I Love “Rumbling Hearts”. Don't watch it.

Copying this over from a thread on Mastodon, for the sake of a first post.

Well, I said I was going to post more original content here on Mastodon than on the other site.

And despite the fact that I see a lot more of my iOS/Mac dev friends here than Anitwitter refugees, I'm going to kick off a thread about #anime, because my favorite show just became available on Crunchyroll, as part of the Funimation merger: https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G6ZXM399R/rumbling-hearts

Rumbling Hearts, or Kimi ga Nozomu Eien ("The Eternity You Desire") is a 2003 14-episode series based on a 2001 visual novel, a sort of choose-your-own-adventure style of video game that's heavy on reading and light on interaction. The anime is rated mature for adult situations and nudity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbling_Hearts

I'm not going to recommend you watch Rumbling Hearts, because I believe it is an uncommonly difficult sell in 2022. But the fact that it's so much of its time might be why I like it, why I go back to it, and why you won't find anything remotely like it today.

For starters, Rumbling Hearts is a romantic drama aimed at adult male viewers. We really don't have anything comparable in the west today.

I think we used to! I mean, Casablanca is one of Hollywood's most beloved romantic dramas, and that's told from Rick's point of view, not Ilsa's. But romance has been denigrated in the west, marginalized as being for women only, and saddled with insulting slurs like "chick flicks".

Anime has a thriving genre of male-skewing romance, often built around the concept of "moé", ("mo-EH"), a feeing of wanting to cherish and protect someone.

Some of the most popular of these come from a company called Key, known for tear-jerkers like Clannad and Angel Beats.

The thing is, in Key's stories, the romantic interests are tragic characters who usually suffer through no fault of their own. In Clannad, for example, Nagisa has a chronic disease, Kotori's parents died in a plane crash, Fuuko is a girl in a coma in the next town over and doesn't actually exist, etc.

What makes Rumbling Hearts different is that the characters aren't innocent. They are all deeply flawed, and largely the cause of their own suffering.

Takayuki, our protagonist, is friendly, cheerful, and just wants to get along. This, unfortunately, is his problem: that's all he wants. He is evasive, quick to tell little white lies, and unwilling or unable to make the right decision when he needs to.

Haruka has had a crush on Takayuki for years, but hasn't been able to act on it. She is innocent to a fault: timid, shy, sometimes even mousy.

Mitsuki is Haruka's best friend, and a gal-pal to Takayuki. She sets the two of them up, and then later decides she might have actually wanted Takayuki for herself. She can be manipulative, and after the three-year time-skip, her adult version develops some truly dangerous habits, like using sex to get what she wants, and going blackout drunk to avoid her problems.

Akane is Haruka's younger sister. In her youth, she aspired to be a swimming champ like Mitsuki. Post-time-skip, she fiercely defends her sister. She's everything that Takayuki and Haruka aren't: bold and pushy, though she has a tendency to take things way too far.

So, there I think is the problem. In 2022, western audiences generally don't want flawed characters. We want protagonists who are likable. More than that, I think there's a mindset that if we're going to imprint on a character, they have to be perfect, because that reflects better on us. We can't relate to fuckups, because that would mean that we're fuckups. There's an empty narcissism to modern media consumption and I really hate it.

When I was young and learning writing, all the guides said that characters have to be flawed to be believable and relatable. Whatever happened to that?

I'll tell you my pet theory: JK Rowling ruined an entire generation of readers and viewers. When the Sorting Hat literally tells you who's good, bad, and indifferent, there is zero room left for nuance or depth. Harry Potter is the good guy, I like Harry Potter, therefore I am a good guy. Thanks, I hate it.

So that leaves Rumbling Hearts to thread this incredibly hazardous needle: to give you these characters who screw up and hurt themselves and hurt those around them, and then asks you to root for them anyways, to want them be able to overcome themselves and their own bad habits.

As you probably guessed, this goes over like a lead balloon with a lot of people. You'll find a lot more YouTube videos trashing Rumbling Hearts than praising it. https://youtu.be/wr0BuAUbDqw?t=1048

So, yeah, I can't recommend Rumbling Hearts, because I doubt most people are going to relate to it. The ideas behind it are fundamentally unpalatable to most modern audiences.

And the fact it was made with early digital animation techniques to save money, with the expectation it would be viewed on a fuzzy CRT and not a 60" 4K LCD, doesn't help either.

But… well… I wouldn't have written such a long and unwelcome thread if I didn't think there was something truly special and valuable here. I come back to it every few years and discover something new, either in the show or in myself.

So, don't watch Rumbling Hearts, but hopefully you'll understand why it lands like it does for me.

A playlist for Checkmate-era Philippa? x

mon chois et fait

A band AU playlist for Philippa pining over Francis. cf. Francis pining over Philippa, here

The final piece of the puzzle, if you will (young Philippa’s influences, Philippa’s musical evolution from DK through to RC)

Johnny Cash - Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes

Erasure - Ship of Fools

Elvis Costello - Deep Dark Truthful Mirror

Shelagh McDonald - Stargazer

Kate Bush - Never Be Mine

Deacon Blue - The World is Lit by Lightning

Queen - Scandal

Pet Shop Boys - I'm Not Scared

New Order - All the Way

Steeleye Span - Seagull

Clannad - Almost Seems (Too Late to Turn)

Donna Summer - Breakaway

Tracy Chapman - Crossroads

Anne Briggs - Go Your Way

Shelagh Mcdonald - Let No Man Steal Your Thyme

The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York

Prince & the Revolution - When Doves Cry

Eurythmics - We Two Are One

Faceclaims: Ellie Kendrick and Patrick Wolf. Idk when or why, but I got it in my head that the music of 1989 was largely naff, but then I started digging and it turns out there are a lot of songs about the difficulty of being in the spotlight while going through private turmoil. So - I hope you all like pain!

1) Yes it’s Ben Jonson’s poem, but sung by Johnny Cash. Technically only released on a later album, but I’m going to assume there was precedent for him and others performing it live in this style - Paul Robeson made it a big hit too, but the guitar version here is more Philippa. It’s *probably* the best I can do for a band AU equivalent to ‘Tant que je vive’, for now, at least, and Philippa has been established to be a big fan of Johnny Cash already.

2) The title of this is also a bit of a Renaissance Easter egg, but the lyrics don’t seem to resemble the text known as the Ship of Fools. 1988/89 were the big years for Erasure, but Pippa will probably have got to know them earlier, when she was working with charities and protest groups in London - Andy Bell having been out and proud from the beginning. I close my eyes and I try to imagine What you're dreaming Why can't you see what you're doing to me? My world is spinning The lyrics also make reference to ‘the baby of the class’, which I think plays on Philippa’s worry that Francis doesn’t take her seriously because of her age, and Francis’ own determination to prove himself outside Richard’s shadow.

3) This album features on so many of my playlists, but it’s really got it all! Philippa is again established to be an Elvis Costello fan in the AU. This is one of the most lyrically obtuse on the album, and fits with Philippa being as reticent to admit what she really feels as Francis is. It’s weird and increasingly troubling, which I do think fits Philippa’s search for information about Francis’ past, and how deep in she gets. A stripping puppet on a liquid stick Gets into it pretty thick A butterfly drinks a turtle's tears But how do you know he really needs it? Because a butterfly feeds on a dead monkey's hand Jesus wept, he felt abandoned You're spellbound baby there's no doubting that Did you ever see a stare like a Persian cat?

4) Keeping her folk roots - under Austin’s influence, but this song (from a woman who disappeared on the cusp of stardom in the 1970s - she turned up about 30 years later explaining that she’d had the mother of all bad trips) doesn’t need much explaining. The lyrics fit Checkmate so well: He was a stargazer She asks what'll the future bring Mercury and Jupiter will bring you wealth and golden rings They have climbed the hill and watched the sun go down to rest He said: "Will you be my friend? I fear that there's nothing left to give, my Lady" She said: "Let's follow the sun behind the hill To where it's hiding." He was a stranger to her His father was a poet Lead her by the hand on the hill Touch the golden sunset How did feelings die, he's afraid to know Why did she have to lie She'd only stay until it's time for her to go She said take the sun in your hands, be glad For this is love you hold.

5) ANY opportunity to put one of my all time favouritest songs on a playlist! But genuinely, it’s all about the unrequited love, the pining, the thinking that the other person is better off without you... Very much a Philippa perspective on Francis and Catherine d’Albon. Plus she could play a cover with the Northumbrian pipes instead of the Uilean pipes :’) And this is where I want to be This is what I need This is where I want to be This is what I need This is where I want to be But I know that this will never be mine

6) It’s maybe more precisely how Francis feels about Philippa, but as with the other playlist for them, I think a certain degree of overlap is inevitable. This is one of Adam’s favourite bands, so Pippa’s bound to encounter their new release on the tour bus or at a party. So maybe you're standing In some foreign town You've walked for miles Till the heat slows you down And your jeans and your curls Are bleached and split And your money and your anger Are all used up Maybe I'm sorry About the light in this place Makes my heart seem cold As the words on these pages Maybe I'm reminded By a shop window display or a decoration Like some church candle that might just burn Dancing under chandeliers and I'm telling you Caught in the headlights and I'm yelling it at you Why is it girl when the world is lit by lightning That I keep telling you that I love you

7) This one is just. Aughh. Philippa is in the midst of a media storm now, it’s been brewing ever since she came back from Las Vegas married to Francis Crawford with an adopted (sure, the world says, ‘adopted’) child. She’s trying to make the world better, trying to work out what kind of career she wants/what kind of music is ‘hers’, and in the middle of it she’s realised she actually loves the man she’s married to, who hasn’t yet managed to divorce her, but is publicly dating a huge French star and is also plastered all over the papers...papers that doubtless have much to say about both their sexuality, too. And like, yeah, this was released in 1989, it was one of the biggest albums of the year. It's only a life to be Twisted and broken They'll see the heartache They'll see our love break, yeah They'll hear me pleading I'll say for God sakes Over and over and over And over again, yeah

8) Neil Tennant, a fellow Geordie who refuses to talk about his sexuality to the slavering mob? He’s also since emerged as a big backer of Labour (prior to the 2000s anyway) and is a trustee in Elton John’s AIDs foundation. So definitely another of Pippa’s Ringed Castle contacts. They probably bonded over their shared love of Elvis Costello’s protest songs. And then there’s the lyrics. I mean: What have you got to say of shadows in your past? I thought that if you paid, you'd keep them off our backs But I don't care, baby, I'm not scared What have you got to hide? Who will it compromise? Where do we have to be so I can laugh and you'll be free? I'd go anywhere, baby, I don't care I'm not scared

9) Another album likely nicked from Adam, though they were also buddies of Neil Tennant. One for Pippa learning to find her own way between the music she grew up with (that Austin insists she should foreground) and the world she’s been involved in in London. Probably a bit of a manifesto, trying to toughen herself up for life after the divorce: It don't take no Houdini To tell me what I am Parasites and literasites They'd burn me if they can But I don't give a damn About what those people say They pick you up and kick you out They hurt you every day It takes years to find the nerve To be apart from what you've done To find the truth inside yourself And not depend on anyone

10) So, this is the kind of...folk rock that the ‘80s got. Bouncy! It’s also not actually a folk song I can identify, I think it was written by the band. It can be interpreted in light of the triangles in Checkmate - Catherine/Francis/Philippa and Francis/Philippa/Austin, plus Philippa’s own mission to find out about Francis at all costs. Penny the hero, Penny the fool The gold watch she gave me I'll treasure They say that it's only a game after all Apart from the pain it's a pleasure Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed...

