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victoriartdrawings · 8 months

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So here's the promised part 2 of the Zonami fics rec!!

Part 1 can be found here

(i havent got the time to read or do much on this blog and post the rec with all college stuff last week and the beginning of class, sorry !!)

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10264637/1/The-Bounty

Already recommended it in the 1st rec (author dreamsinword ) but i still put it again here because i'm in love with her writing, and frankly the experience not only made me smile like in the manga, (Zoro and Nami dynamics, (besides the obvious romantic tones) and the rest of the crew are on point! ) but it nails the characterization of everyone, and with OCs that you feel could belong in Oda's world!!!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37865146

(warnings: if ABO genre is not to your liking then dont read this one!)

So i only went through 1 chapter,( it has 11 chapters up) but so far (which is, not very far, but bear with me 😅) it doesnt seem to fall into the cliche of the'strong omega who doesnt like alpha but in the end falls under the alpha's charm anyway because uuh uh, sexy and smells goood!!!!- a trope that i personally hate because of consent issues... (no flames if you love it though 🙃)

it describes the strawhats crew with a dialogue that seems pretty thoughful (of what the scenario want to do and tell us) and not just in a way it only copies the anime (luffy screamed: i'm hungry!! Nami said: Baka!/ Robin was reading in a chair and Franky was building something that i found often in fic). (also i love any Abo writers who dont focus totally on smut, smells, dominance, and physical side of the genre and rather works on the system, the world and how the implications of the second sex impact the psychology and story as a whole! ) that said, the story seems promising!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48206047

@cutieininferno on tumblr!!!!

fic where you feels the very obvious attraction between them (but without the too much cringy emotionally stuff like 'he had nice abs, sexy and she was love with him! so strong!) but it still make room for the plot and you want to know what happens next!! (also bonus point for including the witch nickname in the actual plot, love it!! ) all in all, go read it what can i say more beside im sad there isnt more kudos???!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22678642

Good plot. Nami centric (and her origins), friends - to lovers, i enjoyed that one too!

One shots, short fics

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/776756/Rasetsu

Sweets little drabbles,

angstier than the previous one (and can be read as friendship)

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2430733/1/Because

oh boy this one is a little messy but it hurts in the best way (also mention of implicit sex) love the 'mature' take on them!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6358367/1/Small-Steps

more friendship, and analysis of Nami from Zoro pov

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6375303/1/Moments-Like-These

how to write perfect Zonami in 642 words. No comments.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49450201

ANgst angst angst, implied sex, sort of...friends with benefit, (still happy ending) again, from Zoro pov!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8336653

They made out in the storage room. this is uditory torture for the rest of the crew. I laughed during this one!!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8330107

again, a make out, a drunken kiss and a stupid competition. Love it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1128823

Drabbles so sweet i have to brush my teeth.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8336968

One shot abt Zoro first time - do you know how much i like this headcanon???? no? now you know. Virgin Zoro with accidental rizz is awesome!! (Luffy is always this element in the fic who made me crack up!!!)

#zonami #zoro x nami #nami x zoro #zonas #zona #opla #fic rec #one piece #zoroxnami #this is for my discord girlies!!!!#awesome people procuring me a lot of joy!!!!

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shions-chin-scar · 7 months

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i want a full essay on haruta, you seem like a knowing person

*cracks knuckles* My time has come.

So, Haruta. Whether you love 'im, hate 'im, love to hate 'im, he's a character that few people in the fandom feel indifferent about. But I believe that he's also slightly deeper than the giggling sword-wielding maniac he seems to be at first glance.

Also there will be MANGA SPOILERS so don't click if you're anime-only

First, let's take a look at his name.

Shigemo is written with 重 (“shige” = heavy, important) and 面 (“mo” = mask), and together those two characters can literally be read as "multi-faced". This is already a hint to his personality: Haruta is someone who acts childish and humorous, but is actually cruel and cold-hearted.

Haruta is written with 春 (“haru” = spring) and 太 (“ta” = thick/big, a common male suffix). Spring is the symbol of new life, of a fresh start. It could be a possible hint to him recently becoming a curse user, or maybe a reference to his power.

Next, his perceptive and cunning nature.

Because yes, Haruta is actually pretty damn smart and tactical despite acting like a goofball most of the time. People are way too quick to write him off as a weakling and make fun of both him and Nobara for her defeat at his hands. Here are a few examples:

^Recognizing Nobara and accurately gauging her growth despite not fighting her during their previous (and only) encounter

^Understanding what the injured Megumi was doing and not letting his own guard down

^Realizing what Megumi was about to do (unfortunately too late)

He's also surprisingly self-aware about his own limitations despite his arrogance regarding his own abilities. When Gojo broke the barrier around the school, what did Haruta do? Immediately dip. When Nanami backhanded him across the whole store, what did Haruta do? Realize he was way outmatched and try to run. He's different from the likes of Juzo (hang rack guy) or Jougo, who overestimate what they can do and underestimate their opponents. Haruta knows he's not hot stuff, and as he says it himself, he's best at picking on the weak.

And let's not forget what a tactical fighter he is.

^Sending his sword after Nitta, fooling Nobara and allowing him to both keep track of her position and take her down

^Targets his opponent's weak spots to take them down

That was actually one of my few pet peeves with the anime: it felt like they made him less tactical. They removed Nobara's line about him aiming for specific points, as well as him injuring her leg, and it made his question about the sword hitting her head seem genuine rather than sarcastic.

His potential past.

This is where I'll be entering headcanon territory, but canon backs me up quite a bit on certain elements of it.

Haruta mentions that he doesn’t even know what exactly his own cursed technique does or how it works. Therefore, the likelihood of him coming from a family of sorcerers or having received a formal jujutsu education are more or less void. Had he inherited a technique like Nobara or Megumi, or gotten schooling, he would probably know more about it.

There is a running theme among curse users (whose past we know) of being rejected, sometimes even persecuted by society for their ability to see the supernatural:

Therefore, it’s not too far-fetched to assume that Haruta likely went through something similar himself. It would explain a few things about him.

Haruta's psychological issues.

I'm going to say it straight off the bat: I won't diagnose him with anything. I'm not a psychologist, though I did study psych in college. All I'm going to do is list a few of the obvious issues he has and their potential causes. JJK is a series of grey and gray, not black and white. No one is pure good and pure evil in it (except arguably some of the Curses because, well... they're Curses), and everyone has their own unique circumstances that led to them being the way they are.

That being said, one thing that immediately jumped out to me about Haruta is his barely hidden low self-esteem and insecurities. He's actually quite self-deprecating. If he just did it around other people I'd be inclined to believe that it's part of his "uwu i'm baby" front, but he also does it when he's alone.

It's worth noting that he also seems to specialize in sneak attacks from behind - fitting for a self-admitted bully who prefers to prey on the weak.

Yet at the same time, he's pretty full of himself and seems to have a certain paradoxical sense of superiority.

That's why I half-jokingly said in the tags of a previous posts that he has an inferiority-superiority complex. I think Haruta knows that he's not strong, but that his technique is absolutely broken even if he himself isn't particularly skilled (though he seems to have gained some confidence between the school invasion and the Shibuya incident - that's part of why I think he's a fairly recent curse user).

It's worth noting that the jujutsu world is much more dangerous than the regular one and death roams around every corner, doubly so for curse users who have a Kill On Sight order on their heads, and triply so when one’s cursed technique isn’t suited for fighting. It must be easy to feel weak and helpless under those circumstances.

Now let's get to the obvious, which are also Haruta's biggest flaws: his sadism and impulsivity.

