#(*that is I am not into Precure but I heard some things that made me wonder)
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Call to Arms
Note: This drabble contains one instance of racism. In no way do I condone racism. So, here’s your warning against it. Read at your own risk.
For those involved, you are allowed to write your version of events that happen in this drabble.
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There was no tear of paper to alert anyone of the portal’s presence. An alleyway was what greeted them as they exited through the portal. Kamijou Touma, Maira Espoir, Bowen Chuuno, Megumi Aino, the Hunter, Violent Violet and Melanie Sinclair all stood in the alleyway. The noise of people was considerably dampened, and she knew that they would probably be overwhelmed with the amount of people walking the streets at this time of day.
It was at least 8AM, Friday morning.
Melanie took the lead, taking them out of the alleyways and to the sidewalks. This was the shopping area of her town, and it was definitely something. Populated by various men, women and children of different sizes, colours and fashion tastes, some stopped to see watch the seven of them walk by. Touma’s misfortune manifested as him tripping over a cat and falling into a teenage girl. Said teenage girl punched him with the force of a scorned woman, causing him to shout aloud and draw more attention than they needed.
Of course, Melanie had to diffuse the situation and tell them that he was a foreign exchange student here to study English while ushering him away to the group. The remark the teenager said, though, had been something along the lines of a racist remark towards both her and Touma. She’d told them “You ching-chongs should just go back to China!” and stormed off.
Ouch.
Melanie ignored it and got Touma back to the group and continued their trek to the City Hall. It was where she’d been first summoned, and she would go back. To deny that spot entirely, and to face him down. It was quiet, save for some idle chatter from Megumi and Touma as well as Maira chiming in every so often. Bowen, the Hunter and Violet were quiet, which seemed different from what she knew of Bowen and Violet. The Hunter, though? She expected that from him.
But she didn’t expect that from everyone.
The trek to City Hall was waylaid by stoplights and crosswalks. Melanie had to drag Touma back onto the sidewalk before he got hit by a car, and then had to deal with the Hunter just crossing the street and holding up traffic. People angry honked while they crossed, and some cussed them out. All the Hunter had to do was look in their direction and they suddenly quieted down. The third time, the light somehow was green when it shouldn’t have been. Melanie pressed the light changing button but no sound emitted.
It was broken.
So, yet again, the Hunter crossed the street and held up traffic. There was even a Police Car. Melanie had to explain the situation and gesture to the light while traffic was stalled. It turned into the officer getting someone on the situation and letting them off scot-free.
However, the fourth time of street crossing got a bit dicey.
The light was green and it was okay for them to cross. Unfortunately, one of the cars almost hit Touma, screeching to a stop before they hit him and honking the horn.
“Get out of the road, asshole!” Came the voice of the driver.
“Right of way!” Melanie shouted back. “You’re running a red light!”
The driver got out of the car. A burly 6′0″ man with a shaved head and who looked like he got a chip on his shoulder. Immediately, he walked up to Melanie and shoved her, causing the group’s hackles to rise as they prepared for a fight. “You wanna go, you little whore?! Huh?!”
Melanie stumbled back from the shove, before gripping her fist tight and shouting, punching towards him but the fist never connected. In a near instant, the man’s body was blown backwards by the sheer force of the punch. Standing straight, she dusted her hands off and started walking again.
“Are you alright, Melanie?” Maira asked, concerned. Melanie nodded.
“That guy was a jerk.” Megumi commented.
“He nearly hit me with his car!” Touma was still a little shaken up by that.
At least the rest of the way there, which took an hour, was uneventful besides that. When they started to approach the City Hall, Melanie stopped walking for a few minutes. Staring at the building, looking at what it looked like. As if she’d never seen it before, but she had.
“This is it. This is where he resides. Let’s go... and stay close to me.”
They walked up the staircase leading to the automatic doors, with them sliding open and allowing them to walk inside. But Melanie knew where she was going, heading to the Administration Office. As requested, her friends did stay near her and watched as she opened the door.
The world around them faded away, replaced by the corridor she’d walked down not even a few days ago. She walked down it, and so did they. It was quiet, the sound of their footsteps the only thing they heard. The corridor seemed to stretch on, but Melanie gestured at Touma.
He reached out, touching the air in front of them with his right hand. Shattering it completely and forming the door only a few feet away. She walked forward, shoving it open and being greeted with the same greenery and waterfall that had been there when she last came here.
“I thought I’d cut off all avenues to this world. It seems I underestimated your pocket dimension.” Out of nowhere, a man clad in black appeared. His long pink hair was tied back in a ponytail and he seemed almost infuriated. “What is the meaning of this?”
“I’m here to reject your offer.” Melanie said.
“Nonsense. You’ll do as you’re told and take the seat. Become my bride as I have made you to be!” The man shouted.
“I’m not becoming anyone’s bride, shitface!” Melanie shouted back. “I’m not some doll you can pull around! I’m a human being, and I’m going to be free to choose what I want to do!”
“Melanie is not your toy!” Maira said, irritated.
“She’s our friend!” Megumi pulled out her PreChanMirror and Card.
The Hunter pulled out the red gun he usually wielded, training it on the man. As soon as he fired, the man vanished and appeared behind Melanie, kicking her in the back and sending her flying into the nearby clifface. She fell backwards onto her back, and turned over to get up but was covered by rocks except for her arms and head.
The battle began at that exact moment.
“Precure Rolling Mirror Change!” Megumi was surrounded by a pink light and changed into Cure Lovely. Immediately after, she called an attack, only to be grabbed in the face and tossed aside into the river nearby. Touma, too, was quickly taken out with a knee to the gut. The Hunter started to shoot at him again, firing with precision, but the man would disappear before any shot connected. Maira summoned a bright, glaring light, which stunned him for a few moments while Bowen also began to fire on the man.
It was clear, even with the help, they were outmatched. Violet went in to attack but he avoided it cleanly. “Hmm, even bringing a God Hunter...” The man seemed to already know about her, and that was shocking. “No matter, I am not a God, so your tricks will not work.”
The Hunter moved, sheathing the red gun and holding the golden, cylindrical casing to his chest. Melanie, who was struggling to get up from under the rocks on top of her, recognized what he was going to do. The familiar magic was starting up again.
“Soil is my power!” A circular part of the casing withdrew, extending out what seemed to be a drill. Long, black blades appeared shortly after and started to turn, creating a torrent of black wind. The Magun formed from the casing, from the blackened wind, and the man turned to face the Hunter. Unlike with the others, this was new. Noting his shocked expression, Melanie realized something.
Unlike the others, he couldn’t see to Wonderland. He knew nothing about the Hunter, nothing about what he could do. And that was their advantage. After the Magun had thawed, with the Hunter saying as such, he extended out a hand, pointing in the man’s direction. She remembered this clearly. He’d used it before during her tenure in Wonderland... The Magun.
“The Soil Charge Triad to use on you has been decided!” He reached into his belt, plucking a familiar Soil from its place.
“A bladestorm of bonds, Sword Viridian.” The bullet held a teal-ish green hue in its casing, and it was easily inserted into the Magun with a resounding Click.
Maira looked over, hazel eyes widened. “That magic-”
“The squall of fortitude, Kingdom Blue.” This bullet was a shining blue, as if torn from a kingom itself. It, too, was inserted into the Magun. Click.
“And finally... A prideful gale, Warrior Platinum.” The final bullet was a silvery-white colour, shining brightly as it was placed into the Magun. The final click resounded as the Hunter aimed at the man.
Melanie reached out a hand, finding a thread and gripping it tight. A tearing sound was heard and the man’s appearance faded away to show... a demon. With spiky, long horns and a muzzle for a mouth. It was as if the man was the Devil himself. A hellish roar echoed throughout the area, causing the ground to shake.
It was nothing short of horrific.
Cure Lovely pulled herself out of the river, getting to her feet. Despite being drenched, she yet again called forth an attack. The hellish monster opened its muzzle and shot out a stream of fire at her. It was quickly intercepted by Kamijou Touma, who blocked it with his right hand. The fire dispersed after a few seconds.
“Slaughter! I summon you, Knights of the Round!” With a bang, three colours flew from the barrels of the Magun, twirling and twisting as they flew. The Knights of the Round Summon the Hunter called forth seemed to materialize from the colours, and started their assault upon the hellish being.
Melanie finally got up, the rocks falling away as she did so. The being was avoiding the attacks everyone was trying to attempt on him. Even the summon’s attacks were being avoided. It was like a strange scenario in which the only winner would be the hellish being. She shuddered to think of what would’ve happened had she taken the offer.
But her friends were in trouble.
Melanie started to run towards the hellish being. There was no hesitation as she did so. Her skin started to glow.
“BALWYSIALL NESCELL GUNGNIR TRON!!!!!” She screamed, seemingly tearing her clothes off. But no, they only just vanished to be replaced by a quick transformation with Gungnir forming. She went to punch the hellish being but he avoided her as well. And then appeared in front of her, grabbing her by the throat and starting to choke her as he raised her up into the air.
Melanie couldn’t breathe, which meant she couldn’t sing.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The sound of a clock ticking filled their ears. The world around them grayed out, and even the hellish being was surprised enough to drop her. Footsteps echoed throughout the area, and Cure Lovely was the first to speak up.
“Who-”
“How did you escape my timelock?” A voice asked. It belonged to a young woman, who looked to be about twenty-two years old. She had short black hair tied back in a half-ponytail and teal eyes, wearing a long dark blue dress and black boots. But the odd thing was, she looked almost like an older version of Melanie. The hellish being roared, but soon turned gray himself. The young woman walked up to the group, and looked at all of them.
“They call me Azem, the Traveler.” She said. “Time magic is... somewhat of a pain to use, but I’m getting used to it. Anyways, it looks like you need more help. Fellow Traveler, who are the friends you hold close to your heart?” Azem looked to Melanie, who lowered her head and closed her eyes.
“Why are you here?” Touma asked.
“I’m here to help my counterpart, of course.” Azem said. “The one born from the orchestrations of a deluded demon. She and I are cut of the same cloth. I can see a shard of my own soul within her.” A chuckle came from her, and she inclined her head. “So, Traveler. Tell me who are your friends you hold close to your heart.”
“......” Melanie nodded. “Yukine Chris, Kazanari Tsubasa, Kohinata Miku, Lloyd Irving, Colette Brunel, Regal Bryant, Meteor Survivor and G’raha Tia.”
Azem laughed a little, before holding out an orange stone. “Here, Traveler. Use this and summon them forth to your side.”
Melanie took the stone, staring at it. She’d seen Meteor with this same stone once before. Hythlodaeus had given it to him, and he’d called them both New old friends. Was this because she, too, was a shard of Azem? The woman who called herself Azem smiled a bit.
“Call forth those you hold close and dear to your heart. Your allies of other worlds.”
Melanie closed her fist around the stone, holding it close to her. From where she stood, golden areas started to form. A glyph surrounded her, with eight circles that soon emitted light from them. Azem kicked the hellish being away, sending it sliding across the grayed floor. She stood straight again, looking at it before pulling out a claymore from what seemed to be thin air and assuming a fighting stance.
The lights dispersed one by one, revealing each person whose name Melanie had said before. But there was no time for introductions, as the world soon faded back to normal and the hellish being roared. Melanie handed the stone back to Azem, who pocketed it. The hellish being summoned forth demons of its own kind. There seemed to be many.
The song originating from Melanie’s Symphogear faded out, to be replaced with a different one. Chris, Tsubasa and Miku’s Symphogears did the same, once they summoned their Gears from the pendants they wore. A Unison.
One brings shadow, one brings the light
Two toned echoes, tumbling through time
Three score wasted, ten cast aside
Fourfold knowing, no end in sight
“Let’s end this!” Melanie shouted.
The music gave way to the girls singing the song together. The hellish being roared and charged Melanie, who moved out of the way as fast as she could. Azem made a taunting gesture, causing the hellish being’s focus to be turned onto her instead. Provoking him to her. She pulled something dark out of her chest, letting it rise. A shadowy figure.
As the battle began, the sixteen of them split off into groups of four each, which meant each group had at least one Symphogear user with them. Swords swung, guns fired, magic was cast and punches thrown. Weapons were used without end, and the battle raged on without a seeming end. The Knights of the Round moved independently of the groups, helping decimate the demonic hoarde attacking them.
Melanie could feel power swelling up inside of her. She remembered this once before. Everyone could feel it. A swell of power from within them, from origins unknown. The groups fell back.
As if in the back of their minds, they all heard a shing sound. It was time to pull forth all their respective power and finish this off. Destroy this monster before it got any worse. It was like four Limit Break bars had filled up, and it was time to use them all.
A song resounded out, as if sung by all of them in their hearts. The Swan Song of the Valkyries, a song of Finé’s thoughts of causing the Curse of Babel. It resounded loud, though none of them were singing. The four Symphogear Users’ gears transformed into a different form of X-Drive. Their hair brightened with a gradient to it, and flared out. Wings made of fire expanded out, and they lost some of the clunkiness of the Gear.
Burning X-Drive. The one they’d used before, against Shem-Ha.
Glowing runes surrounded the group, and it was time.
LIMIT BREAK
The group rushed the hellish being, each one attacking with various weapons and spells. It was like a charge attack, with each person going after another. Each attack pushed the hellish being more and more towards the clifface that he’d thrown Melanie into. The Knights of the Round proceeded to pin him to it, and Melanie stepped forward.
She put both hands together, connecting the gauntlets and letting the spear form from it. She then pointed it towards the hellish being, in a form reminiscent of Elidibus during the fight at the Crystal Tower on the First. Her friends stood behind her, readying themselves for another attack.
“We are salvation given form!” Melanie shouted, and two ghostly hands placed themselves on hers. She knew who they were. Elidibus and Kanade, lending her a hand. How odd was it that an Ascian was helping her.
“Mankind’s heroes, and their final hope!” The words were foreign, coming out of her mouth, but this was true. The sixteen of them were the hope of this world. Even though they were from different worlds, they had all come together for this. Melanie delivered the final blow, empowered by her friends.
Piercing the hellish being with the cursed spear, Gungnir.
As if crumbling to dust, the hellish being lost form. Crumbled from his head to his feet, and was blown away by the wind. Melanie stood there after all was said and done, still holding the spear out. The ground rumbled and started to shake. The ceiling seemed to start to fall.
“We need to leave now!” Azem shouted. They all booked it to the door, leaving behind the battlefield they had fought on. Once outside and on the sidewalk away from City Hall, they watched as it crumbled to the ground. No one ever went there, but the people of the city stopped to watch the empty building crumble.
It was as if something changed. The world seemed to brighten up, and Melanie felt... lighter.
This was the beginning of a life orchestrated by herself alone.
--
Saying goodbye had never been her strong suit.
Melanie had opened fifteen portals, each pointing to different destinations. The worlds she’d brought them from.
One by one, they left. Each given a “see you later” by Melanie, who hoped to actually see them again. Once all fifteen portals closed after the respective person walked through it, Melanie was left with Azem. She looked to the Traveler and tilted her head to the left some.
“Do you need me to-”
“No. But before I go...” She held out the stone Melanie had given back. “I’ve learned all I can from the memories held in this stone. It’s time I passed it on to my counterpart, my fellow Traveler of the Stars.”
Melanie took the stone and put it in her pocket. “....Thank you, Azem.”
“See you again.” Azem turned away and walked off before seemingly vanishing into nothingness. Melanie was left alone, standing there on the sidewalk. She walked back towards the now-crumbled City Hall and felt no magic. It truly was over.
“So the imposter has been vanquished. Quite a feat.” The voice of the Overseer had Melanie on edge, immediately turning around to see-- a young man with long black hair and eyes that looked like they contained galaxies. Wearing just a plain graphic tee that had the Disney logo on it, slacks and velcro shoes. Nothing like the Overseer she’d seen before.
“Who--”
“I am the Overseer, Ryan.” The young man bowed. “The true Overseer. I assume this form is capable of being seen by you, as you addressed me.”
“Yeah, it is-- but why-- who--?”
“I am here to offer you the seat of God of this World. This will not change anything, though I will require you to come back every now and again. No staying away for years on end anymore.” He offered a smile. “And no, I will not be attempting to take you as my bride. You’ll find someone in your eternal lifetime, Melanie Sinclair.”
“....So, this means...” She didn’t know what it meant.
“If you take it, you will become a God. An immortal being, with powers unimaginable. And I would like you to take it, as you are the only mortal who can. The others ended up like...” He could only glance at the City Hall behind him. So, the false Overseer was a man who was once given said position? Melanie could barely believe it.
“What if I don’t?”
“Then I will wait until another few centuries. But I would like you to take it. You are compassionate, kind and do not kill without cause or reason. I did not orchestrate your birth like he did, but I have been watching. And you are currently the only one who can do this. I implore you-”
Melanie shrugged.
“At this point, I think it’s obvious if we leave it for someone else... That’ll happen. So yes. I’ll take it.”
Ryan chuckled just a bit and held out a hand. A pulse of energy emitted from it and went into her. For a few moments, nothing happened until Melanie suddenly clutched at her chest and groaned. It hurt. But she endured, and soon stood back upright. The Overseer smiled.
“Welcome to Godhood, Melanie Sinclair.”
Melanie gave a small smile. Nothing would change from here, she was just an ordinary girl with God powers now. It was just another Tuesday.
And things would remain as they were for her.
For the rest of her immortal life.
-----
@project-rebirth @tetsuwan-atom @rosecoloredmuses @kazeofthemagun @lunar-mage-mare @xbloodsoakedx
Thank you for allowing me to use your characters for this drabble!
Final Word Count: 3,701 words
#a story of might and magic ;; [ drabbles ]#tw racism#racism cw#this is it y'all. this is the full drabble.
