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beneaththetangles · 1 year

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Reader’s Corner: Solo Leveling, My Special One, and Alice in Borderland

Oh, the games we play! In our everyday lives, “playing games” could refer to video games or board games or, more figuratively, relationship games. But the world of manga knows no bounds, and such games may involve being dropped into an Alice in Wonderland-like dimension. Or it could mean playing matches against gods with a cute goddess right by one’s side. And they could be contests that put lives at stake. This week on “Reader’s Corner,” we dive into a variety of “games” in our reviews as we look to releases both old and new.

Alice in Borderland (Vol. 4) • Gods’ Games We Play (Vol 1) • Megaman NT Warrior (Vol. 1) • My Sister, The Cat (Vol. 1) • My Special One (Vol. 1) • Puella Magi Oriko Magica: The Complete Omnibus Edition • Solo Leveling (Vol. 6)

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My Sister, The Cat, Manga Vol. 1

When I first heard about the title My Sister, The Cat, I laughed and brushed it off because “What kind of strange premise is that?” Well, Past Me, it’s a very funny one, and you shouldn’t be so quick to judge titles and skip them! Ha! Indeed, the premise of this manga is unique because Nekota has lost his mother, and when no family members will take him in, one of his mom’s good friends offers a place in their family. However, said family just happens to be a family of cats whose daughter absolutely adores our human hero and desperately wants him to be her big brother. My decision to pick up this manga was completely inspired by my four-year-old daughter who loves cats, and I’m honestly glad I decided to give it a chance because of her. It was super cute and a very lighthearted read, with the occasional serious vibe sprinkled in at the end. I’m not sure why only the mother talks, but I absolutely love when Neneko-chan wants to make her brother smile. Her antics are so adorable because she has the cutest and funniest expressions that really make you smile at how much she loves him! While there isn’t a lot of “depth” to this story, I found I smiled often and really enjoyed my time reading it! I have volume two on pre-order because this is one of those feel-good stories you pick up every once in a while when you need something fun and cheerful! ~ @lauraagrace

My Sister, The Cat is published by Seven Seas.

Puella Magi Oriko Magica: The Complete Omnibus Edition, Manga

Taking place between the fourth and fifth timelines of the Madoka Magica universe, Puella Magi Oriko Magica adds a new, dark chapter to the franchise. But any intrigue that this story might have is outweighed by the messiness on display throughout the tale. Oriko Magica introduces three new magical girls, two of whom, as Kyoko and Mami discover, are seemingly involved in killing other mahou shoujo. There’s a heavy focus on these two new girls, both with respect to their tragic backstories and their dependence on one another. But while we as readers are supposed to be equal parts appalled by their actions and sympathetic towards them, each character is lacking in elements that would help create the necessary empathy. Kirika is full of energy but her backstory is flimsy, while the titular Oriko has a tragic event in her past but no personality to speak of. Meanwhile, a third new character, a young magical girl Yuma, plays a major role at first—particularly as a foil to Kyoko—but then ends up functioning as an intentional distraction in this story. It’s a strange, unnecessary addition. Also out of place are Sayaka, Madoka, and Homura: while they are vital to explain the purpose of the events in this story, they feel like messy add-ons. I’m never quite sure what it is they’re up to or doing. The artwork doesn’t either. Illustrated in a cute but off-kilter style, the aesthetic is different but fitting for Madoka, but the quality of the art varies and doesn’t portray the action very well. The entire story, really—both in plot and art—was like looking through glasses that aren’t magnified quite enough for one’s vision issues; nothing was ever quite clear. The side story additions in the last third of the collection help fill out the tale a bit, but by the point I had reached them, I was already through with this below-average addition to a great franchise. ~ @animepopheart

Puella Magi Oriko Magica is published by Yen Press.

Megaman NT Warrior, Manga Vol. 1

Living in a world where everything is digitally connected sounds comfortable, right? Everything is efficient and on time, and we just make sure things are running smoothly. Well, wait till viruses start disrupting daily activities like school, hospitals, businesses and any other sector that people use! Thankfully, there are Netops like Lan Hikari (remember LAN parties?) and his Net Navi Mega Man [Should it be “Megaman” like the title? – Ed.] to delete these digital critters. The manga doesn’t give much backstory for the world it’s set in; even though I have watched the anime adaptation, I would have liked a little more explanation. It had some slow parts, and this volume is broken up into short episodes that aren’t tied together. I would have liked it to be more of an introduction to the characters; instead, it seems disorganized and doesn’t flow well. If you are a fan of the series as I am, I believe you will enjoy this one as it takes characters like GutsMan, FireMan, Dr. Wily, and Roll and recreates them so that they are familiar but still new. Give at least volume one a try and see if it’s for you—though this is an old manga, so you likely will have to find it used somewhere as I did. ~ Samuru

Megaman NT Warrior was published by VIZ Media.

Gods’ Games We Play, Light Novel Vol. 1

When it stays the path, focusing on its identity as a battle-of-wits light novel, Gods’ Games We Play is an engaging, heavenly read; but in those few moments that it strays, the series about human “apostles” who compete in televised matches against the gods falls back to earth. Thankfully, it rarely drifts into that territory. Right from the start—when “former” god Leshea and top rookie apostle Fay team up after realizing they are equally excited about playing high-stakes games—the novel balances cute characters, an exciting but not-too-serious tone, and interesting games and strategies. The duo participates in three matches: one with each other and two teaming up with others in official matches against the gods. The games are described well, and the volume is very visual: I could picture them in great detail (the recently announced anime adaptation should be a natural fit). It’s just a joy to read. The only drawback is when the series goes the route of thousands of other properties and turns to fanservice, small boob jokes, and harem-building. Not only are these passages derivative, but they’re also done better elsewhere (almost everywhere else, in fact). Here’s hoping future volumes focus on the games that gods play, rather than on the ecchi. ~ @animepopheart

Gods’ Games We Play is published by Yen Press.

My Special One, Manga Vol. 1

Although My Special One wasn’t a series very high on my radar, after reading this first volume, it definitely has the strong potential to be in my top five of favorite shojo series this year! Sahoko, our heroine, tells off a famous Japanese idol, Kouta, in her family’s restaurant where she works: when he displayed affection for her, thinking she was one of his fans, she needed him to know she was not one of his fans. She had vowed to herself to never fall for a gorgeous man because of a past experience, but that vow will certainly be put to the test when Kouta continues to come back to her family’s restaurant time and time again. As adamant as she is that she won’t fall in love with him, he seems to be just as adamant that he will get her to fall for him (as a fan) with his shining charisma and personality. Sahoko is a fun and refreshing heroine to follow because she is sooooo adamant she will never fall for a gorgeous guy (even less an idol—HA!). I very much enjoyed the progression of her character growth and her feelings as the story went on, especially in her thoughts toward Kouta. Speaking of, Kouta surprised me just as much as he did Sahoko! I quickly found myself rooting for these two and very much desperate looking forward to the next volume! I highly recommend this new series to those who like contemporary romances, seeing the behind-the-scenes of idols, and fun stories that are easy to read! ~ @lauraagrace

My Special One is published by VIZ Media. It releases on February 7th.

Alice in Borderland, Manga Vol. 4

In volume four, Alice in Borderland continues to deliver surprises. Not only in death match games, but more unexpectedly by displaying humanity in inhuman circumstances, pulling on our heartstrings even for characters we only get to know briefly, and putting main character Arisu through a crisis when he seems to be on the point of a personal breakthrough. The setting for all the emotional drama is the end of the beach arc, in which the beach utopia has devolved into violence as the players search for the witch. The answer to who and why are supremely satisfying. I continue to be caught off guard by how gracious mangaka Haro Aso is to his readers. He gives us solutions. He gives us heart. And in volume four, he gives us a ton of answers as to what this world is all about, as the story transitions into a brand new set of circumstances that bring added excitement to the series that might otherwise have fallen short of topping the grandiosity of the last arc. I’m thrilled to see where the games go now, and even more so, how Arisu and the others continue to develop as they make their way through this harshest of worlds. What a journey it’s been! ~ @animepopheart

READ: Alice in Borderland Reviews Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3

Alice in Borderland is published by Viz Media.

Solo Leveling, Novel Vol. 6

Things have finally gotten “real” in Solo Leveling. Despite the non-stop and excellent action in the previous five novels, the actual story for Solo Leveling has only revealed itself in bits; but in volume six, it blows right open, establishing the real conflict hinted at previously. It’s a wonder to imagine that the adrenaline in the previous volumes came basically from just world building and mining for Jin Woo as he increases his strength to a level to fight the real bad guys in this series. This installment opens with Jin Woo fighting giants in Japan and then coming to the U.S. as mysteries involving the gates and the Rulers quickly unravel. It isn’t unusual for novels and manga to go off the rail when the larger story comes into focus and more powerful enemies become involved; but both the track record for Solo Leveling and this volume itself demonstrate that author Chugong can handle it and continue to deliver material that will have you unable to do anything else until you’ve finished the chapter you’re on (and then the next chapter…and the next). That’s not to say that the web novels are perfect. Jin Woo is still a difficult character to root for, making selfish choices and seemingly only doing the right thing out of a sense of duty (though—and without giving too much away—this seems to be an angle that Chugong will take advantage of in later volumes). Even more cumbersome is that the entire series is Korean propaganda. With Korean media becoming so widespread internationally, readers may be used to this tone; but even as a Korean-American, I rolled my eyes a dozen times at how pro-Korean this particular volume was (matching the previous one), with Jin Woo moving on from traditional adversary Japan to embarrass big brother America. But other than that, Solo Leveling continues to be as enthralling as it ever was. ~ @animepopheart

Solo Leveling is published by Yen Press.

READ: Solo Leveling Reviews Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5

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“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

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ghostietea · 3 years

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On Tohru and Akito: a long overdue analysis

As some may know, Tohru Honda and Akito Sohma from the manga Fruits Basket are pretty much my all time favorite protagonist/antagonist pair. They just work incredibly well as thematic pieces and driving forces of the story in relation to eachother. And beyond even the surface level they have a rich and layered goldmine of parallels that make them fascinating to think about. While it may make many a newbie raise an eyebrow, I think this is a fact that is to some level pretty widely acknowledged in the fandom proper. However, there is another level of their relationship that is often mostly left out of analytical conversations about them and their parallels: their eventual friendship. Something which, partly due to screentime, is often somewhat simplified down and misinterpreted. Which I think is a shame because, when you look at it, their eleventh hour friendship is deeply interwoven with their parallels and the very thematics and ending of the story. So then, what’s really going on with the girls that stand as part of the thematic core of Furuba? Beyond (most of, true analytical objectivity is impossible in interpretation) my personal sentimental feelings, let’s talk Akito and Tohru: their parallels, relationship, and role in the story overal. Read more present, this is going to be a long one but I hope you stick around 😊

One facet of Akito and Tohru’s role in relationship to eachother that I think is both interesting and imperative to understanding their purpose is their nature as eachother’s foils, especially their parallels. See, the two girls are both opposite and the same. Takaya sets them up as foils before we even properly meet Akito, as you can see in these panels:

However, their foil relationship becomes a lot more intriguing once their similarities become more apparent later in the story. Just think about it: two girls with boy’s names whose fathers died when they were young, leaving them alone with their mothers, who both developed behavior that, according to the environment that they grew up in, would keep them from being abandoned. Akito, coming from the cultish Sohma clan where she was treated as a God to the point that she thinks she can do no wrong and has tied all of her self worth to the role, plays the part of a male ruler who must uphold tradition and keep the zodiac with her by any means. Akito is terrified of being abandoned, especially since she has no idea how to have relationships outside of the context of the bond, only exacerbated by the fact that Ren, one of the only people that openly questions her role, has constantly told her that she’s useless and will be abandoned. This is something that informs all of her (many, terrible) decisions and leads her to try desperately to keep the curse together, something which puts her in direct conflict with Tohru, who actually wants the curse broken in part so that she won’t be abandoned. Tohru may not be as obvious with her abandonment issues as miss screeches-at-people-not-to-leave-her, but they still inform a good deal of her character. Like Akito, she develops behavior around the time of her father’s passing to try to keep herself from being abandoned, mirroring her father’s proper speech because she was worried that she was losing Kyoko. But, as she grew older in her much warmer environment, Tohru turned to kindness instead of fear to capture others, maintaining a facade of extreme positivity, politeness, and determination so as to not bother anyone. And, while she hides it, Tohru just gets worse after losing her mother. She becomes dedicated to preserving her feelings about her mother as is, refusing to move on much as Akito also refuses to move on from the curse and what her father wanted. Then comes the beach house reveal, where Tohru learns that Akito plans to take away her new family, even locking up the one most precious to her. Tohru tells herself that she’s going to break the curse for the freedom of the zodiac and cat, but she is also, in a way, doing it to keep herself from being abandoned. Later this feeling changes to become more focused on preventing the loss of Kyo himself, something which Tohru doesn’t want to admit. Tohru is a truly good and kind person and does want to help, yes, but also some part of her is doing this to keep the ones she loves by her side, understandably as she is a teen that recently lost the person she revolved her whole life around. But it comes to a point that you have to realize: Akito and Tohru are both motivated by the same thing, they just present it in wildly different ways. I don’t think that I have to explain how exactly their behavior foils eachother, the more worldly and modern Tohru acting on radical kindness and acceptance and thinking she deserves nothing while the sheltered, traditional Akito uses manipulation and fear to get what she thinks she is entitled to. It’s very apparent, but just gets even spicier in the context of how similar they are. Another parallel is in Tohru’s mom picture vs Akito’s father box, both relics of their dead and favorite parent that they are extremely protective of and treat almost like it is their deceased parent. Early in the series Tohru is seen carrying around a photo of her mom which she talks to, something which seems pretty harmless, until we consider how terrified she is every time she thinks she’s lost it, even going as far as to refer to it as if it were her mother. Notably, it barely shows up in the second half of the series, as she reluctantly drifts away from her mom and towards Kyo. In this later part of the series, we are introduced to Akito’s box, which she (semi, it’s complicated) thinks contains her father’s soul. Akito’s box is shown in a much darker light, from how the reveal of what it us to her is framed to how cruelly she reacts when it’s being stolen. Akito’s box is to Tohru’s photo what their owners narratively are to eachother: a dark mirror.