Haruta obviously takes a lot of pleasure in hurting others, but what's especially concerning is he seems unable to hold himself back when he sees an opportunity for it, or think of long-term consequences. He tried to kill an injured Hanami just because he could, without realizing that doing so would anger the other Curses, and he went after Megumi despite barely escaping his encounter with Nanami an hour or so prior, which led to his death. He actually reminds me a bit of Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia, in that both of them just want to have fun in this world. What Toga really wants deep down is love and acceptance though - unfortunately Haruta never got the character development that she did.

He also clearly lacks empathy, which in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but combined with a personality that enjoys tormenting other people and has poor planning skills, it makes for a devastating combo.

^A perfectly healthy reaction to seeing an injured ally

It's worth noting that sadism and aggressive behaviors are believed to stem from both genetic and environmental (e.g., childhood trauma) factors. It can for example be a way for the person to turn the tables on the world and vent out their past hurts and anger, by making other people suffer like they suffered. Or a way to feel powerful - again, Haruta is someone with low self-esteem who preys exclusively on the weak.

TL;DR

Haruta Shigemo is actually pretty damn cool and smart and not just some one-dimensional grunt and he deserved better.

^Me @ Gege

#asks #kiwimura #jujutsu kaisen #haruta shigemo #this took so long i'm SORRY. truly being an adult with adult responsibilities sucks #they don't tell you about that when you're in school #but anywAY thank you so much for the ask!! i may have gotten carried away just a little bit fhghfdudfd listen i just love wordvomitting #about my blorbos okay. especially the severely underappreciated ones #no one ever talks about haru </3 even now with the anime airing it's always beefcake nanami this and nanami's hands that (i love and suppor #all nanami fuckers i just wish there weren't so few of us twinkgemo enthusiasts)#also thank you 🥺 idk if i'm knowing but i did my best

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blueskittlesart · 2 years

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What are your thoughts on what power means in the triforce? In some games, it’s said that the hero must have a balanced heart to wield the triforce (which means demonstrating courage, wisdom, and power). It’s clear how Zelda and Link show wisdom and courage respectively, but how do they each wield power? What does power even mean for them?

i love you i love you i lov eyou anon holy shit this is such an interesting topic to talk about im going to write a 10 page essay about this. god.

"power" is deliberately vague, i think, so that it can easily be attributed to ganon/demise, the "evil" side of the triforce. but the reason ganon turns to evil is almost always an overt display of ambition without balance. he wants the POWER to rule hyrule without the WISDOM to understand that responsibility, which is why hyrule under his rule turns so quickly to ruin. (i think he and zelda are foils moreso than him and link, because wisdom is more often than not the element he lacks, which may also be why zelda is so often the "sacrifice" to revive or unseal ganon--sacrificing wisdom for greater power but losing one's morality in the process.)

the most interesting exploration of the concept of balance of the triforce's 3 sides comes, unfortunately for me, from twilight princess. not the game itself but the manga, which handled the entire theme of corruption infinitely better and more coherently than that mess of a game. sorry this isnt a twilight princess slander essay i promise but i have to complain a little bit. anyway the manga has an arc which explores link's steady decline as he prioritizes courage and power and lacks wisdom, leading him eventually to an extremely dark place. (this all happens directly after zelda is imprisoned by ganon which i think was a REALLY smart way to overtly connect link's decline to an out-of-balance triforce and a lack of wisdom. anyways.) there's also some interesting exploration of how GANON handles his lack of balance in this manga but it's not actually relevant to this question so. i will shut the fuck up about it for now. anyway this manga is the framework around which i think about balance in terms of both link and zelda so I had to give you that context before i get into the actual answer lol

as for your. actual question of how link and zelda show power respectively. i honestly think it's quite obvious for link lol. it can be taken literally as power in battle. Link is able to take down monsters that have terrorized entire civilizations for years. he is always a fairly skilled fighter initially, even when he is as young as nine years old. the twilight princess manga arc i mentioned before only serves to reinforce this, i think, as his fall from grace is explicitly because he becomes too confident in his own power and combat ability. There's a point to be made about how many links are explicitly left-handed swordfighters (again. a point in the tp manga that forever changed how i thought about link. agh.) left-handedness gives one a huge advantage in a fight, because most people are right-handed and therefore most people will have only ever trained against a right-handed person, making attacks from the left much harder to deflect and adapt to. It's a natural, POWERFUL advantage that he has over everyone he fights. link is just a naturally powerful kid, which obviously does not ever work out super well for him but i think that speaks to how power is the most unstable side of the triforce--it's easy to see it as a natural blessing, but it's also the easiest to exploit or turn to evil.

zelda on the other hand is a little more complicated, because a lot of her character is rooted in powerlessness. i'll use oot as the obvious example: 9-year-old zelda KNOWS that ganondorf is not to be trusted, but her voice continuously falls on deaf ears to the point that she accepts help from another nine-year-old. no one will listen to her, and this powerlessness explicitly sets off the chain of events leading to ganon's takeover of hyrule. And i think that in plenty of games, zelda does start out at odds with the triforce of power by design. In oot she reclaims her power through becoming sheik. in breath of the wild, another zelda who struggles with feeling powerless in the face of the calamity, she reclaims her power (and arguably gains courage) when she steps in front of a dying link to save him. actually botw zelda's balance of the elements of the triforce is a can of worms i should NOT open here because this post is already way too long. in any case, zelda is often unbalanced at the start of her story, and it's usually through the reclamation of her own power (after link rescues her in most games, though i tend to like the games where she does it on her own better) that she is able to, in tandem with link, defeat ganon.

#the first time i attempted to post this it literally crashed tumblr. help me #anwyas #zelda analysis #i could talk about this topic for hours lol sorry #asks

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gamesception · 10 months

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lets read rgu, chapter 26

So, yeah, the main story is complete with chapter 25. Chapters 26 and 27 are in fact side stories incorporating some elements from the anime that didn’t make it into the manga before. This chapter, we’re bringing in Ruka, a character who ime is often underrated. People I’ve watched Utena with in real life often see him as a superfluous blue Touga who randomly shows up 3/4 of the way through the show and disappears without a trace or fanfare two episodes later. Though my appreciation for him may also be tainted by misinterpretation - the first time I watched the show I thought Ruka was the guy who had come between Juri and Shiori in the first place - the guy who liked Juri but Shiori in her jealously had “stolen”. That’s not the case, but Ruka was still a lot more than just an unnecessary extra Touga.

Unfortunately, the same difference from the anime that made Manga Juri’s own arc so much less compelling and work so much worse will likely hold back Ruka’s bonus chapter as well. “The guy I like doesn’t like me” is just so much less compelling as an underlying motivation for manga Juri’s angst than “I can’t confess my feelings to the girl I like because those feelings are a love that ‘dare not speak its name’, so I will keep that love secret and obsess over it, while the girl I love misinterprets my increasingly guarded and withdrawn attitude towards her as condescension and contempt and reacts by trying to hurt me by “stealing” the boy she thinks I like, which none the less succeeds in hurting me by making me see the person I love with someone else, but because it’s all based on misunderstanding I’m still left with the thought that if by some miracle she learned my feelings for her she might return them, and so we spiral around each other in obsession and animosity forever.”

There are different ways to interpret anime Ruka, because the show is deliberately opaque about him, but I always read him as playing a villainous role as an affect hiding a princely motivation. The dude finds out he's going to die, and his only regret is that the girl he liked was all heartbroken over some falling out between her and her best friend that led to them hating each other, but they’re both too proud to resolve the conflict directly. So with his last few weeks of life he 1) deliberately becomes a villain, 2) torments both the girl and her former friend, hurting both of them worse than they hurt each other 3) defuses the hatred between them by redirecting it towards himself, and 4) literally takes that hatred with him to the grave, giving them the chance for a fresh start.

