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cle-guy · 3 years

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Projecting Story Elements for Magic: the Gathering in 2022

OK, I love the Magic: the Gathering storyline which ranks near the top on my list of favorite hobbies on Tumblr. This year brings numerous opportunities to speculate on the story elements for this year’s premier MTG sets! So for this post I am going to speculate on:

1. Potential story elements of the set

2. Specific events which may occur

3. Planeswalkers who may appear in the set

I will go set by set, and try to incorporate as much known knowledge as possible! I may update my thoughts as sets (and stories from released sets) become known as the year progresses. Without further ado!

Innistrad: Crimson Vow

Technically not in 2022, but coming soon none-the-less! We know lots about the story elements, considering Crimson Vow takes place directly after Midnight Hunt.

Story Elements:

The first known thing about Crimson Vow is the “Biggest vampire wedding in Innistrad history!” which will unite the Voldaren and Markov bloodlines. We also know from the story so far that night on Innistrad is overcoming day. Humans who once turned to Avacyn for safety increasingly look to other sources for protection, including ancient magics forgotten when Sorin created Avacyn. One Coven seeks to restore the balance, and needs the Moonsilver Key in the Celestus to perform the ritual.

We also know part of the Gatewatch: Teferi, Chandra and Kaya came to Innistrad to assist Arlinn Kord, who seeks to help restore the Day/Night balance on her home plane. Now, while Arlinn & the Gatewatch succeed in finding the Moonsilver Key, and also succeed in starting the ritual: I do not believe the ritual passes. I suspect Olivia Valdaren ends the ritual and blocks it based on the card: Olivia’s Midnight Ambush. The flavor text on this card reads:

"And you were almost finished with that ritual, weren't you, darling? How very rude of me. To make it up to you, I'll send you an invitation to my wedding."

I suspect her raid ends the ritual, kills the Coven leader, and spirals us into Crimson Vow.

Overall, this suggests that much of the plot of Crimson Vow will surround new attempts to restore the balance between Day and Night. I suspect Sorin Markov, who fights Sigarda in a rage, will unite with the Gatewatch (and Arlinn Kord, & Sigarda) to save the plane. How they do this is not revealed as of yet. However, I suspect one plot detail has been spoiled for the set and thats....

Specific Events:

Edgar Markov marries Olivia Valdaren.

Olivia is the known progenitor of the Voldaren line, as Edgar Markov is the known progenitor of the Markov line. At first I felt Sorin would marry Olivia, but I find this unlikely as Olivia despises Sorin (and refuses to save him at the end of Eldritch Moon). Sorin may care for the future of Innistrad but he remains hedonistic and petty; he spends the end of Episode 2 in this story line griping about how nobody sacrificed as much as he did for the plane and why should he be expected to give more? He also treats Nahiri quite shallowly when she arrives on Innistrad to demand he help her fix Zendikar.

More importantly, however, we also get card evidence that Edgar Markov is involved in this story, specifically: Fateful Absence. The flavor text for this card reads:

“Sensing a plot, Sorin raced to his grandfather's resting-crypt. But someone else had gotten there first.“

The plot going like this, I suspect, for the story:

A) Our heroes (the Gatewatch, Sigarda, Arlinn) regroup after Olivia invokes eternal night by defeating the ritual.

B) They join up with Sorin Markov, who is now angry at Olivia for convincing his grandfather to marry her, and hatch a plan to stop the wedding

C) Olivia marries Edgar

D) The wedding turns into a bloody mess as the Gatewatch, Arlinn, & Sigarda all try to reverse the damage. Sorin spends the story finding a way to get revenge.

E) One of Edgar or Olivia survives

F) Emrakul is released and everybody dies (Just kidding)

Anyway, with all of this laid out that leaves us with potential planeswalkers.

Planeswalker Appearances:

Each set I will assume only three planeswalkers appear, with speculation for a fourth & fifth.

We already know Arlinn Kord, Teferi, & Sorin Markov will get cards; Arlinn & Teferi will not get cards in this set since they appeared in Midnight Hunt. Sorin Markov appears on the packaging, which nearly guarantees his appearance as a card in this set.

Slot 1: Sorin Markov, WB

Now, Chandra Nalaar and Kaya both appear in the story. The next quesiton would be: do they get cards in the 2nd set since they are known to appear in the story? It’s a tough call. Chandra would fit in nicely since Sorin will almost certainly appear as a WB planeswalker granting a third color for balance purposes. Kaya, on the other hands, presents two problems. First, she shares her color identity with the story’s likely main character. Second, she already got a card recently in Kaldheim (which is still in Standard). I would guess she lacks a card in the set.

Slot 1: Sorin Markov, WB Slot 2: Chandra Nalaar, R

Now we’re into more speculative territory. I highly doubt we only get two planeswalkers in the set, which leaves open a spot for a new planeswalker (likely a blue planeswalker). That being said, I would not be surprised if Tamiyo makes an appearance in the 3rd slot; she appeared in both previous stops in Innistrad, and two of her colors would fill out the color balancing in the set so far.

Slot 1: Sorin Markov, WB Slot 2: Chandra Nalaar, R Slot 3: Tamiyo, U

Other potential planeswalkers include the aforementioned Kaya, Tibalt (who would love to spoil a wedding), & Davirel Cane. If I had to make a stab at a fourth walker I’d gamble and guess Davriel, with a final list of:

Slot 1: Sorin Markov, WB Slot 2: Chandra Nalaar, R Slot 3: Tamiyo, U Slot 4: Davriel Cane, B

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

Story Elements:

So little is known about the new set except that the set takes place concurrently in the present, and that the set will feature both a new planeswalker, Keito, and that the current Emperor of Kamigawa is “someone we’re familiar with” which sadly does not tell us much. Let’s start by considering some known characters from the original block:

Toshiro Umezawa. Toshi is definitely not the emperor. First, Toshi was sent to Dominaria by the Myojin of Night’s Reach at the end of the block (and his descendent will eventually kill Nicol Bolas). Second, he’d almost assuredly be dead by now.

Hidetsugu. An ogre who joined with the Oni of All Consuming Chaos, he could conceivably be alive at this point, although he would not be my guess.

The Myojin of Night’s Reach. Unlikely. While powerful enough, ambitious enough, to try: I just do not see her being able to take the power. She was defeated by Bolas sometime after the events of the original block, for instance.

The Sisters of Flesh & Spirit. Better known as “That Which was Taken” and “Michiko Konda” both characters join at the end of the 3rd book. They’re the most likely candidate to run the whole plane, the only downside is I doubt many players actually know who they are, or how they became one.

However, their union would potentially explain the futuristic nature of the plane. If the Emperor is both spirit and flesh, then the spirit world (Kakuriyuo) & physical world (Utsushiyo) may have joined as well, giving the plane its current futuristic (dare I say: neon) appearance.

Specific Events:

I will only predict one event in this set, and that’s the appearance from Tamiyo’s story circle. I would be shocked if this relatively well known gathering is not referenced in the set. It would be a surprise, to say the least.

Planeswalker Appearances:

First thing’s first: Keito is confirmed for the set. We do not know what color identity he has yet, but they did call Keito a “cyber ninja” in the video. Ninjas are a pretty evenly split tribe between blue and black, so I will call Keito a UB planeswalker for now:

Slot 1: Keito, UB

I cannot imagine them returning to Kamigawa without bringing back Tamiyo. I know she literally is predicted to appear in Innistrad: Crimson Vow but I think predicting her here is also plausible.