Ok, and now for the reason that I think it was important to bring all these parallels up first: because as you cannot understand Tohru and Akito as enemies without understanding their differences, you cannot understand them as friends without knowing their similarities. While it is easy to write off Tohru reaching out to Akito as just another case of Tohru being Tohru, that does a disservice to the full picture. I’ve seen around in the fandom that a good deal of people seem to think Tohru trying to befriend her is just Tohru being overly kind and forgiving, and this is something I think ties back a bit to some early fandom misconceptions about Tohru. Bear with me for a second, this is going to be a bit of a tangent but it ties back. It’s died down some now, but in the early Furuba fandom it was very common to just think of Tohru as a pretty flat nice girl doormat character, which besides misogyny is probably partially the fault of the 01 anime, which cuts off before we get to see more of Tohru’s insecurities and tones down what we do see (also, in the case of the relationship I’m talking about, 01 ads in that God awful end confrontation that I despise for being everything that I’m about to argue the ACTUAL confrontation that I like is not). Manga Tohru is a very subtle character, she hides a lot of her feelings behind a perpetually happy front which doesn’t start to let slip until later. And, since it’s later on in the manga which went unadapted for years and is mixed in with a bunch of crazy stuff, I think Tohru’s quiet development is often somewhat overlooked. For example, early series Tohru is very well known for the speeches she gives to the zodiac when she first meets them, speeches that, importantly, always tie back to things that her mom said. Tohru’s worldview back then revolved completely around Kyoko, so it’s probably a bit of a thing that in the later story, when Tohru draws ever nearer to the realization that she must move on, she does not give her mom speeches anymore? As opposed to the early story, when it was pretty much back to back character intros, in the late story Tohru notably only gets to befriend two new Sohmas: Isuzu and Akito. Notably, she doesn’t quote her mom either time, these are both people that she can relate to on some of her more hidden issues, and she shows a more personal side of her emotions in her turning point confrontations with them than she did earlier. It is especially important to realize that, in her confrontation on the cliff, Tohru is deciding that she is willing to go against her mom. Early series Tohru was a front anyways, and is a different Tohru from the one that finally gets through to Akito. I was using it as an example, but the evolution of Tohru’s befriending confrontations will be important later. Furthermore, there is the perception of Tohru as a doormat. Listen, Tohru may be very kind and polite, but one of her defining characteristics is being very determined and strong willed when need be. This is something that is especially relevant to her interactions with Akito. From the first meeting outside the school, Tohru knows to be wary of Akito and even breaks politeness and shoves her when she senses that Akito is making Yuki uncomfortable. This sets up immediately that Tohru can and will stand up to Akito. This is driven in even farther at the beach house, when Tohru, after again physically getting between Akito and a zodiac, decides that she will directly go against all of the Sohma family’s centuries of tradition and Akito herself to break the curse. There’s even a cute moment when, upon remembering Akito telling her not to, Tohru just decides to meddle even harder. Tohru, while polite about it, does not like Akito and puts herself in direct opposition to her. Tohru does not originally want to be Akito’s friend, or to have anything to do with her. The cliff scene is not just Tohru befriending someone because she just is over forgiving and loves everyone (an argument can be made that she still goes to easy on Akito, but it’s in line with how the narrative treats her too so that’s another conversation), there was a specific reason both that she chose to try to get through to Akito and that it actually worked. Up until their big confrontation, Tohru still thinks of Akito as a threat, and while she has gotten more information that shakes up her view of Akito, she still doesn’t understand her well enough to see her as much more than an obstacle. Then Akito barges into her yard when she’s just been rejected, crying and confessing how terrified she is of being abandoned, of things changing, and Tohru just goes still, eyes wide in shock. And she realizes: her and Akito have been afraid of the same thing the whole time. This is when Tohru decides to try to reach out to her. Because Tohru, on a deep level, sees Akito because of their similarities. She calls Akito out on her insecurities, and Akito reacts badly, accusing Tohru of being “dirty” and trying to condescend. Tohru partially rebukes this, not trying to hold herself above Akito as pure and righteous, but instead confessing her own fears of abandonment and change in an attempt to empathize with Akito.

At this part of the story, Tohru is fully coming into the realization that, in order to live her life, she needs to stop clinging to this idea of an “unchanging” relationship with her mom, something that scares her quite a bit. She realizes that, while she saw the flaws in Akito’s “eternity” and tried to destroy it, she had not been as perceptive with herself, clinging to that same notion. Tohru is an incredibly repressed character, especially in regards to emotions she thinks of as “dirty,” and she is showing a remarkable amount of vulnerability in this scene. Another thing to note about Tohru is that she, in her immense repression, will often process her own issues through other people. We see this throughout the story, from her showing grief over her mom by crying for Momiji and his mom to her projecting her fear of losing Kyo onto Kureno and Arisa. So then, it’s quite something to consider that the last Sohma she befriends is the one most emblematic of the issues she keeps locked up tightest? That as she’s speaking to her she’s deciding to move forward from her own fears? In a way, could accepting Akito be a symbol of Tohru accepting what she thinks are the darker parts of herself? Akito is also coming to a realization about moving on, acknowledging that the zodiac curse is coming to an end and that everything she believes is a lie, and she is absolutely distraught about it. But Tohru, in a way that nobody else does, understands Akito, and wants Akito to be her friend. Not out of pity or reverence, but a desire for solidarity. And this is the very reason why Tohru was actually able to get through to Akito. As we see with Kureno before he gets stabbed and Momiji at the beach house and when his curse breaks, it’s not like people haven’t kindly tried to get through to her before.

Of course, the reason it worked for Tohru can also be partially chalked up to the fact that Akito herself has come a long ways in personal realizations to the point that there’s just some things she can’t deny anymore, but that’s not all. Akito tends to react very negatively to what she sees as condescension, she thinks people want to try to pick her apart and see how she ticks just so they can look down on her, so they can see her as lesser. She thinks Tohru is trying to condescend too at first, especially since she perceives Tohru as this holier than thou saint wannabe. Fascinatingly, Akito’s view of Tohru is incredibly similar to that early fandom idea of Tohru as an angelic mary sue, and she hates her for it. She thinks that Tohru is trying to be like this and is seen as such, and that she (Akito) is the only who can see that Tohru is wrong somehow.

But Tohru rejects this notion of a pure her that both the fandom and her early self tried to project, presenting herself as flawed and human and purposefully trying to not put herself on a pedestal above Akito. She makes it very clear that she’s not trying to condescend, she is the same way (well, sorta) and she gets it. Notably, after this point Akito doesn’t accuse her of looking down on her, instead freaking out temporarily because of how much Tohru called her out before venting about her fears to her. And, while, partially due to outside circumstances, it does take Akito a bit longer to accept her offer of friendship, she legitimately manages to get through to her very soon after this point. If Tohru had tried one of her early series mom speeches on Akito, or just tried to blindly accept her without understanding, it would not have worked. Akito would have just written it off or reacted badly and left it there. But because Tohru tried to befriend Akito out of understanding as an equal it actually worked. You can’t separate Akito and Tohru’s parallels and their eventual friendship because one aspect is integral to the other.

A connected aspect of their relationship that I see talked of very little but is actually a pretty strong undercurrent is that of equality and power. To explain this, we have to look at Akito for a bit. Throughout her life, pretty much everyone around Akito has either put her on a pedestal or looked down on her. This is something that not only greatly damaged the way she thinks of herself and others, but has given her an intensely hierarchical view of relationships. We even see this notion clearly take form for her in the black paint scene, where she decides that Yuki, who she’d previously seen as the same as her, has to be lesser or else she will become useless. From the moment Akito was born she was “God,” an existence above everyone else. Even her own father only seems to give her affection for being God, and when he dies and she takes his place as the head of the family she is just elevated even farther at an extremely young age. The only people (she thinks) she’s close to are the zodiac, and the curse itself puts an inherent power dynamic into that relationship that can only be overcome with its undoing. Akito clings to her power, to her rank in the hierarchy, all the while the very thing she desperately upholds has made her the real outsider. Akito, who does everything in the name of belonging, was always alone from the start. As Tohru points out, as long as she is above the group she cannot be a part of it.

Simultaneously, and almost contradictory to the pedestalization and power dynamic aspect, Akito is extensively coddled and pitied. A lot of the older adults around her treat her almost like a crotchety, spoiled child. A child who is coddled to the point of never being given any reprimand or instruction on just how to behave like a functional human being until things have gone far too far. Then you have cases like Kureno, who seems to still see Akito like a kid, pretty much just coddles her as a job, and only stays because he pities her. This leads to a strange dual sided dynamic in multiple cases, where Akito is seen as someone’s better and has more power but is also being looked down upon in a way too. Akito has never in her life been seen and treated as an equal, so it’s pretty important when it is made clear that Tohru tries to befriend her as an equal. After all this time, Tohru, an outsider that is not under Akito’s control, who can hold her ground in a challenge against her, is finally the one to meet her on the same level. There’s this page that I adore that symbolizes this idea really nicely. It opens on a panel of Akito sitting a distance away from the zodiac who are all having fun together, a motif we’ve already seen a few times, but this time Tohru sits down right next to her.

This page comes at a critical moment, when Tohru is offering her hand in friendship to Tohru, it’s Akito realization of what Tohru is trying to do. Later on, we get Akito narrating what this page was showing, which I think I just need to put in:

We also see a bit of their conversation after they reunite in the hospital later, where Tohru again denies that she is better than Akito. Now, I think both the Tokyopop and Yen Press translations of this scene are a bit weird, the Tokyopop version uses the word “pretty” (confusing) while the Yen Press uses “kind” (don’t think that’s the best word). However one time I saw like a Malaysian english release in the half price books that used “pretty on the inside” and I like that best so I’ll just pretend that’s it.

I think this scene is interesting because it could seem like they’re just talking about morality but that’s not it. This is, once again, Tohru pretty explicitly trying to stop the creation of any sort of hierarchy between her and Akito. It’s not about right or wrong, Tohru know very well that Akito’s done things wrong and actively worked to stop her, it’s about not wanting them to be put on some sort of different rank based on morality and Tohru understanding Akito enough to empathize with the fact that (wrong or no) Akito was really hurt by Tohru and they won’t get anywhere if they don’t acknowledge that. Furthermore, I’ve already talked a bit about it already, but I think the way that Tohru asserts that she gets what Akito’s feeling and thinks she herself is “dirty” during their confrontation is relevant here too. She is, again, presenting herself as someone on the same level who understands Akito and is not being nice out of pity. This then leads to the page I talked about before which is again, Akito realizing this! This is a huge moment for her, someone who has had all of her relationships messed up by inequality and has no idea how to have a normal relationship, who is having a breakdown because she thinks that because of this it’s too late for anyone to love her, to have someone who understands her and wants to meet her on the same level. Even if she tries to deny it and shift blame, at this point Akito has realized that the zodiac bond is not what she thought and that she has been acting horribly. The groundwork is already there for Akito to have a change of heart, especially considering that a lot of her horribleness stems from legitimate extreme ignorance and her obsession with the bond so once she’s snapped out of that… The main thing that’s holding her back past that is that she’s panicking and cannot see a way forward. So then when there’s someone who actually gets where she’s coming from instead of just tolerating her and is offering her the sort of friendship that she’s never gotten to have of course she’d go for it! Tohru Honda has proven Akito wrong in ever way and, in the end, she even proves her wrong on her greatest fear: that she can only be wanted because she’s God. Because of Akito’s specific issues, nothing could have been more powerful for her than someone coming to her as an equal. Again, the piece about why Tohru could get through to her. It just wouldn’t be the same if Tohru didn’t have a reason to want Akito around or if she somehow saw Akito as below her, the very core of their relationship is the destruction of hierarchies. From the beginning Tohru has been trying to destroy the hierarchy of the zodiac, and when it comes down to it she does not take Akito’s spot at the top, but decides to stand beside her and the zodiac instead. Early in the series we see Akito trying to have some power over Tohru through fear, but when the time comes and Akito is pretty much defeated Tohru does not take power as the victor, hoping that Akito joins her instead of being somehow defeated. And at the end of it all this works, and Akito dissolves the zodiac and with it most of her power and her godhood of her own accord.

Despite their relative lack of page time, Tohru and Akito’s relationship has always been something that I come back to. Sure, a lot of that is just sentiment as they meant a lot to me when I was younger, but I think there’s something there. They work amazingly as protagonist and antagonist, contrasting nicely and working as symbols of both sides of the thematic conflict. There’s a palpable tension to their early interactions that makes you both scared and interested to see what happens when these two inevitably have to go head to head. But then, as the story goes on, it seems more and more like they are a tragedy, so similar yet on different sides of the story, fated to have one of them stuck with an unhappy ending brought on by the other.

But, even as dark as it gets, that wouldn’t really be Fruits Basket, would it? In the end, Tohru and Akito’s similarities win out, not their differences. I think it would have been so easy to just make this a story where the sweet heroine “saves” the villain just because, but that is so blatantly not what’s going on. Tohru simply sees herself in Akito, she’s not trying to somehow fix her and nor should she have to, she just wants to be her friend. And then the two manage to overcome their driving fear of moving on, forging new bonds and inspired by their interaction with the other. It’s not like Tohru somehow fixes Akito’s problems, Akito has to do things herself and in fact independence is a big theme of her endgame arc. Tohru simply offered her friendship, and that was enough. There’s a distinction to be made between how Tohru inspires Akito and Tohru somehow “saving” her, because Akito very much has to learn to save herself in the end after a lifetime of pushing her issues onto others. And, as a side note, all this is sort of why it bugs me when people act like Tohru would be like a mom to Akito. First off, Tohru shouldn’t have to be the mom to everyone. And, kind as she is, Tohru is also not a Kureno, she sees and interacts with Akito in a completely different way and their relationships with Akito are one of the big points were Tohru and Kureno differ. Second off, Akito has spent her life coddled and clinging onto anything that she can hold onto as a resemblance of parental affection to a toxic degree. Part of her arc is that she needs to grow out of this, become more independent, and have more balanced relationships. Akito at this point does not want or need to make a mommy figure out of one of her peers, and doing so may in fact be regressive. Sure, she will definitely need a level of guidance going forward, but it would be more beneficial for her to learn from example and under more of a friendly, balanced context coming from multiple people, not one person holding her hand. For all the reasons I’ve gone over in this entire post, I think it is much more meaningful for Akito to have Tohru as what she was canonically presented as in text: someone who sees her as an equal. The whole point of their relationship is, again, the defiance of hierarchies, something which I think is often sorely overlooked even though it is very openly there in text. And that, in part, is why I think their relationship is so powerful to me. Beyond hero and villain, right or wrong, or any story roles, it’s about two girls finding solidarity and friendship on a very personal, human level. This is Akito for the first time being seen not as this distant, untouchable male deity or some pitiful being, but as a flawed, hurt human girl who is nonetheless capable of change and being loved. This is Tohru coming out of hiding, presenting her flawed, terrified human self to someone she saw as an enemy. Fruits basket is, in part, a story about friendship and defeating systems of power and abuse. Even in a messy third act that muddles its themes at times by weighing character endings too heavily on het romantic love, especially in regards to the women (Hello Rin, Machi, Uo, ect.), Tohru and Akito stand out as a friendship that is given a huge amount of narrative weight. It just feels nice that, in a story that often focused on the power of relationships between women only to ditch all that and focus primarily on their relationships with men, these two girls are one of the driving forces of the endgame. The curse didn’t get broken by romantic love, but by the friendships everyone made along the way, including Tohru and Akito. Tohru has gotten it to this point, and now Akito just needs to bring it to a close and finally end things. At the very beggining, before this all started, all the cat wanted was for the God was to move forward and live as a person among the humans, and, finally, a long time later that wish was granted. The tale of the zodiac gets its happy ending not by a villain being defeated, but by the power of friendship and solidarity between women.

#fruits basket #akito sohma #tohru honda #fruits basket spoilers #meta

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amazingorangedangantrash · 3 years

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Excuse me Orange. I have seen the posts of Makoto interacting with class 77 and as much as I would love to hear about it I'm really curious about how a relationship with class 79 and Makoto would be. More specifically Makoto and Kokichi.

Yes this is because I can't get the fic "Rosemary" out of my head. In summary, Makoto loses his memories and becomes a counsellor at a school in Germany after meeting Rantaro and adopts Kokichi. Besties Rantaro and Makoto with the disaster child that is Kokichi.

Hello anon! Thank you ever so much for being so polite and patient with me :). This post has been a long time coming, and people have requested it ever since I made those class 77 headcanons. I put it off partly because I was worried I wouldn't do the V3 characterisation justice. I based a lot of this off the wiki info, so I highly encourage anyone to add their thoughts or counter if they think of something different!

(Also since pre-game personalities are basically non-existent outside of headcanons, this is based off their killing game personas)

Makoto is excited to greet another school year, and some underclassmen along with it! With all the... interesting characters (turned friends) he's encountered in both his own and the above year, he can only wonder what the new students will be like...

