#L7: Queer, bishounen-filled, dark retelling of some Shakespeare plays
Details and poll under the cut!
#L4: Joshiraku
youtube
Summary:
Follows the conversations of five rakugo storyteller girls relating the odd things that happen to them each day. Their comedic and satirical chatting covers all kinds of topics, from pointless observations of everyday life, to politics, manga, and more. Each girl has something new to add to the discussion, and the discourse never ends in the same place it began.
Each of the rakugo girls has their own unique personality, with the energetic but immature Marii Buratei; the seemingly cute Kigurumi Haroukitei; the inherently lucky and carefree Tetora Bouhatei; the calm and violent Gankyou Kuurubiyuutei; and the pessimistic and unstable Kukuru Anrakutei. These girls—and their mysterious friend in a wrestling mask—give their observations to the audience, either backstage at the rakugo theater or in various famous locations around Tokyo.
Propaganda 1:
All the girls have fun personalities, and it puts some light on a form of Japanese traditional storytelling. It’s also the origin of the April 40th meme image.
Propaganda 2:
It’s hilarious! Genuinely one of the funniest comedy anime I’ve seen. The characters are all ridiculous and the bits almost all land perfectly. Mostly. Some of the bits require too much knowledge of Japanese language or culture to make any sense translated, but that’s not too many. My favorite character is Gan. I love the joke where she’s the “glasses girl” and so everyone assumes she’s meek and nerdy, but she’s actually super-violent.
The animation is also really good and gets absolutely ridiculous at points. There’s even a recurring meta joke where one character will complain about how hard the animators are working while being ABSURDLY over-animated. The standard structure of the skits is that the characters will start by having a conversation littered with puns, and then things escalated to a jungle shoot-out or crazy slapstick or a ninja battle or the characters talking politics. You never know, and it’s great.
Trigger Warnings: None.
#L7: Requiem of the Rose King (Baraou no Souretsu)
Summary:
Richard Plantagenet has dedicated his whole life to becoming strong enough to fight alongside his father, the Duke of York. Together they have waged war to reclaim the right to the throne of England from King Henry VI and the House of Lancaster. However, the young Richard hides a secret—one that his mother scorns him for, which the cruel voices in his head never fail to remind him of. Even amid his personal turmoil, he is fortunate to find solace in the light of his father's love. But when the War of the Roses takes a turn for the bloodier, the fervent ambitions of Richard grow while his old loyalties splinter, threatening to taint his family's path to glory.
Propaganda 1:
Set during the late Middle Ages in England, this series is built over a constant backdrop of political manipulation, betrayal, and tragedy.
The story follows the tortured and lonely protagonist, plagued by visions and nightmares of ghosts and monsters, born intersex into an oppressively religious society, and as the powerless youngest son in a family that leads a civil war to take the Crown. It shows him from early childhood and his fight for recognition and acceptance, well into his adulthood and attempts to carry on his father’s name and legacy.
Throughout, Richard is made to question what he truly wants, whether chasing his father’s shadow and clawing his way to power no matter the sacrifice is his path to happiness or prohibitive to it, whether he’s able to love and be loved, and what it means to decide who he is when the society around him tries to constrict and contradict his existence at every turn.
It’s a story set up to dismantle the way that oppressive gender and class roles destroy both those who can’t fit into them and innocent bystanders at the same time. It’s the story of a man chasing happiness and love but hurting himself and others endlessly in his pursuit. It’s a story about cycles of abuse, an exploration of how far people will go to find their purpose, and how violence and hatred in God’s name sets us up for failure.
The anime has an incredible soundtrack, extremely talented and fitting voice actors in Japanese, and a fast-paced dramatic story that the limited animation style lends a storybook or stage play feel to. There are bi and gay characters, witches, ghosts, and a slew of complicated motives. The anime has the added bonus of not showing the most triggering scenes as graphically as the manga does, for those who need to approach carefully.
It’s every bit as thrilling and cathartic to get through as it is devastating, and has enough bittersweetness and light humor to keep the tragedy from getting fatigued.
Propaganda 2:
Very much feels like a CLAMP anime that hits all of their high points: fancy outfits, pretty boys, messy relationships, and a fun animal sidekick.
Some darker and fairly nuanced queer representation
Shorter series so it’s easy to get through
Trigger Warnings: Consistent themes of physical and mental abuse and several instances of sexual harassment or assault, mostly aimed at the main character either for being intersex or while being mistaken for a woman. Not depicted explicitly in the show. Non-explicit or background references to suicide, self-harm, and racism. Incest depicted with varying degrees of time-period based normalcy or disgust. One large age-gap romance. Almost no blood or gore depicted despite all the sword fighting and murder.
When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.
If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.
Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.
Y’all Narnia fans ever just think about Prince Rillian for over 20 seconds and get super sad??
Cause this guy…this guy is great and so underrated, but there’s so much angst going on. First, his mother is killed, enough trauma for anyone for their whole life honestly (he probably still thinks about how he could have saved her). Second, he gets brainwashed and held captive by his mother’s killer for years. (She abused him horribly and likely sexually) and then he finally returns home to have his father die in his arms. And then, on top of all that, he has to reintegrate into society and rule his country.