Slot 1: Keito, UB Slot 2: Tamiyo, U

Next, they also mentioned that a “mysterious planeswalker” would make an appearance in this set as well. Now, they did not say whether this planeswalker was a new planeswalker or a returning planeswalker. Some planeswalkers we know of who I would classify as mysterious include: Kasmina, The Raven Man, The Wanderer, Davriel Cane, Ashiok, & Aminatou. Ashiok is currently investigating New Phyrexia and shares my predicted colors with Keito; Davriel (I think) is a strange fit on this set, and I do not see us learning about the Raven Man absent Liliana. That leaves the Wanderer, Aminatou, or Kasmina. We did just see Kasmina and I do suspect she plays a role in whatever arc they are building up to, but she conflicts with Keito & Tamiyo. That leaves the Wanderer or Aminatou. Given Mark Rosewater’s doubts about Aminatou (and her own conflicts) I predict The Wanderer.

Slot 1: Keito, UB Slot 2: Tamiyo, U Slot 3: The Wanderer, W

That does leave room for a walker with red and green. Samut fits in, but I will guess Sarkhan who originally appeared Gruul, and may visit with Narset.

Slot 1: Keito, UB Slot 2: Tamiyo, U Slot 3: The Wanderer, W Slot 4: Sarkhan Vol, RG

Streets of New Capenna

Planeswalker Appearances:

So little is known about this new plane that I will limit myself to guessing planeswalkers. Ob Nixilis is confirmed, and this is a wedge set, so I am predicting they finally print Nixilis as a Rakdos planeswalker.

Slot 1: Ob Nixilis, BR

They also confirmed this plane is “special” to Elspeth. You do not name drop that and not include her.

Slot 1: Ob Nixilis, BR Slot 2: Elspeth, W

OK. As far as I know: Ajani has not reunited with Elspeth yet, which suggests to me that there is room for a reunion in this set.

Slot 1: Ob Nixilis, BR Slot 2: Elspeth, W Slot 3: Ajani Goldmane, WG

Calix would be my second choice, same colors, since he is currently chasing her. If there is one other potential walker I would guess a new walker. I honestly do not see what other walker would fit here, especially with Nixilis taking up the BR space in this scenario.

Dominaria United

Specific Events:

If you read the first story from Midnight Hunt you know that Teferi helped Wrenn find her seventh tree to bond with, and that Wrenn offered to help Teferi repair the damage his spell phasing out Zhalfir from Dominaria did to both his home and his plane. Given the name I predict Teferi works with Wrenn to restore Dominaria to its full state.

I also predict that Teferi, Karn, & Ajani all work together to plan out the destruction of New Phyrexia (with an eventual showdown sometime in 2023).

Planeswalker Appearances:

I think Dominaria United will act like a traditional core set. So, with that being said, I think the following walkers appear:

Slot 1: Teferi, U Slot 2: Wrenn, G

As said above, I think a big part of the story line is Teferi bringing Zhalfir back to Dominaria. That requires both Wrenn and Teferi, and since this is a core set both will get only a single color.

Slot 1: Teferi, U Slot 2: Wrenn, G Slot 3: Ajani, W

Ajani will return helping Teferi and Karn plan the destruction of New Phyrexia. Since Ajani is base white its a good fit. There are plenty of mono red planeswalkers but only two which make story sense. The first is Koth, but since I doubt he leaves New Phyrexia I do not think he makes an appearance. My guess is Jaya Ballard, a native Dominarian, will show up in the fourth spot instead.

Slot 1: Teferi, U Slot 2: Wrenn, G Slot 3: Ajani, W Slot 4: Jaya Ballard, R

The 5th spot is the one I am not sure of; if Wizards wanted to tell a largely Dominarian story they would bring back Liliana Vess, but I do not think she quite makes sense for this story as she is in hiding and as far as I know her appearance would not sit well with Teferi and Ajani (Gatewatch members). I will toss out three possibilities: 1) Sorin Markov (guessing Teferi recruits him to protect Innistrad against an inter-planar threat), 2) Davriel Cane, or 3) Karn (and go colorless). They could also just include Karn as a 6th walker like Core Set 2021. For now, I will assume Karn as the 5th walker.

Slot 1: Teferi, U Slot 2: Wrenn, G Slot 3: Ajani, W Slot 4: Jaya Ballard, R Slot 5: Karn, C

The Brothers War

This set does not require speculation since the story has already been told. I would highly recommend reading the book. The only thing I will say for certain is: Urza finally gets a real planeswalker card.

#magic the gathering #kamigawa #streets of new capenna #dominaria united #innistrad #crimson vow

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asteroiideae · 3 years

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okay, so I don’t make these kinds of posts often because tbh I’m a little lazy and very tired like 24/7 lmao but I’ve been seeing a lot of Pride reading lists hit my dash (and they’re excellent, and I save them all!) buuuut reading books is still a roadblock I’m struggling to mentally overcome -- and audiobooks are great, but they take 84 years (sometimes literally???) to get through. so! I thought I’d share a (very tiny) list of the queer manga I’ve read this year that you might enjoy for Pride, with some descriptions/trigger warnings/thoughts to go with them. so here we go in no particular order other than where they sit on my bookshelf:

What Did You Eat Yesterday? by Fumi Yoshinaga

okay so I know I go on about this manga at literally every presented opportunity, but I honestly just can’t help myself??? as a thirty-something queer adult, I really love the quiet maturity of this relationship between Shiro and Kenji; especially when it’s highlighted by references to shenanigans of their youth, and the ways in which they are still growing as both individuals and a couple. I’ve only read the first six volumes but I’m OBSESSED.

Status: Ongoing (17 volumes; 15 translated) Summary: Shiro and Kenji are an established adult couple with separate careers and interests, whose relationship is depicted over the meals cooked for them by Shiro. This doesn’t have an overarching plot, which might be off-putting for some readers; each chapter can be compared to a fanfic one-shot, usually containing it’s own tiny storyline or theme. It’s literally just domestic moments and meals shared between these men. Warnings: While I didn’t personally have a problem with this, younger readers might find some of the dated terms offensive. If you’ve spent any time with older queer folks (older as in 45-50+) this won’t be anything you aren’t used to, but if your experience of queer folx skews younger or online, you might get taken by surprise. There’s also some internalized homophobia; and by some I mean quite a bit. Shiro’s personal arc (at least in the first six volumes) heavily revolves around how much he closets himself and tries desperately to pass as “normal” in Japanese business culture.

