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animebw · 5 years

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Binge-Watching: Snow White with the Red Hair, Episodes 1-3

And so we begin! In which the shojo spirit is shining bright as ever, it’s time to take life into our own hands, and I endlessly gush over the two leads. Yeah, this is gonna be good.

Tale as Old as Time

Ever since I first fell in love with Ouran Highschool Host Club, I’ve been a massive fan of the shojo genre. Its driving ethos of comfort and lived-in earnestness hits the perfect feel-good sweet spot of stuff I love in anime, characters who are sincere and good-natured just because dealing with relatably down to earth struggles in a world that feel grounded and authentic. There are very few pieces of fiction that speak so immediately to my understanding of the world as Kimi ni Todode, and there are very few characters that capture my lived-in experience as well as Sawako Kuronoma. So Snow White with the Red Hair was already starting out on a very promising foot for me just by being a successor to that legacy. And thankfully, the actual show is fulfilling that promise ten times over, marking another extremely worthy entry in an extremely worthy genre. Everything I love about shojo is here in spades, from the lovable goofball characters who help each other through incredibly human struggles to the overall sense of camaraderie and homey bliss that exudes from every corner of this world. This show is, in a word, charming, and I suspect that the comfy blush it puts on my cheeks is only going to grow redder and redder as time goes on.

It’s a testament to how good Snow White’s writing and worldbuilding is that it’s able to retain that grounded charm even as it takes place in a world far removed from our own. The Ancient Magus Bride is the reference point I keep coming back to, another slow-burn romance about a girl with bob-cut red hair in a Medieval-inspired fantasy land. But whereas Magus Bride had an unfortunate tendency to drag its feet for long stretches of time, Snow White is a far more lively affair, bursting with pep and exuberance that underpins its good vibes. I actually didn’t realize this was a Studio Bones production until we got to the first deliciously animated fight scene, but once that clicked into place in my head, it became obvious why the whole thing works as well as it does. Even in series and scenes not focused on flashy action, the Bones aesthetic carries so much casual cool and slick sleekness that bring every character and scene to life. These dorks are all bursting with personality, from the incidental palace guards to Prince Zen’s close retainers (”You guys aren’t being fair.” “We know, sir.”) And with the lovely painterly background art dressing the set exquisitely, Snow White sucks you into its world effortlessly and lets you soak in the feeling of living there with every detail. That’s the difference between a good slow-burn and a bad one; the good ones give you plenty of atmosphere and detail to simmer over while the heat is cranking up, letting you get invested in the world and characters at your own comfortable pace.

Prince and Princess

And speaking of characters, let’s talk about our two romantic leads, because a good romance is nothing without two worthwhile characters to build it off of. And oh my sweet baby Jesus, are our romantic leads here both incredible. See, this is why I love the shojo aesthetic so much; it gives both romantic partners so much life and energy that you just can’t wait to see bounce off each other. I knew I was gonna like Shiroyuki from the moment she pulled herself out of despair and tied up all her remaining loose ends before leaving her old city behind. She’s about as far from a damsel in distress as I could imagine, despite being imperiled by countless assholes along the way; in fact, she might actually be one of the most driven, self-motivated romantic heroines I’ve ever seen. She literally bruises herself to prove a point to Zen when they first meet, and when Prince Raj tries to coerce her into being his concubine, she holds her ground with so much self-respect that I almost started applauding on the spot. She never gives up, she never takes a hit sitting down, and she’s always thinking of ways to get out of a bad situation. But even her stunning escape attempt from the pirate in episode 2, making so many smart choices and having me cheer her along every step of the way, is nothing compared to her confronting an antagonistic noble at the end of episode 3. Faced with immense social pressure and a literal sword at her throat, she resolves to press forward regardless and pursue the path she knows to be right, leading to an exchange that laid me out on the floor with giddiness:

”I’ll cut you down!”

“As you wish.”