I sincerely hope he had some old friends to help him out and give him some kind of support system. The poor guy has so much trauma. I hope he ends up happy. I hope Puddleglum visits him to cheer him up. I hope he marries a nice girl and stops having continuous nightmares about the Lady of the Green Kirtle.
I like to think that, in heaven, henriksen somehow finds out about the time the government locked up sam and dean in that max security facility, only to then be terrorized by the winchesters when they escape, and he just bursts out laughing at the suckers, remembering his own crusade
Finally watching kny s2 after almost a yr of procrastinating (even though I knew I'd enjoy it :/) and. I was hoping I wouldn't get attached to rengoku so that I wouldn't be as sad when he dies but that didn't work out 😭 knys literally just that car salesman meme like it can pack so much found family - kny anon
🩷 Libra & Pisces Venus can be prone to cheating, as BOTH tend to fall in love with the "idea" of love rather than the actual person in front of them. Flaky as fuck, but they're a hella charming bunch tho! Usually attractive.
❤️🔥 Scorpio Risings can sometimes struggle with intimacy, due to having Air Signs over their Water Houses. They crave deep bonds (like all Scorpio placements) yet often run from them at the same time. They can allow their FEAR to sabotage their greatest connections. It's tragic!
🩷 Capricorn Moon Men are hot AF! Their sex appeal is highly underrated if you ask me. They appear calm, dominant, stoic & strong - like men whom you can truly rely upon in every way. And ohhh - they also have seriously Big Dick Energy. 🤣 Brad Pitt, George Clooney & Dwayne Johnson have all been voted Sexiest Man Alive for good reason! 💋 Gerard Butler displayed such stunning power as King Leonidis in the 300 movie; Ryan Gosling passionately stole our hearts in The Notebook; Michael Douglass snatched our panties through the screen in Basic Instinct; And Freddy Mercury is an LGBT legend whose iconic musical anthems continue to make everyone from *all* walks of life feel mightily empowered. 💪How did Cap Moons get so damn awesome?? I tip my hat off to you guys! Much love.
YUM!! 🤪 *drools unapologetically*
❤️🔥 Mars 2H and/or 5H Synastry are *huge* indicators for attraction. It goes deeper than money, fun, etc. The House Person is typically rather possessive over the Mars Person; and the Mars Person feels very invested in the House Person. You will greatly enjoy pleasuring each other. 💋 The 2nd House = attraction to each others bodies. You want to devour them like dessert! 🤪 But you also see real VALUE in them as well. The 5th House = romantic attraction & passion. You both bring endless amounts of joy to one another both in & out of the bedroom.
🩷 You can easily fall in love with or quickly gain strong feelings for someone whose DSC or 7H is conjunct your Venus. You view them as the Ideal Partner because they embody many of the qualities that you're looking for long-term.
❤️🔥 In 8th House Synastry, BOTH parties have power in different ways. The House Person sets the pace of the relationship and decides *when* they will allow the Planet Person into their heart or their "world", so to speak. And the Planet Person decides *when* they will surrender to the House Person - setting the tone for transformation, as they have a lot of influence on the HP's moods & overall well-being. BOTH parties have an emotional pull over the other! 💯 It's only "lopsided" if somebody isn't physically attracted to the other to begin with. 🤷🏾♀️ In that case, you're wasting your time and need to move on ASAP.
🩷 Moon + Mars Synastry = the best of both worlds!! Sexual AND emotional compatibility between you & your partner. Tough & Tender. Masculine + Feminine enraptured in a sensual Tango. 💃🏾 Hair-pulling & ass-slapping one minute... passionate kisses & slow grinds the next... with loving cuddles ALWAYS sure to follow after an explosive climax. 🔥 This is the person whom you could watch paint dry with and *still* have the time of your life together! You excite them. They make you feel vulnerable. No one can make you madder than they can. Lol. You have a rare connection & can see into each other's souls. 🫶 So cherish it!
❤️🔥 Venus 8H Individuals are often highly selective about who they sleep with, and especially choosy about who they commit to. It's not easy to win their heart! They typically have MANY admirers though who obsess over trying to *capture* them. They are effortlessly captivating, seductive people whom others are desperate to get the approval of. 💋 Everyone wants them, but few actually get to have them. But my God, if they choose you - they are highly loyal, loving & devoted! 💯 Their connection with their partner gets stronger (not weaker) over time. They seek to transform you sexually, emotionally, spirituality - and they deeply *crave* for you to do the same for them in return. 🔥 And if they can't be consumed by their TRUE EQUAL... they'd rather remain alone. These people DO NOT settle for less. They'll have fun with you, and that is surely it.
☆That's all for now, Darlings! Thanks so much for being apart of my lovely world. 🔮
For those not familiar, a complete list of the definitely real and not just made up for a joke TCU films can be found here.
Since I obviously couldn't fit all 24 movies into the poll, I've left off any title with a Rotten Tomatoes score over 85% (The Grey Wizard, Shadow of War, etc), and of course the two movies that got Oscar noms (Aragorn, Shadow of Mordor).