11) More ‘80s folk! Clannad and Enya were getting big at this point, but this particular album again has a lot of Francis/Philippa relevant feelings. I just put this track on though, for the obvious...trying to work out if a relationship is still possible after painful revelations and public separation. Ah, Austin has no idea why she’s listening to it so much! To you I saw the sad decline A rift become a storm Stayed so cold last night This lonely heart inside me says

Almost seems to late to turn What to do if I'm to learn Almost seems to late to turn

12) Despite the mid-’80s rumours that she was homophobic, Donna Summer seems to have spent quite a lot of time and effort (in 1989 no less) on refuting those rumours (true, on the level of ‘some of my best writers are gay!’). And she is, after all, Queen of Disco. But Pippa and Danny have to have something to belt out together on tour bus karaoke nights! But I don't think she can take it And just friendship can't replace it She'll be strong enough for two Although it's hard for her to do She'll breakaway Ooh, ooh, ooh she'll breakaway

13) Ahh, someone had to make folk music cool again <3 Tracy is a gorgeous guitarist and singer, just the kind of inspiration Philippa needs when she’s feeling a bit lost at this end of the decade. What’s that? Another artist who is constantly badgered about their sexuality and refuses to talk about it? A second album dealing with the loss of privacy that comes with fame? She played at an Amnesty International set in London in ‘88, I hope Philippa got the chance to hang out with her then :) All you folks think you own my life But you never made any sacrifice Demons they are on my trail I'm standing at the crossroads of the hell I look to the left I look to the right There're hands that grab me on every side

14) Now this one ain’t from the 1980s, but Annie’s been established as an influence on Philippa (and Kate) from the start, and it’s this kind of pared-back, folk-club-friendly stuff that Austin’s probably hoping to get her back into. Bert Jansch and others helped to make this song Annie wrote big, so for Philippa there’s a bittersweet side to the fact that this song, written by a woman, not a traditional tune, was only recognised as being important when men started playing it (side-eyeing Austiiiiinnn). But she’ll certainly put it in her sets if she thinks Francis is watching :’) Friends and strangers bring stories When asked where you might be Magic stories they have brought to me You go your way, my love

15) This is like...the quintessential folksong for lamenting giving up your virginity to some useless guy who only wanted that from you and nothing more. For when your thyme is past and gone He'll care no more for you, you For every place that your thyme was waste Will all spread o'er with rue, rue Will all spread o'er with rue For woman is a branchy tree And man a clinging vine, vine And from her branches carelessly He takes what he can find, find He takes what he can find

16) I know we’ve kind of reached a point where people think it’s basic to say this is the best Christmas song ever, but actually, it is. So there. It’s perfect. It does contain the f-slur yes, as Shane McGowan says, it’s part of the persona Kirsty is singing, though he has also said he’s quite happy for it to be cut when people play it now. And we’ve had Pogues and Kirsty on Pippa playlists/inspiration lists before, too. Anyway - I propose: Francis and Philippa singing this live together, both madly in love with each other, knowing how in love they are with each other, daily pretending to be indifferent to one another, now having to play at hate-loving each other, while the whole world watches going ‘wtf is going on here?!’ K: "I could have been someone" S: Well, so could anyone K: You took my dreams from me When I first found you S: I kept them with me, babe I put them with my own Can't make it all alone I've built my dreams around you

17) Couldn’t have a Pippa playlist without Prince :’) And yeah, the album’s earlier, but I’m not sure Batdance really fits the mood here, plus it complements Purple Rain on Francis’ playlist. How can you just leave me standing Alone in a world that's so cold? (So cold) Maybe I'm just too demanding Maybe I'm just like my father: too bold Maybe you're just like my mother She's never satisfied (She's never satisfied) Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like When doves cry

18) A big bluesy ballad to finish up! Annie Lennox is from the same cut as a lot of other artists here: she’s done a lot of activism and fundraising, played the Mandela charity set in ‘88 and has been a big supporter of LGBT+ rights since appearing in an early Eurythmics video with short-cropped hair and a suit on. Per Wikipedia: ‘Lennox was viewed as the female version of Boy George. They appeared together on the front cover of the British music magazine Smash Hits in December 1983 with the headline "Which one is the boy?".‘ Stay classy, British music press. People like us Are too messed up To live in solitude I'm gonna cure that problem, baby I'm gonna fix it good...

Anime Update V2 24

Noragami Aragoto - I didn’t really see what the point was of Hiyori and Yukine’s skirmish with Kuguha in the woods other than to pile on more anxiety about Yato for Yukine, but I do so enjoy seeing Kuguha get trounced so I can’t complain too much. Yato and Hiiro also had a pretty sweet sibling moment before getting captured by Izanami, but Bishamon comes to save the day and fight back, also motivating Yato when she reveals that Hiyori and Yukine are waiting for him on the other side. But according to Ebisu, the only working solution for bringing back Yato and Bishamon will require a human sacrifice!

Hunter x Hunter - The Heaven’s Arena arc engaged me at first and I do like the whole aesthetic of the place, but the more it goes on the more dull it becomes and it’s on the whole just a massive step down from the Hunter’s Exam arc. Too often I find it’s turning into Naruto where we’re treated to sensei lectures about how techniques and Nen energy works and I just don’t care - condense it and get back to the good stuff already! In both versions, the one consistent good point has been Hisoka. His fight with Kastro, the magic tricks he pulled off to win, and his exchanges with Machi were all gold, and we even learn that he’s been a member of the Phantom Troupe the whole time...sort of! And then we get the fight we were waiting for, Gon VS Hisoka, which honestly makes this arc worth sitting through just to see it. Gon finally gets to strike Hisoka and make him hurt, and while he’s still unable to defeat him at his level, Hisoka is now absolutely certain that the boy is a worthy adversary for him to kill.

Fruits Basket - How the Sohmas spent their Summer Vacation:

2001 - I think a lot of the comedy worked better here than in the later adaptation, a time when this version going more broad, slapstick and cartoonish has advantages. The more serious stuff with Hatori near the end didn’t land as well, and I was confused and uncomfortable with how Ayame seemed to take a victim blaming stance about Kana for daring to get married and be happy with someone else. Does he somehow not know that Hatori wiped her memories? ‘Cause if he knows what happened, he can’t act like this is some “betrayal!”

2019 - Why Yuki and Kyo were pretty quiet at first and took a while to get back into their usual argumentive swing actually had context this time given how last episode ended, whereas it was given no reason in the previous version. The talk between Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame was also phrased much better here, with Ayame being petty about Hatori missing out on happiness and wanting him to find a woman who’ll make him far happier than Kana portrayed as just that: petty.

Rozen Maiden - Kanaria, the second Rozen Maiden who I saw in the OVA at one point, finally gets into the Sakurada residence. The dolls staying there while both Jun and his sister are out find evidence of the break-in and disturbances around the house, making them think a burglar has broken in. Mayhem ensues. It was funny and all, but Kanaria really doesn’t do much for me. I’d normally love the heck out of a character like her, but here...doesn’t “clumsy troublemaker with an inflated self-image” kind of already belong to Suiseiseki? 

Fate Zero - The premiere episode of this prequel anime was a whole hour long, like the second season of Sound! Euphonium’s premiere, was this just something they did back then? But in any case wow, this show is immediately superior to Fate/Stay Night not only in the production value but in practically everything. My problem with Stay Night is that it mashed a whole different aspects into the Saber route and didn’t do it as well as, say, CLANNAD did, and pretty much all of the plot action was centralized by Shirou. Not even Shirou and Saber - just Shirou, who’s a great character and all, but I don’t think he needed to be the only viewpoint protagonist when other great characters like Rin Tohsaka were right there. Fate Zero has four different POVs in four different stories (Kiritsugu w/ Irisveil, Kirei and Tokiome, Kariya Matou, and Waver Velvet) interlinked by the coming Holy Grail war, which is a lot more the kind of thing I enjoy seeing.

The dub is great, too. Matthew Mercer is a better Kiritsugu than Kirk Thornton, Mela Lee is still on as a younger Rin Tohsaka, Crispin Freeman kills it as the younger, less villainous Kirei, Lucien Dodge is perfect for Waver, and Michael Donovan is so skin-crawlingly creepy and sinister as the vile Zouken Matou. Only issue is Liam O’Brien as Kariya, which distracts me a bit since I got used to him as Archer. Got chills at the ending where the servants are summoned, spotting not only Gilgamesh there, but Saber, voiced now by Kari Wahlgren!

Revolutionary Girl Utena - Yet again after two episodes of the arc, we’re given another weirdo Nanami filler episode, which I’d not mind as much if we hadn’t just had that Nanami recap two episodes ago! This one’s the ever notorious “Nanami’s Egg”, which isn’t quite as dark and freaky as the cowbell episode but still bizarre all the same, like the egg is a metaphor for more than one thing and because Nanami’s just gotten stupider she believes that she lay it, but it turns out it was Chu-Chu who’d died offscreen and got reincarnated. Huh?

Love Live! Nijigasaki School Idol Club S2 - A breather episode for Cute Girls To Do Cute Things, including a blatant Pokemon Go! reference with the “find the kitty cats” phone game. Lanzhu and her two gal pals are easing themselves into the club, but the star of the show here was Kasumi, more adorable, diabolical, and hapless than she’s ever been. And yeah, it’s a blatant repeat of Nico from that old “Who gets to be the Center?” episode, but Kasumi has always made stuff work by being this oddball blend of Nico’s personality and her “persona”. Sweet friendship song, montage, and group photo at the end too. Post-credits was an uh oh, though. Love Live, perhaps?

MAR - Round 3 of the War Games begins with the surprise re-appearance of Alan, who fights against Ali Baba of the Chess Pieces in the volcanic terrain. He doesn’t just beat him even easier than Dorothy beat her opponent, he claims the second casualty by dropping Ali Baba into lava, killing him! And unlike Dorothy’s fight, there was no real reason for him to do so! He just felt his pride was insulted and wasn’t gonna take that! Scariest guy on Team MAR!

AMC: Yuki Yuna Is A Hero - How the Hero Club spent their Summer Vacation, a more typical beach outing that gives way to more Cute Girls Do Cute Things antics. Not a whole lot of plot here other than Karin being gay with Fuu, Yuna being gay with Togo, and reminders of what the girls have (temporarily?) lost thanks to their battles with the Vertex. Then at the end we learn the missions ain’t done yet...

AND

Talentless Nana - Finally got back to this one, though in hindsight maybe I should’ve waited for October to do so since it was the creepy “Necromancer” two parter. A creepy boy named Shinji who can reanimate the dead and is going out with a really hot tomboy with super strength named Yuuka becomes Nana’s next target for elimination, all while Kyouya is still skeptical about her involvement in the recent deaths...and then it turns out that Shinji is himself a living corpse and Yuuka is the true necromancer, with her own horde of zombies that she can control only at nighttime! Since Part 2 was notably lagging in a lot of places, Yuuka was the aspect that kept me interested and made it all work - she’s the first of Nana’s talented victims or adversaries (who aren’t Kyouya) who I actually enjoyed watching. Her voice acting coupled with the depths of her depravity gave her a sort of Junko Enoshima vibe, it was impressive how well they pulled off a DOUBLE Twist Villain with her, and she’s the first to give Nana a really serious challenge, with Nana only besting her through proving a theory with so many variables to it that it could’ve just as easily not gone well for her. The very end was a bit weird, though. Why did Nana even care about a victim’s morals and sins? She’d kill the talented regardless, as she even said, so why even?

I think those, like, I think they’re for the anniversaries specifically? But those vocal versions of the Ikemen Sengoku OST by Maiko Fujita, I think they’re genuinely the cutest things in the history of the world. I think it rules when any video game has a vocal version of an instrumental track you heard for hours before, it makes me go like *eyes start glowing and I scream like a shonen anime character charging up a powerful attack*

My Review of Marmalade Boy

How did I get into this anime? I’ve heard of the title several decades past and put it on the back-back-back burner for God-knows how long.

So Miki Koishikawa is a relatively normal high school student. Has friends, loving parents, and loves to play tennis. Let’s drop the mic here!

Her world is turned upside-down when her parents decide to get a divorce. But wait, it gets better! Her parents announce they’re going to remarry to another couple that’s also getting a divorce. But because these parents don’t hate each other to live separately, these two couples are going to buy a big house and live together under one roof. Okay, these parents are total swingers and I can’t help but think they went to a few-too many “Key Parties” in their past. But wait, it gets better! The other couple in this mess has a son named Yuu Matsura. And wouldn’t you know it, Miki thought from the get-go that Yuu was kinda cute and they end up…uh-oh!

Surprise Incest!

In this surprisingly 75 episode series, we see a lot go down with this particular couple as there is a lot to cover. This story covers a lot involving the main characters and their love lives. And it gives you what you would expect including love triangles, petty fights that go nowhere, long-distance relationships, and of course hiding the fact you’re in a relationship from your parents because his parents are her parents now!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: This was originally licensed by Tokyopop. That is kind of a rarity as we all know the ups and downs of that particular distributor. But long story short, this is currently under the licensing of Discotek. Better yet, while I was viewing this, Crunchyroll decided to be kind and stream the series on their site (sub only). The dub had many recognizable voices from folks stationed in L.A. So we get to hear from Michelle Ruff, Yuri Lowenthal, Carrie Savage, and the late Michael Lindsay. The sub version of course has several folks I’m familiar with like Ryoutarou Okiayu, Aya Hisakawa, Akira Ishida, Junichi Kanemaru…

Wait…did I just say Junichi Kanemaru! Holy rare items! The voice of Harley from Pokemon! FUCKING HARLEY! Before I turn into a screaming/fainting goat, here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Yuu is played by Ryoutarou Okiayu (known for Scar on FMA, Shigure on Fruits Basket, Akio on Clannad, Byakuya on Bleach, Tiger’s Eye on Sailor Moon SuperS, Mr. K on Gravitation, and Igor on Blue Exorcist)

*Miki is played by Mariko Kouda (known for Sakura on Pokemon, Yuri on Dirty Pair Flash, Kaya on One Piece, Nayuki on Kanon, and Juri on Vampire Knight)

ENGLISH CAST: *Yuu is played by Michael Lindsay (known for Urahara on Bleach, Kankurou on Naruto, Tamaki on Code Geass, and Joe on Digimon) [R.I.P]

*Miki is played by Michelle Ruff (known for Luna on Sailor Moon [redub], Nagato on Haruhi Suzumiya, Tsukasa on Lucky Star, Anri on Durarara, Euphemia on Code Geass, Sinon on SAO, and Chii on Chobits)

DISLIKED CHARACTER: In other words, which relationship road-block did I despise the most? There were quite a few people after both Miki and Yuu throughout the series run. And despite the many reservations I have involving with this ship and will glare at their relationship with a surprise incest hate going on, I didn’t want to see these two go out with the worst person.

Honestly, I thought I would be putting Ginta and Arimi up here. Both of them supremely got on my nerves in the first arc of the series. Particularly Ginta with the way he did Miki wrong in middle school and again by stealing a kiss from her. Jinny in the NY arc really aggravated me, but not as much as I thought she would.

But then you have Suzu and Kei. These two characters just wouldn’t stop! Suzu would deliberately invite Yuu over or involve him in some stupid activity to get close to him and make Miki jealous. And Kei straight-up lied to Miki about having her medallion for almost 10 episodes. After all that shit, I thought there was no way in hell dude was ever going to get with Miki, even if she and Yuu broke up. Never say never! She goes out with him. What the fuck, Miki? I know he got a little better after the dishonesty Kei brought about, but still. I did however feel sorry for Kei and lost stamina in my hatred for this kid. I knew he was going to be the rebound guy and that he still stood no chance of being with Miki in the long-run.

