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absolutebl · 9 months

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This Week In BL - I’m pleased with what’s airing, but conflicted about what’s ended & getting started

Aug 2023 Wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Sat iQIYI) 4 of 8 - Omg the way the bodyguard (handler?) looks at the rich kid. Gah. I see why @heretherebedork loves these 2. But I really hate him (not the handler, the kid). Fun fight scene. I love lawyer babygirl SO MUCH. HE WILL BE MY 2023 FAV CHARACTER. I’M CALLING IT. This ep, Srs? You’re killing me. Suits! Pussycat bows! And then... The Public Claiming!!!!! One of my favorite tropes! And openly flirting? Boys. I’m getting spoiled. Wait… is that…? NO SINGING. Ah well, Thai BL giveth and Thai BL taketh away.

Hidden Agenda that isn’t hidden (Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 4 of 10 - I like the script for this. It feels like the conversations they have are very honest to a uni experience. It’s comfortable and breezy. I did not expect the kiss. Bit early in the arc. There is either going to be a lot of backend drama, or a long domestic honeymoon period. (Bet you can guess which one I vote for.)

Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 5 of 8 - It’s moving along in a Ghost Host kinda way (minus the killer chemistry). I’m not mad about it, I don’t think I'll remember it tho.

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 5 of 12 - My ambivalent relationship with this drama continues. Cohabitation trope. Punn is basically a huge puppy trying to spoil/cuddle/fuck his pretty kitty prince. It is what it is. Meanwhile, I just want more of Big Daddy & the Hot Doc. (Also the name of my burlesque show.) Why does Kevin have more chemistry with Ashi in a 1 min long scene than Punn has had… ever? Is this nascent bad boy effect or nascent 2nd lead syndrome I’m feeling? (Meanwhile Ben! Hi! Long time no see!)

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 11 of 12 - Whatever. Trash(ish) watch here.

Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 6 of 8 eps - Aw pretty baby is unhappy his bf got injured. But also very blushing maiden. This is profoundly NOT GOOD.

Wedding Plan (Weds YT & iQIYI) ep 3 of 7 - I have decided that Lom’s theme song is BigBang’s Monster. Listen. You’ll see what I mean. Also BigBang = also very problematic but banging. What I’m saying is, I wanna punch Lom so bad, I went slightly bonkers. Water sports are addressed. A trash watch is happening!

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Jun & Jun (Korea Thurs Viki) 3 of 8 - How DARE they make me love this show so much? I feel personally attacked. The smell thing! Gah. The way they automatically go informal in private. The flirting. The language. The suits, the EVERYTHING. It’s embarrassing how much I rewatch the final bits of each ep.

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 6 of 10 eps - I adore this ridiculous show. (I just realized that the actor playing Jiang Chi played Ray’s evil 2-timing bf in About Youth). Baby boy is quite clueless. Sweet dreams tho. I love them both so much. The washing his jersey scene was so fucking cute. Couple’s numbers, couple’s keychains, bridal towel, kisses. Thank you Taiwan for NOT activating blushing maiden. However, confident gay/confused bisexual is a go. And we got us some justifiable angst. Sigh. I’m so happy.

Sing My Crush AKA Follow The Wind (Korea Weds iQIYI) 1-2 of 8 eps - supposed to have released in the first half of 2022 this is a adaption of Myung’s webtoon, from the director of My Sweet Dear, and Love Tractor’s production house, basically Korea does About Youth. It’s sweet (the singing bits are easy to skip) and very much a story of young first love but less stiff than KBL’s usual high school fare (kinda Taiwan feeling). I like it but that very imprecision in production makes me concerned for an HEA, especially with such a low MDL rating.

Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 8fin - Rough final episode, but it does end happily. Fortunately, I had some warning for my personal triggers, but this is Japan and they did go dark. Full review below.

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) 5 of 12 eps - Shin is so cute and proud and boldly out. I love him. Movement in the relationship with both couples, even if it’s movement into arguments and misunderstanding. I suppose we got 12 eps they need to do... something.

Stay Still (Hong Kong Tues YouTube) 1 of 5 eps - It’s confusing. And… not good? Some flashbacks some present day?

It’s airing but ...

Stay With Me ... NO I WILL NOT! And you can’t make me.

Review: Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa

I had to chew on this for a while but here’s where I ended up.

Two young men with a shared tragic past reunite and fall in love all over again, but the past will not stop hunting them. Based on a manga, this office set reunion romance is GREAT… damn it. It’s Japan in full on soft focus which means it gets emo, abusive, and chewy. These two characters are giving parts of their souls away in a desperate attempt to shape themselves to the expectations they have of each other.

Japan gave us the Bed Friends that Thailand could never even imagine. But here’s the thing: I don’t enjoy my BL this heavy and cutting. I know that for The 8th Sense crowd this is peak BL and I can’t argue with the fact that the romantic devotion, domesticity, script, and acting IS all on point. It’s just not my personal preference for that point to be so damn sharp. I appreciate that this being 2023 I have the luxury of consistent quality (especially from Japan) and thus the ability to say…

I acknowledge that this SHOULD get a 9/10 but I can’t emotionally go higher than 8/10

RECOMMENDED BUT KNOW WHAT KIND OF BL THIS IS AND TRIGGER WARNINGS LIKE CRAZY

Japan = sticking to its lanes like their BL is on rails.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting:

8/11 Love Class Season 2 (Korea Fri Viki) 10 eps

8/12 My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) 8 eps

Still Coming August 2023

8/19 Love in Translation (Thai Sat One31) ? eps - Two strangers start working in a cafe together.

8/19 I Feel You Linger in the Air (Thai Sat Gaga) 12 eps - The time travel historical romance many of us have been waiting for.

8/20 My Universe series (Thai Sun iQIYI) 24 episodes - This is sampler pack BL, 12 pairs, each pair gets 2 eps, not sure on the order they’ll drop. Known couples include EarthBank from Destiny Seeker and KaownahTurbo from Love Stage!!!, mostly fresh faces otherwise. Jane to direct several.

8/22 Kisseki: Dear to Me formerly known as Miracle (Taiwan Tues ????) 13 eps - From screenwriter Lin Pei Yu (We Best Love, H3: Trapped) features a student doctor forced to take care of a gangster. I love the premise and like the writer, Viki or Gaga will get this one.

8/24 Man Suang (Thailand movie, domestic cinema release) - historical drama about Thai burlesque with KP’s MileApo. Tong is in this one too?

8/? Why R U? (Korean remake) is supposed to be out this month, filming started in sept 22. I find everything about this hilarious. I mean if Korea remakes it, we lose all the sexy and then... would we have a story at all? No we would not. Not even for six short eps. It’d be like one of those mesh shopping bags.

Oh yeah, Only Friends is coming.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Hidden Agenda. I love them.

Public claiming with the waist grab maneuver! A true hero.

But I think we can all agree that THIS is the hero all love triangles deserve. (both Laws)

(Last week)

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bengiyo · 4 months

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BL 2023 Review

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to write about BL for this year. I was originally going to do a The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly framework for it, but that feels meaner than I actually am about it. Instead, I think I’ll just write out some sections and unpack some things I felt along the way.

I Watched Too Much Again

Last year I engaged with about 92 productions around the world. This year it was 99 (I tracked stuff I completed here). Sure I dropped 18 of them this year, but goddamn. The problem with watching as much as I did this year is that I worked full time this year and also maintained a separate hobby. I also continued my twice-weekly watch sessions with my friend Emily, so there are an additional 100-ish watch sessions in here of rewatching, plus a few other rewatches (Theory of Love and My Ride most notably).

One of my struggles at this point is I’m far too familiar with the genre, and find myself feeling impatient and irritable with shows that aren’t to my taste the way I used to. Throughout the late summer and fall I found myself increasingly grumpier about the genre, and it didn’t get better until I had a holiday and basically slept a day to get some energy back. I also found myself growing apart from fans I’ve known and followed a long time. It’s been a difficult year for me as a long-time fan because my tastes, habits, and friendships in the genre have changed even if the amount I watch hasn’t really.

I Wrote a Lot This Year

I recently converted my watch tag away from my gaming internet persona to just my shortname, so all near-1000 of my Stray Thoughts posts can be found under #ben watches now. I’ve also been going back and adding #ben writes to some of the standalone pieces that I really liked. In reviewing them, the pieces I’m happiest about are my ode to Framboise from Kabe Koji Nekoyashiki-kun Desires to Be Recognized, my post begging everyone to watch La Pluie, my post about what it means to actually like queer men, my SBS ep 10 post that ended up being wrong, my post about the Lavender Scare and Be My Favorite, my Tokyo in April is… post about the breaking of the BL line,

However, the two posts I am most proud of is my half-joking response about why I think tagging each other back and forth across Tumblr in our writing is so important. and The Knowing: Being Queer in BL because I had so much great conversations with folks as a result of both of these posts.

Looking back at my own blog, this is probably the most active I’ve been in my entire time on this website, so thank you to everyone who interacted with me this year, because it really is people talking to me that gets me most inspired to write things down. Big shout out to @lurkingshan who will bug me repeatedly until I blog something that I said in passing.

We Started a Podcast!

After hanging out with @shortpplfedup since Bad Buddy, she got inspired and really wanted to bring something different to the BL podcasting sphere. I had time, and liked talking with her enough, so we started @the-conversation-pod. Now we’re a full year into it and planning out future stuff. It’s been so much fun being able to get things off my soul and break poor NiNi in our recording sessions.

From this year, I think my favorite episodes we did were The Moonlight Chicken Episode, the Eighth Sense episode, the ITSAY Anniversary Episodes, The Wedding Plan episode, , and The Holiday Clip Show. Huge shout out to @ginnymoonbeam for anchoring the transcription process, and @lurkingshan for editing.

The VIIB Awards will begin airing soontm so look forward to that.

Favorite New Term: Business Gay Performance

Let’s be clear, Bump Up Business is not good. It is an obvious BL cash grab from OnlyOneOf that seeks to comment on the fake nature of BL while doing everything it can to trick the audience into believing that the BL pair is real.

Before we got deeper into this year, I was a big fan of a certain pairing, and then their fans took it too far and it affected the way I engaged with their performances and their work. I like that we have a new term for “fanservice” that communicates that you understand that this is for work. (thanks to NiNi for this comparison) I can look at the latest behind the scenes video from Last Twilight and say that I think Sea really understands the work they’re doing, and he and Jimmy have a very relaxed and mature version of BGP without feeling like I’m feeding into shipping.

Do I think they’re dating? No. Do I like the way they fake it? Absolutely!

I can look at one of @respectthepetty posts about Yin and War having personalized, color-coded mics, and we can talk about the next level BGP between the two and both communicate that we know that this is a performance.

It actually makes the extra PR work fun for me again, because now I can just shout “BGP! BGP! BGP!” and it not feel like I’m giving myself brainrot.

Thai BL Needs to Finish Stronger Next Year

Let’s get into some of the show stuff. This year was defined for me by Thai BL starting strong with good premises and then squandering them by not focusing on the details that mattered or leaning into baseless melodrama. Time for some reads. Some of these shows were generally good, but they failed at these things:

609 Bedtime Story: The world building crumpled in the back half and both endings are flat.

A Boss and a Babe: Cher is a pro gamer who worked for a gaming company and there was no plot point about this at all, or collaboration between the two groups.

Bake Me Please: Why was a show about cake so lacking in flavor?

Be Mine SuperStar: You had a real opportunity to explore a fan and idol romance and had Punn show so little growth. I hope the footage of First’s range is helpful now that Ja is out of BL.