Kaede- out of all the protagonists, I'd say Kaede shares the most similarities with Makoto, moreso than his own sister. These two would definitely get along and make a great tag team- watch out Hope's Peak, because these two will have befriended you before you know it! Makoto definitely admires Kaede's straightforwardness and her optimistic nature. They act as great support for each other if tag teaming another person/persons, as Kaede is bolder then Makoto, whilst Makoto acts well as a medium. They're both extremely loyal, arguably to a fault. Both Kaede and Makoto have lied in a class trial to protective their friend (a detective each time too, lmao). Apparently she also lied for his sake in the demo, which is sweet. I feel like they'd connect well over their mutual optimism and kind hearts. I think Makoto would convince Kaede to step out of her comfort zone- socially, she's very bold, but she strays away from activities that could affect her piano playing (by hurting her fingers) and can waste away a lot of time in the practice room. She misses out on a lot of potentially fun activities that way. On an outing with some others, she accidentally cuts her finger, and whilst Makoto apologises and tells her she was right to be cautious, she waves him aside. Despite being unable to play the piano for a few days, she fills her time with other activities and it actually... doesn't bother her so much. As an 'ordinary person', Makoto helps a lot of talented students by opening their eyes to seeing that their identity doesn't revolve around their talents. In return, Kaede offers to teach Makoto whilst he spends time with her in the practice room. Whilst piano is her favourite, she knows how to play other instruments, and teaches Makoto the violin (maybe you think he'd play a different instrument but violins are my favourite so I'm going with that-). They even practice together, and whilst Kaede still practices nearly every day, she finds that it can actually be even more fun with company.

Shuichi- ah yes, yet another detective. Makoto was initially surprised that they'd accepted another Ultimate Detective, since there's normally only one ultimate at a time in the school (aside from Luck, which is decided each year with a raffle or draw or whatever). It's revealed that Shuichi is actually undergoing part of a new tutoring programme, in order to increase the number of people with talents especially useful to society. He's to be tutored by his upperclassman... *drumroll* Kyoko! Being close with Kyoko and with Kaede, Makoto sees a lot of Shuichi and befriends him too. He helps out with Shuichi's lack of confidence and feelings of inadequacy. Unlike Makoto, Shuichi has an obvious role model that he both aspires to and compares himself against. Unlike Kyoko, Shuichi is much more connected to and feels responsible for the people his detective work condemns. Whereas Kyoko is confident in her goal to obtain the truth, in totally neutrality, Shuichi is hesitant about it, unable to feel unbiased and take a neutral stand. Makoto convinces him this is a good thing, that feeling guilt is normal and is a sign of being a passionate and sympathetic soul. Shuichi doesn't have to be the kind of detective Kyoko is- sometimes that kind of compassionate and caring person is exactly the mindset people want. He also reassures Shuichi that as painful as the truth is, uncovering it means being able to eventually move on, and embrace hope. (He also tells Kyoko to maybe be a bit more... /welcoming/ in their lessons, and eventually Kyoko grows quite fond of her student, discovering a fondess for teaching she didn't know she had).

They're both very humble and polite, and whilst Makoto isn't reserved, he can be very passive. I think the two would appreciate having more of a calm relationship, typical of a 'normal' friendship that is often er- 'lacking' at Hope's Peak. With Kaede's help, Shuichi would open up to Makoto and others over time. I personally headcanon Shuichi to have an anxiety disorder and depressive bouts, so I think someone like Makoto would be a great support friend, for him to go to when he needs company and comfort, someone to listen and to understand, and vice versa to an extent. I like to imagine Makoto, Shuichi and Kaede often spend time together (with Hajime too protag gang ftw). Shuichi likes to study in the music room with them. He's already good at research, but the music actually helps him... enjoy it more. (Maybe he takes up an instrument too, to give him a hobby to focus on, hmm).

Kokichi- Kokichi Ouma. Kokichi Ouma... what do I even say? Trying to wrap my head around his character is like trying to clear the death road of despair in your first try. Still, I'll try my best!

I've seen a headcanon before (i dont remember by who, if you know lmk and I'll credit them) that Makoto via his unpredictable luck would be immune to Kokichi's pranks, and I think that'd set up a pretty good basis for their introduction. I think if Kokichi and Makoto had to describe the other in one word, it would be... "frustrating". At first glance, they're practically opposites- someone like Kokichi, who seems to breathe lies instead of air, and a person like Makoto, who's so honest and open it's almost stupid. Makoto doesn't like how Kokichi lies so much, even if it means people hating him. He almost seems to WANT people to hate him (I think he said once that honest people scare him more than strangers). Makoto has a tendency to break down even the most difficult characters (coughcoguuh class 78 coughcofuh), and that both scares but intrigues Kokichi. Makoto couldn't hate him if he tried (literally the only person he ever even /disliked/ was Junko. Not /hate/, but just /dislike/? Really???), and it frustrates Kokichi that Makoto is so willing to trust him and put faith in him. Makoto isn't blindly optimistic either, he genuinely believes in people, and I think Kokichi would feel envious towards being able to trust so... freely. Part of Kokichi's childish and carefee personality and his perchance for lies is the manifestation of his desire for freedom. If no-one knows what he's thinking, if no one can guess his moves, if no one can use emotions or weaknesses against him, and he can do whatever he wants, isn't that freedom? Except it isn't. By not letting his guard down and being honest with people, in a way, Kokichi's lies have left him trapped, unable to open up out of a fear of vulnerability. Whilst Kokichi would be initially suspicious of Makoto, maybe even distrustful of or uncomfortable around his personality, I think having such a grounded, honest individual whom he can /rely/ on would be... comforting. Kokichi would warm up to him, and see that with Makoto, what you see is what you get. He's above all else, a /genuine/ person, though certainly not an ordinary one, and Kokichi learns to respect and even admire that. Kokichi intentionally pushes people away to avoid expressing vulnerability, by being intentionally unlikeable, but even so I think he's lonely. Pushing away others isn't out of a true desire to be alone (it never is), but a defense mechanism. That tactic wouldn't work on Makoto, and so Makoto could become someone who Kokichi not only considers a friend, but who wholeheartedly returns the sentiment.

Makoto isn't sure what to think of Kokichi at first. He's heard so much about this terrifying new student, an overlord of a secret underground organisation with roots all over the globe... and yet the first time they meet Kokichi is trying to drop a bucket of custard on him. I don't think Makoto would like how Kokichi lies so much- especially about things like killing people or sending them away to never be seen again. It upsets him how Kokichi can joke about it, and how he seems to enjoy toying with people's feelings. When Makoto has a goal, he'll follow it through to the end, so when he's determined to break through Kokichi's walls... well, it's not easy at first. He's also willing to keep Kokichi company and give him attention and hear him out, which Kokichi admittedly likes. Whilst Makoto isn't a pushover, he's also not going to threaten Kokichi or retaliate with mean words, he genuinely listens and entertains Kokichi even though he knows Kokichi is messing with him, which is.. really nice, actually. Even if he tries he can't really shake Makoto that much (pls after all the other -weirdos- people he's met?). Like oh-? They have to duel to the death with yu-gi-oh cards? It's lucky Makoto brought his stack with him! Kokichi orders him to play tea party with him? He loved playing it with Komaru when she was younger and was sad when she stopped! Kokichi tricks him into eating a really gross weird food? How did you know that was a family favourite! Kokichi is fond of Makoto, and is desperate to keep Makoto's attention on him, whilst at the same time not wanting to reveal his true feelings, leading to plenty of complicated situations. Eventually they reach a breaking point (i love drama ok) and whilst Makoto doesn't lash out at him, exactly, he admits that maybe it's best he leaves Kokichi alone, believing that maybe Kokichi truly is content to be the way he is. It's this event that causes Kokichi to realise that Makoto really is someone he'd rather not hurt- that he doesn't just 'like' him but truly cares for him. From then on he tries to dial it down a bit, and Makoto comes to understand how Kokichi's lying and 'cruelty' stems from a place of insecurity and fear of trust. He promises to be a person Kokichi can trust, to show him that vulnerability doesn't have to mean gettint hurt. Whenever the two are around each other all kind of wacky hijinks are bound to ensure, really. Kokichi loves having someone around to not only give him attention, but want to as well, and Makoto enjoys how Kokichi is willing to spend time with and entertain him, pushing him and supporting him in ways that he didn't realise initially. They both find the other extremely interesting, and their encounters usually lead to significant changes in their relationship and mindsets.

I like to imagine they'd spend time playing games and fanboying together- Kokichi adores video games, and it always poses a challenge going against Makoto's luck, which is great for someone competitive as he is. Kokichi also seems a fan of the shounen genre, and 'basic' Makoto is the only other person in the school aside from Hifumi and Tsumugi to even watch anime so you know those two nerds geek out constantly. Kokichi likes to play other kinds of games with Makoto too- and they really like word games- especially two truths one lie. Makoto is... suprisingly good at it. He's pretty poetic, and his genuineness makes it hard to disbelieve him. Which makes it all the more fun when going against Kokichi!

Rantaro- how would these two describe each other in 5 words? "A breath of fresh air". They're both some of the "normal-est" in the school tbh. It's really great for both of them to have someone to do normal teen stuff with. They love going shopping together, hanging out at cafes and arcades. They actually meet when looking for a birthday present for their sister(s). They both reach for the same one before apologising and insisting the other have it. Rantaro insists Makoto take it, since, well, it's not like /his/ sister would get it anytime soon... confused, Makoto asks why and somehow Rantaro ends up confessing the whole thing about his sisters' disappearances, and how he always buys a present for each of their birthdays, waiting for the day when he can give them to them in person. (Pls why does this always end up with makoto counselling the students akdhsjsj-). Makoto could definitely sympathise, having a younger sister of his own. I think they'd bond over that "older brother" role they share, and Makoto would definitely help alleviate some of Rantaro's guilt. I like to imagine that Makoto, whilst being a 'typical teenage boy', also has a lot of feminine interests that he might be a bit insecure about. I love the idea of Rantaro encouraging him to embrace that (guy has like 12 sisters, he gave up feeling shy about makeup, nail polish, jewellery and dressing up in tiaras years ago). Rantaro is the first person to paint Makoto's nails and he loves it so much-!!! They go out for boba together and wear matching green nail polish pls its awesome. Rantaro also tells Makoto stories from when he was travelling and its also amazing- Makoto loves hearing all about it, and Rantaro is actually an incredible storyteller. Though Rantaro initially adventured to find his sister(s), he remembers why he loved travelling in the first place, and he's able to look back fondly on those memories that used to be clouded with the despair of his sisters' disappearance. They even go on vacation together to a tropical island at some point (maybe with friends). I'd like to say Makoto's luck might even lead to them finding one of the sisters, but maybe that's a bit too coincidental ahaha.

Miu- hmm. I think Makoto would be a little put off at first by her vulgarity and very openly sexual and crude behaviour. It's not that he dislikes her, he just isn't really sure... how to react around her? Her and Kaede don't get along, and Makoto often finds himself playing peacemaker when he stumbles upon their arguments. To his surprise, though, she seems to actually... like it when they fight? In fact- she seems to like it when people give her the time of day at all, really. Maybe she's just... lonely? And well, she can be a bit... um- /obnoxious/, but she can't be that bad! Making him go to see her weird (weird) inventions, that must be her way of reaching out and trying to spend time with him, right?

And then she starts calling him "Ma-crap-to", "Naegidiot", "Makusoto", and "Na-unchi"

nevermind she sucks

Makoto, with his saintly patience, would probably end up getting closer to her similar how Shuichi does in his FTEs. (I'll be honest there's not much difference I can think of akdjsjjssksj-)

Kaito- Kaito! Who doesn't love Kaito. It's no secret Kaito thinks himself the centre of the Universe (insert space joke here haha)- he's the protagonist of his own life, and luckily for him, Makoto fits quite nicely into the sidekick role. Both of them are passionate, with big hearts and strong spirits. Kaito is really good at seeing through people too- (idk how accurate this is but apparently in the wiki it says he sees that Nagito isn't interested in his talent or him as a person so much as him as a symbol). Whilst Makoto obviously has a lot of respect and admiration for all the talented students, I feel like it's a lot more... genuine? In a way that he can appreciate the person behind the talent, more than the talent itself. Kaito is someone who likes to inspire people and I think this would resonate with him. I think the two could seriously get along! They're both hopeless (haha) romantics and stupidly optimistic lmao. Kaito can be a little hotheaded at times, so I also like the idea that Makoto could calm him down, or at least reel him in a bit. He's stubborn when it comes to... um.. certain types of people (kokichi) so maybe Makoto could open his mind a bit.

Maki: MAKI ROLLLL. Ok I'm sure she'd probably have to hide her talent until it all came out at some point. I think Makoto is someone who's very against killing (even Junko he believed there was a better way for), so whilst he wouldn't agree with her talent, I think he wouldn't hold it against Maki, especially because he's very good at separating person from talent. Makoto is very understanding, and I think that like with Kaito, he would try to befriend her and open her up. He'd probably feel bad for her, not knowing what a "normal" life was like, so he'd try his best to do that. I think Maki in turn would appreciate that, and slowly get to know him like she did with Kaito and Shuichi. (She also likes complaining to him about Kaito lmao).

(he also takes her out for sushi so she can see for herself what a harumaki is LOL)

I'm sorry anon, this is as far as I could go aksnjjssj. When I feel up to it I'll try and make a part 2 to this, but I hope this is good for now?

(Also that fic sounds awesome and I'll definitely have to read it at some point)

#makoto naegi #v3 #drv3 #makoto + class 79 #anon #my post

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papers4me · 3 years

Text

Fruits Basket, SE03, Ep3

This ep is exactly like se02, ep 24, meaning it was divided clearly into two parts. While the graduation theme unties the two parts, you can point things out exactly like ep,24:

1st part : Machi’s story= the important part.

2nd part: scattered parts here & there that concern yuki, ep, 24 his interactions with akito, here his interactions with Motoko).

plus, an ep cliff hanger: (e, 24 the dvd given to kureno, here, Isuzu’s mysterious fate).

it is exactly the same even a small kyo/tohru moment!. School graduation instead of the zodiac’s new year gathering.

Really awkward pacing, but that’s furuba, we celebrate when they DO connect dots for once! lets talk abt the REAL ep: MACHI.

-Machi’s awkward presence:

Although I love Machi, I’ve voiced my concerns abt her character in Furuba:

It seemed that Machi was solely created to be a step in yuki’s success journey more than a character on her own right. After getting motherly love (tohru) leaving the nest, Yuki needed friendship (kakeru), then as an independent man, he needs romantic love: (Machi). This is all fine initially but I was yearning for more individuality for Machi as a character. All furuba characters were given space to be unique including minor characters like Motoko who narrated her own story each time she’s on screen & we lived it with her within two seasons & a number of eps.

However, Machi’s background was introduced thro her brother’s exposition in se02 & that moment was a yuki/ kakeru bonding moment.

Thro kakeru’s exposition we learned how similar yuki & machi are (the parental neglect, high expectations, cold sibling relationship, Big brother saves himself by himself, big brother pushing for redemption & the younger sibling’s still trapped silently ). While that makes for romantic appeal between the two which makes the writer’s job easier, it steals from Machi individuality.

Then her part in ep, 24 was shown & I was given hope for Machi’s individuality as her own inner voice spoke volumes abt her as a person away from yuki (romantic interest) or Kakeru (big brother). Having a lot of screen time, while can make a character more believable to the audience, is never a factor in character’s depth nor individual worth. Heck! kyo (part of the main trio & the main character’s love interest) has only ONE ep in se02 to explore his issues & by far it is my fave ep in se02 as it established kyo’s trauma, psyche, mental issues & emotional baggage better than I could ever imagine! You can DO WONDERS with little time if you knew what to do. That’s what happened with Machi this ep (half ep).