Suzu on the other hand, fuck the bitch! Especially after the ski-trip episode! Suzu almost killed Miki. Okay, Arimi might have stolen a kiss from Yuu. Jinny might have lied about sleeping with Yuu. But Suzu almost committed negligent homicide. Fuck her! So yeah, Suzu is my least favorite character on Marmalade Boy.

SHIPPING: Okay…this might take a while, but I want to cover everything as much as humanly possible. And if you don’t want to be spoiled by what I say, probably don’t watch the eye-catches in every episode. They kinda show who’s supposed to be with who.

*Yuu x Miki: Ah shit, here we go again! As if I haven’t written enough opinions on shipping couples that are step-siblings recently. Despite my prejudice against surprise incest ships, this one is the least infuriating of the ones I’ve watched in the last two years. This ship has gone through its share of drama. Yuu had several girls interfere with his relationship with Miki. And Miki had her fair share as well, including a rebound boyfriend. But no matter what, they always found their way back to each other. I shouldn’t hate this ship. I should shake my head with those parents of Miki and Yuu’s. Good God, I thought I’ve heard it all!

*Miki x Ginta: So Ginta was a boy that Miki had a crush on a few years prior to the story. But dumbass Ginta read Miki’s love letter out loud to a bunch of friends and that soured their friendship (which was a misunderstanding). They eventually reached a mature level of casually speaking to each other again in later years. But this gets ugly again when Ginta gets jealous over Yuu and steals a kiss from Miki. Who do you think you are, Dio Brando? Not only that but Ginta does some ugly methods in order to win Miki’s heart including be in a sham relationship with Arimi (Yuu’s former girlfriend). It was at this point of the series that I despised Ginta and hoped he would never find happiness. But thankfully, that hatred passed.

*Yuu x Arimi: Yuu also had a romantic past. But in this case, Arimi had the crush and begged Yuu to date her for three months. And they had fun during those three months. It’s just that Yuu sees Arimi as more of a friend. But Arimi still has it strong for Yuu and ends up trying to make him jealous by dating another boy. That went over as well as a lead balloon.

*Ginta x Arimi: This ship actually started out being a fake relationship. So almost on the same level as what you saw in the anime Toradora. Both of them had feelings for other people, but of course neither of them had any chance with Miki or Yuu. Ginta already dug his grave years ago when he read Miki’s love letter publicly and Yuu had no interest in Arimi even when they were dating. So these two ended up together in an attempt to make their crushes jealous! But it wasn’t really smooth sailing as Arimi is quite popular around her school. She has a lot of fanboys including Ginta’s loud and annoying cousin.

Oh yeah, Ginta’s loud and annoying cousin. I don’t care for him.

*Meiko x Namura-sensei: There will be plenty of episodes involving this ship. They are no threat to Miki and Yuu’s relationship. Meiko is Miki’s best friend and Na-chan is their teacher. It’s just that every now and then we take a detour into “Meiko: The Miniseries”.

Oh man, I thought the surprise incest was enough. Now we get a student/teacher relationship. By the looks of it, this does seem non-sexual and both are consenting (so no one was taken advantage). It’s just that this is VERY taboo. It especially gets dangerous when Na-chan ends up as Meiko’s homeroom teacher and they couldn’t see each other out in the open anymore. Oh, did I forget to mention this relationship kinda started when Meiko was in middle school. Silly me! Have fun with that tidbit. Then it gets crazier when this relationship is found out and ultimatums are put on both of them. I’m not as bitchy about these sorts of relationships and again I point out other controversial student/teacher relationships that raise an eyebrow like Sakura’s parents on Cardcaptor Sakura or Tohru’s parents on Fruits Basket. But I do see Meiko as the successful story that Natsuo from Domestic Girlfriend could learn from.

At least she didn’t have a child with Satoshi and leave him for Na-chan!

*Meiko x Satoshi: And here we have a Johnny-Come-Lately/Rebound! Meiko’s heart still belongs to Na-chan, yet Satoshi persists Meiko at every opportunity. Now there were some moments where it felt like Meiko was going to cave in and start falling for Satoshi. And he has been very supportive of her writing, even if he entered her story in a contest without her consent. He does care for her.

She did give in every now and then to her confused emotions with Satoshi. Hey, she even gave up a kiss too. But she will never be over Na-chan. This ship was a whirlwind of emotion, especially when Meiko sees Na-chan again and she tries to get back with him. Na-chan turns the tables by telling Meiko he doesn’t love her and that he’s now in a committed relationship with their teacher Miss Ryoko. But that was a lie. Na-chan loves Meiko and just used Miss Ryoko as an excuse. Did I mention Miss Ryoko loves Na-chan too? Feel like I should have mentioned that. Thankfully, Na-chan and Meiko end up realizing they love each other too much to let the other one go. Fuck all, fuck the families, fuck what society thinks, we’re engaged. Apologies to Miss Ryoko and Satoshi who are now in Dumps-ville!

Let’s get away from the Meiko drama. In the second arc to this story, we ease away from the drama that consisted of characters like Arimi, Ginta, and even Satoshi. However, more love rivals come into play, especially after Yuu and Miki hook up.

Now that Ginta is out of the picture and has hooked up with Arimi, you’d think it’d be smooth sailing for Miki, right? Hell no! Miki gets a part-time job and works with a boy named Kei. Kei eventually gets the hots for Miki but knows she’s off-limits as she has a boyfriend. What does Kei do? Hold onto Miki’s memento from Yuu and lie about it for several episodes. This guy really put unnecessary strains on Miki and her relationship with Yuu to a point where Miki is hiding stuff from Yuu. Thankfully, this didn’t cause as much damage as I thought and Miki x Yuu is back in business. While Kei has accepted that Miki loves Yuu, he will be back to get her!

Yuu on the other hand had to deal with an annoying little princess by the name of Suzu. After meeting Suzu, I gotta say this girl is persistent. She would always drive him and Miki away from each other or try to drive a wedge between them. Suzu would do everything in her power to have Yuu over at her home. But Yuu has his priorities straight about why he’s over there. Suzu’s father wants Yuu to tutor her and Yuu wants to learn from Suzu’s father to further his interest in architecture. Priorities! Still doesn’t stop Suzu from being an annoying nuisance. And did I mention the almost negligent homicide incident? I’m never going to be over that!

There was also another girl. But you can’t really hate this girl like Suzu. Let’s talk about Ann! She is actually a really good competitor for Yuu’s heart and I can see how Miki could be intimidated by her. A sickly girl with a bad heart whom Yuu has known since childhood! Oh fuck yeah! Ann doesn’t mind being second place in Yuu’s heart actually. She sees that the two love each other and Ann stows her feelings to the side.

…

I suppose I should talk about this stuff as well.

So when Yuu moved to NY, there was a lot of fighting for people’s love in the big apple and in Japan. Yuu and Miki still love each other despite the long distance relationship. However Miki is being hounded by Kei (AGAIN) and the student exchange boy Michael. Meanwhile, Yuu is being pursued by a girl named Jinny. And Jinny is being pursued by a guy named Brian (the brother of student exchange boy Michael). Problem is, Jinny has no interest in Brian and only has eyes for Yuu until she totally fucks it up with him. But then Miss Priss over here gets jealous when another friend, Bill, gets friendly with Yuu’s long-time friend Ann. But then Jinny ends up with Bill. And Brian settles for forever-friend-zoned Doris.

I hope you all followed that NY drama because I don’t feel like going over that web of shit again. Oh wait.

Miki and Kei hooked up too. Don’t worry, it didn’t last.

THESE PARENTS, I TELL YA: Miki and Yuu’s parents are a trip! They tell their kids everything at the last, possible minute. They spring on the most messed-up surprises on them and expect them to just go with the flow. Yeah, I’m slightly with Miki when it comes to the parents remarrying each other. I’m glad they still have a relationship that they still like each other even though they’re divorcing. But for fuck’s sake, you cannot expect anyone to smile and go with the flow when they suddenly tell you that the parents you’ve known your whole life divorces on the fly and trades partners with another couple. But it isn’t just that one thing! Miki and Yuu’s parents constantly drop news on them at the very last minute (especially with Miki).

Why are you moving furniture?

We invited a foreign exchange student to live with us!

Why are you guys dressed up?

We’re going out for dinner! Have fun with the leftovers.

Why do you have all that luggage?

We’re going on a surprise honeymoon! Take care of the house while we’re gone.

These parents are so flighty I want to hate them on the same level as Brock’s parents from Pokemon. But there were certain moments in the anime that cause me to back off. One particular moment was when the school found out about the living arrangement with the mixed family and the vice principal got her panties in a bunch about how unorthodox this was. Yuu and Miki’s parents came in and told them that they love these kids and would do anything for them. But for real guys, stop springing surprise news on your kids.

MOVIE: I actually decided to watch the movie before viewing the television series. After the television run of Marmalade Boy, a 30 minute movie came out one year later. This movie showed us Yuu’s reaction to the news of his parents divorcing and remarrying another divorced couple since the series focused more on Miki’s reaction. Yu’s reaction was hard to tell since this boy really showed no big reaction to this news. Yuu’s got one hell of a poker face. But for most of the special, he ends up following this girl he catches a glimpse of. Only later does he realize that she has the same name as his soon-to-be step-sister.

ARCS: In an anime like this and at the time of its airing, you know they were going to cover quite a bit compared to animes of today. The fact that Marmalade Boy had a total of 76 episodes proves that this was full of love triangles and fillers. It felt like after 25 episodes or so, things change with something monumental happening with the main ship of Miki and Yuu.

The first part of this anime consisted of Yuu and Miki adjusting to life with a very unorthodox, mixed family and figuring out where Yuu and Miki were going to go with their romantic lives. Was Yuu going to go back out with his old girlfriend Arimi? Was Miki going to give Ginta a second chance after their turmoil in middle school? Can Yuu and Miki get together without a wave of disgusting looks from fans and others because of this borderline incest concept?

The second part of the anime consisted of several different characters wanting Yuu and/or Miki for something romantic. Characters like Suzu and Kei came to the picture and were dead-set on keeping Yuu and Miki away from each other. Suzu tried everything in her power to keep Yuu all to herself during study sessions and the like. Hell, there was an episode where she led Miki away from Yuu by having her go to a hard ski-slope during a snowstorm, almost killing her. Have I mentioned the negligent homicide yet to you all? I feel like I should! Kei lied to Miki on several occasions and held something important of hers just to get what he wanted. We also had another girl who was interested in Yuu, but Ann had other things to deal with like her health. But she doesn’t mind being second best girl to Miki.

The third part tests Yuu and Miki with having to deal with a long-distance relationship as Yuu is going to study abroad in New York for his final year of high school. And you all know that long-distance relationships can cause the likes of cheating, apathetic phone calls, and rebounds!

ENDING: Yuu moving to New York really put a major strain on his and Miki’s relationship. These two crazy kids missed each other, but as we all know, most long-distance relationships are doomed to fall apart. I mean, you’ve got Miki being pursued by her foreign-exchange friend Michael and former co-worker Kei. Meanwhile in America, Yuu is being pursued by a girl at his dorms named Jinny. And this bitch goes above and beyond to detour Miki away from Yuu by lying to her about sleeping with Yuu. I truly want to place blame on Jinny for Miki breaking up with Yuu, but let’s face it, Miki can’t live like this. Miki was literally at a breaking point when she made a surprise visit to NY and Jinny’s stupid comment about sleeping with him was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

In the aftermath of this breakup, Miki ends up taking comfort in Kei. This is what we call “the rebound”. It won’t last! But I think Kei knows that Miki’s not going to be his forever love. And this gets put to the test when Yuu comes back to Japan for summer break. No surprises that Miki breaks up with Kei and goes back to Yuu. Happily ever after right?! Not even close. Kei and Ann are left heartbroken (again). Then again, we went through the same shit when Meiko broke Satoshi’s heart and Na-chan did the same to Miss Ryoko. But then we got the biggest bombshell to date.

Around episode 24 or so, we learned that Yuu’s father was NOT his real father. And in that part of the story, Yuu thought that Satoshi’s father was his biological father. But it was later proven that he is not (no matter how much the two are heavily into architecture). Yuu comes across some pictures of his parents from the past that were very troubling. It turns out Yuu and Miki’s parents didn’t just randomly meet during a vacation in Hawaii. They actually have history. Jin’s arms around Yuu’s mother could only mean one logical explanation.

These parents are fucking swingers!

No, but seriously the incest aroma is coming in strong that Oreimo is saying “this stinks”.

So Yuu, not even a week after getting back with Miki breaks up with her, doesn’t tell her this revelation involving their parents, doesn’t even confront his parents and step-parents about this, and ditches her to go back to America.

Yuu, you punk-ass, pussy-ass bitch! Meiko should have slapped your brains out. Do you have any idea how many things Miki has been left out of involving her damn family? Those flakey parents don’t even tell their kids anything until the last minute. She should at least know that her father might have had relations with Yuu’s mother. Yes, this is a really fucked-up turn, but I think Yuu could have handled this better than he did. After Yuu broke things off with Miki, she decided to lock away all memories of Yuu, got a new look and put on a happy face. But she’s still huring inside. So she goes to NY to confront Yuu. Yuu FINALLY says they might be half-brother and sister and Miki ends up having a big enough meltdown that it involved the Manhattan police and a search team.