Good. Fucking. GOD. Do you know how refreshing it is to see a heroine who gets to be this independent and self-assured just as a matter of course? Who doesn’t have to be put down for the sake of the narrative, who gets to stand as an equal on the playing field and carve her own path through her story? The mere fact that I don’t ever have to worry about Shiroyuki getting unfairly stripped of her agency for cheap drama puts Snow White well above the vast majority of anime romances in my book. And Zen, blessed boy that he is, is every bit her equal, a charming, roguish tsundere who balances her sweet determination perfectly with his cool-cat sincerity. No joke, this might be one of the best power couples I’ve ever seen, the rare romantic duo where no matter what dangerous situations they get into, both partners get equal opportunity to kick their way out of it. Zen can rush in and save Shiroyuki from a tight spot, but she’s always putting in the work right alongside him to get out of that sticky situation, both before and after the assist. He’s also an incredible goober from start to finish, as evidenced by him one-upping Shiroyuki’s self-loathing metaphor about the bruised apple by chomping straight down on it without a second thought, both a sincere response to her anxieties and evidence of the true goofiness underneath his composed exterior. What a remarkably extra dork in all the best ways.

And oh my god, I love how much they trust each other! I love how immediately Zen sets about respecting Shiroyuki’s autonomy, fighting by her side but always letting her face her own obstacles because he knows she’ll be able to handle them just fine. He knows that she’s not here to be anyone’s tool, and he works to genuinely respect that wish. He doesn’t let anyone badmouth her by calling her weak and unmotivated, because he knows how insulting discrediting her achievements and passion is, and he doesn’t let himself disrespect that passion either, even if he can’t help but eavesdrop on her victories to reassure his own fears (And Shiroyuki was right, that was a good answer indeed). And because they have that incredible bond of trust, they’re able to sidestep the bullshit misunderstandings that can plague shojo romance with incredible ease. The story thread about the jealous lord forging a document from the prince to keep Shiroyuki out of the castle could have so easily led to a scenario where she thinks he’s betrayed her and he doesn’t know what he did wrong, making them both hate each other before it was all cleared up. But instead, she immediately sets about trying to figure out what’s going on, because she rightfully trusts Zen enough to know he’s not the kind of guy to shut her out so callously. She needs to hear it from him, or there’s no way she’d believe it. And once they run into each other, she doesn’t even need to ask him to confirm his innocence; his mere presence is evidence enough.

In Your Own Hands

Honestly, I’m sort of amazed by how quickly this show earned my trust. In just three episodes, it’s sidestepped pretty much every potential concern I might have had out it, proving its characters to be actual competent human beings capable of holding real conversations and inspiring each other in real ways. It’s also notable that Shiroyuki and Zen are both young adults, not mere teenagers, which means their lives are a lot more open and self-motivated. They’re both growing into society as a whole and working to carve out their own place in it, pursuing their passions with equal excitement and drive. Sure, she just wants to be an herbalist and he’s the prince of a freaking country, but they’re both at the point in their lives where they’re ready to start seriously acting as the master of their own destinies, and it’s so powerful to see them fall so easily into supporting each other in their endeavors. If there’s one place where the fairly tale motif really comes into focus outside of the obvious allusions (also, “I’m not a dwarf”), it’s that sense of growing into your own story, taking life into your own hands and figuring out how to balance it. Zen has a great line in episode 3 where he acknowledges that he needs to strike a balance between his duties and desires; his desk work is important, but he can’t be a good prince if he looses sight out the country outside the castle walls he’s supposed to be fighting for. And Shiroyuki in turn is setting about striking that work-life balance for herself, pursuing her dream job while still making time to explore the countryside and appreciate the world she’s living in.

It’s such a delicate balance to strike, both for the characters living these lives and for the show depicting them. Thankfully, it’s going superbly on all counts thus far, and it’s never been more engaging watching a pair of twenty-somethings lean on each other for support at they walk forward on their own two feet. It’s charming, it’s sweet, it’s earnest, it’s down to earth, they have such great chemistry together, the world itself is delightful, and I am just having such a good time with it all. If these first few episodes are any indication, Snow White and the Red Hair is gonna be a warm summer breeze that I’ll be looking back nostalgically upon for many years to come. Consider me excited as hell for what comes next.

Odds and Ends

-”This is not a mirror. It’s an informant from town.” pfft

-”I just remembered, I left the stove on!” Somebody get this lady some help.

