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hamliet · 9 months

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It's A Boys' Love Story, Your Honor: Be Gay, Do Crimes

This review is often satirical and sometimes facetious. Or is it?

Anyways I got dragged into watching HIGH&LOW, a Japanese action show full of pretty boys punching each other. Aside from me wondering how all of them don't have CTE and screaming CHEST COMPRESSIONS when one character codes and the nurse like... walks away (he's ok the power of friendship is stronger than any defibrillator), it turned out to be a surprisingly excellent, enjoyable, and even poignant watch.

The plot is vibes at best and the narrative ideas are less formed than, say, those of Kinnporsche. But, what it does have down pat is characters. Pretty much every character is compelling from their introductory scene (except for the Mighty Warriors who exist purely to suck). The characters may not necessarily be the most complex or psychologically challenging, but they come across as intriguing enough, flawed enough, to carry series on their own. Like, I would honestly watch a full series based on any one of them.

To be honest, this show does more to establish who a character is, what they want, and make them interesting within a character's first 30 seconds than some high-brow directors do with three hours of film. I would honestly recommend it to anyone trying to understand how to characterize.

Also, it's basically a yaoi but with fighting instead of f*cking. It's just dripping in homoeroticism that they infuse with just enough plausible deniability that insecure straight guys can watch it too!

Although, being straight in this 'verse is pretty much a misery sentence for everyone except Kizzy and Kaito. I haven't seen such flagrant use of bury/break up your straights since Togashi.

But:

It's not a yaoi! you say.

To which I shall respond with numerous examples of what the f*ck is this then? The power of (b)romance?

Doubt. (Heh ifkyk.)

Cobra + Murayama

The same episode we get a girl having a crush on Murayama he's shown as completely disinterested because he's too hung up on Cobra. This leads to him seeking Cobra out. And also to him having realizations about himself. He's then kind to the girl, but not romantically interested. The framing of this Cobra-Murayama realization about himself with the episodes opening with a girl pining and ending with his kindness to her is clearly to get the audience thinking about romance and the other interactions in light of that.

Murayama embarrassingly asks to join Cobra in front of all the other gangs.

Murayama calls him Cobra-chan and sides with Cobra when all the other leaders of SWORD refuse. All three others have left but Murayama still tells Cobra he has his vote, even though it's not going to do anything, just so Cobra knows Murayama's on his side.

In End of Sky Murayama literally going behind Cobra's back to get Hyuga to agree to join Cobra's alliance to protect him, at personal risk to Murayama, even though Cobra will never know what he did for him, when even those most loyal to Cobra have abandoned him, is literally a romance trope as old as time. And it's literally set to inspirational music.

At the end of the movies, Murayama gets a motorcycle and is implied to join Sannoh eventually with clever color symbolism as @eatprayworm points out.

As if we didn't get it, The Worst literally shows us Murayama calling Cobra-chan on his phone and tells us that he frequently drunk calls Cobra by having him say that he's not calling about bikes... this time. This phone call shows 0 narrative purpose besides reminding us that Murayama's endgame is with Cobra.

Chiharu + Yamato

Yamato saves his life and then is told he has to "take responsibility for" Chiharu, which is totally not a reference to the common idea of a guy taking responsibility for knocking a girl up--

except it is explicitly because even Yamato's mom directly asks if he knocked someone up when she hears that he has to "take responsibility" for someone.

When they finally reconcile after Chiharu confesses to drugs Tetsu tells them "you look good together."

Chiharu then takes a bullet for Yamato. I mean, not actually, because it was a blank, but no one, not even the person firing the gun, knew it was a blank.

Tetsu + Dan

Whenever Dan expresses interest in a girl Tetsu gets mad at him and when Tetsu cuts off his dreads to be more appealing to girls Dan gets mad at him. They're in love your honor.

They'll leave a gang for one another.

They exist only in proximity with each other.

Tatsuya/Kohaku/Tsukumo

These old men are so gay. They started the fall. And by old I mean they're supposed to be like 26 but they are clearly played by actors in their mid-40s and so I'll just pack off and head to the Villages then.

Smok(e)y + Hiroto

Ah yes when you're wandering around Nameless Street looking for your older brother and he's not there so you and your other brother decide to leave but then! then! a sickly man wasting away everywhere but his hair (which remains luscious) walks in front of you, barely glances at you, and you instantaneously walk away from your brother and your life to go follow the twink. Much straight.

Rocky + Koo

Here.

They also use "anata" for one another. Which means "you," but also is frequently translated as "dear" because it's what married couples often refer to each other as.

The manga also implies they live together.

Yasushi + Kiyoshi

Everyone in canon refers to them as "Yasukiyo." They exist in a state of symbiosis with weird hair and insanity.

If anyone implies Yasushi was involved with drugs Kiyoshi will fight to defend his honor.

"He sacrificed himself for me!" ?????? That's a love trope, Your Honor. Don't worry, though. They're gay, so Kiyoshi survives his sacrifice.

Odajima + Todoroki

Fellas is it gay to spot a man across a battlefield and be so in awe you run over to him right away?

Is it gay if you then ask said man "you're different from the others. Want to play with me?"

Tsukasa + Fujio

Tsukasa mopes around like Bella after Edward left after Fujio moves away for like a week.

Tsukasa takes a bus ride across the country for the chance to fight his BFF again in the rain (wet, what is symbolism) and then tells him "I'll be waiting for you." And also "I should move here because it's boring without you."

Tsukasa might be held as a hostage but he knows Fujio will come for him. In fact his relationship with Fujio is explicitly paralleled with Amagai and Suzaki's.

Amagai + Suzaki

The redemptive power of love, as beautifully written by @eatprayworm here.

I mean Suzaki literally can barely stand and limps over to protect Amagai when Amagai is experiencing the consequences of his actions and then saves Amagai from himself.

At the end of the day all he wants is to be boyfriends with Amagai.

Probably my favorite ship because it's everything I love, meaning one of them is too good for this world and one is a bastard.

Nakagoshi + Nakaoka

Nakagoshi sacrifices himself for Nakaoka even in a parallel to Yasushi and Kiyoshi (don't worry, they're gay, so they live too).

Tsuji + Shibaaan

Do I even need to comment here?

And I didn't even get into Sachio's sunset conversation with Fujio, in which you visibly see the twink fall and then they, not knowing who the other is, subsequently meet and recognized each other on the battlefield like Mr and Mrs Smith.

Themes Too!

High&Low isn't exactly an uber-deep thematic exploration of what it means to be gay and do crimes, but the themes it does do it does pretty well.

One of those is indeed the redemptive power of love, which involves being seen and known. Y'know, that mortifying ordeal. Because love itself leads to freedom. It's true for Chiharu, it's true for Noboru, it's true for Arata.

Rocky and Kizzy/Kaito's story is kind of one of the best examples of the redeeming power of (platonic) love leading to freedom, and it takes like... 3 minutes? of the story. And it's not left unexplored; it's just succinct. Kizzy and Kaito are trafficking women and Rocky comes to stop them, and when fighting, notices that Kizzy is actually a transwoman. He stops the fight and says that he doesn't fight women. That's enough for Kizzy and Kaito to follow Rocky, giving up their life of cruel crime and atoning--truly atoning--by spending the rest of their lives doing exactly the opposite of their crimes: fighting to free women from traffickers and protect them.