If you take all this as deliberate, as I do, then it’s a ridiculous xanatos roulette of a plan, but it succeeds. By the end Juri’s locket shatters - representing either that she’s given up on Shiori returning her feelings or accepted that she can’t keep her feelings locked up if she hopes anything to come from them, and she publicly expresses her anguish by openly sobbing in front of everyone, the dueling arena metaphorically drenched in her tears.

All the duelists in the show - or at the very least all the student council members - highlight or comment on some aspect of the fairy-tale prince archetype, typically by failing to live up to it in some way. If the core identity of the Prince is in their selfless, even self sacrificial devotion to the Princess, then Saionji is unfit because his devotion is possessive and cruel. Likewise Miki's is conditional and idealized, Juri's obsessive and fearful, Nanami's jealous and immature, Touga's ambitious and insincere. They all demonstrate potential tripping points by which Utena might have failed to live up to the Princely archetype.

Ruka, on the other hand, is more subversive and deconstructive, exposing a tragic aspect of the archetype that had previously gone unexamined: the Prince MUST save the Princess(es), even if they don't want to be saved, even if he will become hated as a result, even if he must die in the process. Where the other duelists demonstrate ways Utena could have failed to become Anthy's Prince, Ruka foreshadows the dark fate waiting for her when she succeeds.

Though of course that’s all assuming that Ruka’s manipulative villain persona was an affect and he actually was there to help Juri & Shiori by drawing their hatred away from each other and towards himself. You could just as easily argue that he was sincerely after the power of Dios to cure his illness and save himself, that that any benefit Juri and Shiori experienced in the aftermath of his two week rampage through their lives was purely down to their own growth in the face of the difficulties he selfishly subjected them to.

Manga Ruka is playing out a version of this, but it doesn’t work as well because manga Juri’s anguish - ‘My pride is hurt because Utena beat me in a duel and Touga likes her more than me’ - just isn’t as compelling and really shouldn’t require any sort of grand manipulation to save her from.

But Manga Ruka puts on a grand show of manipulation none the less, getting Juri out of her house by challenging her place in the fencing team, stoking her jealousy of Utena by spending time with the new girl, setting Juri up for an unexpected rematch against Utena in the fencing room which she loses, using the shame and disappointment of that to goad Juri into a match against himself where she wins, and from there getting her to challenge Utena to a proper rematch in the dueling arena.

But before the duel Juri overhears Ruka bragging to Touga about how easy it was to manipulate Juri, and this aggrieves her pride so badly that she refuses to duel Utena again after all.

Which, I mean, good for her. Even if you accept my reading of Anime Ruka’s motivations, that still leaves this gaping criticism over how he goes about achieving his goals. The condescension, manipulation, and frankly cruelty of it is anything but Princely, and that the anime /rewards/ his behavior with success, again if you’re assuming as I do that the eventual outcome is what he was aiming for in the first place, is pretty sketchy. Manga Juri gets the opportunity to call out and reject that manipulation in a way that Anime Juri didn’t really get.

Also, I’m literally all for any of the characters in Utena being on the receiving end of a Dramatic Slap with the soul exception of Anthy. Ruka’s face is exceptionally slap-worthy.

But there’s gotta be a duel, so Ruka duels Utena in Juri’s place, using imitating Juri’s attacks and style to show her that she could still beat Utena if she wished.

Ruka effectively wins the duel, but at the last moment his unnamed illness catches up to him and he collapses to the ground, forfeiting the match by removing his own rose in a nod to how Juri’s second duel ended in the anime.

And like in the anime Ruka leaves and dies without telling Juri.

On the one hand, a sacrifice to spare her pain, but on the other hand a patronizing kind of manipulative move, making the choice for her and denying her the chance to say goodbye.

The duality of Ruka in a nut shell.

Honestly, this bonus chapter was pretty good, probably the best it could have been given how much less Manga Juri’s character had to work with.

#rgu #revolutionary girl utena #ruka tsuchiya #sception reads rgu

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sigmashuffle · 7 months

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I have a question!! So I’m a long-time BSD enjoyer but I haven’t read nearly as much of the manga as I would like. I’ve seen all of the anime though, most of it multiple times through. I didn’t realize until looking at the comments on Danny Motta’s video at how much people fucking hate Fukuchi and his sword. Up until this point I’ve thought it’s cool as hell and he, along with the sword, bring something kinda new and fun to the series.

HOWEVER, I know BSD is FAR from perfect and there’s a lot of dumb shit that faithful manga readers have a better perspective on. Would you mind explaining why Fukuchi and the sword are such a sore point? I hope this isn’t too much to ask. I just really want to know.

Hi anon! Its not too much to ask at all!

Unfortunately the answer to that is best explained in the context of ALL the issues I have with the manga/show so... this is going to be v long... and im done giving this show more credit than it deserves but don't take it that seriously lol I hesitate to even consider my pov to be on par with the average manga reader but ig we'll see how my opinions hold up after i post

And disclaimer: I don't mind answering this but ONLY with the context that this is 100% my opinion (as of late, bsd as a whole has just been REALLY bugging me so im just gonna take this opportunity to explain my gripes since most of them apply to or tie greatly into fukuchi's character/design/motivations/development)

I simply don't want anyone to come for my head bc of anything I say here tho, bc I feel like I may disagree with a large portion of the fanbase but WITH THAT SAID...

***from this point forward there will be a few spoilers from s5e11***

Here are my gripes with BSD...

1. BSD and its "magic system"?

bsd powers suffer from what i like to call a "lack of scope"

granted this could be due to the fact the story isnt complete HOWEVER im sure any anime fan can tell you this story doesnt feel like it is leading anywhere its just... going... (ill get to the awful pacing later)

for comparison sake im going to also talk about The Case Study of Vanitas since it is the world I have the most experience in

what does BSD not have that VNC does?

simply put, the magic system doesnt reinvent itself character to character

in VNC if you have an ability it is EXCLUSIVELY connected to "manipulations of the world formula" which is essentially elemental control (fire, ice, gravity, etc.) based on a sci fi version of chemistry (alchemy, if you will) and this rule applies to EVERY CHARACTER in VNC

its a structure that starts developing from the beginning

BSD however introduces a WHOLE NEW magic system for each character

some character abilities are similar, yes, and can be classified as such, but many cannot be classified

again a magic system doesnt NEED to have strict rules (its actually more boring that way if the rules are too simple) but it DOES need RULES... and solid ones

otherwise its tempting to use the MAGIC system to fill in PLOT RELATED gaps

and if that system isnt defined, well, to me that looks like lazy/sloppy/illogical writing

if you like the whiplash of not knowing whats gonna happen next, fine, (i did for awhile too!) up until the unpredictability started to come from powers that as a whole look like an authors way of trying to write themselves out of their own plot hole

ie: time travel

specifically time travel that isnt introduced FROM THE BEGINNING...

2. Fukuchi and his "deus ex machina" sword

time travel is NOTORIOUSLY difficult to pull off and especially by my standards

I have watched Doctor Who since 2008, before I even knew what tumblr was I was doing my own solo fandom stuff (basically just watching a LOT of youtube video essays) but basically I have high standards when it comes to time travel in stories

Amenogozen has the POTENTIAL to be a great weapon if used in a logical context... but theres one thing the sword (and BSD as a whole) does not follow

RULES

time travel is TRICKY mostly bc it has consequences... in BSD fukuchi gives nothing in exchange for his powers

lets even toss time travel aside for the moment

what is Fukuchi's innate special ability? Mirror Lion... (read below)

its essentially an attack multiplier of x100 at CLOSE RANGE

lets say your average untrained human punch is 150psi (pounds per square inch) which is the pressure equivalent of a point 100m below the surface of the ocean...

with Mirror Lion's multiplier you get 15,000psi which would be 10,000m or 10 kilometers

a pressure equivalent to the deepest part of the ocean (i dont need to remind you how powerful water is... we all know about oceangate)

MY POINT IS HE'S OVERPOWERED AS FUCK

dont even get me started on his motivations too

im glad we got backstory for him in ep 11 and im sure we are just supposed to sum up his motivations into "he was willing to pay the high price for world peace" but tbh royally fuck that

dont TELL me thats what he believes

PROVE to me how you made that conclusion

also the only reason he even dies is becasue he wants fukuzawa to kill him... we dont have any sense of accomplishment for stopping his scheme because NOW the scheme has been PLOPPED right into fukuzawa's lap which fukuchi intended to do from the start... apparently

and this seemingly retroactive decision-making is a problem A LOT of bsd characters have, especially the one and only character i hate THE MOST... *drumroll*

3. Osamu fucking Dazai

oh boy...