-Machi’s shines! (trauma & romance):

I was so relieved to learn that altho both Machi & yuki despised perfection as it suffocated them, the writer (thankfully) went abt a different approach with Machi. Unlike Yuki who went silent cuz he felt his voice didn’t matter as he was used as a tool, Machi went silent cuz she was was NOT needed, & not only discarded but painted as WRONG. If you admit that raising me this way is wrong, then what does this make me? What should I do with myself? I’m wrong! boring, a failure, & a presumed killer!! all while I was absolutely doing my best! all while I was having good intentions! It is devastating but It makes Machi real. A character on her own right with her own trauma, struggle, pain & outlook on life. Although, the writer made the whole yuki/Machi meeting orchestrated by Kakeru to quickly make the two siblings one step closer, it worked cuz kakeru chose to not interfere after setting the scene. He played a subtle mach maker & tried to find happiness for his sister silently. Kakeruy is yuki’s best buddy & Machi becoming the girlfriend, the trio will have to hang out more which will slowly but surely warm Machi towards Kakeru. While the flat visit is the part where Machi open the lid to Yuki with a spark of romance at the end, the chalk scene is the romantic part! Not only did Yuki noticed her panic & saved her by breaking a piece of chalk, she secretly remembered his promise! “ lets make footprints on the snow”. The snow that was another source of anxiety attack, is now sth she looks forward to & prays for! Truly romantic!!! Well-done writer.

Side Notes:

I know furuba is shoujo & it’s abt love, but C’mon! where did Nao/ Motoko come from??!! XDD Who is left without love interest? Kyo’s rejected fangirl loved by one of kyo’s buddies? The maids in love with Akito? Momiji? Who does Kimi love besides money? XD

Yuki once observed that kyo makes tohru happy with small things, Today he did the same! A broken piece of chalk.

Yuki/ Machi romantic scenes contrast Yuki/ tohru forced romantic scene at the earlier seasons. There is no lame cringy lines like “ I’ll kidnap you & go to a vacation” or kissing a ribbon. There is NO acting or pretentious lines. Here a piece of chalk did the trick, an understanding of her tears & a head pat, a promise to walk on snow together! Congratulations Yuki, You made it into romantic boyfriends category! XD. also, good writing!

The Bra scene is the real comedy in the ep.

Arisa’s “ kyon, we won’t forgive you if you hurt tohru” is gold cuz kyo WILL. When it’s time to confess he knew kyoko & she HATES him & doesn’t forgive him, tohru would be hurt! Even if she wasn’t in love with kyo!!! Knowing your beloved’s last words were hateful is painful!! Add to this that tohru loves kyo & would be struggling between forgiving him or not!! Add to this that kyo might NOT want to be forgiven!!

“ I won’t forgive you”. kyo’s haunting reminder that he’s unforgivable is now shared by kyoko, yuki, Hana & Arisa!!

look, you might argue that furuba’s romantic writing might be a bit awkward with all sorts of romantic couples, age gaps, the need for everybody to be in love one way or the other & so on, but the traumatic behavioral writing is the best!!!!! I was never disappointed with how Takaya write abused traumatized children’s behavior. One of my fave scenes is yuki/ kyo in the stairs in se02 where kyo lashed out on yuki & yuki was over it. While that scene was rightfully celebrated for yuki’s triumphant attitude as he got over his trauma, I love it for the realistic trauma filled attitude of kyo, all charged with kyoko’s flashback! He’s in deep & he’s all by himself! Kyo will hurt tohru cuz he loves her just like how kazuma hurt him by forcefully taking his bracelet cuz he loves him. Kyo will be thinking it is for the best, who would want to be with someone that kyoko of all ppl hates!

I’ll tolerate all the weird love couples in furuba, but the moment trauma is written weakly I’ll drop the show. There is NO way, kyo will confess kyoko’s lines then go “sorry abt that tohru, we’re good?”

Back to Machi, I really hope that her trauma isn’t merely wrapped up cuz yuki loved her. Furuba was never abt love heals, it is abt love helps. We might not see more of her trauma for reasons of space, or not related to the current plot lines, but I really hope we hear her talk abt herself with yuki even few lines. Although, I feel that the focus now will be on setting her for yuki’s next stage in character development: honesty in the love confession. He’ll tell her abt the curse as the trailer hinted at. That’s their first love life struggle. But if I were to take a guess, it will be dealt with quickly like her trauma. She loves yuki dearly & as long as he walks with her in snow (human or rat, lol), it’s all good. <3

Hior’s mom is love.

Kagura’s new style is love! she isn’t dressed overly cutely anymore, but had a more comfortably style & I love her hair! also her friendship with Isuzu! <3. I wish Isuzu would really know there are ppl worried abt her in her life. Haru isn’t the only one.

Akito put Isuzu in the cat room, didn’t she? The place she left is similar to the place young Kazum wandered to in se01, ep25. & those scissors....

I never thought that the mere sight of shigure’s face will disgust me. XD. I still find him so intriguing, but yeah need time to get over the fact that he slept with Ren & counted it even with Akito, then slept with Akito afterwards! EWWW! so disgusting & I’m here to see this drama escalate!

Yuki / Machi moment was interrupted! XD It’s not fun when it happened to you, yuki? XD.

#Fruits Basket #Anime Only #sick paper #final season

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ae0nx · 3 years

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FRUITS BASKET S3 EPISODE 1 + 2 RECAP!

Yayyy! Season 3! Finally! I’m hoping this season will make me understand/sympathise with Akito and maybe even Shigure a little bit more because... honestly? My opinions on episode 2?... I might get some flack for my opinions on them... 😬

But, first: I’d like to appreciate how on the Funimation app we got a little interview/message from a few of the english dub VAs! Specifically Colleen Clinkenbeard, Jerry Jewell, Eric Vale, Ian Sinclair and Brina Palencia (Akito, Kyo, Yuki, Kureno and Isuzu). And it was nice seeing some of their opinions of the characters they play and how much they’re emotionally invested in the story. (Ian’s such a nerd ‘I wanna see giant mechs later this season’ 😂 - I lowkey stan him lol)

You should definitely check it out if you’re interested in what they would have to say!

ANYWAYS, let’s get into it...

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EPISODE 1

I really love this depiction of the original zodiac and how you can just tell from the tone of the scene how desperately the God of the Zodiac was clinging on to these connections that they had with the participants in the banquet. How much they clung on to and loved the cat... Also, interesting how Tohru’s narrating this scene... almost like she can relate to the desperation of wanting to keep things the same... but we’ll get to that later. But also, Tohru is a God

This new opening is beautiful, I love the way that camera moves around the still illustrations and how the general tone just hammers down that... this season is gonna be some real shit lol (which makes me nervous for the opening for the second half 😳). It’s so warped and the general blue, grey and black tone that follows around every Akito scene we get in the anime has bled into every scene in this opening concerning the rest of the zodiac. Almost... like something is decaying. It’s great, it’s just very sad lol. I love the song tho, issa bop.

One of my favourite things in stories is when we get a bigger villain than the ‘pronounced’ villain of the story. Ren’s introduction through a manicured outstretched hand towards Kureno and Hatori is so weirdly gross in what it insinuates (especially when you apply her connection with Shigure) but again... I wanna know why she’s such an asshole to Akito specifically besides the bad mental health management within the Sohma compound. I have an inkling of what it is through memory of the manga, but like Akito and Shigure... I just wanna understand why.

Also, Ren is gorgeous and I’m sorry for simping.

I mean... she’s kinda got a point? She just didn��t need to be so mean about it lol. It’s pretty clear that the connection the zodiac have to each other is real and something they cannot control. BUT, wouldn’t it be easier if this connection wasn’t perpetuated by outer circles of the family and if Akito herself wasn’t so cruel about it? But, I guess Akito - through her relationship with her mother - kinda doesn’t know how to genuinely show love and affection. (Which brings me into my thoughts of how the manga ends and how I kinda... have a few problems with it which I will get to... when that comes lol)

Lol - weeeeeeeee! (flashes back to Tohru being yeeted into the river). Is this a part of Akito’s god-like powers?!

Again. She’s got a point! They’ve both got a point. But, they’re both the source of the problem. It’s really painful to see two mentally ill people duke it out. This whole institution is just rotten.

- I am super curious about what Akira’s relationship was like with the zodiac and if it was just as dark. I’m gonna assume it slightly already was, as the exclusion and degradation of the cat curse is already dark in itself but maybe the rest of the zodiac were just fine with how things were? I dunno if we actually will get the full backstory of Akira and his zodiac but I’m definitely intrigued

Ok, but if four crying children came up to me after I’d just consummated with my partner to reach out at my stomach chanting ‘we’ve been waiting for you’. That would disturb me and scar me for a while too so... 😂. I know it’s supposed to be ethereal and spiritual but... dude, wtf lol

...I don’t like how much I’m into Ren being such a Villain™ 😅

- Akito being seen as a crying child by the older zodiac members has always been interesting to me because yes, they could see her as that through mainly the age gap, general empathy and the way she sometimes irrationally acts out. But, also the depiction of Gods being seen as children having tantrums has being reflected in many different beliefs and myths (especially Greek Mythology) and I just like the fact that this all powerful, all knowing being would be compared to a child. It gives you a different perspective on power.

- Is the paper note in the CD case that Kureno gave back to Tohru an extra addition or was it always there?...

Mannnn... I really wanted Isuzu to fuck shit up after seeing Tohru so upset but... *le sigh* (outfit’s still on point)

But, I’m so glad we get an equal Ethereal Goddess to save Tohru! HANAJIMA! We love her, we stan her. <3

- ‘Tohru will be in my custody’ 🤣 I personally think Hana’s bluntness was a kindness in her conversation with Yuki because if I found Tohru upset? I’d automatically start firing metaphorical shots at everyone in that house

- Shigure fearing Hana makes me sleep better at night <3

Hana’s just like ‘hmm... sounds like someone I know... 👀’ I’m here for this parallel between Tohru and Kureno in the hopes that Tohru doesn’t ever get in as bad a situation as Kureno. Ahhh... Kureno... (Also, Laura Bailey was killing it in this scene as always)

- Hmmm... there’s something terribly poetic about Kyo saving Tohru’s scarf from oncoming traffic... but also, Kyo can’t help himself aha

KWEEEN! I love this look for Uo, it’s very Kyoko. I already said this in Season 1 but I STILL need to get wool-lined jacket. Outfit Appreciation goes to her - 3.5 stars.

<3<3<3 Friendship is magic!

- Megumi is such a good egg as always! From him going to get Uo to him being so wise with his outlook on love and how it takes time to really flourish. The best!

- This whole episode ends really nicely from Tohru’s return home and Kyo washing and returning Tohru’s scarf and Yuki being happy to see Tohru and Shigure being somewhat decent. It was nice to get a bit of relief after the tornado of emotions

Also, this was a nice screencap! Even Kyo is smiling!!! :))))

EPISODE 2

*takes sip of wine* ...ok.

👀... later lol

This scene really highlighted how Tohru is starting to see Shigure and the whole zodiac curse in a new and darker way. For the first time, it felt like Tohru was a little bit more guarded around Shigure and I hope they delve more into this season. Her description of her feeling around the curse being like a ‘dark well with no bottom in sight’ is pretty spot on. Ugh.

Aw! Is this the last we’re getting of Small!Momiji?! I love them :3 (Momiji’s shorts look a little shorter too, like he’s growing out of them ahaha)

- I haven’t found the Yuki fan club funny since their first scene in the anime but their poor disguises made me chuckle

- Yayyy! Kyo has an obsessive fan club too? ...Yay?? 😅 haha

- ‘I won’t kill them but they can go to hell’ why is Kyo speaking like me?! 😂

The fact that we got a scene of Yuki kinda admirably looking at a group of friends (boys and girls) playfully physically interacting and he unconsciously reaches out to Machi almost like he forgot about the curse? Heart eyes... 🥰

Again. Relatable. 😂 God, Yuki. You really are an airhead. Bless your soul. <3

And that look says it all. Damn. Kyo’s sense of hopelessness is heartbreaking but I still stand by it being understandable considering his circumstances.

Kyo freaking out about Tohru being visually upset was super cute but I couldn’t even appreciate the fluff because the whole scene had such a morbid tone to it, despite it being so visually romantic:

KYO’S FACE!!! 💔 Ahhh, my emotions!!!! Also, that shot from Tohru’s perspective under her bangs is great.

- Poor Mitsuru, I’d ask for extra pay just for dealing with Shigure’s ass.

Hahah - what a great metaphor!

- Now that Shigure’s ‘true form’, so to speak, has been fully exposed all his comments that are supposed to be teasing come off so much more awful. Him insinuating Mitsuru wasn’t ‘upper class’ enough for Ritsu was awful

COLLLDDDD. AS. IIIIIIICE. But seriously, Shigure this whole episode was cold in many different ways but I definitely felt this personally since I’ve been told something like this by a family member before... 😕 Also, it’s just gross how both Shigure and Akito are taking their own personal issues and mistrust of each other out on to other people. The curse and the institution behind the curse complicates a lot of feelings for sure, but there’s a difference between wrong and right and I get the general feeling that they both are just using the muddy waters to their advantage. Although, I feel like Shigure is taking more advantage of this than Akito but I’ll get into that in a bit.

- There’s also something about this episode that made me sympathise a lot more with Kureno in a more understandable way. But, it also makes me question the ending of this whole story and the resolutions that happen and what life for the whole Sohma institution/family looks like after the curse has broken.. I guess, I should read ‘Fruits Basket Another’ after this, huh?

😳... Shigure is so petty, man. Really?!

So...

I hate this relationship. I’m sorry. I know there are loads of people who like this relationship. And I’m still giving myself space for the show and the story to convince me why it’s worth it. But... I really don’t like this relationship. It’s so toxic. In so many ways. And in a weird way, this scene made me feel a LITTLE bit more for Akito than Shigure. It feels like Shigure gaslights everyone in his life but none no more than Akito, herself. I hate the fact that he keeps saying he loves her while hurting her or disregarding her. You know, almost like he’s treating her like a child. But on the other hand, I hate the fact that Akito has lowkey gaslighted herself into thinking she can treat people however she wants because she is ‘God’. I understand this is part of the way she was brought up and it seems like life in the Sohma compound has been very isolating for her so there’s been no one really to show her better (or have the confidence to show her better). But, at least I can be a little bit more sympathetic on her side than Shigure’s. I dunno... it’s just all very ugly and toxic and I’m hoping that it’ll turn around somehow.

I just hope it’s not one of those relationships that are ‘so good cos it’s so bad’.

...I’ll briefly talk about the ending theme to end this on a good note lol:

I really like this ending! I dunno if they’re gonna have two endings and two openings for this season but this ending definitely feels like it should’ve gone in the second half as it’s almost spoiler-y? But, then again what anime opening and ending isn’t packed with spoilers lol

All the illustrations are gorgeous, I’m assuming they were drawn by Takaya-sensei herself as it seems very much in her current style of artistry but my favourite illustrations are definitely the ones shown above! <3

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Ahhh! Fin! Sorry, about this one being super long and you probably having to scroll past a whole lot on your dash 😝 As usual, I had a lot to say. I’m open to hearing from people who actually like Shigure and Akito’s relationship btw, it’s just that everything before and episode 2 just really didn’t sail the ship for me, personally. I do want to understand! Haha

See you soooon!

#fruits basket #furuba #fruits basket season 3 #fruits basket 2021

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dolores-lovesfruits · 4 years

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There is something that has been itching me ever since I entered the fb fandom. It’s been a long time debate ever since the manga and the 2001 anime up till now and Idk, I feel like this topic is overlooked by many, which is kyo vs. yuki/ more like pitting them against each other on who’s better.

Beware: This is a super long post.

Look, I may be a Momiji stan at heart but I can’t deny that these dudes are awesome. Do note that I am not speaking against those who have their own biases, I’m referring to the people who keep comparing these two in a really negative way to the extent of antagonizing the other party or worse; comparing who’s got more trauma. I saw the latter part on that one facebook post and I was all “wtf?!”

Now we all know Yuki was criticized for his so-called “surface” character especially back in the 2001 anime where they really botched their chances of developing Yuki’s storyline with his brother, backstory, and president arc; and since the first half of the manga centered on the true form arc, a lot of Kyo stans emerged and at times, shoved yuki in the mud as if he’s not that important to the whole series (which infuriated me and I’m pointing my finger at the 2001 anime for this). The reboot is finally shining Yuki and the fandom, new viewers/old fans begin to love this Yuki more than the old version because this is the Yuki that was portrayed in the manga that we all love. It also helps that there are a lot who posted their metas about him and people have matured enough to understand his situation.

