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blogquantumreality · 23 days

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FMA, Slayers, and Alphabets, Oh My!

So I've been watching Slayers along with @ayalaatreides (Using Syncplay!) and I've started noticing some interesting elements that ring a bell from when I watched FMA: Brotherhood.

Now, since FMA came out as a manga in 2001 and the anime for Brotherhood in 2009, while Slayers came out in 1989, it's clear that FMA was inspired by elements of Slayers.

For example, this stylized symbol (upon which Saillune/Seyruun is based in its design) shows clear similarities to FMA's famous transmutation circles, and while I'll discuss this more fully later, you can see both Hebrew and other alphabets used here; I can spot the Latin and what looks like either a runic-inspired or Greek-inspired alphabet (or a mixture of the two) outside the Star of David and in between the concentric circles.

Furthermore, the large door that Edward Elric possesses was clearly inspired by these elements in Slayers, as it also has Hebrew letters carved into it. See below:

In these disparate elements of the Demon's Blood, Ruby Eye, Dark Star, Chaotic Blue, and Death Fog contain lettering with a clearly Hebrew-inspired alphabet as well as what are unquestionably runic-derived letters.

I won't transliterate the runes in this post, but what's really intriguing is that in terms of worldbuilding and canon, there is evidence that writing systems were different in the past compared to the present-day of the 'verse we see in the anime. In particular, a couple of things stood out to me when I found out that Shabranigdo/Shabranigdu had a canonically spelled runic name: ᛋᚼᚾᛒᛦᛅᛁᚷᛞᚢ

If you parse this version of his name very carefully, first of all it appears that the actual alphabet may be drawn from either the Anglo-Saxon futhorc or a mixture of the futhorc with the Elder futhark. Further, the letter that expresses the /r/ sound in Shabranigdo's name is written using ᛦ which originally meant the /z/ sound in proto-Norse (arguably the very earliest runes could be a form of proto-Germanic, but the sparsness of such early rune finds makes it hard to decide firmly one way or the other, so I'll go with proto-Norse) and which turned into an /r/ sound later on, which is why words like *gastiz became gestr.

It is very tempting to hypothesize that a very early stage of the language spoken by the people who now inhabit Saillune/Seyruun and other neighboring countries had a /z/ sound which underwent rhotacism to /r/ (which happened in English as well, incidentally - this explains the origin of "was" vs "were") but for which the early runic writing system didn't adjust (analogously to the proto-Norse runes and later younger futhark and the futhorc) to reflect the sound change.

(Alternatively, in-verse, it could simply be that ᛦ always meant /r/ and was never a /z/, and by Occam's razor this does fit the known facts a bit better, but meta wouldn't be fun without all the extra meanderings, yes? :P )

Also, a fascinating final note is that the last picture shows two circles in which are clearly perpendicular wave-patterns, which to any student of physics is evocative of electromagnetism in the electric (traditionally drawn as a sine wave in the same plane as the page, shown on the left) and magnetic (traditionally drawn as a sine wave perpendicular to the page, shown on the right) fields propagating each other to transmit electromagnetic radiation.

#slayers #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fma #meta #my thoughts let me show you them #followup post to come with transliterations of the runic letters in case anyone's very interested

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cuchufletapl · 1 year

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There's. Something. About the fact that the Flamel Symbol in FMA was ascribed to the three human characters that willingly committed alchemy's greatest taboo and lost (a part of) their bodies as a result.

As I understand it (and I should do more research on it, so take this with a grain of salt), in real-life, historical alchemy, the Flamel Cross is pretty much analogous with the philosopher's stone. And because western alchemy wasn't just about the science but rather had a strong religious component to it, the philosopher's stone itself was never really about obtaining gold in the most literal sense (as a valuable metal for monetary reasons); it symbolises the achievement of spiritual and physical perfection. (And excuse me for being pedantic for a second, but I feel like it's relevant here to know the etymology: in Latin, perfectus -a -um means "finished", "complete".)

Edward, Izumi, and Alphonse aren't whole, they lost a part of themselves in trying to do something that was out of their reach (Al in particular is physically nothing), and yet from the very beginning of the story they're the closest to illumination, they met god (essentially) and knew the knowledge of the world.

