your original GW characters!

#gundam wing

12 notes · View notes

codyskinner · 3 years

Text

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION

Neon Genesis Evangelion: A Religious and Philosophical deep-dive into humanity.

NGE as I will henceforth call the mid 90s Pseudo-mecha anime, is set after a worldwide cataclysm and following the “ending” of the natural world and the beginning of a world existing in one's subconscious.

The storyline follows 14-year-old Shinji Ikari's work piloting a large mech called an Eva in a fight against the Angels, a collective of colonial aliens . This essay will be divided into 3 parts exploring what I deem to be the core of the show: The Psychology, The Philosophy, and The Religious Imagery.

The Subconscious:

NGE takes a deep-dive into the psychological motivations and subconscious urges behind many of its characters’ behaviours, most importantly, the three teenaged pilots of the supremely powerful mechs, Shinji’s father, and Shinji’s mother. After mentioning the subconscious, Sigmund Freud’s work in psycho-analytics should come to mind. If you aren’t immediately familiar, Freud was neurologist who pioneered psychoanalysis, the study on one’s subconscious urges, most notably in Freud’s view, Sex and Aggression. These two themes hold a presence in the mind’s of each character, as each has a distorted view on reality under the lens of unresolved childhood trauma. Shinji is driven by an Oedipus complex as a result of childhood abandonment, a complex from Freud characterized by a lust towards one’s own mother and desire to kill one’s father. Miss Misato, fills the mother-like role in Shinji’s life and thus, he is compelled in her direction. Misato feels trauma from the second impact and her father’s death, an incident leaving a gap of male presence in her life which she fills with casual hook-ups with a man named Kaji. Misato’s view of herself is impacted because of not only in comparison to who she wants to be but the ideal imposed onto her by the conservative and often authoritarian society she lives in, and so she is crippled with self-doubt and criticism. Asuka is one of Shinji’s teenaged peers and someone substantially more sexually aggressive than all others in EVA, stemming from the suicide of her mother. Asuka develops a resistance to truly confronting this in her subconscious so instead she occupies her thoughts with a race or competitive streak to become the best at all she does. Her competitiveness leads her to suffer from a borderline bipolar disorder characterized by bouts of mania and depressions which eventually lead to self harm. Rei is the final character in Eva I will discuss. She is another teen Eva pilot but with one major difference between her and her peers, she is a clone. Rei is fully aware of the ephemeral and fleeting of her existence and so she views herself from a purely objectivist point of view. If Rei is a clone that will die at some point, she must maximize her time as a tool, and means to get to an ends; in this sense, Rei mirrors the nature of strong high level artificial intelligence. Eventually, through her interactions with Shinji, she develops a love for humanity, and her desire towards objectivity begins to mirror the self-destructive tendencies of those around her as it is her work that puts such immense stress on her body, blurring the lines between objectivism and humanism.

The Philosophy:

After the Eva mechs defeat the last Angel, NGE ends with the success of the Human Instrumentality Project. A forced evolution of humanity in which, connectivity accelerates infinitely. As humanity is united, it becomes a singular collective conscious or “soul”. This project is achieved in benevolence for the purpose of ending all suffering and lonliness and alienation that has plagued mankind, most evident in the trauma in NGE’s main characters. Shinji’s soul or character reaches an epiphany in this collective unconscious and grapples with needing interaction and interpersonal relationships and embraces the others around him. Depending on which ending the viewer believes as cannon, the viewer has the choice of believing that Shinji accepts the project and lives in the collective or the alternative which sees him rejecting the collective, reverting the Instrumentality project, and embracing loneliness. This embrace of the Human Instrumentality project mirrors the beliefs of Carl Jung and his theory on the Collective Unconscious, the idea that one has intrinsic universal heritable elements, common to all, that exist in all people’s unconscious mind. The idea of loneliness mirrors Fredrich Nietzsche’s contributions to Existentialism, the idea that men must accept that there is nothing else beyond life and that a failure to live and take risks is a failure to realize human potential. Jean-Paul Sartre was another philosopher who added to this existentialist philosophy that humanity will live in constant anguish not because life is miserable, but because we are ‘condemned to be free’.

The Religion:

Upon first viewing of NGE, the show’s obsession with religion and religious imagery will become evident quick. Fredrich Nietzsche, the existentialist philosopher in which much of Evangelion’s themes are based from, rejects the Christian god, in reaction giving authority to community-created ethos, and the morals of individuals. As Nietzsche puts it, “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.” Yet this simple thesis is unsatisfying, NGE revels in the thought of higher power and higher power. The Angels of the show are in reference from characters of the Old Testament who bear the same names; the first angel is named Adam and the second, Lilith. Kaworu, one of the angels, sees humanity as beings of Lilith, and in one of the climaxes of the series, Lilith is crucified. Even the organization working on the Human Instrumentality Project use of Hebrew inscriptions and titles as a way to tie the collective unconscious to some heaven or godly universality. Mick Broderick, Associate Professor of Media Analysis at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, writes, "Anno's project is a postmodernist retelling of the Genesis myth, as his series title implies—Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is a new myth of origin, complete with its own deluge, Armageddon, apocalypse and transcendence." I personally appreciate and agree with this conclusion. I believe NGE to be one of the most important worKS of media and art of all time, in the way it tells the age old tale of religion and Genesis in the lens of contemporality and in the age of higher level AI. Because of this, I deem it as the most important explorations of human nature, and a work of art that should be seen by all.

19 notes · View notes