Now moving on to Kyo. Since the second half of season 2 will finally focus on the storyline that Yuki didn’t get during the 2001 anime, this is the part where I’m very intrigued of. Gathering some opinions from manga readers, this is the arc wherein there might be an emergence of Kyo hate opinions. I predicted this for a number of reasons and connected it to what season 2 will show, like Yuki’s backstory wherein we found out that Yuki actually wanted to befriend Kyo; using yuki as a scapegoat; the cinderella arc where Kyo lashes out on Yuki again. Not to mention, Kyo doesn’t really appear that much or get that much spotlight during the second half (except Kagura’s confession and Kyoko’s backstory albeit it’s more focused on kyoko’s) because his spotlight and development will come at season 3.

This is something that really pissed me off. The Yuki hate was based on his treatment towards Kyo and acting like he’s better than him (ex: is when a lot complained during the ore-sama dialogue that he’s acting all superior to Kyo or some shit). If anything, Yuki has the right to call out on Kyo which I’ll explain below. The Kyo hate on the other hand was based on his treatment to Yuki back when they’re younger till now (it rages me when there are fans who blamed Kyo for ALL of Yuki’s trauma. He’s partly at fault, for sure but the fact that they are really blaming ALL this on Kyo was absurd. blame akito or the curse dammit).

Kyo’s actions are unjustifiable, sure, especially when he’s channeling his hatred to someone he doesn’t fully know but it’s one of his main conflicts in this series. Even as a kid, he still technically started that feud between their relationship even when Yuki just wanted to be friends w/ him but because of the rat/cat hierarchy implanted on him since he was born, it was natural for him to lash out on Yuki, which, resulted on damaging Yuki’s trauma more. It didn’t help that Yuki was used as his scapegoat because not only projecting your hatred also cause to damage to the other person which come of as insensitive, but it also developed Kyo’s unhealthy way of coping esp since he explicitly said that he used Yuki because he wouldn’t be able to take it any longer (it really was the only thing keeping him together which was a super fucked up situation). It’s a lose-lose battle on him

I’m not going to pretend that Yuki is an angel as well. He, too have struggled immensely and his envious thoughts and jealously towards Kyo sprouted his hatred towards him which in any case, is not Kyo’s fault. His internal struggles of not being able to be himself was not entirely Kyo’s responsibility, which developed an unhealthy coping mechanism wherein he puts up this princely facade and also lashes on/ beats Kyo due to his jealousy. I also think a lot are forgetting that while Kyo used him as a scapegoat, deep inside, Yuki looked down on Kyo as well. Based on what Shigure told Tohru that the cat is needed for them to make themselves feel a little better. Which was amplified during Momiji’s grown up chapter (the scene where they are making curry) the zodiacs finally acknowledged the effect of being in the cat’s unfortunate position.

I cannot fully blame Yuki for looking down on Kyo and used his jealousy to beat him up because he reminds him of anything he’s not. At the same time, I cannot fully blame Kyo for lashing out on him when they were kids and used the rat to have a purpose of his hatred. Their feelings manifested from the curse, it just so happened that these two were driven with different coping mechanisms.

In addition, I really don’t understand the point of antagonizing/villanizing person a to person b’s backstory and vice versa when it’s clearly not the case. A lot are forgetting that it’s the bond/curse and akito that made them this way. You can’t fully blame the other party because both of them are victims of terrifying positions (Yuki’s closest to god so he really suffered from akito’s abuse while Kyo’s position as the cat made him mocked and looked down by the sohmas and eventually imprisoned for life for something he was born with). It’s also interesting despite their different childhood experiences, both experienced some kind of isolation (yuki was isolated from the other zodiacs and kept in the dark room while kyo was an outcast and not included in any event because the mere presence as a cat is something they need for the banquet to keep going).

This is the reason why my blood was boiling when they get compared at who’s got the worst trauma or some shit from the two. It’s downgrading the other’s problems and experiences and fucking petty. BOTH, I repeat, both have been traumatized and suffered a lot and it defeats the purpose on portraying different traumas and their journey of fighting their demons. In other words, the two do not deserve to be compared. It’s not a battle between traumas.

If they want to blame something, blame the fucking curse (and Akito). It clearly destroyed the cursed Sohma’s mental health. No need to pit these two into an experience that haunted them both.

I’m saying this because while I was glad and relieved that the yuki hate is slowly dissolving, I noticed that this season might involve some Kyo hate and I just have to fucking slap my desk and be like “Not this again!”

Again, everyone has an opinion on certain characters but there are some that are just “too much”. That feeling overshadows the character’s good points/flaws. Kyo and Yuki are not painted to be the bad guys. They are characters with flaws and conflict going on. Without these flaws, the story wouldn’t drive further. I actually prefer the fandom right now than before because the majority of the main Kyo and main Yuki stans both love and respect the other. I hope it will continue to be like that and just stop with the Kyo and Yuki hate.

#fruits basket #fruits basker spoilers #fruits basket 2020 #furuba #furuba spoilers #kyo sohma #yuki sohma #sohma kyo #sohma yuki #fb meta #lola's thoughts

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spectralreplica · 4 years

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So I loved your response on who would be most likely to witch out in the PMMM/DR v3 au, but id love to ask, what did they all wish for? (Bonus: Also did those wishes backfire?)

So, these are my thoughts for right now, but if I actually planned more of the “story” for this AU, some of them might change. For some of them I kind of cheated and came up with the power first, but in my defense it’s hard to come up with wishes without having planned more of the plot, since Kyubey tries so hard to get people to make spur of the moment wishes during times of stress.

Kokichi: I see him as totally paranoid (rightfully so) over how Kyubey’s trying to trick him but still obsessing for weeks over the perfect phrasing for a wish just in case, and then suddenly a witch traps him and DICE in a Labyrinth and he ends up contracting with a totally spontaneous wish. Something like “saving my friends” or “being strong enough to protect my family.” For maximum irony, he’d end up with powers that get stronger when fighting with/to protect others but keep trying to fight alone anyway due to not trusting other magicals and not wanting to put DICE in danger. He’d also tell people he wished for other things like, “to rule the world from the shadows,” or “an infinite supply of scarfs.” As for backfiring, he does save everyone that one time, but they’re in more danger since other magicals end up targeting them when Kokichi poaches from their territories, plus they’re in the line of fire if/when he witches out.

Kaito: Like in the game, Kaito is terminally ill and wishes for something along the lines of “being healthy enough to achieve his dreams,” but he totally lies and says he wished for something like “being strong enough to help others.” He gets the power to temporarily boost other people’s powers and/or make their bodies regenerate from wounds. He kind of avoids using the healing part at first because it’s a little suspicious with his alleged wish and then pretends it’s a thing he’s been practicing. It doesn’t really go bad for him, and I don’t think he’d regret making the wish, even when he finds out about the Soul Gems controlling your body thing. Maybe when he realizes there are no witches in space? But even then I think he’d be in denial…

Shuichi: Shuichi ends up involved in a really serious case and just can’t find the piece that ties it all together even though everyone is counting on him. At the height of his anxiety, Kyubey approaches him, and he wishes to find the truth. He basically gets super intuition/lie detection with a (mental) visual interface sort of like the DR trials (truth bullets plus the mini games). This creates drama with certain other magicals who are hiding something (cough, Kokichi and Kaito) and makes him doubt his skills since he’s relying on magic to cheat.

Maki: Still an orphan, still approached by a cult, but then approached by Kyubey. She wishes that the cult would never bother anyone at the orphanage again, and they all end up arrested, dead, or mysteriously vanished. She basically gets the power to make things/people “go away” to a pocket dimension only she can access, and this makes other people sort of forget those things/people exist while they’re inside. She sees her wish as a necessary sacrifice, like her becoming an assassin in canon, so she is Not Happy when Kyubey approaches some of the other orphans.

Kaede: Honestly not sure???? She doesn’t really have anything in her backstory that would be a catalyst for Kyubey to approach her, so I see it as more of a random chance, situation-based thing, like Madoka healing the cat. Maybe she was trapped in a Labyrinth and wished for the power to fight survive, or to save a friend? Just know it’s not related to her piano playing. That’s all practice, and she likes it that way.

(Joke answer: Kaede gets super mad at someone from a distance and wishes she could slap them across the face for being an idiot. She gets the power to telekinetically smack anything around from across the room.)

Himiko: Intrigued by the idea of real magic but not intrigued by the idea of having to fight witches. Ends up wishing for her mentor to be more popular. Not as mind-controlly as Kyoko’s wish; basically, people just find him really cool and talented and can’t look away from his shows, but they don’t like, form a cult? Sort of derails her own career as a magician (both because the audience likes her mentor more and because she has to sneak off and fight witches) and doesn’t really fix the problems in their relationship, but he doesn’t leave and never return. Anyway, she gets the power to make herself and anyone she touches more or less noticeable/popular. Really good for stealth or drawing aggro. Also for convincing people to do her favors.

Tenko: She recently moved to the city after living in a temple since she was a child, and is finding it hard to adjust. One night, when she’s out acting as a “hero of justice” like her Master taught her and preventing a suicide, she ends up trapped in a Labyrinth and saved by Himiko. She ends up really, really attached and sort of accompanies her on hunts for a while until something goes wrong, and she ends up wishing to protect Himiko. She ends up with sort of a sense when Himiko needs help and is really good at putting up shields/barriers.

Miu: Still in a bad car crash leading to a coma, butthe surgery doesn’t go as well. Kyubey approaches her in the hospital right after she’s been told she’s facing permanent brain damage. She almost wishes to put her brain back to normal but then decides, why stop there? She wishes to be a genius with a super-brain that can solve any problem, and ends up with super inspiration, mostly aimed at turning any materials around her into an invention that will help her. She can use magic to substitute for missing materials and speed up the development time, but this uses a lot of magic at once, and the finished product won’t work for anyone else. Freaks out when she learns her body is now essentially hardware, but then she realizes the possibilities for improving things… Then everyone else freaks out.

Gonta: Still a feral child who got lost in the woodsand was sort of raised by wolves (not reptites, sorry), but this affects his ability to learn language and social skills much, much more severely than in canon. Wishes for the ability to understand others, which makes him fluent in all languages and sort of an empath. Also, because he sees animals as sort of on the same level as humans, this extends to animal languages in addition to human ones. Being able to speak and mimic “good manners” improves others’ opinions of him and his intelligence, but being able to feel how his birth family really feels about him is so upsetting that he eventually ends up running away and staying with Miu and Kiibo.

Kiibo: Lives with Miu. Does not remember his wish, but he has powers, so he has to have made one? Probably human. I’m still sort of torn over his backstory, but I’m kind of leaning towards a Hijiri kind of situation, where he was created by someone else’s wish. Or magic (cough, Miu.)

Ryoma: Wishes to get revenge on the mafia that killed his family and girlfriend. Basically gets enhanced strength and a sort of sense of where all of the members are. I sort of went over how his wish ends up in the other post…

Korekiyo: Wished to cure his sister’s illness and got healing powers. Currently traveling the world to observe other magicals. Like the other cult members, offers to use his powers for a price (usually Grief Seeds or information).

Angie: Starts out living on an isolated island andacting as a priestess/oracle, but begins to doubt her own abilities/connection to her god because natural disasters are getting worse and more people are leaving. She sort of interprets Kyubey as a messenger from her god and wishes to know what’s really going on/get a better sense of her destiny. She gets the power to predict the future as long as she is personally involved. She has to actively focus on a question (What happens if I do this?) or a goal (I want to achieve this) and she’ll see the most probable path. This really elevates her sense of self-importance, and makes it much easier to make others see things her way. It doesn’t prevent a tsunami from destroying her home and making everyone leave, at which point she meets Tsumugi and Kirumi.

Tsumugi: Her life isn’t bad, but she doesn’t like herself that much and feels empty and unfulfilled until she comes across the existence of actual magical girls (well, one in particular). Like an anime come to life! Tsumugi wishes for the ability to become someone else (yes, I know this was Rena’s wish too…) and gets the power to transform into other people. If they’re a magical, she can also copy a limited, weaker version of their powers.

Rantaro: Wishes to find all of his sisters and gets the ability to track people. He has an inherent sense where each of his sisters is and their general emotional state, but he can also apply this power to other people if he focuses. It works from anywhere in the world and can be based on a photograph, but it works best when the person is close by (from a country away he knows they’re alive and northwest from him, from a building away he knows they’re sitting in a chair in the back corner of the back bedroom and feeling excited but a little nervous) and he’s met them in person. He quickly discovers that tracking a sister down once doesn’t mean she’ll stay “found” and go home. Some of them also want to travel, others have bad senses of direction and always get lost again, some find his new knowledge of where they are and how they feel super creepy and avoid him, and at least one became a magical girl already… He probably finds out about the witch thing first…….

Kirumi: Part of a family that’s been serving animportant, rich family (maybe Rantaro’s? for maximum irony?) for generations. She’s been trained to dedicate her whole life to serving others and has no real prospects outside of eventually becoming head maid and training her own children to replace her. Meets Angie and Tsumugi and is immediately drawn in by Angie’s message. Wishes for the ability to instantly transport herself and others and gets the ability to teleport to any location she’s seen (photos count). It gets harder the more people she takes along, the longer the distance, and the less detail she knows about her destination. She tells everyone—and herself—that she lives to serve and wished for a convenient power to better serve the group’s needs, but she secretly wanted to escape really badly for her own sake too.

#Ask #Anon #Long Post #DRV3/PMMM AU #Anonymous

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ohmykhr · 5 years

Note

*I honestly do not remember if I already sent this or not, if I did then feel free to ignore this ask.* Could you do some s/o hc for your top 5 fem characters :D (I would have asked for all of them, but that would have been too much :P)

You haven’t, but thank you so much for sending in your ask! The girls honestly don’t get nearly enough love as they should, so I’m always more than happy to write for them. I hope you like these!

Sasagawa Kyoko

Kyoko is quite family oriented person, so it’s important to her that her partner gets along with both her friends and family. Ryohei’s opinion holds great value to her, so if her partner didn’t get along with him or he had a bad feeling or general dislike towards her partner, it might be a deal breaker to her. After all, her brother isn’t too hard to get along with.

Kyoko loves to explore and try out new things, so she’d need someone who would be adventurous enough to go along with her whims and plans. She doesn’t shy away from anything unfamiliar as long as it intrigues her and she hopes her partner wouldn’t mind either.

She has always been the picture perfect popular girl, but what would make her fall for someone is if they saw beneath what everyone else sees and realizes she is so much more than that. She wants to be more than just a cute face and well-behaved girl to her partner, she wants them to see her as she really is. It’s a side to which many dismiss or turn a blind eye to, but it’s how she is like and what she needs for her partner to be able to see.

Miura Haru

Kindness is always the way to win Haru’s heart - especially kindness shown towards children is her number one weakness, for she adores kids. Haru is someone who would both want to receive and offer romantic gestures, so being just a little bit of a hopeless romantic would be beneficial.

Handmade couple costumes everywhere. Haru doesn’t care if they are attending a wedding or a halloween costume party, she wants to have matching outfits with her partner and that’s final. Though, her favorite occasions are costume parties (and usually she is the one hosting them as well).

She leaves little love notes to her partner in their lunch or on the mirror with a post-it note. They are usually encouraging messages to get their day started, but sometimes she slips in puns and jokes she thinks her partner would laugh at.

Chrome Dokuro

She isn’t too familiar with physical affection or someone caring for her, so it takes her a while to get used to the more romantic side of a relationship. Her partner would need a ton of understanding and patience, for she is still struggling with her past and trying to grow and change as a person.

Chrome’s love language is spending time together, just the two of them. She feels awkward showing pda or confessing her love out loud to her partner in public, which is why she prefers staying at home with them and do something casual they both would enjoy.