I don't believe Arakawa ever told us when Izumi got her tattoo (the extra chapter about her past as an alchemy apprentice has her cleavage completely covered), but I would venture that she got it after her failed human transmutation. There is nothing in the manga to suggest that she did it earlier, at least. Meanwhile, Edward and Alphonse definitely started wearing it after they tried to resurrect their mother — or, more accurately, after they set out on their journey to restore what they lost.

We are never told the reason why they decided to take on Izumi's emblem, interestingly enough. We don't even see them make the decision, they just start wearing it from one page to the other. Chronologically, the first time that we see Ed wear his red coat is in chapter 23, when he travels to East City to take the State Alchemist exam. However, in the one panel where he has his back towards the reader, his arm is positioned in a way that hides the symbol. Al isn't present for the exam, and the next time that he appears, at the beginning of chapter 24, when they burn down their childhood home, we're not shown his left shoulder — only the right. Nevertheless, we could infer that he already had painted the Flamel on, like we can infer that Ed's coat had it as well, and infer we shall!

I read someone here point out how both Al and Ed carry things of the people they love with them, giving the Flamel as one example of it. (I'd quote them properly, I know I reblogged it at the time, but I can't find the post.) And while I'm sure that's part of the reason, an homage to their master, I can't help but think that it isn't a coincidence that Izumi's symbol specifically resonated with them.

Again, we're never told what the Flamel means within the universe of FMA, it's there but not mentioned, a subtle literary symbol — but given that Arakawa had other real-life alchemical symbols in the series mean the same thing that they meant historically... well. Ed and Al are alchemists, after all, so they would know that the Flamel Cross represents spiritual perfection.

I think that the Watsonian and Doylist explanation for the Flamel is the same here — Ed, Al, and Izumi chose in-universe to wear the Flamel for the same reason that Arakawa chose to identify them with that symbol.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm getting at here, to be honest. I'm not sure what I'm trying to say. I don't quite have a conclusion to offer. This is why I don't usually do meta lol

But it just feels like it means something, to have these characters, who were overtaken by their grief and punished for their hubris by taking away their bodies, be identified with a symbol of completeness.

#I went to check that the flamel wan't painted on the armour before the human transmutation #and then I couldn't see it anywhere after Ed passes the exam so I was like #'did I delude myself into thinking that he had it??? I've literally drawn fanart with it how did I miss it'#but no it was just the angle of the panels lmao the symbol is on his left shoulder I was so worried this whole theory would be thrashed #cj's commentary sort of meta?#fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood #fma #fmab #fullmetal alchemist meta #edward elric #alphonse elric #izumi curtis #ALSO it's so hard to research the flamel cross without stumbling into fma and then half of the results about nicolas flamel are hp #I am desperate here where the fuck are the reliable academic sources PLEASE #fmab meta #fma meta #my commentary - sort of meta?

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noxunderground · 4 months

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Tenebrae!MLP is essentially a castlevania inspired apocalypse AU where Twilight and the gang are fighting against the monsters of Tartarus and the minions of the Tantabus.

As you can probably tell at this point, Twilight is my favorite because of how much I draw them.

Extra notes and full sketch page under cut!

Got a little inspired by all the silly zombie aus I've been seeing on tikok. I wanted to go for a more PG/PG-14 angle because I do feel really weird about Insert Kid Cartoon Here AUs that are just for the sake of gore art. There are gonna be plenty of zombie-like plotlines, but they're more along the lines of Chrysalis/Sombra adjacent horror than like. The Smile Virus stuff.

This is definitely also based off of the vibes of 80s MLP, where we get castles and monsters and all that. Dramatic lightning strikes that backlight the main evil guy. While this AU is definitely much more "mature", it's My Little Pony. There's gotta be camp.

I do feel like in this AU, Twilight (and the mane 6 in general) is a lot more rugged, as well as impatient for the concepts of "friendship" and "comradery". In kind of FMA fashion they really only keep the company of their brother (and by extension, Cadence), so long-term connections outside their circle they are understandably wary of.

Bonus: gave Twilight Teeth because I remember seeing a cool idea that unicorns can eat meat (Horses in general have been known to eat meat, so this isn't based in unreality). I like the idea of Unicorns being in some form unsettling and set apart from pegasi and earth ponies that way, so I thought it could be fun :) Also adds to this sort of scruffy look imo.