Boys Run The Riot by Keito Gaku

holy shit holy shit holy SHIT. this story is so good??? so VERY good??? I was a little cautious, and a little bit uninterested in a story about teens (only because I’m in my thirties and crave more adult representation,) but I was VERY WRONG to be. Boys Run The Riot is beautifully drawn, beautifully written, and probably my favorite work on this list. the mangaka is also trans so the inherent understanding and nuance of our protagonist’s experience is really lovely. Also featuring a fantastic brotp between a trans boy and his new himbo bestie; no seriously if you want a story about a trans boy getting to have good broships with other boys his own age I CANNOT stress this enough. Volume two is releasing next month; I have it preordered. I’m laying on my floor wishing for time to hurry the fuck up. I need more of this smol angry trans boy and his big soft himbo bff. PLS. Status: Ongoing (4 volumes published; 2 translated) Summary: Ryo Watari is a second year high school student who is trans and struggling to feel comfortable with his very rigidly structured life at school, at home, and among his friends (to whom he is not out.) By chance he meets Jin Sato, a cis boy who also feels outcast (often judged for his appearance without any deeper thought.) When Ryo comes out to Jin in a state of frustration, Jin accepts who Ryo is and makes an offer -- why not start a fashion line that subverts all the expectations that have been put on them both; why not express themselves even when they’ve been told they shouldn’t. Warnings: Ryo is struggling with gender dysphoria, and it is written by someone who has probably experienced it, so it might be a little real for any trans folks who deal with that. Also, while neither the narrative nor Jin misgender Ryo (at least, not once he expresses to Jin that he is a man), Ryo is not out to anyone else and so he frequently is misgendered at school and we see how badly that impacts him and the way he views himself and processes his emotions. Ryo spends a lot of time being angry and trying to swallow it down, and that can be very raw to witness at times. There is also a depiction of unsafe binding (though the mangaka has an immediate note about binding safety, and goes further in-depth at the back of the manga.)

Our Dining Table by Mita Ori

okay, so I was a bit on the fence about whether or not I wanted to include this as a rec, but I decided that it might actually been what someone wants or needs, so here it is! while I really enjoyed this concept, and I’m always a sucker for found family stories (let me tell you I’m queer without telling you I’m queer, much?) it feels like this story is a bit rushed at times, and the romantic relationship between our protagonists is very blink and you’ll miss it. I don’t even want to call it subtle so much as it is just not remotely the focus of the story so it’s a little startling when it happens. but! if you’re looking for a story about adults processing grief and trauma together, and learning how to care for another person (and as a result, learning how to care for themselves,) this is a nice read that isn’t too heavy! Status: Complete (one volume) Summary: Yutaka is a salaryman whose past experiences prevent him from reaching out to others, even through something so simple as sharing a meal. Despite this is REALLY loves to cook, and wishes he had a reason to do it more often. Then he meets Minoru, and his muuuuuch younger brother Tane (it’s like a 17 year age gap between the brothers?) and finds himself teaching them how to cook, and overcoming his fear of eating in front of others. Warnings: Good news, there’s no overt homophobia in this story! Bad news, the other trauma makes up for it! We have a lot of trauma surrounding parental death, childhood bullying, and adoption; in addition to an actual fear of eating in front of others.

Our Dreams at Dusk / Shimanami Tasogare by Yuhki Kamatani

this is the first manga series I collected, and I’m still very pleased about that. the art is ABSOLUTELY stunning? the use of visual imagery and surreal analogies to explain queerness is fucking on POINT. I cried so hard during a couple of these volumes I developed a migraine. I only have one piece of critique on the whole thing (addressed in the warnings,) and I intend to do another re-read when I’m ready for the catharsis of sobbing into my pillow again. Like Boys Run The Riot, Our Dreams at Dusk is drawn and written by a member of the queer community (a non-binary mangaka, this time,) and as a result it hits pretty fucking close to home in a lot of ways. while I really love this series it’s super not for the faint of heart, you WILL come out of this reading experience with some things to unpack. Status: Completed (4 volumes; 4 translated) Summary: We mostly follow Tasuku Kaname, as he is outted at school by a classmate as being homosexual, and his initial despair and subsequent journey of acceptance. In this process, Tasuku finds himself at a drop-in center, which seems to primarily function as a safe space for queer people; we meet several lesbians, an elderly gay man, a trans character, and a young character who isn’t ready for any kind of label because they are still ??? about themselves and their identity. Each of these “secondary” characters is given room to breathe and to work through difficulties of their own while Tasuku watches and learns that even though life is hard sometimes, there’s beauty to be found in one’s own strength. Warnings: hoooo boy; well there’s all kinds of homophobia and transphobia; a character is outted against their will (multiple times), there’s some really insidious transphobia covered by “concern”, there’s internalized homophobia everywhere, and a very complicated asexual character whose presentation left me (as an ace) with super mixed feelings and a lot of frustration (though I wouldn’t call it bad necessarily; just wanted to put that out there for my fellow asexual folks.) If you have read (or go on to read!) any of these, please let me know! I’d love to chat about the stories, and hear your thoughts on them -- because we’re a broad/diverse community and our own experiences shape us differently and give us different insights. <3 ANYWAY, for those of you who read this monstrous self-indulgent post, thank you! Feel free to add any queer manga you’ve been reading below - I’m always on the hunt for more recs!

#happy pride #manga recs #gay representation #queer representation #trans characters #asexual characters #gay characters #everything in-between tbh

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cureflora · 6 years

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this is part of a signup for an event u can disregard this

hello hello !!!

link to nsfw letter: http://cureflora.tumblr.com/post/174454335348/this-is-also-part-of-a-signup-for-an-event-ur-just

also quick note i looooove established relationship stuff but also sometimes you gotta make that first moment happen and i love that too! but if ur like . what point are they at in their relationship? already dating if u see that in ur minds eye too!

1) fine anzu au - basically the idea is that instead of when she first got to the school, what if she had met fine first and became their producer, and about how anzu and wataru would get along at the beginning of the year if she was actually a part of his unit and being introduced to yumenosaki starting in fine - obviously that means a lot of stuff down the line but im just thinking about early in the year how she and wataru would get along with them both being in fine just wanna see them being in the same unit doing unit activities together

2) eichi brings wataru to a fancy party -its just soooo cute that he actually does that! im sure wataru could spice up any party hes at! whether eichi and wataru are being mischievous teenagers or being party guests just enjoying all the high society life has to offer, i just love the idea of them hanging out at a fancy party together!!!

3) keiwata swap - we’ve seen them swap units, but what about everything? keito thinks wataru is obnoxious and a terrible influence and a lot of other bad things, and wataru challenges him to swap places for a day! wataru becomes student council vice president + archery club president + leader of akatsuki and keito becomes the president of the theater club + fine member. lots of them seeing how the other one is doing at their job and havin Something To Say . how do they see each other now?

4) wataanzu theater date - in rosicrucian story, wataru surprises the theater club by revealing that him and anzu had gone together to get the theater club tickets to a performance and i just love the idea of wataru and anzu having a date out on the town or just running errands together, going together to do things like that and the idea of wataru inviting anzu along to these things just to be around her ??? im so weak. watarus a lonely boy please let him bring anzu along

5) masquerade - this is kind of going off on a tangent to the eichi bringing wataru to a fancy party but the mental image of a masquerade ball where wataru and eichi both attend (and they dont know each other this time around) and eichi falls for wataru after they’ve danced together ??? keeps trying to find chances to talk to wataru, this mesmerizing character whos made him want to know more??? its so cheesy but masquerade aesthetic ?? also if watarus in a beautiful dress im always around for wataru wearing dresses its good content

6) summer vacation - its summer vacation and eichi either wants to set his “get wataru to date me” plan into motion or they’ve already been dating for some time, so eichi invites wataru to his summer home! with all this privacy and a summer break that gives him all the time in the world, how does he charm the boy who can do anything on his own home turf?

7) miscellaneous: if these prompts arent your jam, im always down for fluff, something happy and chill and wholesome! eiwata having a nice day together, having a nice date or just staying at home, literally anything they do i live for. eiwata havin a lil moment before a live? fantastic. eating lunch together in the stuco room in the end of the year? ill die. as long as they’re happy and together and nobodys dead im a happy camper.