Be My Favorite: You redid that whole amusement park date and muddled so much of what the hell happened on that day.

Between Us: You had years to make this interesting. Why are there five pairs and why is the end of this a JC Penny catalog photoshoot?

Dangerous Romance: What the fuck happened to the Sailom we had in episode 1 and 2 before that gun incident?

Hidden Agenda: Tee, what the hell was this? Twelve weeks of this?

I Feel You Linger in the Air: You may be the most beautiful show, with some of the most impressive performances of the year, but you absolutely botched this ending. Finish the goddamn season next time.

Love in Translation: I love you, but that whole kidnapping plot was so stupid at the end.

Low Frequency: I like your OST. That's about it.

My Dear Gangster Oppa: No examination about how gaming friendships become close quickly because of the combination of anonymity and teamwork (shout out to @twig-tea for this excellent summation).

My School President: Saving your gay commentary for the final episode felt like a conservative choice. I want more from you next time.

Naughty Babe: You retconned your own characters to tell a worse story. Unforgiveable.

Never Let Me Go: You didn’t know if you wanted to be a high school BL or a mafia story. It was difficult to watch.

Only Friends: I cannot believe you did Boston like that at the end. Either give Force’s character a clear personality next time, or keep him enigmatic; half measures make him and Book look worse. Sand was absolutely embarrassing. Boeing was a waste. Ending on all of them paired like that felt so unearned.

Step By Step: You forgot to ground Jeng’s external dreams at the end, so the final two episodes are just frustrating.

I’m glad I got that off my chest. We can go into the next year now.

Korea Put in the Work This Year

I really like the efforts from the various Korean studios this year. I really hope we get a Strongberry joint next year, but I want to acknowledge that we had 18 Korean BL dramas I watched this year, and at least three of them I think are must watches: Our Dating Sim, Sing My Crush, and The Eighth Sense. Beyond that, I think Love Tractor, Unintentional Love Story, and A Breeze of Love are easy recommendations.

It’s really impressive how the complaint for me this year with Korean BL is not about them using their time poorly. It’s more about normal drama concerns, where I think characterization is a little weak, or a theme doesn’t land squarely. This rapid iteration from the Korean studios is really impressive to watch, and I’m excited to see what some of the recognized players do next year.

Taiwan and The Philippines Have Been Quiet for Me

I wasn’t really able to connect with much from the Philippines this year except for The Day I Loved You. I never wrote about The Day I Loved You, but this beautiful and heart wrenching show is one of my favorites from this year. I wasn’t too keen on the Oxin Films offerings of this year, and I’m still chasing down the ones from The IdeaFirst Company.

As for Taiwan, this new BL project from the end of the year just isn’t hitting. Kiseki: Dear to Me also ended up really hurting me with the way they used Wayne Song and Huang Chun Chih. I love that angry little man with the white hair, but I’m still salty about Wayne and the general mess of that show.

Japan was Busy This Year

I watched 16 new shows, a few older ones, and a few movies this year from Japan. We haven’t gotten this much from them ever. I continue to love the Drama Shower project from MBS, and my beloved What Did You Eat Yesterday? returned this year. We had pretty stellar outings with Our Dining Table, If It’s With You, and I Cannot Reach You.

I think a third of the Japanese BL I’ve tracked on MDL actually released this year. That’s huge.

Still, I am going to side eye Minato’s Laundromat 2. You were the show that let me down the most this entire year. More than Only Friends, more than Step By Step, and even more than Kiseki. You absolutely blew it. You were telling a great story about a man with an acute case of internalized homophobia coming out of his shell and learning to love his younger partner and you blew it for stupid amnesia nonsense. I will never forgive you for this.

Where Were All the Uncles This Year?

Really, without Jim from Moonlight Chicken, and without the men from What Did You Eat Yesterday? we had an alarming dearth of older gay characters passing on knowledge and wisdom to the youngsters this year. What the hell happened?

Rare Dynamics Won: Second Chance Romance and Friends to Lovers!

We had so much second chance romance this year. It’s really my favorite version of gay romance because gays don’t always have ideal settings when they’re young. We had Our Dating Sim, Individual Circumstances, Jun & Jun, The End of the World With You, Tokyo in April is…, Be My Favorite, Love Class Season 2, and A Breeze of Love. I am satisfied.

Friends to Lovers is actually so rare in romance and we have so many to choose from this year! The best examples are I Cannot Reach You and Sing My Crush, but we also have one of the pairs in Love Class Season 2.

Gay Thoughts

I had a couple of ongoing thoughts this year about queerness in BL.

First, I want to return to my post about Sing My Crush and La Pluie, and how I assert that Men Need to Be Angry Sometimes. More than giving men grace to be righteously angry or upset about things, along with letting them express it in ugly ways, I really want to get into how we engage with these shows. I will stop engaging with moralistic reads on characters in 2024. I will no longer engage with asks, reblogs, or meta gripping the fandom where we're judging the moral fiber of the character.

The question that really only matters for me at this point is: Is this act from the character justified from their characterization, the narrative, or genre conventions; and is it interesting? Whether or not the character is good or bad reeks of the lame arguments about good and bad representation, and I am not watching BL like I’m being graded in Sunday school.

The second thing I really want to acknowledge at the end of the year is that the gay sex is finally getting better again. I watched The Novelist this year, and we have taken so long to get back to the space that show took us on the portrayal of male-male intimacy. We are in the genre about people with dicks. It should feel like it. There should be a masculine component there that feels specific to queer intimacy.

I will acknowledge 2 Cutie 2 Pie, A Boss and a Babe, Be Mine SuperStar, Bed Friend, Candy Color Paradox, For Him, I Cannot Reach You, Kiseki: Dear to Me, La Pluie, Love Class 2, Love in Translation, Love Mate, Middleman’s Love, Naughty Babe, Only Friends, The End of the World With You, Tokyo in April is…, and Wedding Plan for your contributions.

Final Thoughts

I like how broad the genre felt this year, and I enjoyed how much speculative fiction is entering into the conversation. I don’t know how I feel about there being five vampire stories in the works next year, but overall I’m glad that we’re getting more experimental concepts. I’m burnt out on the college engineering BL, and would like to see more shows about working adults.

Despite how grumpy I was for at least three months, I think this has genuinely been one of the best years we’ve ever had in the genre. I made a lot of new friends in BL this year, and I’m excited to see what comes next. Thank you all for spending some of your time with me this year and I’ll see you in the next one.

#Ben writes #best of bl 2023 #bl series #thai bl #japanese bl #taiwanese bl #filipino bl #korean bl #ben watches

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 26 days

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Kaiju Week in Review (March 24-30, 2024)

A coworker asked tonight me how Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire measured up to Godzilla Minus One, and I responded, "Almost as good, but in a completely different way." If you like monsters (and if you're following me I have to assume you do), see it, no questions asked. There's about a million of them and they're all delightful. The franchise has long struggled to recapture the specific charms of the Showa era, and I think this comes closer than any of them. (It's the climactic tag-team battle... also Mothra returning to knock some sense into Godzilla). Pure junk food, but you can't just watch Oppenheimer all the time.

Godzilla x Kong tore up the box office this weekend, performing well above expectations. Its $80 million opening Stateside was the second-best of the Monsterverse (after Godzilla). It added another $114 million internationally for the best overall opening of the (still-young) year. China was a big part of that with $44 million; giant monster movies are among the few Hollywood imports that still play well there. With a $135 million budget, lowest of the Monsterverse by a wide margin, it's a matter of when, not if, Legendary announces the next one.

The Oxford English Dictionary has added an entry for tokusatsu, defined as "A genre of Japanese film or television entertainment characterized by the use of practical special effects, usually featuring giant monsters, transforming robots, and masked and costumed superheroes." It's part of a group of 23 freshly-acknowledged Japanese loan words; unclear if the timing is coincidental. Oh, and if you're curious, they added kaiju in 2018. As someone who remembers when the only English-speakers who used either word were in fandom, it's pretty wild to see.

French company Extralucid Films will release Gappa on Blu-ray in June. The impressive-sounding bonus features are naturally all in French, but there's one that transcends language: 17 minutes of extra monster footage. The U.S. version of Gappa, Monster from a Prehistoric Planet, only has about 7 minutes worth of shots absent from the Japanese version, so I'm pretty curious about the other 10. It's also the first time this footage has been released in HD (Tokyo Shock blew it in 2020).

Season 2 of Chibi Godzilla Raids Again is indeed receiving official English subtitles, starting the same day as the Japanese premiere, April 10. Godzilla Battle Line also added a hilariously busted joint Chibi Godzilla-Chibi Mechagodzilla unit, along with a Destoroyah variant. (Maybe Godzilla x Kong units are next month?)

A new Monsterverse movie means new books to buy. The prequel comic Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted is out already (not recommended), but officially you'll have to wait until April 23 for the novelization and May 14 for the art book. Chalk that up to the late release date change, maybe. Unofficially, people are already getting the novelization from Amazon, because they're a monopoly that can afford to pay the fines from publishers for breaking street date. The audiobook version also released on the same day as the film. I don't have intel on what it adds and changes yet; adding everything from the film itself to Wikizilla is all I can handle right now.

The San Francisco Giants are offering a Godzilla VIP Experience on May 17, a long-overdue acknowledgement of the savior of their city. Tickets are almost gone, though I think it's a shame that the promotion is opt-in to begin; what happened to giving these tchotchkes out to the first thousand fans? Well, figures that they'd make getting merch of the Minus One Godzilla in the States a hassle.

#kaiju week in review #godzilla #godzilla x kong the new empire #baseball #chibi godzilla raids again #king kong #gappa #kaiju #tokusatsu

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rifki16 · 1 month

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Love is Better the Second Time Around ep 4

Photo Credit : Love is Better the Second Time Around Promotional Account on Twitter | https://x.com/koi_nido/status/1772596502365356096?s=46

Gosh, this episode really made me so happy. It really compensated the massive emotional blue balls which I had because of Cherry Magic the Anime episode 11

SHORT REVIEW HERE WE GO ! SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!! DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED BY THE PLOT

The biggest thing that popped up to me from the episode is the Sukida vs Aishiteru difference in Japanese. Before watching the episode, I had this understanding that, okay, Japanese people prefer to just use Sukida as the stand-in for "I Love You" rather than using the actual phrase of Aishiteru. Even when Hitro described how much he always loves crab cream croquette, he used the word Sukida - chuto sukidasteo -, instead of Aishiteru, granted that he was describing how he loves an inanimate object, not a person. In the cold open, Hiro used the noun form of love, which is "Koi". OH and the nighttime postdate pier confrontation. I really would love to understand which words Takashi actually used. "まずはさ僕と恋をしてみようよ" - Takashi actually used the noun form of love - koi -, the second time in the show. "のに君が思ってる以上に僕もずいぶん君にはまってるよ" was what Takashi said before the date, here he used the word "into you" or more literally "addicted to you". But then, during the sex scene, while Hiro was riding Takashi I MUST ADD, I was so shocked that Takashi actually said "Aishiteru". The notion of Japanese people being too afraid of standing out by saying "I Love You" really just blew out of my mind immediately. Of course, the context of the scene might actually describe the intensity of their love that crosses the mass mentality of conformity and hence, the utterance of "I Love You". And also, it happened very privately. Not in some streets where other people might judge you more, ergo lowering the bar of whether to say "I Love You" or not. This case of saying I Love You or not is very interesting for me, I really want to understand more Japanese speakers preferred dictions.