#noxs_art #mlp #my little pony #Nox!MLP:T #My Little Pony Tenebrae #mlp au #Twilight #Twilight Sparkle #Mane 6 #mlp fanart #mlp redesign #apocalypse au

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qs63 · 1 year

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Fullmetal Alchemist: the land of sand thoughts

Guess who got their hands on some of the FMA light novels? x)

I went into this one blind and it actually took me about ten pages to realize I already knew this story. For those who don't know (like me this morning) the plot of this novel was adapted on episodes 11 and 12 of the 2003 anime!

While it was fun to see Russel's and Fletcher's story again, I'm not sure that I would recommend reading this over watching the anime. Unless you really like the early FMA chapters where the brothers are cluelessly looking for the stone all around Amestris. In that case, go ahead and read this.

The beauty of the light novel medium is that you get more room to breathe than the anime or even the manga. There's more space for dialogue and inner thoughts which means you get a bit more worldbuilding out of the story.

Anyway, the great thing about this particular book is that it has an extra story at the end: The Mystery of Warehouse 13. This one was also adapted in the 2003 anime episode 37, and it features Team Mustang — and a very reluctant Roy — solving a ghost mystery. Being the team Mustang lover I am, I enjoyed reading this. A lot.

This is a very silly story, but it's such a fun read. You have the boys — Riza is mostly absent in this one — ditching work and constantly mentioning how pissed Hawkeye would be about it. Roy trying and failing to get Hayate to give him the paw. Havoc manipulating Roy into agreeing to do something he really doesn't want to. A scared Fuery clinging to Roy all story long. Breda being dramatic. Hayate just being a cute precious puppy. Riza smiling and pampering Hayate. Just that last one makes getting this novel worth it.

My absolute favorite part of this book:

"Well? Has he become the ultimate loyal, unwavering hound? Forever in perfect harmony with its master?" asked Havoc.

"Not yet, though he does shake without me asking now." Roy held his hand out to the dog. The dog gave him a perplexed look and sat perfectly still, like always.

"He'll need a little more training before he can sign papers for me," said Roy grumly.

“You'll be waiting your whole life for that,” said Havoc, promptly dashing his hopes.

#fullmetal alchemist #Fullmetal Alchemist the land of sand #Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 #fma 2003 #fma #what i learned from this #Roy is a nerd #he has a soft spot for Fuery #Riza gives Hayate steak for snacks #Riza absolutely is the real boss of the office #also love how Roy is Hayate's defacto second master

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royaidaydreams · 11 months

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Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗

Extra, Extra (58k)

Fullmetal Alchemist Newsies AU Only a sliver of sunlight had risen over the Manhattan skyline. A new dawn for a new day hawking the headlines. Across the city the printing presses thundered with The New York World’s morning edition. Global news, national news, local news -— from bombastic front page stories to minor articles — the newsies Roy (The Colonel) Mustang, Riza (Hawkeye), Maes (Loverboy) Hughes, and new pipsqueak Edward Elric shouted the headlines and sold it all. Until one day they decided to make the news. Written for 2021 FMA Big Bang

I cannot begin to tell you how much fun I had with the FMA characters and turn of the century time period in this fic. This story is the definition of writing what you want to read. I adore it so much.

2. Dream a Little Dream of Me (3k)

Five times Roy and Riza slept beside each other.

This was the first fic I ever wrote for Royai and FMA.

3. Chaste Kisses (3k)

Roy and Riza kiss during difficult times in their lives. The kisses are soft and tender, reminding each other they are still alive, still beside each other, and more often than not, an apology for tragedies they could not prevent.

The angst. *chef's kiss* Hughes' funeral is my favorite section in this fic, some of my best writing.

4. Excuses (2k)

Roy and Riza move to Central and unofficially become roommates. They don’t live together, but they do.

What do you mean this isn't canon? It totally should be. Soft domestic royai warms my soul.

5. Stay With Me (4k)

The concussion rendered Roy's most dear subordinate unable to work, much less boil a kettle of tea until the doctors cleared Riza for active duty again. He planned to take care of Riza, as long as necessary, until her mind heals.

I love writing for holiday gift exchanges and fulfilling the prompts that others ask for. Hurt/comfort isn't a genre I write often, but it was pretty fun.

