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banqanas · 7 months

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Guide on where to find official EXILE TRIBE contents

This list focuses on sites/services that is managed by LDH, therefore does not include social media

Includes free and paid contents

Disclaimer: Focuses more on Jr EXILE groups contents as they're the ones I follow most.

I try to include pictures for most points, please click on them to see the details clearly

FREE

CL (LDH's own VOD site)

Type of content available:

live cast from groups & individual members

short live broadcast (<10 minutes) during concerts

original LDH show/programs (limited quantity)

is also one of the main platforms to interact with artists

✅ Not region blocked, targeted for JP & international fans

✅ Some shows have subtitles and are available in multiple languages (English, Chinese, Thailand, Korean)

✅ Types of shows varies and some dated before ~2017 (you can get to know the group from their formation until their current state)

2. Radio

Type of content available:

Early preview of new songs

Members responding to listener's requests & questions

Behind the scene stories

Some groups/members serve as DJ for various radio programs on different mediums. Some examples include:

GENERATIONS: CultureZ (Sano Reo DJ - broadcasted live on YouTube) THE RAMPAGE: WEEKEND THE RAMPAGE (Zin and RIKU DJ - BayFM) FANTASTICS: Fantastics Radio (all members - OsakaFM), Design Your Fantastic Future (Nakajima Sota DJ - FM802), Quartet (Jr Exile) EP (Sato Taiki DJ - Exile Tribe Mobile), SawaSota's carefree radio show (CL) BALLISTIK BOYZ: BALLISTIKRADIO (all members DJ, free to listen on website)

❌ Most of the radio shows hosted on Japan's radio FM are region blocked

✅ Weekly updates

✅ You get to listen to your oshi talking about mundane stuffs that doesn't fit on camera like their favourite McDonalds order or them complaining how noisy some members are during their train rides

3. TV shows

Type of content available:

Music TV show (e.g: Music Station, NHK Utacon)

Reality shows (e.g: Hirunandesu, Susteina)

drama series

Short segments in tv shows

Mainly for tribe members that are also active in acting or often goes on variety tv shows e.g: Katayose Ryota, Shirahama Alan, Sato Taiki, Yagi Yusei etc. Most JP tv shows are archived at TVer and can be watched for free

❌ Need to find TV streaming service + VPN

❌ Archives on TVer are only viewable for a week after the tv broadcast

✅ Contents that are not covered by CL

4. EXILE TRIBE MAGAZINE

LDH's own monthly magazine. Contents include:

Event reports

Interviews with artists

✅ Can see pictures from closed events that most international fans can't participate

❌ Some articles can only be accessed for FC members of respective groups

TL;DR: the are quite a lot of free contents however they are restricted behind region blocks and language barriers. You have to be updated with the group's news to catch them on tv/radio.

PAID

CL (premium account - monthly subscription)

Type of content available:

Includes aforementioned free content and more (e.g: PPV online broadcasts for concerts/events, live cast archives, CL anniversary stream)

Premium account members are also eligible for special benefits when buying CD/DVD from LDH official shops

Detailed information between free & premium account here

✅ Payment via app store available

2. EXILE TRIBE OFFICIAL FANCLUB (yearly subscription)

Type of contents available vary between each group's FC but general content each FC has includes:

monthly calendar wallpapers

exclusive images and videos that are not posted in mobile sites (after concert message, seasonal videos, video call-like videos etc)

reports from FC Events (online talk, fan meeting, bus trips, live shows etc etc) that is not covered by Exile Tribe Magazine

Messages for celebratory days (birthday, Valentines', White Day, anniversaries etc)

AR cameras

Chance to get members forgotten belongings (FANTASTICS only)

✅ Eligible to get FC only merchandise (which changes every year)

✅ Eligible for special benefits when buying CD/DVDs from LDH official shop

❌ Requires Japanese address and bank account

❌ Mainly used to get first dibs at concert tickets/fan events so unless you're planning on going to physical events, it's not that worth it.

3. EXILE MOBILE SITES (monthly subscription)

LDH's comprehensive blogging sites. Is considered Exile Tribe's/LDH main website where contents they covered is divided according to groups (refer to images above) and all of them covers:

latest news

backstage photos from concerts (rehearsals, off shots, events)

blog posts with photos/vlog updated by the artists themselves

original content (radio show, independent programs)

※ Members that are part of EXILE and other groups (e.g: Alan, Gun-chan, Mandy, SEKAI, Taiki, DEEP SQUAD) have separate blogs on EXILE mobile/LDH mobile and Tribe Mobile.