The second biggest thing that I noticed from the show is their way of saying Sex. My understanding is that in BL Japanese works, they will just flat out say "Sex" rather than coding it, like what happened in Tokyo in April is..., Straight J-Dramas, on the other hand, just used the word "it". In one of the episodes of Turn to Me Mukai-Kun, the only straight J-Drama that I've watched Mukai-kun talked with one of his previous sex partners, they used the word "it" to describe their no-strings-attached sex. Of course, it's just an observation, I have not watched that many straight J-dramas. However, it turns out, in this series, they much prefer to use the word "it" as well. In episode 3, when Hiro said, before leaving the onsen, "Just because we have done it, doesn't mean we're dating". I really thought it was just due to Hiro's disbelief that he had sex with his ex-boyfriend, hence the implicit shame in admitting, and uttering that he had "sex". But now, in episode 4, during Haru masturbation scene, he says "そもそも好きだししちゃったし", again, the use of "it" Even though, I think the context has shifted, Haru was slowly admitting his love and feelings to Takashi; hence, he may not see the sex as something to be ashamed of anymore. But again, this might come from a very amateur observer of Japanese linguistic culture, I mean, the use of "it" might actually signify the idea that Haru doesn't see what he does with Takashi as "Sex" maybe they see it as "making love" lol, I know, such a corny phrase. However, maybe, Haru is just not at the point of saying that they are making love yet, but not calling it something as casual as "sex", (I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman by Britney Spears playing in the background). But that hypothesis doesn't really stand as Hiro actually said the word "sex" as they were having sex. What exactly are the connotations of the word "sex" for Japanese speakers?

I really love the consent feature of this episode. Hiro was too drunk to give consent, so Takashi just entertained him in his house, and they went out after Hiro became sober. Weird that they didn't use the trope of being too drunk and being needed to be carried by your love interest lol.

I also love that they used Uke taking care of Seme trope. it happened in My Personal Weatherman, Sasaki to Miyano [not definitive], If It's with You [not definitive], to say the least. I know it's not good in equating all of these heteronormative gender roles to a gay couple, but I think it's a nice trope to show that Ukes have dignity and play such a crucial role in gay relationships. I think it's much better for Japanese viewers to understand the out-of-the-box ness of queer couples by showing more on how Semes can also take care of Ukes - like in The End of the World with You.

ALSO. My brain itch still stands!!!! HIRO REJECTED TAKASHI. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. Gosh, the unequal love trope was called back in this episode. Is this a new trend amongst Japanese BL works?

FURTHERMORE. How can Takashi be that rich? Are university lecturers in Japan paid that well? the apartment, the stuff? HE HAS HIS OWN OFFICE, like what?

P.S. I really love how just mid-wild the sex scene in the end is. It's so typical of this show to be crazily in the middle.

After Takashi proposed and they all got lovey-dovey, omg they look so cute in acting like newlyweds.

Of course, they're gonna break up before reuniting in the finale, wouldn't be a bl if it didn't have one. Gosh, I'm gonna cry so hard in the next episode.

#koi wo suru nara nidome ga joto #japan bl #bl live action #japanese language #linguistics #love is better the second time around

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piningintrovert · 4 months

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2023: A Year in Review

Thank you for the tag @wanderlust-in-my-soul and @25shadesoffebruary; I'm always down for a trip down memory lane

Rules: Link your favorite and most popular post(s) of each month of the year and tag some CCs friends

January

Most popular: Payu and Rain make up, Love in the Air Special Episode (understandable lol just like with everything else, they were insane for this) Favorite: Yeo Jung becoming Dong Eun's executioner, The Glory (full black and white set, my beloved AND this monologue is just so *gestures wildly*) Honorable mention: Tinn asking Sound to help Chinzilla, My School President (had a lot fun playing the text and emoji animations; it took forever and a day but it was worth it)

February

Most popular: The Complete BL Sass™ Collection (finally gave the people what they wanted lol) Favorite: Masumi finding out the world is going to end, The End of the World With You (one word: ACTING)

March

Most popular: You're my man; don't call yourself a pebble, My Beautiful Man 2 Favorite: (same as above)

April

Most popular: Payu touching Rain's lips, Love in the Air (deleted scene) Favorite: Kiyoi just wanted Hira to feed him, My Beautiful Man 2 (shameless plug for my "don't mind me" collection)

May

Most popular: Why do you like me?, Be My Favorite Tralier Favorite: Deleted scene from Payu & Rain's first time, Love in the Air (I still maintain that it was a CRIME to cut that scene out)

June

Most popular: Bad Buddy meta; Ink and Wai are the only ones who know about Pat and Pran's relationship as shown with their outfits Favorite: Tongfah and Paper's first kiss, Second Chance (the blue in this scene speaks to me)

July

Most popular: Payu and Rain attending Sky and Prapai's wedding, Wedding Plan (I would like to know when we're getting the special episode of WP where Nuea plans Payu and Rain's wedding) Favorite: Domestic Kazuma and Ren, Tokyo in April is...

August

Most popular: Henry, the world-class insomniac, Red, White & Royal Blue Favorite: Prince Henry "You're in his DMs" tweet (this was the first time I made an edit like this and I love how it came out)

September, October & November

I went offline for a bit so nothing for these months

December

Most popular: Smol Rain next to Big Zaddy Payu, Love in the Air (first set after my three month hiatus; way to come back with a bang) Favorite: Welcome to Smirk City, Pit Babe (the first gif... need I say more?)

It's always nice to look back on the year like this because I sometimes feel like I don't contribute enough to the fandom (dw I'm actively trying to change that mindset ^-^), and something like this really helps puts things into perspective for me. Even with a three-month hiatus, I created quite a bit of content—content that I'm proud of :)

Tagging @raypakorn @musicdramalove @snimeat @forcebook @spicyvampire @aejeonghae @maxescheibechlinichacheli @dengswei; feel free to ignore~

#tag game #love in the air #the glory #my school president #the end of the world with you #my beautiful man #be my favorite #bad buddy #second chance #wedding plan #pit babe #raemakes

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meimi-haneoka · 1 year

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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 72: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Hellooo everyone! The plot-train that will bring us to the finale of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc is unstoppable, so here we are once again, at the beginning of another month, for another chapter of the climax of this saga!! April 1st as usual is a very busy and important day in the CLAMP world, as it is not only the so-called "CLAMP Day", but also the birthday of our Sakura Kinomoto (and many other CLAMP characters!)!! Moreover, precisely as I'm writing this post, SakuraFes is being held in Tokyo!! Fans strived hard to get a ticket (I could see the struggle on my TL on Twitter) and while some managed to get one somehow, others were left out....since there's been lots of anticipation for this event, we'll see if it was worth the struggle and if we'll get info about the thing we're all waiting the most for: a second season of the Clear Card anime!! (UPDATE: IT WAS INDEED ANNOUNCED like we all hoped for!! Congratulations to all of us!! 😂)

In the meantime, let's focus on the analysis of chapter 72 because boooooy, it might be one of the shortest chapters ever (I remember chapters this short were released in 2018) but the info that was disclosed in it!!! We're definitely, definitely at the climax and it shows. CLAMP sensei are solving all the mysteries and giving us all the answers one by one. But since this is important info that will help us understanding the story better, let's review this chapter (and its translation) carefully!

And as usual, before diving under the cut and into the chapter, the gif of the month (paying homage to Lilie, lol) !!

The Cover Page

Oooh, what a pretty Sakura we have here!! She looks as if being half-asleep, and judging by the content of the chapter, it kinda makes sense. Sakura stays in a dream for the most of it. The simple dress is very elegant with all those gemstones applied on it. It also looks as if Sakura is creating them? Also, we have once again the black background that's become so common lately in the color pages of Clear Card. With that expression, Sakura looks a little bit more mature, and I really like it. The text in the JP version reminds us again of the last words Lilie said in the previous chapter: "I crossed time and dreams to come to see you".

"I know her very well, and yet I don't know anything about her"

The chapter starts right from where we left off at the end of chapter 71, with our Sakura and Lilie meeting for the first time....or is it?? 😉 Sakura sounds a bit confused at what Lilie said, but as usual (bless her!!!) she's very perceptive and notices that Lilie resembles Akiho a lot, more than actually Sakura herself. Lilie seems delighted and answers "I'm happy to hear that!!" (and not "Thank you!" like she said in the ENG translation). I was all smily when I've read this for the first time, but what came right after threw me in a puddle of sadness, and now you'll understand why. Sakura asks her if she knows Akiho, and Lilie's answer is "I could say I know her very well, and at the same time, that I don't know anything about her. And that makes me terribly sad". That's it. I was all giddy and happy to finally hear Lilie starting to talk, and she had to throw this brick made of sadness at me like that, right in the beginning. 😭😭Because it's clear here she's referring to the fact that despite being her own daughter, she won't survive long enough to see her grow up. Not even long enough to ascertain who she will look more similar to, her mom or her dad. Because Lilie died when Akiho wasn't even 1 year old. She was just a baby. The realization tinted that "I'm so happy to hear that!" we've seen before of the same sad color. ☹️ BUT!! We're not here to get shot down by angst so early in the chapter, so we proceed with Lilie apologizing for making things so confusing for Sakura, and she informs her they're in a dream. Then she finally proceeds to give some explanations on what's she's been trying to do this whole time, at the same time solving one of the BIGGEST mysteries in the Clear Card Arc. The question everyone had ever since chapter 1 was: "who's under the cloak of the Mysterious Cloaked Figure?" And here, my dear readers, we finally get our answer, in the year of the lord 2023, 7 years after the beginning of the manga: MCF WAS LILIE ALL ALONG!!! But let's see her version of the facts. Basically, Lilie in the beginning strived hard to travel through time alone to speak directly with Sakura at the age of 13 years old (HOW F*CKING POWERFUL IS THIS CHILD??), but it wasn't successful because her voice didn't reach our girl. We see a flashback right from chapter 7 with someone dressed with the robe standing right outside Sakura's house. Do you remember that? Yeah, MCF didn't appear only in dreams, but also physically in Sakura's reality. These scenes appeared in the anime as well and in the end we found out that under the cloak there was a sleepwalking Akiho, acting completely unconsciously. As it's typical with CLAMP anime, this turned out to be different in the manga! (But there's still a chance they'll explain that scene of the anime in a different way!) I had the impression, for a long time, that MCF was a different person depending on the dream Sakura had, or depending on whether MCF appeared in a dream or not. Well! Turns out even that intuition was wrong, because MCF was ALWAYS the same person, it's just that...some big mess happened, but let's see how Lilie explained it herself. Since her voice couldn't reach Sakura, and since our girl kept seeing the future ahead in her premonitory dreams, Lilie tried to get in touch with her through the dreams she was having.

But, for a twist of fate (I know you're all laughing right now) Lilie ended up mingling with Sakura's foretelling dreams. Yessir. When we saw MCF apparently "attacking" Sakura, or riding on top of Dragon-chan, she actually didn't have anything to do with it. She just ended up being mixed in the middle of all of that. Sakura sometimes dreamt about a "force" pulling her key away, and Lilie ended up in front of it, thus suggesting that MCF was the one trying to grab it. Turns out, it was Lilie probably trying to talk or communicate with Sakura in some way. But hold on, the revelations aren't over yet, oh no. Lilie explains how that mingling with Sakura's dreams went quite wrong.