But after almost being stabbed in Harlem, Miki and Yuu don’t care if they’re related or not, they’ll be together forever. They’re fine with not having kids or not being legally married, they’ll stay together. And perfect timing, Miki and Yuu’s parents, along with Meiko and Satoshi came to NY to make sure Miki was found safe. So it’s time for Yuu to hammer his parents for hiding stuff from them. And here were the results of that!

Yes, these parents did know each other and dated one another in their college days. Yuu’s mother Chiyako in fact was impregnated by Miki’s father Jinn. However, they broke up and Chiyako wound up with Youji. But that baby was NOT Yuu. Chiyako suffered a miscarriage years before Yuu was born. Youji Matsura is Yuu’s father all along. Oh and all four parents know about Miki and Yuu’s relationship. Skeptical at first, but they’re okay by them being together.

And the happiness continues as we fast-forward to Na-chan and Meiko’s wedding. Ginta and Arimi are still on good footing. Miss Ryouko might find love in a new person. Suzu and Kei might be getting together. Same might be said about Michael and Ann. And then Yuu and Miki’s parents announce they’re expecting babies. THIS FAMILY IS INSANE! We end the series with a medley of the best and worst kisses, ending on Yuu and Miki kissing at their own wedding.

That was Marmalade Boy! It was as 90s as you could get with the vibrant colors, dramatic stings, romantic J-Pop playing in the background during the juicy moments, constant close-ups of peoples faces during the shocking moments, and riddled with heterosexual romances. I’ll be honest, there were times where I would completely forget that Miki and Yuu were step-brother and sister and would just go on and root for them. But then near the end of the series where we learn that there’s a good chance they might be blood-related, then I was ready to shove this ship in the trash. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

I can’t be the only person to say this but, I think Domestic Girlfriend took a lot of things from Marmalade Boy. Not straight-up plagiarized it, but was inspired by it. We had parents suddenly get remarried and the main character now has a brother, romantic happenings with the step-brother and sister, and of course a relationship between a student and teacher. But give Domestic Girlfriend some credit, the parents weren’t as fucking crazy as the ones in Marmalade Boy. I thought I felt sorry for Natsuo’s future kid. I saw some stuff involving Marmalade Boy’s sequel manga. That family tree grew and sprouted some confusing branches after Miki and Yuu’s step-siblings came into the picture.

If you are heavily into love-triangles of every form, check out Marmalade Boy. Every episode is now available on Crunchyroll (sub only).

Okay, what’s my next Nozomi Entertainment/Discotek/Animes made before Oct 1986?

Get ready to go back to the year 1983 with this one.

Cat’s Eye? Okay, let’s do it.

30/09/21

I'm early once again! Brought to you by my desperate need to continue my reading streak, here's a look at my September Immersion Overview!

This was an interesting month - I limited myself fully to just dramas (and a bit of Youtube) as listening and VNs as reading immersion and it has been pretty effective as I managed to immerse another 100 hours or so despite being busy. I remember dabbling in so many different media in April, and I honestly can't imagine how I managed to keep up with all those. Hopefully I can continue at this pace since this has been quite a fun month of immersion overall.

The Anki side of things have been quite successful as well since I was able to add so many new cards that I have now a total of 10,077 words in my mining deck only a few days after I hit 1.5 years of immersion. I wasn't too far behind after all!

DRAMAS

43.47 hours of dramas and Youtube

Code Blue 2 + 3 + Movie

Binged these at the beginning of the month. There was not one bad episode in this whole series, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to test their listening ability. It's extremely fast paced and there's never a dull moment.

Also, what a tease, my ship never sailed despite there being so many allusions to the possibility of there being more. (´；ω；｀)

ごちそうさん

I think I watched til Week 2 of this before stopping in exchange for reading instead. Might pick it up again later. Really liked the kid version of the protag in the beginning, but there was so little of her.

社内マリッジハニー

Wanted something really easy to listen to and this was a good choice for that. This is one of those dramas that tries very hard to have a dramatic plot, but fails since its so short there's barely any time to do anything about it. Still, if you just want some really short and simple SOL drama that's pure fluff, then this is decent enough.

彼女はキレイだった

Was waiting the entire month for this to finish airing so I could binge it. This was fun to watch, and had a pretty fast paced story til the end. Could have stopped at episode 7 and not gone the stereotypical hospital scene route I would've been satisfied. This overused story trope of the girl being "ugly" and "changing" should really die though. Anyway, I don't think I've ever watched the original Kdrama, but I just might have to eventually.

VISUAL NOVELS

Reading has been so much fun lately thanks to visual novels. I managed to read another 67.83 hours this month, and I feel like I've gotten into the groove of reading again. I've been better at picking reading over listening for once and I'm really hopeful about keeping up with it in the months to come.

Continuing my streak from last month, I not only read a total of 1.15 million characters this month, but hit a few reading milestones such as reading for 7 hours and reading 100k characters in a day a few times. Pretty exciting to actually hit some of my reading goals, some of which at some point felt impossible.

A-are otoges the key? ( ﾟдﾟ)

剣が君

I can't stop thinking about this, I genuinely love it so much. I rated it a 9 in my review, but I keep thinking its worth a 10 since then.

Don't mind me, I'm holding myself back from giving an otoge a 10 when I really shouldn't be. I just need to read more VNs to be able to justify it. Like I don't want to be that person who hasn't read Fate or Higurashi or Clannad yet and rating stuff a 10 already. Lmao.

Read my review here!

あやかしごはん

Another otoge?!

This was my filler VN for the month - something easy to read while I was busy, so I can keep up with my daily character reading goal while spending less amount of time with it. This one feels really ridiculous, because my stats for this one is just as crazy as it was in 剣が君, and hopefully I'll be able to show you next month.

Gotta love the good and easy SoL VNs where dictionary lookups are minimal.

-☆-

I'll be reading more next month - yet another otoge won the vote at TMW VN Club! Love that the otoge fans have the opportunity to actually vote for and win the polls in the club. Also pretty happy that the guys who did venture into reading 剣が君 have been seemingly as floored as the rest of us. Pleased that I found a really good, non-toxic Japanese language learning community online. ( ´∀｀)

That's it for this month! Thanks for reading, and updates in the future as always.

My top ten favorite anime characters(or characters that look like anime for example Kingdom hearts non Disney characters)( can be villians and heroes, as long as they're anime/or look like anime characters):

Top five female:

1) Nagisa Furukawa from Clannad anime

2) Rayla moonshadow elf from the dragon prince

3) Namine the witch from Kingdom Hearts series( wish there was more about her. Wish she had her own story/game/manga. She is way more interesting than Kairi)

4) Olivier Armstrong Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood( so badass 😎 🤩🤩)

5) Usagi Tuskino/sailor moon/princess Serenity/princess Serena from sailor moon

Top five male:

1) Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist( especially 03 version. But I love all Ed's, he's my number one favorite character from Fullmetal alchemist)

2) Roy Mustang( love this badass, idiotic, dramatic dork) from fullmetal alchemist

3) Riku from Kingdom Hearts series

4) Sora Kingdom Hearts series

5) Maes Hughes from Fullmetal alchemist( I can't help it both versions of fma( though fma 03 is the best!) Has so many good characters!) And his storyline is one of the most heart crushing!

Sorry that this is mostly Fullmetal alchemist, but that anime is my favorite and really got me into loving anime in general. Plus it's one of the handful of animes that I completely finished. Other animes are just too long! What are your favorite anime characters?

@kayura-sanada @thevictorianghost @depressed-teacup-inc

FEATURE: Looking For Romance? Check Out These Top Anime Meet-Cutes

  Part of what defines a good romance is the build-up to the big confession and the character's journeys to get there. Along that journey, you may find yourself stressing over all those near kiss moments and love triangles. Maybe you find yourself coming to appreciate the couple's support for each other, their playful banter, and even their opposite personalities. All of this is great, but you know what no one really talks about? The meet-cute! You know, the moment two characters meet for the first time, sparking the development of their epic love story. It's one of the most important aspects of the relationship, because, without it, there wouldn't be a couple to ship or a romance to pursue! Whether they were short and sweet, or dramatic and electric, the meet-cute is the significant moment where we are introduced to our leading love interests and shows us what we can look forward to. Here are some of the best meet-cutes in romance anime!

  Mitsuha and Taki

Your Name is a remarkable film for many reasons. One of them being how its protagonists Mitsuha and Taki's paths continuously cross in various ways, resulting in the ultimate meet-cute! The first time Mitsuha and Taki "meet," it's not exactly face-to-face. The two come to learn about each other when, for reasons unknown to them at the time, they were switching bodies. The two have no way to communicate with each other other than to leave reports on their phones about the day's events so the other isn't completely oblivious to what happened. Because there's not much Mitsuha or Taki can do about the switching, the two decide to do their best navigating the situation and this whole encounter becomes very entertaining to watch.

  Image via FUNimation

Wanting answers to this strange phenomenon, Mitsuha and Taki's search leads them to an unexpected run-in and our second meet-cute. This meet-cute is equal parts romantic with Mitsuha and Taki breaking the boundaries of time to see one another and gut-wrenching as we've learned the truth behind Mitsuha's fate. Because of all the switching, Mitsuha and Taki became well acquainted with each other, and that's apparent in the teaseful banter between the two as they take in the fact they finally found each other. With its accompanying music and animation, this scene is beautiful and all the missed opportunities throughout the film don't even matter anymore.

  Image via FUNimation

After the events of the climax of the movie, it seems that Mitsuha and Taki's memories have faded, and they're living their lives normally. As adults, Mitsuha and Taki spot each other on a train one day and despite not remembering the journey they shared, it's clear to each other that all this time they knew they were searching for someone. Motivated by that feeling, Mitsuha and Taki immediately look for each other, and in that one final moment by the stairs, that last meet cute, they'll finally remember their names.

  Image via FUNimation

  Rika and Yuta

  I could write novels about how amazingly adorable Love Chunibyo & Other Delusions is as a series, and the relationship between Rika and Yuta is just too cute for words … but here I go! 

Yuta is hungry for a fresh start at a new school where no one knows about his past and his embarrassing chunibyo (a term in the Japanese language used to describe a person who manifests delusional behavior, particularly thinking that one has special powers that no other person has) ways, but then he has a chance encounter with his upstairs neighbor, a girl with a wicked eye. Yuta is moving some boxes onto his balcony when he sees a girl scaling down the side of the building. She’s having some trouble finding her footing, so Yuta helps to catch her feet. The foot catching actually becomes a really cute aspect of their relationship later on in the series. 

    Rika and Yuta’s very first encounter is short and sweet, but then comes the first day of school and their official introduction becomes comically chaotic. At first, Yuta is impressed seeing Rika “open” the automatic train doors with one swish of her hand, but that intriguing first impression turns to fear and some playful taunting when Rika expresses to Yuta she knows about his past chunibyo delusions. From here on out, Rika and Yuta often find themselves together, growing closer as the series goes on, partly because they’re neighbors and classmates, but also because whether Yuta wants to admit it or not, once a chunibyo, always a chunibyo!

    Kaori and Kousei

Your Lie in April is an emotional series, but it does a great job of blending its sincerity with comedy, and that's abundantly clear when Kaori and Kousei meet for the first time. Kousei agrees to accompany his friend Tsubaki who is setting up their mutual friend Watori with a classmate, Kaori Miyazono. When Kousei arrives early at the meet-up spot, he meets Kaori who's putting on a performance. Although he attempts to take a picture capturing the musical moment, Kaori thinks he's trying to sneak a sexy pic and Kousei soon becomes well-versed in Kaori's dueling personalities. One minute she's beating up on Kousei and the next she is loving up on Watari. At first, Kousei just assumes Kaori is this free spirit, but then he hears her play the violin. Much of Kousei and Kaori's first introduction centers around Kaori's music, and it's the music that makes their first meeting more than just cute and comical, it also makes it influential. Kousei was captivated by Koari's unstructured style of music, a style in which he had no experience. Their first day was precious and the characters are precious in how they inspire each other.

    Nagisa and Tomoya

Ah yes ... Clannad! Anyone who has seen Clannad knows exactly what I mean when I say how ridiculously cute and heartbreakingly sad this anime is a big part of that has to do with Nagisa and Tomoya, whose first encounter is genuine, encouraging and wastes no time introducing the lovable relationship between the two. Tomoya has a pessimistic attitude about the way his life is going, but it's sweet how on the way to school, Tomoya shares some motivating words to Nagisa, a girl he just met. Tomoya ends up offering some good advice about an issue that's bothering her. This moment immediately sets up the sweet dynamic between the two, and while this instance appears simple on the surface, knowing what I know now from watching the entire series, this moment is powerful. It truly gives insight into their relationship, supporting and uplifting one another throughout their journeys.

  Image via VRV  

Rinko and Takeo

My Love Story!! is a unique series that is caring, tender, and overall filled with sweetness, and the relationship that blossoms between Rinko Yamato and Takeo Gouda are just too pure for this world! Unlike some of the other meet-cutes where the first encounter may be awkward, comical, or playful in demeanor, Takeo literally swoops in like a knight in shining armor the first time he sees Rinko. While riding the train, Rinko is being bothered by a scummy individual. Takeo notices the despicable behavior and immediately intervenes. Rinko is not only grateful for Takeo intervening but for also not allowing the perpetrator to talk ill of her. Takeo is someone who is introduced as having no luck with girls, and although the event leading up to how Rinko and Takeo meet is awful, what's special about their first encounter is that for the first time, someone appreciates and respects Takeo's kind heart instead of just taking advantage of his caring personality. As I said, Rinko and Takeo's relationship is pure and innocent and their first meeting is all about heart and compassion.