⚠️ Pictures that have the LDH/group logo on them are all pictures from their mobile sites. Please be careful of sharing them publicly (as they are widely known to be paid content)

✅ Main source of online content for Exile Tribe straight from the members themselves

✅ Updated daily (depending on member)

✅ Contents are more personal and in-depth compared to their SNS posts. I've translated some of them here and here

✅ Chance of fans directly interact with members (some would reply back to fans replies, also depending on member)

TL;DR: Paid sites are not region blocked as long as you can get through the payment site

Others (sites not managed by LDH but are official collaborations)

1.ABEMA TV - PAID (is not covered in the same category as free tv show because these are not available on regional JP tv channels:

Contents include but not limited to:

ABEMAxLDH: Concerts (PPV), documentary and fanmeets

Past and currently airing GENEkou TV episodes

Incomplete episodes of SHIBUEXILE (2020 - 2021)

2. Tribe Kingdom (puzzle mobile game) - FREE: I have made a separate post about the game here. While the in-game stories are fictional, some parts (voice lines, kitchen talk) include real facts about the artists themselves

Q&A:

How do you sign up/access sites that require JP address and phone number? A: I sign up to Tenso and use the address and number they provide. Most JP sites I've used accepts the address and phone number Tenso provides. None of the sites I've mentioned above require any sort of code to be sent to your Tenso phone number

How do you pay for the services that require JP bank accounts? A: I do not have any jp bank account and have only used my local (asean) bank account. I just pick a card and pray it's accepted by the payment site

Which site do you recommend the most for international fans? A: CL. Other than the fact that the contents are subbed, it is also the platform where you can openly post in other languages (not Japanese) whether in replies or live chats. I really encourage getting the Premium subscription to show LDH how international fans are supporting them.

What is the difference between Official Fan Club contents VS mobile sites? A: Mobile sites main contents are blog posts that are updated by members themselves so the contents mainly focus on individual members (good for people who are only fans of specific members of a group). Mobile site contents are also less formal (pictures/videos are not edited professionally). FC are mainly group-centered contents and the quantities are not as many as those that are posted in mobile sites. But no same contents are posted in both site. ※ Personal note: Mobile sites is worth your money more compared to FC

END. Thank for checking this out and feel free to hit me up if you have any questions regarding these services/sites as I've had a chance to use most of them

(e.g: I can answer questions such as how to sign up to site A, what kind of contents members A, B, C post in their blog or how regularly they post blogs, or which VPN do I use when using site A or B. Unfortunately I can't help with any question regarding payment)

Let's try to support our boys where we can :) 👍

#exile tribe #ldh japan #jr exile #fantastics from exile tribe #the rampage from exile tribe #this took me too long hhsgsh #but i hope it helps someone especially to new fans!#exile txt

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ffjj5 · 2 years

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We all remember this picture right...

Well, they aren't the only ones to wear this matching look. Recently a couple from Japan were snapped wearing it too. But not just any couple but a couple who are described as "Taiki & Noah are a power-couple that are taking Tokyo by storm. On top of modeling, DJing and running a business, they have become influential role models in the LGBTQ+ community".

Taiki is from Japan and Noah is from South Korea. They have been together for roughly 7 years and live together in Tokyo.

And when this appeared on Instagram thanks to Insta: @kookminaredating110815

It was then reposted by Taiki. Insta: @taiki_jp

Just a cute little thing.

Their YouTube channel if you wanted to watch any of their videos or vlogs.

💜💛🌈

#jikook #jimin #jungkook #park jimin #jeon jungkook #kookmin #jk #jm #youtube #matching shirts #taikinoah

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nfcwproject · 4 months

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Exhibition: „Leise-Park” #nfcdab2024 6th Ed.

This is one you can't miss!!! We always prefer the low-cost guerrilla style. Near-Field Communication Digital Art Biennale aka #nfcdab presents the anniversary edition: #nfcdab2024 6th Ed. Berlin - "Leise-Park". We cordially invite you to the craziest and most legendary #nfcdab shows! We have finally arrived in Berlin! - In the frame of the Vorspiel / transmediale & CTM.

Important!!! All works will be presented via QR codes, you must have an active Internet and the ability to read QR codes to connect!