Because yes, when one of her premonitory dreams was trying to warn her about Kaito taking the appearance of Syaoran during the play, with the Cat costume...well....Lilie ended up mixing in again, and that's how we got our MCF Syaoran. Hahahahaha! Are you baffled?? 😂Well I have to say I had so many theories as to why Sakura saw Syaoran under the cloak of MCF, some even concerning the psychological side...well, damn. Sakura simply never truly doubted her boyfriend and silly of me for thinking she could 😂 Also, we know now that we can rest assured Syaoran won't turn into an evil pawn or something...it was just a huge misunderstanding. Poor Lilie, I can't really hold it against her even though she ended up making a huge mess, because she really strived hard however she could, and...fate didn't work in her favor, apparently...until the right moment, that is (remember, hitsuzen always knows when it's the right time!) Moreover, Lilie tells Sakura that she already dreamed of this very same meeting they're having now, and guess when that was? Yes, at the end of chapter 6, precisely in the scene I mentioned in my post for chapter 71!!

After the shocking revelation (that made me yell at CLAMP once again for how astutely they FOOLED all of us for 7 years - I'm pretty sure no one thought about this possibility), I started to realize something. Sakura, in her premonitory dreams, pretty much dreamt about things mainly connected to Kaito. The "You won't be able to come back anymore" voice? It was the Association + Squids threatening Kaito with what would've happened if he dared touching the artifact inside Akiho. Dragon-chan? As its shape it's basically the same of the Seal of D that engulfed Kaito right before he disappeared into the artifact book, we can safely say it's strictly connected to him as well. MCF Syaoran? He was actually Kaito himself, disguised as the Syaoran-Cat of the play. I have to admit it, I had started getting signs that one of the MCFs Sakura was talking to during her dreams might have been Kaito, at some point. I knew the height worked against my theory, but when Sakura said "You look....so lonely" in chapter 48, right when Akiho had supposedly the same dream and confessed her love to Kaito through "the moon is beautiful" phrase right after that, I knew the "lonely" one could be none other than Kaito. Maybe Sakura was supposed to see Kaito in her dream, that one time, but Lilie mixed up again. Heh. 😅 And here we get our first serious translation mistake that can easily create confusion. Lilie goes on saying that the Cards Sakura had newly created (thus the Clear Cards) have now disappeared, and her magical powers diminished by an amount corresponding to the power of those Cards. Moreover, the Cards that once were separated from her (the Sakura Cards) are now back with her and their connection to her became stronger than before (well, we have seen it, Sakura now summons Mirror even without a particular reason, just to talk). Here, the ENG translation completely skipped the distinction between the two decks of Cards (in the JP version Lilie clearly talks about "the cards you had newly created" and "the cards that were once separated from you"), making Lilie sound as if she's still talking about the Clear Cards even in the second panel.......when we can clearly see the back of the Sakura Cards there. And right in the next panel, we have yet another translation mistake. They completely made up what the Book did here. ENG: What's more, the book's forbidden magic...can only turn back time so far. It has no power over times before the caster or the target were born. He's younger than me... JP: Moreover, the "forbidden magic" (that originated) after using the Book does not reach further than the (moment in) time when the person who activated it and the target of said magic were born. And "that boy" is younger than me.

Lilie never mentions anything about the Book "turning back time". The "forbidden magic"'s work is to rewrite the memories that were recorded in the Book, it does not turn back time. I wish they made that clearer, it's been messed with even in the previous chapters!

But it's not over, as even the next sentence suggests something that in my opinion is incorrect. Lilie goes on explaining that for this reason, she decided to visit Sakura "now" that she's the same age as hers (she literally says the word 今, which for her is her present), crossing time and dreams to reach her. However, the ENG translation here says "So I've come to you from the time when I was the same age as you", suggesting that adult Lilie went back in time to reach Sakura's age and then went to visit Sakura in a dream. There's nothing that suggests that, in the JP sentence. As she will say herself later, Lilie is capable of seeing the future so much ahead, so it seems convoluted that she'd wait to become an adult, just to go back in time to when she was almost 13 (supposedly Sakura's age) and then cross time again to go see Sakura in the future. It makes more sense for her to attempt this when she was *already* 13 years old. I checked the other translations, and the Portuguese and French seem to agree with me (they translate correctly that 今 with "now that we have the same age").

Anyway. For Lilie it was important to attempt this now, while the Book's power can't reach her and mess with her goal, and while Kaito and Akiho aren't born yet. And she adds "(I've come to see) You, the cute Alice (daughter) of the girl named after a flower who became my friend", and we see a nice flashback of a little Nadeshiko, at the same age when she met Lilie. Sakura in this way understands that Lilie knows her mother. Sakura asks if Lilie came from the past and whether she came to tell her something. Lilie confirms she wants to talk about something that for her will happen in the future, but for Sakura it has already happened. Sakura is unstoppable with her questions (good!) and asks Lilie if she can see the future, to which she replies that yes, she can see the future in her dreams exactly like Sakura. "I can see what will happen just moments from now...what will happen long in the future...and even...what will happen after I've passed on". And here came the other punch in the stomach for me. Because Lilie's expression here is really, really painful. I think I'll do a separate post with all my thoughts on Lilie triggered by this chapter, so maybe check it out later if you're curious.

That's who I am

Sakura asks "Isn't it painful to know plenty of the future ahead?" and Lilie's sorrowful smile is already enough of an answer. But she goes on,

"the things I can do...and even those I can't...make me the person that I am"

I found that extremely beautiful. It is painful, yes, but that's part of herself too. And Lilie seems to be very accepting of her nature and her "gift", as well as her limits. Maybe that's why she's able to remain so positive and strong even in a very difficult situation like hers.

The moment is solemn. Lilie says (lit., JP): "Kinomoto Sakura. Your memories and records have been rewritten". Here the ENG replaced "records" with "life", probably because it doesn't make much sense to include "records" just like that. The Spanish version translated it as something like "(your memories) and the records that keep track of them", and I think that works very well. Sakura is shocked upon hearing that. Lilie here talks in future tense because this is something that for her will happen in the future: "That boy...will lie and tell the guardian of the book, who will one day be named Momo, that his goal is to exchange you with the other Alice". And why will he do that? Apparently, because in this way he won't make Momo think or have any suspicion that he will be the actual target of the exchange magic for the artifact that was inside Akiho. (JP) "Because Momo knows painfully well what will happen if that boy becomes the target, in the state he'll be in at the moment of the exchange". I'm a bit butthurt they removed that "painfully" and went for "all too well", because in the original JP text Lilie uses 痛い程 and its literal translation is "to the point of hurting". And I think that's perfect to describe Momo's feelings. Momo cares about Kaito, a whole lot. And she would've never agreed to a goal like this, endangering his life in that way and ending up carelessly triggering the Seal of D. And this is precisely the reason why Kaito lied to her. Because he knows that. He knows she's a "kind and a bit stubborn" creature. And her kindness towards him would've lead her to stop him, something he couldn't really afford.

Lilie can't help but muttering "blockhead". Yeah, in Japanese it's the same わからずや "insult" that Momo used at the end of chapter 70, precisely as he was disappearing engulfed by the artifact book. (And the ENG should've kept the translation of that term consistent between the two chapters, which was "dolt" in chapter 70 and turned into "hardheaded" in chapter 72). This made me wonder whether Lilie was the first one using that term for him, and so Momo took it after her, or if she simply saw that moment in a dream of the future, and quoted Momo's words. One thing is for sure, the JP fandom used that terms quite a lot after reading chapter 70. 😂 Lilie continues saying (still in future tense) that Momo will want Sakura to stop the forbidden magic, so she will give her a hint, but that will end up being incorrect, precisely because Kaito will lie about his real plan. So, what does this translates to, for us readers? When we were thinking that Kaito wanted to exchange the girls, we weren't completely wrong. Or, rather, we weren't lead to that theory without good foundations. It's just that Kaito lied to Momo and made things seem that way on purpose, so his real goal would've come out only at the last moment, the moment of activation of the forbidden magic. When Momo couldn't do anything about it anymore. He really mislead all of us. Because he wanted things to go this way so badly. Because he wanted to be the one to take into himself the thing he inavertedly caused Akiho to be engraved with, and which was about to kill her soul. I sense a profound, desperate sense of guilt from this. It's no wonder Momo was so mad and ended up crying, at the end of Chapter 70. She did what she could to protect "her children", but she ended up losing one anyway. Because, just like in the most common relationship between a teenager and their parental figure, he deceived her and still had it his way, stubborn and oblivious to how much suffering he would've caused to the people who loved him the most. No wonder CLAMP called him more than once "immature" in their Twitter Spaces. This is the reason why I see Momo as a strong parental figure for both Akiho, but mainly for Kaito too.

What is happiness to you?

So Momo's hint ended up being incorrect (remember the "world where no one remembered Sakura"?). But Lilie says "But even so, it's still the same. What's happiness to you?" Because, as Lilie says, the answer is the same even for the other Alice by Sakura's side. And in this very important moment, there's another difference in translation.

ENG: "Even if it makes someone else happy...imagine living in a world where the people you held most dear are gone. Could you call that happiness?"

JP: "Even if someone told you that's happiness/even if someone told you they're happy like this, can you really call it happiness if they live in a world where they lost what they didn't want to lose?"

It's painfully clear what Lilie is meaning here. Even if Akiho looks (and maybe even affirms to be) happy and cherished in this new arranged world with her memories rewritten, can she really say to be happy if the ONE thing she didn't want to lose the most....is gone? Sakura thinks hard about that. Even if Lilie doesn't mention names specifically. And just as she's thinking hard about the answer, the dream starts to crack. Sakura is about to wake up and Lilie knows it. (JP) "I come from a time where the forbidden magic can't reach. But you're right within its range. Once you wake up from this dream, I guess you will forget about meeting me. But, you have the magic that you've been preparing yourself. You just need to realize about it. I believe...in the two Alice"

And just like that, Sakura wakes up in Syaoran's arms, on the floor of the school grounds. Syaoran is visibly stressed and nervous, so much that when Sakura wakes up with a "Oh..." he goes "Don't "oh" me! You suddenly fainted!!" 😂 although this is a tense moment, I laughed at this scene because the stressful moment made some of the old, "rude" Syaoran come back 😂yes, there isn't any translation mistake this time around. The nervousness made Syaoran a bit snappy with Sakura 😆 Sakura, still in his arms (kyaaa), says that she had a dream, and she had the impression Akiho appeared in it. Syaoran helps her standing up, trying to defuse the situation joking that "that's what they call a sister complex, Sakura", and that Tomoyo told him about this term 😂😂(I've already seen some of my Japanese mutuals on Twitter saying Tomoyo teaches Syaoran stuff she shouldn't teach him 😆) Sakura doesn't really answer the joke, as she's still quite dizzy and confused by the dream. Syaoran goes back to be serious, seeing her like that, and asks if she's ok. Sakura says she is, but she holds her head almost as if she had a headache, so Syaoran asks her if she had a premonitory dream. Sakura isn't sure, you can really see she's trying hard to remember the content of the dream, but she just can't. Although, there's one thing she remembers. That this was a dream telling her something very important, both for her, and for everyone else.

And this, dear readers, is where chapter 72 leaves us, ready to advance the plot once again in the next chapter. As I said in the beginning, this chapter was short but finally explained some important things that were torturing us ever since the beginning. But not only: the just released volume 14 featured a change of script in chapter 70, when Momo is talking to Kaito after the forbidden magic was activated. Instead of asking him "what about you?", she tells him "You even lied to me, the guardian of the book, about the subject of the rewriting" which is directly connected to what Lilie said in this chapter. It was a "last minute change" (that normally happens between the Nakayoshi version and the tankobon version) probably to justify better why we were lead to believe that Kaito wanted to exchange the two girls (and thus not giving the impression CLAMP were playing us for fools completely). Moreover, it sounded strange that Momo would've let Kaito go on with his plan if she knew he would've ended up triggering the Seal of D. It looked pretty OOC for her, so maybe Ohkawa wanted to fix that. I was a bit confused by this change in the beginning, but now I completely understand why she did it.

