#i think this is from that chuunibyou anime

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Girls Tournament Bracket

Hi there! Self-explanatory title, but this is an Autistic Anime Girls Competition! Here we strive to determine: Who is tumblr's top anime girlie on the spectrum? Though I'm using 'anime' as a general term, characters from print media (i.e. manga, manhwa, manhua), ‘anime-style’ webcomics and games, and from non-Japanese East Asian animation like donghua and hanguk aeni are welcome as well.

Some stuff to know:

The character does not have to be canonically autistic (though canon autistic rep is very much appreciated). Headcanons are allowed and expected.

You can submit as many characters as you like, but do not submit the same character multiple times.

Though I love them, autistic girls from western animation are not allowed in this particular competition.

This competition will be a more relaxed schedule than my last tumblr poll, so that I don't stress and overstretch myself, haha. I may take a few days' break between rounds instead of instantly releasing the next batch of polls right away. This should also help keep the blog from getting shadow-banned.

Submit characters through the designated Google form. Any sent through asks/messages/any other means will be ignored and you’ll be kindly redirected to the form. Just keeps things more organized this way.

Don't be a dick if your fav loses. Please. Let's all be civil here and have a good time. Doing tumblr polls is entirely for fun!

Definitely send propaganda for the contestants! I love hearing people infodump about their favs.

I think that's all for now... you can submit below until September 8th. Good luck and may the best autistic anigirlie win!

TAGGING OTHER POLL BLOGS BELOW THE CUT

@ultimate-anime-tournament @pinkhairswagtourney @canonmisogynyvictimstournament @gayelderstourney @generic-anime-boy-bracket @fuckablemeowmeowbattle @moon-swag-tourney @animemusicbrackets @best-transgender-character @bisexualdivorceebattle @irritable-bowel-showdown @gentle-giant-swag @transandautisticswagcompetition @transgenderswagincartoons @victimsofyaoipoll @tummy-troubles-tourney @chuunibyou-showdown @ocd-character-polls @tournament-winners-tournament @found-family-tournament @christ-figure-bracket @headachebattle @rock-swag-tournament @bestshipsmackdown @queerprotagonistshowdown @titular-twins-tournament @character-of-all-time @white-boy-bracket @ultimate-poll-tournament @autismswagsummit @transgenderautisticbracket @fuckable-old-man-battle @beefy-babe-showdown @cringefaillosersummit @homoerotic-shonen-rival-showdown @autisticgirliesbracket @emoboybattle

#tumblr polls #tumblr competition #tumblr tournament #tumblr bracket #anime #autistic anime girls poll #information #submission post #fyi

[hillbilly---man]

Arisu!!

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Lmao I should have guessed you'd ask me about her!

4) if you could put this character in any other media, what would you put them in?

It's probably cheating to say "more chapters of Saiki K", huh

I think it would be fun to put her in a zombie movie or something. She'd tell about the ancient tomes she read prophesizing hoards of the dead rising from the depths of Hell, and detail the blood pact she was prepared to enter with Satan in order to stop them. Maybe she's just a little bit too into this apocalypse.. But they turn out to be the virus kind of zombie instead so she just looks a little silly

9) could you be roommates with this character?

God, I wish we got to see more of her when she's not doing occult club stuff. If she's like that all the time, I think I'd get annoyed after a little bit. I think she's probably more like a normal goth most of the time though.

So, maybe?

I just know she'd collect something off-putting and fascinating. Diaphonized animals or vintage dental equipment or Victorian hair jewelry or something. That'd be cool

12) what's a headcanon you have for this character?

Lol it's all headcanons when she's only got one personality trait and little to no backstory

- Her parents don't let her dress the way she wants to. Her outfits we see aren't very flashy. And I don't believe for a second that she wouldn't wear some weird jewelry (a vial of blood, an amulet with a demon sealed inside, etc) if she could. She just screams "I'm gonna either outgrow this phase by the end of high school or I'm going to be buying a lot of new goth clothes when I go away to university"

- I made a post about this a long time ago but she's just another flavor of chuunibyou. I don't think that counts as a headcanon but I'm saying it anyway. She and Kaidou could be good friends if they realized how alike they are

- I've portrayed her as a cane user a few times in things set post-canon. I guess I think of her as having some nameless balance/leg strength disability in the future. No reason; I wanted to draw a pretty NeoWalk cane and I was drawing Arisu at the time and it just happened

- idk why but she gives off "youngest child" energy to me

#this was fun #saiki

[satoshi-mochida]

Maid cafe adventure game Maid Cafe at Electric Street to be published by PLAYISM

Gematsu Source

PLAYISM will publish Adventurer’s Tavern-developed maid cafe adventure game Maid Cafe at Electric Street, the companies announced. It will be available for PC via Steam. It will launch in 2024.

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

Maid Cafe at Electric Street is a leisurely maid cafe adventure set in the otaku haven of Nipponbashi, Osaka. The protagonist of our story quits his job at an extremely toxic workplace and finds himself at a run-down maid cafe tucked away in a quiet part of Nipponbashi. There, he meets the maid Shiro. One thing leads to another, and he eventually gets appointed as the temporary cafe manager and put in charge of the management of the maid cafe. As the new manager, his first task is to scout cute girls to work at the cafe. Time to explore Nipponbashi and all the otaku stuff it has to offer!

Key Features

Get to know the four unique main girls: Shiro, Miyu, Favna, and Honoka, all voiced.

Immerse yourself in lighthearted stories about everyday life with the cute maids.

Enjoy the modern and gorgeous pixel art graphics depicting even the finest details, including the meat buns next to the convenience store cashier and the figures on the shelves of an anime shop.

Go on fun dates at Nipponbashi, from anime shops to arcades to the cinema!

The Four Main Girls of Fuwa Fuwa

Shiro – “Um, please be the new manager of the cafe!” A maid who loves Fuwa Fuwa Cafe. A huge otaku for anime and video games, she talks really fast when she’s gushing about the things she loves, and often splurges on merch without thinking whenever she visits an anime shop. A little clumsy, but works hard every day to become the cute maid she’s always wanted to be.

Miyu – “Hey Mr. Manager, thanks a bunch for hanging out with me today~☆.” A game otaku and gyaru with a big appetite. Loves both eating and cooking, and apparently really enjoys serving her cooking to customers at Fuwa Fuwa Cafe. Is actually Shiro’s friend on the online game Magic Angel, so they knew each other before actually meeting in real life.

Favna – “I am the Slayer of the False God, the Queen of the Kingdom of Darkness, the All-Seeing Oracle, the Guardian of the Dream of All Things—.” A mysterious girl dressed in gothic Lolita fashion. Speaks in riddles and demands the protagonist become her familiar. She sometimes accidentally drops the edgy act when she’s taken by surprise though, so maybe she’s just got a serious case of chuunibyou…?

Honoka – “Ya want a thrivin’ business? That there sounds like a job for our shrine!” A girl with a Kansaiben dialect who works as a shrine maiden at her family shrine. Practically in charge of the shrine, she is reliable and very good at handling money, and has a strong sense of responsibility to boot. On top of that, she’s also the only glasses girl at Fuwa Fuwa Cafe!

Support Your Maid Cafe Employees as the Manager!

As the cafe manager, it’s your job to allocate work to your maids. Make sure to give the right girl the right job! For example, Shiro is always enthusiastic to serve customers, and Miyu is great in the kitchen. Of course, you can’t just sit there while they work. During opening hours, you’ll also have to make coffee and help out on the floor, so it’s not as easy as it sounds!

The Stunning Sights of Nipponbashi

In order to recreate the atmosphere of the real Nipponbashi, the game features several real stores you can find there, such as Surugaya, Sofmap, Dragon Star, Super Potato, and Karaoke Rainbow, among many others. Don’t forget to pay them a visit when you’re shopping or taking one of your maids on a date!

Collectable Gachapon

If you’ve been to the real Nipponbashi, you’ll know that there are gachapon machines all over the area. In this game, you can also try your hand at collecting your favorite gachapon series and experience that unique gacha thrill of not knowing what you’re getting. As you collect more gachapon, you can even bring them up in conversations with the girls. Keep cranking those machines until you’ve collected them all!

Watch a new trailer below.

Publisher Announce Trailer

#Maid Cafe at Electric Street #Adventurer's Tavern #Playism #Simulation Game #visual novel #Gematsu #Youtube

[noctswife]

while on my gbf kick i realized i hadnt posted pics of my artbook (Extra Works VI)! Extra pics under the cut + some thoughts

pic 1: Lots of pics from GBFes 2019! I wish they would release the art made for gbfes digitally, there’s a lot of cute, fun, and experimental stuff here that would be good for icons and edits.

Also there was a picture of grimmy in his cooking attire from grand blues!, and I tried to clean it up the best I could since he’s my son. The text reads “CHESTNUUUUT Rice!” (the joke being that “GRIIII” sounds similar to “KURIIII”, the japanese word for chestnut)

Image 3: I liked the different experimental paneling they tried out for korwa’s uncap art! I find this kind of stylistic choice very fun (I enjoy lunalu’s manga-type paneling uncap arts too)

Image 4: I especially liked the concept with cassius’ face being reflected in the ramune bottle, but I get why they didn’t use it. I do wish the actual uncap art was at night, though, with the contrast being more vibrant and having a more dreamy vibe.

Image 5: Grimmy!!! Honestly, I love all these concepts and their chuunibyou goodness. I do kind of wish they went with the bottom two, since they incorporate his lance better (Bottom right below since it’s out of focus)

Image 6: I just think the blue color looks cuter with a more sailor boy aesthetic, especially with the non-hood alt. There’s a boyish charm to it ww

Image 8: There was a lot of ladiva in this, which I didn’t expect but absolutely enjoyed! I loved the different layouts they tried, and each has their own charm! The first one has this teddybear ladiva, which is absolutely criminal that it didnt make into the final cut.

They also had these lines for ladiva’s sprites in her battle, which make me want to get the gbvs artbooks to see the attention to detail they put into the animations there

Image 9: There were a lot of front-back references for various outfits, which I didn’t expect. There were also a lot of concepts for vikala, first various ideas and then two pages of them messing with colors and bits for a more finalized one

The concept artwork for the chaos and promise albums was also included. I like the top artwork’s use of white (or I guess black) space and contrast, but I guess it wouldn’t make for an interesting back cover. I do think it would have been nice to reuse it for that belial ps4 skin that also was monochromatic. Speaking of belial...

Here’s an alternate concept for his adjutant outfit, with a slightly more armored look. the calf-high boots are quite nice!