Because of her mother and how the Kokuyo tends to treat her, it’s important for her partner to make her feel assured that she is wanted around. Especially at the beginning it might take a lot of reassuring from her partner to make her believe that she isn’t a burden to them and they do, in fact, love her and want her around.

I-Pin

I-Pin herself is ambitious and hardworking individual, so she’d appreciate if her partner would be as well. Even if they weren’t, it would be alright as long as they would understand that she might not always have time for them, at least not as much as her partner would possibly want. This is why she needs someone who is also independent and doesn’t expect her world to revolve around them.

Study dates would be something she would do weekly with her partner. Not only does she get to combine studying and spending time with her partner, but she also learns better whenever her partner quizzes her about the subjects she is studying for.

Even though she is shy and it takes her time to warm up to her partner, she is very loving and affectionate as soon as she is comfortable enough. I-Pin is also extremely caring and observant which is why she’ll immediately pinpoint if something is wrong with her partner.

Daniela

She would bring her s/o to every single work related event and proudly show them off and introduce them as her partner. Daniela is someone who would always be proud of her partner and have their back no matter what.

Daniela values the alone time that they have together and tries to make time for just the two of them every single week, even if it means she has to work overtime and push herself to the limit just to have a lazy weekend with her partner. But she knows it’ll be worth it, which is why she does it.

She is quite adventurous when it comes to dates, so she would always be trying to find something new and exciting for her and her partner to try out. Whether it’s a new restaurant she has heard about or a thrilling activity, she will drag her partner there with her.

#khr #sasagawa kyoko #miura haru #i-pin #chrome dokuro #daniela #s/o ask #headcanon #yes i have a crush on daniela even though we see only a glimpse of her #what about it #Anonymous

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furubase · 5 years

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Posting this ask from my main (gotta stay consistent)! Hope you don’t mind anon!

This is actually a great question because you’re right, I have no idea why I put Ayame/Mine and Arisa/Kureno on the same level. The truth is, outside his relationship with Yuki, I find Ayame very boring, so I don’t really mind his relationship status (don't know if him being gay would have changed anything though). Arisa and Kureno though? They’re both very interesting on their own, and I really like them. I think my interpretation of some of the core themes of the show isn’t too far off, but the way Kureno’s arc plays its part in it is very much a personal interpretation, so bear with me here.

So. To be quick, yes, the age gap is probably one of the issues, along with the way their romantic arc is the only thing that ties them together until issue 22 (and I tend to consider issue 23 as an epilogue of sort). Theirs is a very strange romance overall, and I think it all boils down to frustration.

I think most people aren’t squeamish about age gaps as much as they are about power imbalances, so to be fair, Arisa and Kureno are much better off on this front than Katsuya/Kyoko. Arisa is 18, eight years younger than Kureno, so at that ambiguous age where it’s “okay” to date someone older, but also weird when older men are interested in her. It’s pretty obvious that their relationship is heading towards romance but I’m of the mind they take it very slow, so it’s more how it happens that concerns me. (Still, I think it’s important to keep in mind all of the parallels between Arisa/Kureno and Katsuya/Kyoko, although they’re a much healthier version).

I really like that Arisa is given the revelation in chapter 127 that she knows next to nothing about Kureno. She’s intrigued, she has a crush, sure. But we’re only ever shown on one occasion that they would maybe be a good match together (same thing with Mayu/Hatori tbh, but at least we’re told that they’ve known each other for a long time). I don’t really see how her feelings for him evolved into more than a crush. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Where do their arcs lead to? Once she meets him, Uo doesn’t really have an arc that doesn’t revolve around her romance with Kureno. At the end of the series, she has to let go of Tohru, and she has to figure out what comes after high school (she just wants to work and start her life, without any specifics). I think it would have done wonders for her character to be shown struggling with the freedom the end of high school grants her, especially given her past. It would have given her an endpoint to look towards, but also a thematic motif that ties her to the Junichi and to Kureno especially - the one who lost the ability to fly.

Kureno’s arc is very dissonant, compared to the rest of the Zodiac. It’s all about freedom and what to do with it. He’s refused it once, and it shaped his life in a way that has hurt him in the long run. I think it’s fair to say that Kureno was a victim of emotional abuse - a dependency that started when Akito was very young and that he feels responsible for. There’s this ambiguity in Kureno in that he’s the most lonely of the twelve, and still that he’s completely shackled to Akito. So letting Akito go means setting himself up to be alone, and that’s probably something that scares him.

Kureno’s arc is infinitely bittersweet to me. All the other members of the Zodiac understand, with Tohru’s influence, that to help out the world and make it better they need to start with themselves. The easiest way to show that is to have them paired up - because love is always a bit selfish, isn’t it? Kureno hasn’t really grasped that lesson.

I don’t think this is all about Akito - Kureno needs to leave, but his words make it seem like he hasn’t grasped the simple truth that he should be doing it for himself. He’s leaving when everyone’s relationships is becoming easier, healthier. He's finally leaving, taking advantage of his freedom. He’s also ten years too late, and he's doing it with a mix of regret, devotion, and if the need to see the world finally is there, it’s pushed pretty far back.

I don’t really like that it’s Uo - someone he barely knows - and the thought of her, her words, that pushes him to leave his situation. He’d known for a while that it was bad, that he needed to leave for both his and Akito’s sake, but it’s so clearly entangled with his romantic arc in the manga that I can’t get fully behind it. He likes Arisa because she’s strong, and independent, and funny, and a breath of fresh air, and for all the right reasons (and that’s probably where the age gap might matter, because she might be strong but she’s still 18!), but I wish he took the time to figure out how he’s strong and independent on his own. He can still do that, obviously, but this kind of “I’ll follow you anywhere” mentality, in this context... I don’t think this was the solution I wanted for either of them.

So yeah. It’s not the worst relationship, and it might have been good had it been given the proper development, and if they each had individual character arcs (esp for Uo) that sustained such a deep connection so early in their relationship. This is a complicated situation that was given too simple a resolution. As I said, I deal with it by interpreting their last appearance as the hint that there is more to the story and more to deal with, but Takaya’s insistence on giving everyone a resolutely happy ending, while cute, sealed the deal on this one for me. I really do see the appeal though.

#kureno sohma #arisa uotani #kureno x uo #kureno x arisa #thanks for the question i hope it made sense and you didn't mind my arguments!#yuki/machi could have fallen into this pitfall #but they had tohru and kakeru and the students' council to sustain their respective arcs #fruits basket manga spoilers #fruits basket spoilers #my post

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pinkcurse · 5 years

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Chapter 264, 265, 266 , and 226.5 Thoughts...a mini novel

Ok, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I haven’t posted my thoughts in a long time. Graduate school is a killer! Anyway, let's do this in order.

Chapter 264

1. Do any of us really believe that Kimiko is gone for good? Like seriously. I feel like with her it is a waiting game to when she comes back. The question is, will she be reformed or will she try to do something to hurt Kyoko again? My money is on vengeance.

2. Kurisaki’s geeking out over Hiou’s grandpa is so adorable. I wonder if he will get a chance to meet him. Like if he comes on set to see how Kyoko is doing. The way he reacts to the fact that he didn’t hire Kanae makes me wonder if he suffers from the same illness that Kyoko suffers—wild delusions.

3. I think the most important and intriguing thing from this chapter is WHAT IS THIS ROLE THAT KANAE FEELS UNABLE TO DO? Like seriously, what kind of role would she lack confidence in performing? She seems very confident. If I had to venture a guess, it would have to be something about being happy with a family situation like the one she has, to act contrary to her nature. Also, it’s in America. So, Kanae starts the excuse of our beloved characters to the U.S or maybe introduce Juli into the mix.

Chapter 265

1. So the bullying of Koga begins. I’m wondering where this goes. Does he become yet another Kyoko admirer or does he play some sort of role in FINALLY getting Ren and Kyoko together?

2.”He’s just a toddler, toddling along.” I love this. It is soo true. Unfortunately for Kyoko...she is too. She thinks she understands love but she intentionally misunderstands that Ren is possessive of her. I would love SO MUCH for Kyoko to realize Ren’s feelings for her and call him out on it. Like she has already started to wake up to it with her conversation Kuon and why she shouldn’t have made the kiss promise with Kuon, but I question how many years we have to wait for it.

3. Ok, so Kyoko preserving the flower. I think all of her mementos from Ren are going to be sooo important at some point. Like Ren see’s getting to go into her room and seeing the bed for Princess Rosa, and the preserved the dandelion ring, and whatever place of honor Kyoko gives to her infinity points reward, and the corn stone sitting on a bed of sand from Guam. I hope that he sees this soon. Cause this will be the only thing, I think, that can make him realize Kyoko’s feelings.

4. BLEH SHO RUINS EVERYTHING. Not really, I think he is more of an instigator for Ren and Kyoko finally getting together. With Ren and Sho scheduled to show up at the same time... well, nothing good can come of this. Annnd... for all we know nothing good does come of it...

Chapter 266

1. Once again BLEH SHO RUINS EVERYTHING! I think we could all safely say that we saw Ren finding out Sho was there coming from about 200 miles away. I think as long as this incident wakes Ren up and gets his butt in gear then it isn’t too bad.

2. Ok, Kyoko and Sho seemed really cute together right there, but I think if we saw Kyoko’s side of the conversation it probably wasn’t as cute and playful as it appeared to Ren and Yashiro. Remember Kyoko is a great actress so she might have been doing what she felt was needed to get Sho out of there ASAP.

3. I kind of hate that he seems mad. But is he mad at her or himself? I don’t think he can be mad at her. I hope he realizes that and hopefully, they are able to have a decent conversation on the way to the studio.

4. POOR YASHIRO! He tried soooo hard and he has to put up with grumpy Ren all day. Maybe he is the one who encourages Ren that Kyoko's interactions with Sho indicate that her heart is healed and that NOW IS YOUR MOMENT! GO FOR IT! HONESTLY, though.. I want Bo to be the one to encourage him cause... I just do. If not Bo, then I want to see Ren reach out to his parents and get advice from them. I can’t help but think we might see Julie soon, with all the little Kuon pictures we’ve been getting. I think Julie is going to be important to Kyoko’s growth. Kuu taught Kyoko how to live in her acting and truly love her roles, while I think Julie will teach Kyoko confidence in herself, and show her it’s possible to have a loving healthy relationship without sacrificing herself.

5. Lastly, THAT LAST PAGE! Can that get any more ominous? With the Chapter title not even till then—Unexpected Results: One Day Earlier. So we are getting closer but the only thing I don’t expect is a confession, but it is the thing I am hoping for the most. I am just hoping they don’t have like an angsty time where they are separated and all depressed and angry at each other. The comment about the end of peaceful times, I think is a red herring (hoping?). I think if Ren does confess, Kyoko would definitely not be peaceful, mostly because she doesn't see herself as worthy of him. She isn’t even a possibility in her own mind. This is why we need Julie to save the day...or someone...anyone... help them...please.

Chapter 266.5

ZOMG WE GOT LIKE ALMOST A WHOLE FRICKEN CHAPTER SIDE STORY AND ITS GREAT!!!!

Ok so storyline, timing wise this chapter is in two different places. The first page says the event happens a bit before chapter 266. However, it is only chapter 265 where Tashio is trying to remember what he locked away in the vault and chapter 266 is the next day. So, he had to have given her the letter that evening. If that's the case I can see why Kyoko didn’t open it immediately, she might have been worried about angry Ren, but she also was probably too busy worrying about Sho’s arrival the next day.

So timing wise when Kyoko does open the letter, and based on Kanae’s comments, I think she doesn’t open it until after the Unexpected Results day... But Ren seemed OK... not like I would expect him to look if Ren and Kyoko had a falling out.

Kanae does conclude that Ren must have dropped some sort of declaration bomb on Kyoko that caused Kyoko’s reaction to Ren. Soooo this gives me some hope for the unexpected result being Ren mans up and starts pursuing her seriously.

All this being said this makes Kanae’s behavior during the Lotus and the Mire auditions strange. When Kyoko tells Kanae about “Amaya’s” feeling that Ren is in love with Kimiko, Kanae just kind of rolls with that idea, agreeing with Kyoko. We don’t even get a funny look from her to Kyoko. She has suspected Ren’s feelings from the beginning so why would she even entertain the idea that Ren is in love with someone other than Kyoko? The only thing I can figure is she saw through Kyoko’s lie and realized it was Kyoko’s feelings she was talking about. However, Kanae doesn’t indicate during this side story that she suspects Kyoko of having feelings toward Ren. I just find it interesting and inconsistent.

I am looking forward to eventually seeing Kanae call Ren out. Maybe it will be Kanae who gets our two idiots together....

This side story did bring out another inconsistency in the story as well...When Kyoko and Ren meet in the president’s office on white day Ren straight up tells Yashiro that he didn’t get her anything yet, but those tickets were sent the day before white day. Why lie about that? I don’t think Yashiro would have really teased him as much, maybe just said that it was a good idea that Kyoko would like the tickets.

Ok here is a question for you my friends. Were you as equally disappointed with this white day gift as I was? Like, I kind of thought that when we did get one it might be theme park tickets (cause Skip Beat! hasn’t done that Shojo manga trope yet) buttttt I want her to go with Ren...or better yet...with Korn.

What are your thoughts?

#skip beat #skip beat!#kyoko mogami #Mogami Kyoko #tsuruga ren #ren tsuruga #i am way behind #im sorry

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serahne · 6 years

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kyouko, sayaka and hinata

Okay, apparently it was in my drafts all this time ? I’m so sorry !

Kyoko Kirigri

What is your opinion of this character? If you like, explain why you like him/her. She is the one I blame to fall into Danganronpa as a serie, so I sort of love her, and sort of hate her. More seriously, she is everything I like in a character, especially a female character : she is smart, she is active, she is strong but she still have weaknesses that she tries her best to control. She has a great developement, through choices that are - sometimes - very very harsh for a teenager.

Is he/she important to the general plot? Uh, yeah. She is like, the most important character in dr1. You literally have a bad ending if you don’t decide to sacrifice the protagonist for her. She is the one saying 90% of the interesting stuff in the trials. She is the one who is directly linked to Hope’s Peak history, through her father.

Can you relate to this character at all? Does he/she grip you emotionally? She does, in a way. Through dr1, you can feel how lonely she is fighting her battle, and how everyone except Makoto is ready to turn on her so easily. You can also feel her conflicted feelings about his dad, and it’s done in a very clever way.

Do I relate to her ? In some ways. Like how I’m always reluctant to ask for help and would rather try and manage everything myself, even when the task is hard. I’m far from having the drive that she has, though.

Do you ship this character with any other character? Or, are you particularly intrigued by his/her relationship with any other character(s)? (romance-wise or platonic) I ship her with Naegi and that’s her canon relationship that I enjoy the most. I have other ships (Celes or Sonia) but they work more in AU and stuff. Platonically, I have a fondness for Komaeda and Kirigiri working together in FF. I’m also hella intrigued by her relationship with her dad during the year she spent in Hope’s Peak.

Is there anything about the character you would change? I’m still super mad that they made her die in dr3 to ‘prove her love’ and appease the fuckers who call her a bitch for not accepting her death in dr1, and pretty much made her useless until it was time for her to come back as Naegi’s trophy at the end.

If you were in the fandom with this character or knew this character in real life, how would you see yourself interacting with him/her? I’d probably be too embarassed to really talk to her first. She’d be the kind of girl that I get really flustered to talk with, and I would be scared to sound stupid. I might have an intellectual yeah right crush on her.

Does this character make the cut as one of your all time favorites (if you like) or least favorites? Oh yes, definitely.

Would you hype up this character (if you like) or warn about this character (if you dislike) to someone new to fandom? I… tend to let people find out about characters by themselves, just so I can get their unbiased opinion. Between the two, I would hyper her up, though.