Furthermore, there's the mention of the "magic Sakura has been preparing" that really intrigued me. Is this about the usual "zettai daijoubu da yo", or is it something more complex? Could Sakura have been preparing a spell that would activate in a certain circumstance before the play happened, in case she needed it later? Of course her memories now have been rewritten, but Lilie's words suggest that she will soon remember about preparing this magic. And I'm super excited to find out what it is. It would give Sakura a really good development, and show she can be planning things too!

At the end of the chapter, Sakura forgets about meeting Lilie. And while that might seem as once again an unnecessary stepback, I don't really think it is. If this was played in this way to give Akiho the agency she needs later, then it makes a lot of sense. Especially when many of us are hoping to see her remembering about Kaito on her own. Because it would be particularly significant. If Sakura remembered this meeting, and the fact that their memories had been rewritten, and about "Momo" and "that boy" who lied about exchanging them, logically the first thing she would do is to inform Akiho about it. But is this how things are supposed to go? Is this how Akiho is supposed to find out a truth that concerns her very closely? If Akiho is meant to remember Kaito on her own, because the void he left in her life will soon feel larger and larger, suggesting her that she's not truly happy and that something/someone is missing, then it makes sense for the narrative to hold things back for a short while. Sakura can always remember about this meeting on her own later on, thanks to her magic. While Akiho will work hard to grasp the true happiness she wants, with the help of the people who care about her. And I suspect that might happen as soon as next chapter. And then it'll be time to understand what to do to bring Kaito back, or to reach him where he is.

While here we keep praying hard for a happy ending in the manga, in the meantime I bask in the happiness of the freshly announced sequel of the Clear Card anime!!

Next release dates for what concerns chapter 73:

April 30th, on CLAMP’s Youtube channel (digital, JP and other languages) May 2nd, on Nakayoshi (paper and digital, JP)

Kodansha announced for May 10th the launch of a new simulpub platform directly managed by them (K-Manga), where it's very likely it'll be possible to read Clear Card in English digitally and simultaneously with the Japanese release. Although, that service will work only in the US (for the moment).

Alright, see you at the end of this month!! 😉

#card captor sakura #cardcaptor sakura #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #clear card arc #kinomoto sakura #lilie (cardcaptor Sakura)#chapter 72 #translation differences

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animefeminist · 4 days

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#links #stellar blade #a sign of affection

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pinturas-sgm-aviacion · 2 years

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1942 04 18 Early launch - James Dietz

Doolittle's RaidersOne of the most daring aviation exploits of the Second World War took place on the 18th of April 1942. Led by Lt. Colonel James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, sixteen Army B-25s took off from the crowded deck of the U.S.S. Hornet and headed for their targets in Japan.This guts-and-glory mission was the culmination of four months of planning, hard work and training for the 90 volunteer crewmembers that would fly the extremely dangerous mission. It was designed not just to strike at the heart of Japan, but to bolster the sagging morale of the United States in the dark early months of World War II. It would also force Japan to reconsider its defense of the empire and lead its military into its first strategic mistake, the decision to take Midway.Assisted by Naval experts, principally Lt. Henry Miller, the "Army Crows," as they were called, started practicing carrier deck take-offs in March 1942, with their medium bombers at Elgin Field in Florida. They would need all the practice they could get. It would be the first time such large bombers would be launched from a Navy carrier on a combat mission. By the end of the month, they were ready and flew cross-country to hook up with the Navy task force waiting for them in Alameda, California.On April 1, the aircraft carried U.S.S. Hornet had been loaded with the bombers and set sail from its berth to meet the rest of its task force in the Pacific. During the next tension-filled days its proceeded to the desired launch site for the Army bombers, and for the next seventeen days, the task force sailed deep into the Japanese controlled waters.The bombers were to be launched late in the day on the 18th, close enough to Japan that they could continue east and conduct emergency landings on makeshift airfields set up for them in China. Unfortunately fate had other plans.A Japanese picket vessel sighted the task force at 7:38 a.m. Although this ship was eventually sunk by Navy gunfire, it was decided to quickly launch the Army Raiders and get the carrier task force out of harm's way, even though they were well short of their desired launch point.The B-25s had been "spotted" on the stern of the Hornet, to give them the longest possible distance for the deck launch. Frantic last minute preparations were made including additions to armament, topping off gasoline tanks and giving out extra fuel cans in hopes of making up for the additional distance they would have to fly. Navigators reviewed their maps to make the necessary adjustments in their flight plans, while pilots and co-pilots worried about their first actual carried takeoff with fully loaded B-25s.In Early Launch, Colonel Doolittle and his co-pilot, Lieutenant Richard E. Cole, who were to be the first to take off, discuss last minute instructions with Lieutenant (U.S.N.) Edgar Osborne, who was to be Launch Officer for the take-off. Other Army personnel scramble to their planes while Navy deckhands man their assigned positions for launch.All the aircraft were successfully launched off the pitching deck of the Hornet and, despite some opposition in route, reached their targets. The Japanese cities of Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe were completely surprised by the sting of U.S. air power. The entire empire of Japan was shocked by the first of what was to become many U.S. bomber raids over its cities.The B-25s continued southeast to China where, late at night, the crews bailed out of the aircraft that were nearly out of gas. Two crews were captured by the Japanese and made to endure torture, imprisonment and death at the hands of their captors. One crew was interned in Russia, but the other crews, with heroic help from the Chinese, eventually found their way to Chungking. From there they were flown out of China and back to the United States.Many details of the raid had to be kept secret from the American people. Roosevelt even quipped that the bombers had been launched from Shangri-La, the mythical kingdom in Last Horizons. But news of the first bombing raid on Japan, even with minimal damage, was a tonic to all Americans, who were just getting over the shock and humiliation of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and subsequent losses all over the Pacific. It was as it to signal the changing tide. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "It was not the Beginning of the End, but perhaps the End of the Beginning."

#james dietz

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waitmyturtles · 10 months

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The very quickest of updates on the Old GMMTV Challenge!

1) I’m emotionally recovering from the AMAZING FEEDBACK SESSIONS related to Thursday’s TharnType review. So many folks commented, reblogged, sent asks, and/or DMed me -- amazing stuff, painful stuff, personal stuff. What I’m really impressed by around here is how the fam that interacts with me and my posts take ACCOUNTABILITY for what y’all watch. I had some tough but EYE-OPENING and RESPECTFUL conversation. My heart is so full.

2) Theory of Love review dropping Monday! FUCK, THIS SHOW WAS SO RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. GAAAAHHH. I really sing its praises, so for those of you who couldn’t stand it, this might be another review to avoid! (BUT, but, it might be an interesting read for those who might want to plumb the depths of why you didn’t like it!)

3) I am having the TIME of my life watching 3 Will Be Free. This is only my second Jojo Tichakorn show, after Dirty Laundry (GODDDD I LOVED THAT SHOW), and just.... Joss and Tay? Jossy midriffs? Tay as someone the POLAR, POLAR OPPOSITE OF PETE? (P’Pete About Aboyz, he is NOT here.) Sine, Gunsmile, Jennie? I’m loving Mild?

Jojo just overwhelms in such a GIVING way. I really need SO MANY MORE shows about the Thai sex industries. I’m CRUSHING through this show. Next week might be another two-review week. Let’s see.

That’s it! I’m behind on Tokyo In April Is...., but I’ll catch up. I’m too wrapped up in 2019!

#the old gmmtv challenge #ogmmtvc #turtles catches up with old gmmtv #theory of love #3 will be free #jojo tichakorn

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yourkimjaejin · 9 months

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12:04 pm ~ Juno ~ April 2023

"Juno, I know you're angry-"

"Angry?! I'm past angry. I'm tired. I worked for months, training and getting ready for a group you ripped away from me with no warning. I wanted to be in a group with Sungchan, Shotaro, Eunseok and Seunghan. Now, they'll be debuting without me and I'm left with no second group, again. At this point, I'm ready to call it quits and have AG as my only group. I kind of like having a regular schedule."

"There's no need to be hasty Juno-ssi. A part of AG's concept is every member has a second group. You and your fans have waited a long time for this and...and I'm prepared to make it worth your while."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Final decision?"

"You'll make the final decision. You'll review the boys progress week to week and at the end of the show, you will be the decider. Who debuts and who doesn't will be up to you. This group will ultimately be your group. Your second group."

"I get to decide who debuts?!? You trust me with that power."

"I trust you won't be biased."

"I want to be the leader."

"Excuse me?"

"You just said this is my group. I've looked at the ages of all these

kids. Someone need to protect them and that's gonna be me. I will join NCT Toyko if I get final decision and you name me the leader."

"And if we don't?"

"Well nothing really. Nothing to you or those boys. I'll happily remain a member of AG with no other group of my own."

"You have a deal. Juno, you're the new leader of NCT Tokyo."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Was that a good idea? Demanding to be their leader. I can't count how many times you've called yourself lucky to not be in mine or Marks shoes." Mozy asked while she and Juno waiting for their drinks.

Juno sighs, "I had to. Did you see? Their ages? They're babies! Each one of them is either two to seven years younger than me. Six of them are about to be thrown into an industry where if you don't have a strong mind and a stronger support system it will chew them up and spit them out on the other side. A shell of who you once were." Juno pauses, trying to get her emotions in check. "Someone has to protect them. From SM, from the business, from themselves, it doesn't matter. If it has to be me, so be it."

Moxy smiles at the determination in her fellow members face, "Well, welcome to the leaders circle. We meet every third Tuesday of the month. We answer to Taeyong oppa and only Taeyong oppa. Lastly, our lines are always open should you need any leader-to-leader advice."

"Did you have that speech prepared?"

"Oh yeah! Mark stumbled his way through it for me. I figured I'd be saying to one of the boys but.....I'm glad its you. You'll make a great leader."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've been trying to figure out what I was gonna do with Juno and the new group. I thought this idea was my favorite. Juno being a mother of six at age 23!! I kind of love it.

Taglist: @alixnsuperstxr / @1-800-call-ria / @sophrodite / @sunflower-0180

#NCT AG #NCT AG.Juno #NCT AG.Writing #nct female addition #nct female member #kpop addition #kpop!au #kpop!oc #kpop!addition #nct female oc #kpop female member

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hotarutranslations · 2 months

Text

Akanechin!

Evening

Well, everyone, today is, Haga Akane-chan's birthday~🥳🧡

Birthday Girl🥳‪🧡‬‪

Before rehearsal, everyone celebrated🎉

Happy🎉

Cute🎉

Since we're in our rehearsal period, Again, its a time where, I'm able to look at everyone consciously

With Akanechin,

The gesture of her looking back from behind, Freely adding nuance to it, in those moment to moments, Its like I can see, Akane's style… I like it🪽

Its like she continues with an unchanging good feeling, I guess that's a good way to put my image of it

Nah but in the sense of change, She has really, really, really, become an older sister!! Its wonderful!!

With her uninterrupted style, I've thought, its good… 🪽while watching her during rehearsal

.🌏💫

While thinking that, I'll review the video later tonight!

One more time, I'll do my best!

Congratulations Akanechin~~~ 22 Years old~~~

I hope that you have a wonderful year🧡‬‪

Spring tour tickets have gone on general sale

🩵🎫e+ 🩵🎫TicketPia

📺Hello Pro Dance Gakuen Season 11

April 18th 11:30PM~ A Learning From TSUKUSHI-san Adventure🕺

In season 10 we challenged breakin', its reairing continuously! On the 15th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, #1~#6 all at once! Check out HP for info!