    Tsukasa and Nasa

I'll admit, Tsukasa and Nasa's actual first meeting is incredibly wacky, seeing as the first time they acknowledge each other's existence in TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You, was by Tsukasa lessening the blow Nasa took when getting hit by a car and then Nasa running on pure adrenaline to find Tsukasa even though he was on the edge of passing out from blood loss. Yeah, it's pretty kooky but oddly adorable? Okay, it's just all kooky but what IS adorable is when Tsukasa and Nasa meet again a few years later and Nasa tries his best to make his new wife happy.

  Nasa's never had a girl over to his apartment, let alone a girl who is now his wife. The first night they spend together, Nasa follows Tsukasa's lead, doing what he can to make the new nuptials and living arrangement more welcoming and comfortable for his adoring wife. Nasa also has no problems expressing his emotions and his feelings toward Tsukasa, and even the smallest gesture like holding hands sends him "over the moon." Tsukasa and Nasa's relationship moves pretty quickly, but it's charming to watch them fully embrace the relationship.

    Usagi and Mamoru

Usagi and Mamoru have one of the most iconic relationships among romance anime. While the two fight side by side for love and justice in Sailor Moon, they didn't always see eye to eye, and their first meet up is the perfect example of that playful, teasing relationship we come to see and adore. Usagi is pretty down in the dumps after performing poorly on an exam and tosses the disappointing test to the side. Instead of hitting the ground, it hits this oh so charming guy in the head. Depending on which version of the series you watch, you'll witness their love-at-first-sight, butterflies-in-your-stomach moment, or Usagi taking shots at Mamoru's iconic purple pleated pants, and of course the birth of the meatball head/bunhead nickname!

  Image via Hulu

Image via Hulu  

What are some of your favorite anime meet-cutes? Let us know in the comments!

      Pro hero Veronica Valencia is an anime-loving hot sauce enthusiast! You can follow more of her work as a host, writer, and producer on Twitter and Instagram.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Veronica Valencia

Shoujo and the Bride of Christ (I)

I was fourteen years old, Shinji Ikari´s age, when A Bridge to Terabithia made its movie debut. Like his fated stay in Misato’s house, only in time have I come to realize the influence it has had on me. Leslie Burke, the imaginative and courageous adventurer played by AnnaSophia Robb, did not only unveil a new world (or many) for Josh Hutcherson´s character, but for me, too. Who would have known? The wonders they discovered, the things they built together, their common battle against evil and injustice, their shared experiences, and the way they got to know each other and count on each other made a deep impression on me. And I thought she was interesting, pretty, even beautiful. I´m sure many of you have a story like that. A classmate, a friend, a character, a book.

With my Hachiman antics and my teenage fears, I had been too defensive and self-conscious up to that point to think seriously about romance (even if, as with him, I felt its attraction). But it was from there, if ‘´m not wrong, that the thought of a man-woman alliance—deep, trustworthy,opened to God and to the adventure of life—began to seem like an attractive possibility. An ethic to fit that ideal was one of sincerity, friendship, selflessness, chivalry, self-sacrifice, prayer, loyalty, courage and honoring promises (that of the Code of Kushieda, romantic version). Much has happened since, but the essentials remain unchanged. I wouldn’t forget, or settle for less. Ever since, I have loved stories of hard-earned romance, of mutual discovery, of the fight for the good of the other and complementary communion, and even new life.

Anime, with its gift for depicting deeply personal worlds with colorful symbols, has some great stories of this kind. You have Toradora, Haruhi, OreGairu, Sakamichi no Apollon, Your Lie in April, Clannad, Ore Monogatari, EVA itself, or movies like Ghibli´s Whisper of the Heart. Many are told from the point of view of the guy, but some of the best are not: This is how I discovered shōjo or shoujo. Its best stories brought me a different, yet recognizable world, because discovering human love is, after all, a very human experience. It is also a powerful mystery, which according to the Bible, was expressly established by God himself. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” To which St. Paul comments: “This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the Church.”

Wait, what?

Last year, during the Spanish quarantine, I had the idea of explaining the Eucharist and its role in my life using examples from shōnen anime. By symmetry, I was wondering if there was some other aspect I could explain with shoujo anime. It turns out that there is. After all, before discovering Terabithia, I had discovered Christ and the Church (according to the Catholic conception), and, as crazy as it sounds, I thought St. Paul’s comment, with its echo at the end of the Book of Revelation, did fit. I read Dante’s The Divine Comedy (this year is his seventh centenary) at 16, and that connection only grew. It still does. Ready for the ride?

Sawako Kuronuma´s Human-shaped Gate

“But… you know that’s just biology, right? Chemical fireworks, so that the species can perpetuate.” I take issue with the word “just” here. God is the author of nature, which is thus full of depth, beauty, and meaning and providentially disposed towards our growth as creatures. There is chemistry, and there is more. While it is important to take everything into account and be careful when discerning our course of action, the faith in Christ is an incarnated faith. Our bodies, our natures, our stories are full of meaning, and we may come to discover it (and not just invent it), little by little. There is a deep wisdom in the created world, at every level, from the atoms to the stars.

In the Book of Genesis we are told that, when God created man and woman, Adam named the animals and witnessed a Creation in harmony. But not until meeting Eve did he discover a creature made of something deeply and intimately his, something he had been lacking without knowing it. She was just like him, and at the same time she was so different. For her, with her, he would go beyond what he knew, and they would be as one from there on. And their complementarity was to be the source of something new, of something great. Even more amazingly, she felt the same way. That was (and is) God’s design, which reflects His own powerful, generous love, “the fiercest blaze of all.” Something like that could only have been God´s idea, really.

Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You) tells a story that, despite its contemporary setting, feels very Edenic. We have commented on it here a couple of times. I’m not even the first to point the Biblical analogy. Sawako (which means “lively child”) Kuronuma, nicknamed “Sadako” because of her resemblance of the phantom girl of The Ring, is isolated. She has a gentle, bright interior world she cannot share. Her lack of social skills and her terrifying aura get in her way, no matter how hard she tries to get along. She is misinterpreted time and time again. But a certain guy named Kazehaya, cheerful, popular, and sporting, is not fooled by appearances. He calls her by her true name. He supports her, little by little. He guides her. And, starting from there, her world begins to transform.

The seasons change, their bond is tested, nature surrounds them and echoes what is in their hearts, and she gradually discovers many things she couldn’t even conceive of before. Friendships, joys, sorrows, a place in the world, and Kazehaya, too. There is a chance, now, that her feelings may come across. And Kazehaya is the first step, the destiny, and the gate.

So, what is the Church of Christ? First and foremost, it is a loving bond with Jesus Christ, a real, human and divine person with a physical body, and to His Father, of Whom He speaks which such passion, and the Holy Spirit. Someone who lives, who longs for us to know Him, to open new worlds to us, without whom we will always be incomplete. He is the light, we are vitrals: He will make us shine with our true shape, our true, unique colors. Sawako always shone, but never so much.

Like her, like the characters of the Bible and the Gospel, each of us is called, one at a time, visibly or invisibly, by his or her real name, not the one of the world of appearances, and it is the name of a child of God, and full of life. When we follow Christ, He makes us courageous. He makes us grow. He fights to get us to go forward. He makes us able to truly love, to bond with others. Jesus of Nazareth is the Word of God, the key, the truer, deeper, loving meaning of all that has been created, of every human being. And each one of us, personally but also in communion with others, is his Church, when chosen by Him, when united to Him, when walking to finally reach Him and letting Him finally reach each of us, through all History and Creation. And in being with Him, there is life, everlasting life.

But, even if it is still in us, we do not live in Eden. There was a fall. The world changed. And so…

Futaba Yoshioka and Her Seven Demons

In a moment of cowardice, Futaba loudly denied her newly found love for her classmate Kou Mabuchi. Unexpectedly, he heard her. So it begins.

Ao Haru Ride (Blue Spring Ride) is similar to Kimi to Todoke in some aspects (and has an episode-by-episode analysis by Twwk here), but there is a key difference. Futaba’s misfortune was not brought about by her appearance, but due to her being inauthentic and cowardly out of fear of being alone, or rejected. Kou Mabuchi, returned after a few years of unexplained absence, knows Futaba from the old days. Superficial friendships, cowardly stances, artificial laughs, boyish behaviors planned so she won’t stand out, a deep solitude, a kind of slow self-destruction—he sees through it all. He knows that she has lost herself, that she is longing for something different. So he attacks with words, with acts that point beyond. It hurts, a lot. But something about him says that he is doing it in the name of something truer, that he could guide her there, and that he is no stranger to pain and sorrow…

…which, in my view, doesn’t excuse the disconcerting, nosy, and sometimes cruel behavior Kou often displays towards her (I don´t like this one as much as Kimi ni Todoke). But, to the allegory. After the book of Genesis there is the book of Exodus, the flight. Like Futaba, we are all lying, distorted, trapped from the inside, often unknowingly. As Sarah in the Book of Tobit, as Israel in Egypt or Babylon, as Mary Magdalene in the Gospel, we are oppressed by evils, personal, social or even the supernatural, that often control or manipulate us, that enslave us. The natural development of the deeply ingrained evil is suffering and self-destruction when its inner truth arises. And Christ is the one who knows us and will fight to free us, to open a path, and the Man of Sorrows, who not only bears unbearable suffering but knows our personal suffering, the suffering of each one of us.

In a moment of cowardice, Peter loudly denied knowing Christ, who he had confessed to be the Son of God, who had chosen Him, whom he loved. And like Kou with Futaba, He heard Peter, too. But Peter repented, and Christ had a path for him, a path with others. Futaba, motivated by Kou’s words and deeds, abandons the world of lies and starting anew with a group of misfits, people who cannot advance, who perceive themselves or are perceived by others as failures or phonies. It becomes quite literal when they get lost in the forest during a competition. The Church is, likewise, a scattered group who flee from Christ´s cross, as He had prophesied, but is then brought together again. Founded upon Christ´s love, following His words of eternal life, we are still sinners, ambitious, clumsy, cowards. The old Israel thought that, by perfectly observing the Law, it could fulfill the alliance and bring God´s favor upon itself, but kept betraying Him, even if they sometimes managed to hide it behind a facade.

But Christ made clear that He came not for the healthy, but for the sick, the evil, the cowards, those traitors. Peter, the Apostles, and the disciples were chosen not because they had somehow merited it, but because they trusted Him and followed Him, even if stumbling along the way. He would made them able to triumph. Love is radical, and as we are transformed by it, love increasingly needs us to fight whatever denies it within us. It is by no means an easy battle, and Ao Haru Ride knows that. Christ is prophesied champion against the Serpent of Eden, Satan, the Adversary, the fallen angel who tempts us, and against the evil whose maximum he represents. He begins His mission by confronting him in the desert, and fights evil, forgiving sins and expelling demons, one after another, and finally prevailing over them by perfect obedience and love, onn the Cross and in the resurrection.

And His fight goes on. He wants us to have part in His death and His resurrection, from baptism to a death in Christ and beyond. He is the Savior, and the Church is his Noah’s Ark, His people of Israel escaping Egypt through the Red Sea, His plan of salvation for everyone who accepts His personal call and jumps inside to escape self-destruction and death together. He is the lover who needs the loved one to trust Him, and to fight, and will be there to help. Against the entire world, against death, against everything. The plan of salvation won’t work without that kind of love.

When they join the group, Kou lets Futaba do most of the teamwork. He… has his reasons. During His mission, Christ gave Peter and the rest of his disciples the power to expel demons, to forgive sins, to baptize, to teach, and sent them. Not because He, the Almighty, needed them, but to help them, to help human beings through the cooperation of human beings who became closer to God this way. He still does that now. He also gave them the treasures of His love, which they keep. His Sacraments, His miracles, His Gospel and His teachings, all signs and acts of His love, are preserved in the Church, a house build in rock against which the gates of Hell shall never prevail. He will be with us every day, until the end of the world, if there is the slightest bit of hope that we may accept His hand, acting, saving. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but His words will never pass away.

Christ has pleaded in prayer for Simon Peter, that messy, loud self-confessed sinner, that his faith should not fail, so when he has repented, he will strengthen his brothers, feed Christ’s sheep. Peter, who reacted with undue violence (Futaba may need to confront old friends in the name of justice, but it is her own cowardice what she is mainly fighting against) and then denied Christ, will be able to disavow the Sanhedrin and Caiphas, preside over the martyr Church, and die on a cross for Christ and others, to go where he doesn’t want to go right now, and teach others to do the same. All because Christ loves him, and he loves Christ, and that love is fighting and growing. And the messy, loud, cowardly Futaba will also be able to face her demons, and face challenges, darkness and suffering beyond everything she had imagined, to tell the truth, to save others.

Do not be fooled by my criticisms: Futaba is a wonderful, relatable, inspiring character. She keeps the fight. Kou is very lucky. In this fallen world, every relationship, every bond, every friendship, every marriage, demands us to keep the fight. Human love, being made by God, reflects a ray of His own light, a ray that makes us hope and moves us to action. Likewise, the Church of Christ fights on this Earth, fulfilling the command of Christ to Peter and the Apostles, and those who came after them, teaching the Gospel and giving the Eucharist, bringing Christ´s love to our hearts. We, the group of misfits and sinners, keep assisting each other on the way, doing better or doing worse, knowing that He also works outside her visible frontiers, fighting to reach all human hearts. This is the Militant Church, which Christ will never abandon, in perpetual combat against her own evil, my own evil, and against the powers that enslave us, that enslave me, armed with the most powerful force there is—Christ´s love, Christ´s truth, Christ´s own hope. That is her source, her life and her destiny. And so she fights. And so I fight.