Is this character popular with the fanbase? Mostly yes, I’d say. You have a few people who can’t stand her for… reasons that I don’t undersand but respect, but most of the fanbase have positive - if not very strong - feelings about her.

Sayaka Maizono

What is your opinion of this character? If you like, explain why you like him/her. I really like her ! I think that no matter what your opinion of her is, you have to admit that the twist with her character was done very well, and the first taste of what the Danganronpa serie could do best ! On a more subjective level, she is just the kind of character that I like : so perfect looking that most people won’t notice that something is off inside.

Is he/she important to the general plot? Uh, I’d say that she definitely sets the tone for the serie, though of course her actions don’t carry beyond the first chapter. She only is there for half a chapter, but her character is still used as the background of the trial ground in ndrv3 whereas Twogami and Amami are... fine, I guess, but a lot less in the serie’s DNA, in my opinion.

Can you relate to this character at all? Does he/she grip you emotionally? She does, in a way. She is so young, and with so much pressure on her shoulders. She is sixteen, and has the terrifying feeling that she has peaked and that there is nowhere for her to go but down... this is really sad. I can’t say I relate to her, though. We have really nothing in common, and it’s probably for the best !

Do you ship this character with any other character? Or, are you particularly intrigued by his/her relationship with any other character(s)? (romance-wise or platonic) Celes is my OTP for her because they are both very amibitious and deceptive in their own ways and they would complement nicely. Nae/zono is cute, Kiri/zono too. I like the idea of her, Kaede and Ibuki being friends since, you know, ~ music ~.

Is there anything about the character you would change? I would cut off this weird scene in dr3 where there is a joke about a magazine where she is undressed/wearing a bikini. Even ignoring the fact that she is sixteen, is this really what her character comes down to in dr3 ? All this angst for a stupid pervy joke with Teruteru as a guest star ?

If you were in the fandom with this character or knew this character in real life, how would you see yourself interacting with him/her? Hard to say. She is friendly on a superficial level, so we probably would have good relationships, but friends would be a strong word.

Does this character make the cut as one of your all time favorites (if you like) or least favorites? For the serie, sure ! She is in my top 3 in dr1, at least !

Would you hype up this character (if you like) or warn about this character (if you dislike) to someone new to fandom? Sayaka’s narrative force is the twist behind her character, so I would probably lead this person on to make them believe she is a stereotypical character.

Is this character popular with the fanbase? ... Good question. I’d say... yes, mostly. There is this weird ship war between her fans and Kirigiri’s fans, as if these two ladies weren’t too good for Naegi on the first place. Some people really can’t understand her actions and consider that she is a manipulative bitch, I suppose. Bleh.

Hajime Hinata

What is your opinion of this character? If you like, explain why you like him/her. He is my favorite character in the franchise, and I think it’s well deserved. He is just a great character all-together : he is full of contradictions, insecurities, his growth isn’t as easy/obvious as Naegi’s, he is also a bit grumpy and snarky and judgy and all that makes him very endearing when you spend all this time in his head.

Is he/she important to the general plot? Well, he is the protagonist of sdr2, and technically the reason AI Junko took over the Neo-World Program. Despite how centered around Komaeda the game is, I still think Hinata is the one really at the core of the game, and that’s done in a very interesting way.

Can you relate to this character at all? Does he/she grip you emotionally? Oh, he really grips me on an emotional level, yes, and it’s probably also because I relate to him - or, I guess I can understand him while looking at him from an older perspective. He feels trapped, put on rails that he feels he can’t change the destination of, he feels like he is missing something, that his life is passing him by and he can’t help but feel like being someone else would make everything better. It’s a mix of teenage ridiculousness and existential crisis that we all felt at some point, right ?

Do you ship this character with any other character? Or, are you particularly intrigued by his/her relationship with any other character(s)? (romance-wise or platonic) I’m not going to rant about Koma/hina again, but yes, I might *cough* ship them, just a bit. I’m fine with other relationships, romantic or not, like Sonia, Mahiru or Natsumi. I like his brOTP with Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko. I like to think about his relationship with Naegi, because I feel like it would be a lot more complicated than the canon let it on, too. And if we consider them different people, his ‘relationship’ with Kamukura is also very important !

Is there anything about the character you would change? The ‘man nuts’ scene is not only dumb but very OOC. Can we... not. Do this. Also the ending of dr3 shits all over his character’s growth, and his ‘god mode’ is a but insulting toward Hinata’s fans I think, but... whatever. It’s what fanfics are for.

If you were in the fandom with this character or knew this character in real life, how would you see yourself interacting with him/her? I hope we’d get along ? I feel like we would, at least a bit, haha.

Does this character make the cut as one of your all time favorites (if you like) or least favorites? Yeah, he is #1, baby.

Would you hype up this character (if you like) or warn about this character (if you dislike) to someone new to fandom? I mean ‘he is my favorite character in the serie’ is hyping up, I suppose ? As I aways said, I like the idea of people making their own ideas. If someone ends up not liking Hinata, then they have terrible taste, but I won’t drop dead because of it, you know ?

Is this character popular with the fanbase? Oh, he is. I’m not sure if he is the most popular protag ( the fandom is still on the Shuichi-hype train ) but I don’t think I really saw one really negative opinion of him ? Which is fine by me, haha.

#danganronpa #hajime hinata #sayaka maizono #kyoko kirigiri #I answer stuff #witch-of-miracles

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jwisdomhheartmmoon · 6 years

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OMG, I got tagged by @belyndaocha XD Hahahahha thank you for the tags! It might be interesting answers I’ll give to or not :) So, here it goes!:

rules: choose any three fandoms (in random order) and answer the questions, then tag 10 people you want to know better

Warning: I write the lengths a lot than I thought ^^” If you don’t want to see mini-spoiler of V3, don’t read it.

i choose:

Big Hero 6 (my former fandom, I still love that movie in my heart, but I really completely lost interested in BH6 now. I’d love to try to watch BH6 tv series, but my television won’t work anymore in my college :()

Danganronpa (Thanks to V3, I really love the cast of characters, intriguing story, the theme, twist impact, and etc).

About, the third fandom, I’d normally involved in a single fandom so I haven’t officially joined in another fandom yet. However, I’d recently started to get crazy (possibly join in or not) about:

Ookami(Wolf) Game (it’s mobile game apps)

By StudioWasabi

Before I tell you, I have to warn you, I don’t know that story well yet because it’s release in only Japan in March so I have the limit of Japanese ^^”. I’d recommend you try to play that game if you understand Japanese! I feel it’s similar to DR, but different game, characters, story, and etc on own. I’m currently read fan translate on that game now! (Tumblr and Wordpress by separate different group).

I’ll continue to tell:

the first character you loved:

-I haven’t had the first character I loved, but Gogo caught my attention, she’s been so cool for her attitude and her idea about motorcycle wheel! Yay Korean girl!!!!

-Ouma Kokichi: I first got interested in him by his design and personality in the first trailer video. I watched only chapter one in fan translated, I’d never thought he’s been so difficult character to figure it out since he kept to lie a lot. And then, I watched the whole video in Japanese, I really wanted to understand why he did something like his thoughts, behavior, character traits, intentions, and etc. I'm so impressed with how intelligence he was on everything he did to! Thank god, someone analyzed about him well that would be me get understand either know him better (of course, it’s not %100!) He’s the first grey and gray morality character I got interested in.

-To be honest, I really love designs characters although I don’t know them well yet, but most character capture my attention is Ilda Rintarou. I’d aware he’s been so popular character in Japanese fandom I could see, but I love everything about Rintarou of his design, “fluffy” personality, so adorable, and etc (especially rainbow hair and piercings <3). I feel he’s been so cool, mysterious, and fun character :) I read his backstory on the video, I was like “HECK!!! OH SHIT!!!!! I LOVE HIS FACIL EXPRESSION!!! OMG, I STARTED TO GET CRAZY ABOUT HIM!!!” XD, it had angst a lot, and I’m very curious what’ll be his POV in English. I feel so painful about how did he get through his life :( I can’t say it much because of spoiler.

By StudioWasabi

the character you never expected to love so much:

- Tadashi Hamada: I didn’t interest in him at the first when I first watched, but he must be so important to the protagonist of the story. When I saw many fanarts make him being so hot, I started to love him! I love how caring and supportive he was! He did his best to take care of his younger brother, Hiro (the protagonist) since their parents died and they only have Aunt Cass. I also love that he encouraged to Hiro to choosing the right path for the best future and his quotes, “I'm not giving up on you”. I was crying so much when Tadashi died like “why did he have to die?!!?!” However, I have to accept the fact because it’s the key to how did Hiro get through with loss of an important person. He’s been sort of reminded me of my older brother and it’s similar to my sibling relationship too.

-Saihara Shuichi: I first love Ouma, but Saihara won everything in my heart when I started to learn more about him. When I first watched the trailer video in the Japanese version, Saihara look so interesting character in the character design. I wonder what he’d do his detective skill is different from Kirigirl Kyoko. I was like “I hope he will be survival in killing game”. Someone also made a good point and gave the reason for a weakness character like Saihara have the potential of good character or protagonist and keep to be himself about his depression and admitted he’s a weakness. Saihara chose the truth over hope because it can show how they handle the reality situation. I feel relate to him much and I praise him for overcome on his fear by developing on himself and got support from his friends. I’m really proud of him! It’s very rare kind of protagonist (emo, sad) like him that would need to the story. I really love him much!

-Shimotsuki Yukinari: he’s been the protagonist in the game, but his appearance didn’t reveal in the main story at the first. His design character finally to be revealed when his backstory released. I really like aspects of the color in him design character and he has so beautiful color eyes! <3. I read his backstory on the video too, I was like “Why he did something like that?!?!??!” and it’s really so sad! I can’t say it much because of spoiler again. I can’t wait to read about what’s kind of person, Yukinari in the main story in fan translation either English version. And Kamiki Ritsu gets my attention too and her backstory really so dark twist O.O.

Both by StudioWasabi

the character you relate to the most:

-Tadashi for being kindness, caring, “won’t give up”, and supportive

-Saihara for being a weakness, lack of confidence, introvert personality, and side of brave

-Again, I don’t know characters well yet, but bit relate to Rinatarou for being a happy person

the character you’d slap:

None of the characters I’d slap, but Professor Callaghan. I believe he’s been a good person, but he has to learn his lesson so hard. I know he’s very mad at someone about lost his daughter, but revenge is not an answer.

Teruteru Hanamura and Angie Yonaga:

Teruteru- I feel so creepy about him and he disrespects toward women.

Angie- she’s not bad person and it’s nothing wrong with believing in God, but she’s been too depending on God like “God tell me or that’s what God said”. Not always reply on God can help, I hope she has to know about humanity too.

None of the characters I’d slap yet, again, I still don’t know characters well yet

three favorite characters (in order of preference):

Tadashi Hamada, Hiro Hamada, Gogo

Saihara Shuichi, Ouma Kokichi, and Pekoyama Peko

Ilda Rintarou, Shimotsuki Yukinari, and Kamiki Ritsu (maybe I will change my mind)

a character you liked at first but don’t anymore:

None of the characters I didn’t like anymore

Byakuya Togami and Chisa Yukizome

Again, none of the characters I didn’t like anymore yet, you know what I do mean

three otps:

-I want to tell who’s my OTP, but I decide to keep my secret because that ship got so strongly hate by many anti-shippers.

-Oumasai and Amamatsu <3 I really fell in love with Oumasai since an inform Ouma hint to have a crush on Saihara and then fanarts XD It would be nice they have a more potential with each other if they start to warm up with each other. I started to love Amamatsu when I write some short fanfic about them since they have a good chemistry with each other. My BROTP can be Amani and Saihara and Hinata and Fuyuhiko

I love that scene <3 They seem to enjoy their companies with each other.

-I started to sort of ship RinYuki (RintarouXYukinari), I’d blame my irl friend for joking gays thing when I explained her about Wolf’s Game that causes me to hunt for fanarts of them XD I feel they might have an interesting relationship, but I want to have considered of that ship at the first because I want to see what’s the potential of interaction and dynamic between them in the game when the post fan translation or release in English version future. And I don’t mind KouXRitsu too.

I tag @ouma--kokichis @anima-art-posts @isuckatthisdonti @thalassa-caelum @linalinanaa-moved (Feel to do it for fun or you don’t need to if you don’t want to)

#bh6 #big hero 6 #ndrv3 #New Danganronpa V3

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thedramafilesblog-blog · 6 years

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Appearing before The Dramacourt: You Always Haunt My Heart Eps 1 and 2

***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

Issues:

Whether it was reasonable for Kojiro Yoshizaki to criticize Ogawa Kyoko during a gokon

Whether it was reasonable for Kojiro to avoid Kyoko at first

Whether Ren is pretty messed up

The Rule(s):

Yes!

Definitely!

Yes. So messed up.

Analysis:

Jubiemon J: I came across this Japanese drama randomly and decided to give it a shot. I started from the second episode and was a bit annoyed by the female lead, Ogawa Kyoko, at first, but then someone mentioned in the comments that this drama had been adapted from a manga. I decided to read the first volume of the manga and was disturbed, but nevertheless intrigued. I decided to give this drama another go and luckily, it is just as interesting as the manga thanks to the decent actresses and actors (esp Mukai Osamu who plays Hoshina Ren here).

I think what’s really interesting about this drama is that you can’t really tell who the male lead is, in this case. Kyoko is still obviously attached to Ren, in a psychological sense, yet she also wants to break free from him, making her become attracted to Kojiro. Ren acts as her security blanket–the only one that was able to accept her flaws and see her in positive light back when she was all alone in university. It’s natural for her to still be drawn to that dependency. However, she has experienced a very negative and scary experience with Ren and after that, she has realized how important it is to break free from Ren.

Look at that scary scene from the past . . . Kyoko lying there..

Truth be told, she probably sees through who Ren really is but still has a bit of trouble accepting it. Here we have her in this drama, struggling to follow her mind, which is telling her to move on and change into a stronger person, versus her heart, which is wanting her to stay the same and be glued to Ren.

Kyoko believing in him . . . thinking that he’s an angel

Ren: You don’t have anyone to talk to but me…

Usually I don’t give summaries about a drama, but in this case, I think it’s important to give some background to understand where Kyoko is coming from and why she acts in certain ways. (Of course, the drama doesn’t show Kyoko’s past so linearly, but I’m going to do that so it’s easier to follow along.) Kyoko has always had low self-esteem and self-confidence due to her stuttering and weaker social skills. It doesn’t help that her classmates in elementary school, high school, and college have all made fun of her. They switch one part of her name so that it turns into something that means being petrified/shocked. That name is like a dog tag and follows her around throughout her life; she’s pretty much branded and believes that she’s like that. It’s even worse that her mother is so negative towards her and favours her younger sister far more. Her mother sees no talent in Kyoko and is very ashamed of Kyoko’s stuttering. As a result, Kyoko has never felt loved or accepted and becomes very vulnerable to exploitation.

This exploitation comes from Ren who acts like the perfect Prince. He is everything you’d expect in a gentleman–kind, accepting, smart, gentle, and handsome. He is the only one that tells her that she can be herself and stay as herself. Because it’s the first time that anyone has said that to her, Kyoko feels very loved and secure. She becomes very dependent on Ren and goes to him whenever she has problems at home or at school. Ren teaches her how to be more comfortable with herself by wearing a braided scarf. Before, Kyoko would wear braids and braid her hair to feel secure. After Ren’s teaching, she begins to wear braided scarves. (This is also a symbol of her dependency towards Ren. It’s sort of like how her heart is knotted and she can’t get out of this entanglement. To Ren, her braided scarf is like a dog leash. It means that he is hers.)

Ren braiding that scarf to replace her braids

Ren: You just have to stay as is.

Ren: Stay how you are.

Kyoko: Stay as is?