Vernissage and curatorial guided tour: 2 February 2024 2.00 – 3.00 PM

Open: 2 February 2024, 1.00 PM - 5 PM 3 – 4 February 2024, 8.00 AM - 5.00 PM

Leise-Park: Heinrich-Roller-Straße 24, 10405 Berlin (DE)

Artists and art projects: Adrian Pickett, Andrea Roccioletti, Andreas Maria Jacobs, Angy Vardalou, Anna Pinkas, Anna Utopia Giordano, AK Ocol, Ayshe Kizilçay - KiAy, Benna Gaean Maris, Bjørn Magnhildøen, Blazir, Bruce Barber, Bruno Melo, Bya de Paula, Dave Greber, Davey Whitcraft, Đurđija Vucinic, Elaine Crowe, James Hutchinson, Karl Heinz Jeron, Klaus Pinter, Marc Lee, Max Herman, Nico Vassilakis, Nicole Kouts, Oli Olinski, Osvaldo Cibils, Peter Kusek, Ricardo F. Bodini, Rudy Paganini - forevermidi_com, Shin Jungkyun, Stefanie Reling-Burns, Tiz Creel, Zsolt Mesterhazy, and #DUMPHAUS - Curated by Catalina Vallejos and Ronnie Karfiol - Artist: Featuring Deatxwish, Taiki Arita, Tiến Nguyễn, Trí Thiện, Lê Duy, Xuân Minh, Gia Huy, Flounder Lee, Martina Noskova, Idklang, Aaporia, Magdi Mostafa, Jialun Wang, Hiroshi Murakami, David Longshaw, Athina Kanellopoulous, Ioana & Pablo, The Mainstream Official, Oksana Rudko, Liu Chang, Chloe Cheuk, Kayoko Nakamura, Aleksei Martyniuk, Blanche The Vidiot, F.C. Zuke, Nina Sumarac, Giuseppe De Benedittis, Ania Urbanski, Contaminated Carcass, Jaimerative Art.

This year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the #nfcdab project, which could not exist without the trust of the artists. The idea was born at a time when not everyone was aware of the coming revolution in the reception of digital content caused by the advent of smartphones. In 2014, QR codes or NFC tags were a technology on the verge of becoming commonplace, and the same was true of wireless Internet and unfettered access to the Internet. 10 years later, we are in very different times. That's why we trusted the idea of DIWO, which is an important element of this - let's not be afraid to use the word: "research" project. The whole concept would not have been possible thanks to the help from browserbased.org and noemata.net in the persons of Zsolt Mesterhazy and Bjørn Magnhildøen, I must also mention Brian Khuu being our Australian liaison to the antipodes, and I want to thank the many people who have helped us over the years in organizing our shows: Konstantina Mavridou, Radovan Misovic aka Rad0, Tibor Horvath, Florian Kuhlmann.

More info: https://vorspiel.berlin/events/nfcdab2024-6th-ed-berlin-leise-park-ausstellung

Supervisor and concept of the exhibition: Dominik Podsiadly

Organizers: #nfcdab - Dominik Podsiadly, noemata - Bjørn Magnhildøen, BrowserBased - Zsolt Mesterhazy.

Hashtags: #nfcdab #nfcdab2024 #leisepark

#nfcdab #digital #digital art biennale #internet #leisepark #nfcdab2024

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shihalyfie · 2 years

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Okay, so... Is Taiki's family name "Kudou" or "Kudo" ? I see more peeps and official using "Kudou" than "Kudo" (the only official i saw using the latter is Digica EN)

It's 藤, so "-dou". That said, he happens to share a surname with a Detective Conan character whose name is generally written "Kudo Shinichi" by fans, so, again, probably best to go with what you prefer.

#shiha's ask box #tomorrows2top #digimon xros wars

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megaboy335 · 1 year

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Anime and Manga Log [5/28/23]

Over the years I’ve thought about doing a blog to post my thoughts about various manga and anime. Recently my good buddy @silvertsundere started a weekly AniManga post where he posts some short thoughts each week. I however, usually have a lot to say. It would take me forever to write up long discussions about every single chapter update I read each week. So I’ll be picking out a few titles to talk about each week. From Jump I will discuss my weekly top 3 and anything else I want to talk about.