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Tear ducts of Coral
Fandom: Tropical Rouge PreCure
Ship: Laura/Sango
Word Count: 3.8k
Tags: Out of Character, Body Horror, Gore, Xenobiology, Unrequited Pining
Minori adjusted her glasses and blinked when something had suddenly caught her attention during the Tropical Club’s latest endeavour: script writing. She turned her head, robotically, to the side and the increasing motion in just one little square of the desks they had bumped together had gotten Sango and Asuka to notice as well. Manatsu, however, was still scribbling away at her Ultra Hyper Pineapple Squad idea, whatever that was.
“Laura, do you mind me asking a personal question?” Minori asked.
“Huh?” Laura’s hand flopped around as she lazily, but in a fashion that was oddly regal at the same time which indicated that Laura was now paying attention. Somewhat, at least. “Pardon, you want to ask a personal question?” she addressed Minori.
Her tail twitched as Laura played with her hair, all whilst she remained propped up on Manatsu’s desk. Speaking of, Manatsu was paying attention as well, she chewed on her pencil as Laura tried to decide if she wanted to answer Minori’s question or not before, ultimately, she shrugged her shoulders.
“Yes.” Minori confirmed.
Laura sighed heavily, “So long as its not too personal, I suppose I don’t mind.”
“Good, I don’t think it is too personal, but you may find it odd,” Minori prefaced her statement, “but how accurate is the human trope of mermaids who cry pearls?”
“Only happens once in a while.” Laura replied. “Sometimes its rubies, emeralds, it can be anything and everything. There have even been instances of mermaids crying seafoam, seaweed, and even sea grapes. It really depends.”
Manatsu gasped and then blinked, “What are we talking about?” she asked.
“The thought crossed my mind whilst I was adapting my novel into the script format of a movie and I recalled hearing notions of mermaids crying seafoam, and even pearls, so the curiosity struck me to ask.” Minori explained.
“I’ve never heard of any of that but I’m not exactly a mermaid otaku like you, Minorin.” Asuka said and she crossed her arms, glancing at Laura, and her brow twitched, “Argh, now I gotta know, what kind of tears do you cry, Laura? We all cry salt water, if that alleviates the burden.”
“Crying hurts so I don’t cry.” Laura replied, brusque.
“O-oh,” Sango piped up shyly, “I thought you would have looked really pretty crying tears of pearls, that’s probably a cruel thing to say.”
“It is.” Laura sniped but she looked smug about it.
Sango flinched. She hadn’t meant to be cruel about it and Laura relished the reaction. She laughed. But then when Asuka gave her a scolding glare, Laura let it go. She sighed again.
“It sounds peculiar to me, that crying doesn’t hurt.” Laura mused.
“Yep, not at all, in fact, it feels really good after.” Manatsu said. “I cried heaps on the way to Aozora when I was leaving my Dad behind on the island but whoa, I felt tropica-shining afterwards once it was all done.”
Laura cringed, she was unsettled by the idea that crying could be painless, “But I suppose unless you’ve actually experienced it, its difficult to understand but yes. Crying hurts so I don’t cry. Besides, mermaids only really cry when love is involved,” she explained, “so I don’t ‘love’ either.”
“I don’t follow?” Sango murmured.
Laura glanced at the others and sighed heavily, “I mean, yes, mermaids ‘love’ one another. We go forth, procreate, bring more spawn into the world. We love swimming and we love pretty, shiny objects but there’s a love that is uniquely human. More than a means to an end or a satisfaction of greed or lust or gluttony. We are not in possession of this feeling that I see in each and everyone of you each and every day.”
Manatsu gasped ad her face began to glitter with a huge grin. Laura’s own expression softened in return, pleasing Asuka and intriguing Sango. Regardless, Laura continued after this micro-second of a pause to her speech.
“Fittingly, it does make me envious, but every boon has its bane, so I am content not being flawed by this particular human characteristic.” Laura checked her nails and her voice quietened, not to a mumble, just became disheartened. “Of course, not every mermaid is as pragmatic as I. Hence, they cry. Poor little silly things who have gone and hurt their hearts. It’s a sickness, a contagion, and I will do anything to remain impervious to it.”
“I see.” Minori said, her voice calm and even in a way that none of the other girls’ voices could have been had they been the first to respond to Laura’s tirade. “Thank you for answering my question, I can make amendments to my script – and my novel – per this new information.”
“Your welcome.” Laura replied like she was bragging.
With that, the conversation finished and when the girls checked the time, they realised it was late enough to end club activity anyways, so they tidied up and left for the day. They parted ways thereafter with an unusual mood to them. It was sombre and peculiar. Laura seemed mostly unaffected by it, based on what she would yell from the Aqua Pot but the person who seemed most affected, but it was Sango.
She had done her very best to hide it but her old facades were more difficult for her to wear nowadays since meeting and befriending Manatsu. She couldn’t quite suppress herself and her feelings quite so adeptly nowadays. She had thought it for the better but the tremor in her heart of present was disturbing her. Asuka and Minori could both tell but they waved Sango goodbye without issue, nonetheless. Their small gestures looked so out of place beside Manatsu who waved huge arcs goodbye to her when Sango could barely muster flicks of her fingers in reply.
Sango went home and her head was swimming with Laura’s words. They were blunt but they were also morbid. Sango had never been intrigued by that sort of thing before. She was the type to be scared of her own shadow, let alone of all the bumps in the night and anything else a little unusual but this was something else. Perhaps it was because of how she pined for Laura, to know that it would be doomed because of some sort of incompatibility of emotions – that human love and mermaid love were completely different – or maybe its because she was vain.
Ruminating with this new knowledge that was ruining her, Sango stood in front of the mirror in her ensuite bathroom. On her tiptoes, she got up close enough to the mirror so that even the shallowest of her breaths fogged it, so that she could see every pore underneath her eyelid. She was the daughter of an accomplished make-up artist and seller, she would be considered scathed if she wasn’t a little bit vain and now Sango wondered what she would look like if every bout of her own cry-babyishness had caused her to be scarred. The notion of her cheeks being scarred by the rivets of tears previously shed was particularly made her shudder.
In the involuntary movement, Sango felt her heart tremor. She disliked the sensation and what lingered after it. This first twinge that something was amiss inside of herself.
She had been trying to ignore it all afternoon. To know that her crush could never come to fruition, Sango had avoided thinking about it but now her eye was all that she could see which meant all she could see was herself and her own flaws of being human. A human with a big but fragile heart, no less.
Her crush on Laura could be pinpointed to one specific catalyst: meeting her and becoming a Pretty Cure. She had been awestruck, seeing a real-life mermaid for the first time, and she had felt her heart flutter. The sound of her singing lured Sango: it was sweet, melodic, utterly incomparable to anything that she had heard before, so Sango opened that door. Beyond it, there she beheld Laura for the very first time, leaving her breathless.
She was beautiful, basking in the sun and its ray glittering off the surface of the pool as she swam through it. Elegant but slovenly. Sango knew immediately that she wanted to get closer. And so, she did. Hands on the glass, eyes wide, observing this creature that she had only seen before in the wildest of dreams and in the most fictional of fairy tales.
Given that Laura – and Manatsu – had offered to make her a Pretty Cure, Sango had assumed that maybe Laura wanted to get closer to her as well. Even if she turned her nose up at the idea of storybooks where mermaids gave up their mermaidness for humans that they fell in love with. She had thought, at the time, it was because Laura was uniquely a self-absorbed priss, but she realised now that she was wrong.
The books were wrong. Sango felt her eye grow wet as she stared at her own reflection distorted by being so close up to it. A mermaid would never give up her tail because mermaids don’t fall in love like humans do. Sango swallowed and the teardrop in her eye shone before turning into a jewel.
Sango watched, in horror, at the clear bead of her teardrop turned blood red. It streaked down her cheek and her stomach lurched with pain. A polyp branched out jaggedly from her tear duct. Sango squeaked in pain and her eyes watered. Only for that water to twist and form into a tentacle of… of… of coral.
Sango stumbled back away from the mirror. She clamped her hand over her mouth, and she willed herself not to make a noise. Not a sound. She didn’t want to disturb her mother because she didn’t know how to explain the fact that coral was growing from her tear ducts. Well, she was reasonably certain that it was coral.
These clusters that edged ever so slowly and so painfully out of her eyes were beautiful. As fearful of them as she was, Sango was awed by their innate prettiness as she tried to understand what was happening. As her vision now had criss-crosses and peculiar formations in the peripheries. Twisting, branching out like they were completely and utterly natural.
She inhaled deeply and slowly took her hand off her mouth. She could feel her eyes water but the stinging pain of calcium carbonate solidifying in the teeny tiny channels of her tear duct and the veins of her eyes was unimaginable. But she was a Pretty Cure. She would be strong and so, she tested her theory.
Very tenderly, Sango touched the scarlet polyps that were growing from her eyes where her teardrops had been cried. Her heart fluttered and her stomach twisted as every inch of her common sense told her not touch the delicate branches climbing out her eyes and yet. Sango did it. And they crumbled at her touch with immense pain.
A squeal of pain escaped Sango’s mouth and her heart leapt her throat. She heard her mother cry out, “Is something wrong, sweetie? Do you need me?” and the lie that she was okay came out her mouth just as easy as the pain. Sango swallowed and she began to cry again. Sango was harrowed as she looked at her fingertips. They were dusted with a crumbly powder that was a pinkish red. Just like coral looked in her mind. And that scared her more than the terrible sensation of cutting and ripping just under her eyes.
The fresh jolts of pain branched through her eyes and with it, came the blood. Sango was chilled as she felt these thin streaks on her cheeks, and it was a vicious cycle. Every time she was hurt, she would cry and every time she cried, she was hurt. The punishment emphasised by her mind which raced as she tried to comprehend the impossibility of what was happening to her.
Although… maybe it wasn’t all that impossible that a human in love with an actual mermaid would contract some sort of gemstone lovesickness from a mermaid. Sango felt herself grow hopeful, but it was a terrible feeling riddled with the polyps of the coral that was emerging from her tear ducts. If a mermaid had gotten her sick, maybe a mermaid could be her cure.
Sango’s hands shook as he made her way back to her bedside table, where her phone was charging. She was very calm as she took her phone off the charger. She opened it up and then her contacts app and then rang Manatsu.
“Hello! Manatsu’s phone!” she bellowed back.
Sango whimpered. The polyps protruding from her tear ducts quivered with the reverberations of Manatsu’s exuberant greeting. Sango tried not to cry but more tears escaped her eyes, mixed with blood and calcium, becoming yet more fragile branches of the coral that was growing from her face.
“Hi Manatsu… I need to see Laura.” she said softly.
“I can just put her on the phone, you know, she’s not totally out of touch with human technology.” Manatsu laughed.
Sango swallowed a strangled noise. She adored Manatsu, she really did, there could be no friend truer nor a friend more hard-headed. She wasn’t normally this abrasive but with such delicate structures spurting out her tear ducts, Sango’s tolerance for such antics was less than usual and yet, she remained sweet as sugar with Manatsu.
“Something has come up, an emergency,” she replied, strained, “so can we please meet somewhere in private?” she asked.
“Oh, okay, um… oh! What about at the cove! Its nice and private and stuff. Its close by both our houses, too!” Manatsu suggested, her voice very, very loud.
Sango winced. She could feel flakes of coral burst and twinge and sprout all over again in reaction to Manatsu’s voice, but she hazarded a smile anyway.
“That sounds good, thank you Manatsu.” Sango replied. “See you there.”
“Yeah, see ya soon.” Manatsu bade her goodbye and thankfully, she hung up first.
Sango sighed with relief. She shuddered and she felt more coral break off her eyes but at least she didn’t shed a tear with it. Though, Sango was still worried about what she looked like. Blood and dust and the like so she hobbled back into her bathroom and was sickened by her own face.
She could hardly recognise herself so frayed with fear. Her own ‘charm point’ mocked by this illness. She saw how the polyps twisted and arched on both sides of her face into sick, love-heart shaped. Her heart throbbed with the whiplash cruelty of that realisation and she felt the polyps move. Their rocky exoskeletons puncturing her veins as she shed more tears that turned into coral.
Sango put her hands over her mouth again. She felt her heart thud in her chest as she tried to power on through the pain, breathing in and out was so difficult but she tried so hard. When she achieved that shaky equilibrium again, where the cycle was temporarily diffused, she put her phone in her pocket and slipped on some shoes.
She felt awful sneaking out, but she didn’t want to worry her mother with this exotic, underwater disease. It was difficult but somehow, she made it out of the house in not too many pieces. It was cold for a late spring-early summer night, making Sango shiver and leave coral dander as she slowly made her way to the cove that Manatsu had agreed to meet her.
Sango had been there a handful of times before. It was a nice little spot that was cosy and even romantic in the daylight hours but at night, it looked a little scary. Even with the cityscape lights behind it and the stars twinkling on the ocean in front of it. Fortunately, Manatsu was there to greet Sango and she waved her down.
“Oiiii,” Manatsu called out, “over here!”
Sango was glad to see her. Tired. But nevertheless, glad to see Manatsu as she hobbled closer and Manatsu blinked. She could tell, immediately, that something was wrong with Sango; how she was trying to hide beneath her fluffy fringe and the floppy plaits by her face was uncharacteristic, even to someone as shy and repressed as Sango.
“You okay?” Manatsu asked.
“Y-Yes, I’m fine,” Sango lied, “so, um, where’s Laura? I really need to speak with her.”
“Oh, um, she’s just over there, in the water, you may have to call for her if she’s underwater, but she was floating just a minute ago.” Manatsu said and she pointed towards the eroded cove.
Even in the dark, that striking image of a twisted love-heart was apparent in the sandstone structure of the cove. The twinkle of the stars above it was dull and below it, the water lapped at the ground. Sango swallowed her fears and her tears. She flashed a smile at Manatsu that was mostly missed.
“Thank you,” Sango replied, “and do you mind giving us some privacy? This matter it’s a bit, um, a bit unusual and hard to explain.”
“Er, yeah, that’s fine, I’ll just, um, wait over there.” Manatsu pointed in the opposite direction of the cove with both her fingers.
Sango sighed with relief, “Thank you.” And yet that didn’t feel competent enough with her gratitude. Nonetheless, Manatsu awkwardly tried to exit from the cove but not too far given that she was Laura’s ride home back to the safety of Manatsu’s place.
Sango, however, began to draw closer to the water’s edge. Her heart thumped in her chest and she could feel the vibrations in the polyps dangling from her eyes by a thread. They were weakening now that she had all dried up the tears that she had wanted to shed but that didn’t make them less threatening to her senses of security in her body or self. She got down on her knees, sitting, at the edge of the cove and Laura breached.
Her eyes were suspicious and cynical, even when barely reflected by starlight bouncing off the water’s perpetually moving and choppy surface. She hiked up her arms over the edge and anchored herself like that. Her tail coming backwards, forming a crest of her back and the water’s surface.
Laura hummed, “I thought humans cried seawater and only seawater.” she teased. “Isn’t that what we established this afternoon at the club meeting?”
“Well, er, we did but…” Sango said. “But have you ever heard of such a thing?! A human who cries coral?”
Laura sighed heavily. It was too late at night for Sango to be so loud and in her exclamation, her hot flush of emotions, there was the sparkle of a possible tear in the moisture of her eyes that gleamed in the dark, framed by coral dyed a blood red in the dim. Laura made a floppy hand gesture as she was deep in thought.
“No, I haven’t.” Laura admitted. “Mermaids crying coral isn’t impossible, of course, but humans? No, not so much… But given when love is involved – and it is, isn’t it, Sango?”
“It is…” Sango murmured, and she fidgeted with the ends of her plaits.
“How trite.” Laura’s voice was pithy with disdain. “A human girl has gone and gotten a crush on a mermaid. It is called a crush, yes?”
“Yes.” Sango mumbled.
Laura wanted to laugh but something stopped her. Even though she could feel the tickle in her throat, something about Sango’s expression was too pathetic even for Laura to worsen.
“I suppose it is possible…” Laura murmured aloud in half spoken thoughts. “I did describe it as a sickness. Given that humans don’t look too dissimilar from the top half to mermaids, yes, it is entirely possible that our weaknesses of physiology are capable of transferring.” Her skin crawled. “I better not have any of your disgusting germs. No way in Triton’s good underworld am I coming down with that ghastly influenza you lot speak of.”
Sango giggled. Although, maybe it was more than a hiccup. She felt just as whiplashed by the unspoken cruelty than if Laura had just straight up addressed it with her jeering.
“But every sickness has a cure, I suppose.” Laura said.
Sango perked up, “Does that mean?” she gasped. “Can you help me?”
“I can think of something, but I have no way of knowing if it’ll cure you.” Laura replied.
“What do you mean?” asked Sango. “How do mermaids normally rid themselves of this sickness?”
“The affliction typically goes away on its own, but I believe a token of severance could go a long way.” Laura explained but it didn’t feel like an explanation.
Sango’s heart skipped a beat and she felt her shoulders prickle as she asked, “And what is a token of severance?”
“A kiss.” Laura replied all too simply on a breathless voice.
“A k-kiss?!” Sango exclaimed.
Laura stared at her idly. She didn’t think it was all that of a big deal. Being stared down by such a cold, if somewhat expressionless, look Sango calmed down. Even though her heart was racing, and she could feel the sting of coral pushing through her tear ducts again, Sango calmed down.
“If you think it’ll help…” Sango murmured.
“I do think it’ll help.” Laura quipped.