-oh my god those poor guards didn’t sign up to be shippers did they

-”Am I hearing things?” “I didn’t say anything yet.” askdhasdh

And with that, we are on our way! Man, I already can’t wait to keep watching. See you next time!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #snow white with the red hair #akagami no shirayukihime

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frances048 · 5 years

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2018 Summary Of Art by Fran48

Blank meme here for any of you guys who want to try it :) I can't believe that it's just two days till 2019..Time goes so fast XD :) Here are the previous years memes : 2012: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/2012-Art-Summary-Fran48-343638908 2013: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/2013-Art-Summary-Fran48-422621435 2014: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/My-2014-Summary-Of-Art-Fran48-503896864 2015: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/My-2015-Summary-of-art-578886586 2016: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/Fran48-s-2016-Summary-Of-Art-6540407232017 : My 2017 Summary Of Art Now I'll summarise my art of 2018 :) This year has been full of its ups and downs, with struggles with mental health but still some very enjoyable and funny times too :) I think I've done quite a few pieces this year however maybe not as many as I'd like as my apprenticeship kept me busy :) The resources I used this year included The resources I used this year included Ms paint, gel pens, watercolour pencils, coloured pencils, mechanical pencils, fine liner pens, pencils, coloured pens, chalk , charcoal ,crayons, camera, phone, video camera, felt tip pens, Articulate, Windows Movie Maker, Paint tool sai, and on some occasions, Pixelmator which I purchased for my new imac I bought with my earnings.. I plan to use it more next year :) I have also done a few redraws this year (insert here) to help me work on developing my own art style ;3 I have also messed around with my phone a lot this year, adding silly filters to pics and my artwork :) January

This month, I started watching K-on and Fairy Tail again and drew quite a lot of digital pics from the shows including my Bickslow pic ,Erza pic(which I digitally edited using apps on my phone) and a Mio pic I also watched the Live action Disney film Maleficent which inspired me to draw the pic included in this meme:)https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Maleficent-723817285

February

This month I continued drawing Fairy tail pics and pics in digital software but also experimented using Articulate 360 and created an interactive Junko Enoshima soundboard. I however was unable to work out how to upload it here ^^;....so made a flash recording of what it was capable of https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Junko-thingy-730187122 (you will need Flash player to view this) MarchThis month I got into quite a few different animes, namely Persona, Pandora hearts and Durarara and drew pieces from them. I also continued to draw pics from fairy tail, particulally pics of Erza Scarlet..lol it was in this month and April that I realised I had developed an obsession with her because she's so cool , beautiful, badass but also human and relatable as a person^_^ I also started including more youtube speedpaints, including a one of Sarada Uchiha..;3...https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Sarada-speedpaint-youtube-link-below-735619409

April

This month I continued to draw art of Erza lol and Persona art but also got into My hero academia ;3 and started drawing art from it ^_^ May

This month I continued to draw art from My hero academia , Fairy tail, and Naruto but also a piece from Durarara :) . I also went to see the Avengers film (which I didn't enjoy too much for obvious reasons if you guys have seen it ..It kind of felt like a weird fanfic..though that's just my feelings on it ^^' ) and somehow ended up drawing Gamora (see meme) https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Gamora-744789878 June

I took part in Narutoweek in that month https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/gallery/66581702/Narutoweek which I really loved :) I also created Youtube videos of drawings for Sunnycon guest voice actresses Caitlin Glass (who actually saw my videos and the pic on Twitter!!!!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s85fOvde9-4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZhkjbW5uHg&feature=youtu.be and Cherumi Leigh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr86aHtITyw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X59aytmWAoY They both loved my pics and signed them to my delight ^_^ Sunnycon itself was pretty awesome - I got to meet some of my friends again, see amazing cosplays but also cosplay as best girl...Erza ....:D <333333 (https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/gallery/66687467/Erza-Scarlet-cosplay which...in turn inspired more fanart....and memes of her over the rest of the months XDDDD...lolJulySo in July I watched through the first season of Sword art online and drew fanart...I now understand the controversy about it ^^;....I also got up to date with the 1st season of Toyko ghoul re and watched Persona 5...which I loved as much as Persona 4 but for different reasons....:D and drew fanart ;3... I also watched Miss Kobayashi's dragon maid which was so funny and thus came the fanart ;3... And then....coming back to Erza yet again...I made myself into a meme...XDDD......an Erza x cake senpai meme XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Yes I need to get a life..https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Cake-senpai-752605870