All in all, I think this book is a good pick for:

WMTSB III concept art (Not a lot of deviations from the finalized stuff, but there’s a lot of it. Also quite a bit of maydays there)

Ladiva fans

Vikala fans (There’s like 10 pages of her. So much vikala)

Other stuff I didn’t include but is worth mentioning:

Eternals uncap art linework

Concepts for those side stories sketches that show up when you open the page

They considered giving uriel boxer-briefs for his swimsuit

Art for granblue channel eps 25 to 38

#gbf #granblue fantasy #grimnir #cassius #ladiva #sandalphon #sandalphon gbf #korwa #grimnir (gbf) #cassius (gbf) #ladiva (gbf)

[maristelina]

Bring it On! Lyrics Brainworms

I tried translating Bring it On! Lyrics for practice and the 3rd line of the 1st verse already destroyed me.

The line "かませ必殺 しら切りなんて許さねえ"

Kamase Hissatsu (かませ必殺) can be translated as a killer move that finishes off the opponent. The word "かませ" (kamase) means "deception" or "trickery," while "必殺" (hissatsu) means "a deadly or finishing move."

必殺 is pretty analogous to skill like in the rpg sense and especially in anime that refers to a special ability/move.

"しら切り" can have multiple meanings, depending on the context. Literally, it means "white cut," which could refer to a sword technique or a sharp, clean cut.

If I were to translate this quite literally, Fuuta is saying "Kamase Hissatsu!" I won't let you cut me out!

He's…literally a chuunibyou…if that's the case.

The official English translation for it is

"Eat this! Don’t act like you have no idea! We won’t forgive you"

And I am…very confused. Is it a slang?

My Japanese is not great and I'm still learning but if any JP speaker clarify this for me I would be so happy…

EDIT: A friendly Japanese Twitter user has come to our aid and explained the phrase!!

The actual translation would be...

"Special attack! I won't forgive you if you play ignorant!"

WHAT A CHUUNI. FUUTA PLEASE !!!!

EDIT 2: After thinking about it more, the English translation from a localization standpoint is really good for the first verse! Since Fuuta is screaming an attack, "Eat this!" is a common way characters in video games say a "Special Attack" in English.

#milgram translation #milgram #bring it on

[redlerred7]

Something you find appealling in an unconventional or atypical way?

I'm not abreast of all the different ways one may find appeal in a thing. It's very hard for me to gauge whether or not the way I like or enjoy something is conventional or typical.

Anyway, Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai is probably my favorite anime. The characters are entertaining, the romance is cute, and it has a pretty poignant message about normative behaviors, the joys and follies of youth, and people's relationship with their hobbies, interests, and escapism in general.

But for the purposes of this ask, that's not the important part. No, the important part is that I consider the significantly less popular second season to be better than both season 1 and the sequel movie.

Let me explain:

Season 1 had the task of introducing characters, setting up the plot, and making you care that these characters actually go through all of said plot. To that end, I think season 1 did an good job of hitting all the story beats in moments where it resonated.

Unfortunately, I am a weirdo and the story beat that is considered by most people to be one of the most impactful parts of the story instead completely failed to resonate with me at all. Intellectually, I understand what makes it so powerful to others, but being unable to feel it myself made half of the whole point of season 1 fall a little flat for me.

Season 2 goes in a different direction, one where I can actually relate to the plot being depicted, on top of doubling down on the parts of season 1 I already liked.

That is to say, majority of the season is the characters acting like dumbass cringy teenagers who are part of a LARP group. AND there isn't some air of normative moral judgment over the fact that they're LARPing. They're allowed to actually enjoy themselves.

And as we find out as the seasons goes, the main cast's LARP group isn't the only group of weirdos in the school they go to.

Their school isn't even the only one! At some point they encounter a rival club that's tangentially related to their own that has their own unique brand of weirdness.

Normality is an illusion. Everyone is at least a little bit weird. I think this season communicates that theme much better than season 1 did.

Any issues that arise regarding their fun is a wholly internal problem within the characters themselves rather than a product of their environment.

Also I liked the love-triangle, though it's not really a love-triangle in the way most people think of them. It still has the jealousy, possessiveness, and two characters in love with the same person, but it was refreshing how blatant season 2 was about the fact that the other character has no chance.

Often I see shows try to at least be a little coy about it. They'd be like "sure, they do not and will not have a chance, but we're gonna try and make you believe that they do anyway."

None of that. Just a good, straight forward story about a new character who's about to have her heart broken.

And then learn how to move forward from that.

That last thing I mentioned is probably the best part of the love triangle subplot, to be honest. Possibly even the best part of the season if I'm being particularly generous to it.

To be clear, I like traditional love-triangles too—I like love-triangles in general. It just so happens that this particular love-triangle hits my buttons in such a specific way that I can't help but love it.

As for the sequel movie...

The reason I think season 2 is better than the movie is because the movie performs a little bit of character development backsliding (similar to how the K-on Movie reset the characters' relationships from the end of K-on Season 2 back to what they were like at the beginning of K-on Season 2). And after that backsliding, the main leads end up having same character development they had in season 2, except in a shorter amount of time and in a manner less open to interpretation.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a good movie. I loved that the movie is about the cast having a wild road trip all across Japan. The art and animation was amazing, too. But the things I loved the most about the series—the characters' adventures in LARP and how it affects their daily lives—just isn't as present. That automatically puts it at the bottom of my tierlist of animated Chu2 works.

#chuunibyou demo koi ga shitai! #love chunibyo & other delusions #replies #animeomelette #redlerred7 writes

[notimeliketoday]

Exploration on Two Shots, Maya Kitajima & Togashi’s Possible Intent Behind The Story’s Relationships. (1)

PART II

Or to put it bluntly, a musing on the popular conceptions people have with Kurama and Maya's relationship - a different take.

Please excuse my ramblings and random date mentions. I'm just keeping track of how long since I started writing this whole thing. This may be the longest length of time I dedicated to writing my takes on something - just imagine an entire year. 

Let me just mark this as posted on September 11, 2022 6:24 pm UTC +8 / GMT +8 because with the unrivaled dedication I poured into this, I deserve to remember when I decided to throw my hands up and left caution to the wind to post this whole thing lol.

Thanks to @yyh4ever for the translations and additional help with the whole thing, and @ombreecha​ for your insight. 

Note: the first one's for the manga version.

Where did it all begin? Kurama in a corner while his peers in class were talking about an incident involving students going missing. The rest is history. 

From the beginning, the heroine's introduction is off to a bad start. She was unfavorably compared to her nameless female friend. The first bad sign of what's to come. 

The reader is then shown who this "Maya Kitajima '' or just plain "Kitajima" that an irrelevant and nameless character mentions. She started to include Kurama into their conversation, getting more and more animated the longer she talked. That was when her personality came into full display. 

Interesting to note, and the first inconsistency I noticed concerning the "Kurama fell in love with Maya from the beginning" notion, is that during the entire conversation with her, Kurama's body language suggests distance, that he doesn't see her any differently from the rest of their classmates. He was even turned away from her when he answered. If Shuichi made an effort to at least be more open, Togashi would've drawn him turning even just his head towards her. In fact, when she then stated how boring his logic was to the disappearances, he gently told her how idiotic her ideas were. 

Not to mention the way that Maya's subsequent replies sounded utterly nonsensical by the minute, with her gestures exaggerated, sets it up so it greatly lessened the impact when she said that she had Reikan. Shuichi went so far as to focus more on the eraser than her at that point.

Really, Shuichi?! 

The implication on how easily the eraser captured and retained his attention when she's saying something important about herself I leave to you all.

Maya was meant to be an adorable weirdo whose unique hidden potential draws Kurama's attention. That was how Togashi built her up. One could say he played with the chuunibyou trope with her since she's legit, possessing the spiritual energy she brags about.

It's almost no different from the so-called spiritual masters Genkai promptly humiliated during her disciple selection. You'd think a potential love interest would be treated a lot more seriously from the start. 

I'll say this: for all Keiko is his least favorite character, Togashi didn't treat her as badly as he did Maya. 

I read the whole manga to see exactly how he did things and for accuracy and comparison's sake.

Just as interestingly, her outfit blends with her friends. This is the supposed heroine of this side chapter: indistinguishable from other nameless characters. 

Kurama got a different outfit from his peers in this chapter but she did not, even with her prominence. It's not important I'm sure.

It's a sad thing that the very first time she was mentioned was a jab to her by one of her friends and thereby ensuring she isn't going to be truly significant no matter how important she's framed with her first appearance.

Centre aisle everyone?

However, the next panels indicate she may be more important than first assumed after all. 

Kurama was then musing about said missing incident when Hedoki showed up and bragged about his intention to kill him, which Maya saw. 

So she was right after all and that means Kurama can finally have someone he can talk about his past, and the truth of his identity, and later become his official love interest right? Yay!

No. 

I'm sorry, but his response is outright gaslighting her. He even thought, "She was actually able to see it?" and his affirmation of its existence sounds more like a concession with how it was followed by him thinking his presence awakened it in the first place. This means he thought little of her ability and he believed that whatever little spiritual awareness she had had awakened and heightened from his close contact with her. 

Then to really hit it home: "What do you mean? Maybe it was just your imagination."

Doesn't sound romantic, does it?

He could've just said that it's nothing and leave it at that and Maya's response can still be the same. I know it's the same gaslighting, but the insult is less harsh than how he did it. 

There lies the second inconsistency with the romance route. You think Kurama would've demeaned the potential ability of his first love in the manner he did? Perhaps it can be argued he did it to protect her, and it's true in a way. But I've just discussed how his reception to it went above. There was also how he answered her questions and theories in the classroom. It wasn't even her claim of possessing spiritual energy he subtly questioned at that point, it was her very own sanity. He was all "you really believe that?" with his "I think that’s a bit far from reality"/ "Not possible". All in all, he sounds more like he thought very little of her as a person.

It can be taken that he didn't mean any insult and simply stating a fact, but his deliberate distance, not bothering to turn even just his head to address her, says differently. 

Its purpose is to portray to the readers why Maya's female friend would be defensive in her level of credulousness, and show us the depth of Maya's own credulity through her interaction with him in that scene, though we are supposed to see this trait and her antics as endearing if only through Tasaka's (the male friend) crush on her and Kurama's supposed feelings in his inner monologue during his rejection.

He was acting like he was only speaking to her for the sake of politeness and her insistence to get into his personal space. There is nothing that says "I like this girl more than a classmate".

You can't even say that's him pushing her away when he could've treated her better than that.

I mean, is this the look of a guy who's looking at his crush? 

His eyes are not as dull-looking and lifeless when he is talking to Hiei in his room! 