Sendai Broadcast "Ara Ara Kashiko" Every week (Sat) 10:25AM~ Ishida Ayumi Goes~!

I appear once a month as part of the AraKashi Family

The previous shows, and makings, are on OX VIDEO STORE!

Also on YouTube

Sendai Broadcast Ara Ara Kashiko

📺"HinaFest 2024" Before Special ~NamaTake Member Great Gathering 2 Hour SP~ (tenative)

CS TV Asa Channel March 24th (Sun) 12:00PM~

Thank you for following.. Instagram💙🩵

💿Releasing February 7th

Morning Musume '23 25th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT TOUR ~glad quarter-century~ at Nippon Budokan

Thank you for waiting for the Blu-ray&DVD! Its finally releasing--!

Its already nostalgic but, It has an amazing medley, really Please enjoy it many times

📚Releasing on February 7th "Hello! Project BEST SHOT!! Vol.26"

Ishida AyumixOda SakuraxNonaka Miki📸 Fukumura MizukixIshida AyumixOda Sakura📸

✍🏻Tokyo Sports note Series #145 Reflecting on the Presence of Sasaki Rikako

🪩Spring Tour Has Been Decided Morning Musume '24 Concert Tour Spring MOTTO MORNING MUSUME

We'll be going around the country from March 16th!

🪩HinaFest March 30th and 31st at Makuhari Messe

🪩JAPAN JAM Morning Musume '24 will be performing on May 3rd!

《LIVE DAYS！～Exciting Big Exhibition Match～》 June 2nd(Sun), after the Hokkaido Ham Fighters vs. Yokohama DeNa Baystars match, Morning Musume '24 will be having a special mini live!

.👗👠 Aoyama Clothing x Morning Musume '24

📻Morning Musume '24 Morning Jogakuin ~Houkago Meeting~

Airs Every Saturday, On Radio Nihon at 12:00AM~

Past Broadcast Episodes Are Available →Program Details

Everyone! Did you watch it!

I'm sorry! I haven't watched it myself yet but, Hey, isn't it amazing that its like 40 minutes!?

On Kajisak-san's channel they're like 40 minutes, Nah, it would be great if it were longer but, I, am super happy about this!?

With that I'm prefer longer videos on YouTube so,

I'm happy we're able to to send out 40 minutes, from that fun day😎🫶🏻

🐯🦩🦁🦛🍿

Yamazaki Mei's Panda-san Daisuki!! Mei-chan's Holiday. Adventure World with Oda-san and Ishida-san

Please enjoy it lots!

see you ayumin <3

#Ishida Ayumi #Morning Musume '24 #Morning Musume #Haga Akane #Hello! Project #Translation #Blog

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absolutebl · 10 months

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This Week in BL

June 2023 Wk 3

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - There sure is a lot of drinking in this show (who am I to talk?). Omg so awkward: The not-break-up not-confession. I have heartburn. Also I could not watch Jeng break down. Just nope. Then time jump? If that was our DOOM episode the timing is off. Or next week is the final? Or we get 3 eps of domestic bliss and sexitimes? I’m confused.

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 9 of 10 - I like how trope-subversive this show is - first soulmates, then love triangle, now the faen fatal. NO SINGING. Oh good. They didn’t! Yay! So yeah I still love it. But I am also still a touch scared of where it might go. This one can’t be trusted.

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 5 of 12 - not a bad ep this week or was I too drunk to register nuance and damage? You decide. Trash watch here.

Luminous Solution (Sat Gaga) ep 5 of 6 - I always have to psyche myself up to watch this show, because I want to fast forward through most of it, but it’s on Gaga so that’s damn near impossible. At least this is the penultimate episode. I think after 3 BLs I can safely say Gun is just not a good actor. Speaking of... crying clothed in the shower? I haven’t seen that trope in years. But I LOVE the high school boys and their story so much. Love Sick level of earnest floppy goodness, I’m such a sucker for this kind of romance. I want them to be in a completely different BL. I’m so conflicted. I NEED this show to end so I can decide how I feel about it.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love Tractor (Korea Weds iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 8 - So much is happening, evil x-boyfriend shows up. We got flashbacks to coming-out drama + nasty dad (super unusual for a KBL). But baby’s first taste of desire is hilarious. This one is full of lovely contrasts, and contrasting life experiences. It’s all about support and neglect.

Tokyo in April AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 2 of 8 - Very much full of hero worship and giving me My Beautiful Man vibes (only softer and office set). “Dazzling” = always an interesting word when it comes up in JBL subs. It’s clearly a Japanese word/concept like kawaii that is more complex than the English word being used. Meanwhile, this being Japan we get lots of hints as to separation and dark past events.

Tie The Knot (prev Under the Same Sky) (Pinoy YouTube) eps 1-2 of 8 - From OXIN Films (Rainbow Prince), based on a true story (?!), Briggs's family runs a bridal business but he has never fallen in love until he meets a groom to be in an arranged marriage. EXACTLY the same premise at Mame’s forthcoming Wedding Planner. There are so many characters and prospective couples (including a v bi girl with a female fuck buddy, not seen that in a BL before) that it is a little hard to keep straight (heh). I’m sure it will shake out. It’s intriguing so far, if a touch silly. I actually like the arranged marriage premise because the two rich kids involved in it are so weirdly kind & platonically sweet to each other, even if they’re both on the same page about it only being for show.

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 7 & 8 of 12 - Apparently there is very little difference between a cat and a demanding princess of a boyfriend. That clocks. Basically this was the dating times.

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - There is a lot more meat to this silly little BL then I thought there would be given the premise, but it’s Japan so that’s as it should be. But, as it’s Japan there’s also a little too much cringe for me. I do enjoy how generous Japan is with late bloomers and I would def like to host a kimchi party but otherwise... meh.

Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 3 of 6 - Bi erasure still alive and well I see. This one remains fine for VBL but no more than that.

It’s airing but ...

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly in English and set in LA so I’m not bothering but the first one did drop.

Ever After (Pinoy YouTube) - I investigated but as spies reported it's a real mess (not a hot one). Don’t bother.

About Us but Not About Us (Pinoy Prime?) - from 2022 supposed to be finally getting inter distribution, didn’t show in my territory. A professor grieving the loss of his partner meets an ambitious literature student. I’m not fussed.

Stay With Me ... NO!

In case you missed it

What Did You Eat Yesterday movie, BL Express posted a review. I’ve yet to get hold of it but if you enjoy Our Dining Table this is it’s grown up parent series & movie.

Café in Love - I finally got around to watching this. And frankly it hits all the tropes but is so damn bad. The setting is cute, the central brotherly relationship is sweet, the side cast is v queer (baby gay has all these auntie queens catting about) and some complex bisexual awakenings but… but… everything else is a chemistry void. Some fun language wordplay and exploration of cultural tropes like cheek kissing does not save it from an unnecessary amount of punching and a but ton of sexual harassment and statutory rape. No thank you. I had to rewatch Destiny Seeker to get over this. 3/10

I gave up

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (Japan Sun ????) 10 eps - NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS and no, I have no idea where to get it, why would I? Apparently it finished. I still can’t find it but it’ll be off this list next week.

Why You (Khmer ????) - Billed as a horror romance, not sure if this is a movie or a series where it aired... nothing except that it exists.

Next Week Looks Like This:

3 BLs are finishing but nothing is starting up. We running lean these days.

Just started today (Sunday): Dinosaur Love (Thai iQIYI) Trailer 10 eps - from Ultimate Troop about a uni student, Rak, whose partner cheats on him with Rak's best friend. This gives bad boy hazer Dino an opportunity to hit on Rak at last. From The Yearbook people so I shouldn’t watch this as it airs. After Remember Me? I swore never again with them. But there’s so little on right now, I might fall on the pulp sword.

I’ll include it in next week’s summation.

I’ll have the July 2023 upcoming for you next week too.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I love him, Your Honor. (Be My Favorite... HIM, he’s my favorite.)

I love them, Your Honor. (Luminous Solution)

Watch a tiny GL ship set sail across the seas of overly optimistic tumblrs... (La Pluie)

MY PRECIOUS! OMG I LOVE HER SO MUCH. (Tie the Knot)

Incidentally, I would like a future as a dictatorial elder queer running a slightly shady business fleecing the straights via their dumb marriage traditions surrounded by nubile half-naked hotties.

And ya know what? I think this is achievable life goal for me.

Gotta go, I have a future to plan.

(Last week.)

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bengiyo · 3 months

Note

We are headed into our final Drama Shower show of the season. How do you rank the shows we got this season and how are you feeling about the direction of the project?

What is Drama Shower and Why Does It Matter?

Before we get into rating these shows, I want to do a breakdown of what this is. To give you a sense of how big a deal Drama Shower is, fans are regularly updating a Wikipedia page for it with relevant links to follow the project. Also, there is a dedicated MDL page for it.

Drama Shower is a dedicated half-hour programming block on MBS, a Japanese broadcaster that is over 70 years old, in conjunction with Kadokawa, a Japanese publisher and holding group, that plays BL content at 1:30 am on Fridays. The project's main producer is Kaoru Azuma, who is a self-described long-time BL fan. He wants to show that BL can do a variety of stories in genre, and has recently stated that he wants to produce original content through the project as well.

We originally had six shows air through year one: Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss!, Senpai, This Can't Be Love!, Takara-kun to Amagi-kun, Eternal Yesterday, Candy Color Paradox, and Jack o' Frost.

I originally reviewed these shows as overall a mixed bag, but showing great promise. I liked that they got more comfortable with depictions of m/m intimacy over time. I thought Mr. Unlucky was legitimately funny (9), Senpai never found its footing (6), Takara and Amagi mildly squandered their premise (8), Eternal Yesterday was extremely poignant (10), Candy Color Paradox had ambitions that exceeded its talent pool (7), and Jack o' Frost was a really strong finish (9.5).

MBS seemed to enjoy the performance of this project enough to continue it for another year.

For me, I think it's very significant to give BL itself a time slot to see how audiences are responding to BL as a concept compared to the pitch of individual shows. I'm really encouraged by MBS doing this. Even if you don't care about the name MBS, you have interacted with their content, because they are also behind Full Metal Alchemist and Haikyuu! anime adaptations.

Rating Year 2

I actually liked the way year 2 started, even if I'm a bit mixed on the end. I really loved opening with Tokyo in April is... I liked that they had BL trying to be topical. I think the show unfortunately conflates some things it shouldn't, but I loved TIAI and I loved Ren and Ryunosuke's experience being gay men. I liked the changes they made to the source material. This show was dark in a way that it owned, and I really like that. I gave it a 9.

We then moved to My Personal Weatherman, and that went over well for the people who like to see really hot people go at it with each other. I actually enjoyed how much Yoh and Segasaki actively misunderstood each other even as they were speaking to each other. I don't know that they exactly completed their story, and I suspect that there may be a future outing for this show. Despite enjoying it, I think it didn't get all of its pieces together fully and gave it an 8.5.

We then crossed over into uncertain territory with One Room Angel. Despite enjoying a lot of what was going on in this show, I don't actually think it's a romance. It's my understanding that the angel character is a lot younger in the source material, and so they may have been a little shy about how much they did with these characters on screen. I also don't think the storytelling was balanced between the leads. However, because I am susceptible to complex stories about grief, I gave this show an 8.