The significance of that moment is that by seeing Kizzy as she really was, Rocky pointed out to Kizzy that she was engaging in self-harm, keeping herself trapped (symbolically) and never able to live as she could. But for Kizzy, to be truly free to be herself means helping other women also be free. It's also, even if unintentional, a good twist on the transphobic trope and conservative talking point of a transwoman trying to harm women (cough, she who shall not be named).

Kizzy also never styles herself super feminine even after gender confirmation surgery (as implied by Rocky that she received), but she still is a woman, and her being herself leads to redemption and freedom for everyone around her. We stan Kizzy and her loyal boyfriend (husband?) Kaito in this house.

Another theme, and connected to the idea of self-discovery and freedom and love and all that, is how to handle the past, a question everyone is always asking because as long as we're alive, we're evolving. Obviously we see that with the Amamiya brothers and the Mugen backstory, and we also see that in the present with Murayama and Todoroki. But we also see this most sharply highlighted in the conflict between Cain and Smokey.

Cain is not subtly named after the first murderer in the Bible, who kills his brother. Cain, of course, kills Smokey in cold blood, with Smokey asking him "did you come here to kill me?" and Cain affirming that he did indeed because if he doesn't, he won't be able to completely erase his past.

But the thing is, you can't kill your past without killing yourself. You have to embrace it and let it live. And something as precious as a life won't be so easily destroyed. To live, you have to live with all of yourself, the past and the present and the hope of a future. It's a struggle, it's a fight--but with people beside you, it's worth it. Almost like the fights in the series are a metaphor for struggling through life or something.

And then we have gentrification. Let's just say the horrors of it are not exaggerated. Smokey's death--and life--offer poignant social commentary on what happens when people treat others like they don't deserve to live, like they are forgotten, like they don't exist. Because they do exist, because they love.

When Cain kills Smokey, Smokey tells him--in all sincerity, despite being abandoned by his parents, living in a homeless slum, and being terminally ill his entire life because the rich poisoned the people in the slum--that he lived "the best life." Why? Because the scenes flash back to him meeting his adopted sister Lala, caring for Eri, meeting his gang. He had a family, and he loved them, and they loved him. When he dies, he's buried in that same slum and Takeshi comments that "to Smokey, this [place] is heaven." And it is, because heaven is love.

(Also, the "rich poisoning people by being careless because these people don't matter" is hardly unrealistic. Bhopal would like a word with you, Dow Inc, you sh*theads.)

In Conclusion

Things you'll have to endure: multiple Mighty Warrior music videos.

Things you get to enjoy: Hyuga being a Barbie girl in a Barbie world who shows up to fights with all the Durama Ikka and planned choreography and bespoke songs.

Things you get to enjoy: multiple twinks needing rescue from being dragged into the drug trade to save their loved ones only to get whumped in true hurt/comfort fanfic fashion before sobbing in the arms of their friends who welcome them home.

Things you have to endure: Noboru trying to convince Cobra et al to join the Mojo Dojo Casa House Kuryu Group.

Things you get to enjoy: The power of friendship saving Noboru from himself, Rocky from dying alone, Smokey from having no meaning to his life, Amagai from himself, Murayama from himself, Todoroki from himself, Arata from himself, setting captives free, and rich bastards who trod all over the poor getting what they deserve.

Things you have to just not think too hard about: gangs seeing drugs as the biggest taboo which I'm pretty sure is not usually the case but hey, hoodlums have standards, and also the evil guys keeping their secrets in a folder literally stamped with the label TOP SECRET.

Things you have to endure: Smokey dying. I'm not over it. Someone fight me to bring him back. But also it's one of the most beautiful death scenes in fiction.

Things you get to enjoy: Generally no one, unless you're Smokey, straight (Takeru), or yakuza (no one cares).

Things you have to ignore: why no one ever studies at these high schools and why they all look like they're in their 30s-40s.

Things you get to enjoy: pretty great rep of a trans woman that directly counters some of the most harmful tropes.

Things you have to endure: Noboru being resurrected by the power of True Love's Handholding, because the nurse literally RAN AWAY from a coding patient to "get the doctor" but it's okay, his friends beg him to live and he does.

Things you get to enjoy: a series that founds its premise in action and violence that offers a surprisingly wholesome, kind message on relationships, humanity, redemption, and love... whether that love is platonic or romantic.

But, I mean, Final Mission literally ends with the gangs defeating the evil corporation with a rainbow-colored smoke that takes over the sky of the city. So it's gay.

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sleepyagent · 2 months

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Why is this so funny

#Kyaba Jou Dakedo JD ni Otosaremashita #yuri #manga #wlw #sapphic #lesbian #funny #its soft #recommend #amazaki suika #mangacap

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mr-orion · 3 months

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Introducing Mzamaki's dad: The Great Amazaki

And while he'd never outwardly say it, Mzamaki is very much his favorite child, even though the possibility of Mzamaki not being his child by blood is very high. While Amazaki isn't ready to admit that as a possibility Mzamaki lives with it. Its very clear he's an affair baby. He doesn't look like his father or his siblings but he looks like a very certain sleezeball in his pod, and much like 20 other bastard children.

But Amazaki insist that Mzamaki must be his, he had a great grandmother that was also pink. Surely Mzamaki just got that from her. Not that blood relation is important to Amazaki... But it's important to the others in their pod, especially if he plans to give Mzamaki the empire he built as opposed to one of his older brothers.

Amazaki already gets a lot of snideness from his ex-wives infidelity and the affair that came to light, he doesn't want people daring to go after him anymore.

#art #ocs #character art #my ocs #sketch #drawing #daily sketch #daily doodle #fantasy #merman #mermaid oc #merpeople #mr orion mzamaki #Mzamaki #mr orion misc oc

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iciousill · 1 year

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Seiyuu that...

...as considered by Shirai Yuusuke and Kijima Ryuuichi in Shirai's YT video here.

Idk if anyone has translated this video since I haven't checked. I'm not translating the whole video, just the questions and their answers in brief.

...seems good at drawing others into spoiling them? Kijima: Yonaga Tsubasa Shirai: Nishiyama Koutarou

...don't appear their age? Kijima: Tsuda Kenjirou Shirai: Asanuma Shintarou

...seem like they'd plan surprises for the person they're going out with? Kijima: Hayami Shou Shirai: Komada Wataru

...seem talented/ genius (presumably as a seiyuu)? Kijima: Namikawa Daisuke Shirai: Seki Tomokazu

...seem to have a behaviour gap between their on-the-job and off-work selves? Kijima: Ishikawa Kaito Shirai: Shirai Yuusuke

...would die first in a zombie movie? Kijima: Odagaki Yuuta Shirai: Nozuyama Yukihiro

...seem to easily get lonely? Kijima: Horie Shun Shirai: Chiba Shouya

...seem like they might kiss someone while drunk? Kijima: Saitou Souma Shirai: Amazaki Kouhei Most of the time they didn't refer to full names; you can message me to let me know if I made any mistakes.

#seiyuu #shirai yusuke #kijima ryuichi #shirai yuusuke #kijima ryuuichi #translation

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livingbutamireally · 1 year

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AY2022/2023 Y4S1 Module Reviews

I have been putting this off for awhile and have been writing this over the span of a few weeks truthfully maybe even a month. I have no idea what is it in this semester but i get tired just from doing absolutely nothing. We already knew but the transition from work back to school wasnt easy at least for me couldnt remember some of the coding stuff i used to have at my fingertips. But i guess there was enough mods for me to practice them over so it didnt take too long for me to get back on my feet. Feels so surreal that its finally my last modreg season actually....