I have thought long and hard about Dazai... im not going to lie, after ch109 and ep10 I was about to admit Dazai might actually have grown on me BUT

this was all erased after 6 minutes into ep11 when he was confirmed to indeed NOT be dead

Dazai just *knows* everything thats gonna happen

Chuuya was never a vamp... he knew this... and somehow his ENTIRE escape plan was just hinging on that? bc yknow... hE kNeW fRoM tHe bEgiNniNg

OSAMU DAZAI IS A PLOT DEVICE USED *ONLY* TO FILL IN NARRATIVE HOLES

HE IS A WAY TO FORCE PROGRESS ON A STORY WITHOUT EVER GIVING A REAL EXPLANATION

HIS CHARACTER IS AN INSULT TO INTELLIGENCE

His character is paper thin, with motivations that do not translate to his actions

and frankly... im tired of it...

additionally... if sigma doesn't survive, all of Meursault was literally useless... so why pick him for nikolai's prison break game?

even if he does, it means the ONLY thing we get out of the arc is information about fyodor... as to WHAT information, who knows... but regardless, a villain arc that has been going on for TOO GODDAMN LONG (40 chapters?) should have a resolution that isnt "i knew what was gonna happen all along"

we spent the whole time being SHOWN that fyodor and dazai were of equal intelligence levels... or at least higher than what dazai was used to dealing with

if dazai could just predict shit like this from the beginning why was fyodor a villain for so long? makes ZERO sense, dazai would've defeated him AGES ago... what makes THIS time any different?

also... why is he even suicidal? yeah ok the author was... but like... why make it such a present character trait?... so we can fake kill him over and over? idk

can you tell i dislike him?

4. THEORY vs PRACTICE

I am a "show dont tell" girlie

ALL BSD DOES IS "TELL TELL TELL" ...its infuriating

almost every power/special ability has an element of "trust me bro" ok SOME OF THEM DONT but most of them do

ie: atsushi is a tiger (what does that even mean), kenji gets strong when he's angry (ok hulk?), and THIS JUST IN we STILL don't know how fyodor's ability works... and now he's DEAD?... we also dont know almost any detail about sigma's ability and he might ALSO be dead

but thats only regarding abilities...

when it comes to writing stories using people of high intelligence it is VERY difficult to not get into the aforementioned "trust me bro" mindset which BSD does REPEATEDLY

im not listing off every example but off the top of my head is one scene from s4...

ranpo explains his plan for saving yosano loosely involved "replacing the engine [of an armored vehicle] with an electric motor and playing engine sounds over the speakers so no one noticed" ...and only i can pick this claim to shreds lol (i engineer electric vehicles for a living) but this is so wrong on so many levels...

Internal combustion engines and Electric motors are IN NO WAY EQUIVALENT

ranpo would never be able to power a vehicle the size of an armored truck with a motor that he installed an hour before the truck was put to use... he just wouldnt... the vehicle is too big... ugh *facepalm*

and dont even get me started on batteries...

MY POINT IS

if you want to write some *genius move* at least TRY to do some research to make the action believable

thats like saying "oh yeah i ran out of gas so a threw a couple AA batteries into my gas tank until i could make it to the station"

BUT THAT WOULDNT FLY BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE KNOW THATS NOT HOW CARS WORK

*sigh*

5. Manga Readers' POV

the.chapters.are.too.short

especially for a monthly released manga

i am relatively new to anime and manga... like late 2020, so I am part of the "new gen" I guess you could say so i know i dont have any right to complain about pacing in comparison to like... the dressrosa arc of One Piece

with that said, not enough in bsd BUILDS on itself

it all feels like a self "one-up"

its been too long since any of my large questions have been answered

honestly its rare that any of my questions are ever answered because the narrative rarely follows logical progression anyway and any scenes thats ARE useful are cut from the anime

characters do not *develop* their powers, they just simply ARE

whatever ability you are born with limits what you can do and thats that... which leads me to...

6. Types of Ability Users

the most coherent thing i think i can speak on so this will be short lol

there are 3 types... i think (excluding lightnovels, i have not read 15, Stormbringer, or any others)

(1) natural abilities (ones that can be nullified by dazai or stolen like in Dead Apple)

(2) human/god fusions (chuuya) -> but this can ALSO be nullified???

(3) when an ability isnt an ability (it CANT be nullified) -> ie: whatever the fuck Lovecraft is

Sigma -> ??? (he could be part of the natural ability category but like... it feels weird to put him there)

but... there is never a comparison between these types so im not even sure of this "list" is exhaustive

this is just another way the story is leaving open ways to dig itself out of a plot hole... which isnt fun... bc now there are no stakes... there are no rules... its disorganized chaos where anything can happen

everyone will always be fine because there is a way out of everything

and thats BORING... and for me, downright infuriating

fukuchi likely falls into the first category... but then again he's also using a tool from another ancient ability user... so does he even fit there?

7. Anime Adaptation

rushed

RUSHED

and i know why...

BSD is so thin on STABLE plot the story would feel like its dragging if Bones wasn't animating at the pace they are (see Manga Readers' POV)

so to try and counteract the feeling that nothing is happening they are cutting "irrelevant" scenes BUT ALSO important portions relevant ones (ie: aku's death)

do all the plot points from the manga happen? by definition, yes... but the nuance the manga has is lost almost entirely

Atsushi doesn't physically throw an injured Aku's arm over his shoulders... Aku doesn't smile upon his demise... Aku doesn't reach out through the fog of the fire extinguisher (the adaptation of this scene was personally my last straw)

and then we have the new anime content...

why did we tack on an additional fight? zero context... didn't even tie up loose ends from fukuchi like...

is sigma alive?

are chuuya/dazai/nikoali still in france? europe?

is fyodor going to return in some way? (we know nothing of his motives, ability, or MOST importantly, what information did he learn from Sigma??? his ability is an EXCHANGE so why even have that happen if they are both dead anyway?) why would you fucking kill off a character like this

WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS ENTIRE ARC??? The mere reason I'm asking this question is, in and of itself, unacceptable

we MAY get an answer later... but its been 20 episodes... why the fuck dont we know anything about the arc we just completed? ...ludicrous

Final Thoughts

BSD does not have enough reliable rules in its magic system to form a solid foundation of... anything

Fukuchi is a disjointed character trying to do too many things at once, he doesn't have solid motivations, and his arc provides more questions than it answers

Osamu Dazai is not a character... he is a plot device used like a saving throw in DND

BSD frequently insults my intelligence to cover it's ass in its storytelling

being a manga reader is like taking 30 days to rip off a tiny band aid... the pacing is unbearable

even with the end of fukuchi's arc now known, there was no sense of accomplishment in defeating him bc technically we didnt… he gave himself up... so the sword was just to make him overpowered... it was pointless

the anime adaptation was rushed, scenes cherry picked, and plot narratively thinned into water... there was no depth this season

In my opinion...