Now, we have Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun. I hated this show so much. I think it makes the unfortunate mistake of asking me to care about how homophobia and public perceptions impacts people through its flashback drama, but then does nothing with that in the front. It sucked so hard, and I'm really disappointed because I thought this show had some of the most potential, and I thought Toki was one of the most watchable characters Drama Shower had produced. I ended up giving it a 4.

Our next and final show (I think) for this outing is called My Strawberry Film. This one will also be in a high school, but I know little about it, other than we may have a GL plot in it.

So, overall I'd give Drama Shower an 8. I think fans of BL, and especially Japanese BL, should continue to show up and support it. The fact that we have a dedicated programming block is important. The fact that none of these shows has felt like a retread so far is super important. Drama Shower is varied. There is something in here for almost everyone. Drama Shower is the biggest commitment to BL we've had from a distributor other than GMMTV's ongoing BL slate. Taiwan has Vidol doing is four projects, but Drama Shower is the first time I know of that a Japanese distributor has focused on BL in a meaningful, ongoing way. We should stick with it.

#answered #Ben writes #japanese bl #bl series #drama shower #tunku shower #mr. unlucky has no choice but to kiss!#senpai this can't be love #takara kun to amagi kun #candy color paradox #eternal yesterday #jack o' frost #tokyo in april is...#my personal weatherman #one room angel #sahara sensei to toki kun #my strawberry film

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historyhermann · 11 months

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Otaku Elf Review

Otaku Elf, also known as Edomae Erufu, is a fantasy comedy anime. It is based on a seven-volume manga illustrated and written by Akihiko Higuchi. Directed by Takebumi Anzai, it is produced by C2C, a studio founded in April 2006. This post will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the thirty-fourth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on June 5, 2023.

This series focuses on a sixteen-year-old named Koito Koganei (voiced by Yuka Ozaki). She becomes a shrine maiden, known as miko, at a shrine in Takamini after the death of her grandfather. As a result, she becomes the caretaker of Eldarie "Elda" Irma Fanomene (voiced by Ami Koshimizu). Elda is an immortal and beautiful elf summoned from another world. Koito encounters challenges as Elda is an otaku and hikikomori/shut-in who fears going outside the shrine following an unpleasant interaction many years prior. Even so, she attempts to get Elda to enjoy life outside the shrine.

Originally, I had not been planning to write a review of this series because I'm already reviewing nine other series this season, either about magical girls (Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure and Tokyo Mew Mew New), legendary warriors (Unicorn Warriors: Eternal), VTubers (Kizuna no Allele), a yuri-themed cafe (Yuri Is My Job!), golf girls (Birdie Wing), idols (Oshi No Ko), or other subjects (Alice Gear Aegis Expansion and Skip and Loafer). One motivation for writing this review was because of Sailor Moon, which I'm currently watching, for the first time. It features Rei Hino as a shrine maiden, when she isn't Sailor Mars.

The animation style, comedy of an immortal elf being an otaku meeting a normal person, and the centrality of food, drew me in. The latter is primarily grounded in the cooking by Koyuzu (voiced by Hitomi Sekine), the younger sister of Koito. The same can be said for Koito and Elda's stories often becoming intertwined. Also, there are characters which are portrayed as "cute", like Koito's friend Koma Sakuraba (voiced by Haruka Aikawa).

I liked that every episode of Otaku Elf has some story about past Japanese culture, especially from the Edo period. Of course, Elda does all she can to impress Koito no matter what. This is despite the fact that although she has a laptop, she doesn't know how to use a cell phone. When she does use it, she texts so much that she angers the spirits! Elda does not know everything, however, and doesn't pretend she is all-knowing. She is wise, but not omniscient.

Yordeilla "Yord" Lila Fenomenea (voiced by Rie Kugimiya) and Himawari Kohinata (voiced by Teru Ikuta) are a good addition to the series. Yord is a dark-skinned elf, who is bad at directions, and has an absurd rivalry with Elda over an equivalent of tic-tac-toe. Dr. Akane Sasaki (voiced by Yumi Uchiyama) was similarly a positive character. In fact, she is shown in the seventh episode with Kadoi, getting drunk at a bar, with both of them as an interesting pair of characters together.

There is undeniable yuri subtext in this series, specifically between Koito and Elda, especially shown in the fifth episode. Otaku Elf has a degree of intimacy it can turn to and expand in each episode. As such, the series centers on the importance of spending time with others above everything else. In that way, Otaku Elf is special.

In marked contrast to Birdie Wing, the value of studying, and education as an extension, is emphasized through Koito's intense studying in the sixth episode. The importance of taking breaks and not over-extending oneself is an interrelated theme.

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I like the slice-of-life nature of Otaku Elf. This makes it different from magic-themed series such as Healer Girl and Management of a Novice Alchemist. Similarly, it is nothing like recent slice-of-life anime. The latter includes Let's Make a Mug Too, The Aquatope on White Sand, Teasing Master Takagi-san, and Laid-Back Camp.

The series differs from YuruYuri, Gabriel DropOut, Is the Order a Rabbit?, Kin-iro Mosaic, Non Non Biyori, K-On!, and Azumanga Daioh, in the same genre. Elda is a living history resource, who is good at origami, but can have awful nightmares. There's occasional casual alcoholism. But, it isn't as present as it is in Bocchi the Rock!. The latter features a sick bassist named Kikuri Hiroi, who spends most of her money on booze.

The seventh Otaku Elf episode was one of the best in the entire series. It primarily focused on Koyuzu and her desire to spend more time with her sister, Koito. Some of the funniest sequences in the episode was when she charmed people in a wholesale market so she could get fish for free.

The latter episode was only rivaled by the eighth episode. It focuses on Elda meeting another elf, named Haira (voiced by Mamiko Noto). Some of the best parts were having the historical remembrance shown in anime style resembling wood block art. The episode features another miko, named Komari, the same age as Koito. Haira is an elf with beauty only matched by Elda. She is older than Elda and Yolde, treating them as her younger sisters. The episode implied Elda is a lesbian, as she said she liked all the teahouse girls during the Edo period.

By the end of the episode, it is clear that the series is uncritical of the fact that Komari was a social influencer and that Haira was a gambler. Even though Komari was critical of Haira for gambling, she tells Koioto that if Haira is doing what she likes, it is ok. On the one hand, this makes sense as Komari had been with Haira since she was young, allowing her to take candid photographs.

On the other, Otaku Elf, by saying that Haira's desire to be a gambler is ok, implies it is a non-issue and downplays it as a problem. Most gambling is prohibited in Japan. There are exceptions for some motor sports and horse racing. The latter is something that Haira said she wanted to do during the episode.

There is an ample culture of gambling in the island nation. The island has a difficult relationship with it. There is inconsistency between reality and law. Some have pushed to completely legalize gambling across the island. Even so, some people, and groups, have objected to expanded gambling in Osaka. They have argued that crime and addiction (to gambling) will rise as a result. Those caught gambling illegally in Japan can face fines or jail time. This hasn't stopped gambling from becoming pervasive, nor the millions afflicted with gambling addiction. The series could have done a better job with this topic.

Despite the problematic approach to gambling, the series often highlights the importance of remembering the past and preserving it. In the ninth episode, Elda reads a manga that has been published for over 30 years. She reorganizes her room due to a ceiling leak (with the help of Koito) and finds an old videotape. Often series only focus on new technology. They act like anything deemed "analog" isn't worth bringing up. In some cases, there is a blend of the "old" and "new". In the case in Steven Universe, a videotape of the protagonist's mother (Rose Quartz) plays an important role in the series.

Similarly in Otaku Elf, Koito sees a videotape for the first time, and goes to her grandmother, who has an old Betamax player, excited to watch a tape of something recorded from before she was born. She learns that her mother, shown on the tape, was also a miko of Elda as well! In a typical scene, Elda embarrasses Koito. She thinks she will be picked up in a "bridal style" pose and runs away as a result. The latter is part of the ongoing yuri undertones of this series, even though Elda and Koito have more of a master-student relationship than anything that is romantic.

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Otaku Elf is much more than a series with endearing character dynamics. It has a protagonist (Elda) who deeply cares about the town she lives in, a neighborhood of Tokyo, I believe. Unlike some other anime this season, such as Alice Gear Aegis Expansion, there's no fan service. Nor are there any characters which are "one-off jokes". In fact, the series, in some ways, counts as an isekai. It has a "genuineness and pleasantness" which evades many anime these days.

The show's animation studio is known for producing over 16 series, including two I'm familiar with: Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu (based on a manga by Katsuwo who also wrote Mitsubishi Colors) and Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina. None of the story elements in either of those series are present in this series.

The voice cast of Otaku Elf is just as strong as the show's opening song. Ami Koshimizu, who voices Elda, also voices the caddy of Aoi in Birdie Wing (Amane Shinjо̄), Mizuki Nakahara in Lycoris Recoil, Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter in Sailor Moon Crystal, Shiori in Princess Connect! Re:Dive, Yang Xiao Long in RWBY: Ice Queendom, and Konomi Yurikawa in Yurikuma Arashi. Yuka Ozaki, the voice of Koito, has lent her voice as Asuka Toyama in BanG Dream!, while Hitomi Sekine, voice of Koyuzu, voiced characters in Teasing Master Takagi-san, Konosuba, and Ms. vampire who lives in my neighborhood.

Haruka Aikawa, the voice of Koma, previously voiced a character in Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie. Mamiko Noto, voice of Haira, voiced a supporting character named Kazuki Kosuda in B Gata H Kei - Yamada’s First Time, Hakko in Canaan, Elsa in Gunslinger Girl, Kanon's mother in Love Live! Superstar!!, Shimako Toudou in Maria Watches Over Us, Gin Todo in A Place Further Than the Universe, and Saki Arima in Your Lie in April, and many other roles.

All in all, Otaku Elf is highly relatable to the hundreds of thousands of shut-ins in Japan, which the government believes is a "new social issue", and those elsewhere in the world. It might even draw in an audience from anyone who is living at "home" with their parents, or others living a "hermit-like" existence, being social recluses from society.

In any case, I recommend this series highly. I hope that it receives a second season, even though that is unlikely considering the last nine series by the same studio have not been renewed. Often, companies try and limit corporate risk by planning out each season for only 11-13 episodes. If the show is a success, "additional seasons can be ordered" as noted by Justin Sevakis.

Otaku Elf is currently streaming on HIDIVE.

#otaku elf #pop culture #reviews #birdie wing #videotape #yuri #betamax #steven universe #bocchi the rock #gambling #vhs #hidive #alice gear aegis #voice actors #renewal #anime #Youtube

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rifki16 · 24 days

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Love is Better the Second Time Around Episode 5

Photo Credit : Love is Better the Second Time Around Promotional Twitter Account | https://x.com/koi_nido/status/1775007525647372784?s=46

Love is Better the Second Time Around Episode 5

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: Homophobia and Disownment. I’m not going that deep into the topics which include homophobic and depictions of being disowned, however, I’m just trying to be cautious.

Love is Better the Second Time Around Episode 5 is OUT! Let’s get into the short review right away. SPOILERS DUH.

As expected, of course, the couple broke up even though Haru just admitted that he liked Takashi – as well as agreeing to “go out” with him. I want to talk about four topics from this episode.

First theme: Disownment in Japan

I mean, as it turns out, being disowned in Japan is not only caused by homophobia. I think this has been depicted many times in several Japanese TV medias which I have encountered – I think, in general, not achieving the family’s expectations of you will make you really isolated from the family. However, HUGE DISCLAIMER, this subtopic is not going to talk about whether it is more likely to be disowned in Japan compared to other countries nor is it going to delve into the psyche of Japanese families, as well as their internal dynamics, and why they choose to disown instead of choosing other methods in showing their dissatisfaction or repulsiveness towards their kin. This subtopic will focus exclusively on being disowned in Japan by your family because you have been outed as a cis-gay man through the lens of two Japanese BL works: Love is Better the Second Time Around episode 5, Tokyo in April is… episode… I guess the whole series.