In all actuality, if this intends to illustrate that her antics are cute or simply has any effect to Shuichi/Kurama and overall a lighthearted interaction, he would’ve reacted something. Maybe he could’ve sweat dropped like he did with Botan’s own flights of fancy, or even just smile towards her. Anything could’ve work better than this cold indifference. **

So where does that possibility of Kurama loving or his feelings of fondness for her come from?

The narrative sets her up for that role when it illustrates how Kurama-centric the root of Maya's ability from, as if she on her own won't possess it if they never meet. She's also the only one to get it through her contact with him.

(Something that isn't somehow repeated with Keiko and Atsuko with their much greater exposure to demons and entering Makai itself.)

Screams "meant to be", isn't it?

Tragic to think that it also implies that it is only her wishful thinking and interest in occult stuff that makes her believe she's special at the same time beforehand.

What happened next was her insisting that she wasn't wrong. That what she'd seen and heard was true. It's good that she got that much faith in her ability, otherwise she would've been crushed by Kurama's words.

Here comes her true reason for paying so much attention to him. She sensed he was different from the others, just like her. Then she added how happy she was to find the sort of person she'd long wanted to meet, someone who can relate to her, and maybe help validate that the strange things she saw from time to time is not just a product of her overactive imagination. Just as luckily, it's the guy she fell in love with. 

We can see that he didn't even know about her feelings for him because of his surprised look and Maya saying, "So you really didn't know?"

Now here's the answer to how romance came into the picture. Maya detracted from her original question the moment she asked if he didn't know [of her feelings]. So when she persisted with "but you still haven't answered me yet" it now diverted from her asking him about the demon to how he feels towards her.

Kurama tried his best to dissuade her from probing further, and here's the awaited hint that he may reciprocate her interest after all. 

"I can't... I can't say it". / "If I tell her how I really feel, I'll surely put her in danger." 

(JP direct translation from @yyh4ever  on twitter )

I will be blunt: this came out of nowhere. 

At least the most accurate Japanese translation is. When I asked my friend @ombreecha  - who I also requested to read this specific chapter -  where it was hinted he reciprocated her feelings, she pointed out this one (the translation she read was the "I can't say it" line), something I agree with. 

There's nothing that indicates he thought of her as his crush regardless of his need for distance from his peers in the classroom. If anything his body language and actions when talking to her is borderline rude, his words aside. That's too much for his "pushing her away for her sake" schtick.

He never repeated this level of distance in the series to anyone else. This is the rudest he could ever be to anyone not his enemy. Does this still scream romantic to you?

In comparison, her twist as the real deal possessor of spiritual energy is handled a lot better, and even that is not that good. His inner monologue and surprise over her feelings implies he didn't care to pay closer attention other than to know she got a hidden ability, yet it's still barely enough for his acknowledgement.

Not to mention they are supposed to be talking about that demon they both see and the admission of truth concerning their abilities while Kurama is doing his best to deny it. Then it suddenly flips into him hiding his feelings out of nowhere where it somehow becomes the most important thing to zero in.

That's what made this baffling.

It makes more sense if Kurama DID reject her claim that he is extraordinary. She was pushing him to tell someone about his abilities (i.e. herself) and put pressure on him that compelled him to deny it just to hide the truth about the incident and himself. It will flow better why she would say "[she] is ready and listening" rather than her confessing and probing him for his. The reason she will get so hurt by his answer then is because he inadvertently rejected her and her desire to get closer to him.

It need not be romantic on his side.

Ironically, the "I can't say it" translation flows better with this interpretation. 

Maybe this is why the translator chose this wording.

What this part should have been would be him conflicted with his conviction to make her stay away from him or to finally have a true friend who knows who he is, not a love interest - yet. It would then be supported that there's an underlying implication he wanted to form a stronger bond with her, thanks to her spiritual sense and potential to be sympathetic to his true nature through her own interest in occult stuff, but couldn't due to the risk it posed. The reason I can say it need not be romantic in nature - at first - would be thanks to Hiei and what he offered later on.

It's actually thanks to this sudden change of topic that Maya sounds cocky and made her unlikable in my opinion because she's implying he should know about it in the first place. Granted, the whole class presumably knows but that required a level of engagement he wasn't interested in. It's like she thought she and her feelings are important enough to warrant such attention, or one was really blind if they didn't know something so blatant. It's funny, however, because she herself isn't sensitive enough to his own feelings and just tries to force her friendship without trying to understand what it is that he wants, only her interests. She's lucky he supposedly got a crush on her and he really did want to bond with someone who can understand him, otherwise her actions would have been intrusive had he been more like Hiei.

If she had pressed him to finally admit his hidden ability while offhandedly confessing her feelings, it may be more sympathy-inducing when he blew her off. It meant she did not pressure him with her confession but that she is open for more should he choose to confide in her.

Something like...

(Original dialogue spilling her feelings) and then this:

Maya: Admit it! You've really talked to that demon! Come on! Don't be shy. I understand that very well. It's not easy to be unable to share our experiences because other people won't believe us. But if you open up, you won't be alone anymore. I will be here to lend you an ear.

"Go ahead. Tell me.. I'm ready. I'm listening." - (Her own line in the confession above.)

It's precisely because this was not how things went that his rebuff made her only look pitiful with how cocky sounding she was before that.

I do believe that making Kurama open up to her is the original point of her probing him to tell her but the timing of her confession circumvented her words as though she's actively pressuring to get a confession out of him with the expectation he felt the same.

The OVA pulled it off in such a way that she really WAS pressuring him for his feelings towards her for the romance to be much clearer. 

As I stated above, the whole thing with Maya was done poorly from the start. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Togashi attempted a then-atypical method of an underdog heroine for this chapter and did not bother to develop her initial characterization. She was built up as this chuunibyou with love of occult who turned out to be real but the payoff wasn't satisfying due to the sudden insert of the romance at her most critical moment. 

Not saying that the romance is impossible but with the lack of build up on Kurama's side for that aspect, it's still premature on his part. It should be just a prelude to that specific possibility, not the actual mutual pining. 

It's also an observation Ombree shared as well.

She gets shot down! Gently.

She then leaves with the sting of bitter rejection. What's more, it's a triple blow she got.

Let's think about it. Her feelings getting rejected, getting gaslighted by her first love and the crushing disappointment. Perhaps she was tired of feeling being alone in her uniqueness and wanted to maybe finally be taken seriously for once. Maybe she's not unaware of how her friends thought of her love of occult stuff and her credulousness and it pained her. More than anything, it hurts the most knowing that Minamino-kun was not so different from the rest after all. He also didn't believe in anything occult-related. He thought of her ideas stupid, and even insane. The way she immediately accepted and turned away just from a few words showed that this is expected despite hoping otherwise. It didn't mean it didn't hurt her though.

Oddly enough, she merely got sad during her rejection but didn't cry. It seems that in the manga, at least, she was not hurt as badly as her OVA counterpart because she already braced herself for a negative response, and her hopes weren't as steep. I see this to mean that she's already used to disappointments. 

It was at this point that it's clear that though Togashi made an effort to build up Maya and the potential for the romance through mutual points such as her spiritual powers and interest in occult, which helped bridge their gap to one another, he also spent just as much time tearing them down - did it side by side in fact.

Even the little tidbit about her worrying over her weight hindering Shuichi did not escape as another means to demean her. Because the natural (and common) anime response by anyone in her position would've been to ask what's going on first and worry about the situation instead of focusing on how heavy they are. That's why Kurama answered her "that's not the problem right now" as it was not the right question to ask right there.

It was showing that she still got the mind to be conscious of her weight over prioritizing the more pressing matter in front of her.

I do concede it could also be just to show how out of depth Maya was with what she found herself and her crush in. She was responding according to how her brain processed the happenings; she was just a naive adolescent in the middle of a confusing situation. The point still stands however, due to Kurama's answer to her question and how she was written thus far.

When he grabbed her, she looked hopeful. Perhaps he's changed his mind and it's all a prank? 

But his stance and words scream caution. 

An enemy attacks!

Nah, false alarm on both ends. It's just Hiei.

The new arrival was just a demon looking for an Ice Maiden, and our male lead thought he's one of the enemies they each thought were working for their target. 

All the while, Maya's forgotten and got taken during the scuffle. Togashi didn't even make Kurama gently drop her off before fending off Hiei.

I know it can be explained away as her distraction from the fight in front of her that she didn't sense another demon from behind her back but Togashi creating the proper conditions just so she would inevitably get caught was yet again to mean how little her spiritual powers matter in the grand scheme of things. If anything, Maya was more shown as the girl who was infatuated with Shuichi while her potential was just barely an afterthought. 

So they learned who they were meant to fight and a new acquaintanceship formed which upgraded to alliance with her kidnapping.

It's obvious Kurama would never have joined the fight had she not been captured, and just as obvious Hiei wouldn't win the fight against Yatsude by himself. Maya's purpose was fulfilled.

When Hiei asked him for his motive for joining, he answered with "nonsense" / "don't be smart" which means he didn't want someone he just met thinking of his link with Maya.

Yet another point against the romantic view. The OVA alters this line with "we both have our priorities / we're both concerned" that recognizes her part for his cooperation. It makes sense with how it altered their dynamic.

Of course, the real enemy needed to show up at some point.

This is the other part where people are so convinced of Kurama's romantic feelings for her. How else would it explain his only instance of recklessness throughout the entire series? 

I tried to make an objective view as possible so Ombree gave me her take on this part. I also tried to look for any official sources that discuss this one-shot and Maya to the best of my ability (and the language barrier), and went back to rereading and rewatching the whole thing many times for a year now (since the 2nd week of September 2021 iirc). I also asked for help on the translations as well as for clarifications from mori on twitter as well. 

Ombree said he's more enraged at her loss and doesn't feel guilt is present when I asked her for it.  But I think it's both and more. In her defense, this is the only chapter she read.

It can also be explained as his rage at losing control of the situation, anger that someone was killed so brutally, as well as anger towards himself for failing his classmate. It's a myriad of emotions manifesting into deep hate against the enemy. It need not be solely romantic for him to react this way.

How else do you expect him to react to the only kidnapping he "fails" at? 

It's a logical fallacy to assume that the more explosive his reaction to someone's kidnapping and threats means that it's how strongly he feels towards someone. 

It's like saying he loved his mother less than Maya because he didn't react this way for her sake. Willing to die sure, but get into a reckless rage he didn't do for her. 

Or Amanuma, whose death provokes him to mercilessly punish Elder Toguro more than he did to those who threatened her.

It's like saying Hiei cared the most about Yusuke with how reckless and angry he was over the latter's second demise against Sensui, to the point Kurama himself points out he doesn't care about surviving the fight.

See a pattern here?

Maya, his supposed love interest, and Amanuma, a boy he just had the misfortune to strike down thanks to the machinations of a madman on the same day they met, invokes the same degree of intense hatred from him in two different ways. 