Weekly Shonen Jump has been the core of my reading diet for nearly 15 years now. I have been following Shonen Jump since the mid-2000s when Viz was releasing the print magazine. Later around mid-2008 and into 2009 I got into Ohba and Obata’s Bakuman. This lead me to learning about the toc rankings and I started following the magazine religiously. I love the raw energy of a Shonen Jump series. Due to the competitive nature of its ranking system the series are always trying to improve themselves and catch the readers off guard. There’s nothing else quite like it. In comparison, Shonen Magazine series frequently have an emphasis on romance (and fan service) or its a sports manga. Shonen Sunday titles are usually very chill. They prefer to develop characters at a slow natural pace. Jump series always have something happening since losing readership could cost them a position in the magazine. I’ve been entertained by series of all genres short and long out of Jump. In fact it was talking about Nisekoi that made my Tumblr blog semi-famous in 2014-16. The creed of “Friendship! Effort! Victory!” will never fail you. I’m currently reading everything from Weekly Shonen Jump, most Jump+ titles, and a few other series from other magazines. My Kodansha reads are paused at the moment because KManga is a bad app. The only Shonen Sunday series I am caught up with is Frieren (on hiatus). Eventually I’ll get caught up with a few others so I can follow Viz Media simuls. I generally only read official releases and prefer to keep scanlations to a minimum.

So without further ado, discussion for the series listed below are under the Keep Reading. I’m hoping to make this a weekly post going forward. There will be spoilers and opinions below. Be warned.

- Sakamoto Days Ch.120 - Blue Box Ch.102 - Cipher Academy Ch.25 - Naruto: Konoha Story Ch.15 [END] - Pokemon Horizons Ep.8 - Soaring Sky! Precure Ep.17

Sakamoto Days 120: Sakamoto Days is the mindless action series in the line-up right now. Its very much inspired by movies like John Wick. Lately we’ve been a backstory about Uzuki and Sakamoto’s relationship. The biggest selling point of the series is Suzuki’s endless creative imagination of cool set pieces. They never cease to amaze me with how the character interact with the location to defeat their opponent. If I had to guess, the series is about halfway complete right now. Still a ways to go, but plotlines are starting to center around the baddie of the series. This week’s chapter finished the backstory with a fight between Sakamoto and Uzuki. Instead of the grand speculate we usually have, this fight was more grounded. No dialogue for half the chapter. Just a rapid exchange of blows. Leaving the backstory in Uzuki’s pov shows this how incident is still something he thinks about, and connects his character to Sakamoto. I always look forward to reading this series. When is the anime going to be announced? Blue Box 102: The series just cleared its 2nd anniversary and its going as strong as ever. Blue Box is a slow burn romance following our main couple struggling in sports and love. Its a story filled with youth and presented with the thin loose line work of Kouji Miura. She always puts an emphasis on capturing a character’s expressions in the moment. It will frequently hold a reaction shot to show specific mannerisms. Lately, the series has been gearing up for a long awaited confession between Taiki and Chinatsu. Its been a long time coming, though I am unsure if the series will actually do it. Rom-Coms aren’t known for changing the status quo in the middle of the series. This week’s chapter teases our main couple being much closer than they imagined in terms of proximity. They’re both unknowingly to the other in the same area. That’s lead Taiki on a fast sprint to catch up with Chinatsu. Will they meet each other or just barely miss? Its hard to say. The scenery shot of the frozen lake in this week’s chapter was very pretty. Cipher Academy 25: The return of Nisioisin to Jump was near the top of my wish list, and I can confidently say he’s been delivering week after week. The story is about an academy of code solvers where literally every single thing is decided by your ability to decode a puzzle. It’s such a Nisioisin concept. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be catching on with readers. Cipher Academy has been ranking low in the toc rankings. The recent chapters have been getting down to business with moving the plot to its ultimate goal of unearthing the big Crypto collection (yes you read right that, Nisio is writing about Crypto of all things) hidden deep within the academy. The leading Class Private of each class are going to participate in a tournament arc to determine the “Code Emperor”. Now admittedly for a manga about codes, they don’t matter that much in the grand scheme of the writing. The codes are always plot devices for the characters to interact around. Nisio’s greatest strength of conveying character traits with eccentric dialogue is very much here, and with the added visual language of Iwasaki art. Together they compliment each other quite well. But anyhow, Nisio tournament arc sounds like its going to be exciting. Iroha is going to have to put his brain into overdrive to outwit his peers. Don’t get cancelled on me Cipher Academy!