There are very few redeeming characteristics about BSD now

The few meaningful scenes we do get in the manga are overwritten by later context that negates any emotion initially associated with the scene

even with the end of fukuchi's arc now known, there was no sense of accomplishment in defeating him bc technically we didnt... he gave himself up

Dazai is the worst written character I have ever read

It is very likely i drop this story entirely

If I seem salty/upset/etc. its because I am. However is NOT directed at you, it is simply a manifestation of my disappointment in this story.

...

And there you have my opinion... in way too many words... thanks for sticking around if you made it this far im impressed bc i am salty as hell lol

fin

#i hope this helps?#In all seriousness you have likely been following bsd for longer than I have (my first manga chap I had to wait for was ch101 #before then i was anime only #so like... early 2022? i think... this sideblog was born soon after)#long post #bsd discourse #asks #opinion #my post #bsd spoilers #god ok this was in my drafts for a bit #and this post likely got significantly out of hand #however i think i just needed a place to write down my thoughts #these arent even all of them by the way #i could write a whole post on dazai alone #...and not good things

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tamelee · 6 months

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Do u know what naruto and sasuke still do when it comes to their powers? Ive seen a video but im still confused. They have all elements and yinyang but they also lost that power i think sorry if its a long question but im just confused

Oh!! You should really ask someone else! Tbh I'm just as confused as you Nonee, (if not, a lot more) maybe someone has some sort of meta? Feel free to share- (I too would love to read it because I struggle with this the most in my story xD) Every time I try to figure out what exactly determines the categorization I get a headache-- it’s so confusing aaaaarrghh*incoherent noises*

It’s not really what Hagoromo gave, but how it manifested within them that caused the ‘power-up’-specifics and what it was meant to do. The yin/yang sun/moon marks faded after they sealed miss alien and appeared again on Hagoromo. Therefore, they lose that... and then the difference is seen during VotE2.... sorta. But what it is exactly and what it means... beats me.... Hmm’ badly. It is confusing because Naruto still has a piece of all the TB’s within him so where exactly is the border anyway? And yeah, there's the elemental aspect of it too... In ‘the Last’ they retconned canon to oblivion for miss princess’ sake, Naruto can still fly and in Boruto Manga, Naruto uses power that was only possible because of Hagoromo to fight the aliens... at least according to fans, but idk. So...

Most discussions I've read quote the Naru-wiki, which partially relies on the databooks and filler material. A lot of info on power had to be filled in afterward to complete character sheets since most of the exposition is weaved through the story in snippets and often leaves a lot of room for inconsistency and interpretation. With that comes a lot of guesswork. Articles and books mention many things that were never even in the manga, and they add element natures to characters just because some novel said so (like Sakura using fire...). And if anyone can learn the basics from any element (like all Shinobi learning/using a simple earth-based Jutsu out of nowhere) then what does it even mean and why does your affinity matter then? Some commentary, both in the databooks and anime, is subjective and not particularly well-thought-out either.

There's also the anime where fillers make statements about kekei-genkai, Jutsu affinities, and elemental natures that often contradict each other, not to mention variables that aren't adequately covered. On top of all that, SJ actually made some articles about the yin/yang Six Paths' power, yet none of that info was ever stated in the story.

On one hand this makes sense... I’m glad we aren't infodumped during the story because that gets boring quickly and imo it takes away some of the fantasy aspects. We don’t need to know exactly how everything works in fiction, but on the other hand... this makes me wanna rip my hair out!

#asktamelee #naruto talk #confused noises everywhere

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meili-sheep · 1 year

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oughh what if Diluc's mom is apart of the hexinzirkel(I am not spelling it ever again)

I know this is the if Diluc's mom was there they would have such a good relationship so think abt this as an au of sorts

SOME SPOILERS BEWARE!!

Oh god!!! And Remember the letters found in the Diluc skin event???? Of Alice asking in them that bc he takes good care of Klee that he wont mind that he is regarded as her own???

No im not saying Alice is his mom BUT WHAT IT SAYING IS!!! Diluc's mom (Calling her Umbra so i wont have to type it all out) is never mentioned even ONCE

And the lore vid of the hexinzirkel has like, a teacup and teapot that has the exact same design as the one in Dawn Winery!!!

And how does Alice KNOW HIM FROM A YOUNG AGE??? Bc she's never mentioned in Diluc's lines and that the letter implies she met him when he was young!!!

And ohhh god Diluc and Klee have interacted b4 and he takes good care of her... and he has a mischevious devious and trouble maker streak imagine if Klee got the idea of fish blasting from Kaeya recounting childhood stories of he and Diluc's shenanigans as bedtime stories for Klee...

Sure Klee calls him a weird grownup, but she sounds genuinely curious why Diluc is 'weird' compared to the other adults in Klee's life like the knights of Favonious who are supposed to be formal bc theyre well, also in charge of diplomacy

In Klee's eyes, Diluc is a weird grownup because his behavior is so so contradicting compared to everyone else. Kids are very perceptive afterall, so Klee could notice that Diluc is mischevious and a troublemaker behind the scenes but his face shows no sign that he is

Ouhh got off track but anyways--

Imagining Diluc calling Alice 'Aunt' but she butts in and tells him to call her 'Mom'

Maybe Umbra did something or got too absorbed in her circle of expertise with the Irminsul and thats why Diluc never mentions her

Also the delusion seems less of a fatui or abyss thing to me... instead more of an heirloom.

Like!! Why was Crepus looking like he was planning to give it to Diluc?? ON HIS EIGHTEENTH BDAY???

And it doesnt work like other delusions!!! The other delusions have an ELEMENT but this one has BLACK FLAMES AND CHAINS AND MAGIC CIRCLES

anyways thank u for coming to another one of...

-Leyline! Anon's Insane ramblings are back babey!!!!

So I am 100% on board with Diluc's mother being Hexinzirkel. Like there is a video. This one. Where they not only point out how the teapot is in the dawn winery, but the pattern on the teapot is not only on the dawn winery carpet but on Diluc's jacket.

Then there is the Diluc's star broach in the manga, which matches the Hexinzirkel star.

Especially considering the star and the teapot were things in the center frame.

So we are past the realm of coincidence in my book, even before Alice watches Diluc for a while and takes him in when Crepus dies. It would sort of raise the question of why she might not be more involved in his life if she's a sister of Diluc's mom. But I feel that could easily be explained by well safety reasons. You don't want to draw too much attention to it. Specially if she really wanted to settle down and live a normal life. Alice is just honoring her wishes.

This also makes me wonder if there is something biological in visions. Like Diluc being a possible Hexinzirkel child and probably got his vision around Klee's age. Do you see the line I'm making here? My theory is that there is a certain about of harmony you do have to have with elemental energy to get a vision and maybe having a powerful witch as a mother helped that?

As for the delusion, Diluc's delusion has always been different. So I got two ideas (Outside of Crepus getting it from the fatui in some way)

One. Diluc's mom stole it from the fatui, learning about their delusion research. Maybe figuring it would be best to delay their plans a little bit. So the Delusion is an early stage, one that His mom was playing around with, trying to figure out or "fix."

Two. Diluc's mom made it. And it's not a true delusion. At least not a Fatui one. This would sort of explain why Dottore, who should have known about delusions didn't recognize it at one of there's. And Crepus couldn't use it because well he simply couldn't handle the elemental energy in it. But Diluc could which is why it never backfired. And that works with your heirloom idea.

The only hiccup with that idea is the webcomic. But I don't recall if they were saying where that piece of the journal came from or who it was from that told them Crepus had the delusion.