All because of two aspects: they "died" during the ordeal. Only Kurama also bears the burden of those "deaths".

See these two important common factors.

It's why these failures are much more crushing to bear than the one time the group faced Yusuke's second death, for one thing. 

Even saving his mother got outside help twice - Yusuke giving a part of his life, and when he, Jin and co. helped him defy Yomi's orders alongside the threat of Mukuro defeating him that ensured his mother will not suffer the consequences of his rebellion.

To the rescue!

I can say that even in this, it's shown that Togashi handled this kidnapping as though it's no different from him trying to rescue any other girl. 

Proof? 

He never called her by name when asking Yatsude. Sounds way too impersonal to me.

Now, I would agree with the accusation that this will just be nit picking on things but we need to look at the other times he referred to a girl this way.

These examples have something in common: he wasn't even acquainted with the girls in question yet during those times. 

He could've easily said "Your underling grabbed my friend (or even just "my classmate") Maya earlier today. Where is she?"

She's already captured so any more extra caution about their connection should be obsolete but he still chose not to acknowledge it to the enemy. He still chose to put up a front that she was just a nobody he was trying to save. 

Compare that to Yusuke who always mentioned Keiko's name even when the villain didn't know her at all.

I also agree that this on its own is negligible. 

Except….

When Hedoki captured Maya, he was thinking of taunting Kurama about her through Yatsude, indicating this was his objective in handing her to him. However, there was no dialogue between them that clues us that the latter had known her ties to Kurama or treat it as anything important. If anything, he was merely saying that she would make a good gift for him and congratulating the former for doing a good job selecting his meal.

You know, like if he caught any other girl since he prefers them. 

If he even bothered to care about asking the purpose for Hedoki’s gift, Yatsude may have perhaps used her to taunt Kurama for real. He would also not say "Is she a friend?" if he knew the capture was intentionally done to provoke him. 

He was merely reacting at their invasion in his hideout rather than caring about provoking another demon through someone they care about. 

The taunts he did were more coy and detached than the usual kidnapping case regardless if the subject in question was a then-unknown Ice Maiden or just a random girl his underling chose for him. He is really indifferent about them beyond how tasty they are, though there was more emphasis on the Ice Maiden since he made that false rumor about eating one presumably to increase his reputation.

If we actually compare his responses to Hiei's and Kurama's demands, it looks more like he baited Hiei more intentionally. Kurama was just another pest he had to deal with at the same time.

At a closer inspection, Hiei's attempts to find the Ice Maiden is actually a parallel to what was happening with Kurama and Maya. 

Let's remove the knowledge that they're siblings and the plot between him and Yukina, and just look at this one-shot through a first timer's eyes. 

This guy goes to such lengths to find a maiden whose name isn't revealed yet. Someone attempts to find out the nature of their relationship, but he was evasive about it because his personality is that of an arrogant lone wolf archetype. So his relationship with her is questionable, but one that can be mistaken as romantic. 

Sounds familiar, right? 

She was then said to be eaten by the enemy he's currently pursuing to gauge the truth. The ferocity he is fighting the enemy automatically cements that it must be for a romantic reason because, let's be real, we really don't immediately think they're a brother and sister especially with his character archetype - especially during those times until today - unless it's outright stated. This archetype is even one of the most common male leads in romances, particularly in shoujo works where the heroine is the one to thaw the ice for them to care about her. 

(It's actually hilarious in hindsight how he played this role with Mukuro but in reverse. He was the one who did the thawing of her heart even before they officially met, according to her inner monologue right after his duel with Shigure, and after the Three Kings arc with her past.)

The villain in question seems like he's baiting the guy because he specifically mentions eating an Ice Maiden, even if it's a lie just to up his reputation of strength - the very type he is looking for. It's also lightly implied it isn't the first time they fight. Another clash is obviously inevitable. 

Though he partially succeeds with his goal, we are still not told precisely what their relationship is until the end. 

Just as how we are not told precisely what Maya is to Kurama. 

Continuing that parallel later which reveals this bond as siblings and not romantic, then it also matches how in the end the relationship between them stayed as friends.

But there's a contrast as well and it is really recent, like just this May recent, that I noticed it. 

The way Hiei questioned Yatsude is pointed and very specific. The identity of the maiden in question is important for him to know. So Yatsude responded the same way by treating it as a great secret only those in his confidence know about.

Kurama on the other hand worded his question as if he's asking about some girl that honestly could just be anyone captured that afternoon - like how should he know which one? That's why he was taunted with a random leg of a dead girl. 

The only reason he could determine which one after his defeat was because her death was delayed thanks to him eating Hedoki first so he wasn't hungry yet before Hiei and Kurama barged into his territory. 

It may seem like nothing but it matters a lot. You'll see why below.

Through comparing the two girls' importance presented we can see that the Ice Maiden is more relevant in the eyes of the villain of the story as though she's the heroine due to her significant usefulness for him both for his reputation and his strength - nameless and faceless as she is then.

This bit is brilliant because it subtly establishes that the then unnamed maiden will be a more prominent supporting character than the "heroine" of this portion. It's also a nod to the earlier volume where a villain really did use Yukina for his own gains; chronologically, it would've been a foreshadowing for that as well.

How in the end Maya is never seen nor relevant again (aside from an anime removed flashback in Dark Tournament).

She's even the foil to Maya's human. 

You trying to tell us something, Togashi-sensei?

In my opinion: yeah, definitely. In more ways than one, especially considering the observations I laid out above.

It's also a hint to what he thinks will fit Kurama best.

Now, I actually thought that these are all there is to analyze about the plot and characters but it turns out there are more. 

(Yeah, behold the beauty of taking almost a year to post one's thoughts. There's room for revision and new ideas. The one with the double asterisk above and below itself is conceived just this September 3 and made me internally scream because at this rate I may never get to publish this at all!)

It literally only came up to me right when I was in the middle of studying for my exam to boot! Hello to my July 23, 2022 struggle! 

So, I said that Maya is the heroine of this portion and Shuichi/Kurama the male lead. Following the common conventions of shoujo plot romances, Hiei would have been the second male lead. In a way, he is. However, there were things subtly established by Togashi to avert tropes associated with the typical shoujo stories.

Hiei, as the second male lead, should've been besotted with Maya the heroine, but he not only looks down on her, he also only speaks about her in derision and scorn. 

He also has his own heroine to save - a heroine later revealed to be not a romantic partner but a sister.

Where the end of the story should've culminated with the male lead ending up together with the heroine while the second lead ends up heartbroken but accepting of her choice, it ended with her getting cut out of her love interest's life while the two male leads form a new bond without her in the picture. 

Maybe this is why Togashi showed Kurama dropping her and completely forgetting about her the moment he clashed with Hiei in favor of chattering with the latter until Tasaka called him asking her whereabouts?**

I know Togashi is a genius in his works but this is really the time it truly amazed me. To think he did all this angry and tired. The subtle nuances especially on the parallels and contrasts between each character are masterfully conveyed especially if you care to look deeper. 

It is not merely just a meeting between both male leads that he was forced to make. He really did make an effort to the best of his abilities to tell this story and how it connected to the main story thematically and chronologically. 

This is the reason for its popularity. He did not treat this halfheartedly but poured his heart into it. So anything shown here is done on purpose.

Those irrelevant on its own are collectively relevant to parse together the whole picture he wants to impart.

If this still doesn't convince people Maya's just a plot device however, I dunno what to tell you.

Poor girl got the short end of the stick!

Not even in this was she given her due as the supposed first love. I can no longer make excuses about this now. It's already far past the point for it.

Kurama is also the sort of character to be protective of girls because he's a mama's boy already by then. There is that too.

When I read this part, it feels like Togashi needs to give something to make Kurama and Hiei fight together for the first time that doesn't involve the former's mother getting kidnapped; who better to use than a classmate who liked the former and for whom he could possibly felt the same in turn?

They defeat Yatsude. Their issues are solved. Yahoo!

It did, except that this solidifies Kurama's principle not to get too close to anyone, while also ensuring Maya doesn't end up suffering trauma from the incident or worse get kidnapped again this time by demons wanting to get revenge or fight against him. This means her memories got to go. 

There's a plausible second support for the romantic route on this portion. Kurama looked wistful when he removed her memories. It felt like he didn't want to do it and finally cut off ties with her.

However, it can also be perceived as his sadness with his decision to sever the bond with a friend he will never again allow to get close to him.

Hiei's impact in this (not) love story.

Everything one needs to discredit the romance is all thanks to him! 

Need I also say how it took some of the focus from Kurama and Maya and shifts into getting to know more about Hiei and who he's searching for, and the last conversation exchanged at the ending?

The moment Hiei appeared was the moment Maya's role started to diminish. I'm not talking about Hiei's status as a main character, but at the standpoint of their interactions with Kurama.

Where he was guarded during his brief interactions with her, he had no problem probing into personal territory with a demon he just met. Hiei even calls him out on it. So this shows that Kurama would open up to someone who is at least aware of his true nature while being withdrawn from ordinary peers.

Hiei's advent unfolded the possibility that he once entertained venturing with Maya. It's more apparent with how they bonded immediately.

I believe he is the tool to tell the readers what Kurama wanted at that point (if you really wanna go there - ideal friend*) and to downplay the romance. I believe his nature as a demon also greatly influenced this closeness simply for the sole reason that he's the only one who can understand him as one of the same ilk. It's why out of everyone, they are the closest of friends despite the difference in temperament. It's why her spiritual awareness is what made her notable above the rest of the classmates. It's why the only thing he could say, and implied to notice, about her is this hidden ability.

It's why many can say that the romance is not strong enough to support the pairing between Kurama and Maya in the manga (even the OVA to an extent) chiefly due to how much better his dynamic with Hiei is, for all that they just met.

Most of all, it's why she was never shown again in person during the series proper. He already obtained what he secretly longed for with the gang. Her role ended the moment they cooperated against Yatsude.

From what I’ve seen, I can also say that the reason Kurama was first drawn to her was thanks to her status as a novelty to him in the sense that she's the first person with spiritual ability that isn't hostile to him since his rebirth in the Human World. He may not respect her meager abilities but he may have thought she will do for a potential close friend he can be completely honest with as not only is she the only one around him at that point with any spiritual ability at all but also because she’s the only one to bother trying to befriend him. Maybe he also finds her entertainingly cute with her antics.

This unfortunately adds more weight on why he immediately went all chummy with a certain fire demon after things were cleared, and why he loves taunting and annoying him. The ease in which he opened up to the gang in their first meeting, as though they're long time friends just after the Three Dark Artifacts portion is also a clue to this. It is yet another plausible reason why he was never shown again with another potential romantic partner. That novelty wore off by the time the series started. 