Naruto: Konoha Story Ch.15 [END] This finishes the pair of Naruto Light Novel manga adaptations that began last fall. Konoha Story was previously adapted into Boruto so I was already familiar with the story. It followed Mirai learning to believe in herself more and discovering the legacy she’s been left. Throughout the story we had cameos from several old character each of whom imparted some wisdom into Mirai. Sadly, it falls into the trap of all post-Naruto. They rely on recycling old plotlines instead of pushing the canon forward. In this case because the story is about Mirai and since Asuma died to Hidan, from the Jishin cult, Mirai has to face someone from the cult in modern day. Luckily, Kishimoto left a good foundation with the team 10 dynamics for the story to work with. At the very least Mirai’s character feel more natural in the world and something we were bound to see at some point. Overall, enjoyable and the manga was a nice way to experience the story again. [Final Score: 6/10]

Pokemon Horizons Ep.8: We’re two months into the new Pokemon anime and its finishing the prologue phase of the story. We’ve had intro arcs for both Riko and Roy. They each have an ancient artifact that’s sure to connect to a bigger plot. We know very little about the villain group right now. However, its still been great so far! First, its refreshing to have a female protagonist for a change and have main characters who can have organic character development. I guess placing them both school better connects to the target audience and game characters. Poor Riko only got to spend 1 episode in school before getting swept up in the plot. I appreciate slower pace of long running anime. Episode 8 focused on the streamer character Dot. She’s a shy in person, but puts on a high energy performance on the internet. Similar to the seiyuu’s counterpart in Bocchi. Exciting things are ahead as the gang is about to land in Paldea.

Soaring Sky! Precure Ep.17: I started watching Precure weekly during the 15th anniversary series Hugtto, and here we are at the 20th series Soaring Sky. Precure series often have some of the most solid character writing among airing shows. Unlike 1 cour incomplete adaptations, Precure gets 4 whole cours to flesh out its characters. Soaring Sky is a return to form with a focus on a central main duo and hand to hand combat. The cure designs are better made than usual for animation. That allows for most episodes to feature some nice movement or character acting when it matters most, as seen once again in this week’s episode. Sora was tasked running a relay, and she wanted Mashiro to be the one passing the baton. It was a cute story that once again reinforces the friendship bond shared between our duo. Despite monster fight feeling tacked onto the scenario this week, it featured some slick movements. Next episode is the long awaited debut of Cure Butterfly. Ageha can finally start on Precure adventures as one of the squad.

Full read/watch list for the week:

#Mega Log #Weekly Shonen Jump #the return of my Tumblr

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timelessanimo · 2 years

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Hi, was there any official reason given as to why Yu was completed replaced in the Xros Wars? And to add to that note, what is up with all the near naked Nene? Did they at least make it fair and equal by having some shirtless Taiki?

Well Nakashima-san, the Mangaka of Xros Wars Manga basically had creative freedom to do whatever he wanted, except for a few key moments in the story. characters and settings were almost completely up to him tho

he oriented himself on the first episode of xros wars anime but the rest is something Nakashima-san made up himself. I guess this is were Kotone became a thing too!

About the Nene thing... yeah thats most likely more for fanservice than anything else

And nope, no shirtless Taiki haha

tho if you want more info i will leave you a link to a site where Nakashima-san answers a few questions in relation to the Manga!

I got the Link from @shihalyfie ! Big thanks to her for answering all my silly questions!!

#digimon xros wars #digimon xros wars manga #xros wars manga #askbox #thanks for the ask #anon ask box #anon ask

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blatantlybluntblog · 5 months

Video

youtube

Coco x Tsuki - Fly Tonight (Visualizer) [Helix Records]

Sheffield artist Coco delivers drum and bass smash, “Fly Tonight,” featuring the pulsating production from DJ/Producer Tsuki, available now via Helix Records.

Coco is renowned for his ability to craft soulful, infectious melodies and high-energy tracks. "Fly Tonight" is no exception, as it showcases his innate ability to craft dynamic bars. The energetic production from talent Tsuki adds a new dimension to the song, infusing it with depth and anthemic-like qualities.

COCO is regarded as one of the UK’s hottest rising talents and has previously collaborated with the likes of Alcemist, Armand Van Helden, Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Darkzy, Toddla T and Conducta. In particular, the collaboration with Alcemist has so far accumulated 40M + streams to date resulting in high-profile support across the likes of BBC Radio 1 / BBC Radio 1Xtra / Reprezent FM / KISS FM & more. Across the live circuit, 2024 is set to be an exciting year for Coco who is confirmed to open for Example across his UK Tour as well as setting off on his own UK headline shows later in the year.