Without further ado the

Overview

LAJ2201 Japanese 2

GEH1016 Understanding Consumption

BT4103 Business Analytics Capstone Project

BT4212 Search Engine Optimization and Analytics

BT4222 Mining Web Data for Business Insights

LAJ2201 Japanese 2

Lecturer

Kitai S., Amazaki O.

Textbooks

Minna no Nihongo Shokyu 1 Main textbook Second Edition (SGD42.00)

Minna no Nihongo Shokyu 1 Translation & Grammatical Notes in English Second Edition (SGD33.00)

Minna no Nihongo Shokyu 1 Hyoojun Mondaishuu Second Edition (SGD18.00)

Minna no Nihongo Shokyu 1 Kanji Eigoban Kanji (English Edition) Second Edition (SGD32.00)

Prices are how the school vendor charges, if you can source cheaper ones outside feel free to get those instead! You will need Hyoujun Mondaishuu in physical copy so please get that at the very least.

Weightage

Term Test 1 Performance i dont know if im allowed to share this info tbh here goes nothign

Ave highest full mark

Kanji & Vocabulary 8.3 10 10

Grammar 1 Particles 5.9 8 8

Grammar 2 True or False 4.4 6 6

Grammar 3 Finding errors 2.5 6 6

Reading 7.6 10 10

Listening 7.5 11 12

Term Test 2 Components *performance not revealed

Kanji + Katakana Grammar 1 (particle) Grammar 2 (true/false) Grammar 3 (conjugation) *new Grammar 4 (finding error) Reading Listening

Review

honestly LAJ has been very exciting for me personally if not one of the most fun moments ive had in nus. sure 1 sem is barely enough for you to ground yourself in the fundamentals of a language and of course interest far supersedes any kind of effort u put in because it is not the hours u put into it that count, but rather the passive picking up of things as u go along. sounds cheesy as hell that is probably true. anyways laj has been nothign short of enjoyable despite the really tight timeline plus very consistent schedule of always being on the grind for submissions. the workload really IS a lot and its very time consuming so i have to think hard if i really want to take this next sem. honestly as someone whos been into this hellhole for awhile, learning it formally is still really different from anything ive been doing on my own (watchign etc).... like i didnt know i still have so much i dont know??? ok tbf i came in with no grammar knowledge other than the basic の and と that any seasoned otaku would know so i struggled Hard.. but i think the experience of learning with new friends really ive made eased it in so much for me... i love it.. 1000/10 would recommend if ur already into the culture idt u have anything to lose?? idt i did well throughout tbh as in weekly quizes ive got a lot of 6/10s but on days where i studied 30 mins before the class i get 9/10 so do what u got to do ig. my term test perf wasnt very good either so im not getting my hopes up despite me taking this module with the intentions to bring my gpa up.

for the drill every week theres 1 lecture, 2 tutorials. the lecture goes through one chapter of the minna textbook which includes both a set of vocabulary and some grammar rules. for tut A u got to hand in the kanji homework and theres a vocab quiz too in class that u need to prep before hand. tut A also goes through renshuu C-1 and C-2 dialogues usually. And every sun there are prep quizes for both vocab and kanji due, this preps u for the in class quiz can retake as many times to perfect ur score. for tut B u got to hand in the hyoujun mondaishuu (physical) for the previous weeks lecture and they go through more speech patterns covered in renshuu C-3 usually. Renshuu C is where u find the dialogues that you will need again for the oral interview basically memory work. Oral interview pairs u with a classmate and u guys take turns to talk, what is tested is the same as renshuu C just under different context/setting. sometimes theres additional hw to submit for shadowing (recording urself repeating the dialogue right after a recorded dialogue), writing (short compo) and reading (comprehension). When its nearing term tests, u will get a listening quiz the week before tt iirc the stuff are said only ONCE so if u zone out then byebye. The term test itself also has a listening component which is basically the same drill again for god knows why. other than that we had this online exchange session pretty fun with other jp uni students zoom n chat kind of thing then a presentation on ur exchange in w13. Pretty fun time passes too fast in laj honestly it made my week go by too fast (spend too much time doing jp).

GEH1016 Understanding Consumption

Professor Dr. Hendrik M.

Weightage

Content

Introduction - Thinking about Consumption

Geographies of Consumption

Consumption in History

Economics and Consumption

Business and Consumption

Psychology and Consumption

Society and Consumption

Cultures of Consumption

Politics and Consumption

Ethics of Consumption

Environment and Consumption

Internet and Consumption and Conclusions

Conclusions

Review

Took this as a ue just for the sake of a ue.. i saw the reviews saying its essay based sparks flew jk i think its like any other ge tbh the lectures go through consumption as viewed from the various disciplines, assumptions et cetera et cetera its like a content kind of mod? i skipped most of the later half of the lectures because my schedule was really so bad i needed more time for my other mods priorities right and i didnt do any of the readings theres just too much and im not that much of a reader i know.. attention span lasts for at msot 5s and these readings are like 30 pages on average long some weeks theres 2 readings i simply cant wiht the reading.. other than that u kind of just need to know what they are covering in the lectures so i should be safe..crossing my fingers.... tutorial wise its kind of seminar style? the tutor is able to talk a lot out of nothing sometimes which amazes me...its very nothing module idh a better word low effort ish? just sometimes we need to present and stuff in our groups for the tutorials and the final presentation on our location of research and findings..class part alright... essay is some reflection paper on what has been taught i think it wsa week 4/5 ish then group project is any location of your choice to study on the different perspectives of consumption and a bit of research u come up with this academic paper (tutor is very niao about the citation style and stuff so please be careful) then the original written finals by some reason i dont rmb became a take home final essay which is better for me since more time (not really for me cause AFA LOL) anyways shitted out the paper a day before submissions and still alive so...

BT4103 Business Analytics Capstone Project

Professor Um S.Y., Hahn J.P.

Weightage

Individual Component Consultation Participation 25% Weekly logs 10% Group Component Presentations + Project deliverables 50% Client Satisfaction 15%

Note: The score for the teamwork component of your grade will be normalised based on your contribution to the team, which will be determined via a peer evaluation process and a client satisfaction survey at the mid/end of the semester

Schedule

Lectures for this mod only happened once during the start of the sem, on nusmods its a 3h long one but dw that only will occur just once. Following weeks will be a 30min consult that is set at the convenience of the group and the prof/TA can be held on another day as well really up to you. So at the start there was about 20 (?) projects on the portal they will brief you during that initial lecture and you can go in to look at the descriptions of the deliverables if it aligns with your groups interest. You bid for them by ranking the 20 projects and the assignment of groups to their projects is on fcfs basis (other than by rank) so please manage the time for bidding well if you want to get the project of your choice. Yeah and then you get to exchange contacts with your company etc to for an introduction of the expected work proper. After that you kind of really just liaise back and forth with your company on the submission, and every week the profs will check in with you on your progress, any doubts/challenges etc etc basically a slot to update on your work. There is a weekly log submission too due Fri 12pm where u outline your contributions in a doc to be submitted. Other than that for the presentations, there is an interim one nearing recess week and a final one in week 13. Interim was online/physical at your choice even though they did not make it very clear and finals is definitely physical with your project sponsors as well. Tip is to make sure u choose projects that you definitely have stuff to talk about.... if its too easy its a bit hard to make your project and value of work delivered look substantial enough....