Tagging: @scienceoftheidiot @firewoodfigs @waddiwasiwitch @megthemighty @writing-royza

I may never have spoken to any of you, but I think you and your writings are lovely.

#my fanfic #royai #ask

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medea10 · 9 months

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My Review of [Oshi no Ko]

Oof. The spring anime season of 2023 was kinda lax with the sequels and reboots. This was welcoming news for me as I was happy to take on any and every new anime that dropped. And I was ready to give the top prize to Skip and Loafer or even My Love Story with Yamada-kun. But then, this anime smashed in like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. This anime was already seen as the most, highly-anticipated anime to enter this season. Of course, the creator also made Kaguya-sama. It’s going to be awesome! And that’s stiff competition as Demon Slayer and Dr. Stone both returned with positive feedback. On the day of its official release, the first episode alone was seen as #1 on all of MAL. Gee, how long did it take for the FMA fan-idiots to nuke the score of this series? About four weeks. Guys, get another hobby.

Besides becoming the #1 anime on MAL with just one episode out, Hidive received the highest amount of traffic to their website for the first time ever. The music video released by YOASOBI for Oshi no Ko trended for a full week and as of May 17, 2023, the video reached 100 million views. Add to that, YOASOBI’s single has been dominating on the global Billboard charts. Manga sales have exploded. This anime is definitely one to behold. Let’s hope that nothing happens to the anime to make it falter.

Before I talk about the synopsis, I should really go a little further when it comes to the first episode. We all know, the average anime episode is roughly 21-25 minutes as it varies. This of course doesn’t include the length and time of recaps, openings, ending themes, or previews. But then, you get several episodes that are 40-50 minutes. I call that the, “Aniplex wants your attention episode”. Yeah, it’s because most of those I see are in Aniplex animes. Especially the Monogatari series. But in most cases, these are just the first or last episode. I just learned to accept it and enjoy the extra-long episode of SAO or Demon Slayer. Plus, it’s just their way to fill in as much content for the season. Oshi no Ko’s first episode clocked in at a whopping 82 minutes. This first episode alone could have been a feature-length movie. Japan actually did put the first episode on the big screen weeks before the television premier. This seems to be a missed opportunity for Sentai Filmworks.

A REQUEST: I do have a request for those blindly stumbling upon this review. If you are reading this part and have not watched at least episode 1, I kindly ask that you close this page and go watch Oshi no Ko’s first episode. Do not even read the synopsis to the episode. It is best that you go in blind. If you have already done so, please disregard this message and let’s get at it!

Ai Hoshino is an idol in a group called B Komachi. She is loved all around Japan. One particular fan (Sarina) loves her dearly. It’s the one thing in her life that gives her joy as she is currently battling a rare form of brain cancer. She dies. She was only 12. A doctor (Gorou Amemiya) who befriended her kinda got into Ai shortly after Sarina’s death. And now he’s hooked. One day, Gorou gets the surprise of his life as one of his incoming patients is 20 weeks pregnant with twins. And surprise, it’s famous idol Ai Hoshino.

Oof. I’m sorry, seeing them talk to a 16-year-old girl who is pregnant is not a pleasant topic I like to talk about nowadays. You all know the country I hail from and how angry I get talking about real world topics.

Gorou took care of Ai for the next twenty weeks to ensure a safe and healthy delivery. The night Ai went into labor, Gorou was murdered by a man who asked him about the whereabouts of Ai. In his final moments, Gorou recalled a conversation he had with Sarina about what it would be like to be the children of a famous idol.

With that, Gorou died and is reincarnated as one of Ai’s twins (named Aqua). The other twin (named Ruby) was Sarina reincarnated. We watch Aqua and Ruby grow as Ai’s children. But their identies were shielded from the public due to fear of Ai’s career being ruined forever. Still though, when Ai is with her children, it’s some of the happiest moments of Ai’s life considering her life prior to idol fame was dreadful. As for the kids, Aqua got into acting and Ruby got into dancing. And even though it took several years, Ai’s popularity began to grow past just being a teen idol and was ready to perform at a super dome. This happiness was shattered.

The stalker that killed Ai’s doctor stabs Ai in her residence and with Aqua as a witness. In Ai’s final words, she was able to give out a sincere “I love you” to her children. Ai is dead. The stalker killed himself. The children’s biological father could be the source of all that has just occurred. Aqua is ready for revenge.