And it was upon that cue, before Sango could quite adjust or ask to go slow, Laura swooped in with a kiss. Sango made a noise, but it was smothered in the press of Laura’s lips against her own. Her eyes went wide but Laura’s, curiously, were closed. Her brows twinged as she kissed Sango as hard as she could, like she was trying to perform some sort of CPR. It was awful yet Sango didn’t hold a grudge.
She softened into the kiss. It was her very first kiss and it wasn’t happening anything like she had ever daydreamed, but it was freeing. She could feel the remaining coral in her eyes and her tear ducts crumble to nothingness. To just flecks of sand that she could bat away with her eyelashes. She felt a wet lump in her throat, and she kissed back. She wanted to be cure so badly of her pain, but she could feel the smirk in Laura’s kiss.
Self-important with nothing to spare. Perhaps even relishing having this vast power or strength over Sango since Laura deemed the humanlike ‘love’ of crushes and pining to be beneath her since it caused nothing but pain. A teardrop – yes, a real teardrop – rolled down Sango’s cheek and Laura moved her kiss to lick it. Seawater. How peculiar but she liked it even though it didn’t quite have the nostalgic taste of her underwater home, it was endearing, nonetheless.
“Thank you,” Sango whimpered, shedding more tears, not coral, “for curing me.”
Laura tutted. She pulled back from the kiss and Sango looked a mess in the starlight. Pitiful and pathetic, crying her tears of seawater.
#femslash#tropical rouge pretty cure#tropical rouge#precure#laura (precure)#suzumura sango#sango suzumura#laura x sango#sango x laura#cure coral#cure la mer#writing tag#if this fic is what gets me kicked from r slash precure i'm gonna be sad bc its really not that risque
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First Impressions: Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode
By: Casea Mhtar | @madamekrow
As a fan of Mahou Shoujo, I’ve had my eye on the longstanding Pretty Cure series for quite a while. However, I couldn’t jump into this colorful franchise because it was only available on illegal streaming services. As a Neutral Good, that doesn’t sit well with me. My only other option would be Glitter Force on Netflix, for which I have heard many complaints about the dubbing. So, I decided to forgo that as well. It wasn’t until fairly recently that Crunchyroll has started adding their dubs for Healin’ Good Pretty Cure (their most current season) and Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode that I am finally able to hop right in! I mean, yeah, Crunchyroll had the very first season already, but I’m picky, and I didn’t want to start with that one. Not only that but if I had watched it when I first wanted to get into this franchise, I’d have to wait years before legally watching more seasons! (And why would I sentence myself to such a horrible fate?!) Frivolous complaints aside, I now have my chance to start this series exactly where I wanted to in the first place: Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode!!
What Should You Expect?
I’m seven episodes in, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it! First and foremost, PreCure (short for Pretty Cure) is generally aimed toward a demographic of 4 to 7-year-old girls; however, there is a loyal fanbase of adults who watch the show and buy the merchandise (much like My Little Pony). All this to say that it is obviously a show for young girls, so you won’t be seeing the same kind of content you might find in a Shonen, for instance. It’s all just good wholesome fun, perfect for a brightly colored distraction from the darkness of the real world. With that in mind, the animation exceeded my expectations, which were relatively low to begin with, and there’s a wide array of expressions. There were definitely some moments that had me bust out laughing because of their attention to detail during well-timed comedic moments. I certainly have my gripes, but I’m rather at peace with them considering I was well aware of potential issues going into the series--those issues being with the villains and the combat.
PreCure, as a whole, is a monster-of-the-week kind of show, but as far as I understand, there is usually an overarching big-bad working behind the scenes throughout the season in these kinds of shows. There are a total of 49 episodes in this particular season, so the main villain will probably appear at some point. As of right now, the monsters in each episode are painfully convenient and, thus far, the fights feel somewhat lazy as they shoot out ropes made of cream to bind the enemy in each episode with little struggle. I’ve heard other PreCure seasons have excelled in both of these things, so I understand that each one will have their own pros and cons. But again I’m only 7 episodes in; there’s plenty of room for spectacle and splendor to go! Besides, these minor complaints really don’t amount to much since this show has exceeded my expectations overall, allowing me to look past the blemishes and simply enjoy the show. With all of that said, let’s address the pink magical-girl in the room...
Tokyo Mew Mew
I know, I know, I was thinking the exact same thing I'm assuming you're thinking right now. I too had an accusatory tone in my head as I thought, "Is that a Tokyo Mew Mew rip off?" The answer is, "Well of course not!" Otherwise, they would've legally been taken down, like, yesterday. Even so, there are some similarities. While not outright plagiarism, the show will remind you of Tokyo Mew Mew, either because of the designs or color schemes. But honestly, those reminders begin to dissipate as the shows' respective stories begin to diverge. You will soon realize that PreCure is entirely doing their own thing with the whole food-mixed with animal themes. In fact, they lean into the animal side of things far more than Tokyo Mew Mew, and it's enjoyable to see these ideas played out. Sure, both groups have a pink, strawberry girl as their leader. But, if you were to look past that, you'll see that these two characters, much like the series themselves, are entirely different from each other. So if you're a fan of Tokyo Mew Mew and you were rolling your eyes and brushing PreCure a la Mode aside for that reason alone, I'd say give it a shot!
With All of That Out of The Way,
Let’s talk about why I really like this season of PreCure: I love a good sweets motif, and I am absolutely infatuated with the character designs of this show. Moreover, the food looks so good that I want to eat it. Going in, I knew that the food would look okay, but boy did they not disappoint! In the second episode, they make pudding (the jiggly kind, not the plastic cup variety) and let me tell you... when that pudding plopped and wobbled onto the plate, I felt it.
I think though that what I really enjoy is the show's overall message. This show is all about coming together with your friends and putting your heart and soul into your creations, adding those little personal touches that your stomach will indifferently digest with the rest of it. I know that the idea of friendship and coming together is a staple feature of the genre, but this show feels like it's taken a refreshing look at that idea.
As the person watching, I feel like the show's intention is to make watchers the recipient of feeling special and loved for who you are and what you like. I appreciate that the characters aren't masters of their crafts in many regards yet, but evens though they might not be the best and they make multiple failed attempts, they remain determined. These girls are driven by the power of friendship and the sweet times they spend together, as well as their own passions. That right there is precisely why I will continue watching Kirakira PreCure a la Mode. In fact, that's why I'm a fan of the Mahou Shoujo in general--To be reminded of the pure joy a wonderful friendship can bring!! 🧡 To feel that pillowy-ticklishness I get in my heart when I think of the ones I hold dear.
Something as simple as friendship, just like that extra whipped cream on your favorite treat, can make all the difference in life! 🎂🧡
#Pretty Cure#PreCure#Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode#Kirakira Precure a la Mode#Kirakira#Precure a la Mode#Magical Girl#Mahou Shojo#Shoujo#Tokyo Mew Mew#Analysis
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Let’s Watch Heartcatch Pretty Cure! Episode 7
Episode 7 - My beloved student council president! A maiden’s heart laid bare!!
The intro here is a pretty typical school scene with the girls reading some poetry, nothing super special, other than I MUST call out Tsubomi for having a picture of her crush in her book. That’s a major no-no, girl! Someone might see it, it might fall out, there’s a million things that could go wrong.
Other than this and the revelation that Tsubomi’s grandma used to read classical Japanese poetry to her, there’s not a ton to this scene, though it is nice.
After the OP, who else but said crush walks in? Acting in his official capacity as the student council president. Not that Tsubomi notices.
How delightfully bishie-bishie.
Sadly, the reason the prez is there is to inform Erika that she still hasn’t handed in her club roster for the council club, and that if she doesn’t--with at least 5 club members--by the end of the school day, the club will have to be disbanded. So while Tsubomi is swooning, Erika’s reaction is rather different.
She immediately solves the roster problem by bribing three of her classmates with a discount at her family’s fashion store and a free notebook for each. Which, hey, is pretty shrewd.
But she runs into a problem upon taking this new register to the student council. Namely, that they are creepy puppets who push their glasses up in unison when they talk and that they’re unwilling to hear her out since the prez has already gone home for the day.
Seriously what’s going on here?
In any case, this just inspires Erika to take an even *more* direct approach. If she can’t talk to the president at school, she’ll talk to him at his house. Tsubomi, of course, is also coming along. You can probably guess roughly what this leads to.
Yes. The two wait for the class prez to finish his martial arts practice, actually in the dojo, and this leads to the enthused Tsubomi you see above. She isn’t coy about it either, she openly trumpets that she’s in love a good three or four times during the course of this scene. It’s honestly pretty funny.
They manage to convince him to talk to the directorial board about keeping the club open. Tsubomi swooning all the while. And then there’s a random, tossed-off line of dialogue from a background character that kind of completely slapped me across the face.
Honestly I feel a little silly for *not* seeing this coming.
So should you, Tsubomi.
Honestly though this is sort of, well, kinda sad? The show treats this as an impassable barrier preventing any kind of romantic relationship. Certainly Tsubomi does, at least.
I can’t imagine the show’s writers considered how this would make young girls who were themselves attracted to girls feel, and given cultural standards in Japan (where depictions of homosexuality remains controversial even in media literally built around it) I am not exactly surprised. Obviously; they’re kids, so it’d be puppy love anyway if you really think about it, but it’s still dispiriting to see.
After Tsubomi’s lamentations we cut to a scene of Itsuki and a new character, who’s introduced as her brother. Her brother seems to have some sort of vaguely defined Anime Illness, he’s both partially wheelchair-bound and at one point begins hacking out of nowhere. Theeeeeeen we get this.
And not much else before a cut to the midcard. Getting a bit serious, are we? Not that I necessarily object but it’s a bit sudden to introduce a character and tell us that they’re dying within less than a minute of each other.
Post-midcard we get a brief scene of Kobraja swearing to the leader of the Desert Apostles that he’ll defeat the Precures this time--you starting to notice a formula here yet? Not that I’m complaining, but it is a bit funny. Going to also just stick a picture of the Desert Apostles leader here, along with his so-far silent right hand woman (who astute viewers will note seems to be the same person who killed Cure Moonlight), since I’ve not done that yet I don’t think.
Then we cut to Erika finding out that Tsubomi is staying home sick from school for what might be the most asinine reason imaginable.
There ya go kids. Don’t wanna go to school? Just tell your parents you wanted to smooch a butch and you’ll be all set to skip class.
PARDON ME?
(Itsuki is apparently quite the ladykiller)
Back at school, Itsuki receives some gifts from a trio of admirers (it’s not clear if they know she’s a girl or not, and given that these are background characters, probably not relevant). She accepts them--causing them to squee and run off--but it’s made clear by the framing that she’s kind of uncomfortable with the position she’s in.
Then Kobraja comes in.
Hey bud she’s like 13 maybe step off (he doesn’t step off).
There is a frankly amazing sequence wherein Itsuki hides behind a statue to hug the stuffed bunny one of her admirers gave her, and is then discovered by Kobraja. Who antagonizes Itsuki by--I wish I was funny enough to make this up--*throwing a razor-sharp photo of himself at the rabbit, which cuts its ear open.* This distracts Itsuki enough that Kobraja can Desertify her.
Ew.
Erika, by herself due to Tsubomi’s absence, witnesses Kobraja’s antics and promptly transforms into Cure Marine.
Itsuki’s Desertrian form is that of a boxy granite statue which uh....yeah, as a transwoman I’m comfortable saying that that is a pretty good visual metaphor for what it’s like to have to pretend to be male. So, good job with that one.
Also hey we’re doing petrification two episodes in a row? That seems like cheating. Incidentally, more than any other before, the Desertrian Statue *really* puts Itsuki’s inner thoughts on full display. It follows Kobraja’s orders to a point, but it also spends a whole lot of time squeeing about how cute various things--the girls’ uniforms, Cure Marine, etc.--are. It’s kind of hilarious. As is Kobraja’s shocked reaction to learning that Itsuki’s a girl. Have people in Japan just never heard of tomboys or what?
Well, I say that, but Kobraja actually *calls* the Desertrian Statue a tomboy, and this is its response.
Amazingly, what happens next is that the statue promptly *throws a temper tantrum.* Ranting about how unfair it is that Itsuki’s not allowed to like cute things and be a martial artist at the same time, and as a cap to all this, it promptly *kicks Kobraja into the sky*. Where he winks out of the episode, Team Rocket-style. It’s quite the finisher, and it helps keep this action sequence from being too run-of-the-mill for the series.
Blossom arrives on the scene not long after to help with cleanup.
Our girls escort Itsuki to the student council room, where she wakes up a little while later. Tsubomi, evidently over the shock from earlier, invites her to join the fashion club, which she promises to consider. A few gags aside at the very end, the episode more or less ends here.
Despite what my little rant about Tsubomi’s crush may have implied, and also despite Kobraja’s...whole existence, I actually really quite liked this episode. I really love the character of Itsuki! I’m definitely projecting on her a little bit since the struggles she goes through here are applicable in a less-literal way to my own experiences growing up, but, still, she just seems really sweet. I hope we see more of her. Maybe she’ll even become a precure herself? Who knows!
I do wish more had been done to at least explore the very notion that two girls cold love each other, but I already expressed my disappointment there, so I’ll avoid beating a dead horse.
Another one-episode post. These are well the norm by now, but I suppose that’s alright if it means I can average more posts. See y’all next time.
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On December 2nd 2018 I went to a special Precure event at Lagunasia amusement park! All 55 Cures were there and you had the opportunity to high five all of them! Then later they all came back for an all-star Precure parade.
Going into this event I had been wondering if they were gonna get cosplayers or if they would go with the kinda creepy masks. They got the masks, but I am kinda glad they did. Because then you could take pictures of them without feeling bad about it. (I know if I was playing one of those Precure, I would want to be wearing a mask with all the creepy dudes with expensive cameras around....) Anyway.
For the high five sessions you had to chose one area or another (depending on whether you wanted to high five the newer or older half of Cures) and get in before they close the gate. I only made it to the later session so chose the older half of the teams. Most of the little kids there were meeting Precure that were popular before they were born ahah.
I wasn’t planning to actually high five them, just watch. But after taking this video and watching for a bit, I turned to my left to see the whole row of Precure ojisans with expensive cameras who were also standing on the bleachers with me were suddenly gone. I looked down to see all of them had gotten in line. So that was the moment when I was like... fuck it, I’m goin in.
And it was super fun haha.
Like I said in my other post, lot of the Cures (and by that of course I mean the actresses) were kinda shy and just touched my hand lightly. I think they were kinda surprised because a Caucasian lady coming though the line wasn’t what they were expecting to see today ahah. But not Cure Lemonade. She slapped my hand really hard and you can hear me laughing about it in the video. It was awesome and I’ll remember that high five for a long time. Cure Lemonade, whoever you are, YOU. MADE. MY DAY.
I was kinda hesitant to go to this event at first, since I was worried I might be the only female Precure fan over 5. But I wasn’t. Even at the bus stop there were these two girls who had to be at least 13 or 14 (which is still a lot younger than me but still) and I noticed one of them had a Coupe plush in her bag (!!). When we walked up to the amusement park they were playing the Smile theme and they started screaming and dancing ahahah.
There were a good amount Lolita girls walking around with Precure stuff too! Some of the other older/women girls I saw had itabags of: Cure Magical, Cure Pine, Cure Rosetta, Cure Sunshine, and Cure Lemonade. The yellow cures in particular seem to be popular with older female fans. (The older male fans didn’t have bags. You could spot them by how expensive their cameras were...) Perhaps my favorite was the Lolita Mom with a 2-year-old in a stroller and a big Cure Etoile bag.
It made me sad I didn’t have any old school Precure stuff to bring. I put it all in storage! I came with a Cure Yell bag, and although I do like Cure Yell, I wish I could have been more old school and shown my love for Cure Peach!
Oh gosh but the kids though. About 1/3rd of the girls 5 and under were dressed as Precures, maybe more, and it was frikkin adorable.
Cure Yell was the most popular one. I saw maybe 20 little girls dressed as Cure Yell hahah. But the second most popular was Parfait. Cure Parfait is still really popular with the little ones! I think I saw like 5 Parfaits! I thought I saw a 6th one, but then I looked closer and realized she was actually dressed as Rainbow Dash!! HAha no joke. Coincidence?! I wonder.
Some other mini Cures I saw were: A couple Etoiles, one Ange, a couple Whips, a couple Macarons, a couple Gelatos, Cure Berry?! (old school), and a couple of 8-year-olds dressed as Cure Black and Shiny Luminous. (The opportunity to go as White and Black seemed to be lost on them but power to the girl who wanted to be Shiny Luminous.) Perhaps my favorite was the 5-year-old dressed as Cure Heart with her 3-year-old brother running after her dressed as Cure Diamond (!).
But yeah, it was just fun being here and walking around seeing all the fans. They were playing all the Precure themes from history on repeat on super high quality speakers. And they were playing like different themes in different areas. At one point I walked up the stairs from the Heartcatch theme into the Fresh theme (the first time I heard the Fresh theme that day) and nearly cried.
But anyway, the day ended with a but 55 Precure parade!
Then I think there was maybe a stage show, but I couldn’t get into the stage at that point and I had to get going anyway.
Props to the actresses, seriously! They were pretty good at keeping in character. Like the energetic cures were more energetic, and the cool cures were cool, and like Blossom/Marine were always stuck together like glue, and they did so many cute things. Aaaaaah................ my dream job..... ahaha............
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Precure Series: What Little I Know And How I May Approach Them
Futari Wa & Max Heart: The originals. Protagonists invented the concept of handholding, but ironically suffer an eternal torment of Unresolved Sexual Tension. (Given how this is the place where everything started, I definitely want to watch and liveblog it at some point, but I think I'll also hold off from doing that for now, until I've seen a couple of the other series first for context.)