BT4212 Search Engine Optimisation and Analytics

Professor Jin C.

Weightage

Class participation 5%

In-class quiz 5%

Homework assignments and group project 40%

Final exam 50%

Content

Keywords research, Google ranking algorithm updates, on-page/off-page SEO, randomized experiment design, A/B test, ranking algorithm, data mining and ml methods

Review

This actually is still a pretty interesting module even up till now but i especially rmb telling another friend how the content isnt dry like the other modules well till i was proven wrong with the experiment design flashbacks to ger1000 but overall i think its still pretty interesting the prof also is very engaging as in he talks in a way that captures your attention? or at the very least isnt very monotonous and he does put in the effort to come up with very relevant analogies amidst all the inevitably dry content Oh the reason why i was impressed was i actually finally understand?? the source material?? like snaps fingers enlightenment kind of thing???? hes actually really good at conveying the material without making it seem like the daunting insurmountable mountain... the first few weeks are fine though they ease u in wiht all the motivations behind efforts to improve seo ranking and the google ranking updates which are very interesting to learn about.. the ranking algo and ml parts are towards the end after week 7 and things start to get a bit haywire because its suddenly knee dip into matrices (after 3 years) and stuff solving eigenvectors (i thought we moved on from maths) </3 then towards the end the usual ml recap all over again this is good since most bt mods does a ml refresher over the models and stuff again so its a good recap or even does a good job introducing for those who are touchnig these for their first time.

The quizes kind of didnt happen until after week 7 iirc theres only 2 for our sem its a 5 mcq luminus quiz kind of thing and its all ctrl-f-able open book so try to get 5/5 for these. The homework assignments are also more congregated towards the second half of the sem so just manage your time well and expect these to take up some keyword some of your time. There are 4 of those in total, the first is a simple writeup pretty much no biggie then the remaining 3 are coding assignments but most of it u would have the pseudocode to do the same he explains it in lectures then u just kind of code it out the final one being more ml driven so if you’ve done ml before u wont struggle much anyway. Else can just google the source code its always p much the same plug and pull easy game. The finals though...........

(minute of silence)

its a written paper so u kind of sit down for 2h doing the problems for the final week (w13) the prof will go through finals questions from previous sems if u revised it then ur gtg u can expect about the same. But i didnt plan my time well plus confused by the requirements (choose all that apply for mcqs) and the answer fields being in a table of boxes from q1 to 20 do i really put e.g. a,b,c within one box for one question?? and the option d is a whole ‘all above’ really got me second guessing myself until idk anymore if i rmb correctly the format was 20 MCQs, 4 short answer questions (not really short but compared to the longer ones behind), 1 long ass question with many subparts that tests computation i.e. stats stuff and the matrices stuff

Anyways grades please be nice to me crying i lost too many marks because id dint have the time (for the first time if im being honest) Theres also one group project but no news from the prof until very late into the sem maybe week 8? 9? they had to finalise some sutff like if our blogs were indexed (most of it was not) so it became a project plan write up kind of thing how u plan to conduct the experiment to test out whether changing up some things affect the seo ranking instead of actually executing it out (profs original intention) might differ next sem tell me about it then

This is a sem 1 only mod and i think u should definitely take this up if the module title intrigues you because out of all the bt mods ive taken most barely even correspond to the module title T_T but this one surprisingly does a good job at it as for workload wise i think its pretty manageable just got to expect a little more than nothing in the later half of the sem

BT4222 Mining Web Data for Business Insights

Professor Wang Q.H.

Weightage

Assignment 1 (10%)

Quiz 1 (10%)

Assignment 2 (10%)

Project proposal submission and presentation (5%)

Assignment 3 (10%)

Quiz 2 (10%)

Project deliverables (40%)

Attendance class participation (5%)

Content

ML intro, web scraping, feature engineering, regularisation, NLP, classification methods, linear/logistic regression, bayesian learning/ svm, decision tree, ensemble learning and random forests, neural nets and deep learning, word embedding, convolutional neural net recurrent neural net and other DNN and explainability

Review

This is one of the more popular pes because it coincides for a few specs or sth im sure its also why i thought this should be one of the more useful ones granted it aligns for more than 1 spec.. Anyway what im saying is that most bza students would have taken this mod. And sure enough i think the prof this sem wang qh did a really good job covering this mod cant say the same for zhao yl for last sem.. u all really.. Anyways once again like many bt mods its a very ML focused one so u get to explore the various ML models if you like doing that. The prof also provide source codes so its very helpful when you need to refer in future and stuff. Nothing much to say ba its quite good theres class part so maybe half way through the lecture she will put up the attendance gforms then u fill it in on the spot usually during the break i.e. 1h 10m into the lecture (she sets alarm for this to make sure she doesnt go over v cute) Other than that theres 2 tests (quizzes) held on examplify usually max max 30 mcq but these mcq are tricky as hell sometimes with 5/6 options so really ganbare. For the assignments its coding based and also very structured with guidelines in the ipynb plus u got all the source code so no problem ba mb just 1/2 question will be q hard but other than that no biggie ive always been the last minute so maybe allocate about a week should be enough. Then theres also a project that you can work on throughout the sem, yes as you learn more ml models through the week the problem statement is really up to you and your group and how u want to achieve it also very open ended... (jsut like the BT4221 i took) except u already know theres this project at the start of the sem i.e. more time to work on it unlike bt4221....... just need to submit project proposal at the start of the sem then ur report findings, codes and stuff at the end with a presentation for proposal (cancelled for us due to no time) and a presentation in w13 (can be 1/2 person presenting for the group) there will be a lot fo groups presenting and then we have a gforms to rate their projects as part of the evaluation no finals for this (yay) bc she thinks the doing is more importatn (getting down to prep the data, actual model implementation basically the practical stuff compared to content content stuff (WHICH SHOULD BE THE WAY TO GOOO) very practically speaking all the theory is all google-able whether u can do it is something else entirely

#y4s1

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welcometoaurorashell · 3 years

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Sir I am not happy with you

#Soshi Amazaki #charming empire #maybe I just don’t understand him yet #I don’t know not happy with the he treats Kei

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batteryrose · 4 years

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First full-body commission! it’s Soshi Amazaki from The Charming Empire

I really push myself when it’s art for other people huh.

#batteryrose commissions #soshi amazaki #the charming empire #otome #i wouldnt go past messy sketches for myself #welp now to rest for a week #art

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auromelt · 8 months

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#suzaki ryo #high and low the worst #amagai kohei #high & low #high and low #suzaama #amazaki #high & low the worst x

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eatprayworm · 10 months

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it’s a love story baby just say yes // amagai/suzaki in high&low the worst x

after watching the movie multiple times, i feel confident in this conclusion: high&low the worst x is a love story. it’s a movie all about the power of friendship, the importance of love, and how that love between individuals & groups saves the day. as a series, high&low blurs the line between romance and friendship, and this movie is one of its most blatant examples; whether you want to call it platonic or romantic, in the end, it's love. so i’m here to talk about how the heart of the movie is amagai & suzaki’s love story. let’s get started!

beginning: the sky

the movie begins with a shot of the sky, from the rooftops - which we later learn is the metaphorical top view that amagai and suzaki have sought since childhood. so from the very start, we're presented with their end goal in mind. the movie wants you to know that this is where it all begins, with two boys' desire to see the sky.