Now, at age 16 is when the real story begins for Aqua and Ruby. Ruby has ambitions of becoming an idol like her mother, but Aqua wants her to steer-clear away from that business because of what happened to their mother. That doesn’t stop Ruby’s ambitions as she ends up restarting her mother’s old idol group B Komachi. As for Aqua, he gets several television appearances. He has no interest in that stuff, but this is the only way to get answers about Ai and their possible biological father as he might be the key or the reason behind Ai’s demise.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: Oh good! Rie Takahashi is in the main cast. Oh…she plays Ai. That’s just sad. So, is Ai still technically a main character even though she gets killed by episode 1? Just curious! As for the sub, Sentai has a dub out. My premature thoughts went straight to Monica Rial. I’m sniffing around to see if she’s even in this. I can sense Rial up in here.

several research voice actor moments later

Okay, Monica Rial isn’t part of the main cast…but her sister is. I was close and thought that either one or both Rial sisters were going to be there. I thought these people did a good job considering the major hype to the anime. I know I usually never give glowing recommendations for any dub done by Sentai. This, they did fine with. This is my first time hearing most (if not all) the main cast.

JAPANESE CAST: *Aqua is played by Takeo Ootsuka (known for Tem on Beastars)

*Ruby is played by Yurie Igoma

*Ai is played by Rie Takahashi (known for Emilia on Re:Zero, Tomo on Tomo-chan is a Girl, Megumin on Konosuba, Ena on Laid-Back Camp, Sumi on Rent-A-Girlfriend, and Mash on Fate/Grand Order)

ENGLISH CAST: *Aqua is played by Jack Stansbury (known for Mendou on Urusei Yatsura 2022)

*Ruby is played by Alyssa Marek

*Ai is played by Donna Bella Litton (known for Ran on Urusei Yatsura 2022)

SHIPPING: This…can get really ewwie really fast.

Gorou’s obsession with Ai was borderline Lolita fetish. A grown-ass man obsessing over a 16-year-old idol can get really creepy really fast. I do give him props as he remained completely professional as Ai’s OB-GYN. Now, what happens when Gorou dies and is reborn as Aqua? Oh, he loves Ai! It’s just that Aqua was careful as humanly possible. That’s my tip-toeing around the scene where Aqua turns down being breast fed by Ai. Ruby doesn’t mind drinking from Ai’s teat.

16-year-old Aqua kept getting asked by his castmates for the reality show he was in what his ideal woman was. He tip-toes around it, but we all know he’s describing Ai. His mother! A woman who died over 10 years ago. And again, HIS MOTHER! Though, nobody else knows that fact so he just tip-toes around it by being as discreet as humanly possible. Because of Aqua’s looks, he’s a prime target for thirsty girls at his school. But thanks to the reality show he was in; he ends up in a fake relationship with Akane. Totally doesn’t help that Akane starts acting like Ai! Because those two “hooked up” during the reality show, they must keep up appearances with their relationship in the public eye.

We could end that shit topic here if not for little miss Kana being little miss tsundere whenever Aqua is around. Oh boy, Kana is a true tsundere here.

SADDEST MOMENT: That first episode killed it in more ways than one. There’s no doubt that every main character here has had their hardships in the past. Ai had parents that abandoned her and she winds up in an orphanage. When Ruby was Sarina, she was suffering from that rare brain cancer where it was a struggle just to walk. And as for Aqua, they never did find his original body. But I was not prepared for what happened when Ai answered that door in episode 1.

I was thinking that stalker guy was the father of Aqua and Ruby and we’re going to have this whole thing throughout the series. Instead, when I watched this guy try to kill Ai, I immediately got flashbacks of Selena. Oh yeah, who could forget that death?

Yes, everything about Ai’s final words killed me. The animation, the delivery, everything! And Rie Takahashi knocked it out of the park!

DO THESE STORIES LOOK FAMILIAR TO YOU?: So, I might be going out on several limbs here but hear me out. Watching Oshi no Ko, do you draw any kind of correlation to any character’s backstory and seen it with an actor who might have gone through this same sort of thing? This story delves into the dark side of the entertainment industry and mostly in Japan. But being American, I can’t help but draw connections to the sad stories I would see in the entertainment industry in the U.S.