West Midlands producer Tsuki is fast becoming one of the most talked about emerging artists in the UK, reaching all corners across the globe as he has coined his high energy style. Securing an array of support across heavy weight labels in the game including DnBAllStars, Cru-Cast & Rampage Recordings, Tsuki is on the fast track to success with collaborations already with the likes of Bru-C, Dread MC & Taiki Nulight. Highly in demand, he has also created official remixes for the likes of Sigala, Skepsis & TECH IT DEEP.

Coco x Tsuki - Fly Tonight by Helix Records Out Now! https://helixrecords.ffm.to/flytonight

#youtube #UK #drum and bass #sheffield #Helix Records

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dereksmcgrath · 7 months

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Sunday Morning Manga: Afternoon Reactions #3 (Nov 19 2023)

Blue Box and Jujutsu Kaisen peak, My Hero Academia descends.

(Spoiler warning for these three series, along with the Blue Box one-shot pilot chapter and, of all things, DuckTales 2017.)

Blue Box Chapter 126

Yay, anime announcement!

I had joked last weekend how this series makes being found in a supply closet, just having lunch, so scandalous. I said that not to overlook the actual point: Taiki and Chinatsu can’t afford to have their relationship outed and risk compromising Chinatsu’s residence at Taiki’s home and hence her ability to stay enrolled in this school.

No, I was bringing that point up because of how chaste this manga is compared to its predecessor.

The original Blue Box one-shot chapter was a speed-run to get these two into a relationship, with a bit of, not quite fanservice, but definitely “awkward teenage interactions in response to sex drive.” It was off-putting and feels less believable, as if series creator Kouji Miura was rushing to get Chinatsu and Taiki together by the end of the one-shot.

It’s why Blue Box, as a multi-chapter serialized narrative, works better. It’s not rushing things for Chinatsu and Taiki. Heck, it took us this long to get these two to be an official couple.

And yes, this slower pace means we have more of the typical problems with any serialized story, that being everything has to be dragged out for cliffhangers with often disappointing follow-ups. And unfortunately, the previous chapter and this chapter demonstrate that problem: we think someone is going to walk in on Chinatsu and Taiki’s lunch--but then, nope, it doesn’t happen.

But I can overlook the cliffhangers when what is here in the story works on its own, especially as the story can still increase that tension along the way without depending on cheap cliffhangers. For example, Taiki screws up and gives into his passion for Chinatsu by yelling encouragement to her to win the race even though the two of them are on different teams. Taiki risked outing their relationship there, and that moment would not have been as impressive without having the two almost revealed as having lunch together in the storage room earlier. It is setup and payoff: they avoided getting outed at lunch, now Taiki may have just outed them in an even larger setting--that is impressive tension.

Plus, it leads to adorable, funny follow-up, with Chinatsu voraciously eating her victory meal after that impressive run.

So, that’s why I prefer this manga over its initial one-shot--even as I can take the other side and admit that, yeah, the one-shot is also a realistic representation of lives for young people, and it’s ridiculous to excise anything related to sex from these stories. It’s not as if I think it is justified to eviscerate anything about sex from this story, especially because of the slippery slope where, yes, somehow drawing the line at “anything related to sex” would lead some zealot to insist Chinatsu and Taiki hugging is also “related to sex” and has to be censored.

This anti-sex zealtry is thanks to how my country continues its multi-decade freak-out over teenagers learning anything about sex education, and increasing its multi-decade mad pursuit to ban books that mention anything even close to sex--seriously, we’re banning 1984 and The Bluest Eye in school libraries because, oh no, sex is mentioned. But at least now we’ll have a generation that will be too stupid to address fascism, racism, rape culture, and toxic masculinity. Congratulations, everyone--zero notes, you failed in such a spectacular fashion, fuck you.

Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 242

Jujutsu Kaisen is far and away having the best arc of the Sunday Viz releases--it’s not even a contest.

People who dislike this arc need to watch Bobobo to get a sense of the style of humor the arc is going for. Credit to translator John Werry for doing their best to translate that kind of abstruse humor--it was not easy for Bobobo to get localized, and it is not easy to localize that similar humor in this chapter.

And this arc of Jujutsu Kaisen is already an excellent companion reading to go with Skip and Motion, Akane-banashi, and Show-ha Shoten for the perils of live performance especially in comedy, which makes this arc all the more engaging.