Splash Star: The first attempt at something not directly related to the first two series; made some improvements, but also didn't really differentiate itself that much? Different protagonists with similar designs, anyway, and similarly trapped in relationship limbo. (I feel like it's probably best saved for after I finish Futari Wa, but I don't know that I'll liveblog it unless people really want me to at that point.)
Yes! 5 & GoGo: The other series to get a sequel. First to have a bigger team, but also apparently made some big blunders? At least, at the time it apparently didn't fare well. (If I do watch it, it'll probably be way down the line. I do want to give it an honest shot eventually, but it also sounds like there are a lot of better alternatives to look at beforehand.)
Fresh: Pretty fun so far, and apparently gets ridiculously great later on. Love/Cure Peach is best Cure. (Watching it right now, obviously. Honestly been having a hard time working on the catchup coverage because I want to keep going with new episodes already!)
Heartcatch: Apparently one of the darker if not darkest series, but also really really good. However, it also seems to unfairly overshadow Fresh, being the common series to recommend to newcomers. (It's probably one I'll watch sooner, and liveblog since it's one of the more popular ones, but I think I'll give some space between Fresh and this so my pro-Fresh bias doesn't impact this in a negative way.)
Suite: Apparently borrows concepts from both Fresh and Heartcatch and tries to mix them, with the end result being very YMMV? Also, the name makes me think of hotels, so maybe that's a thing? Idunno. (Probably one to check out, but not until after both Fresh and Heartcatch, and I don't know that I'll liveblog it.)
Smile/Glitter Force: Sounds like it's a considerably sillier series than most of the others, in a good way. Reasonably popular, and the red and green team members get shipped a lot maybe? (I'll check it out sooner rather than later, but I think I'll not liveblog it, saving it for if I want a cheerful break from whatever other series I am covering here at the time.)
DokiDoki/Glitter Force DokiDoki: Now from what I've heard, this one sounds controversial. I don't even know any plot details or any reasons why, just that some friends have described it as trash to be avoided at all costs, while others love it and consider it their favorite. (I'm kind of reluctant to touch this one as a result, to be honest; I'm kind of over fandom debating nowadays. Still, maaaaybe someday?)
Happiness Charge: A cryptid. I don't know too much of detail about most of the other series, but at least I've seen them mentioned a fair amount here and there. Happiness Charge, though, not nearly as much. I'm not sure if I should take that as a bad sign or not. (Curiosity, though, is a powerful thing. Maybe I'll check it out soonish, and try liveblogging it just so there's some content for it out there.)
Go! Princess: The first of the strongly-themed seasons, (depending on if there's any weight to my guess about Suite) this one involving Princesses. Duh. May also have some slight connections to Fresh? (It sounds like it's a pretty strong season, so I want to check it out soon! Not sure if I'll liveblog it or not, though.)
Maho Girls: Witch/Magic themed, of course, with maaaaybe a Hogwarts equivalent being involved? Dunno much about this one, and it sounds pretty aggressively 'alright.' (Think I'll put this one off, and won't liveblog it.)
KiraKira a la Mode: Bakery themed, or the characters are running a bakery in addition to being Cures, or something along those lines? Also, catgirls. Sounds like it's pretty strong overall, and has the show's first properly canonically aknowledged gay couple, but also had some minor controversial elements? (Still, one I kinda want to see sooner, will probably liveblog.)
Huggto: Current series. I know the theme this time is career day; the protagonist is a cheerleader, one of the other girls is a flight attendant. Also, there's a french Android side-character that everyone loves, and then some recent arguments over a male Cure. (Think I'll wait on this one until it's less recent and hopefully I'll have forgotten any major spoilers I may have seen, but it's also one I kinda look forward to.)
Star Twinkle: The new series! Nothing known but the title. Probably going to have a space theme. Some people are declaring it a Sailor Moon knockoff, but eh. All in all, it seems exciting! (As I said above, curiosity is a powerful thing, and as I said before, I want to cover this as it releases. Harder to get spoiled that way, at any rate!)
---
So basically for now I'll stick with Fresh (and Star Twinkle when it starts) and then probably go after Princess and/or KiraKira after that, depending on what I'm in the mood for at that point. After those, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
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It’s actually rather fascinating how completely uninspired the male love interests have been in Precure seasons. Going through the ones I’m aware of
- Fuji-p is basically a nonentity and I recall being completely clueless what Nagisa sees in him aside from him maybe being a little cute? Like he’s a plank of wood and Honoka is right there girl come on.
- Kenta kind of... exists? I barely remember him at all except he has a thing for Saki that Saki basically never notices. Meanwhile Saki’s thing for Kazuya is just kinda a little off-putting and never really gets off the ground aside from it popping up as a thing every dozen episodes or so.
- Yes actually kind of tries and I’ll give them credit for that? But Coco is not that interesting a character, him being a fairy doesn’t help, and then his human form being a teacher really doesn’t help. Komachi’s relationship with Nuts honestly especially made me wince as I recall, and Urara’s fairy is more just... there? I have no real opinion.
- Ibuki and Miki’s sure... exist and I remember nothing about them except that Ibuki’s got her onto a cruise and that’s pretty cool. Oh and also that weird secret training ground place. The Daisuke-Love thing has always confused me because I’m perfectly aware that as Daisuke has feelings for Love and he is a nice enough guy I am supposed to assume that Love reciprocates, but none of her behavior particularly feels THAT different to how she treats other people beyond it being complicated by Daisuke being the biggest tsundere in the franchise.
Like there’s plenty of chemistry between the two characters and their relationship is well-written, it is also just on Love’s end completely platonic and I never felt like the anime bothered to try and convince me otherwise.
- I will admit that Tsubomi’s relationship with the cute student council president was an interestingly different take on this, given that they actually became a slightly memorable character in the series and Tsubomi’s feelings actually go through an interesting arc and evolve, which is rare. So I’ll take it back, Heartcatch got this one right.
wait
But seriously is this even really a thing in Heartcatch? I don’t recall it being one.
- The only reason I’m not convinced Ouji was Fuji-p in disguise is because Ouji does do like... 2-3 things to advance the story. But Kanade’s deal with him was kinda a whole lot of nothing, even if it did give us some great Hibiki reaction faces. (And Ellen I guess? I think she gets all weird around him a couple times.) They actually did, for once, manage to do a rather interesting and interesting minor-character-with-crush-on-lead dynamic but it was Hibiki with Waon so, you know. lol.
- Smile doesn’t really have this issue but that’s because Smile’s world is mostly the Cures, their family, and a couple cardboard cutouts.
- Mana is the only love interest Team Doki Doki needs, more or less.
- Weirdly I don’t recall there being much of anything in Princess? There’s Kanata I guess but GOD does the second half of Princess in particular show what a disaster that would have been and the show never tries that hard to go there. I don’t recall much else? If it was there it didn’t leave much of an impression.
The seasons I’m blank on might have something worthwhile? I think Huggto makes another attempt at it, and I heard things about Happiness Charge? But I still haven’t seen either so
I guess my poorly-written point is that Toei should quit while they’re behind on this front to be honest.
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Secret Santa - Kirakira Tamers
I don’t own digimon or Precure. But do have a merry Christmas, @junnichiedesu. For it was I, who was your Secret Santa!
Rika Nonaka’s day began much like any other day normally did.
She would wake up, get dressed, and try to find something for her partner to do for the day. Unlike most days, it was a weekend, making the last task irrelevant. Of course, that didn't stop her partner from making suggestions.
“You should take me and Ryo here.” Renamon explained and held up a poster. “Sure, it’s a bit out of the way, but you said the other day you wanted to travel. So here’s your chance.”
Rika let out a deep breath. While sure, she had wanted to get out of West Shinjuku and see the other parts of Japan, this wasn’t what she had in mind.
“Isn’t this from a show that aired last year or something?” she continued and got a nod in return. “Then how the heck are we supposed to get there then?”
An answer was not given to that question. Instead, Renamon held out what looked to be a purple cat thing.
“Please~” the vulpine digimon cooed, giving a wink right after. “Outside of a kiss, I won’t ask you for anything else.”
But all that remark got her was a look.
“We both know you’re going to break that promise.” Rika answered as Ryo poked his head through a nearby window. How he even got there is a good question. Probably jumped the large fence that surrounded the Nonaka’s property. Instead of you know, going to the gate.
“I heard my name. What do you need from me?” Ryo inquired and jumped on through. “Card game? Some kind of trip? A storytime, perhaps?”
Rika shot him a glare.
“None of the above.”
Ryo’s gaze fell to the floor, not really liking that answer. But you know, life sometimes isn’t that fair. Just ask Jeri. I bet she would love to remind you of the whole D-Reaper mess.
Of course, it would seem that Ryo's focus was more on Renamon's poster rather than the shouting of the narrator.
“So you were thinking here?” he remarked and got a nod. The pulling out of the D-arc followed. “Millenniummon might know a way to get there. Though, I'm not sure what his price to get us there would be.”
Right on cue, a ball of dust floated in. Though, it didn't look all too happy at the moment. He would probably prefer to appear as the weird gold dragon thing. But then he wouldn't fit.
“Silence!” the dust ball announced and turned their attention to the trio. “What is this about using me? I am the lord of time, not someone’s playtoy.”
No one answered. Instead, they were too focused on trying to decide whether or not this was the real Millenniummon or just some weird copy that Ryo was trying to pass off as the real McCoy. Which if you ask me, seems like a whole lot of work in the grand scheme of things. Better yet, where exactly was he going to get such a thing as a dustball.
“We get it!” Rika shouted and took a deep breath. “We were hoping to go here. Can you possibly take us here?”
She then pointed to her partner's poster. Millenniummon floated on over, making a brief pit stop to give his master a stink eye. Which I guess Ryo deserves? He did try and kill him at one point. Though, that was under the orders of the sovereigns, so I guess I can give that sort of a pass.
“We don't talk about that.” the dustball remarked as he gave the poster a nudge. The poster then disappeared, leaving behind a portal of some sort. I was expecting something more along the lines of a train, maybe a trailmon/locomon. But this works too. “Ready to go then?”
Renamon and Ryo gave a nod, but Rika didn’t respond. No, she was just confused by what the fuck was going at this very moment. But eventually, she gave a nod and they were sucked on in.
On the other side, the three found themselves subjected too to a rainbow void. It reminded two of the four of that one time that they went to the digital world. Except it was less hard on the eyes and there were more of them taking the trip.
Eventually, the rainbows faded away, giving way to a world similar to the one that they had just left. Except everything was all pastel and cel-shaded.
“Okay…” Rika whispered as they looked themselves over. Sure, looking like an adult was kind of cool, if not for the racing suit she was now wearing. She wouldn’t have minded something a bit more practical, especially if this was what she was going to be walking around in. But this, felt like something for some other time.
Kohenkyo!
Carefully, Renamon put her hand on her master’s shoulder, watching the racing suit get replaced by a bigger version of her old outfit. With the outfit, came a slightly higher viewpoint and a slight bust increase.
“Better?” Renamon inquired and Rika gave a nod. After, she let her focus turn to Ryo. Who like Rika, had gotten both a clothing and height change. Except it wasn't as drastic as hers, nor did it apply to his metal arm. That can just be put back in later. During editing.
Or why Renamon was now attempting to be a human around their age. Though, with her blouse and skirt, she looked like she could possibly pass. Millenniummon on the other hand, not so much. He still looked like a ball of dust with little change. Which is a complete waste if you ask me.
But that’s beyond the point. At the moment, our heroes found themselves in a forest. Just barely, they could make out the town below. And just beyond that, the harbor. Of course, that didn’t really tell them where they actually were.
“So where is this bakery you wanted to see?” Rika remarked, only for her attention to focus elsewhere. “Wait. Do you guys hear that?”
Her teammates gave a head shake, only for a nut to hit one of them.
“Who threw that?”
More nuts followed. And by nuts, I mean stuff like peanuts and pecans. Which don’t really do that much damage. Maybe they should try walnuts? I heard those hurt a whole lot more. Or why settle for nuts? There’s got to be some sort of fruit that can be thrown as well. Thankfully, their attackers did eventually stop their assault upon them. Well, long enough that our heroes could move somewhat closer.
“Are the intruders still there?” a voice announced as what looked to be a cross between a fairy and a squirrel poke its head out. “Oh I guess they are still here.”
“Uh… Could you tell where we are? We’re kind of lost.” Renamon announced and got an acorn to the head. It didn’t really hurt though. So I guess that’s nice. “Biomerge time?”
“I guess?” Rika whispered, feeling her partner become a part of her. “Wait. No transformation sequence?”
It’s a quick change. Tomato, tomato.
Whatever the case, Sakuyamon and Justimon now stood guard against the onslaught of weird fairy creatures. Which is complete overkill if you ask me.
Whip Decoration!
A ball of what I hope is whipped cream shot forth, covering both Rika and Ryo. The latter also attempted to get a mouthful of, which didn’t taste good. At all. I’m not sure why he thought it would. But oh well.
“What does it taste like?”
“Magic?”
Thank you for that truly helpful answer. Not. Like seriously, that tells the viewer nothing. Bad Ryo! Bad! You should be ashamed of yourself.
“I’m not sure what I did wrong here.” Ryo remarked as a pink haired girl came into view. “Uh… can we help you here?”
On closer inspection, the pink-haired girl appeared to be wearing a pinkish white dress with a dark pink bow near the middle of her chest. A pair of dark pink high heeled boots covered her feet, with little tufts of white thrown in for good measure. Short white gloves cover her hands, while what looks to be shortcake head ornament (sadly, not edible) tries to compliment a pair of bunny ears. Interesting outfit, I guess?
“Maybe.” the girl answered, her attention split between both biomerged tamers. “I am Cure Whip. What brings you two to Strawberry Hills?”
Rika shot Ryo a glance. As tempting as it would be to just out him in the hopes of getting a trip back, it would mean also having to admit that she was being a complete buzzkill. Which didn’t sound so fun. Especially since they hadn’t thought of a way back to West Shinjuku. Oops. Probably should’ve thought that through before heading through an untested portal.
“Shut up!”
“Uh… Who are you even talking too?” the girl remarked, only to be joined by an orange-haired girl. Unlike her friend, she has gone yellowish dress with white opera gloves and a yellow ribbon. Yellow socks compliment an orange set of slippers, while a pair of cherries hang from a red choker. A flan head ornament sits right in front of a pair of squirrel ears, with a tail as well to boot. Points for theming I guess? Not what I would have gone with, but this isn’t one of my calls.
Custard Illusion!
A pair of cherries appear above squirrel girl, shattering into many small balls. Which homed into our two heroes. They did look quite tasty though.
Fox Card!
In response to that, Rika flung some sort of seal towards the projectiles. While clever thinking, it wasn’t enough to prevent either of them from getting hit. Not that it really hurt all that much.
“Ow.” Ryo whispered and got helped up by his companion. “What made you think that would work?”
Rika just shrugs. Right as squirrel girl runs on over and tries to send her little squirrel thing to attack. It isn’t too effective. Which begs the question of why that was her attack. Especially since her opponent countered with a series of kicks and staff swings.
“A little help here, Whip!” squirrel girl announced as she made a hand motion. ‘Whip’ just gave a nod and made her way over. “Thanks!”
The two then pulled out what looked to be a cross between umbrella rods and a wand. And that’s just ignoring the similarities to the previous team's sticks. Not that they would really know. Or care, for that matter.
Spirit Strike!
Four fox spirits appeared and attempted to do some damage to their opponents. But all that really happened was their opponents spirit things attacking them in the hopes of stopping them.
“We're here!” a voice announced as three more girls ran up.
“Great.” Rika whispered as duo were pelted with weird flavored silly string. “Could you I don't know, leave us alone? We don't mean you any trouble.”
The fighting stopped, as the attention shifted to the ‘digimon queen’. So she took a deep breath and reverted back to her original form.
“We just got here.” Rika explained. “I'm Rika and the woman beside me is Renamon.”
After saying that, Rika gave her other companion a slight poke. Which managed to revert him back as an added bonus. Even though he didn't help Rika at all during this fight. Which was quite rude of him, I might add. But whatever his reasoning for not acting when he did, the cyborg cleared his throat.
“I'm Ryo.” he announced and pointed towards the dust ball beside him. “This is Millenniummon. Just ignore him.”
Their opponents gazes shifted towards the dust ball.
“You sexy things.” the dust ball remarked. “Any of you available?”
That remark got him a barrage of attacks. Attacks that he most definitely deserved in that moment. They finally stopped when a girl dressed in cyan approached with a girl dressed in orange following right behind. For cyan girl, she had gone for a pegasus motif. Her companion had decided that dinosaurs were more her jam. Not that there's really a wrong answer in all of this. Just a difference of opinions.
But whatever the case, rabbit girl approached our duo. Once she was close enough, she let her outfit disappear in favor of more casual clothes. Which looked to be a halter dress and shoes with strawberry socks.
“I'm Ichika. Welcome to Strawberry Hills.” she greeted, a smile on her face. “Sorry about the trouble we may have caused you.”
Yet, Rika shook her head.
“Not at all.” she answered. “Is there anyway that we can get back?”
Ichika shook her head. Though, the attention of miss dino was now squarely on Rika. Who decided that now was a good time to approach the tamers.
“You’ve sealed your fate.” dino girl remarked and took a deep breath. “Sooner or later, your powers will be changed and you’ll no longer be able to be the same as before.”
Both Rika and Ryo gave her a stare.
“Just kidding.” dino girl remarked, getting a punch to the face. Which she responded with a series of her own. They hurt a lot more too. “Do you people take everything at face value?”
Both Rika and Ryo looked away.
“Maybe?”
It’s going to be a long day, isn’t it?