(*I said friends not lovers. Togashi makes it clear who he thinks suits Hiei best through Mukuro.)

#yu yu hakusho #two shots #shuichi minamino #kurama #hiei #maya kitajima #yoshihiro togashi

[prsk-krow]

{Ena and a reader that acts as a chuunibyo in private!} [P]

Self indulgent headcanons, so shorter than usual! I saw someone requesting a chuunibyou for another blog and the inspiration came rushing in!

At first, Ena was glad to finally have a normal friend to hang out with! Because in public, you were just a good friend to hang out with! It was nice, especially after what she has to go through in her own group...

And one day, she requests to visit your home! She just wants to see what it is, and the area around it for inspiration for her works! It may sound like it won't work, but the artist can get inspiration out of the most minute details that some may miss.

And that's when it suddenly happened... She was scared when you suddenly started laughing like a traditional anime villain, and then the evil speech came alongside it...

Your acted up, evil laughter was mixed in with actual amused laughter as you watched her face showing so many mixed emotions. Surprise, shock, confusion... Frustration, anger, disappointment after a few moments...

"... How many times have I told you before... I was happy, to have, a normal, traditional FRIEND alongside me! And now... Now I have to deal with THIS!?... Am I cursed to not have any normal friends??"

She had heard about people like you before, of the chuunibyou kind, and she was sure that it was just a played out trope and a stupid game of young children. Now, she doesn't know what to think anymore.

Her head kinda starts to hurt from all of the fake lore dumps that you're suddenly making with no signs of stopping, with not even half of it registering past the frustration and confusion.

Once you're finally done, you burst into genuine laughter as Ena almost just wants to punch you right in the face. She settles for a soft push and an angry rant of her own about 'not going to your home just for this' or something.

You decide that that's enough for the day, judging off the artist's reactions that you probably shouldn't push it further... For today at least. She goes to the bathroom to clear her mind and wash her face before she actually punches you.

"Ugh... Why, why... Can't I catch a break here?? I just wanted this visit to be normal! I just wanted to relax and chat and act like normal, but nooooo, suddenly I get bombarded with that obviously fake and obnoxious cackle and then they start ranting to the point that my ears feel like they're about to fall off! It's not even a real rant, since everything they're saying is purely nonsensical!! It doesn't make any-"

You eventually have to tell her to hurry up from outside, since she's taking so long and actually getting pretty loud. Although you feel satisfied, maybe that was a bit too much for a first exposure... Maybe you'll do a bit less next time?

And as you make less and less of a show each chance you get, she starts to get used to it. It's annoying, yes, but at least she doesn't have to argue with you like she does whenever the seamstress annoys her...

Actually, the millions of ideas that come to your head start to sometimes give her inspiration! She won't admit it at first, but you can tell that, from the elements of her next drawing, that she was at least been paying more attention to your ranting...

It's a curious result, actually! She does eventually discover a way to earn muse and inspiration easily, and it comes from your fantastical speeches and ideas! If only you were less dramatic about it though...

#project sekai #project sekai imagines #project sekai headcanons #project sekai x reader #prsk #prsk x reader #pjsekai #pjsekai x reader #pjsk #pjsk x reader #ena shinonome #ena shinonome x reader #shinonome ena #shinonome ena x reader #/cawcanons

[mesmarique]

What are your favourite wlw medias?

Ohhh hello anon!

Hm, let's think

Among my favorites are:

Bloom into You (Anime / Manga)

Blooming Sequence (Manhwa)

The Maitino storyline from Acacias 38 (Telenovela)

Since these two are most likely going to become canon from the looks of it, allow me to also add RWBY (Animated web series)

Whatever the heck Nibutani and Dekomori had going on from Chuunibyou (Anime / Light Novel)

And these two already pierced through my heart from The Executioner and Her Way of Life (Anime / Manga / Light Novel)

EDIT:

Oh god how did I forget about Cophine from Orphan Black?! (TV show)

#anonymous #ask #maitino was so dramatic ugh i love my early 20th century lesbian dramas #I know that there's nothing confirmed between Nibutani and Dekomori but I can't help loving their dynamic and it would be so perfect #yagakimi #bloom into you #yagate kimi ni naru #blooming sequence #maitino #rwby #bumbleby #chuunibyou demo koi ga shitai! #the executioner and her way of life #Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road #Orphan Black

[floorpancakes]

can you post what all the results to the quiz are & what charas they have? im just curious to see the answers to what i didn't get!

ok so ill probably add to this slowly but time for some stats and answers and stuff! obviously dont check this out if you dont wanna be spoiled (thread)

first, here's the actual amounts of each results people have been getting:

when i say i had NO IDEA we'd get so many chuunis....watching the numbers go up the first few days felt like a fever dream haha

but its comforting to know that everyone is cringe and free! i for one welcome our new gothy overlords!

i was also really surprised that gimmick idols got some of the lowest scores 😭 the space that spans is so wide so i was expecting way more people to get that result since i figured it'd catch a lot of people, but i guess you guys are rare!

---

now its time to look at the archetype list:

this was pretty tricky, especially cause i was working on the quiz for funsies at silly o clock in the morning for two nights while i was dealing with some sickness induced exhaustion lol. i wanted to include more (a few like the princely type nearly made the cut), but I found there was

1. a lot of crossover between archetypes (this even happened with some of the idols i chose for the results image!!! hanayo being average idoltwt user AND a harapeko type or minori being average idoltwt user AND fake it til you make it for example)

2. some archetypes that were only based on visuals or not on personality at all

3. kind of lowkey paradoxical (eg. someone might really fit the princely type, but often in idol shows they make it so that trait is pushed on them, but they secretly wanted to be feminine all along, which like, ok but then if someone actually fits the princely vibe I'd be slightly struggling for examples and we'd get all tied in knots unfortunately)

4. the amount of answers was already getting so long that if i added any more it'd start getting difficult to come up with more answers for some of the more concrete questions (like what you'd do post graduation etc)

...so I had to kind of draw the line somewhere. especially cause i thought like 3 of my idoltwt mutuals would take it and that's it 😭 maybe I'll make a part 2 or a more extensive quiz later who knows (guess who just remembered the 'rock is life' type idols and screamed into a pillow for only just remembering...)

---

so the idol archetype categories themselves are DEFINITELY things I've picked up on in multiple series, altho they may require a lil bit of explaining so I'll quickly summarise each one when we go thru the characters. i should probably mention that some of these (like the chuunibyou) are word for word archetypes that people use all the time, while some were just me trying to put words to the character types so the wording was just a descriptor (fake it til you make it queen), altho i hope they were useful! ive seen a few people online using these terms after taking the quiz which is super cute...🙇 let's take a look at these categories shall we?

(note: i have varying levels of familiarity w these characters, i wanted to make it reasonably varied and recognisable but some of them i kind of just knew what category they fit and that's it)

---

THE CHUUNIBYOU

to those who don't know, the chuunibyou is a pretty popular archetype beyond just idols, and tends to refer to people who are stuck in or going through their 'edgy phase'; chuu-ni being short for second year of middle school syndrome (think like, 13 or 14 year olds), but the general vibe tends to be associated with emo or goth phases, claiming to have an evil eye, being or being a servant of Satan, hiding a secret shy or self conscious side with edge, yaknow. average tween behaviour. it's not limited by age tho especially in anime media! one of the examples i used is a 26 year old grown man with a job. never too late!

Like with a lot of the other categories it was really hard to narrow down the results page characters, but from left to right:

1. Todo Yurika from Aikatsu!

Yurika takes being a lifestyle lolita to the next level, being a gothic lolita and punk idol with the chuuni character of a vicious vampire, which she desperately tries to keep up as part of her career, only letting people see her quiet nerdy self once in a blue moon. She has a secret soft spot for garlic ramen and sings some of the best songs in the entire series (which is an achievement cause aikatsus songs are god tier).

music rec (won't do this for everyone, only ones i know well, but pls feel free to fill in the blanks in the comments/reblogs!): check out Glass Doll, Onegai Venus and Eternally Flickering Flame! She has two singing voices over the series, both of which are incredible.

2. Asselin BB II (Asselin Beelzebub the Second) from The Idolm@ster SideM!

Asselin is a genius chef in his mid-twenties that ended up on the streets being kicked from countless jobs because of his ....quirks. He's a chuuni through and through, and its something a lot of the people around him didn't know how to handle, but when he gets taken in by Cafe Parade (both an idol group AND a real life dining establishment) to be their chef, he finally finds a place where he belongs. He's goofy and crazy while simultaneously being an introverted and nervous personality, and claims to be a servant of Satan, which just happens to be an adorable plushie that he carries around for comfort and finds difficult to be without, who gets painstakingly dressed up in matching outfits whenever he's included in a card! Don't be fooled by his softness though, this servant of satan has PIPES. You may recognise his voice, as he's played by well-known seiyuu Furukawa Makoto.

music rec: check out Waga Konton no Sabbath Marriage to immediately ascend, or Reversed Masquerade for a taste of the full CafePa experience.

3. Tsushima Yohane from Love Live Sunshine!!

Probably the most famous on the list so I'll keep it brief! She's been at this chuuni business since she was a little girl, so she encountered a lot of loneliness before joining Aqours, but she's got a cute and clumsy personality and has a tendency to yell about being a fallen angel. She's an absolute sweetheart, despite claiming that she's angered God himself, and is always there at the scene to deliver an edgy pose or stunning vocals.

music rec: check out Kowareyasuki and Strawberry Trapper for peak Yohane vocals, honestly Guilty Kiss in general should be mandatory listening homework

#idol quiz #idol archetype quiz #stats and info and stuff ahead! #thread

[canmom]

Animation Night 153: Kara no Kyōkai, part 1

We are entering... a slightly tricky phase of Animation Night. It’s not that we’re out of great animated films, far from it. Hell, we’ve yet to screen such classics as The End of Evangelion or Adolescence of Utena. But that’s the puzzle: a lot of such films are awkward fits for the format, requiring a lot of context, or standing too short or too long to fill the format.

Nor are we short of beautiful, artistic films from Europe. AniObsessive recently did a column on The Swallows of Kabul, which might finally be an answer the question of ‘what the hell could go beside Funan’. But I think we’ve had a bit too much war and genocide on this blog lately, so we’ll save that for another day.

Instead, let’s keep it chuuni!

It’s been a long while since Animation Night had anything to do with the Nasuverse. Back on Animation Night 60, I wrote a fairly brief description of Fate, and we enjoyed the spectacular Heaven’s Feel movies with only mild confusion.

But this was far from the only time that studio Ufotable adapted the the works of the enigmatic king of chuunibyou, Kinoko Nasu.