Please do not:

-write something thats overall really sad? I just want to smile reading some wataru fic yo

-kill off a major character

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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Manga the Week of 11/18/20

SEAN: The weekend of Anime NYC, and I am… not in a hotel room in New York City. Boo. Still, there will be virtual con, I’m sure.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but we do see The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress 9, Holmes of Kyoto 2, Mapping 2, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar 13, Seirei Gensouki 12, and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 9.

Kaiten Books has a 3rd volume of Loner Life in Another World.

Kodansha also has no print debuts, but we do have a fair amount of print, assuming no last-minute delays. There’s Cardcaptor Sakura Collector’s Edition 6 and also Clear Card 8. We also get Granblue Fantasy 7, Living-Room Matsunaga-san 5, Saiyuki 3, and The Seven Deadly Sins 40.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Living-Room Matsunaga-san.

ASH: I still need to start reading Living-Room Matsunaga-san!

SEAN: Digitally there is a debut. Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist- (Kai Byoui Ramune) is about a sort of modern-day, more casual Black Jack and his bizarre supernatural-tinged patients. It sounds like a gag manga, but is apparently deeper than it looks. It runs in Shonen Sirius.

ASH: I’m curious about this one, though I don’t read much digitally.

SEAN: Also digitally: Dolly Kill Kill 8, GE: Good Ending 11, Heroine for Hire 3, Hop Step Sing! 2, Kakushigoto 9, Shaman King: Red Crimson 3, The Writer and His Housekeeper 2, and Yozakura Quartet 26.

Seven Seas has an early digital light novel debut: Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs. This time it’s a male office worker who dies and gets reincarnated in an otome game… as a schlub NPC. But he does recall the game’s events. Can he make his life better?

In print, there are two debuts. The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter has a manga, and this is the first volume of that. It’s pleasantly dumb.

What the Font?! – A Manga Guide to Western Typeface has, aside from a terrific title, an “educational” feel to it. Expect anthropomorphic personifications.

ASH: I’m actually really excited for this one.

ANNA: Oh, me too!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Cosmo Familia 3 (the final volume), Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Gets Serious 4, New Game! 10, Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 5, Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho 11, and Sarazanmai 2.

ASH: Whoops, still need to get around to Sarazanmai 1!

Square Enix has, not a manga or novel, but Final Fantasy VII Poster Collection. It’s Tifa-tastic and Aerith-riffic.

Vertical gives us the 8th and final volume of Arakawa Under the Bridge. There’s also Blood on the Tracks 3 and Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest 4.

MICHELLE: The first volume of Blood on the Tracks was enjoyably ominous.That’s another one I need to catch up on.

SEAN: It’s a very Rumiko Takahashi week at Viz. Not only do we get Urusei Yatsura’s 8th omnibus (introducing Ryuunosuke, the precursor to Ranma Saotome), but also debut Mermaid Saga in omnibus form! This is decidedly NOT a comedy, and shows off how good Takahashi was at horror and suspense.

MICHELLE: I have the single volumes of this, but have never read it!

ASH: I love Mermaid Saga so much that I’m double-dipping for the new edition.

ANNA: I think I read a tiny bit of it back in the day but I’m excited for the new edition too.

MELINDA: I probably need to finally read this.

SEAN: There’s also Beastars 9, Hell’s Paradise Jigokuraku 5, and Tokyo Ghoul:re Illustrations: zakki, an artbook.

MICHELLE: I’m so far behind on Beastars and Hell’s Paradise already!

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind myself, but have been liking both series so far.

SEAN: And then there’s Yen, and they have a lot, even with the normal “date shifts”. First we get the novels.

There are three debuts, though one doesn’t count. A Certain Magical Index SS 1 is hardly unknown to readers, but it is nice to see, especially as I whined at Yen when it did not come out (as it did in Japan) between Books 13 and 14. It’s a short-story collection, and introduces the reader to Hamazura… assuming they haven’t read Index 15-22 already.

The Place Promised in Our Early Days is another Makoto Shinkai adaptation… in fact, it’s of his first major film.

MELINDA: I usually like these adaptations, though I haven’t watched this movie in a long while. Might be nice to revisit.

SEAN: The big debut is Unnamed Memory, an extremely popular light novel series. A Crown Prince with a curse has to visit the strongest witch in the world to break it. Destiny ensues.

ASH: It does look as though it may have some potential.

SEAN: Yen On also has a LOT of ongoing series. 86 ~Eighty-Six~ 6, The Dirty Way to Destroy the Goddess’s Heroes 5, Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? 7, The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious 5, I’m a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl’s Pet 2, Last Round Arthurs 3, Magical Girl Raising Project 10, Rascal Does Not Dream 3, So I’m a Spider, So What? 10, and World’s Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country’s Novice Seeker 4.

And that’s just novels. For manga, there are five debuts. Mieruko-chan is a comedy from Monthly Comic Alive about a girl who can see terrifying ghosts and monsters… and does her level best to ignore them.

Sadako at the End of the World (Shuumatsu no Sadako-san) is a one-shot manga from Comic Gene about the girl from Ring ending up in a post-apocalyptic world where her presence is far more welcome.

ASH: Okay, both of these sound like something I should check out.

MELINDA: Same here.

SEAN: Star Wars: Rebels is the manga adaptation of the popular series, and comes from LINE Corporation.

The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap is the manga adaptation of a light novel we’ve seen from J-Novel Heart. A girl with the worst luck ends up reincarnated in another world… sadly, the source of that bad luck is here as well. Can she escape and live freely? This runs in Kadokawa’s FLOS Comic.

Lastly, A Witch’s Love at the End of the World (Sekai no Owari to Majo no Koi) (no relation to Sadako’s title) is a yuri series from ASCII Mediaworks’ Comic IT. It… honestly reads sort of like a Japanese version of The Owl House. Which I’m fine with.

There’s also Eclair Orange, the latest in that yuri anthology, IM: Great Priest Imhotep 5, Keito Koume Illustrations Spice & Wolf (an artbook), Shibuya Goldfish 8, and Yoshi no Zuikara 2.

MICHELLE: I had no idea there was yet another Eclair on the way!

SEAN: I’m exhausted, how about you?

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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kawaii-yamada · 7 years

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❤10 Years with JUMP ❤

[Disclaimer] This is all base on my opinion. I might pay more attention to certain things than you do. So please read with an open mind. I just wanted to express my love for the boys <3 Plus, sorry for all the blurry pictures! They were high quality once...a long time ago... T.T

I’m going to share 10 of my favorite JUMP moments (things) to reminisce what these wonderful boys have been through and all the joy they’ve brought to me through these past 10 amazing years.

So starting at #10….

10) Your Seed Dance formation

I remember back in 2008, I was freaking out so much because of this dance formation. It was so cool and is still so cool. I watched this pv for days and even tried to learn every move from Chinen to Yabu hahaha I still think it was one of the coolest dance choreography JUMP has. They were so young…

9) Yuto’s comeback?