“from the moment people are born, it’s all been decided - whether you get to look down on others, or have to look up at others.”

the camera then pans down as amagai shares his black&white philosophy on humans, and it’s pretty standard antagonistic talk. you’re either on top or the bottom, a ruler or a servant, and it’s very clear that he sees himself as the first of these. we then watch amagai and suzaki storm the school, amassing a group of followers from senomon and other schools, leading to the group all standing outside the school. it's a show of power and solidarity.

but when the group starts moving forward, suzaki stays behind, watching amagai and his gang leave. the illusion of a powerful union has been fractured. eventually suzaki is all alone in the courtyard, and he pensively turns his gaze to the sky.

thus, the film's introduction has set up the major conflict in the film: not between senomon and oya high, but between amagai and suzaki. amagai leads his alliance, but suzaki stays behind - they are not walking together on this journey, at least not emotionally. rather than walking beside amagai, suzaki ponders the sky, the representation of their childhood dream.

amagai prowls into a violent future, suzaki holds onto their past. the stage is set.

the view

let’s start with amagai and suzaki’s childhood. the two have known each other since they were small boys, and we're shown a scene of suzaki moping after he was bullied. amagai shows up and says he took a bat (lmao) and used it to beat up suzaki’s bullies. he also brings suzaki soda to cheer him up. suzaki vows to one day be strong enough to protect amagai from harm, and together they promise to take in the view from the top together. they're all smiles and laughter, wide-eyed innocence.

this is the foundation of their relationship: companionship and a shared dream. just two boys against the world because they are friends, and that’s what friends do.

the loyal dog, a torn heart

in the present, their relationship looks very, very different.

gone is the sweet-smiled amagai who dotes on suzaki; gone is the companionship, the understanding that they’re equals. throughout the movie, suzaki acts as amagai’s attack dog instead. all amagai has to do is lift his finger or nod his head, and suzaki immediately acts accordingly without hesitation, doing some pretty awful things in amagai’s name. more than once, amagai yells at suzaki to go do his job, because that’s how he sees suzaki - not as a friend, but just another minion (except not entirely, which we discuss later). amagai doesn’t smile at him, doesn’t laugh like a friend would. he only acknowledges suzaki’s presence when he has an order for him. suzaki’s expression is always closed off during these moments; he shows neither joy nor disdain at doing his job - and he always, always does his job.

essentially, they have gone from childhood friends to employer/subordinate, or handler/dog. it’s bleak for them.

however, as the opening scene teased, there is a disconnect between amagai and suzaki. we see this in an early scene when amagai promises his minions that they’ll see the top if they stick with him. suzaki turns to give amagai a sideways glance. the muscles in his cheek twitch. his eyes harden. he’s upset.

amagai is promising their childhood dream to people who don’t give a single fuck about amagai as a person; they're only here because suzaki beat them into submission and amagai threw money their way. that dream of seeing the top? that belonged to them.

suzaki is relegated to bodyguard attack dog while amagai doles out their dream, their childhood love, to others. this is the crux of their conflict. amagai only cares about the victory, not whoever stands by his side and helps make it possible. he’s cast aside their past, their love, while suzaki desperately clings to it.

interestingly, suzaki doesn’t speak up about this. that’s kind of a theme.

amagai acts with a cold, brutal violence that suzaki clearly dislikes - he sends amagai furtive glaces whenever amagai displays unsavory behavior. for instance, suzaki beat tsukasa in a fair fight, and when tsukasa was already down for the count, amagai starts beating tsukasa with a pipe. amagai then snaps at suzaki to “stop wasting time on this chump”, to which suzaki levels another infamous disapproving side eye to his old friend. that wasn't necessary, his eyes say. stop acting like this.

again, he disagrees with amagai’s methods, and again, he stays silent. he is loyal, oh so loyal, but that does not equate to condoning what amagai does. why doesn’t he speak up? it could be any number of reasons. he doesn’t want to upset amagai. he’s clinging to the person amagai used to be. i talk more about this here.

love makes him stay. love keeps him quiet. this clearly causes him distress, but suzaki suffers in silence. better to stay quiet than lose amagai. he’s all suzaki wants at the end of the day.

the warped heir, a childhood dream: of limos and schools

in front of the other guys, amagai treats suzaki as nothing more than a pawn. but when he’s alone or only with suzaki, his body language and tone tell a very different story.

first, we find out that surprise, suzaki’s dad is actually amagai’s chaffeur! the limo is important because not only does it represent the power imbalance between suzaki and amagai (discussed later), but it also represents their emotionally distant relationship. suzaki is left on the curb as amagai gets in the limo and suzaki’s dad drives him away, and suzaki watches them go in silence. there is a clear divide here: suzaki is not welcomed in amagai’s private life, his personal space. suzaki is always on the outside, looking in on amagai who continues to shut him out.

inside the privacy of the limo, amagai’s features soften. suzaki’s dad asks amagai if suzaki has been useful to him, homing in on the idea that suzaki is a tool to be used as opposed to a friend. the normally bratty, loud amagai is silent, half-cast in shadow, half in the light. suzaki is not the only one who is rendered into contemplative silence by the reminder of their childhood, their relationship.

we see a flashback of amagai’s first day at senomon. he snaps at suzaki’s dad for making a comment about amagai transferring here, since it’s implied that amagai transferred because of delinquency as opposed to a choice. suzaki’s dad then says that he transferred suzaki to senomon to be with amagai. an important reveal: for better or worse, suzaki's dad has essentially sold his son to please amagai and his family. but IS amagai pleased?

amagai lifts his head, expression softer, uncertain. this news clearly means something to him based on the mixed emotions he shows, but we don't know what.

just like that, the two former best friends see each other face to face for the first time in almost a decade.

amagai keeps his expression closed off, while suzaki looks remarkably lighter than he does in the present. he seems a little uncertain, but there’s a little quirk to his lips, something hopeful. he expects amagai to greet him, to like him just like he used to. surely they’re going to be friends, just like old times.

but amagai says nothing more and walks into the school. suzaki, as always, follows.

other students remark on how the legendary suzaki is attending their school. amagai glances their way - perhaps he did not know of his old friend’s reputation as the king of his former school. amagai sniffs out an opportunity. it’s already established that he was a troublemaker, hence the school transfers, but now he has the key to staying in power uncontested. again, amagai is focused on the end goal of being on top and in power. he doesn't focus on the human element, the emotional aspect, that it takes for him to get there. humans are to be used, not loved, and he's found the perfect boy to use.

suzaki, on the other hand, doesn’t care about the others gossiping about him. he keeps his eyes on amagai because that’s all he cares about. so when amagai tells suzaki that they’re going to take over the school, suzaki immediately falls in line and agrees. he’s finally reunited with his best friend, the only person here suzaki cares about. of course he is going to say yes. we then see suzaki start to beat people up in the name of amagai. the new status quo has been set.

back in the present, suzaki’s dad says that amagai makes suzaki very happy. but the thing is, suzaki ISN'T very happy. he's ridiculously loyal and in love, but the way his jaw started twitching when amagai promised their childhood dream to some randos wasn't the gesture of a man who's happy with this scenario. he’s happy to be with amagai, sure, but to say he’s super happy in general is ignorant of suzaki’s emotional turmoil. suzaki can’t be truly happy until amagai accepts his devotion for what it is: love.