Thankfully, the rest of their opponents reverted back and revealed themselves to be teenage girls as well. Which our dustball decided that now was a good time to put on a pair of 80’s shades and blow a wolf whistle.
He got his ass kicked. Again. You would think he would have learned his lesson by this point, but no.
“Fine.” the dustball muttered and floated onto his master’s head. Once there, the group headed off down the mountain. Eventually, they reached a large park.
“What’s it name?”
Strawberry Park.
“That’s a bit on the nose.” Renamon whispered as she looked the sign over.
Yeah. But it does the job nicely. You wouldn’t want the place to just be called ‘park’ or ‘greenspace’. That would be silly.
“Would you like a cupcake?” Ichika inquired and watched their guests perk up.
“That would be nice.” Rika answered as a large building came into view. It looked like a facade from an amusement park. You know, like the stuff that they used on Main Street for Disney Parks. Except here, it was an actual building. More specifically, a bakery.
“Patisserie.” squirrel girl remarked. “There’s a big difference.”
Huh.
Inside, things were decorated for the Christmas season. You know, sleds, Christmas trees and of course, snow.
“What do you guys think?” Ichika continued, cracking a slightly nervous smile. “Yukari did the decorations.”
A purple haired girl walked over to Ichika and gave her chin a slight tickle. Which resulted in the ‘bunny girl’ erupting into a giggling fit.
It also got the purple-haired girl a glance from the gal who looked as if they could pass as a guy. Probably purple haired girl’s girlfriend or something. It wouldn’t be that surprising, but you know.
Whatever the case, they headed on in.
“Could you give us a second?” one of the girls (a blue haired one) announced and the group scurried to the back, leaving our heroes to their own devices.
“Huh…” Rika answered, taking another look around. It felt almost like someone’s home, the sort that one could pack up and take with them.
When the girls finally returned, they were now clad in white apron dresses with little tints of their respective color powers. They were also carrying platters of various sweets.
“Bon Appetit.” one of them announced as they set the trays down, joining the trio at the table. What followed, was a feast of Christmas sweets. A well deserved one, at that. Maybe after that, they could find a way off of this rock.
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I’ve been promising this post for a while now. I did a voice actor version some time ago and it was one of my favourite lists to put together. I think you guys enjoyed it too.
As we all know, an actor’s performance can really drag down an anime. There’s something heartbreaking about a painfully wooden performance in the middle of a wonderful story that rips you right out of the fantasy. On the bright side, I’ve seen more than a few characters go from boring to endearing on the strength of an actor’s charisma. Voice actors don’t have as much to work with as conventional actors. They can’t rely on body movements or smouldering looks to get their message across. So it’s doubly impressive when they manage to convey subtle emotion and complex feelings though inflection and tone alone.
And for me, these ladies do just that.
Today let us celebrate the artistry that goes into bringing some of our favourite characters to life. In no real order we have!
5. Aoi Yuuki
I don’t care how petty it sounds, I’m just going to put this right here. This young woman is shorter than me!!! A musician and traditional actress, Aoi unique voice has made her quite successful in the field. Here are a few selected roles out of the tons she has had:
Hana – Ben-To
Tsuyu – My Hero Academia
Mina – Vampire Bund
The Energetic Ringo – Daily Lives of HighSchool Boys
Sosuke – Free!! (surprised? – I was)
Victorique – Gosick
Mihoshi – Gundam
Russia – Hetalia
Kino – Kino’s journey
Futaba – Persona 5
Iris – Pokemon
Mélie – Radiant
Shinra – Durarara!!
Sunako – Shiki
Borr – SSSS.Gridman
Tanya – Saga of Tanya the Evil
Oh yeah – she’s also Madoka in some magical girl show…
She’s set to play Touka and Boogiepop in the upcoming remake and I am psyched for this!
Not to mention roles in March Comes In Like a Lion, ACCA 13, Asobi Asobase, Welcome to the Ballroom, Gangsta, Gintama, Goblin Slayer, Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens, Hyakka, Hyouka, Your Name, last exile, One Punch Man, Seraph of the End, Sword Art Online II, Tanaka-kun, Tokyo Ghoul, Snafu, Yuru Yuri, and I seriously skipped over most of them. This lady works!
The surprisingly raspy quality of her vocals, and the counterintuitive depth of her tone makes her suitable for a wide range of diverse characters. A small actress with a big voice! Irresistible.
4. Chiwa Saito
Miss Saito has been acting for some time which means she’s had the chance to amass a pretty impressive portfolio. One of my favourite random facts out there, is that she is part of a voice acting groups called “MORE PEACH SUMMER SNOW”. That’s the best name ever. I’m going to rname Buddy that. (His actional name if Sir Buddy Livingston Master Chief Brown). Sadly, she is taller than me.
Yona – Yona of the Dawn
Aika – Aria
Hitagi – Monogatari series
Sigyn – Break Blade
Yuki – Vampire Bund
Chloe – Fate/Kaelid series
Natsumi – Keroro
the fantastic Riko – Kuroko’s Basketball
Louise- Gudam 00
Anita – R.O.D. TV
Kotori – rewrite
Meru – Zetsoubu Sensei
Nadeshiko – Yuru Yuri
She’s also Homura in some magical girl show…I swear I didn’t know this before researching for this post. I never realized how much I liked the Madoka casting before!
Of course there’s like a billion more titles but I’m going to name these ones because, reasons: Amanchu, Arakawa Under the Bridge, Boccano, Berserk, Dog & Scissors, D-Frag, Daily Lives of HighSchool Boys, Gintama, Girls Bravo, Kino’s journey, Last Exile, Log Horizon, Lyrica Nanoha, Murder Princess (I just like this title) One Piece, Sward Art Online, I’m just going to stop now.
You can actually hear her sing in some roles and she truly has a beautiful singing voice. It has a rich timber and she obviously has a great ear for melody. If ever she chose to switch career paths to the musical instead, I’m sure she’d have a great future. We would miss her as an actress though so let’s not encourage that!
3. Megumi Hayashibara
A more classical voice actress and one of the best known in Japan, Megumi almost became a nurse instead. There’s a certain personality that goes along with choosing a career in nursing. Caring but also resilient. You can see that peek through a bit in Megumi’s character and acting choice. Then again, there are so many to pick from I could probably make an argument for any character type.
Pai and IV – 3×3 eyes
Ai – Detective Conan
Haruko – FLCL Progressive
Haruka – Love Hina
Todomatsu – Osomatsu-kun
Paprika and Chiba – Paprika
Musashi – Pokemon
Ranma – Ranma 1/2
Lime – Saber Marionette J
Anna – Shaman King
Lina – Slayers
Ai – Video Girl Ai
Genkai – Yuu Yuu Hakusho
Hello Kitty…this woman is Hello Kitty
The incomparable Faye Valentine – Cowboy Bebop
Probably best known as Rei Ayanami – Evangelion
She can also be heard in Blue Exorcist, Bakuretsu Hunters, Sailor Moon, Blue Seed, Chihayafuru 2, Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Macross Plus, Lupin III, Maison Ikkoku, One Piece, Project A-ko, Shadow Skill, the Doreamons, Tenchi Muyou, and obviously a million more shows.
This lady’s body of work speaks for itself. I have to say I was already pretty amazed that spunky, opinionated Faye, with her womanly register and quiet monotone Rei were played by the same person, add in Hell Kitty to the mix and my mind is a little broken…and then you have comedy queen Ranma. This is the type of career you look up to!
2. Romi Park
Did you know that Romi studied Korean in university. I just find that intriguing, obviously she’s always liked languages. Ok I’m beating about the bush so let me just say it, miss Park’s performance was one of the best parts of FMA: Brotherhood for me. I literally caught myself in the middle of scenes just going, OMG the acting is phenomenal. I’ve heard great things about the English language cast but you really are missing ouy if you didn’t catch this performance.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya – Bleach
Teresa – Claymore
Akane – Danganronpa
Tanaka – Daily Lives of High School Boys
Igarashi – Deadman Wonderland
Kenichi – Cyber Coil
Ken – Digimon
Sena – Eyeshield 21
Natsume – Gakuen Alice
Walter – Hellsing Ultimate
Switzerland – Hetalia
Angelina – Black Butler
Taiga – Major
Falis – Murder Princess (love this title)
Temari – Naruto
My precious, precious Naoto – Persona 4
Jiro – Pokemon
Syrup – Precure
Alma – Radiant
Zoe Hange – Attack on Titan
Everyone’s favourite rocker Nana Osaki – Nana
And of course Edward Elric – Fullmetal Alchemist
And if that wasn’t enough, you can hear her in Air Master, Beelzebub, Blue Dragon , Clannad After story, Detective Conan, Devil May Cry, Garo, Granblue Fantasy, Hunter x Hunter, Kill la Kill, Lupin III, Gundam 00, One Piece (everyone is in this), RahXephon, Sengoku Basara, RDG, Samurai 7, Terra Formars (cause it’s terrible), Aquarion, White Album
Romi Parks has the most devastatingly emotional voice I know. She often plays calm, cool and collected genius type characters (a lot of boys as you can see) but when an emotional contrast is needed, she really knows how to deliver, making her characters feel so real and raw. One of the greatest performers in my opinion, she tends to make me want to see a show just to hear what she can do with the character.
Honorable Mentions
Ami Koshimizu
C,mon, she Ryuko from Kill la Kill. Always loved that sexy alto voice! Apparently she was also both Hiro and Naomi in the recent Darling and the Franxx. I loved her as Ibuki in Danganronpa. She was Kallen in Code Geass, Holo in Spice and Wolf and Yuiko in Persona. Obviously I’m skipping over st of her work including some very big roles. I suggest you look her up! The only reason she isn’t on the list proper is that I simply haven’t seen that many of her shows even though a lot are very popular.
1. Megumi Ogata
OK fine so this is a subjective choice. Well they all are really, it’s my top 5 list. Fact is, I’ve been a fan of Megumi Ogata for a long long time and I’m just always going to be. She’s the first voice talent I ever learned about and I absolutely love her work. Sure, she might have voiced a few of my anime crushes but surely that did not influence my choice in any way…. She’s much taller than me.
Ayato – Angel Beats
Haruka (Sailor Uranus) – Sailor Moon*
Jun – Captain Tsubasa
Yukito and Yue – Cardcaptor Sakura*
Makoto – Danganronpa
Nagito – Danganronpa***
Shinji – Evangelion*
Izumi Rio – Searching for the Full Moon*
the terrifying Fairies – Humanity has Declined
Cranberry – Raising Project*
Ichigou Fujimoto – Magical girl Ore
Ken – Persona 3
Yukimura – Samurai Deeper Kyo*
Akagi – Slam Dunk
Valkyrie – UFO Princess Valkyrie
Yuugi – Yu Gi Oh!*
Karuma – Yuu Yuu Hakusho*
And just o drive the point home, here are a few more at random. If you want to full list, you’ll have to look it up. I just can’t type that much! Bleach, Detective Conan, et Backers, Great Teacher Onizuka, Kino’s Journey, Magic Knight Rayearth, Tamayura, Tokyo Mew Mew,
Megumi Ogata is a revered veteran in the field. Comparing Nagito to Makoto (purposefully similar characters with a lot of very similar lines) will reveal her mastery on inflection and subtle vocalisation to embody a character way beyond their dialogue. Anyone still under the illusion that voice acting is simply reading your lines, please see master Ogata’s work!
Good list isn’t it!?! I discover new voice talent all the time mind you. I’ll be watching a show and suddenly realize that the actor is doing fantastic work. And I’m always so happy when I discover a new favourite. So please, share yours with me!
that was a lot of pics to find….
Top Five Voice Actresses in My Harem I've been promising this post for a while now. I did a voice actor version some time ago…
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I already love you show, you don’t need to woo me anymore......Not that i’m complaining.
That’s it, shows over, everything is perfect, Nagisa and Honoka are going to move to the states, marry, cross into the Garden of Light at 35, stop aging, and live together with Hikari, Hikaru, Porun, Lulun, Mipple, and Mepple forever. I love this franchise, 10/10, would liveblog again.
I guess it was okay.
5/5.
......................................................
This was a truly excellent series. I think i would have more problems with it as a stand alone, but as a sequel to the original it hit...most of the right notes. Let’s start with the bad things.
- They recycled some episode ideas. Not only from season 1, but from Max Heart itself. This combined with these weird episode placements that made that very fact so extremely obvious did not sit right with me at all.
- They focused to much on Urganos and Viblis, and not enough on Circulas and Baldez. With Baldez it is somewhat understandable because he was kind of the big Mystery Villain who knew more than he let on etc. But come on, Circulas was your first guy.
- They did nothing at all with Fujipi again. No, worse, they made a non-canon movie with an alien clone of Fujipi....who had an actual personality. This was just ridiculous. I hope future crush characters arent just wet blankets.
- The Fight dialouge. Blablablablablablabla i get it nothing of substance was said. I have been informed that this will get better at some point, but not in the immediate future. Oh joy. But knowing that it DOES get better makes me look forward to catching up, so theres that.
- Honoka, who’s that? Nagisa and Hikari got the brunt of the episodes this season, even though last season it was pretty much equal between the two. I get that Nagisa is awesome, which is probably why she was the focus of BOTH movies too, but she is only that awesome because Honoka is there to play off her. They are essential as a team. So yeah. I did not like that.
Literally everything else is good to great. I loved Hikari, even though she was really weirdly characterized at the beginning, but that made sense since she was just born. I really liked the villains, just like last series they were just the right amount of intimidating and relatably funny at first, and when they started to get too goofy to take seriously they has Baldez pick up the slack. It worked out pretty well, but it coud be done much much better. And like i said, i heard the Season 1 and 2 villain teams are the worst of the franchise, so i am very excited for what’s to come.
Subtext. Yeah, there was more Yuri subtext than last season, but not that much. At least not between Nagisa and Honoka. There was a lot of subtext between Nagisa and OTHER girls though, amusingly enough. The second movie was more the amount of subtext i was expecting from what i have heard. Despite that though, i think Nagisa and Honoka are definitely shippable without canonical complications. Which is somewhat rare for F/F pairings. Here it works out fine though. If they made a sequel series that takes place 20 years later and they have both married other people but stayed platonic soulmates i would believe it, and if they dated each other i’d believe it too.
I liked the side characters, but i didn’t love them. Except my glorious Captain 19k, the one and only. She was awesome.
The series had plenty of emotional moments, and a lot of them were family related, which is my weak point, so a lot of tears were flowing during these liveblogs. The comedy was alright for the age bracket, it rarely made me laugh out loud, but it made me smile very often. Good balance between emotion and comedy too.
All in all, with this ending in place, i would give this show a 5/5, i really loved it. Ignoring the ending, i’d say a 4/5 would be more fair, maybe even a 3 when you catch me in a really bad mood. ^ ^
But yeah. I can’t believe that i finished a whole PreCure series. I never thought it’d happen. And you know what? I am more than ready to take on another!
I thank everyone who has followed me on this journey, i hope you enjoyed these liveblogs as much as i enjoyed making them. And i hope i can see all fo you return for Pretty Cure Splash Star, which i will start tomorrow. Until then, see ya, and have a good time! : )
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Call to Arms (Prologue)
There are a few OCs in here that I tried to portray as accurately as possible, but they may be somewhat OOC as I’m not 100% accurate in portraying someone else’s OC! I apologize for that!
-------
She didn’t go home like she planned.
She knew that was what he was expecting. He was going to force her into this. He was going to force her to be his. She knew this, because what sort of man would go so far as to do something so terrible? It was like she was Colette Brunel, whose birth was orchestrated by a higher power. Whose entire being was made to be for something else. And Melanie couldn’t believe that.
She tore at the empty alleyway she’d walked down, forcing open a portal and walking inside. On the other end? A world she didn’t know. But it was where one of the people she’d known was at.
The sound of paper tearing apart filled the air, and a portal tore itself into existence in front of Bowen Chuuno. Obviously, this surprised him. It’d come out of nowhere, and with a tearing sound at that! But what was more surprising than that was Melanie walking through it. He hadn’t seen her since ending up in Japan and then, at some point, leaving without her knowing how. So her ending up here was definitely...
“Melanie?!” ...shocking.
“I know, this is cliche. Girl comes out of the portal, ends up in your roo-- house? Wherever-”
“...We’re in my living room.” Came the response.
“Your living room. Anyway, this isn’t just a casual visit. I need your help.”
“Can you explain how you opened a portal into my living room??” Bowen asked.
“Later. Will you help me?”
Man, she wasn’t giving him any options. This was definitely something else. Usually, someone would explain themselves and then ask for aid. Melanie? For some reason, things were different. She looked angry, but it wasn’t directed at him whatsoever.
“As long as you tell me how you did that.” For all intents and purposes, she shouldn’t have been able to do that. But there were things about the people he’d met that he didn’t know a lot about, it seemed. And Melanie was one of those people.
“Magic.” As if to make a point, Melanie tore a portal open and stepped aside. “Make yourself at home in there. I’ll bring the rest in soon.”
--
Violent Violet was camping.
It wasn’t like the day she spent with Melanie, with actual tents and such, but just her under a tree trying to take a nap. However, the sound of paper tearing had her opening her eyes and looking in the direction that it came from. A portal, out of nowhere. Getting up, preparing to fight in case of trouble, she visibly relaxed when she saw it was Melanie.
“Could’ve said something when you did that.” Violet said. Melanie sighed.
“I can’t send messages, Violet.” Was her response. “I can’t communicate with the world I’m headed to through a portal, I gotta go through it.”
“So, what brings you back?”
“Need your help with something.” Something? That was a bit vague. Violet raised an eyebrow.