After JUMP’s debut, Yuto fell into a “slump year,” which made him lose the center position to Yamada. BUT, he worked very hard and gained popularity again from his acting roles (Hanzawa Naoki, Suikyuu Yankees, etc.). The most amazing thing was when he got to sing the climax in Asu e No Yell. I felt like a proud mom. Love you Yuto~

8) Yamada’s Solo

I was so fricken happy because as you all know, Yamada is my ichiban. And…..Ok…It’s not surprising that out of all 9 of them Yamada got a solo single. BUT, during the making of Mystery Virgin, he was so bored so he talked about all 8 of the members and cried out for them because he was so lonely (My poor baby T.T). He was also expressing his worries about going solo. I felt so good to be his fan because he cared for his members and because he was talking about his worries so openly it made me feel happy that he could share it with his fans. I could sense that he wasn’t letting his fame cloud his perspective which made me trust him that he would not leave HSJ. I understand that other popular members from other groups left because they wanted to explore other opportunities and want to try new styles. I will not be mad if one day Yamada leaves but I will miss him in JUMP. So I hope he doesn’t leave.

(Gif not mine, credits to rightful owner)

7) Host of Shounen Club

This was one of my proudest moments of them. They were finally the SENPAIS hosting the show like Koyama and Nakamaru. Although their hosting didn’t last long it was so much fun to watch them host in their own style, performing their songs in a relaxed manner and be the senpais.

6) “Coming of Age” songs

When all of HS7 finally turned 20/21, they released more matured songs. Like Ride With Me, Aino Arika, Weekender, and Asu e No Yell. I’ve watched them grow up and have seen all their different concepts. From being cute, to being bold, I’ve seen it all (for now, expecting to see more creative concepts). This was one of my favorite periods of JUMP. I sensed their manliness but they still had a goofy and kiddy side. They will always make me happy no matter what!

5) Concerts

I know this is very vague but all their concerts were a great part of their 10 year journey. They always surprise me every time! If I were to talk about them, this blog post will never end. To shorten it up, take a look at some of the pictures down below. These are not enough pictures to describe how great their concerts are! Just go watch them :)

4) Itadaki High Jump

THEIR OWN VARIETY SHOW! This is by far, one of the best things for JUMP. I love how each member gets to shine and all of their personality compliments each other so well. I love the concept of this show! I hope they get more guests soon! And our English prince, Keito, is finally getting the spot light on that show. He finds every chance he gets to use his English! Haha Like #5 explaining this show will take forever. So please check out how amazing this show is down below:

3) Shin Domoto Kyoudai

Their appearance on Domoto Brother was the cutest thing ever. These freshly debuted kids were so nervous to be on this show and not to mention, it was hosted by their Dai-senpai, which most of them admired a lot. They were asked a lot of typical debut questions (who’s your admired senpai, why did you join JE, etc.). They were also asked to show their teamwork and I was shocked that they all were thinking the same thing (They all did the “jumping to my dream” hand movement). I wish they did that to introduce themselves every time hahaha. Overall, I think this is a MUST WATCH to any new JUMP fans! If you need a link, message me :)

2) Debut Performance

Their debut performance on Hey! Hey! Hey! Was probably the most adorable thing ever, especially when they were introducing themselves. V6, TVXQ, Yui, and others were also guested on the show. I was very happy that those big artists like them got to see my boys perform. They had so much energy and they all shined so bright!

1) Don’t mind?

When JUMP just debuted they were invited on this Subway quiz show as volleyball supporters. I don’t know the name of the show. If you haven’t seen JUMP guested on this show, I will explain it. The setting of the show was set up like a subway where each player had to hold a subway strap and give their answer. If they got two questions wrong they will get punished by getting spray with some stuff (looked like fire extinguisher stuff haha). The questions were slangs or shorten word and you had to answer with the formal wording (Exampls: kimu taku = Kimura Takuya, KY- Kuki Yomenai, CD= Compact Disc, and so on). JUMP went on the show with another volleyball supporter. It was Chinen’s turn and he couldn’t think of the answer so he was about to get sprayed but Ryutaro pushed him away because he also got a question wrong earlier so he was going to get sprayed in Chinen’s place (he was “taking responsibility” haha). But the person that came on the show with them ended up getting sprayed for both of Chinen and Ryutaro. She was annoyed so she pushed Chinen and said “Don’t Mind” in a rude way. So chibi Chinen pushed her back. She was going to push him again but then Keito stepped in and protected him!! Then Ryutaro said something along the lines like “Violence isn’t the answer” so she went towards him and Yuto protected him. Lastly, Daiki ended up pushing her unto to ground.

This was my favorite JUMP moment of all time!! They were all protecting each other and they all just had very great chemistry with each other! I miss their chibi days! If you watch it you would understand why it was such a great moment! I think all earlier JUMP fans have already seen this but for those new fans who haven’t, here is the link to the video but there is no Eng Sub.

BONUS: Hikaru getting casted in “Ikemen Desu Ne.” (Japanese version of You’re Beautiful) This came as a huge surprise to me but whoever was casting did it right! I wouldn’t have thought of anyone else in JE to play this role other than Hika-chan! Another proud moment I had.

All my boys are growing up so nicely! Even Ryutaro! Happy 10 Years boys! I will always be here to support you all :D You guys make me happy and give me the best joy! I wish to see you all again one day! Until then, stay healthy and keep smiling.

If you came this far, thank you for reading!!

[Picture and Gif credits to rightful owner!

I tried to use as much of my own screenshot as possible!]

#hey say jump #10 years #anniversary #yamada ryosuke #yuto nakajima #Chinen Yuri #hikaru yaotome #okamoto keito #inoo kei #yabu kota #takaki yuya #daiki arioka #Morimoto Ryutaro #jpop #Johnny's Entertainment #j storm #i love you guys

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iohourtime · 7 years

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Starting with a Shirt (Fine Boys)

Fine Boys 10.2017

Thanks to weibo user Momozzz32 for the scans. I have paraphrased a few things, but I left some of the English words Yamanda-san actually used in the translation. I bumped a post with the photos below for illustrations. I also made some comments in the asides.

SHIRT STYLE in Autumn: Yamada Ryosuke

Welcoming the 10th year anniversary of the debut of Hey!Say!JUMP as the center, and also starring in movies as an actor, you cannot take your eyes off this man in autumn! Approximately 1 year ago, Yamada Ryosuke appeared in [this magazine], does he have different thoughts now comparing to last year? Establishing the scene with a simple shirt style, an overwhelming sexiness radiated through the atmosphere. Now, at the beginning of autumn, “Yamada Ryosuke and Shirts”, what do you think?

SHIRT STYLE in Autumn: Shirt Parka

[See photos for the “shirt parka” look.]

Recently, I challenged a new fashion style with a patterned shirt

"I am someone who almost always wear plain clothes, but recently, I bought a lobster print shirt. When you hear lobster pattern, you may associate it with pop [art], [there is] no collar, and the texture is flowy, so match it with black skinny [jeans] and you will get a very chic look. The color is dark brown. For someone like me who has many monotone [clothes], this is a very rare purchase. I want to challenge myself by trying the types of clothes I have not worn so far. "

[Aside: I really want to see this lobster patterned shirt. Mainly because I cannot picture how a lobster patterned shirt can look chic, but that is probably because I lack imagination.]

Profile

Hey!Say!JUMP is currently welcoming their 10th anniversary. The best album “Hey!Say!JUMP 2007-2017 I/O” is current on sale and they are on a national tour as well. Meanwhile, the movie “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store” will premiere on September 23rd and the “Fullmetal Alchemist” will premiere on December 1st.

SHIRT STYLE in Autumn: White shirt

Clean cut + Sexy feelings conveyed by a white shirt is popular with women!