like every other comment the dad makes about suzaki, amagai says nothing. he stays quiet, unwilling to make eye contact. here, sealed away in a limo, he is no king. he’s just a boy thinking about his old friend, the one who means more to him than he lets on.

the warped heir, a childhood dream pt. 2: of vulnerabilities and sodas

fujio and tsukasa are set up as the foils of amagai and suzaki. fujio and tsukasa deeply love and respect each other, and their love (and love for their schoolmates) shines through the whole movie. so naturally, once amagai and tsukasa speak, we’re given insight into the amagai+suzaki conflict.

amagai taunts tsukasa for having friends because strong people don’t need those, and tsukasa, bloody and beaten up, just laughs and touches on the biggest nerve he could: a reminder that amagai is someone unloved.

amagai visibly shakes in rage and starts kicking the shit out of tsukasa in return. he’s so angry because he knows tsukasa is right. no one cares about amagai kohei except for the money in his pockets.

of course, that isn’t actually true.

the camera pans to suzaki, sadly staring at the ground as amagai unleashes his cruelty.

suzaki, who loves amagai.

suzaki, who would rescue amagai in a heartbeat without interest in repayment because that’s what friends do.

suzaki, who is waiting for amagai to look at him and really see him.

afterwards, suzaki is left alone with a can of soda (the same he and amagai drank as kids) and another memory. in this flashback, he catches amagai bragging to his minions how his dad saved suzaki’s dad from bankruptcy and thus made suzaki’s family indebted to his. a confirmation of what was alluded to earlier in the limo, that there is a power imbalance between their families, one that's trickled down to the sons. he hears amagai calling suzaki his tool since childhood. suzaki is visibly in his feelings about this.

when the minions leave, suzaki reveals himself. it’s just him and amagai now.

the boisterous amagai has settled down, looking softer and calmer now that it’s just him and suzaki. this is intentional; ryoki aka amagai’s actor has stated that because suzaki is different, that he’s special to amagai, that amagai is a little different around him. suzaki cracks the mask of smug confidence that amagai wears, revealing the boy within.

suzaki gives amagai a soda, the same from their childhood, the same he’s reflecting on in the present. it is implied that amagai gave suzaki money for the drinks, and he tells suzaki to keep the change - because he thinks suzaki cares about the money, like he was somehow doing suzaki a kindness by telling him to keep the rest. when instead, the soda is the real gift. it represents their childhood, when amagai beat up suzaki's bullies and then bought snacks for him to cheer him up. the soda aka their bond is what matters, not the money. but amagai refuses to see that.

and then, something amazing happens. for the first time this movie, suzaki confronts amagai. he seizes the moment to question amagai’s declaration that he’s only a pawn. surely that can’t be right? yes, amagai orders him around, but they’re still friends at the end of the day, right?

amagai immediately turns away and doesn’t look at suzaki. it’s the same reaction he had when suzaki’s dad brings up amagai’s relationship with suzaki - he cannot confront this vulnerability face-on. suzaki makes him too honest, too human.

without looking at suzaki, amagai recites that everyone who works for him just wants his money, including suzaki. it doesn't sound like an original thought; it sounds like he’s reading off a script. someone taught him, either directly or by experience, that this is the way of the world. he's a walking cash register. it's all he has to offer.

suzaki disagrees. amagai briefly looks at suzaki again when suzaki protests and snaps that he can't trust friends. and then amagai looks away from suzaki, sighs, and softly says that all he needs is tools. it's like he has to remind himself of this mantra because suzaki's mere presence is a threat to this conviction. the part of him that’s still that little boy with a baseball bat and a soda can wants to believe suzaki, wants to reach out and take the hand that suzaki is extending. but he can’t; he won’t. because to do so would be weakness, and he cannot afford to be weak and to put trust in someone else.

the part of him that’s damaged from past experiences doesn’t allow him to believe that suzaki is being genuine to him. whatever happened to amagai to make him this cruel, violent, untrusting being remains in power, at least for now.

suzaki’s love is rejected. and so, the conflict continues.

childhood rediscovered

the denouement of their conflict begins with suzaki reflecting on the soda once again. the big war between the schools has begun downstairs. amagai storms in, barking orders as usual, and suzaki places the soda can down with a loud thunk. the childhood dream is set aside. back to their new reality. amagai flexes his power by demanding that suzaki does his job - as if that was even a question. suzaki can and will do just about anything for amagai.

yet, suzaki hesitates in that moment. not because he's considering disobeying amagai, but because he's so frustrated that amagai would need to say that in the first place. when has he ever not done his job? why can't amagai see that suzaki loves him? he's hurting in silence once more. but he's a good dog and after a moment of painful seething, he does what he's told: beat people in amagai's name.

and suzaki does. he fights, and fights, and fights. not for senomon, not for himself, but for amagai. this is how he loves - through endless devotion. meanwhile, amagai stays on the second floor of the gym, safe and up high. he remarks how those fighting below are idiots, once again showing that he thinks he’s above them - and he literally is, in this case. there are only two kinds of humans, after all, and amagai is the kind that’s above the rest.

until he isn’t.

then amagai and tsukasa, who started brawling, fall from the second floor onto the first. suddenly, amagai is no longer on top, the ruling class. now he’s in the danger zone, at the same level as everyone else. so what does he do?

he screams for suzaki, who comes when called.

oya, housen, and suzuran take over the gym, crushing amagai’s alliance. once the allied schools see they’re not going to win this battle, they leave. amagai screams at them, demanding they do their job, as he has done many times before with suzaki. but these men are not suzaki. they have no loyalty to amagai beyond his wallet. they fought, they got money - no point in sticking around when they’re obviously going to lose.

but there’s one person who does, and always has, cared about amagai. the one who will never leave his side. and so suzaki literally limps over, placing himself bodily between amagai and the other gangs. he defiantly lifts his chin, dares them to try it. they have to go through him if they want amagai.

as long as suzaki draws breath, he will always stay with amagai.

fujio and suzaki fight one on one to determine the victor in the big school brawl, with all the other gangs watching. none are watching quite as closely, however, as amagai. as a bloody and bruised suzaki fights fujio to the point that he literally crawls to him to keep the fight going, amagai watches in a state of devastated disbelief. it’s the most emotion he’s shown this whole movie; the mask has completely shattered at the sight of suzaki's devotion. at one point, he murmurs suzaki’s name with a kind of shocked reverence. gone is the tool he ordered around like a master bringing his dog to heel; all that's left is the childhood friend that amagai tried so hard to keep at arm's length.

the fight and shots of an emotional amagai are interspersed with flashbacks to the childhood scene I described at the start. amagai reflects on when he beat up suzaki's bullies, because that's what friends do, and how he promised him that they'd reach the top together. suzaki swore as a child that he'd grow stronger to protect amagai, and sure enough, he has.

amagai is watching suzaki fulfill his childhood promise, even at great cost to himself. suzaki's love is a selfless one.

an emotional song with English lyrics like "stand by you" is playing in the background of this fight, just in case we didn't pick up that this is a romantic moment where the antagonist realizes that he's been loved this entire time. to further drive in that point, we get a scene of tsukasa (suzaki's foil) commenting on the nature of amagai and suzaki's relationship. he verbalizes what we've known all along, and what amagai is just now realizing: that suzaki values amagai deeply and above all else.