And well, now It's sort of got me wanting to write more Alice and Diluc or Diluc and his mom, to be honest

#Leyline!Anon #diluc ragnvindr #diluc #diluc headcanons #I am at midterm #so this is just #bad timing lolol #i have so many thoughts lol

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nanamimizz · 1 year

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don't be shy post the jjk takes 🎤

after shibuya the writing fell off so fucking hard…i don’t want to point out the elephant in the room (akutami’s terrible writing of female characters) cuz its been said again and again but after sukuna doing his switcheroo thing i have not been reading jjk and only have been keeping up via leaks became at this point in the story it is unbearable to read and get through.

akutami does a very bad job at balancing the elements of tragedy because he does not give us something to hope for and the same thing that befalls most shounen writers is happening to them via expanding the cast too much and losing sight of our main cast that we root for. maki clearly shined the most in the fighting in the colonies arc but even her victory was predictable as naoya was a flat antagonist BUT STILL STANDS AS THE BEST PART OF THAT ARC I WILL SAY !!!!

also it personally irks me how much yuuji gets disrespected 😭😭😭 recent leaks have shown that the cast is regrouping at a big move on their part is up next and im mostly continuing to read this manga from pure spite AND because i need to see yuuji get his get back

#lamb.bleets #messages📩#hi stranger!#the worst part about jjk is how tedious it is with our heros being constantly push down by their villians and it’s hard to read #as the reader u want to root for the characters u like and jjk shits on them so bad 😭😭#i HOPE. that whats coming up next will turn the tides in more ways than one and make the series feel enjoyable for me as it was at first #ig this isn’t really my takes but more so my thoughts 🫡 my b #jjk spoilers #just incase #lamb.meta

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chickycherrycola · 7 months

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Okay, I have the same questions for you! How long have you been writing and what are some of your favorite tropes/storylines to write? Also, do you have a movie/show/book you’d consider a hidden gem or under-hyped fave??

Hello there Tower! 🎶 thanks for providing me with a wonderful distraction while I work from home today ehehehe *rubs my tiny fly hands together*

How long have I been writing:

Truly, kind of all my life? I've loved books, reading, and words since childhood - I was that quirky little kid who preferred going to the library over going to the park 😅 I wrote a LOT in high school and college, but I doubted myself too much to ever do anything with any of it. I never submitted short stories to publishing houses, never posted any of my fanfics online as a result. I took a long break from writing after graduating college and only recently got back into it, about... late 2021, I want to say? I re-read some fave old Soul Eater fanfics and got inspired to take up the metaphorical pen again, and I'm so glad I did. Now it feels like all I do with my life is write and I wouldn't have it any other way tbh!

Favorite Tropes/Storylines To Write:

Boy oh boy, where to even begin? I love romance, comedy, and the wonderful intersection of the two in the form of the ROMANTIC COMEDY, which im sure is pretty obvious given the kinds of fics I tend to post. I write as a form of escape from reality and use humor to cope and process big feelings, so writing rom-coms with a lot of heart and mature themes at their core is my jam.

In terms of tropes - my faves are the following, in no particular order: Friends to Lovers, Idiots In Love, Boy Falls First, Found Family (im actually a HUGE SLUT for this one and want to write it so badly!), Second Chance Romance, Animal Companions (i utilize this one a TON in my original fiction), Cozy Fantasy and/or stories that seamlessly weave magic or supernatural elements into the "real" world... and lastly, not really a trope, but Character Driven Stories are the GOAT.

Also... I just really love writing smut. PWP one-shots are my guilty pleasure. >:3

Hidden Gems/Underhyped Faves:

I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED!

Books (though two of these are comics technically):

-SAGA by Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples: adult graphic novel space epic series full of memorable characters and absolutely gorgeous art that tackles a lot of tough stuff and has made me feel the full spectrum of human emotion

-The Tea Dragon Society by K. O'Neill: a wholesome, heartwarming all ages comic chocked full of pocket-sized dragons and the COZIEST fantasy vibes EVER

-The Locked Tomb series: idk if it counts as an underrated fave/hidden gem cause the book series has a pretty sizable and active fan base, but im recommending it anyway cause Harrowhark Nonagesimus is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction, and if you like stories that explore both romantic and platonic partnership dynamics, you should give it a read if you haven't already!!

Shows/Anime:

-D. Gray-Man: shounen anime set in Victorian England about exorcists and featuring the most Cinnamon Roll Main Character in the Universe who I will always love with my whole heart, Allen Walker

-Re:Creators: a reverse isekai in which fictional characters are suddenly pulled from their universes into the real world and tackles the question of what fiction/art mean to us humans, one of my favorite shows of ALL TIME with excellent music composed by Hiroyuki Sawano

-Baccano!: a sort of steampunk/fantasy caper involving alchemists, immortals, outlaws, gangsters, an immortality elixir, and a murder mystery on a train, told in a non-linear format that really puzzles the brain on the first couple of watches

-Witch Hat Atelier: is technically a manga but is getting an anime soon! A series about a young girl who goes to magic school to become a witch, featuring an excellent magic system and gorgeous art

Movies:

-this answer is already soooooo long so ill just recommend my favorite movie of all time, PACIFIC RIM, which if you haven't seen you should WATCH RIGHT AWAY because it has the partners trope you love! Its a 2013 sci-fi flick directed by Guillermo del Toro about kaijus invading Earth from outer space, and the giant, dual-piloted robots that humanity devises to fight back with, and was so revolutionary in its portrayal of its main female character that it created a whole new benchmark for assessing portrayal of women characters in fiction (The Mako Mori Test).

In conclusion - thanks for giving me an excuse to ramble on and on, and I do truly hope you enjoyed all this drivel! 🙏😁

#cherry chatters #dear god this got LONG #hehe asks are fun :3

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tizzymcwizzy · 1 year

Note

I've read through what a few others have said and I hope you dont mind someone else chiming in as well-- It started out as a comment reply on the post but it got too long ;;

Alongside being a retelling, Stampede, or at least S1, is technically a kinda-sorta prequel sort of situation, since the final event of Stampede is something that happens before the main story of '98 and the manga.

The characterisation in Stampede isn't exactly inaccurate to the manga per se, but since it is a retelling that recontextualises and restructures a ton, it's definitely not 1:1. But for that matter the 1998 anime is also not 1:1 with characterisation, and I'd argue that it's just a bit farther off due to some of the comedy choices that were made, which were rather OOC in comparison to the manga, and also because of some of the plot changes due to the manga not being finished, as you previously mentioned.

Many of the more serious themes present in the manga also come through much stronger in Stampede, so far, than in 1998 despite the greater deviance from the manga's plot right off the bat. But I would say the first part of the manga is a lot easier to read through if you've watched 1998 first, since beat-for-beat, there's generally more similarities between the two, which makes sparsing out what's happening less of a task. The manga's pacing however, imo, is actually more similar to Stampede's (fast, a lot happening) ironically. 1998 has a lot of filler very early on which makes it the odd one out in terms of pacing.

The manga is definitely darker than the 1998 anime, and Stampede seems to, so far at least, not be shying away from those darker elements. While there is some of the same fun in the first portion of the manga as in 1998, the latter portion is very much a seinen, and Nightow takes full advantage of the ability to explore more mature themes that being under this demographic label offers.

Also, as a side note, some of the production team for Stampede actually hadn't watched the 1998 anime prior to making Stampede, and had only read the manga, which is part of why there's such a stark tonal difference between the two anime specifically. It's very hard to pit them against each other in any definitive way, so I definitely second that it's worth experiencing each iteration!