"This double collar style is not something I see often. Speaking of white shirts, although I don’t really wear them in private, I often wear them for photo shoots. Especially in women’s magazine! Even though I already left 2 or 3 buttons undone, [the photographer will ask] “Can you unbutton a few more?” (laughs). A white shirt is usually accompanied by a necktie, so surely, women [may think] it looks sexy when [they see] someone taking off his tie. They like that instant when he switched from on to off (laughs).”

[Aside: I am not sure “switching from on to off” is what I’m thinking about. And right. The photographer made you unbutton your shirt...]

Yup. For this man, a white shirt indeed suits him.

When the photographer said "your skin is beautiful!", he had a surprised expression [on his face]. When he was further asked about his skincare routine, confusion was added to his expression.

"Everyday skincare ......? I use my hands to dab skin conditioner and lotion [on my face] (laughs). Sorry readers, I can only talk about this "basic, you should do this" stuff. For my hair, unless I have it styled by a pro, it usually looks very unkempt. Oh, I do use hair oil. It is very fragrant! "

Hey!Say!JUMP will have its 10th anniversary this year. In the past ten years, how did Yamada’s fashion style changed?

"In the past, I wore expensive and fancy clothes but eventually I realized what really matters is whether something will suit you. You are not sure what will suit you? “FINEBOYS” will have the answer (laughs)! Also, I think you need to be adventurous. Even if you think you don't look quite right [when checking yourself] in the mirror, it could just be due to unfamiliarity [with the look]. Lately, I have been attacking various genres, like mixing parka with cap [to evoke] a skater style. Yesterday, I went shopping with member (Okamoto) Keito, and after getting lost in front of the mirror, I purchased a hunting cap for the first time. Earlier today, I mixed a white T-shirt with loose pants, so I covered all the bases. For the current adventure, I guess it was successful (laughs). "

[Aside: I am not sure I have seen a skater wear a parka with cap. Does skater refer to something else in Japan?]

And he ordered a rider’s jacket for the autumn/winter season. He designed it himself and is looking forward to its arrival.

"It is a light grey suede “Double”. For the lining, I selected a blue bandana pattern so that it will look fashionable when I take the jacket off. This is a one of a kind “Riders”, I look forward to its completion."

[T/N: I did a quick search and it looks like it is this style of jacket. The website said this jacket is “embodying the essence of cool”, so it sounds like something he will buy.]

In his latest movie "Namiya General Store's Miracle", he played Atsuya, a lonely boy who does not trust society and other people.

"Always negative, if he is a member, he is the type that will seriously piss me off (laughs). He does not have anything in common with me now, but there was a time when we were similar. When I was the same age as Atsuya (19), "Is this useless?", I would ask and try to answer myself. But, I would not get an answer ....... [Regarding] what should we do for Hey!Say!JUMP to become more active [in the industry], after some serious discussions with the members, I think something had changed."

#Yamada Ryosuke #Fine Boys #Translation #miracles of the namiya general store #namiya zakkaten no kiseki

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sambart93 · 7 years

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2017.04.05 StarMyuMyu/ High School Star Musical: The Musical! [Review]

I got to see this beauty Wednesday afternoon! I really enjoyed the anime when it originally came out in 2015. In anticipation of this musical, I, of course, rewatched the anime earlier this year and still enjoyed it!! ^_^ so naturally, I was hyped for this musical! Especially because it has some amazing names in there such as Sugie Taishi, Suzuki Shougo, Sakurai Keito and many more!

Official Website here Official Twitter here Press 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Dress Rehearsal Videos 1, 2, 3 PreOrder DVD/BR here and here and here and here

CAST and CHARACTERS

Team Otori: Sugie Taishi as Hoshitani Yuta Yamanaka Shouta as Nayuki Toru Arthur Lounsberry as Tsukigami Kaito Suzuki Shougo as Tengenji Kakeru Takahashi Kensuke as Kuga Shu

Team Hiragi: Sakurai Keito as Rui Tatsumi Kitagawa Naoya as Sawatari Eigo Tanzawa Seiji as Inumine Seishiro Takano Akira as Toraishi Izumi Hoshimoto Yuzuki as Ugawa Akira

Student Council: Hatakeyama Ryo as Hiragi Tsubasa Kiyama Haruki as Otori Itsuki Takizawa Ryo as Akatsuki Kyoji Tsurimoto Minami as Yuzuriha Christian Lion Taka as Sazanami Sakuya

Ensemble: Yamamoto Teppei, Takashi Yukiya, Yamauchi Ryohei, Sawabe Neo, Shinkai Rio and Obigane Ryota

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Non-Spoiler Review: I think this is the most well produced musical I’ve seen live from 2.5. And yes that means I think it’s better than TouMyu in terms of dance and singing skills. This is very faithful to the anime BUT they’ve taken one major point out so they could put one entire season of the anime into a 2 hour 30 minute musical. Overall the actors performances were great and while some characterizations were off, I was completely in this world and was with these characters and I enjoyed myself immensely. If you’re a fan of the anime and the actors then you’re going to love this. Rating: 9/10

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I’ll try and remain un-bias BUT that ain’t going to happen, because in my opinion: I freaking loved it and think it’s the most highly produced musical I’ve ever seen in person! But anyway, onto the long review!

I was super lucky to get smack bang in the middle on the 8th row! It was surprisingly close! Also the girl next to me was Chinese and the girl in front of me is/was rank 581 on Ensemble Stars (a mobile game I am somewhat obsessed with).

Okay now to head into spoiler territory.

General/Random Comments:

Ohhhh a great thing about being smack in the middle and 8th row(!!!) is that it’s perfect height for where the actors naturally just look out blankly so it looks like they’re looking straight at you even though you can tell they’re just starring out into nothing in concentration but it was a nice feeling xD

By the intermission I was convinced I needed to get Shougo and Keito’s bromides and naturally once the show finished I did! ^_^ BUT one thing you all ought to know about me; I am a person who HATES intermissions. I cannot stand them. Unless they’re like TouMyu (or the last K stage)’s where it’s a break between the stage and the live, (those I can deal with) BUT any other type of intermission, I do NOT want. Because everytime there’s an intermission my energy and hyperness for the stage goes. I get drained instantly and slumpy. And the intermission in StarMyu was no different. The first half of this musical, I was pumped, I was loving every part, I was drinking it all in. POST intermission; I can’t even tell you what happened the first 10 or 20 minutes to be honest, I vaguely remember and knowing the anime I know what happened. However, due to the intermission, at the beginning of part two, I was so taken out of it and I started feeling uncomfortable and sleepy << this is what I call my ‘Post Intermission Slumb’ and it happens ALL the freaking time. So yes I would rather have watched this 2 hour 30 minute play without a break. Hell I managed TouStage which was OVER 3 hours without a break. PLEASE stop doing intermissions stages and musicals, for my concentration’s sake! *cries* xD

About the Performances:

Everyone is a really good singer. I was a little unsure about Sugie and Takahashi before they started but they were good; you can tell Takahashi has definitely improved once again since I last saw him, and while Sugie couldn’t really sing high notes, he matched really well with others; especially his duet with Otori their voices matches very well. Yuzuki sounded a little rough in his first song, but was fine in the rest of the songs. Also Yuzuki does my pet peeve of miming along to other people’s lyrics in songs... I really hate when people do that... it’s why I hated Fujigaya for KisMyFt2 for the longest time. I can’t stand people who mime to other peoples lines in songs... it’s a strange pet peeve I know but... moving on(!)...

The ensembles’ dancing was so flawless and fluid and fun to watch! Also, speaking of dancing, I really enjoyed Sugie’s solo part where he had to dance and he can dance damn well! I enjoyed it a lot!