When I watched a crazed fan attack Ai, I will always immediately think of what happened to Selena. Seeing Kana try to stay relevant due to being a child actor, I think of a lot of child stars that went on after the height of their careers and while there are some success stories, there’s…well, it didn’t end well for actors like Bobby Driscoll and Dana Plato. Look both of those up, it’s quite tragic. I know these are American actors and most of the story is revolved around what happens in the Japanese entertainment industry. I’m just using these an example because I learned about these tragedies and lived through some of them (especially Selena’s death). Despite all of those stories being decades old, a lot of dark things still take place in this day and age. And with the addition of social media, being an entertainer has become worse.

The Akane storyline…ouch. First of all, social media comments are toxic. I will admit, I used to “Egosurf” a lot in my 20s when I was somewhat relevant on certain sites. It did not do well for my mental health. But I’m not like Akane. I’m not an entertainer. I’m a dork that likes to write reviews for animes and proud of it. If someone on Tumblr tells me I suck, I just ignore it. I probably won’t even see it knowing me. Tee-hee! Back to the matter at hand though. Akane wasn’t really seen as anything special in the reality show she was in with Aqua. She didn’t stick out as much as her other co-stars. Despite it being kinda like a reality show, these kids are still acting or doing what their supervisors say. Akane decides to do something impulsive and it backfired. BADLY!

This resulted in people on social media exploding with hatred for Akane with the most disgusting of messages telling her she’ll never act again or just blunt ones that say “Just die”. Despite the episode clearly stating this is a “work of fiction”, you know they got inspired by the real-life tragedy of Hana Kimura. Kimura was a female professional wrestler for the most part. In 2019, she was in a reality show called Terrace House. During an episode, Kimura got in a verbal argument with one of the castmates. From what I’ve read, they asked her to stir the pot a bit and fight with the other castmate. After this episode aired, fans took to social media and posted a lot of hate-filled messages towards Kimura. This sent her in a deep depression. Two months after this episode aired and all of the horrible messages were blasted at top speed, Hana Kimura committed suicide.

I don’t want to say Oshi no Ko blatently used this one particular story for the Akane storyline. But I’m also not saying that either. This is eerily too similar. It also doesn’t help that this episode aired days before the anniversary of Kimura’s death. I know it’s coincidence, but weird-ass timing. Thank God Aqua saved her from jumping off the bridge. While Oshi no Ko is a work of fiction, what happened to Hana Kimura was not. And bullying the woman’s family is not helping anything whatsoever. Yes, Kimura’s mother is pissed at the anime for airing a story similar to the events that drove her daughter to suicide. She has that right! Don’t bully her because she’s mad at everyone involved with Oshi no Ko. If I was in her shoes, I’d probably be pissed too and for a long time too. Moving away from that dumpster fire…

And the biggest kudos goes to Hidive. At the end of episode 6, they put up a message to prevent suicide and well, you know what? I’m going to do so here too.

As someone who has unfortunately been in dark places like some of these characters, I encourage others to seek out help as well.

ENDING: Since the events of episode 1, we watched what Ruby and Aqua want to do with their lives. Ruby is committed to becoming an idol like her mother. Slowly throughout the season, she and Kana joined Ai’s old production company and started up the idol group Ai was in, B Komachi. It was just the two of them until the end of the reality show Aqua was in. That’s when Aqua suggested to his castmate Mem-Cho that she should become an idol in the B Komachi revival. This is an interesting mixture for an idol group with the daughter of an idol (though nobody knows that fact), a former child star, and a Youtuber that’s 25 going on 16 depending on her applications.

Kana puts up a brave face in front of Ruby and Mem-Cho. But you can tell that Kana is scared. She’s been tossed around since becoming older, nobody bought her single when she recorded songs, her own mother even gave up on her, and all of these rejections kinda caught up to Kana. Regardless, Kana went up on stage with Ruby and Mem-Cho as a rookie idol. B Komachi got their chance at an idol festival to perform. It’s a start compared to a lot idols in other animes. On stage, it was clear that the audience was mostly there for Mem-Cho due to her popularity through the reality show and her Youtube channel. But Ruby got some attention from an audience member who remembered the original B Komachi and noticed Ruby kinda got that same aura as Ai.