“What’s this ‘something’ you need help with?” Another sound of paper tearing, and a different portal appeared beside Melanie.
“I’ll tell you later. Make yourself at home in here. I’ve... got more people to recruit.” She must’ve known Violet would’ve helped anyway, as she left after Violet went in to the portal.
-
Megumi looked over her shoulder at the sound of paper tearing. When she saw the portal, she feared the worst. Was it another foe? Without hesitation, she took out her cards and PreChanMirror.
“Precure Rolling Mirror Change!” In an instant, she transformed into Cure Lovely, ready to fight. Instead of fighting, however, she was surprised to see Melanie coming out of the portal. Running up to her, she smiled.
“Shoko! It’s been a while!” Cure Lovely said.
“I know. I actually came here to ask you if you’d help me out with something.”
“Sure! I’m always willing to help!”
Another portal opened. It was a shorter conversation than the others. Cure Lovely let her transformation fall off, returning to Megumi before heading in at Melanie’s behest. Just a few more people to go. Just a few more allies to talk to.
-
Maira wasn’t surprised at the fact that there was a portal in front of her. She was used to these, calling them ‘rifts’. And when Melanie came out of it? It was literally just another Tuesday for her. She’d heard the paper tearing sound, and had noticed it... but hadn’t been apprehensive at all.
“Hi, Melanie. Something wrong?” She asked, seeing the look on Melanie’s face.
“Yeah... Yeah there’s something wrong. It’s why I came here in the first place. To ask you for your help.” Melanie didn’t need to hide it from her, but she didn’t want to have one person know while the others didn’t.
“You know I’ll help you. What is it? Did something happen?” Melanie nodded in response to Maira’s question. “What happened?”
“I’ll explain it later.” Another paper tearing sound. Another portal. But Maira could feel the magic-- it was meant for her to go through. “The others I’ve gathered are waiting in here. I’ll be in once I’ve gotten the rest of my allies.”
Maira nodded, not hesitating as she strode into the portal.
-
The Hunter.
Melanie knew he wouldn’t be expecting her to return so soon. In fact, it’d only been a few days since she left Wonderland after what had happened there. But she knew he’d be a valuable ally to have on her side. This meant that she would have to be decisive in her wording, to have him help her. In exchange, she’d help him once again.
He was in a similar situation that she’d found him in before when they first met, sitting on the corpse of an enemy that he’d slaughtered. His blue eyes glanced up at her, and the red gun was resting on his thigh as a warning. To not get close, lest one would get their head blown off.
Melanie approached, standing several feet away.
“I’m back... to ask you something.”
Silence overtook them, but he didn’t need to speak much. Melanie didn’t ever force him to, instead taking the silence in stride. As if she’d experienced it beforehand with someone else. She would talk instead. The Hunter only stared at her, gaze piercing. As if telling her to talk.
“I need help. Plain and simple. I’m not strong enough to take on this enemy and I need people to help me. You’re one of the few people I could think of.”
He doesn’t say anything, and the red gun is holstered as he stands up. The sound of shifting cloth broke the silence as he stood up. It wasn’t Chaos, but it could be. The Hunter wouldn’t take any chances on this. If it was Chaos, then he had to eliminate it. That was his sole purpose, the reason he still fired the Magun.
The Hunter is used to her magic, as she tears open a portal. It’s the same one she’d torn open before, the one that had lead to the manor. There’s no words exchanged as he walked through it, and none exchanged with the people within.
-
The vending machine had eaten the last bit of money he had. It hadn’t given him what he wanted, at all. Kamijou Touma was definitely despondent at that, as a desolate wind blew through and a random tumbleweed rolled by. He had sat on a nearby bench, trying to think of a way to get his money back from the machine, when the sound of paper tearing randomly cut through the air.
And that was surprising. Touma jumped, looking behind him to see a portal of some sort. And-- then Melanie? It took him a few minutes to compose himself before he got up.
“Shoko?” He asked. Melanie gave a nod. Prior to this, Melanie had just been a normal girl wanting to read a book at a park-- and now he was finding out she was a Magician. Perhaps this had something to do with Index again? Or some weird fight he had to take part in because of the Church?
His misfortune truly knew no bounds.
“Touma, I came to ask if you’d help me.” She said. “I’ve... got a fight I can’t win alone. And you’re one of the few I need to help me.”
“I... am?” Touma seemed to be in disbelief as he stood up. What was this? He loses his money, and now Melanie wants him to help her? But.. if she really needed his help.
Touma nodded, as if confirming to himself that he would help.
“I’ll help you.”
Melanie stood aside, tearing open another portal. Touma seemed apprehensive about this, and stepped towards it. Was it a trick? But she smiled, as if telling him everything would be okay. “Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything there.”
-
They all stood in the entrance hall of the Manor. No matter what Touma touched, it never dispelled. As if the magic was constantly restructuring itself despite Touma’s Imagine Breaker. Melanie walked in through the entrance after a few moments more. There was no one with her, so it seemed to be just them and her. She gestured at them to follow her.
They passed the statue of Kanade Amou, to the door behind it. Melanie opened it, revealing a spacious room with windows showing a grassy field with trees outside in the mid-morning sun. Melanie took a seat in one of the single-person chairs, gesturing at everyone else to sit down.
And once they did, she started to talk.
“I was propositioned earlier today... by a man who orchestrated my entire existence.” She began, which was suddenly cut off by outcries.
“What?!” Came Maira’s shout.
“Did you just say orchestrated?!” Bowen was in disbelief.
“Someone decided to orchestrate your entire existence?!” Megumi looked offended.
“--Yeah, that’s exactly how I felt.” Melanie shook her head. “He... called me earlier, saying he had an offer I absolutely couldn’t refuse. That he’d...” She looked to the window. “...Take me as his... significant other. And I don’t want to do that. I don’t care if I give up everything I gained. I don’t want to take the vacant seat of God just to end up someone’s plaything!”
Silence.
Violet leaned forward. “A god?” She sounded angry at that. Melanie winced a little at the tone of her voice, not understanding it but letting her continue to speak. “So, a god told you this?”
Melanie nodded in response. “Yeah, basically. And I... I’m refusing him. It’s why I came to all of you. To ask for your help. I want to take him down, refuse the reality he’s trying to force on me.”
“Well, looks like we have to team up then!” Megumi said.
“I’ll take him out.” Violet nodded.
“I’ll shatter his illusions!” Touma clenched his right fist.
The Hunter merely nodded.
“Then you have my help.” Bowen said.
“I’m not about to let someone else go through what I have.” Maira looked angry.
Melanie raised a hand up, and there was a change in the magic in the air.
“Rest up. I’ve added rooms for each of you, so choose as you will. Once you all are fully rested, we can start the attack.”
Soon, it would be time to fight.
--
And, staring at the City Hall, was someone who shouldn’t be there.
“Your kid really got herself into some trouble, Alice.”
@tetsuwan-atom @xbloodsoakedx @rosecoloredmuses @lunar-mage-mare @kazeofthemagun @project-rebirth
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Pikapika☆Precure Under The Big Top episode 5- Pretty Cure Sleepover! Robot fight at 3 a.m?
Finally, it was last period. Even better, Friday. Just five more minutes...
four...
three...
two...
one...
zero! Suzume walked out the door and made her way to her house, Emica running as fast as she could way ahead of her. By the time Suzume got to the front porch, Emica was waiting there for at least two minutes. “Hey Suzu! guess what?”
"What?” Suzume sighed and started to unlock the door.
“I asked Mom and Dad if I could invite some friends over while you were at the rink, and they said yes!”
“Which friends?”
“Well, I only have two options, Noa and Kaede. I asked both of them.”
"You have to have more than two friends.”
“Nope!” Emica made a childish smile. “Anyway, Noa said we could have a sleepover and everyone else said that was okay! Mom and Dad also said you can invite some of your friends too!”
"Okay, I guess.” Suzume made her way upstairs while Emica sat down on the couch. Once she was in, she took Ellie off her bag and told her, “You can talk now.”
“Finally.” Ellie said, shifting out of her keychain form and stretching her limbs. “What’s all this I hear about a sleepover?”
“Oh yeah, Emica’s having a sleepover, apparently I can invite people too.”
“You should invite the other Cures. It’s important for you guys to stay together.”
“You do realize I have other friends, right?”
“Come on, Suzume, what if another robot attacks you? I’ll invite Stripe and Whisker too.”
“You are the tiny floating elephant version of an overprotective mom.”
“I know.”
Suzume took out her phone and called Airi, as she still hasn’t gotten Aina’s number. Airi picked up rather quickly. “Yeah, hey.”
“Hey Airi! I was wondering if you wanted to spend the night at my place?”
“Really? We barely know each other.”
“Well I can invite whoever I want, and Ell-”
“I’m on speaker.”
“Well, you know, she is super cautious and overprotective, so she wants me to invite you and Aina.”
“What about Noa?”
“Emica invited her.”
“Oh, alright. I’ll tell my parents. When should I come?”
“Don’t care. Maybe come soon, we could do some homework together.”
“Alright, see you!” Airi then hung up.
“Okay, Ellie, why don’t you get the other fairies?” Suzume turned around.
“Okay, I guess.” Ellie answered, floating out the window literally moments before Emica walked in. “Hey Suzu! Who’d you invite?”
“Oh, I invited Airi and I’m gonna invite Aina.”
“Are they like, your only friends all of a sudden?”
Suzume wasn’t quite sure how to answer without giving away her secret. Luckily, the doorbell rang. The sisters went downstairs to answer it. It was Kaede, with a giant bag that was filled with what Suzume thought was probably a mix of homework, pillows, and a bunch of toys, probably Precure related.
“Kaede!” Emica cheered. “Suzu, I call our room!” She ran upstairs, Kaede following, though much slower.
Suzume played on her phone for the next few minutes, but soon enough she heard the doorbell ring. She went to answer it. Aina had arrived, as well as the three fairies. “I did’t call you yet, Aina...”
“Oh, the fairies stopped by.” Aina answered. She pet Stripe, then walked inside.
Eventually, Airi and Noa also came. Once they all finished up their homework, Suzume, Airi, and Aina went into the living room to situate themselves. Noa also followed, despite being invited by Emica.
Emica and Kaede went upstairs. Kaede, sat down on Emica’s bed. “You know what’s up with your sister lately? She’s never hung out with anyone as much as she’s hanging out with Airi and Noa and Aina. They’re always doing something.”
“I know, it’s so weird.” Emica responded. “She rarely even hangs out with me anymore.”
Meanwhile, the Cures began to unpack their bags. Noa seemed to be very secretive about the contents of hers, and Aina noticed. “Noa, is something up?”
“No...”
“You sure?”
“Yeah...”
“What’s in that bag?”
“Nothing. I swear.”
“I’m pretty good with telling these things. Come on Noa, we won’t tease you.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
“Me too!” Aina added.
“I guess I won’t either then.” Suzume said as she fixed her ponytail.
“Okay, fine.” Noa took a doll with pale white skin, dark brown hair in ringlets, big blue painted on eyes, and a knee-length white dress with ruffles and pink bows out of her bag. “This is Bell-chan, I’ve had her since I was three. Please don’t think I’m weird or childish for playing with dolls.”
“It’s not weird at all!” Airi said. “I still sleep with a teddy bear.” she added, gesturing to the stuffed bear on her pillow.”
“Can I do her hair?” Ellie asked.
“Of course!” Noa answered. “Be very careful, though.”
Ellie began to braid Bell-chan’s hair when all of a sudden, footsteps could be heard. All three fairies quickly turned into keychains.
Emica and Kaede marched down the stairs, holding replicas of the Bonheur Wand and Chanceux Sword, respectively. “I am sick and tired of being ignored!” Emica yelled, repeatedly beating the wand on her sister. “Viva la revolution!”
“The real thing hurts more.” Suzume responded, not getting slightly hurt.
“How would you know?”
“Just a guess.”
“Why are you all of a sudden hanging out with these girls though? You never hung out with them before.”
“I... I can’t tell you... uhhh, I don’t know.”
This made Emica really mad, hitting Suzume harder than she thought she could.
“Hey bitch, what was that for?”
“Gotta problem?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Fine, me and Kaede versus you and your new friends. Winner gets... uh... I’ll figure it out later. It’s on.”
“Deal.”
Aina, not wanting to see either party get mad, ripped the wand out of Emica’s hand. She twirled it and showed off the skill she got from fighting with the real thing regularly.
Neither of the sisters were remotely intimidated. They just went at each other directly, no weapons needed.
Airi, Noa, Aina, and Kaede knew that someone could get hurt, and tried their best to break up the fight. Suzume and Emica didn’t stop though, and the fight continued until everyone collapsed on the floor.
It was about 4 a.m. when Airi heard a little knock on one of the windows. She was a relatively light sleeper, and even the smallest noise could cause her to wake up.
She ran up to inspect, and she found a robot. “Goddammit,” she muttered. Just when she was about to wake up the others, another voice came from an open window. “Hello there...”
Airi turned around. It was Yukio, who was controlling the rest of the robots, slowly making them circle the house.
Airi quickly ran to Noa. “Noa! Noa! Noa!”
“What time is it?”
“Who the hell knows?”
“What do you want?”
“There’s an army of robots outside.”
“Okay...”
“Don’t you think we should get rid of them?”
“Ten minutes...”
“We can’t wait ten minutes, Noa.”
Aina, suddenly wide awake, turned to the pair. “Get up, Noa.”
“Fine...”
Now the girls had to wake up Suzume. If Airi was a light seeper, Suzume was the complete opposite. It might take more than 10 minutes to get her up. Unfortunately, there was no such time as more and more robots surrounded them. Of course, the girls had no idea, so they tried to get her up by shaking her, whispering in her ear, and turning on alarms. Eventually, Airi had enough.
“SUZUME!!!!!!! GET YOUR ASS UP BEFORE WE ALL DIE!!!!!!”
Suzume, eyes still closed, partially sat up. “What, Mom?”
Opening her eyes, she realized that the voice, in fact, belonged to Airi. “Oh, Airi, sorry. What?”
Airi said nothing, just pointed out the window. Suzume stumbled to the window, and muttered “Holy fuck, that’s a lot of robots.” under her breath.
“To the circus?” Noa proposed. The other girls nodded.
“I know a secret exit,” Suzume said. “Follow me.”
The girls made it to the circus, but the robots still managed to follow them. They came outside and silently agreed it was time to transform, and took out their Pikacompacts.
“Magic circus jubilee change!“
“Magic circus parade change!”
“Magic circus cheer change!”
“Magic circus carnival change!”
“For the happiness of the world! The Pretty Cure of beauty and grace! Cure Jubilee!”
“For the happiness of the world! The Pretty Cure of creativity and love! Cure Parade!”
“For the happiness of the world! The Pretty Cure of peace and hope! Cure Cheer!”
“For the happiness of the world! The Pretty Cure of bravery and friendship! Cure Carnival!“
The Cures all smiled and looked at each other before saying, “Together we are Pikapika☆Pretty Cure Under The Big Top!”
The girls began to prepare to fight the robots, but Cure Jubilee noticed something. “The fairies!”
"Go get them,” Carnival responded. I’ve got it for now.” Carnival aimed her two fists at two robots. Yukio, who was still controlling the robots, made them punch back. The metal hurt, but that didn’t stop Cure Carnival. “Bonheur Wand!” Carnival went back at them, hitting the robots with the sharp edges of her wand. Once the robots were clearly incapable of fighting, she moved on.
“Fêtê Ribbon!” Cure Cheer summoned her ribbon. “Pikapika golden tangle!” Cheer tied up five of the robots, then used the ribbon to push them into a nearby building.
Cure Jubilee was also nearby, now with the fairies. “I got them!” she called to Carnival, who was still hitting robots with her wand. Then she turned to another batch of robots. “Listen up, bitches.” she told them. “You really think you’re gonna win this? The Pretty Cures always win.” She jumped down from the roof she was hiding on and she hit a robot’s face. She turned to another, and kicked his face. She kicked the faces of a few more as well.
Cure Parade stood by. To her, it seemed that all the robots were being taken over by the other girls, and there wasn’t much she could do. Carnival noticed this. “Hey Parade, there’s one robot left, you know.”
She was right. If the Cures looked closer, there was one more robot under Yukio’s control. Since he was the last one left, all of Yukio’s power and energy was being put into this one robot, making him more powerful than all the others.
"You got this one!” Stripe whispered to Cure Parade.
“Are you sure?” Parade answered.
“Of course we are! This one is all yours.” Whisker told her.
Parade turned to the robot. “Chanceux Sword!”
She ran up to the robot, sword in hand. Parade lifted it it up, then carefully aimed it at the robot. Just a moment later, the robot had Parade by the neck, before she could even use the sword. Cure Parade kicked and kicked and kicked, before realizing this did nothing. “Wait a second!” She said to herself. The robot had her neck, her arms were still free. Parade could still stab the robot. She held the sword carefully, aimed, and when the robot wasn’t looking, she stabbed and broke him. Then she could finally break free and finish what the robots started.
"Félicité Bow!” Jubilee summoned her weapon, being the last Cure to do so. All the girls held their weapons in the air. “Pretty Cure Cirque Charge!” The girls then made their way back to the house and detransformed. It was only five in the morning, there was still time to get some sleep.
The next morning, Emica and Kaede woke up and grabbed some yogurt, but the Cures were obviously very tired. Suzume stumbled to the breakfast table and sat next to her sister. “Emica, I’m sorry.”
“Me too, Suzu.” Emica answered. “Could you try to spend more time with me though?”
“I’ll try.”
After breakfast, Emica sat down in her bed. I’ll try? Sure she will. Suzume and all her new friends were super tired in the morning. This doesn’t just happen normally.
Something fishy is definitely going on.