But what’s on the other side of the forest? What has it to do with the Divine Comedy? What is Tohru Honda doing at the top? Those are all questions for the next time. So, for now, take care, and Happy Easter!

=====

Kimi ni Todoke and Ao Haru Ride can be streamed in Crunchyroll.

Anime Tag Game

I was tagged by @roxi4, thank you so much!! :D This was a lot of fun though some questions got me thinking really hard lol

1. Last anime you watched?

It’s a new anime movie on Netflix called A Whisker Away (or Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu), it was really cute, funny and touching!

2. Last anime you binged watched?

Beastars. I was a little reluctant to start watching it but once I started I couldn’t stop lol

3. Recommend an anime and state your reason?

CAROLE & TUESDAY

This anime has everything: cute moments, funny moments, serious topics and a bit of angst. It’s about two girls trying to find their place in the new world they live in, Mars, which is where some part of humanity went because of the decaying state of Earth. They both have their struggles, their stories, but what unite them is music. The show is centered on them trying to make their debut in the music industry on Mars, and wow is the music amazing in this anime! All the songs are in English (except one in French) which was a real surprise for a Japanese anime, but it suits the characters perfectly! Totally recommend giving it a try!

4. Anime you have not finished watching yet?

I have a few lol, though right now I can’t remember which one and MAL decided to not work right when I’m doing this akjld

5. An anime you do NOT recommend and state your reason?

Okay, so before I go into this, just know one thing: I love Tokyo Ghoul. I really do, but I love the original story, the manga.

Concerning the anime: the first season was okay, they deleted a few things which I found was a shame, but it wasn’t bad.  But Tokyo Ghoul √A... It was a complete disaster and ruined the story and the characters (especially Kaneki ugh) imo. It makes things so confusing if you want to watch Tokyo Ghoul:re afterwards too!

So yeah, if you want to give Tokyo Ghoul a try, honestly I wouldn’t recommend Tokyo Ghoul √A at all. Read the manga, read a synopsis of this part of the story online if you want to watch the rest of the anime, but not this season.

6. List your top 5 favourite anime?

Oh boi I never know... I haven’t watched that much anime tbh (I prefer reading manga) and not as many caught my attention to the point that I can call them ‘favourite’, but I’ll try...

Shingeki no Kyojin

Sword Art Online (I know what most people think of this anime but I don’t care. It’s a flawed show but I love it nonetheless. I’m a simple person)

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (they’re going to make a new adaptation soon I can’t wait!!!)

Fruits Basket 2019 (the anime hasn’t finished airing yet but it’s one of my favorite manga and the new adaptation is amazing!)

7. Of your top 5 anime, list 2 of your favourite ships from each show?

Snk: Ereri (duh!) and um... I have several other ships I enjoy but none stand out more than another honestly :/

SAO: Kirito x Eugeo (my second OTP, love them!!) and that’s it lol

Fate: Shiro x Rin

Higurashi: Keiichi x Rena

Furuba: Kyo x Tohru and Kureno x Arisa

8. Of your top 5 anime, list 1 ship that you do not like?

I haven’t said that one a lot because I’m not about spreading hate, and unless someone asks me I see no point in talking about it. Only my friends knew to this point... Eru**ri. Like just... No.

9. Of your top 5 anime, list 1 crack ship?

Ajdkdj I don’t know?? I’m not a big shipper usually, SnK is an exception, and I don’t think any can be called a crack ship lol 

10. Of your top 5 anime, list your favourite character from each show?

Levi Ackerman (SnK)

Kirito (SAO)

Oh damn... Rin or Archer I guess lol (Fate)

Rena <3 (Higurashi)

Kyo Soma (Furuba)

11. List 3 of your husbando/waifu and what anime they are from?

Levi (SnK) - my #1 and the man who owns my heart

Kirito (SAO)

Gavin/Haku (Koi to Producer : Evol x Love) -  I’m totally cheating with that one because the anime hasn’t aired yet lol but it’s from a game that I’ve been playing every day for almost a year now and this man is definitely 100% my husbando, can’t wait to see him animated!! (Haku is his Japanese name apparently but in the English version of the game he’s called Gavin)

12. Favourite anime genre?

Damn, again, I have no idea lol. I guess I like it when there’s not too much drama and not too much humor, like just the right amount of both? Then I like when there’s a touch of fantasy, or if it’s an Isekai. It’s easier for me to say which genre I don’t like tbh lol

13. Weirdest anime you have seen?

Weirdest? Hmm... Let’s go with Shinsekai Yori (From the New World) Honestly I liked that anime, some parts were total genius like holy damn! But when I started watching it I was so confused and kept asking myself “what am I watching? What’s going on?” but I kept watching it nonetheless because I was so curious :’) It isn’t a bad kind of weird, but some parts really grossed me out, like.. The rats... *shivers*

14. Subbed or dubbed?

Subbed, always!!

15. Fanart or Fanfic?

I only read fanfics for Snk tbh (once upon a time I was reading Naruto fics lol), so let’s say Fanart (tho I like both)

16. Protagonist or antagonist?

Depends on the character and the story, but mostly protagonist

17. Funniest anime you have seen?

I haven’t watched a lot of comedy anime, so I’ll go with Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO)

18. Saddest anime you have seen?

Oh boi... I have a few for which I cried my eyes out honestly...

First: Uta Kata. I’ll never forget how fucking depressed I felt at the end of this anime. I watched it in middle school and the ending got to me so hard, I still remember how I felt even after all this time (I wonder how I’ll feel if I rewatched it now?)

Then there’s also Clannad, I was crying my eyes out for several episodes in the After Story, and since Roxi mentioned it, AnoHana. 

19. Anime character you dislike the most?

Okay, easy one. No matter how many times I see him, no matter in which version because somehow he’s like a cockroach and can’t stay in one fucking anime, I always feel like putting my hands inside my computer and strangle him: Mato Shinji.

It’s insane how he was voiced by the same seiyuu who gave his voice to my favorite character of all times! It blew my mind when I realized that; Kamiya Hiroshi sure is an amazing voice actor!

20. Recommend an anime movie?

I highly recommend the first movie I talked about, A Whisker Away, but that’s not the one I want to recommend now though.

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (or Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou)

This movie is just simply amazing and beautiful, though I must warn you that the plot is quite angsty. Like I definitely cried at the end of that movie too. It’s set in a fantasy world, and... okay I suck at summary so let me just copy/paste one:

“Though only 15, Maquia knows she will live for centuries without aging past adolescence. She belongs to the Iorph, a clan of ageless beings just like her. Maquia's elders warn her not to fall in love with anyone outside their realm, lest she wish to encounter true loneliness in the end. But fate pushes Maquia out into the mortal world one night, when an invading territory separates her from the clan. There she discovers an orphaned baby, Ariel, and takes him in as her own child. From this point, Maquia will suffer extreme heartbreak in the name of motherhood, as she watches Ariel grow and seeks to reconnect with her lost Iorph friends, all torn apart by the cruel world of Mesate.” 

100% recommend it if you’re not afraid of drama and like fantasy!!

------

Damn that was a long tag game!! Sorry, I ramble a lot :’)

I tag: @talkereritome, @dearlevily, @soapy0-0, @jaegerists, @flamoria, and anybody else who wants to do this! It’s a long one so only do it if you’re up to the challenge ;)

I've loved cottagecore & goblincore since I knew how to read. I absolutely adore the feel of it and it's comfy vibes.

Here are some quick lil room decorations I just thought of and I think are good enough to share ^^

~ instead if hanging dried herbs and flowers on your walls, just secure some chicken wire to your ceiling and hang whatever you wish. This is good for hanging windchimes, paper butterflies, origami, and dried plants- you can hang anything if you secure the chicken wire tight enough. GO HANG THOSE PAINTED ROCKS!

~ theres a lovely site in which you search any plant that is to you're fancy and it'll come up with many vintage illustrations and journal entries staring that very plant (this includes fungi♡)

~ this one might be fairly obvious, but if you feel bad about throwing away/recycling cans (I feel ya buddy ), you can just through in some herb seeds

~ of course with soil- and now you have a cute little planter. This also works for repotting a plant if your can is big enough. (And if you dont like the label, just pour some hot water over it and remove it!)

~ personally, I believe hanging wicker baskets on walls looks absolutely darling!

~ on the note of baskets, if you feel your basket is a little bland or has any injuries(it's okay, it happens ^^), a little lace or ribbon goes a long way. You can use sturdy ribbon or any old fabric (curtains, sheets, blankets, etc.. really anything you dont use anymors) and make straps to use as a backpack or purse! '^'

~ if you can't afford any glass bottles or just dont have any, plastic bottles look just as good! And they work all the same (this might be a better option than the glass because it's cheap, common, and upcycling).

~ CITRUS FRUITS AS JEWELRY. Do with it as you wish

~ some cottagecore shows are over the garden wall, moominvalley, many studio ghibli, adventure time in certain circumstance, coraline, the girl from the other side ( apparently theres an anime of it coming out??), clannad (once again, in certain circumstances), Matilda, little women, the secret garden, call me by your name, Anne of green gables, Anne with an E, lord of the rings, Emma, my girl, the sound of music, fantastic mr. Fox, in this corner of the world, the little prince, anything sherlock, and Bob Ross =].

~ you can use popsicle sticks to make a mini ladder to hang jewelry or herbs.

~ buy your own clay and make your own teacups or mugs. This one takes a lot of dedication and effort to make sure your cups are safe to hold liquid and ice and to drink from, but if your willing to put that time in, it can come out as a beautiful, warm, homey craft! ^^

~ dont forget to use dried gords and pumpkin as decor! They may be big and not wall material, but they definitely fill windowsill space and give your plants some cute company.

~ there are these absolutely precious soil moisture meters from a brand called GardenBasix. I got a frog one from on of my local nurseries, but you can find bird versions on amazon. They'll either croak or chirp, depending on what you get, every thirty seconds when the soil is dry. They have very easy to change out batteries, a long meter for any sized pot, very lound tones, and have light sensors so they wont go off at night.

~ this isnt my trick, I just stumbled upon it one day, but if you take a wet rage and wipe the dust off you're plants leaves and run them down with a banana peel, they get a gloss and clean look, ready for photoshoots!

~ along with this, if you sprinkle cedar wood-pencil shavings- it keeps away any nasty bugs who wish to snack on your plant.

~ you can hang wax seals along your wall by melting the wax onto twine. If you dont have the professional tools, all you need to do is scrape candle wax from your candles or candle holders and melt them over the/a candle in a spoon, you can either use anything that can make an indent on the wax or you can put some of those reoccurring dried herbs in the wax.

That's all from me for now! I hope these weren't too obvious or vague and were helpful, even in the slightest :)

Love you all

I'll see you later

♡

I volunteer as tribute for non-drama asks. Hmm... a random thought that I might delve into later, if you could imagine any of the brothers + undateables in another anime/game/fictional genre, where would you place them? Example, Satan in a slice of life where he just goes to libraries and pets cats.

This sounds fun! I might not do a good job but it’ll be worth a shot.

Lucifer - I don't know why but I love imagining Lucifer in Castlevania. I don’t know why. He just seems like he'll fit right in! This is totally not because I like the idea of Lucifer torturing his enemies with a whip.

Mammon - Mammon would totally be in a Wario game, the Wario World games in particular. Since the games are about getting as much money as possible and the lengths Wario is willing to go to get them, Mammon would fit right in.

Leviathan - I want this guy in Lucky Star! Imagine this guy in Lucky Star! That anime is just handmade for this beautiful dork! Konata will make him feel right at home!

Satan - This is one is gonna be kinda hard since he's like Lucifer but he's not like Lucifer? I'll put him in Sherlock Holmes or anything like it since he really loves detective stuff. Let the dork have fun!

Asmodeus - I knew right away that I'm putting this fucker in Interspecies Reviewers! I think we all know why~

Beelzebub - Our boi over here needs something wholesome and full of food! And just for that, I'll put him in Sweetness and Lightning! Just imagine our guy looking after a kid. Ah, I'm dying!

Belphegor - I’m putting this yandere fucker in Death Note. He’s going to eradicate the entire human race with that thing. At least until someone pulls a reverse UNO card on him.

Diavolo - Imagine this guy taking Asgore’s place in Undertale. Imagine an alternate version of the game where he’s trying to bring the two worlds together. Imagine playing the Genocide Route and soiling his plans. Imagine fighting Diavolo in Undertale. Just imagine...

Barbatos - I think some of you can agree that this dude fits right in with Black Butler. He’s like a nicer version of Sebastian. Yet again, we don’t really know much about Barbatos, do we? Hmm...

Solomon - I’d also put him in Death Note to be perfectly honest but I’ll put him somewhere else for variety sake. I imagine him in Spirited Away for some reason. But I don’t know whether he’ll take Haku’s place or Lin’s. Simeon - This fucker was made for the romance genre. He is the perfect love interest! I like to imagine him as a character in Clannad. It’s perfect for him.

Luke - I thought about this kid being a Pokemon Trainer and how I can’t stop. I don’t think he’d be too into battles though and he may have a bias against certain types but otherwise, he doesn’t discriminate.

Hi! First time here to ask haha! Any HCs for La squadra with an Otaku s/o? Like she watches anime and even buys merch in secret cuz she's scared they might find her hobby lame and immature? (Also,what will be their fave anime? And genre?)