August

This month I drew a lot of traditional art including a piece of Akuro and Chanco from one of my fav youtube channels..ShiroYuki Productions https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1up9mKAfOJvbrl1vN02waQ I also started watching FMA brotherhood..which I have yet to fully completely get through....^^;..I also did a pic in honour of Stefan Karl Steffanson ..which although I knew he had sadly passed away a while ago, I didn't fully appreciate how amazing he was until then :(..Tbh I hadn't really found Lazytown appealing in my younger days and found it kind of creepy ^^;..but I have respect for that guy now :)I also kind of got obsessed with the songs from the band Fleetwood mac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ul-cZyuYq4&list=PLCC4CD5FD7684F0A3 ..and made this piece randomly https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Fleetwood-mac-761976020

September

This month, I got into the anime Seven deadly sins and drew fanart from it. I continued to do speedpaints for Youtube and use Paint tool sai :) though I did draw some traditional pieces ;3 I also heard my brother continously play Birdhouse in your soul by They might be giants...I looked into it and saw the official vid and created this piece https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Make-a-little-birdhouse-in-your-soul-764678942 I also created my own original piece of a deer girl which I was very proud of https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Deer-girl-765391080 OctoberThis month I continued to create both traditional and digital drawings including a piece of Nico Robin in her baroque works outfit https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Miss-All-Sunday-Nico-Robin-767252161 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Me-and-my-new-Nico-Robin-pic-767253230 , Froppy from My hero academia https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Froppy-speedpainting-link-below-768574612 , Fafnir from Miss Kobayashi's dragon maid https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Fafnir-speedpainting-see-link-below-768574727 and more ;3..I also continued creating Youtube speedpaintings. I also participated in Inktober ;3..https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/gallery/67321324/Inktober-2018

November I started watching more of Fairy Tail again https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Levy-and-Gajeel-chibis-Speedpaint-drawing-772478351 and continued watching the Boruto series..:) https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Six-paths-sage-mode-naruto-youtube-link-below-771541151 I continued drawing both traditionalhttps://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Monomi-speedpainting-link-below-773973512 and digital pieces https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Ultimate-imposter-Ryota-Mitari-It-s-alright-now-771067838 but also started doing intial recorded sketches which were recorded on my phone, then photographed/scanned in and then further recorded digitally before being uploaded to Youtube, an example of this being my Gundham Tanaka pic.. https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Gundham-Tanaka-speedpaint-link-below-774096226 December

I spent pretty much most of this month creating Christmas artwork which was scheduled to be uploaded to Youtube every day till the 24th of December :) https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Sarada-as-an-angel-link-below-776968163 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Christmas-Rukia-link-below-776968200 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Alphonse-christmas-link-below-776968150 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Delibird-776573119 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Yuri-can-you-hear-my-heartbeat-775901800 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Olaf-775901553 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Victor-speed-drawing-link-below-775901681 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Glaceon-speedpaint-link-below-775775663 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Snoopy-Christmas-775499922 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Tobirama-speedpaint-774936436 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Erza-christmas-drawing-775195304 . This for the most part went well but was pretty hard to do as things got busier at work..^^; These pieces were a combination of traditional and digital pieces :) I also started practising poses, firstly starting on this short Naruto and Jiraiyia manga thing https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Naruto-and-Jiraiya-reunion-short-manga-in-colour-777916676 .. I also drew a picture of the beast from Beauty and the beast after this https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Beast-777789340 :) My family really loved this piece and want to have it framed ^_^ This has further encouraged me to create more disney pieces :) I have also started playing Pokemon moon and have already been preparing pokemon art for next year :) Overall I feel I have gotten into a few different animes this year but I want to get into so more being the anime obsessed nerd that I am XDD I also really want to cosplay more..XDD...I also want to work on more new art pieces next year but I'll have to see how busy I am and how life goes XDD...I'm not sure how much I've improved this year, I have been working really hard on improving my poses but I still need to improve , as with anatomy :) I may not say this enough and may not be very active all the time but you guys who have stuck with me through every anxiety journal , moan ( know I often sound like a broken record half of the time with my anxiety and everything else ^^;) and the spam posts of artwork, I want to say I appreciate every kind comment, like and watch I have been given, they honestly mean so much to me :hug: and also the patience of many of you who were waiting for replies from me and having to wait months and even years ^^;....XD..I honestly need to work on replies in the new year among a number of other things ^^;...I may have missed out details of this but this is just a general summary so yeah ^^;... Hope you all had a lovely christmas and Have a wonderful new 2019 when it comes :D ^_^Thanks again Frances/Fran/or whatever you want to call me lol