Kana felt a little despair while performing on stage. But then we get a déjà vu trip as Aqua is in the audience doing a glow stick dance. Yeah, it was a lot like what happened when Ai was performing, doubt was swarming her, and then the twins start doing a glow stick dance. I guess the performance went well. It’s just that after that we see more tsundere moments from Kana. Mem-Cho finally sees that Kana likes Aqua. And then there’s some friction when we learn that Kana and Akane know each other and are rivals. And when I say rivals, I mean they are like Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak in the first season rivals, they are catty bitches. They’ve been at it since they were children.

A popular anime is about to be adapted as a stage musical. Akane and Kana are set to be in this production. The gentleman that Aqua has been in contact for a while now set him up with a role in that same stage musical. This theater company was apparently where things changed for Ai when she was an up-and-coming idol.

Could this be Aqua’s big lead to possibly meeting his biological father? That’s a question that won’t be answered today. At least season two is greenlit.

Soooooo…after watching episode 1 and the hype that came along with it, did the rest of the season grab my attention? Yes. It totally did. I mean it wasn’t at the hype it was when I had just watched episode 1. After one viewing of episode one, I had to tell anyone who would listen to me that this was awesome. There were however several other episodes that grabbed me. Yes, it was the Akane-centered episodes. Let’s just say any time I saw moments with Kana and Ruby trying to do idol stuff before Mem-cho came were a little boring. I just felt like they were just there and nothing else. Probably just a reminder that yeah, they exist, now let’s go back to Aqua doing what he’s doing.

Am I excited for season two? Oh yes, I am. I’m doing my best not to look at any manga spoilers. It’s hard. Every so often, a spoiler drops on Twitter and you just want to look. Or someone on Youtube will say something about a new chapter and you just want to take a quickie. NOPE! I’m going to stay strong and just practice good patience.

Medea read up about Aqua and Ruby’s father

No self control whatsoever! Not one iota of it. Whenever season two drops, it’s going to be a biggie. Will the anime continue to be a smashing hit when it returns? That’s for the future to decide. I truly hope for the best. As long as they stay with the original material and the same studio that’s animating it, I think we’ll be good. Full recommendation!

FINAL (IDIOTIC) THOUGHT: So, is Ai going to be the next member of Franchouchou on Zombieland Saga?

…I’m going to sit in the corner and think about what I just wrote.

All 11 episodes are available on Hi-Dive.

#anime review #oshi no ko #aquamarine hoshino #ai hoshino #ruby hoshino #mem-cho #kana arima #akane kurokawa #sarina tendouji #gorou amemiya

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bobcatmoran · 1 year

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Chapter 1.2.12 of Les Mis is entitled, in Hapgood's translation, "The Bishop Works" (FMA and Denny both have "The Bishop At Work," which makes more sense, but my Japanese Brick has 司教は働く, which is more "The Bishop Works," so I dunno).

Again, I don't think any Les Mis adaptation ever has left this scene out, though sadly, most do leave out Myriel being an absolute sassbucket. I'm never going to be over the whole, "Where's the basket for the silver?" "I have it right here." "But where's the silver?!" "Dunno."

My Japanese Brick does a fun bit where, when Magloire asks if he knows where the basket is, Myriel says, 「知っているよ」 (Shitteiru yo - "I know.") But when she asks where the silver is, he says, 「知らない」, (Shiranai - "I don't know," using the negative form of the verb he used to say he knows where the basket is). Japanese has at least a few different ways that could've been phrased, so this kind of keeps in a bit of extra humor.

The Japanese Brick also, since Japanese is a language that has politeness levels built into things like verb endings, does a much better job than Hapgood's "thou art released, dost thou not understand" in conveying Myriel (I presume) using "vous" with Valjean while the gendarmes are using "tu" with him.

In Japanese, Myriel is pointedly using polite form while talking to Valjean, while the line Hapgood chose to translate as though the gendarme was a Shakespearean character ends with, わからんのか？, which is very casual-sounding.

Arai unfortunately doesn't keep in this bit of dialogue, but he does keep in Magloire being outraged on Myriel and Baptistine's behalf about the theft of the silver and the whole, "Well, we'll use pewter...or iron....or how about wood" conversation.

He also has Valjean imagining that Myriel's outstretched arms of welcome are only welcoming him to the guillotine.