One day, Ren is crying in a classroom and Kyoko asks if there’s anything that she could do for him. Ren tells her to live only for him and she agrees. The next scene we see is Kyoko on the ground with her long hair cut by Ren’s scissors. Ren is on top of her and probably has tried to kill her. (Severe trigger warning (Do not read this part if you feel uncomfortable with disturbing sexual content: In the drama, we see that Kyoko once performed a strip show to comfort Ren’s guy friend. In the manga, however, this part is darker. Instead of a strip show, Kyoko slept with the guy friend/classmate. Ren tried to test Kyoko’s loyalty by asking her to sleep with guy friend of his. If she did, then Ren would break up with his many girlfriends and only give his attention to Kyoko. Kyoko didn’t want to at first, but then Ren pointed to her that she had agreed that she’d do anything for Ren. Kyoko naively slept with the guy friend of his in a classroom while Ren waited outside. When she and the guy finished, you could see that her underwear had been stained red, meaning that she gave her virginity to that stranger. She then told Ren that she listened to him, which would mean that he’d only date her. Ren pushed her away, saying that she was filthy and gross. He said that she was like a whore and would open her legs up for anyone. Then he left her crying in that classroom.)

Ren: You said you’d do anything for me right?

Kyoko: I did . . .

Ren: Then let me see your genuineness. If you do then I’ll break up with all the other girls and only be with you.

Kyoko: . . .

Kyoko: Really? You’d do that?

Outside of this university club and inside are men waiting for Kyoko to strip…

Naive girl listens to Ren

Takes off her clothes

Noooo, Kyoko! Don’t do it. Don’t do it.

Loses her soul here . . .

Stop girl . . . seriously broke my heart seeing her do this.

😥 😥

(Trigger warning: Ren, in the manga, is shown to have been abused by a parent who would strangle him until he peed his pants. The abuse likely caused him to have this messed up personality.)

After that event where Ren tried to kill her, the two separated and Kyoko now is working at a lingerie store. She is in charge of determining the fabric for the lingerie and works with designers. She goes on a gokon where she meets Kojiro, who is an editor for a mangaka. Kojiro is the opposite of Ren. Kojiro is very blunt, honest, and good hearted. Unlike Ren who seems like a perfect prince at first glance, Kojiro gives off an intimidating vibe that makes him seem mean/unapproachable. Ironically, Kojiro has a very kind heart, which Kyoko sees and becomes attracted to. Just when Kyoko thinks that she is finally moving on, however, Ren comes back into her life . . . as one of her managers.

Look at the bright and happy Kojiro!!

Calling her to thank her about writing her thoughts about the manga he’s editing

Look at how happy she is being with Kojiro!

I’d say that this drama is not for the lighthearted and is not the typical rom com with all that fluff. This drama carries a lot of dark emotions and deep, psychological subjects. It’s that type of drama where you think is really . . . off-putting at some points, but then you can’t help but keep watching it. You want to know whether Kyoko will change. That’s what’s making me watch it.

Actually, Kojiro and Kyoko are more similar than at first glance. Kojiro also likes to say “a person like me” and feels inferior to this woman who he seems to like/have some attachment to. He keeps avoiding this woman’s texts and calls like how Kyoko is avoiding Ren’s constant unknown number calls. I think they’re both trying to move on with their lives, but some other figures are pulling them back. I hope Kyoko and Kojiro will mature together.

Issue 1: Whether it was reasonable for Kojiro Yoshizaki to criticize Ogawa Kyoko during a gokon

Jubiemon J: Yes! It was totally reasonable for him to criticize Kyoko. Kyoko needed someone harsh to tell her that she was being stagnant and somewhat arrogant for thinking that she could just stay the way she was and expect anyone to love her. Kyoko made this huge outburst (she often does b/c she’s not very good at communicating and hence bottles up her thoughts for too long until she can’t contain them) during the gokon. She was trying to clarify to the people at the table that she wasn’t in love with Ren. Ren was the one that caused her to be unable to be in normal relationships and that anyone that could accept her flaws would be good enough for a normal romance. Kojiro gave her more perspective by challenging what she said.

Changing her order to please her friend

Judging her weak behaviour…

Bursting out with some explanation about how anyone will do

Criticizing her

Kojiro points out that she’s a pushover. Though she wanted tequila, she ended up with the Chicago after her friend told her that she should order that. She also loves her job, yet she ended up agreeing with one of the guys at the table that she’d rather be a housewife, for the sake of being scared of voicing her opinion. However, Kojiro does end his speech with a “just kidding”, to make the atmosphere not so awkward. We all know that he’s being serious though. He finishes his speech by saying that he said all those things because that was what the book that she had said to do. (A self-help book that was supposed to help her improve her communication skills fell out of her purse during the dinner.) The book happens to be one that the publishing company that Kojiro works at published.

Overall, I think Kojiro is a good influence on Kyoko and I’m excited to see their relationship develop more.

Issue 2: Whether it was reasonable for Kojiro to avoid Kyoko at first

Jubiemon J: Definitely! After Kojiro scolded her at the gokon, she ended up confessing to him. She barely even knows the guy! Plus, she was asking him for his address while clinging onto him. That was pretty freaky.

Kyoko confessing that she wants to be like him who is able to order Oolong tea.

She wants to exchange emails.

She says no, I want your address. I like you. Please date me.

Kojiro running off – basic instincts. Fight or flight.

I’m glad that he didn’t immediately accept her because I think in the real world, you wouldn’t do that unless you’re really interested in just sleeping with her. He can sense that there’s something off about her, so it’d be best to run away and try not to see her again. I’m also glad that he didn’t accept her because that way it’d push Kyoko to try to improve herself so that he will not be scared of her. If he had, it’d be a repeat of Kyoko x Ren.

Issue 3: Whether Ren is pretty messed up

Jubiemon J: Ren is totally messed up. His traumatic childhood has led him to become a manipulative, insecure mastermind. We see in ep 2 that he was abused as a kid where his dad would threaten to stab him. Subsequently, he acts that out in real life when he’s “trying” to protect this female co-worker from this ex-lover of hers. He is happy when he sees people at their worst, whether it be in fear, upset, or frustration. Ren honestly preys on the weak and needs to have control over everything, from his work to his personal relationships.

The main reason for this need for control is, again, from his childhood. He didn’t have any control; like I said, in the manga, he was choked until he peed his own pants. It’s only when he has control does he feel secure; it’s sort of like how Kyoko needs that braided scarf to calm her down and ground her. Instead of a scarf to chain him, Ren needs to chain others/situations.

Kyoko: I never said that I’d go meet you tonight . . .

Ren: You never forgot about me right?

Kyoko: I’ve forgotten about you.

Ren: Then what’s that scarf?

Moreover, his childhood has made him insecure, in the sense that he doesn’t believe that anyone will actually fully love and accept him. That’s likely why he made Kyoko do something so extreme like strip in front of a crowd or in the manga, sleep with his guy friend. He wants to test her boundaries, yet when she does agree to his request, he can’t stand that she is “tainted” and is also afraid that someone will completely accept him. If someone does wholeheartedly love him, then he’d likely fall for her. If that’s the case, then he’d lose control over the situation; his feelings won’t be in control. He can’t stand that.

He can’t take losing control and that’s also why he keeps stressing to Kyoko that she doesn’t need to change. She just needs to remain as is. It’s like that classic story of someone caging a golden bird, not allowing the bird to fly free. Thus, when Kyoko is looking to improve herself, Ren keeps putting her down and creating situations where Kyoko will “have to” rely on him. We’ve seen how he purposely put her to work with a challenging designer because he knows that Kyoko wouldn’t be able to take the designer’s constant backlash. She’d have to rely on him. She surprises him by succeeding and though he does praise her, he later creates a situation where Kyoko is vulnerable again.

Ren: People never change.

Kyoko crying . . .

Props to Mukai Osamu for taking on this challenging role as Ren. I didn’t think Mukai Osamu did great as George in the movie adaption of Paradise Kiss, but in this drama, wow . . . he really has outdone himself! I’m talking about his micro expressions and subtle actions that totally show Ren’s darker side. Watch his eyes and his sly smile when you watch this drama. You’ll totally get the creeps and Muaki Osamu is really like the Ren in the manga.

Look at that creepy stare.

King of sinister smiles

Scary look again

The real Ren in action

Disgusting friend . . . he’s terrible (even worse in the manga)

Friend’s comment about Ren’s nose job makes Ren super mad. (Friend said he should get a nose job himself to become as popular as Ren with the ladies. This also implies Ren’s nose was broken due to abuse.)

Seriously . . . a very evil, enraged stare. This is the real Ren, people.

Props to Yoshioka Riho for doing her best as Kyoko. Though she’s not 100% like the Kyoko in the manga, she still does a great job with portraying awkwardness. She has also been good at being someone with low self-confidence; you see her with her back always slouched and head down.

Conclusion: Appeal Allowed.

Rating: 5 = KYAH!! (I know this drama has dark/potentially disturbing content that’s not for the faint-hearted, but I think the way the cast has dealt with the characters and the way that the drama has tried to be true to the manga have been great. This drama just keeps you wondering what’s going to happen next and whether Kyoko will really escape Ren.)

File No: You-Always-Haunt-My-Heart-Eps-1-&-2 Appearing before The Dramacourt: You Always Haunt My Heart Eps 1 and 2 ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read

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recentanimenews · 7 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 10/2/17

Days, Vol. 5 | By Tsuyoshi Yasuda | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Coming off the intense emotions of the fourth volume, in which Seiseki loses at the Inter-High Tournament, volume five at first feels like generic, episodic summer filler. The guys cram for finals so they can avoid remedial classes, then there’s a chapter at the beach, and one at a festival, and then it’s training camp time. But in each of these chapters, something important happens character-wise. In the beach chapter, we learn more about Kurusu and his relationship with his grandfather; at the festival we check in with Sayuri, who laments that soccer has stolen Tsukushi away from her; and at the training camp we get to know Haibara, an upperclassman whose rowdy behavior is just an act to cover his lack of self-confidence. And meanwhile, Tsukushi continues to make incremental improvement. Although not as exciting as its predecessor, this is still definitely a solid volume. – Michelle Smith

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 3 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas Entertainment – There’s no better way to make me hate a shoujo heroine than to have her melodramatically run out of the house after an outburst (in the rain, naturally), crying over lightning and internally wailing, “Someone! Please come and get me!!” Zen’s critiques used to seem overly harsh, but I was cheering him on this time when he said, “You should be thanking me for coming after your sorry ass.” Things don’t improve much as Shimana takes forever to realize that she has feelings for Taiga the landlord, though I did like Zen’s tearful confession to her. It’s intriguing, too, that princely Asahi, originally the supposed love interest, has faded so far into the background. Some of the subplots are picking up, as well, so despite my irritation at Shimana I’ll probably be back next time. – Michelle Smith

Genshiken: Second Season, Vol. 11 | By Shimoku Kio | Kodansha Comics – Again, the best moments are when this series treats things a bit more seriously. The scenes between Madarame and Hato are excellent, as they both try to figure out what is going on here, how Hato identifies, what attracts Madarame, and can either of them even try to make this work for real? The answer is probably no, but the tension is real here, and I greatly enjoyed it. Sue’s stuff is done well too—it’s very clear that we’re stuck between Hato, Sue, or no one, and you suspect Kio will go for the easy third choice. And then there’s Hato and Yajima, which is mostly trying to get past Yajima’s self-hatred and Hato’s inability to see her a a woman. Better than it should be. – Sean Gaffney

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 8 | By Amu Meguro | Viz Media – I had actually forgotten that this was the final volume of Honey So Sweet, though the cover should have tipped me off. Much of the book is devoted to Nao’s uncle, who has been putting his life on hold until Nao grows up and is ready to take care of herself… which reminds Nao that she’s still not all that great at that sort of thing. I did appreciate that the old flame who arrived stayed mostly old, though there are hints that may eventually change. On a lighter note, I’ve liked Yashiro best in this cast, and seeing her struggle with direct communication is fun. This was a sweet and cute shoujo fluff series, and just about the right length. You’ll enjoy it. – Sean Gaffney

Plum Crazy! Tales of a Tiger-Striped Cat, Vol. 2 | By Natsumi Hoshino | Seven Seas Entertainment – If you liked the first volume of Plum Crazy!, you’ll probably like this one, which is more of the same. I do wonder if readers reacted negatively to the Nakarai family not doing anything to stop new kitten Snowball from repeatedly attacking incumbent resident Plum, because there’s more emphasis on her bad behavior this time around, including a chapter in which Taku’s friend attempts to distract Snowball with other toys, only to make her aggression toward Plum worse. I can only assume we’re supposed to find these kitten antics cute (and I’m sure I’m taking this too seriously), but as a cat owner, they actually kind of stress me out. I very much look forward to Snowball growing out of this phase. Maybe then I’ll be able to relax and just enjoy the kittehs. – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 39 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – I avoided reading this book for a while. Kyoko’s mother was the one part of her life I was dreading the confrontation with, and I had worried it would be too sympathetic. I should have trusted Nakamura more, as I think she strikes an excellent balance between explaining Saena’s behavior without downplaying the horrible abuse Kyoko suffered growing up. Kyoko can’t hate Saena, but also doesn’t quite forgive her. Instead she throws herself into a possible new role, finally working alongside Moko. That said, I have a feeling the role will prove to be a lot more trouble than it’s worth. These volumes were good, but I’ll be happy to get back to acting. – Sean Gaffney

Species Domain, Vol. 3 | By Shunsuke Noro | Seven Seas – I knew at some point we were going to see Dowa without her beard, so I wasn’t too surprised here. That said, kudos to the author for having her grow it back pretty quickly, showing that the character’s own desires are more important than looking “cute” for the audience. A more important detail here is Ohki’s “science” abilities, and how much of it is explained by genuine scientific principles. In a world like this, where there is literal magic, it’s hard to tell what is really going on—though Ohki seems very upset at the idea. There’s still lighthearted stuff, of course, with the constant fun that is Kazamori, as well as big sisters and little sisters. If you want a non-skeezy monster girls title, Species Domain is a good choice. – Sean Gaffney

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 2 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – The childhood friend who was thought to be a boy being a girl is fairly common in manga and anime, but seeing the reverse is a lot less common. The author sensibly keeps the attention on Mitsuki’s reaction to the whole thing, with her realization that this makes a number of childhood conversations very embarrassing. On the bright side, she’s getting closer to Towa, though he seems to be taking things a lot more seriously than she is at this stage. This is very much a ‘warmup’ volume, continuing to develop the characters and introducing a rival without moving things forward too much. It’s not fantastic, but it’s enough to make you want to read more. – Sean Gaffney

The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 3 | By Rei Toma | Viz Media – This continues to be a lot darker than I was really expecting—a couple of villagers are straight up murdered in front of us, not to mention the war that ensues. It’s well done, but there’s no denying that the main reason this holds up well is because of the relationship between Asahi and the two men in her life—especially now that one of them actually IS a man. Getting her voice back is also unsurprising, as now that she’s grown up it will help the storytelling, both in terms of potential romance and in terms of Asahi’s status as a priestess. And of course she still wants to go home, even after so many years. There’s a lot going on in this series, and I’m grateful it’s so well told. – Sean Gaffney

Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 7 | By Tomo Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – Tatara Fujita and his partner Chinatsu are trying to meld together as a pair, but it isn’t going very well, particularly due to Tatara’s uncommanding lead and Chinatsu’s inability to follow. They decide to get help from Hyodo Social Dance Academy, and though Tatara does learn more of the basics there than he had at Sengoku’s studio, he’s still impatient to compete, leading to a humiliating forfeit at the Grand Prix. Summer rolls around and, in true sports manga fashion, it’s time for a training camp in the mountains. This volume’s theme seems to be “strife and striving.” Until recently, this series had been on hiatus in Japan and I was worried we might not get to see the outcome to all of this, but I’m happy to see a new volume has come out since I last looked. A bit on the melodramatic side sometimes, but totally addictive.– Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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