Of course I shed a tear just after the boys learnt Otori had gone and Hoshitani is like a lost soul and all ‘but what do we do now?! We need Otori! I need Otori!’ and then when Otori turns up and is like ‘it’s not me you need, it’s your team mates’ and they do a duet together and yes the feels were hit.

BUT I’m a little annoyed they didn’t do my favourite Nayuki x Hoshitani scene. They started the scene where Nayuki is like ‘we need you! you’re our leader! Without you, I would never have gotten into this group! Without you, this team wouldn’t be as great’ and I was sat there like ‘come on with the ‘I like you’ Nayuki, come on!’ and Nayuki goes ‘I have something I want to say’ and I thought ‘it’s here!’ but he ends up saying something else and I was like ‘NOOOOO! You’re supposed to tell him you like him!!!’ so I was upset they cut that out BUT I can understand why they cut it out.... but still -__-

Also I wish we got full performances from Team Hiragi and Team Otori. How they did it was they would do the opening properly singing and performing, and then in order to cut to the council members talking, the music would quieten and their voice on the CD/song would continue quietly while they continued dancing and lipsyncing the lyrics. I just want FULL performances!! No one cares what the Student Council think!! Just give us a full performance! Having the constant switch between them properly performing and them pulling the spotlights on the student council was too distracting and we ALL know we’re there for Team Otori and Team Hiragi (both characters and actors) so why do that?!

Seriously that pirate performance!!!! I was looking forward to it ever since my friend, Emma, mentioned and reminded me that Team Hiragi’s theme is pirates! I love almost anything to do with pirates so when they came on, I was like ‘YES!!!!’ And we got to see them on boat which had been made from the stairs and apparatus’, and they got swords and were fighting as well as dancing and singing and it was so god!! They all sounded awesome together too!

Although, I feel like the ending was rushed a little. It felt like very quickly the storm came and very quickly Team Hiragi walked in and was like ‘here’s what you can do!’ and then Team Hiragi performed and straight away after that Team Otori performed and it ENDED as soon as Team Otori finished their song(!). Meaning that there were no competition results or anything. In fact they didn’t really even state it was a competition, just that they all had to perform. So that’s a major part of the plot that they took out to save time. But, as stated, I didn’t like that ending. I would’ve preferred there to be a little more; for example: they perform and Otori shows up and says they did well or like they finish performing and they’re like ‘lets continue and do better next time *star sign* yay!’ and finish. Just a bit more something rather than ‘perform *black out* curtain call’ which was a bit too quick for me.

I noticed and felt during the curtain call that a tear or two fell down the sides of my face, and I was like ‘what?...damn I enjoyed it that much?’ normally I’m completely aware of when I’m crying but they just slipped out this time to my surprise.

The curtain calls were so cute for several reasons! First was at the end of the first curtain call Naoya put his arm around Keito, and Keito put his around Naoya’s and they walked off xD Then during the speeches Sugie pointed out that three of the guys (Akira, Yuzuki and someone else) were still 19 and then he went ‘and then this guy. This 30 year old! Oi!!! 30 year old!’ and Kiyama had his back to Sugie and eventualy turned around and went ‘oh me? Nah I’m still 19 too!’ xD Then, at the end of the second curtain call I saw Keito and Naoya practically walk off holding hands <3 Keito waited til the view could be almost fully blocked, but he very obviously looked down to see where Naoya’s hand was and then latched on xD it was adorable!!!!

Individual Remarks:

Team Otori Sugie Taishi as Hoshitani Yuta: As mentioned before, he wasn’t the best singer but he was good eough and he matched during duets and in group songs with the other members very well! I’ve seen him sing quite a few times and for some reason I still always sit and wonder ‘can this guy even sing?!’ xD

I think Sugie tripped up the stairs when he was on the phone to Shouta in the cat searching scene, but it was so funny and cute and it totally fit his character so it was okay xD also towards the end of the lunch box ‘fight’, someone (I think Akira) grabbed onto Sugie who then grabbed onto Kiyama (by mistake it seemed or too forceful than he should’ve) and Kiyama tried to get out of it and ran across the stage going ‘my hair!!’ xD

Yamanaka Shouta as Nayuki Toru: His voice is so high! It was a perfect fit for Nayuki and I think he did a great job as Nayuki too! Unfortauntely not as cute BUT he did the personality perfectly. Also he’s got really nice legs. Not the skinny rat ones like more Japanese actors (I’m looking at you Keito, Takahashi, dare I go on.), he has proper, decent looking legs that look like they’ve got some sort of muscle build xD and he’s short enough that his legs look cute haha ALSO fucking Takahashi is a giant! He looked so ridiculous next to EVERYONE, especially Shouta because of the eight difference xD good job TonChan didn’t do this stage >.< oh god help us in HakuMyu... by the way, I’ve met Ton-Chan, just rubbing that in there xD ANYWAY! I am happy with Yamanaka’ overall performance of Nayuki *thumbs Up*

Arthur Lounsberry as Tsukigami Kaito: Seriously, Arthur though must burn at least 3000 calories a day just from his blinking! I’ve never seen anyone blink so much in my life! I was starting to crack up because of how much he blinked xD Also, maybe it’s because Arthur is a newbie actor (?) or just because he wanted to make the character more serious but I felt his Tsukigami was very unemotional. He had the exact same expression the entire way through. His face just stayed the same, even when he was singing there was no alteration to his facial features which I found a little unnerving and makes me feel like he’s a bit of an amateur actor. BUT I am wiling to give the StarMyu Anime a THIRD viewing just to prove it is just part of the character rather than Arthur himself. I wanna give him the benefit of the doubt. But yeah, the lack of facial expression and/or change in his face, even when singing, was something that really drew my attention.

Suzuki Shougo as Tengenji Kakeru: Do I really need to talk about this mother chucker of a stage god?Seriously, Shougo... seriously! It’s Shougo! I could listen to him sing all day! He completely takes the room and his voice is so nice! Seriously, does he not have any solo singles or albums out?! I want them!! I want them all! And just as I predicted he looked MUCH better in real life as Tengenji unlike that AWFUL visual poster we got to begin with xD his bromides are nice too! *see bottom of post* Shougo did his job, he did a brilliant job, I thoroughly loved his solo song performance and his kimono costume and fan for it. Also the ‘acting’ scene with Takahashi with is momentarily them pretending to be Romero (Taka) and Juliet (Shougo) was hilarious. Shougo never backs down from comedy and always gives his all <3 OH MY! His cat scene too was COMPLETELY adorable!! <3

Takahashi Kensuke as Kuga Shu: Holy moly Takahashi! Whenever he was on stage too, I could not look away. He’s just LONG; his legs and arms are so long and skinny. AND it did not help that every movement he did was just so sexy; he was just dripping in sexiness seriously - and I don’t even think he was trying to be sexy all the time(!). BUT I also could not unsee Hachi and Ultraman in this face xD And, as said before, he towered over everyone which was super funny especially when he was stood next to poor Shouta xD