Oh boy let me tell you I have some THOUGHTS about these boys and their taste in anime

La Squadra with an Otaku s/o

Risotto 

at first he’s gonna be kinda confused, not gonna lie. Growing up the only ‘anime’ he knew was like, Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z but at that point he was too old to really get into Pokemon, and he never considered DBZ anime because it aired next to cartoons and stuff.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate s/o and their good taste. He’s the kind of guy who wants to learn about what interests the people he loves, and he loves you. So he’d honestly enjoy late nights spent binge watching your favorites.

Comes to realize that DBZ was low key his gym goals for the early years of him working out. If you bought him a ‘Swole like Goku’ tank he’d probably wear it to lift in, ngl.

Knowing your favorites he’d probably look to merch for his go to birthday or Christmas gifts. Considering the hobbies and interests of some of his co-workers, a scantily clad waifu figure is honestly a welcome change of pace.

Depending on the style or aesthetic of the anime (ie, is it goth) he would be down to couples cosplay, although he wouldn’t be comfortable with you posting pictures of his face or any identifiable features of him online

His fave is probably the original Dragon Ball Run, followed very closely by DBZ for the nostalgia bit. Something deep like Full Metal Alchemist (Brotherhood and the original) would also appeal to him

Is also a big fan of Beserk, disappointed by the anime. And Vinland Saga, not disappointed by the anime.

Partial to Princess Mononoke as well. He likes some Ghibli films, isn’t afraid to admit it. Thinks the score for Spirited Away is bomb af.

Prosciutto

Prosciutto doesn’t really get it at first either. Honestly? He probably didn’t know the difference between cartoon and anime until you explained it to him.

Unlike Risotto he might be a bit more judgey if you try to get him to watch some with you. So you gotta hit him with the real classics. 

But similarly to Risotto, he at least makes an effort to try and indulge in the things you like. He might not be as patient, but he tries.

Probably wouldn’t do cosplay himself, but would hunt down exclusive seasonal merch to gift you. He’d take careful stock of your collections and do some research to pick out only the finest figurines and posters for you.

Would buy that hella expensive premium bandai apparel for you too, might even pick something subtle up for himself if he really liked the show it came from.

Also back on the cosplay note, if you agreed he’d find the highest quality cosplay possible and have you model some of his favorites for him.

(In particular if you were comfortable in fem clothing, Faye Valentine gets him going)

He loves Cowboy Beebop. 100%, wants to watch it again as soon as it ends. Everything from the characters to the story to the music and the fliud animation that has aged like fine wine appeals to him. Prosciutto is a man who likes the finer things in life. He oozes class. Cowboy Beebop oozes class and prestige.

Also likes Maasaki Yuasa. It was his idea to go see The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl in theaters.

In general his tastes tend to lean towards arthouse type anime or bona fide classics.

Pesci

Pesci knows anime and has been doing his absolute best to keep it a secret from the rest of the gang because they already tease him enough.

He’s one of those secret weebs, you gotta know where to look. Your best bet is to look at his accessories. Is there a watch with a certain symbol from an anime you recognize? A lanyard with a familiar print? Something subtle that isn’t immediately noticed by people not looking for it.

He has a secret box in his room full of blue rays from his faves. He watches them sometimes when he’s home alone. There’s nothing X rated in there obviously, he just doesn’t want people to know.

Thank god he has you.

The two of you probably bonded pretty fast over your mutual love of anime. Hell, you being such an open and proud Otaku probably gave him a bit of confidence in expressing his interests too.

Yall are the weeb couple. Yall definitely go to conventions together. Couples Cosplays, the whole thing.

He’s a sucker for Shonen just as much as he is for the really good heart wrenching painful ones. 

He watches Boruto because he loves Naruto so much.

He would also tear up at Clannad.

Dango Daikazoku triggers almost a pavlovian response of heart ache.

So does Secret Base.

Ano Hana is probably his favorite, although even you’d need to pry it out of him. Its one thing that Prosciutto gives him shit for liking anime, its a whole different ball game if he found out Pesci liked girly anime

Fromaggio

He knows what hentai is. That’s about as far as his knowledge went before yall got together.

He thinks its pretty interesting though, so he’d be down to watch some with you.

Turns out he really likes action shonen. He got really, really into One Piece. Like, instantly. He likes the fact there’s so much to watch/read before he’s caught up too.

Another boy that would couples cosplay and be really into it. Especially if it continued into the bedroom.

He’s pretty go with the flow, so he isn’t picky about what y’all watch. Even if it isn’t his cup of tea he’ll sit through a few episodes on a night with you.

Fromaggio can’t tell the difference between a high quality figure and a shitty one. Its a crap shoot what he buys for you. Its more a process of ‘oh, so likes this character’ rather than checking the seams and paint quality and how dynamic the pose is/interchangeable parts. 

Definitely buys way too much in the dealers room because of this.

He tries his best.

His fave is probably One Piece, liked bleach a lot but never read the manga, Yu Yu Hakusho is another one he really enjoyed. The Dark Tournament arc had him at the edge of his seat and hype as shit.

Illuso

Had a passing knowledge of anime before dating you. Knew what it was, saw a few of the mainstream ones, thought they were enjoyable, moved on with his life.

Your dedicated interest in anime would surprise him at first, because he always figured it was kind of a niche thing.

Would snoop around your collection of manga/figures/plushes in the mirror world while you sleep.

Winds up reading a lot of your manga like that (he’s good at reading in reverse because of his stand)

He finds he appreciates the art style of 80s-90s manga a lot more than he does the modern stuff. He really got into Ranma 1/2 and thinks Rumiko Takahashi’s artstyle is excellent.

If you asked him to watch Inuyasha with you he wouldn’t say no.

Probably wouldn’t want to do couples cosplay, but he definitely has an appreciation for you in cosplay.

You could talk him into going to a con if you caught him in the right mood. It’d be a hard sell though.

Has a surprising enjoyment for J-Rock. 

Inuyasha is high on his favorites list, as is Ranma 1/2. Also a fan of Ghibli movies although its pulling teeth to get him to admit it.

Melone

This man has watched so much hentai in his life.

He probably actually knows them by title honestly.

He enjoys anime too, and is not ashamed unlike Pesci. Everyone already knows he has unconventional tastes there is nothing to hide here.

Melone enjoys traditionally feminine anime, especially Sailor Moon. That one has a special place in his heart as he has memories of his sister watching it with him when he was much younger.

Its more of a decompress thing than anything else, so he doesn't tend to favor heavy anime with dense plot and more mature subject matter.

He likes Maid Costumes. On you, on him, it doesn’t matter.

Doesn’t know a whole lot about merch and what makes something higher quality but he learns fast. Between you and him the Dealers Room at cons won’t know what hit them.

Is the type to preorder a figure he knows you’d like. And maybe one for him.

Buy him this and he’s putty in your hands for a month straight (SFW don’t worry) https://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Sailor-Moonlight-Memory-Locket/dp/B00UA9XB48

Sailor Moon is his favorite as I’ve said before, his favorite sailor scout is Rei. Is also a fan of Ano Hana, Violet Evergarden, and Toradora although he needs to be in the right mood to watch them.

Ghiaccio

He went down the Fate rabbit hole and we haven’t seen him since.

The gender bending grates as his soul but he is addicted regardless. There’s just so much dense lore that he can’t seem to stop going.

But also seeing how much care and attention is paid to the historical background of a lot of the servants is intriguing to him. Its the perfect blend of accurate and harem trash that infuriates him but also leaves him needing to know more.

He hasn’t played every game but he has Grand Order on his phone and has sunk an ungodly amount of money into the gacha trying to get his favorite (Its Jeanne Alter, in case anyone was wondering) and has seen all the anime (His favorite is the cooking spin off because its surprisingly calming to watch)

Fate Zero is probably his favorite ‘serious’ Fate adaptation. He enjoys the gravitas of the Holy Grail Wars (and hates how it was tossed out the fucking window in UBW/Stay Night/Heavens Feel) and the ritual aspect to the summoning and foreshadowing of future events as well as hints at a deeper magical lore in the universe hit all the right spots in his lizard brain.

The fact every fate anime has a different version of Saber (or a Saber Clone) pisses him off too.

He really loves Fate. And will scream about it for hours at you.

Getting him to watch or talk about anything else is like pulling teeth but he eventually relents because he loves you.

Its difficult to get through a single episode without him grumbling about something or another, but he tries once he sees its important to you. He does his best not to outright insult your favorite anime.

Can appreciate high quality merch as well, probably collects Jalter Figures himself.

If you’re comfortable in fem clothing, Cosplay Jalter for him and he will literally ascend then and there. Keeps pics on his phone. Would probably make it his background. He’s weak

Outside of Fate he finds he enjoys high fantasy shows. Historical fantasy pisses him off too much, and straight up historical drama would also have him grasping for inaccuracies.

Full Metal Alchemist is a non-fate series that he really loves because of the world building. The movie Maquia was one he enjoyed as well. Likes every Miyazaki film, don’t tell anyone. Cried (and raged) when Ushio died in Clannad.

In general he just likes really good world building. It has to be good otherwise he’s going to spend the whole time picking it apart.

Tales of Crestoria Part 3 - Growing from Mistakes (Ch 3-5)

Anyway, about time Kanata and Misella got captured by Aegis and Leon? Haha. As for Aegis' close relationship with Queen Rebecca? Nope, that's just spelling disaster man. Aegis is probably as naive as Kanata if he thinks that this is okay, because even if he knows so, people don't, and it doesn't help that the Queen personally visits him a lot. He's pretty silly and innocent to think that him being her confidant is okay when she's supposed to have the king and many other people to rely on. It definitely doesn't help that she does all this so publicly. Btw, since we haven't seen Leon much, and this was probably the first time I heard him talk so much, I finally confirmed that his VA is definitely Midorikawa Hikaru! Tamahome (Fushigi Yuugi) brings back all my memories! I also loved him as Yoshino Yuusuke (Clannad), yes, he is one of my favourite VAs too, so I'm glad I have his SSR! Anyway, I'm not sure why he's so adamant on capturing Vicious since it doesn't seem like a justice thing like it is for Aegis but I do appreciate how kind Leon is to be concerned over Aegis and want to watch out for him.

 LMAO at the prisoners feeling like they're being disrespected because Kanata and Misella kept talking and ignoring them, and then when they do talk to them, Kanata says nice to meet you like they're at a party or something hahahah. Nice to see that Rebecca isn't just a damsel in distress and actually has been actively finding a way to escape from the kingdom. Not surprised though, she's young, kind and beautiful, whereas the king is so old and definitely evil lol. I feel sorry for her that she got dragged into becoming queen just because the king loved her beauty. Like dang though, she was a rural farm girl and he was able to find her? That would suck. Or I wonder if he goes around looking for beautiful women lol. Okay, he does lol, he even finds beautiful men, eugh. It's nice to know that Rebecca was once pretty naive though and thought that everything would be like a dream come true since the king proposed to her, and it was only after she married him that she realised how crappy her life could become. To be fair though, at least she's still in his good favours as a queen and didn't get demoted into servant or something after he finished playing with her. I guess her maintaining her beauty helped lol. I feel sorry for Rebecca, I really wanted her to live even if she was kinda delusional and hopeful that Aegis loved her. Kinda silly how the king could appear so suddenly in the sewers though, like how did he catch up to them so fast and how did they not notice lol. Anyway, I feel sorry for Aegis the most. He didn't even kill anyone but he's been framed for trying to elope with Rebecca and then killing her when she became a liability. At least for Kanata, he really did kill his father. In this case, Aegis is completely innocent. He's such a kind and righteous soul that wanted the best for his kingdom too. It's so saddening. Leon to the rescue! I'm happy that Leon prioritises Aegis over disgust at having to ally with Vicious since he seems to hold a grudge against him or something. It seems like Leon is really strong! Ooh, Yuna saves the day with her boat? Good to know she's the informant that Vicious frequently deals with. Her manner of speaking is interesting yet annoying though lol. Anyway, kinda cool that this Ivis person was able to create the Nation of Sin whilst forming a barrier that protects it from the outside world, and even preventing people without the Stain of Guilt from being able to enter the place or even see it. It seems like they really wanted to create a safe haven for all these people. It's funny that Vicious calls it a boring place, but I guess it's understandable lol, in any case though, I'm not surprised it's a boring and peaceful place. With all the chaos that comes with being a transgressor, what makes Vicious think they'd be crazy here? Lol. I mean, if they were, I'm sure they'd get kicked out lol.

Lmao, even though Aegis is getting kinda annoying with the transgressor this and transgressor that (his situation is understandable though, so I don't really blame him), I love how Kanata just drags him along, and Vicious just wants Aegis to remember that he is a transgressor now too lol. It was heartbreaking when Aegis finally kinda opened up and talked about how his parents were poor but did their best to fulfill his dream of becoming a knight, so in order to repay them, he worked hard to become a righteous knight, yet that all backfired on him when he lost everything and he's even being helped by the people he stubbornly believed to be the worst and has even become one of them, it's just pretty depressing. It was nice to see that the warmth of the transgressors' stew really got to Aegis. I'm happy to see Aegis fight for these defenceless transgressors that are getting massacred by the little girl (who is the culmination of the thoughts of condemnation etc) and her army of enforcers. I'm kinda surprised all the transgressors died though, like, did no one think it was possible that they might get attacked one day and prepared for that? I doubt not having a blood sin is an excuse too, since Aegis fended at least some of them off without it. Oh well, at least the little furry creature survived hahaha. Maybe we'll get an SSR version of the furry thing one day if it evolves into something strong🤣 I guess it's good that they've resolved themselves to fight against the world and the vision orbs instead of just hiding away now though. Lmao at Misella naming the little creature after meat, I guess Meakyu is a kindaaaa cute name.