#precure fandom#precure oc#pretty cure fandom#pretty cure oc#precure fanseries#pretty cure#pikapika precure under the big top#precure#pretty cure fanseries#fancure
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DIGIMONOLOGUE
Digimon, is not a Pokemon ripoff. It is in fact a Tamagotchi ripoff. Okay, to be fair I am not sure if you can call something a ripoff if it was made by the company that made the original product. Anyway, I always consider Pokemon and Digimon mirrors in a way. The Pokemon games and merchandise are the “superior” product while the anime is more variable quality. In the case of Digimon, the anime is the more interesting product while the video games and card games are less consistent. Not necessarily bad, mind you (some of the Digimon DS games, while I haven’t played them, are pretty good from what I have heard).
Anyway, the Digimon and Pokemon anime are two different beasts. The anime is about Ash’s eternal quest to become champion, which will never happen because the director has noted that the series will end once Ash becomes champion. Character development appears to be a lesser concern; Ash is followed by a crew of partners who change each season, and most episodes take a monster of the week approach, with Ash encountering a character, solving their problem, and then continuing until encountering a more major plot point. Note that I haven’t really watched Pokemon since the GS era, and the focus may have changed slightly (especially with the Alola episodes, which have stirred up the animation as well), but this is the image I get.
Digimon, on the other hand, is a lot more character driven. Even the monsters in this series are interesting characters (for the most part), however instead of continuing forever the characters are (mostly) restricted to their own season. They get 50-54 episodes to grow, fight whatever threat the digital and/or real world is facing, and then get to move on with their lives. It’s a lot like Precure, another Toei property that is also a very good series that you should look into that is not just a Sailor Moon ripoff damn it.
Anyway, I was big into Digimon growing up. And Pokemon. And Monster Rancher, to a degree, but that’s a whole different thing. I did not get into Digimon the anime due to the Pokemon anime, but because I had recently taken an interest in the virtual pets after a friend introduced me to them. The v-pets, mind you, had been out for a while and the ones that I got were from the discount section of Toys-R-Us. Oddly enough, right before the show reached Fox Kids I found a set of Digimon toys based off the Virtual Pet at a Big Lots in Florida. So somehow, this anime appeared right when my awareness of this show was highest. Maybe it was my… DIGI-DESTINY?
Anyway, recently I watched through all of the English dubbed seasons with @radondoran . Why the English dub and not the Japanese version, subtitiled? Because I need all the jokes added over dramatic silence I can take. Also, because it isn’t that bad of a dub. It gets corny, sure, but its charming and one of the better dubs. Good work, Jeff Nimoy. It makes some changes, sure, but they aren’t as weird or egregious as, say, 4kids. I had actually watched season 1-3 in Japanese, and its fine, but you can tell it’s definitely a Japanese kids cartoon as it plays things (just a bit) more straight forward.
Anyway, now that we have finished nearly all the American dubbed Digimon content, I am going to share my thoughts on each season. I will have more to say about some seasons (coughDigimon02cough) than others. To organize my thoughts I will split each season into two parts; a part where I discuss the plot, and a part for the characters. Anyway, I hope this will be enlightening as I go through each season.
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Previous years: 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016
It is again time for the annual roundup! It feels this was not a particularly good animanga year in terms of amount of series consumed, but when it comes to enthusiasm Attack on Titan has single handedly offered more excitement than anything else in the past... I dunno, 3 or 4 years.
Attack on Titan
Finally ended up giving this a proper chance, mostly by accident, and I'm still in that hole. I'd say that a sizeable amount of my appreciation for this manga comes from how it stands out from all the other action shounen I've read in terms of how it deals with common shounen characters, themes and tropes, but as of late I've learnt to appreciate more how it stands on its own as well. Also as upset as I am that I'm so late to the party at least catching up to happened at a relatively good spot, since I found it was easier for me to get into the new arc without the main cast when I just had gotten some 50 chapters worth of material with my favourites. And with the new developments the wait was definitely worth it, even if I'm as thirsty as everyone else for the rest of the main cast's new designs.
Awards given: Best manga, Best boy (Eren), Best OP that I didn't actually see (didn't watch the anime outside listening to some music), Best friendship (Eren and Historia), Best mentor (Levi)
Made in Abyss
Heard this got a lot of praise so I decided to check it out too, knowing only that it's supposedly pretty grim. At first it seemed like just a "plucky kids go on an adventure" kind of show, even if the darker elements were always there (like how the main characters embarked on their journey fully aware that they won't be coming back). The upper layers of the titular Abyss felt pretty easy for their rumoured danger level, but when things finally went south they did so spectacularly. Very bad things happen to children in this show! Overall I really liked the Abyss as a location, the characters were great and especially the female characters were way above average (as in, pretty much got treated equally with the dudes).
Awards given: Best anime, Best OP I actually saw
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid
This one I watched just because it looked cute. Which it was I guess, KyoAni's animation is always a pleasure to watch, but I got little else out of it. Kanna teeters between actually cute and manipulative-and-kinda-disgusting.
Awards given: Best cute animation, Best side boy (Fafnir)
Spirit Circle
Finally bothered to get into another manga from one of my favourite authors, and it was definitely worth it. The story revolving around the two protagonists reincarnating in different periods and often ending up killing one another was definitely something more unique than usual, the plot was well thought out, and the character work was just as great as I had learned to expect from the author (plus the female characters don't suck). On top of it all there is the strange calm and positive atmosphere despite sometimes grim subject matter that Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer also had. The art still isn't that amazing and sometimes the space-time talk gets way over my head but otherwise an excellent read.
Awards given: Best girl (Kouko (and iterations)), Best laughs, Best romance
One Piece
Not sure if it's because of the quality of the manga itself or because Attack on Titan dethroned One Piece from the top spot, but my interest in OP has waned a little in the past year. I haven't been able to get into Sanji's family drama, and the stuff with Big Mom has raised some good expectations but so far hasn't quite managed to live up to them. However my interest has only decreased in relation to the series itself, and compared to everything else I've consumed OP still stands tall, and Best Bunny Carrot even got to do something so I'm good I guess?
Awards given: Best side girl (Carrot)
The magical girl corner:
Doki Doki! Precure
I thought this was from last year but apparently no. So here it is, my least favourite magical girl series of all time! Might also be the least favourite anime in general (judgement pending)! Those interested can find a long rant here, but the tl;dr is that the show revolves around glorifying the main character who has no flaws, has no character development since she's amazing from the start, gets all the other characters' personal storylines be about her too, gets the story to bend so that she's always right in the end, and so on. Ugh! Though I must say that at least that in a way the series was interesting in how blindly and confidently it assumes everyone in the audience has the default assumption that the main character is the most amazing thing to ever grace this earth with her presence.
Awards given: Worst anime, Worst girl (Mana), Worst “romance"(whatever it is when everyone proclaims their 'love' for Mana), Worst friendship (Mana being the center of everyone's universe)
Kira Kira Precure a la Mode
Tried watching an ongoing Precure series this time, and while I'm still some episodes behind it could be a lot worse. Overall a really lackluster season and suffers from the same problems as the other Precure seasons I've seen: generic, unambitious, noncommittal, repetitive... There's very little going on with the plot, and while I do like some of the characters it's hard to care when the show is so adamant at doing nothing interesting with them. However it's still the best out of the Precure seasons I've seen so far properly, which probably says more about the other two's (HapiCha and DokiDoki) quality. And I do have to commend KiraKira for sticking to the sweets theme; at least it's clearly about something.
I've also watched some Go! Princess Precure which blows the other three Precure I've seen out of the water, but I haven't made very far. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it next year.
Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero: Washio Sumi chapter / Hero chapter
Why is it always the dark magical girl shows that try anything new and interesting!? I find that the new YuYuYu stuff has had some really clunky and awkward direction, stock characters, limited animation and ham-fisted drama, but I still appreciate what it's doing with its plot. Also gotta love the veteran magical girl's reaction to the new magic system which allows them to trade defence barriers for +1000% power: "lol back in my day we didn't have any shields in the first place!"
Awards given: Best magical girl outfits
Also finished Flip Flappers (final verdict: cool premise and looks interesting, execution a little uneven but still worth watching), Punchline (an uneven but still interesting little thing with great character designs), Uta Kata (a slow moving dark magical girl show with some nice ideas, good outfit designs, poor animation and awkward fanservice) and Pop in Q (mostly forgettable upbeat magical girl thing; though it did manage to hold interest for its short length).
Awards given: Biggest WTF (Uta Kata's poorly implemented fanservice), Best character designs (Punchline)
I also watched the second season of Hibike Euphonium, but I can't remember if it was at the end of 2016 but either way I don't have a lot to say about it.
Animal Crossing Pocket Camp
Good old Animal Crossing in mobile form, there's not much else to it and there's very little to do, but I'm a sucker for collecting and the leisurely and friendly atmosphere is worth it. Seeing Tom Nook ask for real money this time was definitely the highlight even if I'd never pay for a mobile game myself.
Awards given: Biggest Time-Waster (but I still keep playing it)
I've also kept playing Pokemon Go but there's not a lot to say about it, like can you add some new gameplay stuff to it please? Also did not get Ultra Sun/Moon. I didn't care too much for Alola and most of the new content seems to be about the Ultra stuff which is unlikable to me by default; I've never been into the legendary/mythical/ultra/save the world from apocalypse aspect of the games, like just let me train my pets to become the very best like no on ever was.
Not a lot of negative awards this year it seems. The bad stuff I read was just forgettable instead of bad in a funny way or so bad it's fun to hate it.
Plans for 2018:
Finally watch the Attack on Titan anime to catch up with the rest of the fandom and prepare for my favourite arc getting adapted
Finish with the mostly disappointing Digimon Adventure Tri.
Watch the newest Precure as it airs, finish Go! Princess and at least one of the earlier seasons
More magical girls! Maybe finally check out Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card arc, finish Matoi the Sacred Slayer (which has been on my list since 2016...), Pretear, series where the magical girl is a side character (Concrete Revoutio, Samurai Flamenco, re:Creators, Invaders of the Rokujyoma!?)
Finally watch Neon Genesis Evangelion (been working on it since 2005) and finish Gurren Lagann
Finish reading Neuro
Read Sengoku Youko, NaruTaru and Rozen Maiden
maybe get a Switch and the new Zelda and Mario games for it
Maybe I'll get to at least a fourth of these...?
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Miyo’s Anime of Various Notes 2017 Edition
This year was a good year for anime. I liked a lot of shows this year and I thought I would write up another one of these! Again, they're in no order really!
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Dragon Maid
Dragon Maid as a series has definite problems. There's some kind of gross fan service and some really unhealthy feeling fetish stuff, especially from what I've heard and seen from manga snippets. However, despite all that, Kyoani was able to polish this show up into a nice little story about a dragon and her love for the woman who saved her life..and drank with her a lot out in the boonies one night. It's a really nice story though of a lonely person slowly getting a new lease on life with new friends who happen to be dragons. There's lots of good little character moments and it's nice that all of the characters grow as time go on really, even when one just plays MMOs all day and writes curse doujinshi. Also I can't listen to the opening theme without getting butterflies in my stomach from cute lovey doveyness.
Girls' Last Tour
Girls' Last Tour takes place in the shell of a world that is on its last legs. There are crumbling buildings, technology long since in use and even the occasional grave site. Really, the world itself is kind of bleak, but the story of Chito and Yuuri is not an overtly sad one. It's the story of how as long as you have each other, you've got all you need in life. Seriously though, there are some good heart warming moments in here. The girl's have weirdly cute wide Hidamari Sketch style heads against the bleak background but it works really well. It has some really nice music too: the rain drops song in patricular is super duper chill and is just a joy to listen to.
Recovery of an MMO Junkie
It's nice to see an anime about people my age, that might be why this one interested me at first. On top of that though, it's a show where one can find a lot of familiar stories, especially if you've touched an MMO at any point in time. First and foremost though, Recovery of an MMO Junkie is a story about relationships though and how helpful they can be. These don't pertain to just romantic ones of course. Friends are super helpful when you're having a bad time, and as the show goes on, you can see just how much the friends Moriko is making along the way mean to her. It's a cute little story with some very cute moments and character designs. Morimori-chan is one of my favorite characters this year and I support her in every way. Sakurai is also a very good boy of course.
Love Live Sunshine Season 2
Last year I had season 1 on my list and the trend continued this year. The girls in Aqours just seem so much more realistic in their struggles than Muse ever did in the original show. They don't always get what they want; life does not just throw out miracles like Chika wants it to. But they don't let it stop them, and the girls keep going because, to quote the opening "we got dream." Seriously though, I am consistently pleased with this show and it helps that my favorite girl got her own episode early on. Also the studio has FINALLY figured out how to make the CGI look good compared to the previous series' attempts. Good music, good girls, good show. It still has 2 more eps but I'm confident with placing it here in my shows of the year of note.
Little Witch Academia
Little Witch Academia has been bouncing around through various OVAs for the past couple years, so it was nice to finally get to see this show...be an actual show. It has a few ups and downs, which mainly are wishing a few characters got more screen time, and one specifically LESS screen time, but it's a very nice show. It's got a fun doofy protagonist who is doing her best even though she is terrible at magic. It has a haughty rival, even though only Akko sees her as on the same level, a cute nerd pal who reads anime Twilight and a mushroom obsessed creepo who got vored by a slime monster. I really do not know what else you need me to say. It's by Trigger so it's beautiful to watch? It has a Moomin reference? You can see the dumb guy from Pawn Stars but anime? It's a really good show. Real good.
Restaurant to Another World
This show is a guilty pleasure honestly. It's fun to see the weird fantasy creatures ordering, mostly Japanese, cuisine in an interplanetary restaurant, yes. The main draw though is seeing the wonderfully animated and drawn food though. Every week watching this just made me hungry and it was hard not to drool a lot of the time. The characters are all really fun, even if they're essentially all interspersed between episodes. Almost all of them get their own little spotlight episodes in conjunction with their favorite particular dish. Most of all, I'll never forget Restaurant to Another World for giving me so many furry vore retweets from a random image I got from an episode. It's a fun show you can watch in the background and just admire the tastiness. Just, you know, maybe eat dinner first.
Interviews with Monster Girls
Interviews with Monster Girls is not Monster Musume, that's the thing I can stress the most about this. It's about a world where there are just...monster girls! Join our way-too-into-them sensei as he...tries to honestly just learn about the differences between the folklore surrounding various monsters and how it ties into how they actually live in society. Also root on for a succubus as she tries to just let her mature woman side fly. It's very rough being a succubus in a super packed society did you know? Seriously though, it's a nice little show that oddly has more continuity than you'd think since it's not just an episodic 4koma style show. It's also got a dumb vampire with a shirt that has a cape design on the back, it's great.
Kira Kira Precure a la Mode
This was the first Precure I've watched as it was on-going so it's been a fun ride. It has a bunch of magical girls who are also animals but ALSO are desserts. It also has some of most fun looking CGI I've seen in anime before, but that seems to be what Precures are good at so it's not that surprising for series veteran watchers I'm sure. Either way, it's a good story about friends and fairies and sweets. It's made me want to bake dumb anime cookies for an upcoming con and fill them with kira*kiraru. It has a really fun ending theme too...well both of them really. I'll look forward to see what the Precures are up to next in the coming series, but I'll never forget these girls.
Umaruchan R
I liked the original Umaru season well enough, but the second season has really been going all in on the fun. On top of that, a lot of the characters have gotten more screen time and more character development even. We learn more about Sylphin, Kirie and Ebina, and Umaru and Taihei's sibling relationship is shown to be a lot nicer too. It's not like before where she was always just a terrible brat trash girl, now she's just that SOME of the time. You can tell they really love each other though, and not in a gross way that other anime like to do with siblings. Also it's shown just how being friends has helped the other girls, and even Umaru herself really. It's a good show and I'm glad that it managed to get better on its second at bat.
Big Gold Star Show
Kemono Friends
Kemono Friends is...well It's not really a good show. It has a hilariously low budget and even worse CGI. It's a lot like a picture drawn by your 5 year old where it's not fine tuned yet but it makes you feel kind of good anyway. It has some really cute character designs of this bunch of doofy animals that are just living their lives. Whether it's going to battle every day against their long time rival, wandering ruins looking for coins or just singing to their hearts content, there is something about the Friends that just makes you root for them. It's not a show you need to watch, but you might just like it if you do. Sugoooooi~
Old Anime of the Year
These are shows that I watched that didn't necessarily come out this year but that's when I watched them. It's pretty simple!
Osomatsu-san
Sheeeh! I watched this one on the recommendation of a buddy. A remake of a series from the 1960's about sextuplet brothers modernized into terrible dirtbag NEETs. This show is full of weird, often gross, things, but there's something about its manic humor that just speaks to me. The brothers are terrible terrible terrrrrible boys but you can find good points about them too. I've been watching season 2 as well this season so this will probably carry over into next year as an old anime of the year. Sooo...let's just say Osomatsu-san is an Old Anime of the Year 2016-2018. Ok? Cool!
Yuri on Ice
I had this on last year's list of shows to look into and I'm very glad I continued it. It tells a really good story about gaining confidence and learning to feel good about yourself. Yuuri's journey along the way is wonderful. Because of that, this is another series I'm looking forward to the second season of to see where it goes. My only complaint was that it was a little repetitive but that's probably how sports anime go huh? I liked watching the routines and listening to the songs. It also has a great cast of side characters like Chris with the great butt, the weird vampire guy and Phichit, your best friend. There's also J.J. who is full of himself, sure, but there's just something fun about him still. Here's to more ice boys!