But then...

(Myriel is asking here why Valjean — using the relatively polite "anata" pronoun for him again! — didn't take the candlesticks when he left last night)

For the record, if you're following along in the English translation of Arai's manga, this chapter is pages 198-217

#les miserables #les mis letters #レ・ミゼラブル #les mis manga

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beesbeesdragons · 8 months

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I am not asking for more I am begging for more I am on my knees plz

alrighty!!! ive got some more, so lets get right to it!!! with some picture references this time!!!! (this is very long so buckle down I have so many thoughts)

so first off: fashion. specifically children's fashion! if you look here at Nina and Elicia (the two most major child characters), you'll see the general clothing style of the children in FMA. (first photo is Brotherhood, second is 03)

here, we can see that the general clothing for young girls is dresses and, though Nina seems to be in play clothes, while Elicia is in party clothes. The styles doesn't appear to have changes all too much from the other appearances of children in the show (Ed, Al and Winry)

We can see here that it appears to be a similar style, though in my headcanon, I imagine that while the style hasn't changed all too much, it's a bit more dressed-up. Here are some fashion plates and magazine pages from the 1930s-1940s for children's fashion for a visual reference!

for the girls, at least at the age that Elicia and Nina would be, they'd be wearing something like this, or like this:

they're still the same vague style, but a bit more practical in terms of fabric usage. HOWEVER as children's clothing tends to use less darts and tailoring, they'd be able to get away with a bit more decoration in terms of ruffles and trim. For Ed and Al, I imagine they'd be wearing something similar to this:

or this:

They're a bit more practical, and I imagine that, because they grew up in a warmer area (judging by the fact that they got snow apparently only once in Resembool), they'd have been wearing shorts until they were roughly 12 or so.

A specific thing I mention in the third letter in From the Desk of Dorothy Mustang (found here) is that Dorothy is gifted an old coat by Ophelia, who is one of the most up-to-date women in Resembool when it comes to fashion. The coat is in this style, and is intended to look something like the top right coat, with fur at the collar, lapels and cuffs.

next. the UNIFORMS!!!!

ok military uniforms are absolutely fine, lets get that over with. I'm talking specifically Dorothy's uniform, aka for medics and nurses. now. I havent actually posted the chapters which specifically describe the uniform and regulations surrounding it, so you get some extra insight (yayyyyy)

now, in the context for letter 4, it specifically references that civilian medics (those working in civilian-run clinics in civilian areas) are required to wear two red cross symbols on them at all times. the following quotation is from the chapter, in the explanation of this.

"it outlined where and how the red cross symbol was to be displayed and visible on the uniforms of those providing medical aid. All medical personnel, it was stated, were required to display at least two red crosses on their uniforms; one (like is mentioned in the letter) would take the form of an armband, and the other could be located anywhere, as it simply had to be visible. For certain uniforms, the second red cross would be on the back, but for others, especially nurses, it would decorate the apron’s front. "

the actual, official uniform for medics is also described in the context for letter five, as explained below.

"the uniform in the picture she enclosed in the letter bore a striking resemblance to the uniform that would later be made compulsory for medics in military hospitals. The uniform has two variations; a light cotton one, and a heavier wool one. For female medics, it was a blue dress, worn with stockings of either a natural tone, or black, and a white apron with a red cross on the chest. The dress was knee-length, to avoid getting caught on loose floorboards and for ease of movement. Medics of all genders wore white armbands emblazoned with a red cross, alongside red stripes to denote the years of service. Female medics also wore caps with another red cross if they had longer hair, with a hairnet pinned to the cap. For those with shorter hair, there was the option of a headscarf to keep the hair away from the face, or wearing the hair in set curls, close to the head. All medical personnel were required to wear a pair of black, rubber-soled boots. For those in more hazardous regions, with damp ground or heavy and consistent rain, boots made predominantly or entirely from rubber, such as wellingtons, were heavily recommended."

this uniform is based off of this uniform

as well as this VAD uniform

though it is described to have been changed in 1905 for ambulance drivers and field medics (though only them) to a more practical set of denim overalls with a red cross symbol on the front, though a whie armband with a red cross was still mandatory.

here's a vague sketch of the uniform Dorothy wears during her training period (from 1901-1905)