Let’s set the scene to begin. I’ll try and go over what I’ve been able to find out about the history, bearing in mind that Nasu-san is insanely prolific and his meta-setting is a seemingly infinite rabbit hole of lore...

...but as far as the man* himself there’s only the barest information to go on about his earlier life. He went to Hosei University, and afterwards started creating novels with his high-school buddy Takashi Takeuchi. Their first project was 空の境界 Kara no Kyōkai, lit. The Boundary of Emptiness but titled in English The Garden of Sinners in 1998 - that’s our subject for tonight, so more on that in a minute!

(*Wikipedia offers a citation for ‘man’ to a 2004 blog post where he jokes about being called a girl in a newspaper, in which he remarks もともと女々しいのがワタクシの芸風ですものボンソワー。[My style’s always been feminine, bonsoir.]; no further comment on that.) 

In 2000 the pair founded a dōjin circle called TYPE-MOON to publish the visual novel 月姫 Tsukihime (lit. Moon Princess), which was a mega-hit when it launched at Comiket, and from that went on to create another visual novel called Fate/Stay Night, which was an even bigger mega-hit. This led to a forest of spinoffs with increasingly baroque titles like ‘Fate/hollow ataraxia’ or ‘Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya’, the most successful being the gacha game Fate/Grand Order, which launched in 2015. That gacha game has in turn spawned many many adaptations of its various storylines, such as (deep breath) Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia or Fate/Grand Order: Final Singularity - Grand Temple of Time: Solomon. Really rivaling Kingdom Hearts there. Some of these films have been described as creative and ambitious, others very staid and playing it safe, but to be honest I am a foreigner in this land and I can’t tell you too much about them.

Anyway, as far as biographical details go, perhaps there’s more buried in an interview somewhere? But if so, I’ve yet to find it.

Our subject for tonight is a seven movie series produced by Ufotable from 2007-9, adapting Nasu’s first work. You might say, Bryn, that’s nuts, seven entire movies! To clarify, these movies are for the most really short, each just about an hour long with a couple of exceptions. So we should be able to pretty comfortably view the whole thing over two Animation Nights.

So what’s it about?

Set when it was written in the late 90s, it follows a teenage girl demon hunter called Shiki Ryougi, who has ‘Mystic Eyes of Death Perception’, which let her see indications of how things will die. She becomes a detective specialising in supernatural cases, alongside her eventual husband, Mikiya Kokutou. So romance and supernatural battles.

Many of these ideas, particularly the death perceiving eyes, would be reprised in Tsukihime. Within the meta-narrative, Kara no Kyōkai is an alternate universe, but not one completely disconnected from the rest, with its characters showing up for minor roles - and even playing a role in the end of Heaven’s Feel.

Except, that’s selling it short, because it’s also the first outing for the more esoteric concepts of the Nasu’s works: the Akashic Record, the Jungian anima and animus, and the paradoxes of the Taiji in Chinese philosophy to name a few. And to ground that, all sorts of dark shit: Wikipedia reels of suicide, rape, patricide, incest and murder, along with DID. It sounds like a lot!

Of course, it’s also about ridiculous psychic powers with long names, magic eyes, and so on. It’s easy to mock all these chuuni elements as hollow and pretentious, but imo the resulting blend is to strike out somewhere fascinatingly weird and achieve effects that a more reserved work couldn’t. We’ll see whether that comes together here!

In discussing the film series, Nasu described the original work - which he came to view as a rough early work - as ‘like a prose poem’, inherently very difficult to adapt. He turned down proposals to adapt it as a TV series and a movie, imagining it would be too hard for audiences to follow. But when a seven-movie series by Ufotable was proposed, he changed his mind:

It was such an off-the-wall idea that I got caught up in the enthusiasm; the offer was so awesome that turning it down seemed rude, so I agreed readily.

So, that’s one of the two characters in our story. What of the other?

Ufotable would later make ‘adapting Fate works’ into a steady line of work alongside popular shōnen like Demon Slayer. But at this time, they were a much more experimental studio. At sakugablog, kVin writes...

[Aniplex producer Atsuhiro] Iwakami had been ruminating about how to put together an adaptation for Kara no Kyoukai that actually lived up to the potential he saw in Kinoko Nasu’s world since 2004, and by the following year, the solution to his woes manifested in front of his eyes. Futakoi Alternative was an eccentric reboot of a milquetoast, twins-themed harem series. It reimagined everything about the original series into a simply indescribable mix of genres and crazy scenarios. The motto of ufotable’s founder Hikaru Kondo resonates throughout the whole series: if making as many things as possible is the way to ensure you’ll get some of them right, why not jump around from noir cinema, to sci-fi epics, then back to face some humanoid squids before some surprisingly earnest romance? For viewers like Iwakami, this irreverent spirit was a wake-up call about new ways to create animation. So, why not approach them when he was planning something grand that wasn’t quite like anything seen before in anime?

In fact, Iwakami’s original idea was merely a trilogy; it was Ufotable founder Hikaru Kondo who was like nah man let’s do seven. Within the studio were type-moon fans such as director Takuya Nonaka and character designer Tomonori Sudo, whose passion inspired Kondo to go big. Recklessly big. The initial plan was to release a new film monthly, but this soon proved predictably impossible. Even so, they managed to complete the series within two years, which is pretty astonishing in its own right.

As you can see from the clips in this post, the visual style of these movies anticipates - if perhaps in a cruder form - the studio’s later Fate adaptations: chiaroscuro lighting and gradients and filters on top of gradients and filters. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but as far as a house style goes, it’s worth acknowledging.

Internally, its direction was shaped by the flatter-than-usual hierarchy of Ufotable (whose name refers to a round table in the Arthurian sense). Each movie was assigned a different director without a structure unify the production as a whole beyond adherence to Nasu’s work.

I’ll pull in kVin to describe the resulting vibe of the project:

At its core, Kara no Kyoukai is a pretty cute love story that asks itself whether it’s possible to stray away from your fate; to put it plainly, Kokutou claims that he can fix her, even if the fixing involves getting over a pesky character flaw such as a predisposition towards murder. While not a groundbreaking scenario, its commitment to that relationship in spite of all the extraneous elements makes it work, and Shiki in particular is a slaughterer with very charming body language that evolves according to the major shifts to her character.

At the same time, these films are also highly atmospheric and committed to the sensorial experience in a way that no other Type-Moon anime is. While the expository worldbuilding and dense dialogue that Nasuverse works are known for are still very much present, the Kara no Kyoukai films are also willing to stay silent for minutes at a time. The mystery aspect to these films—Shiki and Kokutou work for Aozaki Touko’s detective agency after all—is honored with an appreciation for the mystique; even if you know that long-winded answers are likely to come, they tend to relish the opportunity to soak the viewer in the grim, mysterious atmosphere of its world. There is a quiet appreciation of the things that are yet to be known, and those that may not be spelled out.

At the time, he writes, the staff were intimidated by the idea of theatrical animation, which in the 90s called to mind Patlabor and Satoshi Kon - a tough act to follow, no question. But the dense image boards of art director Nobutaka Ike, who worked on those very same films, brought the confidence needed.

The films follow the same release order as the original novels, which is narratively non-chronological.

Nasu, for his part (link again), was anxious about his early works being adapted...

In Kara no Kyoukai, the first story, "Overlooking View" (俯瞰風景) is the clumsiest. I've always thought I wanted to do something about it, and I told a staff member, "If we're making this into a movie, I'm going to rewrite the first story; please let me do that." But he said, enthusiastically, "No, I want to work with it the way it is. I want to animate this!"

Then, when I read the finished script, they'd cut out over half of the unnecessary excess fat and had turned out something more interesting as a story, so I thought, "If it's like this, they don't need me to rewrite it."

In Nasu’s view, each film ought to stand alone, but the full picture can’t really be understood from just the first - but he claims that with all seven films, the viewer would have enough to understand the story without having to turn to the books. Which is lucky, because the only version of the books in English is a widely disparaged fan translation.

To support all this comes haunting music by composer Yuki Kajiura and her group Kalafina, who would later create the renowned soundtrack to Madoka. In fact these movies are the origin of Kalafina, with Kajiura putting together a new group with a couple of members of her previous project FictionJunction.

Anyway, please read the rest of kVin’s article (perhaps after the movies! x3) if you fancy a detailed retrospective on all seven films.

Tonight my plan is to screen the first four parts of The Garden of Sinners, namely...

I: Overlooking View - an introduction to the series. In 1998, Shiki lives alone in her apartment, occasionally visited by Mikiya, and working for an occult detective agency. She learns of a series of strange suicides at an abandoned building. Investigating, she finds the building is full of hostile ghosts. Someone is drawing the girls to the building by astral projection...

II: A Study in Murder - Part 1 - in 1995, Shiki and Mikiya are highschool students. A spree of brutal murders break out in the area. Mikiya discovers that Shiki (式) is plural, with a male alter called SHIKI (織) who is the inverse of her personality. But who’s doing the murders?

III: Remaining Sense of Pain - A teenage girl called Fujino is raped by a group of gangsters, and pursues revenge with her psychic powers. Shiki and Mikiya are pulled in to the case, and realise that Shiki once knew Fujino - a girl who could not feel pain. But that seems to have changed...

IV: Hollow Shrine - a direct sequel to the second film. Shiki ended up comatose, and now in the psychic void, confronts her alter. We learn about her backstory and how she got involved with the wizard detectives.

I think these summaries should convey the level of Content(TM) we’re dealing with here. Guards up!

Next time around, we’ll pick up with Paradox Spiral, Oblivion Recording, and then at last A Study in Murder - Part 2. Which will actually be longer, because PS and ASiM2 are two hours long. (There’s also an eighth movie, released in 2013, titled Future Gospel which is a new sequel written by Nasu for movie form.)