To clarify, I’m talking about the act of disownment of a child or an adult by their family, so it’s not about a baby, newly born or not, being abandoned by their mother because of a myriad of reasons. It’s quite hard for me to find a credible source on the internet about the practice of disownment in Japan, be it the reasons, or mechanism. I found this article about how, in the classical times of Japan, disownment is a form of remedy due to your crimes against your “ancestors” (https://www.japanesewiki.com/history/Fukyo.html).

I also found anecdotes that many Japanese families would disown their offspring because they marry “Internationally”- as the film Life: Love on the Line puts it. The anecdotes are very old, it’s from 2007 (https://ask.metafilter.com/83832/How-does-disownership-of-a-child-work-in-Japan

Setting all of those aside, let us dig deep as to what happened in the two series. In Love is Better the Second Time Around, Takashi was outed by, who turned out to be, a distant relative of his. The rumor got spread around. He got disowned. He needed to change his surname from Hoshizawa to Iwanaga. I don’t know how he got his PhD in economics, I assume in Japan, only PhD graduates can be a lecturer. Maybe his new adopted family paid for the tuition fee until his doctorate degree, or maybe he got scholarship all the way up to his PhD studies.

In Tokyo in April is…, Ren was saved by Kazuma from being groomed sexually, not the over-the-internet-incredibly-flirtatious-chat grooming. He was forced to be outed in the hospital to describe what He and Kazuma were doing in the love hotel. Kazuma’s mum slapped and told Ren never to meet Kazuma again. Ren was forced to go to a HS in France, not allowed to inherit the hospital of his grandfather. In the manga, his dad was forced to resign from the hospital, in the live-action series, it was not mentioned about his dad’s status after the rumor of his son’s gay sex act was spread around. He needed to change his surname. He finished his HS and his degree, I think, in France. Then he went back to Japan with his new identity and all.

Now, before going to the analysis. Two things that I have observed to stand out very clearly: 1. The disowned son is still given a future, 2. The disowned son needs to change their surname as he is no longer a member of the family. I still don’t know how Takashi got his degrees, financially, but he still could get those degrees and become a respected economics lecturer. In Tokyo in April is…’s finale, Ren said to his sexual-assault-covering boss that he was grateful to him because he “could repay his family’s tuition” because of the job, which means that his disowning family still paid his tuition in France, just as a loan tho.

It's very unique for me to see this representation, because in many western medias, the disowned son becomes unhoused, a fear which still terrifies me today, and his future really becomes uncertain. In terms of name, I don’t really recall disowned gay men in any western media works to have changed their surname or name completely. I understand that many trans- or non-binary individuals or gender fluid people to have done this, be that they get disowned or not. Let me say before we get deeper into my two cents of this subtopic. I’m not saying that disowned gay sons in Japan have it “easier” compared to other disowned gay sons around the world just because that they are not immediately unhoused in these two BL works. I don’t know the statistics, and I really don’t think we should compare our sufferings amongst us gay men.

A). However, does Japan’s own attitude to the idea of a “state” contribute to these representations? I mean, in western media works, the disowned gay son is completely cut-off because said son is not a member of the family and thus not merited the PRIVATE wealth and comfort of the family. Western idea of ownership, state, and cold-war era propaganda of the “nuclear family” really contribute as to why the representation of disowned gay sons in their media become understandable. But in Japanese, it’s very new for me. Or is it a mere fear of criminal prosecution if the family doesn’t provide means for the future of the disowned gay son? I don’t know.

B). Your family name holds a special place in Japan. I know that it also carries a huge weight in many parts of the world, even here in Indonesia - where most plebian families don’t have a surname - your surname holds such an importance too. In most western media works which I have consumed, the disowned gay son, doesn’t really change his name. He just gets own with his own life, as his surname is the last of his concern. I think this connects well with the first observation I made – in most western media works, the disowned gay son is too focused on surviving, that he doesn’t give a fig about what he is called. If we see it in practical terms, let’s say a disowned gay son is moving from somewhere in the deep south of the states, and he moves to somewhere in New York, new England or somewhere in the west coast, his new start will not really check his name on some federal database, his new semi-blue-collar employer will not check his family background. Unless that he has a criminal record, he is free to use his old name or a new one, his family will not be disadvantaged at all because neither his new life nor his family is connected.

Take these observations with huge grains of salt, as I did not revisit many western media works as a reference, and I have not, and did not, included all Japanese BL works which have this trope, such as Umibe no étranger. I completely forgot as to what happened to the disowned gay son, in that anime film, before coming back to his hometown.

Second theme: Foreigners and Japanese

The second theme I’d like to talk about is Japanese relationship with foreigners. The relationship in a sense of how Japanese see foreigners against/for their patrimony. I will not write a lot about this subtopic because it touches complex topics like Japanese nationalism and the Japanese idea of race – topics which I don’t know much about. To talk about this subtopic, I want to discuss two works, Love is Better the Second Time Around episode 5 and Life: Love on the Line (director’s cut film).

Let’s revisit the chatroom/blog discussion website from 2007 (https://ask.metafilter.com/83832/How-does-disownership-of-a-child-work-in-Japan

). One of the posters said that when, I presumed his personal pronouns are he/hem/his, his Japanese wife married her non-Japanese husband, she got disowned. But then, when her sister got divorced, she was “seen better than her sister”. Setting aside the perception of divorced or spinsterish people, isn’t it crazy that based on that one anecdote, his wife’s family disowned their own daughter just because she married a non-Japanese person. Again, I don’t know the statistics hence I don’t know the prevalence of this behavior. I don’t even know whether the poster of the story on the website was telling the truth or not, however this anecdote is a great jumping point in understanding what happened in the two works I want to present.

In Life: Love on the Line, Ito, the bitch who actually kissed Nishi first, asked to break up with Nishi because he wanted to have “a normal family”. Hold up, I need to vent about Ito, WHAT A BITCH, you really don’t appreciate what you got bro. JESUS, I really cannot contain my anger to Ito. Venting side note over. Ito eventually got a divorce with his wife because he still loves Nishi. And, when he went back to his family’s house to announce his divorce, it turns out his sister is marrying a south Asian person, I forgot whether it was Indian or any other ethnicity. His mother became mad and pointed to his sister that she needed to be more like Ito because he has a normal life and family. His mum’s statement prompted him to stand up and said that he’s getting a divorce, and he has been in love with Nishi all this time and adding “compared to International love, it’s pretty normal right?”, or something to that effect.

In Love is Better the Second Time Around, we don’t really see the family dynamics as to why Takashi is called back to his family, besides the fact that because his sister is marrying a non-Japanese person, he needs to be the one that bears the responsibility of continuing his family’s business. I have not read the manga so I don’t know how Takashi family views their daughter’s “international marriage” compared to their estranged son.

Side note, it seems that Takashi is going to decline the offer to continue the family business because he’s gay… huh? I mean in Restart After Come back Home, Mitsuomi still can continue the family business even though that he’s gay. Well, he has not come out yet. Side note to the power of two, Isn’t it weird that a salaryman can just continue his father’s, long established, carpenter business? Like huh?

I really need to understand more about Japanese view on foreigners marrying their own. I mean, it’s a pretty extreme stance to say that, even a heterosexual, “international marriage” is considered a strange, or deviation from a normal one. Is it just because of the practical matter that the non-Japanese person cannot continue the family business? Is it because that the non-Japanese person hard to assimilate to the Japanese culture?

Side note again, does this mean that BL works with protagonists that used to live in the west like Tokyo in April is… and Senpai, This can’t be Love, to name two, also have “full” Japanese parents, just that they used to live abroad…?

Third theme: Haru mental leap

I think Haru in episode 4 and 5 are very different, “bigly”. We just saw Haru getting comfortable in episode 4 of getting in bed and accepting Takashi as his lover – boyfriend. I think in this episode, Haru became braver in his mannerism as well as drawing the line with Takashi. Yes, I will be having sex with you as lovers, yes, I will be calling you my lover, even in front of my own enemy, but I will not be moving into your place, yet. I think because we have seen how Takashi disappointed, or as it turns out, was smeared to look like he disappointed Haru, Haru’s walls were already up, so it’s not easy I guess for him to draw lines.

Someone on Twitter actually translated the conversation Haru and Takashi on LINE. In the chat, Takashi actually congratulated Haru on being the Deputy Editor, and Haru’s response was just like “okay”. Like wtf. This is another trope that I don’t like in Japanese BL works. I think the biggest offender of this trope is Minato’s Laundromat. It’s the trope of “Oh yes we’re now boyfriends, but I’m gonna act too cool to care about it”. Like what…? I mean Hiro’s mannerisms on digital products, E-Mail and social media are so different with his real-life behaviors, to the people that he knows. Why does he still use his journalist face even with Kyosuke?

Fourth theme: Blackmail – Japan’s most loved trope?

Before talking about this subtopic, let me first take my celebratory dance. I’M SO RELIEVED THAT MY BRAIN ITCH IS NOT WRONG OMG. Haru didn’t overhear some sob in the hall that Takashi bet against him. It was, presumably, Kyosuke that took a picture of a young, I think, Haru, and wrote in the email that Takashi was betting against his appearance in the train station.

What is it with BL and blackmail trope? I mean I know that it’s not uncommon for closeted gay guys to be threatened by blackmail about his sexual orientation, but I already see this plot line used in Help I’m Being Harassed by the Sexiest Man of the Year and The End of the World with You. I think The End of the World with You is such a unique one in using this plot line as the perpetrator of the blackmail is also the one who did the gay sex act with the blackmail victim lol.

Side note: I guess in the finale, Haru is bringing up the fact that Takashi is carrying all the burden by himself – gosh this trope again, I’ve seen it in Tokyo in April is…, let’s see how they execute it next week.

linguistic corner!!!!

I can’t believe how many times “aishiteru” was said in this episode. It seems like the show runners saw my blog post about the Japanese disinclination in using the word “aishiteru” and prefer to use the word “sukida”, made script changes and reshot a lot of scenes – I know it’s the conspiracy and narcissism talking in my head haha. I am genuinely surprised as to how many “aishiteru” was said in the episode, is it because that Takashi loves Hiro that much that he said that? I mean in this episode Takashi actually said it not while they were having sex.

I think this may be true as it is actually a point of rift between the two. I think it was since episode 3? That Hiro has always mentioned that their love intensity is different, is it that he feels that Takashi doesn’t love him enough? That’s why he was sort of lingering with the idea that Takashi still sees him as “an outsider”. Side note: while I’m writing this subtopic, I Love by Official Higedandism is playing HAHAH. The way that Takashi kept secret some of his familial stuff, read the previous subtopic about “carrying the burden all by himself”, I think, made Hiro easier to ask for a break, or rather that he was asking for a break up, but got a break.

Side note: this is the first time that I see when gays break up in a Japanese BL work that his place becomes a mess like in western media works, I mean all I see in other works is the guy failed a class (The End of the World with You), the guy continues his life but still missing his ex (Life: Love on the Line, Although I Love You, and You?, Mr Sahara and Toki-Kun, My Beautiful Man, Pornographer).

All in all, I can’t wait, albeit dread, for the finale next week !

#japan bl #gay #linguistics #japanese language #love is better the second time around #koi wo suru nara nidome ga joto #bl live action #bl series

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