Omggg it's Luke!! I love him. He's so spoiled and whiny, but it's hilarious. Lmaooo when Luke said Misella should sell her dress so that they would have money to hire a carriage and Kanata said if they sell it, she'd be naked and that would be awesome LOL. Priorities, Kanata. Omgg, I didn't expect them to have Luke once again make an irrevocable mistake that would cause innocent people and their town to be destroyed... But, like Vicious said, the biggest problem lies with the Senegal guy who knew what kind of guy Luke was and lied to him that the "monster" needed to be defeated when it was actually keeping the mountain intact and safe with its' mana. Wow, Senegal is so ruthlessly cruel... I can't believe he even killed the Southvein people who were able to evacuate from the landslide and survive. Not too surprising since they interfered with his mining but still crazy. Even more crazy that his fabricated lie is that he had no choice but to decimate the town because he sent Luke as a peace envoy and Luke ended up killing one of the residents in self defence (due to their hatred of Northmine people), like excuse you?? Is no one going to investigate the landslide and other stuff? Or are they so powerful that they can block people from going there? Btw, so nice to see Jade!! I guess the reason why Misella has been thinking that Kanata isn't really "Kanata-like" is because instead of advocating for his sort of belief in justice, he is now instead taking things into his own hands to punish others that he thinks "deserves" it. Not saying he's wrong since people like Senegal probably do deserve it, but in a sense, it just kinda becomes the idea that instead of the vision orbs doing the condemnations, now Kanata is doing them, and really, is this how justice is supposed to be, and really, can they save the world like this? Since really, because of their belief in their own views, they ended up killing the guardian spirit of the mountain to save Luke, like yeah, they had "no choice", but was it really like that, or did they just not think of other methods to prevent stuff like this from happening? Have they kinda become used to the idea that they should just solve everything with the violence and condemnation that they were dealt with?

I'm kinda happy to see that everyone is helping out Luke in wanting him to find his own path after the sins he committed, causing so many deaths even if he didn't intend it. Aegis is right, Luke's higher position makes him even more responsible for his lack of knowledge and his naivety, so it would be nice for him to face his sins and grow as a person. Well, I guess rather than it being something nice, he really needs to grow up and understand that his decisions can really change lives. But, I think that with Jade and Asbel there to guide him, he'll be good as long as he tries. Lmao at their great idea of earning money, I'm not sure if Kanata, Misella and Aegis could win prize money as a theatre troupe lol. It's funny how Misella thought Aegis wanted her spot as the heroine when they haven't even decided on what to do lol. Penelope must be dying from how bad Kanata and them are loll, although she does seem to be literally dying too. Anyway, nice to see that Yuna vows to not use her vision orb and instead tries her best to uncover all the facts and the whole story (as the journalist she is) with all the evidence she can gather to piece everything together rather than relying on a vision orb to do things when it only shows one side of things. 

On the other hand, it's nice to see that Kanata and them have realised the existence of the crazy researcher Malcolm experimenting placing human souls in monsters and the other way around. It seems that he was the one who made Emil share his body with Ratatosk now. I guess Kanata will definitely meet up with Cress again one day then (since Cress is adventuring with Mint, Emil/Ratatosk and Marta to prevent people like Cress' master and Emil's situation from happening again). Forgot to mention, but it was really cool seeing Lloyd and Colette! Well, it was kinda obvious that Penelope was dying, but it was nice to know that the reason Yuna is deterred from using her vision orb is kinda similar to Farah. Yuna used it on Penelope's mother to show her physically abusing Penelope as a child when she made mistakes in training to be the best actress, and although it's definitely terrible to allow something like that to go on, it's also true that Yuna hurt Penelope a lot by using the vision orb on her mother and having her condemned to death. As she said, there were definitely other ways to handle the situation, but because everyone from the moment they are born have been ingrained with the idea of the vision orb, everyone decides to solve their problems by using it instead of thinking about other ways. They probably think it's a hassle to deal with problems any other way when you can so easily record it and have other people help make the judgement on what to do instead of thinking for yourself on what other things you can do to rectify the situation. But yeah, I'm sure Penelope doesn't really blame Yuna, since really, her mum was abusive and Yuna wanted to protect her.

Omgg their pirate costumes are so cuteee! Especially Misella's! Love it! Meakyu's is pretty hilarious lolll. It was a pretty cool idea to pretend the pirate raid was actually their stage play that was a part of the festival. It wouldn't have been cool if the pirates were actually stronger than them though hahaha, but all's well ends well. It's pretty silly but funny how Vicious was the one who lured them all here to chase some made up treasure just because he wanted to steal a ship from the pirates lolll. He's so drastic, I love it. Awww, Patty and Chat are so cute~ I love how the townspeople dragged them away to treat them to food for their "good show" against the pirates haha. Honestly, I know Yuna meant well and everything by telling people that Penelope's performance sucked and that they should look forward to her next one instead because she knew how dissatisfied Penelope was with it and how much she would want to stand up again to rectify how bad this one was, but really, Yuna (and the party) are the only ones that know Penelope's true feelings. So really, it's hard for people to not dislike her for saying such "disrespectful" things about Penelope's "last performance" especially as a close friend. As for the condemnation towards her, really, it's just a bunch of petty people everywhere that don't like her journalist articles lol, but it is rather interesting that you can be condemned for something like this. It really shows how the importance doesn't lie in the gravity of the crime, the vision orb is just a depraved way of wish fulfillment for those who abuse it to get rid of people they don't like. I like how Vicious helped Yuna come to terms that what she said wasn't wrong, because she knew that praising her crappy performance was the biggest insult to Penelope, and really, these people have no right to condemn her for what she thinks just because they think that Penelope is dying so no one should say such things. They didn't even bother listening to why she said it and I'm sure they knew what she said was right anyway but were just too spiteful and self absorbed to care since it was their best "legitimate" opportunity to get rid of her. The only good thing out of all this is that for once, there were actually other people next to these crazy people that were trying to tell them that it was unreasonable and possibly a misunderstanding and that they shouldn't be too hasty to condemn Yuna like that, which is a first that I very welcomed. I mean, it honestly felt like these people used their brains for once compared to the villagers in the previous chapters. Maybe you could warrant it as the difference between countryside villages and city towns, but whatever it is, it's nice to see that the story is at least veering a bit away from "every person aside from the Tales characters are either dumb, crazy or evil". 

Anyway, nice end to the chapter as Kanata further resolves himself to change the world and Yuna will accompany them as their "pen" since "swords" can't resolve everything. The only sad part is that I used my gleamstones to draw but still couldn't get SSR Yuna, but at least I got an SSR Aegis loll. Overall, I do look forward to the next chapters and characters. I mean, Eizen (the guy who got annoyed at Vicious for using Aifread's name to lure the crappy pirates here) looked pretty cool and I would totally draw for him if he got an SSR. He'd probably fit in well with my team of beautiful boys LOL. He seemed like a best boy for some people, so I guess I'll look forward to if he'll have more appearances soon! Otherwise, I would like to see Tear, Natalia and Guy (outside of the recent event)!

At present, Summer Pockets it the latest visual novel from Key/Visual Arts. It's highly likely that you're familiar with their works. Everyone knows about Clannad and Angel Beats, but they have plenty of other good stories like Little Busters, Kanon, and Rewrite. They are a visual novel studio that and their work often gets adapted into anime and even manga. Some of which I watch the anime adaptation first. Currently, Summer Pockets does not have an adaptation. Since I already liked their older works, both their anime and visual novels, I figured I would check this out. The main character of Summer Pockets is Haira Takahara who had recently been suspended from school. He ended up going to an island after an invitation from his aunt Kyouko to go through his deceased grandmother's belongings. Another relative, Umi was invited over and it's not specified how she's related to the main character. At least, not right away. To his surprise, his aunt doesn't have him help right away and tells him to go explore the island. Most days, Kyouko just ends up doing the work herself, continuing to tell Hairi to just to whatever he wants. After the first few days, where he meets everyone, the player will have to choose where they'd like to go on the island. A character is displayed in the locations where you can interact with them. There are only four characters that have routes: Shiroha Naruse, Ao Sorakado, Tsumugi Wenders, and Kamome Kushime. Hairi and Shiroha start off on the wrong foot. It really doesn't help that they met at a pool at night while she was in her underwear. Then there's Ao, who happens to be really perverted and will read into anything that anyone says. Then there's the two innocent characters Tsumugi and Kamome. Tsumugi is a calm and honest girl who is searching for something she wants to do and Kamome is a mysterious girl always dragging a suitcase around with her. There are a couple other girls that cannot be dated: Shizuku Mizuori and Miki Nomura, Nomiki for short. Shizuku is always hanging around Tsumugi and she has some weird obsession with boobs. Nomiki is one of the island's Public Order Executives, protecting the island's morals daily. She dislikes seeing anyone in public shirtless. There does happen to be a guy on the island who likes to not wear a shirt: Ryouichi Mitani. He likes to take it off regardless of where he is. The other main male character is Tenzen Kanou, who has an unhealthy obsession with Table Tennis. While there are four main routes, there are some extras. When you're first introduced to Tenzen, you have the option of playing Table Tennis with him. You can choose to play more of it when you get further in the visual novel. There's also a Pokemon parody where you find monsters around the island and have them battle each other. Just some nice extra distractions. Overall, it's an okay amount of content right here, but you really only have to do the four main routes to unlock the true route. Key's other visual novels took me a lot longer so I don't feel like the game's current price tag is entirely justified. In a lot of their visual novels, once you complete the main routes, you unlock some kind of "after story" which functions as the game's true route which leads to the real ending. Their first visual novel, Kanon didn't have that. This only really became the norm when they released Clannad. It seems that they've continued to do so. This game has not one, but two true routes. You unlock the alka route when you complete the scenarios for Shiroha, Ao, Tsumugi, and Kamome. It shouldn't really be a spoiler to say that Shiroha is the true/canon ship since Key's visual novels usually make it clear which one is. As you go through this route, certain things start to become more clear, like why the game is called Summer Pockets and what some of the characters have been hiding from everyone. When you get to the true routes, the game turns into a kinetic visual novel. In other words, your choices don't matter. I'm not the biggest fan of those visual novels, but here I'm fine with it since the true routes are rewards for completing the main game. The alka route has choices to make, but the second true route, the pockets route doesn't have any choices at all. When it comes to Key's visual novels, they usually start off with a normal concept but as you get far enough, you'll find plenty of supernatural elements. Most of their visual novels have a route or two without from what I've seen. However, pretty much all of them have something supernatural about them. Then in the true route, there's usually some big secret, always something not possible in our world. So much happened in these routes and then this visual novel managed to do something that none of their others had done before. A lot of people that are familiar with their works know them to be sad, but I managed to make it through most of them without crying, I shed more than a few tears on the true routes in Summer Pockets. I try not to think about what happened because I don't want to start back up again. Even with all the sad endings, there's usually some kind of happy ending. However, Key isn't always the best at these. There's usually something that isn't clear or just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. In the case of Summer Pockets, it was just way too abrupt. I would've preferred that it keep going a bit longer and have a bit more detail on what happened with the characters at the end. Overall, it was a good story, even if it did steal elements from a lot of their past works: moving in with aunt like in Kanon, the family themes from Clannad, the setting from Air, the "this girl was in a coma the whole time" thing that BOTH Clannad and Kanon have done, etc. Even if they did steal from themselves, it still was a solid story and one of their saddest so far. It wasn't perfect though. While it did have plenty of well-written moments full of comedy or sadness, there were plenty of awkward moments as well. The story may have been good, but I do feel a bit cheated. I felt like Summer Pockets had less to offer in comparison to their other visual novels like Clannad and Little Busters. It wouldn't bother me so much if the game's price tag wasn't as high as it is so I'm glad I got it while it was on sale. I was a little disappointed that there were only four datable characters. Even their first visual novel, Kanon had more than that. It turns out there's an expansion that adds four more routes, so you can spend more time with Shizuku, Nomiki, an all new girl, and Umi. I expect Umi's to not be a romance route for more than one reason. The expansion was announced one year after the original came out in Japan... while the original was in the middle of getting localized. I really hope we can get the new stuff as DLC instead of having to buy it separately, but we're just not going to know until it comes out. It HAS been confirmed that Key plans on bringing that version to Steam though and considering most of their stuff on Steam has been released in English, we can probably expect the expansion to be in English as well. Despite feeling it was somewhat lacking in content (to be honest, the price tag is to blame for that), I enjoyed my time quite a bit with this visual novel. Now that I've completed the main story, I feel pretty sad that it's over. I do have the extra content to take care of, so I could get on that. I also look forward to whenever the expansion gets released in the west. There are plenty of things I liked about this visual novel: the sprite work was great and some of the girls were pretty adorable. The soundtrack has some of their most memorable songs, so lately I'm often hearing them in my head. There was some nice attention to detail too. Whenever you complete a girl's route, she disappears from the title screen. In the end, Summer Pockets was a great read and I'm hoping that this will get an anime adaptation at some point. After reading through, I can tell it would be a challenge to adapt but considering Little Busters happened, I wouldn't say it's impossible. If you're a fan of Key's stuff or love visual novels, I highly recommend checking this out, but you should probably wait for a price drop or get the expansion when and if that gets localized.

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