I think that will suffice for an introduction. Animation Night will be going live 7:30 UK time, about 40 minutes from this post, and at 8pm UK time we shall begin the movies! Join me at https://www.twitch.tv/canmom~

#animation night

[mindrole]

some disorganized thoughts under the cut because formatting is a mess and for once i feel shame about leaving a mess laying around the dashboard (polite bow)

as you would guess, it is CoM discussion as always. it's quite long, and its partly about the literary parallels from the picture of dorian gray! (but towards the end theres a lot of speculation from my brain and not based on much also, its a mixed bag)

i appreciate any feedback!!!

thinking about it now. i think the obvious combo most people are thinking of right off the bat is

dorian = miwa lord henry = rui basil = shiharu

to some extent, sybil = dita and james = eigha

(though i am almost certain there is no "eigha" in rosemaria, its just shiharu in his full consciousness hamming it up because he's been put in the eigha role by, presumably, some kind if internal rule in rosemaria, some one that seems to block miwa from being mentioned without distorting. it's different from miwa, who seems to be confused and/or dissassociated... its hard to write this post and gloss over details but i will write my thoughts properly eventually. a lot of this hinges on findings in miwa's apartment... idk, either way, this shit is fucking weird)

probably that second part is from me, but. idk. i forgor. and this is probably true and the most direct role assignment there is

but im also thinking... what if it was a mess? since c0e had several possible assignments that could be true at any time, therefore i also feel like this can be true at the same time as the first:

dorian = shiharu lord henry = azuma basil = miwa

hear me out. its not too out there because there's actual evidence to it in the interlude but, you know

we know miwa is obsessed with shiharu. we don't know the nature of this obsession (lol) (lmao), but he keeps hydrangeas in his dressing room apparently (lol). my own guess is that its admiration mixed in with "the fragments are not normal about the haradas (and the utsugis) ever". to have such an obsession form with such little contact over such a short period of time— first report where miwa and taka discuss the eigha recast is dated to february 2018, filming had not begun yet, and presumably miwa hadn't properly met him as a result— is quite bonkers to me. but all fragments are frankly quite mentally ill, who cares, he's in show business too playing a 3D anime boy his brain is absolutely beyond fried at this point.

the interesting thing is that there is evidence that shiharu is obsessed with him too, but in a very different way. is it different...? i don't know, we don't know what miwa thinks exactly so i'm going off of my own mental image. which is miwa admires him for whatever reason, maybe he's exceeded his expectations and can hold his own as an actor for example, who knows. but it is different.

now i said earlier that i was almost certain "there is no eigha in rosemaria". i think it's because if you look at the eigha quotes in the com page, i think they are incredibly strange. eyeballing them they ARE quite chuunibyou. they're very intimidating demon lord-ish. now im not gonna translate stuff because honestly im incredibly wary of misrepresenting the work so i won't attempt to transcribe anything, though given i'll talk about it from my interpretation it's probably fine even without. anyway, when you think about it, this especially is strange:

hey, "eigha", why are you talking about miwa?!! that's clearly miwa isnt it (though i did not notice this until it was pointed out to me...tehepero)!!! eigha should be concerned about dita!! isn't this common sense?! at first, i assumed it was eigha being sentient, reaching past the curtain or fourth wall to possess either actor who portrayed him in an effort to stop ditasword from ending, trapping miwa so he can be dita forever... but it recently dawned on me that the culprit behind miwa teita's attack in july 2018 cannot be anyone but harada shiharu!!!

that's right!!

the reasoning is (not) simple!! it is (not) straightforward, really!!

i was thinking that taka, the original person who played eigha, was probably the culprit... after all miwa had to rush the production on which caused him to be recast right at his final performance. pretty kuyashii. i assumed he snapped, or someone manipulated him, or what i originally assumed about eigha, a fictional character, becoming sentient. no such thing. when you think about it... there is no clearer red herring than this. i am almost certain that he'd be the first immediate suspect in com, as he is the only one who is immediately identifiable as someone with a motive, until you check miwa's phone records and see that he attempted to call someone at the time of his disappearance. it will be him!! i can bet money on this (don't actually come after me for this plz)

that is why i say there's no eigha in rosemaria, just someone playing the part.

here are some pointers about this "eigha"

it seems like at first, he is welcoming of the party, ushering them to the world, as if they were lost lambs... ones rejected by the real world.

eventually probably when it seems like they do not want to stay, and will take miwa back with them, its full mask off (hehe), suddenly its im gonna eliminate you guys to protect this world!!! and such, so he repeatedly attacks them.

but the main issue isn't that they rejected rosemaria. it's that when rui entered, he started to influence "dita" and attempt to extract him. he is his client after all even if he's confused. it means that someone is trying to make miwa leave rosemaria. at this point, there is no bargaining anymore. anyone who attempts to do this is getting BTFO'd.

so really, this eigha's goal is to protect miwa, not dita.

to wrap it back around the literary reference. the subtitle of cell of mirage is the picture of eigha iliner.

here comes the smoking gun. as you may recall miwa had posters of both the tv series and of the latest movie. of course it's different eighas. but the movie poster was strange. the movie poster that had harada shiharu's eigha was strange. ryuu made an observation i took a little too literally for a long time (because im a cute little dummy), until the other day:

according to ryuu's observation, this eigha looks older than the first one.

at any rate, there's no reason to doubt his point of view here. everything in the interlude is a clue put there for a purpose. so my assumption at first was, huh. is he older? is he just very ikemen or something? and was a little perplexed by it. but... this poster... which is in miwa's possession... in his bathroom... the eigha in it is aging!!! the harada shiharu in this poster is aging!!!! that's right!! they wouldn't hire someone that visibly looks older in a movie to replace someone when the movie has continuity with a tv show— and they would probably retouch the poster to hide imperfections (so signs of aging). it is... absolutely aging...

now if we recall back to the picture of dorian gray... dorian's portrait aged in his stead, absorbing all the sins he committed, as a result not only aging but also becoming more and more ugly. he would eventually go on to kill basil— who practically begged him to repent— over it in a fit of anger.

i do not need to tell you that wrath and violence is bad. so i believe that shiharu is the one that attacked miwa that night. but miwa is a fragment, he may have "died" then, but the injury was probably a trifle and he regenerated and maybe retaliated, and somehow the mirage phenomena was triggered as a result whether on purpose or not and both were transported. this is just in laconic really, there's definitely more to discuss about this but for this post this is the info i need. next post i will talk about this properly.

so they are both each other's dorians and basils in different ways. it is assured mutual destruction. also don't forget that ditasword ends with dita sacrificing himself to either kill or seal away eigha (iirc it doesn't say what exactly, but both of them are BTFO absolutely)

now this is going from speculation based on proof to fully filling in blanks that are undefined (so adjacent to fanfic really since there is little evidence) but, he may have confided in shiharu about being a fragment and possibly whatever bad things that came with it, and was wholeheartedly accepted by shiharu=miwa grew attached to him, and eventually when it felt appropriate to do so he told him that he will retire and go away forever. why tell him about his condition and not anyone else closer to him? idk, fragment interacting with a harada moment, lol.

so in this moment, if shiharu had become fiercely overprotective of him as a result to the point where he would attack him and whether on purpose or not get them both sent to rosemaria, if he would go to such an extreme... what would influence him?!! if he is the dorian in this interpretation, then he may have attempted to get answers from azuma, who is absolutely involved in like 20 things at once. like why is miwa retiring? where is he going? if he pointed him in a certain direction, like, "i know a way you can stop it[stop miwa from going away/keep protecting him]." or something like that. that is absolutely making him lord henry... in a very literal sense as he is clearly an antagonistic force who is using miwa and whoever else as pawns. though lord henry introduces dorian to indulgence and depravity just for the fuck of it, because he is a hedonist... much to think about.

conversely! the more apparent reading that comes from just guessing! miwa doesn't age by default so it superficially plays into some of the traits that dorian has, and shiharu who may be trying to protect him from the real world that hurt him, that rejected him[his fragment status], is basil. because remember, dita having pink hair and red eyes is normal in rosemaria. which means miwa is normal too. the real world is not as kind as rosemaria! or something. so i think this was miwa's dream initially (he may have even expressed this to shiharu without thinking) before he came to possibly change his mind as in the encrypted email azuma's assurance that it isn't solely his responsibility implies that miwa feels guilt over the mirage incidents = he is absolutely involved in a great capacity. imo, on top of all that, he may have also wanted to stay because he finally had someone who cared about him genuinely. too late for that, if he tried to talk sense into shiharu it didn't work, he is now in rosemaria with no sense of "miwa teita". it is not dissimilar to how dorian attacked and killed basil, hid his possessions and got someone to "disappear" the body. rui, who is trying to pry into the delusion of rosemaria to bring everyone— including miwa especially— back to the real world, is lord henry.

and these two readings coexist. they are not mutually exclusive. they build off of the exact same sentiment.

P.S. there are absolutely other combis that work with some precursory thought— but i wish there was more information out there...

P.S. P.S. woe upon thee!!!!!!!!

#m #i feel tired and sleepy so if it becomes a little incoherent... soz #e

[symphonxx]

After brief thinking, I’ve made up my mind.

Urabe is Saiko, who’s Kuboyasu’s boss at one of Kuboyasu’s other jobs since he isnt a fulltime teacher yet. ( im still doing a bit of research on the jobs nd how it works in Japan but this is what I have come up with? Or think of it as a part time job so he can atleast earn some money to continue keeping himself afloat )

Urabe is Adachi’s manager in Cherry Magic, where hes the type of manager to push most of his unfinished work to one of his juniors, requesting for them to finish it in place of him.

Kuboyasu nd Saiko has the same dynamic as the anime nd in place of Cherry Magic, except Kuboyasu doesnt feel like leaving the job ( despite threatening to ) because of how close he and Saiko has gotten over the years. Of course he minds the amount of work Saiko pushes to him but he helps out anyways.

—————

Fujisaki, is Aiura Mikoto and Teruhashi. Teruhashi works alongside Kuboyasu as another teacher and most of the students adore her. While Aiura works in a company near Saiki, so they usually travel to work together nd leave work together as well.

Fujisaki is a pretty girl who shares no interest in relationships and is one of only AroAce representation we get in Cherry Magic. Teruhashi and Aiura are the same way, they’re both uninterested in relationships until they found the right one ( Saiki ) but even after finding out that the one they like is in a relationship with another, they will feel contentment at the fact that said person is happy with the one they have chosen.

I needed to have Fujisaki be two different person bcs her character sincerely affected both Kurosawa and Adachi in the show. Mainly Adachi.

Aiura likes Saiki but she knows abt his crush on Kuboyasu, so she continues to push Saiki into confessing his love for the other and talk him through certain situations!

Teruhashi on the other hand, despite her crush on Saiki, she feels a sense of fondness for her longterm co-worker, Kuboyasu. Her jealousy would overtake her at times but she has slowly learnt to overcome that, watching the two of them blossom into a relationship as she supports them both from afar. Occasionally, she would be the one to drag Kuboyasu out from the terrifying realisation that THE Saiki Kusuo likes him.

Overall, im just playing around with their dynamics and im hoping to gain some traction for this two incredibly underrated friendship ( queerplatonic suckers )

———

Tsuge is Kaido, who’s still one of Kuboyasu’s closest friends. Kaido strives to be the best novelist and to maybe be as cool as Kuboyasu. Though he seemed like he has grown out of his chuunibyou phase, he still acts the exact same way whenever he and Kuboyasu are alone. His writing however, has improved a ton and has published a couple of fantasy romance book regarding the Dark Reunion. Even with his lack of understanding in romance, his books were great hits.