YEAH!!! i really appreciate it this!!!! yeah, i know fuck all about what the manga has and doesn't have cause ive been trying to avoid as many spoilers as i can for it so this is really helpful, i didn't know that the characterization is so different within 98 and the manga, that's gonna be fun to explore lol, also that the tone was pretty different! i know trigun is lighter than trigun maximum so im also interested to see how that plays out

and also yes! i do know stampede is a prequel, retelling, sorta thing,, it just rolls over a lot of the character introductions and like, early storybeats within it's prequel to the main storyline while also including flashbacks and shit that happen later in the 98 anime so it's confusing to classify

thanks so much for your input! i really appreciate it cause i have no clue abt this stuff, again, haven't read the manga yet :)

#super helpful #also i hope i didnt like disuade anyone with my incorrect info abt the similarities from 98 to the manga!#ask #trigun #anon #tizzy talks

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yugiohz · 2 years

Text

my chainsaw man review :) major spoilers be warned

Genre: I think it’s funny how, for the most part, csm makes it a point to repeatedly mock the hero archetype only for the story to have a VERY heroic ending with the city getting attacked by a Devil and Denji getting ready to fight it’s oddly satisfying .

World building: initially, I was left very dissatisfied with the world building: csm establishes several interesting elements, it never really bothers to expand on these, let alone explain its magic system but halfway through the story it becomes clear that csm is much less about the world/magic system/an abstract us vs them conflict and much more about how everything relates to Denji’s character, so in hindsight I don’t mind the lack of in-depth world-building because it’s a character-driven story, which I did not expect but enjoyed and even prefer tbh.

Which brings me to my next point

Characters: as I said, it’s a character-driven story and thus focuses heavily on Denji, which on one hand is great because he’s an intriguing protagonist but on the other, every other character falls very flat next to him, which I personally don’t mind since it’s easy to only focus on Denji but yeah I did notttt care about 90% of the cast. Power is a really fun character and Aki is cute but outside of the main trio I really did not care about who dies and who survives.

The one thing that lowered csm’s enjoyment factor significantly for me was the female characters’ writing; every non-Power csm can be reduced to one quirky characteristic and I could not care less about himeno (had to google her name) dying she’s so pathetic im sorryyyy but she needs to work on her issues and stop pining after boys that are significantly younger than her it was a bit repulsing rip.

Theme: I think csm’s strength definitely lies in its theme of consumption and how it reflects the diegetic power politics. Food/consumption metaphoric is rlly nice in general and csm implements it really well for a manga, it was easy to catch on quickly and anticipate more and the ending was very satisfying so all in all interesting theme, nice development and good closure. I know there’s also religious themes but I didn’t really notice those tbh but there’s videos on that I’m gonna watch maybe it’s gonna change my general opinion who knows,.

Anyway back to the theme of consumption, I really loved that oneeee, it’s straightforward but nice nonetheless. I really like how the food immediately reflects Denji’s (lack of) power and his vulnerability throughout the chapters: The manga opens with Denji being forced to eat a cigarette (non-edible // Denji is an abandoned child) to eating rotten food (a bit more edible // still alone) to eating basic food (edible but really odd combination (the sandwich)// lives with aki so he’s slowly socializing) to eating fancy food in a restaurant (big change // socializing, Denji has worth) to eating Makima (climax). It’s interesting how his triumph over her is different from manga like a*t (sorry) where it’s violent mid-fight consumption. Instead, he takes his time to prepare her as a meal which emphasizes his newly-gained agency through this deliberate performance, which is really important I think because throughout the manga, several adult women take advantage of his vulnerability and powerlessness so yeah the final cannibalistic act is nice because it reflects denji’s development and growth so well, albeit morbidly.

Narrative foils: Lastly I don’t want to get too much into the grooming, I think on one hand it’s definitely meant to emphasize Denji’s vulnerability so it has a right to exist in the story, on the other it quickly turns voyeuristic (and fetishistic) which I could only side-eye it is what it is. One thing I’ll say is that Makima wasn’t really a complex/interesting antagonist to me, she works well and is the perfect antagonist for this very specific protagonist (denji as a very limited focalising protagnoist vs Makima as an omniscient but closed antagonist) but outside of their antithetic dynamic, I think she’s boring but I also know the author did not have me in mind when he wrote csm so it’s whatever jskncd.

LASTLY csm has some reallyyyyyy really beautiful paneling and art I loved taking my time to stare at some pages I am sooo obsessed with the gun devil (?)’s attack and how the death count was displayed so neatly in front of the silent visual chaos, also the whole snowball scene was cinema!!!!

6.5/10 I think but im not sure im so bad with concrete ratings let’s say it was a ride.

#csm spoilers #chainsaw man spoilers #not rebloggable bjt feel free to disagree or comment etc etc this is all very subjective etc #idk what else I should tag this as I don’t thing anymore cw apply and it’s clear that I’m spoiling a lot

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insertpoetryhere · 1 year

Note

Wait im really interested abt what you said about kuze,, will you explain it? Only if you dont mind ofc

With delight and pleasure! I’m always looking for an excuse to talk about the manga.

So for context, this idea came from a conversation I was having with a friend about the possibility of a second season of Ouran. Specifically, we were discussing what we would want to see if they decided to revisit the anime. My stance was that the entire show would have to be redone in order for it to be an adaptation instead of a teaser since they left out smaller details that snowballed into larger plot points.

Enter: Kuze.

One of my personal favorite things about Ouran is it’s sense of timing and the fact that the characters aren’t interchangeable. A scene meant for Tamaki could never happen if you switched him with Kyoya, and a scene with Kyoya won’t work if you switch him out with Kaoru. Haruhi entering a plot point at one moment will drastically change it if she is meant to enter at another point. It all plays into the very natural feeling story progression. While these probably sound like they’re obvious elements of storytelling, there are a lot of pieces of media that don’t have that quality to them.

The things that happen in Ouran happen in a certain order for a reason, simply because switching the order that information is given drastically changes what the information means.

Takeshi Kuze is not a very big player in the overarching storyline, but he stands out from the other one-off characters. First up, he has a more personal connection to one of the hosts than most of the other background characters do. And second, he almost exclusively shows up during the more high-stakes competitive arcs (namely the Ouran Fair and the Sports Festival). His absence from the anime is a bit jarring, but not surprising since he also can’t be separated from the main plot of the manga very easily.

For those who don’t know, the ending of the anime is an arc that doesn’t happen in the manga. It was made exclusively to give the anime an open ended but still satisfying conclusion. In its place in the manga was a string of smaller arcs that all led up to the Ouran Fair, including one where several clubs compete for the location of the school’s central salon. This is when we meet Takeshi Kuze, Kyoya’s rival and childhood friend.

I could go on and on for weeks about how much I love the string of events, but we don’t have time for that so I will try to contain myself.

Kuze’s existence and relationship with Kyoya serves three purposes. 1.) To juxtapose Kyoya’s relationships with the hosts (mostly tamaki). 2.) To establish that Kyoya has a competitive streak. 3.) To imply that there are people who Kyoya doesn’t *have* to be nice to. And he is introduced in the same general timeframe where we meet Mr. Ootori and get to know a bit more about how Kyoya very intentionally sidelines himself and let’s Tamaki take the glory.

This all adds up to the idea that Kyoya, despite their friendship, deeply resents the fact that his family wants him to keep Tamaki in the spotlight for their own benefit. It also shows that his relationship with Kuze acts as a balancing factor, allowing him to be petty without stepping too far out of line.

This is established quickly and effectively by having it be so central in the Ouran Fair arc, giving us a certain expectation for how interactions between Kyoya and Kuze will play out in the future without having to focus too much on Kuze individually.

This changes with the Sports Festival arc. Despite only seeing him a handful of times prior, the audience has a certain expectation when Kuze enters the picture. But this expectation is shifted when Tamaki interjects, throwing both audience and characters off. Not only that, but the shift in status quo makes Kuze’s petty but harmless jabs turn into really hard-hitting attacks at Kyoya’s insecurities. This makes all of his pre-established resentment take center stage and results in him agreeing to a sports festival under the condition that he and Tamaki compete against one another.