This is also a battle that has Kenjaku having to demonstrate why they are an effective antagonist. So much of their fighting has been because the plot says so, whether certain power-ups or god-tier pre-planning. Here, in the middle of a comedy fight, we are getting to see how quick on their feet Kenjaku is. It is almost genius, in which the story is saying that the way to show how well someone can improvise in combat is to show how well they can improvise in comedy.

It’s like the climax to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? where Eddie returns to his circus act roots to distract and pummel the weasels, a fight that isn’t just about raw physica power but the skill it takes to perform comedy.

It’s a cliche, but this arc feels like it was made for me: you have a clown in a manga, I’m there--and this arc, of clowns just duking it out, it’s giving me everything I could want after Gogol has mostly been absent from Bungo Stray Dogs.

My Hero Academia Chapter 407

I am so tired of this chapter already. And I do have more to say. But maybe read these remarks at this link instead for a different version of the same thoughts.

(Two disappointments in one week: My Hero Academia and that Scott Pilgrim anime. We’re eating badly today, fans.)

Chapter 407 of My Hero Academia could have told this same story in a better fashion if it had shown had adopted All For One and his brother. I know that is a weird nitpick, and one that risks undermining the message of this story. But I cannot get over that newborns All For One and Yoichi managed to survive long enough after birth. These two would be dead upon their birth, and yet they survived. I know this is a comic book, and I’ll get to comic book logic later, but that is stretching believability. I’m just asking for one panel or one textbox to show that the two indeed had someone care for them after their birth--before infant All For One just stabbed them and waited for the next person to show up to adopt them.

The “nature versus nurture” argument has also not only grown tiresome but almost offensive. We are supposed to accept that Quirks influence personalities and behaviors. And with All For One, it doesn’t hold up.

Before I return to All For One, let’s try another example: Toga. Toga has a Quirk that compels her to consume blood. Before she even knows what her Quirk can do, she wants blood. Her parents don’t want her to consume blood but to be someone else entirely. Eventually her Quirk fully manifests, and thanks to what is more likely narrative coincidence for symbolic value, rather than any in-story genetic compulsion within her, her Quirk just happens to allow her to be someone else entirely, a transformation Quirk that she can use upon consuming another person’s blood. It is too much. This is stretching believability that it just happens that the thing her parents wanted from her is the superpower she has. And yet, it works, because the story started by introducing us to Toga’s blood compulsion first, her superpower second, and her parents last.

This is also why the Golden Baby not being the first reported case of a Quirk is also frustrating, but we’ll get to that.

With All For One, it also doesn’t work. It should work, as we are following the same order of details as we do with Toga: compulsion, superpower, origin story. All For One wants power; All For One can steal Quirks; All For One…has just wanted power his whole life. This isn’t working. It’s a boring origin story.

And trust me, I’m as big a fan of simplifying an origin story as much as possible--but it has to lead to either an essential truth about people, or be damn entertaining, and this is neither. You know what was both an essential truth about people and damn entertaining? How Vic Fontaine and Frankie Eyes in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine came to hate each other: it was just that, when they were kids, Vic won in a game of stickball against Frankie, so they hated each other ever since--boom, done. And, bonus, because Vic and Frankie are fictional characters even within DS9, just holograms within a narrative computer program, although in Vic’s case one who is self-aware and with agency to act outside of that computer program’s narrative, the joke works even better: Vic knows he is fictional, he knows his origin story--and accepts it, not only because as a program that is most logical to him, but because as a sentient human being, albeit a holographic one, yes, sometimes, your hatred for someone is as simple as you just don’t like that other guy.

I don’t get that with All For One. There is no essential truth. And maybe that is the point. He is the comic book supervillain, the fascist--you are not supposed to understand him because there is no essential truth, there is only some fascist there who is talking nonsense and whose political agenda must be opposed before he gets more people killed.

But I have read decent counter-arguments on Reddit (there’s a paradox…) that the story also shows it is as much nurture that led All For One to this path, in that he was born into a world that had descended into social Darwinism and he just hasn’t grown out of that. I can agree that such nurture indeed influenced All For One.

I also can argue the story is leaving it strongly hinted that it is as much All For One’s Quirk driving him to want to acquire more and more power, which in itself is the tiresome part: it is his Quirk in the womb that made him take more nutrients over those of his brother, it is his Quirk that had him try to suckle from his dead mother’s corpse, and it is his Quirk that made him a fascist. I despise this naturalizing of his agenda.