Minato is Chiyo Yumehara. Of course, the two of them ( Tsuge nd Minato ) were supposed to be a bl pairing but i do feel like Chiyo fits the role of Minato abit more.

The two of them dont really have that much to them but their dynamic in which they understand each other on a certain level means alot to them.

THAT BEING SAID..

I dont know whether have it remain like this, or merge both Rokkaku’s character and Tsuge’s character together. Kaido fits both of them perfectly, sincr he supports them both in every way, the same way both Rokkaku and Tsuge does for Adachi, Kurosawa!

Rokkaku was just Kurosawa’s assistant, but slowly, both Kurosawa and Adachi has grown much more fond of the little red head (?), finding his slight clinging much more amusing than annoying, more often than not. However, even with his eccentric behaviour, he shows that he can be capable in the things he does and looks up to both Adachi and Kurosawa as their junior.

Tsuge on the other hand, is Adachi’s long term friend, who is a novelist and well, the same thing as what I listed above, except the chuunibyou part. He owns a stray kitten named Udon and is incredibly fond of the delivery boy that comes by to deliver his parcel. Hes a romance novelist, despite being a virgin. Bcs of that, he ALSO gains magical telepathy powers! Hes really calm and collected, giving great insight into things whenever Adachi comes across sumn he cant solve. All in all, hes a great friend.

I’ll get back to the powers in a bit but lemme kno which one suits Kaido more.

————

Kurosawa and Adachi are Saiki and Kuboyasu.

So yes, this is a Kubosai post. A

As you all should know, Saiki is a psychic which supernatural powers. Kuboyasu, is not. ( but if u count his great reflexes and super attentive ass nature then yea, clairvoyance 💀 )

This all changes when Kuboyasu turns 30 and gains telepathic powers where he can read the thoughts of anyone by touching them, unlike Saiki. This happens because of a myth in Japan, where if you turn 30 as a virgin, you will gain magic powers. Aren regrets not believing his co-workers because he sure as hell do now, seeing as he has to deal with it.

Here are some facts for this AU

Both Kaido and Aren gained telepathic powers and can communicate via hand touching, which leads to a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding between the two couples.

Saiki still has some of the powers but hes adapted into not using it as often like he used to, and wears his germanium ring everytime he has to head out to work or whenever he js needs to hang out with his friends ( their thoughts can get too loud )

Teruhashi and Aiura confides with each other and formed a small support group together. They also talk shit abt their co-workers and the occasional gossip.

MOST CHARAS ARE ACE BECAUSE I AM ACE!!

Now for the magic thingy:

Kaido and Aren do not lose their telepathic powers in the end. Neither of them are fond of the thoughts on having intimate sex js to get rid of the powers.

Aren doesnt mind the powers that much, and hes gotten used to it. Of course it gets overwhelming sometimes when hes stuck in trapped spaces or when he accidentally brush hands with far too many that isnt Saiki and he has nothing to ground himself in that situation but as long as his boyfriend is around, he knows that he’s fine. He knows that he doesnt have to go through it alone and his boyfriend is around to help out whenever it gets too much.

<3

#kubosai #saiki k #symph rambles #the disastrous life of saiki k. #kubosai <3 #the disaster of psi kusuo saiki #cherry magic #I love this AU sm #i put so much thought into it that my friends calls me crazy #Cherry Magic AU #ahhh #i love them i love them

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

What I’m Watching - Fall 2022

Remember last season when I just straight up didn’t do this

Chainsaw Man - I think this show’s popularity speaks for itself really

Spy x Family Part 2 - I liked part 1

Mob Pyscho 100 III - AOTY

My Hero Academia Season 6 - Groan.

The Eminence in Shadow - Could be very droppable and is an isekai but from a friend’s description who read the manga adaptation long before the anime was announced this sounds fun, MC more of a chuunibyou that’s hyped as shit to be isekai’d than anything else.

Do It Yourself! - original cute girl anime with fucking dope character designs, actually my second most hyped anime behind Mob

Koukyuu no Karasu - episode 1 of this is already out and I’m gonna watch it shortly so we’ll have a real first impression, but mostly this just sounds pretty interesting and very different so I’m curious really

Bocchi the Rock! - Right behind DIY in terms of hype, read 15 chapters of the manga on the anime getting announced and it seems mostly quite standard cute girls in a band anime which I love, though the fact that it’s Cloverworks specifically has me extra hype because hey they love going lavish with their productions, and I’m all for cute girl shows getting that treatment.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - uh-oh I’m watching my first Gundam

Cool Doji Danshi - not really seen many cute boys doing cute things shows so gonna give this a shot because easy to do so plus it airs on a fairly calm day for me plus it’s only got 15 minute eps so hey why not

Management of Novice Alchemist - girls are cute, that’s literally it.

4-nin wa Sorezore Uso wo Tsuku - Honest to fuck this seems very droppable, especially considering it airs on a Saturday as well, but it technically has cute girls and it most certainly has a great voice cast, so I’m gonna give it a shot.

Akiba Maid War - how hype does the title sound alone

Eternal Boys - I will literally die if I don’t watch every idol anime that airs every season

Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School - MOLCAR SEASON 2 BABY WOO

And that’s all of them. They’re fairly spread out over the week for me and there are a fair few there that I wouldn’t mind dropping if they turn out to suck, so this feels comfortably doable. I have no other observations to make here.

#1.10.22 #chainsaw man #spy x family #mob psycho 100 #heroaca #eminence in shadow #diy #koukyuu no karasu #bocchi the rock #gundam #cool doji danshi #novice alchemist #4-uso #akiba maid war #eternal boys #pui pui molcar

[glasseswearingrabbitdetective]

Since I keep getting eye pains(migraines? Unconfirmed) which prevent eye from staying open, I was recommended an eyepatch… it’ll probs help but I can’t stop thinking -

Chuunibyou irl 😂

I always liked eyepatches in anime ngl… the real one is ofc a bit different tho… if it helps settle whatever’s happening, then 👍

#personal #Kanna’s health issues #iirc that’s a tag #Rikka my beloved </3 #idk.. it’s reality vs anime ?? :’D #is it ok to post smt like this?? my likes in anime could be bad irl or smt?? #thinking 🤔🤔🤔

[konu-d]

TLDR sometimes the crow forgets that newcomers exist in every franchise, All Rambles Lead to Rei Sakuma

So I've just realized that not everyone is aware or was able to catch the times when the wiki had English translations for all the Enstars stories from Basic to Music and EWKJASH IM GOING TO HAVE TO BE REAL CAREFUL WITH WHAT I SAY FROM HERE ON OUT WAHAHAH Wouldn't want to ruin the surprises for the newcomers

By surprises, of course I mean everything related to Rei Sakuma, this man. Has me in a VICE GRIP you do not understand UNDEAD was how I was introduced to this wacky absolutely off the rails franchise, and honestly I went in criticizing it. See, I was only shown the designs of the characters and nothing else; no context, no backstory, only the knowledge that this is an idol game much like UtaPri or IDOLISH7, both of which are franchises that I am up to now very much 50/50 about (Dunno they just never caught my interest as much, yknow?) A few people showed these character designs to me and I immediately started labelling; black hair and red eyes? That's probably the chuunibyou edgelord. Oh look, there's the token tan character that every anime and manga seems to like to have. Blonde and smirking? Casanova (derogatory). White hair and fangs; say no more that's the feral of the group.

I have a whole list of everything I said about all the groups on Enstars but because I play favorites, I'm focusing on UNDEAD.

So I said all that and kinda left the franchise alone for a while, let it all marinate for a bit, just enough that I wouldn't feel like I was being forced to consume the media, then I came back to it, I took a look at the characters then some of the stories.

NOBODY NOTHING PREPARED ME FOR THE ABSOLUTE INSANITY THAT WAS THE ENSTARS ICEBERG

And nothing prepared me for the backstory of the man that is Rei Sakuma, he. He is. Gods I have no words for this man, he leaves me speechless and it's not just because of how stunning he looks His childhood was enough, too many responsibilities placed on his child-sized shoulders, that he grew up to be some sort of rebel, a god/demon that looked down upon the humans of the world, lending a helping hand to those who needed it. He was always at the top, always at some sort of authority position, but because of his whole vampire thing he was labeled more of a 'demon' than a 'god'. (A concept that was picked up later by a certain other group that we know, led by the character most people gravitate to once they understand Rei) Then, he fell. You wouldn't think that demons ever fall but men, humans, mortals do, and for all he plays himself to be Rei Sakuma is still at his core very much a human; a kind soul wrapped in layers of darkness that he prides himself in. He lets the world see the demon who is bathed in sin and the monster who would tempt the lost lambs to his side, let them fall under his spell and kneel at his command, but those closest to him, those who know him, they see the man and there's something intimate about that. It's this hidden corner of everything Rei Sakuma is made of that draws some people even closer to him and lets them stand by his side; lets themself fall and become reborn, helping the demon king tempt more and more innocent souls (though they know that was never the case).

A part of what makes Rei so interesting to me as well is how his stage character developed. Oh yes, I've seen the sides of the fandom who think his suave, smooth, jazz demon self is his default self, and that will never fail to entertain me, because it's exactly what Rei would have wanted. There's no point in building his whole character on stage if it was just going to be a flimsy see-through film, right? He started out genuinely believing in his now-stage persona; prideful, demon king, in control, monster of the night who would devour you as soon as you let your guard down; then you look at his stories. You look at the events with him in them. You look at the stories of the characters closest to him and listen to the way they talk about him.

This man his whole self has always been about love

He loves the way a leader would love; he loves the way a god would love; he loves the way only a demon could show love; he plays himself to be the villain. He pushes others away in the hopes that they wouldn't be tainted by the darkness like he is, he creates scenarios where yes, at that moment, you'd hate him, but then you'd look back and you'd see, "Oh. He was helping me all along." and then you'd complain about how you wished he was more straight-forward about his help, which would never happen lol [That's spoilers.]

Just Being a ReiP brings me a sense of intimacy with the character that sometimes I wonder if I'm even allowed to have. Rei Sakuma is a Greek tragedy who broke the script and kept trudging forward, and though he no longer bears his wings, he keeps walking. He guides others to the light but leaves himself in the dark, leaves himself there for the next poor soul that might accidentally wander in and might need a guide. There's something so raw about seeing how someone rise, fall, and get back up again, an inexplicable pull that'll draw you to them like "How did you survive? How did you find the strength to keep going?" and all he answers is "Love."

#sakuma rei #ensemble stars #enstars #this stopped making sense halfway #but thats fine #sometimes your love for a character runs so deep that you dont know how to put it into words and boi #english aint my first language!! #crow rambles #long post