Konosuba
Konosuba is a series full of lovable dummies. Like...execeptionally dumb. Like..super..SUPER dumb. But that's really what's so fun about them. I had some Ah! My Goddess vibes with the series' set up except Aqua is a much much much more flawed goddess than Belldandy ever was. Seriously though, this series takes the isekai/reborn in another world from our world genre and takes it in a direction that's actually fun instead of retreading the same old stories. It's got explosion mages, it's got really awkward paladins and it has a very put on dullahan who just wants to have his evil schemes go the way he planned. I need to watch season 2 still, and if it's more of the same, I'm in for sure.
Heart Catch Precure
This show was actually my first Precure several years ago, but my buddy and I didn't finish it before. Since we had been watching the new show, we decided to double up and watch both of them at the same time. Heart Catch is honestly a delight and has some of the things I like most in a magical girl show. It has fun heroes, it has really doofy villains and it has a whole lot of heart. It's episodic sure, but it has a really great art style that just makes it even more endearing to me. Also, episodic magical girls with dumb monsters is why I loved the original Sailor Moon anime. I also enjoy that the Precures just punch and dropkick things as their first course of action. You just can't step to a magical girl that's gonna just pop you in the jaw.
Ugh show?
Gabriel Drop Out
I don't know whether to call this show an UGH show or just an ultimately lame one. I know it definitely is a 1 or 1.5 character show though. The best character is sweet dumb demon Satania who the show seems completely content to just dump on whenever it has the chance. I do not appreciate that anime. I don't at all. Please do not bully this sweet evil girl because she does not deserve it. This show was not as heinous as last year's Kuma Miko, but one of the characters is for sure a bad bad ugh one.
Anime to Check Out
I have a few shows I've had on my list to look at, mostly on my Crunchy Roll queue that I haven't gotten on due to a crazy good Fall season/laziness. Here they are!
Alice to Zoroku
I watched the first episode of this back in the summer and I didn't take the time to finish it up. I plan to fix that in the coming year since I like the premise and I really liked the old man especially. I look forward to learning more about them in the future!
The Ancient Magus' Bride
This one I've mostly seen interesting looking pics of so I'm curious. I like cool skeleton wizard looking things and anime. This seems reasonable enough to me.
One Punch Man
This is still happening right? Yea, definitely gonna watch that.
#MiyosDumbAnimeList#DragonMaid#GirlsLastTour#NetJuu#LoveLiveSunshine#LittleWitchAcademia#RestauranttoAnotherWorld#InterviewswithMonsterGirls#KiraKiraPrecureAlaMode#UmaruchanR#KemonoFriends#Konosuba#YuriOnIce#Osomatsusan#HeartCatchPrecure
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Interstellar Precure: Chapter 1
With the future’s hope in your heart, soar towards tomorrow!
Interstellar! Pretty Cure: Chapter 1
Fight for the Future of the Sun, ari!
��
“Bye, Grandpa!” Niko said it as she rushed out the door, already leaping onto her bike. Her grandpa in question didn’t even get a chance to respond before the door slammed behind her, and Niko was off.
A mental checklist went up in her brain. She needed coffee. Then she would go to school. She’d wing the rest.
There was nothing special about today, just like how the rest of the days had gone. And honestly? Niko was kind of glad about that.
It was nearing six months since everything had started, and she just wanted to forget about it all like the rest of Keres had.
Six months since her grandpa got sick. Six months since the sky darkened. Six months since the meteor shower, and six months since….
Since Chikara had disappeared along with twenty-six other teenagers.
Niko shook her head. No, no. She had sworn to herself that she’d push it all back, that she wouldn’t dwell on it. For her sake, and for her grandpa’s sake. Chikara wouldn’t want her to be as depressed as she was almost six months ago.
No, there was nothing special about today. Niko would just head to Luros Preparatory as always, barely passing classes and doing nothing after school but going home, having empty conversations with Madison and Aria.
Was it the future she wanted? No. But it was the future she had, and she didn’t need anything different or life changing.
Life could just stay stagnant like this.
“You can’t run forever, little messenger.”
The voice echoed in Sollari’s ears as they ran. People barely looked up as they weaved between human legs, clamoring over leather shoes.It should have struck Sollari as odd. Messengers were either welcomed or feared, not ignored. But they only cared about getting away. Ritzu would be close behind.
“The Absolute knows you will never make another Pretty Cure. You are a failure, and you only came here in a fruitless attempt to save a much better messenger.”
Creatures of the Vertex didn’t have stardrops. There was no point to Ritzu’s taunts. Which meant...which meant….they were all true.
No! Sollari wouldn’t believe that. They’d lie to themself over and over again before they believed it. They could do anything. They could, they could…
“Lead me to your new child. Your divine saviour.”
They wouldn’t. But they could feel Ritzu, they could feel them…was it already too late? Was their soul spark damaged, like a stardrop in a human who had lost their hope?
“Your celestial.”
Sollari’s rust-red tail twitched. Their nose knew where they were going, even if their brain was preoccupied.
The girl with the pink stardrops. Their saviour. The last child who had known Cure Star, even indirectly. They didn’t know her name, but they would know when they say her. They had to. It was their duty as a messenger of the Vertex Core.
It was a reach, but it was all Sollari had. Lune was gone. Star was gone. The only one who had known Star’s identity was gone.
Sollari knew they were a failure of a messenger. Every Pretty Cure they had had never lasted very long, not even in training. Their power wasn’t strong enough.
They didn’t know how to make Pretty Cure, but they knew Lune. And they had to...they had to…..
They had to try. For Lune’s sake.
It was the future they wanted. Sollari and Lune, the sun and the moon, day and night…Their best friend was lost, and Sollari would not give into darkness.So they continued to run.
I will find you, purikyua, ari. For our future, ari.
For the future of the sun above, I will fight, ari.
For the future of the sun above, I will fight.
Niko’s head suddenly felt like it had been stabbed.
Her bike wobbled and toppled over, and Niko was crumpled on the sidewalk.
For the future of the sun above.
Without thinking, Niko’s hands moved up to unclip her helmet. She had to get it off, off, because it had to be the one stabbing her head like this. In only a few strokes, the silver helmet slammed to the ground. Alright. Step one done.The second was to get up. Get up, and then she could walk somewhere, get some advil. Or maybe coffee. She needed something.
She hadn’t hit something while she was biking, had she? No, the path was clear. Cars zoomed by, but nothing had stopped for even a second.It was normal. It had to be just a headache, not anything special.
“No, no, it was weird. I heard it in my head, Ni. In my head - don’t laugh! God, this is why I don’t tell you stuff. Hey, hey, I don’t mean that. It’s a joke, alright? I tell you everything.”
“I mean, you’re like my only friend. Yeah, that is kinda depressing, huh?”
No. No no no no.
Life could stay stagnant. It had to. It had to. It had to.
Niko pushed herself up, legs still shaking. Just had to get to school. Nothing ever happened at Luros. Aria, and Madison, and everyone...they just rambled on about tv shows or games and it was all mindless nonsense they knew was just to avoid talking about anything real.
Niko liked that. It was normal.
You’re wrong. Nothing is normal anymore.
The words felt like something was squeezing her head, and Niko almost hissed aloud at the pain. The whole world faded for a second before it came back, which probably wasn't good.
Stop it, stop it! She thought. It was telepathy or something stupid like that, right? Just more nonsense that wasn’t real. So if she said stop it, it would stop.
I’m at the park. Please help me. I can help you.
The park. That wasn’t anything specific, but somehow...somehow Niko just knew. There was a park just across the street, and that would be fine.
Please stop it. Niko took one step, than another, her entire body tense. If she got a return message, she might collapse in the middle of the street. A flash of green light started her moving.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
She had left her bike behind. Niko inwardly cursed.
Four steps. Five steps.
Why was this happening? Nothing had done this for six months. Not since the calls for help had resounded in everyone’s minds for miles, seconds before the meteor shower. Even that hadn’t hurt so much. It was more subconscious, a simple you have to help, go before everything ended. No one had made it in time - wherever it was - before everything ended anyway.
Niko was pretty sure the official explanation for the two-week panic was gas leaks, or something equally as stupid. The teenagers knew what had happened. It was their friends who had vanished from existence, after all.You know, until everyone forgot.
Niko had lost count of her steps. She was in the park now, tennis shoes sinking in tanbark as she walked through the trees.
“Ari,” came a squeak. Niko tensed, hands balling into fists.
Probably just a squirrel. Or a bird. It was nothing, nothing. There was a cafe stall in the park. Just walk towards there, and get a coffee. It was a stupid idea, but Niko held onto it.
“You can hear me, right, ari?”
That wasn't a squeak. A tiny white squirrel-like body dropped from a tree to the tanbark below. It raised its head, revealing twin glittering black eyes.It was more bunny-like than a squirrel, with long burnt orange ears, though they were rounded rather than pointed. The bunny’s tail was the most interesting - a rust red trail that seemed at least a foot long.
“Help me, ari. You’re the only one that can, ari.”
Niko took a step backwards.
“I think you’ve got the wrong person. I only came here cause I wanted my head to stop hurting.” The words flowed out of her mouth too quickly, but they were true. The bunny winced.
“Sorry, ari. I should have known it would hurt you, ari. I shouldn’t have forced the link, ari…but I need you, ari.”
Niko held a hand out. Things needed to stop for at least one second.
“Need me for -” Niko cut herself off. First, she needed an explanation. “Who are you? And why the hell can you talk?”
The bunny stood up on two legs, their eyes shining with fear and determination.
“I am the solar messenger Sollari et Al of the Vertex Core, ari. You can call me Sollari, ari. I’m here because my friends have been captured, and you’re the only one I know, ari.” Sollari’s tail swayed from left to right, like a cat ready to pounce.
“But I don’t...I don’t know you?” It came out more like a question. Sollari’s eyes shimmered once more, but it seemed more like tears hidden out of sight.“You knew Chikara Oshiro, ari?”
Niko paled. Her hands curled into fists once more, nails digging into the skin of her palms.
“Why would you ask that?” Sollari didn’t falter.
“But you knew her, ari?”Niko nodded. She couldn’t think of a response.
“Then you’re the one, ari. You have to...you have to help me, ari.”
“Why would you...” No one had said Chikara’s name in months.
“I’ll explain later. Please, ari. They’re coming, ari.” Well, the messenger or whatever wasn’t going to answer her questions.
Niko, against all better instinct, scooped up Sollari in her arms and walked into the park.
> Text message from Aria: Niko????
> Text message from Aria: Are you okay???
> Text message from Aria: Where are you???
> Text message from Mads: dude where the hell are you
> Text message from Mads: if you leave us to do this presentation on our own i will drop kick you out the window
> You: busy
> You: i’ll be there
> You sent a photo.
> Text message from Mads: that’s blurry as hell dude
> Text message from Aria: Busy with what????
> You: chikara
> Aria and Mads are typing...
“A mocha for Niko?”
Niko looked up from her phone. The cafe server, a lady not much older than Niko with dark blue hair down her back, held an exceedingly large coffee cup in her hands.
“Thanks,” Niko mumbled, and took the cup. She shouldn’t have said Chikara. She was going to need a lot of caffeine to deal with the fallout of that decision.
Despite beginning to sip the searing drink, Niko still felt a gaze on her back. She looked up once more to see the server still looming over her.
“Is that...a bunny?”
Don’t tell them.
With a pounding ache in her head, Niko looked at Sollari, hidden inside her backpack. The “messenger” didn’t show any signs of movement.Niko took another sip.
“Stuffed animal,” she replied, voice flat. The server looked skeptical, but turned to go back to the coffee cart.
Thank you.
Niko held her forehead in her empty hand.
“Don’t do that,” she muttered. “Hurts.” Sollari squirmed in the backpack, upset. Or were they uncomfortable?
I-
Sollari seemed to realize their mistake as soon as they started, burrowing deeper into the jumble of books in Niko’s backpack.
“Hope you’re not eating any books in there,” she muttered. She really shouldn’t feel bad for it. It was basically blackmailing her into helping it through the whole telepathy thing.
But...it didn’t know it was hurting her. Niko sighed. Better not to make an enemy just yet.
Turning behind her, Niko scooped up Sollari and placed them on her lap.
“That better?” she asked.
Sollari nodded, curling up on her lap.
Niko sipped her mocha with one hand, petting Sollari with the other.
> Text message from Mads: why the hell would you
> Text message from Mads: this isn’t funny
> Text message from Aria: Niko????
Niko shut her phone off.
“Sollari.” The bunny raised their head slightly, orange ears pressed flat.
“What does this have to do with Chikara?” It still felt so wrong to say her name like that, like it was all still happening. Like everyone had hope they’d find the missing teenagers.
Sollari pressed themself against Niko’s lap, unwilling to answer. It was so different than the unfaltering speech of before, or the commanding voice in her head.
“Sollari,” Niko tried again, a bit sterner. Sollari only shook their head. “Sollari, please.”
“They came after her, ari. They wanted to get to Lune, to Star, so they came after her, ari.”
It took a second for Niko to realize that Sollari had said it. They looked so sad, bundled up with their long tail wrapping around them.
“They dissolved her, like they did to everyone else, ari. They took the light of hope from her, ari.”
Niko’s mocha seemed to taste bitter all of a sudden.“What do you mean?” Niko wasn’t expecting an answer, but Sollari finally met her eyes with their own.
“Stardrops, ari. You humans have them, ari. The light of hope and the power of creation, together as your very essence, ari. The Outer Limits -” that must be who ‘they’ were, Niko noted, “- extract the light of hope, ari. Without the light of hope, the power of creation means nothing, ari. The human breaks down into despair, ari.”
“Then why did no one notice this ‘despair’?” Sollari looked grave.
“I meant it literally, ari. The human literally dissolves into despair energy, ari.”
Niko wasn’t thirsty anymore.
“And that...that’s what happened to Chikara. The twenty-seven teens…” Sollari nodded.
“It will happen to more, ari. The Outer Limits don’t just want the light of hope - they want the power of creation, ari. So they will try again, ari. Again and again….”
Niko decided to change the subject.
“So,” she tried, feeling a little better when Sollari raised their head again, “what happened to, um, Lune? Or was it Star?”
Sollari’s face fell along with Niko’s heart.
“Lune, ari…”
Sollari’s eyes shimmered with small tears. Were they going to start crying? Niko grabbed one of the napkins she had set next to her mocha. Sollari sniffed, and rubbed their eyes.
“Lune is...the moon, ari. Bright but gentle, unyielding but kind, ari. A guiding light, ari.”
Sollari made a motion to sink back into Niko’s lap, but stayed where they were.
“I am the sun, ari. Too bright, ari. Too strong, ari. You look to me as a beacon of hope, and I can only sear in response, ari. I burn people with my own arrogance, ari.”
“What...happened?” Niko knew she wasn’t going to get a response. Sollari curled around themselves once more.
“We should go, ari.”“Huh?” The park was still abandoned. No one would notice Sollari here, except for maybe the two cafe ladies.
“Ritzu will be coming, ari.”
That was all the justification Niko really wanted to hear. She scooped Sollari up in her arms, slid her backpack back on, and pushed herself up from the cafe table.
Holding Sollari to her chest, she walked quickly away. A quick look behind her told her that both the barista and the server weren’t looking.Then why could she still feel a gaze on her?
Wings spread wide.
The fairy couldn’t run forever. Even if they had found their so-called saviour, it was nothing but false hope.Though truly, all hope was false. Ritzu had learned that long ago.
They cracked a smile under their bird-like mask.
Stupid fairy. They had tried to reason with the solar messenger, if not for very long. Ritzu was more patient than their subordinates, but that didn’t mean much. Pretty much anyone was more patient than the Trinity.
However, patience in interrogating and patience in stalking prey were two very, very different things.
“Ritzu? Ritzu?” A quick look down told them that one of the Trinity in question, Rune, was currently trying to establish connection between their heart links. The kuriline’s face rippled across the surface of the violet heart on Ritzu’s chest.
Ritzu wasn’t particularly fond of kurilines as a species, much less Rune. She had her merits when it come to gathering the light of hope - particularly with the kurilines’ ability to store energy in their antennae - but she was still a petulant little child. A bratty young kuriline with the ability to shapeshift was never good.
Still, they detached the heart from their chest and held it up to their face. Rune’s four white eyes lit up.
“Ah, you picked up! That’s -” and there came the hissing crackle Rune peppered into her sentences as much as Nebulous did with her human “curses” - “-ing new. Not complaining, though!” Another hiss, though this one was most likely laughter. Ritzu had had to learn to pick up on the context of each hiss.
“What do you want, Rune?” Rune frowned, though Ritzu didn’t know why. She had called them, after all.
“Don’t get snappy. Neb and Merc want updates. Are we going after the messenger or not?”
“I am going after the messenger. You are to wait for instructions.” Rune’s frown deepened into a scowl.
“Oh yeah?” The words came out in an angry hiss, not unlike a earth cat.
“Yes, ‘oh yeah.’ I am attempting to cut the messenger off before they create a new legendary warrior.” Rune’s eyes widened at the word warrior. She was still a coward, Ritzu mused. “If I fail, it is up to the Trinity to take them down.”
Rune looked away from the heart, shaking her head.
“You’re still an asshole...but fine. Get the messenger by yourself. But I get to get the information out of it.” Without a goodbye, or any real sense of professionalism, Rune disappeared.
Ritzu snapped the heart back onto their chest.
They would do this themself. Time to get to work.
Thank you for reading!
If you liked this and want to see more on tumblr, make sure to like or reblog! Interstellar Pretty Cure is also on ao3!
Until next time, soar towards tomorrow!
- Mod Celestial
#pretty cure#pretty cure fanseries#precure#fancure#precure fanseries#interstellar pretty cure#mod celestial#writers on tumblr
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