As hard as it is for me to see any capacity for change in fascists, I am not sure I can assume that, by birth, they are destined to be like that, and I think this type of story fails to address our real-world conditions that lead to fascists. Yes, this is a comic book story, and we are to accept a certain amount of goofiness that asks us to suspend disbelief not only in how the superpowers work but also in how even politics works. And yet, this is also a story that repeats that none of this is like a comic book: All Might is not destined to die just because Nighteye said so, lone vigilantism by Izuku is not destined to save the day, not every Twice or Toga gets to survive in an unfair world. You cannot continue to say “this is a comic book, ignore what doesn’t work” and “this is not your typical comic book, it deconstructs the tropes.”

Also, All For One losing his shit because the Golden Baby was not actually the first reported case of a Quirk is frustrating. Spoilers for DuckTales 2017, but this is the same vibe with how that series did a revised origin story for Negaduck. I can’t really do a short version of this origin story, so let’s speed through it.

Within DuckTales 2017, there was a live-action Darkwing Duck TV show, which aired around let’s say the 1990s. The actor who played Darkwing is named Jim Starling. He got typecast, he could find no work, and based on how he acts in series he either was always this bad or just got more and more bitter over time. (Gee, sound like All For One a bit?)

But once he learned they were rebooting Darkwing without him, he got murderous and was willing to kill the actor replacing him. Everyone tries to stop Jim from killing the new actor, insisting that this reboot can be just as good and to give this a chance. (Gee, it’s almost like the writers of DuckTales 2017 are telling you to give this reboot a chance, too--and if you don’t, then you’re just like this murderous person who is coded as having multiple mental health problems. That is fucking offensive, but we’ll get back to that.)

To wrap this up, Jim seemingly dies in an explosion, the new actor decides he’ll become a real vigilante superhero rather than a fictional one, and overhearing this, Jim, so furious, decides that if the world wants a grimdark Darkwing that was the inverse to all the heroics he ever did, then he’ll be that inverse--he will be the Negaduck, a supervillain that embraces the grimdark nature they wanted Darkwing to be.

And this is all the problem I have with All For One. We have been told since Chapter 1 that the Golden Baby was the first reported case of a Quirk--“reported case,” not literally the first case, because we can be open to new facts that change our information. Now we learn, after more than 400 chapters, that such is not the case. Why are we doing this change now? This is not organic. As a rule of thumb, it is best if these twists are not delayed until the end of the series--this is really something that should have been hinted within the first, say, 20 chapters, or, if you want to be more lenient, let’s say first 20 episodes of the anime, and since each anime episode adapts one to four chapters usually, I’ll even say that this should have been covered by Chapter 80--hell, by Chapter 100 if we want to keep pushing this back. But we are closer to the end of My Hero Academia than its beginning, and only now are we revealing this?

It’s even sillier because it’s not a major twist, it’s just an annoying one: why do we need to now say there were previous cases before the Golden Baby, why do we need to say that Quirks were already in certain people but didn’t manifest until those people reached puberty which was after the Golden Baby was born, and why is it that it seems like All For One’s mother may have had her Quirk before all of them? Is this just to inflate All For One’s ego (so he can be a parallel to Bakugo) and have a sense that he is more special because his mother had a Quirk, to make him dynastic like how we just had to make Re-Destro, Shigaraki, Dabi, and Compress secret descendents of famous villains and heroes?

(And this is even assuming All For One knows any of that “dynasty” he is part of, since I don’t know whether he remembers his mother or whether we’re getting this story from an omniscient narrator.)

This all instead seems like the story saying what DuckTales 2017 said: if you are angry about what we are telling you, then you are just like the villain. And that is gross.

Wrapping Up

Thanks for reading to the end.

Have you read the Blue Box one-shot before? How do you think the comedy isn’t working in this Jujutsu Kaisen arc? And do you think the All For One origin story is actually compelling? Let me know in the comments section or email me, [email protected].

Please look forward to more writing from me next week, if not also livestreaming and podcasting about new manga chapters.

As I say at the end of livestreams (after some new additions): until next Sunday, stay safe out there, people–mask up, get vaccinated, install adblockers, register to vote, campaign against fascism and war and genocide and terrorism, and learn and practice anti-bigotry. I’ve been Derek S. McGrath. You have a good afternoon. Bye.

#blue box #my hero academia #jujutsu kaisen #shonen jump #manga #sunday morning manga #long post #spoiler #spoilers

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