Takahashi played Kouga a bit more openly and more talkative than I would’ve wanted. In the anime Kuga is very reserved and a man of few words and only really speaks when necessary but in this I noticed Takahashi was WHOLE monologues and tons of lines, and I personally feel that’s NOT the Kuga I know BUT Takahashi is a suave and popular guy, I guess you just gotta give him more lines (so he gets more money). But on a positive, Kuga turned out to be such a sweetie and so adorable, for example: when he’s playing the piano and then eats ramen (which he actually did on stage!), but when he’s finished, his stomach rumbles (pretty sure this is a scene in the anime too) but denies to Nayuki that he’s still hungry but Nayuki makes him food anyway <3 ; another part is towards the end when Hoshitani learns that his luck for the day is really bad unless he shakes hands with someone and he pulls a hand out to Tengenji who rejects him, then to Tsukigami who also rejects him, and then Kuga holds his hand out but because Hoshitani has his back to him only the audience and Tengenji sees and everyone is like ‘awwww’ while Hoshitani and Nayuki decide to shake hands instead. But then an announcement comes out so Nayuki moves before Hoshitani can shake his hand so another awwww from the audience xD poor Hoshitani, but mainly poor Kuga xD

Team Hiragi:

Sakurai Keito as Rui Tatsumi: Keito... Keito is so freaking precious guys! First he super suits the whole short blonde hair and green eyes! Seriously he looks so good!! Secondly, Keito is freaking adorable, and his legs are so tiny! Thirdly, he can dance and sing and is so cute!!! Did a mention who cute, precious and adorable he is? Because seriously, he is! He did a great Rui which when I first saw the announcement, I wasn’t sure about BUT Keito really does have this softness and delicacy to him that i can now totally see why they hired him for Rui. Also during the fight scene between Hoshitani and Ugawa and Keito puts a hand in front of Ugawa or pulls him back and is like ‘no’ and how Ugawa just obeys him! I really liked their interactions with each other in the stage! And there’s a cute part/adlib with Tanzawa which I’ll mention later. Keito as a pirate seriously! I am so glad I got his bromides and his sakura bromide is the best! I kind like how awkward he looks in the bromides even though he DOES look much better in real life. He’s like Takasaki Shouta; more more handsome in person than in photos. Keito can do no wrong <3 Guys, I could VERY easily become a Keito fan, but I’m not gunna allow myself... for many reasons... but seriously... I really do enjoyed whatever the hell he does.

Kitagawa Naoya as Sawatari Eigo: I’m going to be honest, I purpose didn’t pay attention to him all that much BECAUSE I know my friend is seeing the stage for him very soon and I didn’t wanna pay attention and end up spoiling his performance for her ^_^ BUT what I will say is that I enjoyed his performance and he looked really good in the pirate suit and eye patch. He seemed to get along ell with everyone too ^_^ and suited his character. I don’t think he got as much stage time and lines as I was expecting though...

Tanzawa Seiji as Inumine Seishiro: Tanzawa was the comedy relief of the musical. In all honesty, actually, it got about 30 minutes into the musical, and I noticed there hadn’t been ANY comedic relief, and I was starting to worry a bit that this wasn’t going to have any Higawari’s or comedy relief or anything, but then this dumbo walked in and he was so sweet and silly and innocent, but he’s so dumb, but so funny!

Towards the end of the musical, Inu and the gang walk in to say they’ll help Otori team, and Inu throws his icecream (which is a plushie) up to Rui/Keito and unfortunately Keito caught the cream side rather than the cone side and the entire audience started laughing, and Keito just looked at his catch very unimpressed and without even cracking, and slolwly grabbed the cone side. Then Inu decided to climb UP the pole to get to the upper stage which was also hilarious because the pole is RIGHT next to the stairs which also lead up to the upper stage and Ugawa was just looking at him and the stairs like ‘use the stairs idiot’ xD

Takano Akira as Toraishi Izumi: As soon as he came on stage I immediately remembered why he looked so damn familiar. It’s so weird that I’ve seen this kid since he was like 12... he’s growing up so well! Also he reminds me a lot of Suzuki Katsuhiro in terms of how he looks. I really, really enjoyed (maybe a bit too much) his grey t-shirt that he wore when they were in their practise gear. His shirt is like wide at the top so you can get a good view of his collar bone and stuff - I am just a walking pervert aren’t I... he’s done quite a lot of 2.5 and I’d like to see his other performances, especially his Ichigo. Oh my! His profile is now EX-Dream5 member! So he left to persure 2.5 and acting instead?! wow.... oh wait, they disbanded last year?! Oh this all makes so much sense... anyway(!). I do this this kid will go far, he always had potential, even when he debuted as Dream5, so I’m excited to see what other stages and such he does in the future.

Hoshimoto Yuzuki as Ugawa Akira: I really don’t have much to say about him... I don’t know how to explain my thoughts on his as Ugawa without some people possible taking it the wrong way but the only ways I can describe it is; he played Ugawa very feminine and too feminine, which I never saw in his character in the anime, and I also feel like Yuzuki didn’t play him like a little shit enough. It just sounded like he was moaning the entire time rather than being a mean little shit that he is in the anime. He just wasn’t the juicy little shit that I wanted to back hand which I what you would expect from a performance of Ugawa.

Student Council: Hatakeyama Ryo as Hiragi Tsubasa: I thought I knew Hatakeyama from somewhere! As soon as he came on stage I thought ‘he looked awfully familiar’ and while he does have the face that quite a few other actors have, when I saw his profile and saw he was in Brother’s Complex, I was like ‘that!!’ xD OH HE WAS ALSO IN SAIYUKI!!! THAT’S HOW I DAMN KNOW HIM!! He’s been in Haikyuu, Amnesia, Kuroko no Basket also, so he’s not exactly unknown xD

Kiyama Haruki as Otori Itsuki: You could tell as soon as Kiyama came on stage that he’s supposed to be in the west end and on broadway. His performance is/was flawless and so captivating, but also has a very narcissistic vibe, and full of ego that it’s obvious he’s from that side of the theatre world. I think he was a bit too egotistic for Otori. Nevertheless, I think he gave an amazing performance, and (like I said) his dances and his singing was flawless and you could not look away when he was on stage. Although BECAUSE of his background, at the beginning of the musical he got two whole (FULL!) songs to perform which I feel is unfair, especially when at the end, the two teams only get to do like half a performance. I understand that because of his background and experience, he’s more capable of pulling off a full performance or two but he is not the main character, so why does he get to do TWO full performances when the main guys got only half a performance? That’s where I think it’s unfair, but I understand WHY he got to do it. I just want to see my boys do a full song performance okay... =[

Not going to like, I didn’t pay even a milisecond of attention to these three; Takizawa Ryo as Akatsuki Kyoji, Tsurimoto Minami as Yuzuriha Christian Lion and Taka as Sazanami Sakuya, EXCEPT I strongly feel like Taka lipsynced the opening song while the other 4 were clearly singing, because he hardly moved his mouth... but other than that, I do not remember their performances at all.

And finally Ensemble: I already talked about how amazing their dance performances were and one of them did catch my eye but I can’t tell you who it is unless I research how tall they all all; pretty much the tallest one is the one who caught my attention.

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And that’s my review done! I hope that was good enough ^_^

Now the goodies:

Look how adorably awkward Keito looks!! Also Shougo is freaking flawless and beautiful as usual <3

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I hope you enjoyed that! Have a good evening, day, night, whenever you read this!ke

#sakurai keito #suzuki shougo #takano akira #sugie taishi #takahashi kensuke #yamanaka shouta #hoshimoto yuzuki #kitagawa naoya #hatakeyama ryo #kiyama haruki #starmyu #starmyumyu #スタミュ #スタミュミュ #high school star musical #review #stage #stage review

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