“man... why is suzaki fighting for that jerk?” “to suzaki... he’s more than that.”

that’s why he bleeds. that’s why he breathes. not because amagai is his leader. but because amagai is his love.

humanity

when suzaki loses, amagai falls back into a familiar coping mechanism: anger and violence. but this time, he takes it a step further. he rushes forward with a knife, intending to stab fujio in the gut. amagai has done some pretty deplorable things before, but nothing as severe and permanent as a homicide attempt. he's barreling down a dark road, one he might not be able to come back from if he succeeds.

but he fails.

suzaki grabs the knife by the blade, saving fujio, and saving amagai from himself.

amagai is horrified. he never wanted to hurt suzaki. but hurt him he has. suzaki has taken amagai's verbal abuse, he's suffered in silence when amagai made poor choices, and here too he takes the physical brunt of amagai's violence.

he stops amagai from becoming the worst version of himself; he is, and always has been, amagai's tether to humanity.

“what is your problem? you know you shouldn’t use that kind of thing!”

for the second time this movie, suzaki confronts amagai. on his knees with blood dripping from his hand, he finally speaks against amagai’s behavior. for all that he has taken amagai’s violence in stride, there are some lines that simply cannot be crossed. for suzaki, that is murder - a complete loss of humanity. he will not allow his friend to do that.

he clings to amagai's shirt and says that he's always stayed with amagai because of their dream together. it's essentially a love confession: I'm here because I love you. amagai is silent, looking down at his old friend at shock. when amagai says nothing and remains standing above him, suzaki mournfully remarks that amagai has forgotten their childhood, hasn't he?

but amagai hasn't forgotten. throughout the movie we see him reflecting on their past and relationship. he remembers, but he never allowed himself to feel it. only now, when faced with a battered suzaki who risked his life to protect amagai, not out of duty but out love, does he allow himself to feel and accept the love that they’ve had since childhood.

amagai’s decision to accept suzaki’s love is not an act of weakness, as he proclaimed earlier, but of humanity. to love is to be human, after all. suzaki saved amagai's humanity by stopping the knife, and he restores it again by loving him unconditionally. suzaki's love is redemptive, strengthening.

and now that amagai truly sees suzaki's love, amagai's whole world has tilted on its axis. he views the sky, his goal, in a different light. at the start of the movie, he believed that the humans on top would reach the sky and look down on the rest of the population. but now he realizes that humans aren't so hierarchal; everyone is beneath the same sky, after all. the toxic mentality he held about humans at the start has been broken by, you guessed it, suzaki's love.

fujio makes a comment about how senomon may have lost today, but that doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things because senomon has friends who fight for each other. cue suzaki slowly turning to look up at amagai, a silent question.

as amagai grapples with this discovery, suzaki throws all caution to the wind and asks a question that might as well be a public marriage proposal. this is what the movie has been leading up to this whole time: not a fight between schools, but the rekindling of a friendship.

suzaki has fulfilled his childhood promise to stay by amagai and grow strong enough to protect him. it’s now amagai’s turn to fulfill his childhood promise to stay with suzaki and see the top with him.

“hey... let’s start over again. will you be my friend? ko-chan?”

it's a love story, amagai, just say yes!!! but because they still have an audience, amagai struggles with being vulnerable, so he makes a dismissive comment in response. suzaki is visibly shattered. but amagai takes a page out of fujio's book (foils!) and drops the tsundere act long enough to crouch down to suzaki's level. he no longer positions himself above suzaki, but meets him at his level, as equals, and declares that he and ryo are in this together. amagai no longer views the desire to get to the top through a narrow lens. he brings suzaki back into the fold; he calls him by his first name, intimate and sweet. he accepts his love and loves him back.

suzaki is stunned and crying, finally hearing the words he's wanted to hear all this time. i'm here, i love you. even when amagai scolds him for crying, he's not actually angry, and he even wipes away his tears for him. after all, amagai spent the entire fight on the verge of tears himself.

the broken friendship has been repaired, and the conflict has been resolved. love saves the day once again.

i like the view right now

their story ends by circling back to the beginning: the infamous sky. everyone else has left the gym except for amagai and suzaki. amagai grouses that they can't even see the sky from here. suzaki doesn't seem bothered by this, though. after all, he's together with amagai, and that's what's most important. he tells amagai as much by once again asking him if they can start over as friends. amagai turns to look at suzaki, and while he doesn't reply with words, he breaks into a grin and starts laughing - the first time he's smiled for real in the film. his joy is contagious, and suzaki grins and laughs too.

“you and i... let’s start over again.”

they can't see the sky, but that's alright. for the first time since childhood, they're finally seeing each other.

at the very end, the last barrier in their relationship comes down. amagai enters the limo and suzaki stands by, as always. but this time, amagai beckons suzaki to join him with a smile. amagai has finally allowed suzaki into his private life, his physical and emotional space, and not as a tool, but as his beloved friend.

perhaps their story will continue in another movie, or perhaps not. either way, their future is hopeful. everything may not be suddenly sunshine and roses right away, as they have a lot to work through, but high&low characters forgive easily and relationships gradually heal. i think they'll be alright. they have love on their side, after all.

#high&low #high&low the worst cross #high&low the worst x #amagai kohei #suzaki ryo #amazaki #i have lots of big feelings about them and i'm glad to finally release them into the world #they are in love!!!!!!!#yes the title is cringe but i am cringy and free #go pick out a white dress amagai

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queenofnohr · 4 years

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The Charming Empire - Otome Review (Soshi Amazaki Route)

I was going to hold off on doing this because 1. I wanted to play more routes to have a more comprehensive look at the game and 2. I don’t really have free time yet. Promptly ignored the above logic mostly to get this out of my system.

Before we begin, a disclaimer - While I do have pretty extensive knowledge about the otome genre in both longer “proper” VNs as well as the shorter, bite sized mobile VNs, I’m able to derive enjoyment from most anything (I feel the need to point this out because I see a lot of reviews that get hung up on stuff I can easily brush off even if I do understand where they’re coming from).

This is going to be a spoiler-free review based on Soshi Amazaki’s route alone.

Firstly, I must note that this is a mobile otome game. If you’re looking for something as long and substantial as, say, Hakuouki, Alice in the Country of Hearts, Dandelion, etc. this is probably not the game for you.

Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll be rating it based on usual points with a more... comprehensive and personal look at the end (feel free to skip to that if you know our tastes align and/or just want to see me losing my mind).

Prologue - 1/10

Normally I wouldn’t separate prologue from story. However, as this game started as a mobile game, there is no general route in which one gains points toward a love interest as is standard in full-length otome games. However, even by mobile game standards this game’s prologue fails in that it you meet exactly 0 love interests. Indeed, the prologue is the bare-bones introduction of the setting. This flaw is further complicated by the fact that, because it started as a mobile game, routes are bought individually. This means that there is no way to gauge the love interests except by the game’s straightforward summary on the buy screen. Luckily for me, I was sold at “Kenjiro Tsuda voices a love interest who is both a big brother and a lord” so this wasn’t as knee-capping as it could’ve been, but normally you’d have to simply take a leap of faith because if a love interest doesn’t actually end up being your type, you’re out of luck since you’ve already paid for the route.