The Sports Festival gives Kyoya the opportunity to work through some of that pent up anger without his family’s supervision. This in turn helps his friendship with Tamaki take a much healthier turn. This turn is also what prompts Kyoya to try and find Tamaki’s mother while he is in France.

When he does find her and sees that she is in perfect health, he realizes that this doesn’t line up with the description of her illness. This leads him to doing more research, thus kicking the second act of the story into gear.

Each of these steps is important and cannot function properly if you cut out any of the others. So while Kuze himself is only a minor role, he is needed to kickstart this specific chain of events. The role can’t be filled by any other character.

In conclusion: I love he

#takeshi kuze #ouran high school host club #kyoya ootori #ohshc

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tsukidrama · 1 year

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alice in borderland ending is so ass booty garbage, a rant by me.

okay yeah, i get what the borderland is. its purgatory. all of their hearts stopped and they were between life and death. they're all literally fighting for their lives. if they die in the games they die in real life. but tbh ANY of the scenarios Mira describes would feel like a more fitting ending.

it doesn't make sense that the only thing that really mattered for their survival was their own "desire to live"? i get it from a storytelling perspective in that, well we need the main characters to be alive. but then that makes every death that happened in the games completely pointless. the sacrifices that Chota and Karube made mean absolutely nothing. very few of the people who died WANTED to die? i think of the girl from s1e1 in the very first game, who ran through the wrong door and was lazered. she ran through the door because she wanted to survive - so why did she get shot in the head? how is that not contradictory? the games clearly do not care about the contestants' will to live so i don't get how that can be the reason that the "winners" survive.

what happens to the people who accept residency in the borderlands? do they die for real or do they get to stay there? it would have made more sense for the face cards to be permanent residents. and that would have explained why the games are so inhuman, because the game masters are legit distanced from humanity. or for the permanent residents to be the unexplained people who were watching the games on monitors and betting on the contestants.

so who are any of those people then? does it ever explain? why the hell were cardholders were chosen to be cardholders? if the games were testing everyone, then why were they not all being tested in the same way? like bruh the tests have to be the same in order to be neutral. everyone getting different tests only shows their reaction to a specific situation.

i also don't get why they're being punished in the borderlands. like that's just some nihilistic shit right there! everyone regardless of how they behaved during their lifetime is forced through actual torture. that's Hell! and while i may be approaching the idea of purgatory with a western Christian view, it doesn't make sense that they're being punished just for existing. this system only rewards you if you're very selfish or a sinless little angel.

i saw that in the manga, the driving force behind everything happening is an entity called the Joker, which explains the TV show ending on that card. but the way that the episode ended definitely implied that he was the next thing that was gonna come terrorize them, and not what they'd already faced. everything about s2e8 read like an ending except for that.

is the reason behind all the horror because the Joker made it that way? does he influence the choices that people make? are the people who come to the borderlands the ones responsible for their own misery, and he is just a neutral observer? i guess im just confused by the choice to leave the Joker out (though from what i can tell, the manga doesn't elaborate very much).

can somebody who has read the manga let me know if overall that version makes any more sense? or are there just as many plot holes/unanswered questions? i was really into the series up until the very last episode.

i understand that there's supposed to be an element of "life isn't fair" when it comes to this show. but like??? it's too much! it's too pessimistic, too unfair. it takes away the idea that kindness and love MATTER, that they make a difference. i hate that good people were at a disadvantage in this universe. the only times where things went well for anyone was when people decided to trust each other and work together (good example: Usagi rallying everyone against the Queen of Spades).

my issue is NOT that the borderlands turned out to be the afterlife. it's that it's a very stupid and pessimist take on the afterlife that showcases the darkness in humanity. it's significant that loving and being loved is what got Arisu through until the end. love doesn't exist in the borderlands. but that's fucked up!

the idea is very interesting in concept but was poorly executed in the end. i also don't really get why EVERYONE could go home if it was only Arisu who played and won the final game? that doesn't make sense. i might have missed something there.

tldr; maybe The Good Place has ruined every other show about the afterlife for me. or maybe the Alice in Borderland ending just... sucks?

#alice in borderland #alice in borderland spoilers #alice in borderland meta #aib spoilers #aib 2 spoilers #tsuki speaks

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cacaitos · 2 months

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i shouldnt force this but what do you think abt kakugos whole rising sun reclaiming situation

hmm to be honest.. if it's from the heisei manga. to begin with, it's a ridiculously senseless manga all down to quality. on one hand you got the guy that goes on and on about violence and revenge is always the answer and a count- i mean someone without weapons is weak and prone to be abused by the Every Other and like a woman while a conspicuous rising sun waves behind him fighting the both iron-cross-wearing punk ultra masculine violent misogynistic Other thats also the degenate kink leather-wearing queer (in the slur way) Other. and for some reason im supposed to get any productive synthesis out of that conflict. and like, at some point it gets all so bold, and having read KnS first, i could only imagine as i read that it must be some kind of conclusion or twist or literally anything at the end. and it then it just ends on a random mid-fight scene.

again, having read KnS first, thats not only yk Finished but that also basically negates basically most of the plot and elements of it, in comparisson heisei not only seems but ultimately revealed as even more amateur, unripe, weak structured, unfinished, thoughtless and useless of a read. furthermore, as i understand from yamaguchi works even beyond KnS, that's still one of his earlier less polished works, his works seem to deconstruct (though i didnt say how successfully) at least from his own experience those value systems, dunno if to his own work specifically tho, if at least from a their media legacy/influence level. but that's an idea i got from that essay i rbd a while ago, idk maybe his manga abt the toku fan one is shit and takes down everything i just said, idk since i havent read it. i look forward to know how he executes shigurui and such, a the toku fan one too, to confirm first hand in time. even if yamaguchi didnt change his stance it's just Weird. Red Flag. but also i don't get the fucking point of it.

deviation aside, if you meant from kakugo no susume, tbh i dont remember if the rising sun thing got assigned to kakugo at x or y, if any, moment; memory fails me. but the military uniform, for ex, to start with is a fair thing to point out to begin with. yes, kakugo is The Good Guy thats categorically opossed to resembling his g.grandfather or his ideologies, yet wears a hs uniform alike to the military japanese imperial one. but focusing on only kakugo is kinda missing the wider landscape. i mean the manga is riddled with that kind of contradiction, and to pick on one is to pick on many others. now, i wouldnt consider KnS any like Mature internal dialogue of fascism or anything, despite at least the textual reprehension for the imperial mindset and material effects/atrocities. the authors themselves admit is kind of a dumb series not precisely unintentionally, and again not the most polished work of yamaguchi, if you wanted to get a thorough and concise conclusion on anything. even if you tried the story wont help you on it lol, thats the thing with questionable quality writng.

#asks #like yes kkg is the one in the military uniform but also i really struggle to assign any covert malicious reading to him stirctly #'defending the weak' bc while ik that can be use rethorical-conviently i mean his thing is that he fights side by side w ky.#jpn POW victims yk that isnt that vague to guess 😭.#but it's important to questing further bc theres still things like the Hagakures living in war criminal hereditary terrain despite opossing #them ideologically. harara that depending on the day of the week either agrees w some things of said ggfather war criminal or ironically #personifies everything fascistggrandpal would despise or hard siding w categorcally antagonistic to fascistggrandpa imperial victims #like kakugo does.#what kind of other the Fiends are. for example.#and what of the Zero Suits that not only are 'made/fueled by imperial victims' but that literally wont work were not for their active #resistence to be used. precisely. as a weapon towards their own people. yet as it happens that theyres still brandished in the #imperial aesthetics.

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