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factaerrata · 7 years

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Verse; The Key of Solomon

Muse: Shiroyuki Tenno (@factaerrata)

Summary: Demons are more often than not the products of humanity’s wishes. While not all are dark, they can become dark and evil and twisted as the human hearts that birthed them. When the demons became malevolent beings rather than the helpful wish granters they once were, one king was given a magical artifact in which to tame them and all was well for a time.

Of course at some point, this artifact was lost and that king’s magnificent country passed into myth and history, becoming a new country. Ah, but the tale here is not of the land, but of the king’s lost artifact for it was a very powerful item to ever exist.

The Key of Solomon were originally two tomes in which evocations, experiments, curses, spells and ways to constrain ‘that which cannot be seen’ were contained. However, this is not true as the Key was very much the same as the fabled Seal of Solomon that control 108 demons. These demons, upon Solomon’s death, became loose and continue to cause no mall end of trouble worldwide and the Key was lost to time.

Fast forward several hundreds of years to modern day; a young Shiroyuki Tenno is a simple librarian at Clock Tower. Occasionally she would be seen running papers to and fro and even aiding the professors in their work if need be. A new collection of books were sent to the vast library and some, she was told, is to be kept in the forbidden section. And as a very reliable person, was entrusted with the shelving and cataloging of the forbidden texts.

A nondescript book is mixed in with the others. There is no title, no special markings to it for her to be able to discern what it was. And trained as she was to handle magical tomes that could possibly do her harm, she boldly opened the book. A bright light shone and something latched onto her arm -- after the light went away, the book was gone and there was now a golden bangle hanging from her wrist written with symbols written in a language she did not know.

Shiroyuki tried to get it off. Really. She did try. She even went as far as getting the janitor to clip it off with gardening shears, but to no avail. She was stuck with it. Even going to some of the professors hoping they could do something proved useless, too. However, due to showing it to many of them, they became curious and tried to figure out what it was and if it was dangerous.

That night the bangles’ abilities activated and soon she was able to see all sorts of things. Dark shadows that clutched onto humans, some making them act angrily or others to become sad and depressed. It was not all doom and gloom, some shadows even made others more successful, but at what cost. Eventually Shiroyuki learned she was seeing the ‘other world’ in which things like spirits and demons existed. A world, up until then, she used to only hear.

The Sorcery Trait inherited from her bloodline was Mystic Ears, which allowed her to hear the emotions and truths hidden in a person’s voice -- on most days. Sometimes, she heard more thanks to her super sensitive hearing. People talking several feet away; a droplet of water hitting a leaf as if it were a tidal wave crashing on the shore; screams of people she did not see. And sometimes the dead. Oh, did the dead whisper a lot in her ear, it was maddening!

And now she could see it all, too.

It was not long before she’d figure out the origin of her bracelet, the fabled Key of Solomon, an artifact that held the knowledge to help its user see, confine and summon demons at the user’s behest. And soon enough, she began a quest around the world to hunt the demons that belonged to the Key, as a prophesy of the world’s end cause by these very same demons arose.

Other muses involved: @aurealmaster

#verse; the key of solomon #pls state for which muse!#hurray for headcanon based verses #headcanon; shiroyuki #wow i wantred to keep thi short????#but it got long #whoops #also hey i tagged eevee cause we gon do a thing in this verse BD

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