This is an aside, but translation for the prologue is... questionable. It isn’t unreadable, like some translations I’ve had the misfortune of reading, but it does create some confusion regarding the MC’s family situation which I can’t help but clear up here. MC is the daughter of the previous lord whose mother moved with her out to the countryside. Her mother is died of illness, and MC now lives with an elderly couple. It’s simply when I say it here, but in game the family situation isn’t actually explained until well into the route and the narration refers to the couple as the “old man” and “old woman,” while the MC calls them “Grandpa” and “Grandma” (ojii-san, obaa-san in Japanese, which is a literal translation of what someone would call any older folk with the degree of familiarity MC has with them) while they call her “princess” (literally, hime-sama). The closeness of referring to them as grandparents vs the distance of the narrative’s “old man/woman” + calling the MC princess in a literal sense (vs. a nickname) is jarring especially because, again, they do not clearly explain the MC’s family situation.

Story - 7/10

Soshi holds the most powerful seat in all the empire. Only trusting himself, he rejects the opinions of others as he continues his dictatorship agenda -- breeding animosity amongst the people. He’s a cold man who sees even his own sister as a political tool.

This is the official description for Soshi’s route. Unfortunately(?) for some this... doesn’t really hold true for most of the route and I find it an odd way to bill it.

The initial conflict/relationship growth in the game stems from the MC wanting to be closer to Soshi - not necessarily in a romantic sense - and his distance due to his position. If you’re expecting a more haughty/sneering/pragmatic Kenjiro Tsuda more along the lines of his role as Kazama Chikage and/or a villain archetype who treats MC as a tool (no judgment, we all got our otome types) he’s by and large not that. Things get more complicated around the 10th chapter, but that’s 2/3 of the game in.

The writing is competent. Again, if you’re looking for complex worldbuilding and something deep, you will not find it here. But, while it isn’t poetry in motion, there was at least no point where I actively cringed or asked myself why I was playing it (this is compared to my experience with Voltage Games and Playchoices).

The MC is tolerable. There’s nothing special about her, but she avoids being a literal faceless protagonist with zero presence while also not having such a strong personality as to be polarizing. She shows more competence and restraint than I expected of her (the bar was nearly floor level, but still).

The pacing is... odd. I get the distinct feeling that it’s a longer otome shoved inside a mobile otome, if that makes sense. I’ve seen other reviews call it rushed, but that isn’t necessarily the feeling I get. For a game to feel “rushed” to me, it has to show a lack of care and attention to detail; scenes are had just to have them and either don’t contribute to the overall plot/theme/feeling of the game. I feel like this game does take care, especially in it’s early bits, but some developments happen later on which don’t get the development time they necessarily need. Which leads me to-

The plot kind of goes off the rails around chapter 10 or 11. It returns to form in chapter 14ish. This... plot twist, shall we say, is predicated on hiding obfuscating knowledge from the reader that should be apparent due to being from the MC’s PoV. Whether or not this is a dealbreaker will depend largely on the person. Personally, I was loopy off resisting sleep medication while reading this part so I just sort of accepted it and the return to form/explanation in later chapters made it worth it, but your mileage will definitely vary. I have Thoughts on this, but this is all I can really say while still maintaining a spoiler free review.

Playtime if ardently listening to the voices is ~3 hours. Playtime can be cut down significantly if you’re a fast reader and don’t overly care about the voice acting.

I haven’t tried all alternate options, but there doesn’t seem like huge variations regarding the choices. The 16th chapter, however, will change based on whether you get the Normal or Happy End.

Art - 7/10

The art isn’t anything special nor is it terrible. It’s much less stiff and has more style to it that most mobile otome’s I’ve played, but is lacking when compared to, again, full length otome games.

The MC has a face, which gets points from me (I dislike faceless MCs a lot especially when included in CGs). The fact no one but love interests even get sprites is somewhat jarring.

As far as CGs go, they’re standard fare and about the number you’d expect for the length of a route. The game isn’t raunchy like... at all so don’t expect anything too scandalous.

Voice Acting - 10/10

What can I say? It’s Kenjiro Tsuda.

To elaborate, however-

Kenjiro Tsuda does an excellent job. I’m not sure if I’d call it his best work, but even if it is voiced, I think there’s some expectation for a mobile otome’s voicework to be phoned in. This is not the case and Tsuda’s acting gives a lot of life to the character and scenarios. I’ll, uh, save my gushing for my line-by-line dissertation, and leave it at that.

What was unexpected was, despite not having sprites, minor characters do get voices! They also have some rather nice performances, and there was no VA I disliked listening to or whose performance was noticeably lacking compared to the others (the actual sound quality was consistent overall as well).

Overall - 8/10

Aside from the prologue, this is a solid performance from a mobile otome game. Compared to full-length otome games it’s lacking, but it’s still one of the better mobile otomes I’ve played. For the $6 you can get individual routes for on the mobile app, it’s a fun, quick romp that was perhaps not necessarily what was advertised (regarding the actual summary), but instead met the expectations I dared to dream of. While I can’t vouch for the game in its entirety, I can, at the very least, vouch for this route.

Comprehensive Overlook + Personal Rating - 10/10

Okay, I’ve been objective as possible despite this being a very subjective topic and now it’s time for me to shill my little heart out.

Writing a standard fare review for this game was really really hard for me because against all odds, logic, and my own taste preferring shit like Hakuouki, I’m in love with this game. Obsessed with it. Half the reason why I’m doing this is because it is a totally unremarkable (though, again, fun) otome game so of course it doesn’t have, like, a community, but I need to fucking gush about it somewhere.

Why?

Because Soshi Amazaki literally hits every single husband trait I so dearly love. This route is the equivalent of if someone took my taste buds and analyzed each and every one of them, then cooked a meal precisely on my most loved things. It isn’t necessarily fine dining, but it feels like it was scientifically engineered to appeal directly to me. It’s like I was possessed and ghostwrote it. It’s like someone peered into my heart and teased out the essence of everything I’ve ever wanted, then told me to eat shit because the shell it’s rammed into is that of a bite sized otome game. I have never had such a feast before me. I’ve never been served such an exquisite palette of flavors. I have never been so thoroughly outraged that this is the form my heart takes.

And yet, I’m... pretty much satisfied, despite its flaws and shortness, with my only real outrage stemming from the fact there is literally nobody I can talk about this with (the morning after I binged the entire route I made my boyfriend play it just so I could rave like a lunatic to someone about it) as well as my shame for being so enamored with what is essentially a mediocre otome game.

I talked about how the story kind of went off the rails 2/3rds of the way through, but honestly? I didn’t care because the payoff was incredible. Was I scared the game wasn’t going to end up where I wanted it to while it was happening? Was I prepared to be immensely disappointed because I felt, briefly, like I was baited and that of course nothing would never let me have my cake and eat it too? Yep. But you know what? I don’t know or care if it’s because I set the bar so low or what, but my expectations were thoroughly blown out of the water.

I’m still committed to making even this part of the review spoiler free, so I won’t be going into depth about what I loved (I’ll save that for another post because this is long enough as it is), but I’ll add this apart from just character archetype and themes being what I loved.

That is, shockingly enough and even considering the pacing and, ahem, weirdness - this is a route where everything seems to serve a function. Again, the story isn’t necessarily deep, and while perhaps I would’ve gone about certain things a different way (and had there been space allotted for greater development), there are many, many, many things that are called back to or that seem insignificant, but serve as thematic backbone and create delicious implications.

As a big brother connoisseur, I give this route 3 Michelin Stars.

If you followed me for/like Fire Emblem’s Marx/Xander, I highly recommend this route.

#long post #the charming empire #soshi amazaki #otome game review #otome game

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