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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 2 years

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July 29 Tokyo Press conference on the Unification Church / FFWPU with English translation

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▲ Left to right: Yasuo Kawai, Hiroshi Yamaguchi and Masaki Kito

Three top Japanese Lawyers speak on the reality of the former Unification Church / Family Federation for World Peace and Unification and their spiritual sales fraud.

Video published on 30 July 2022

https://www.videonews.com/ Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan

On July 29, 2022, lawyers from the National Network of Lawyers against the Spiritual Sales, who have been working on relief for victims of the Spiritual Sales, held a meeting at the Foreign Correspondents' Association of Japan in Marunouchi, Tokyo.

Three lawyers of the liaison committee, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Masaki Kito, and Yasuo Kawai, spoke at the July 29, 2022 event.

▲ Lawyer Kawai explained about the relationship between the Abe administration and the Unification Church. LINK to Kawai transcript

Lawyer Hiroshi Yamaguchi: “I would like to briefly talk about the issues that concern us from the establishment of the organization until today.” LINK to Yamaguchi transcript

Attorney Kito introduced the trials against the former Unification Church which have been filed nationwide. Many victims have won their cases against the organization.

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Lawyers accuse Abe shooting-linked church of entrapping many families

By Peter Masheter, KYODO NEWS - Jul 29, 2022 - 23:10

The Unification Church … has emotionally entrapped many people such as the accused gunman's mother, lawyers committed to helping victims of the religious body said Friday.

The three lawyers ... told a press conference that the church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, receives donations by instilling fear in believers for relatives both living and deceased, including the specter of hell.

The National Network, comprising of about 300 lawyers, was established in 1987. The Network has repeatedly petitioned the government and politicians, including Abe, not to recognize the church. As of 2021, it had taken consultations nationwide on 34,537 cases, with losses totaling about 123.7 billion yen ($923 million).

The speakers condemned the shooting of Abe by Tetsuya Yamagami on July 8 in the western city of Nara as "wrong," and a statement from it called it a "despicable act." One of the lawyers, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, said many victims he has met are good people whose fears are exploited by the church.

"To stop their families being victims of misfortune, to stop their deceased relatives from suffering forever in hell, to help their son get married, they try to save them from misfortune, they give money to the church," he said. Yamaguchi also said an "overwhelming" number of believers in Japan are women, and religious groups in the country generally have more female followers.

Police say Yamagami may have identified the former prime minister as a target after watching a September 2021 video address from him to an event held by an organization associated with the church.

In the message, which prompted protest from the lawyers' group, Abe lauds the organization, the Universal Peace Federation, for its "focus and emphasis on family values."

Investigators have gradually revealed a picture of Yamagami who claims his mother's membership to the church blighted the lives of him and his siblings.

His uncle has previously told reporters that Yamagami's mother impoverished the family by donating around 100 million yen to the church and even selling real estate to do so.

Japan, Yamaguchi said, is a major center of fundraising and recruitment for the church because of the teachings propagated by its now-deceased founder, Sun Myung Moon, claiming the country is an "Eve" to Korea's "Adam" that must atone for its sins. Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. [The church also uses a distorted version of the Comfort Women issue to guilt Japanese members.]

As the shock from Abe's sudden death has dissipated, a number of lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, have been revealed to have connections to the church.

Speaking at the press conference, lawyer Masaki Kito said he hopes financial questions will lead to future developments, saying, "The Unification Church tries as much as possible to avoid using wire transfers, credit and bank books, it's a system for amassing money by cash.

"If transfers to politicians can be proven, then I think the movement of money will become a focal point."

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/07/84e98366dbb4-lawyers-accuse-abe-shooting-linked-church-of-entrapping-many-families.html

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Regarding the honeymoon relationship between politicians and the Unification Church, Yamaguchi, a lawyer who serves as the representative coordinator of the liaison committee, said, "There is freedom of religion, and it is difficult to regulate religious groups even if you look [around] the world. That's why I want politicians not to associate with the former Unification Church and to instead follow normal ethical standards.”

▲ Lawyer Hiroshi Yamaguchi holding a Unification Church book that shows Sun Myung Moon with former US president Eisenhower in 1965, then US president Nixon in 1973 and former Japanese president Kishi in 1973. Such images persuaded members that Moon was important and successful, as well as impressing outside contacts.

▲ Lawyer Hiroshi Yamaguchi holding a copy of the Cheong Seong Gyeong book of Sun Myung Moon’s words which, with his signature, each family in Japan was required to buy for $30,000 per book.

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The Daily Beast (Updated July 30, 2022)

“Manabu Yanagi, a retired police detective in Nikko City in Tochigi Prefecture, told The Daily Beast, “The news is shocking. The ties between an anti-social group of fraudsters and the ruling party of Japan are disturbing. It needs to be made clear what exactly those ties were.”

At a press conference on July 12, Lawyer Hiroshi Watanabe said, “To the victims of the Unification Church, it seems that the police didn’t properly investigate the group (on criminal charges of fraud and extortion) because they were well-connected to politicians. We feel the same way.”

Yoshifu Arita, a journalist and Japanese parliamentarian, said on a television broadcast aired July 18 that he was told by a senior police official, “The reason we didn’t crack down on this group [when we should have a decade ago] was the intervention of politicians.”” LINK below

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統一教会と霊感商法の実態について弁護士らが会見

30 Jul 2022 https://www.videonews.com/

プレスクラブ(2022年07月30日)

　霊感商法の被害者救済に取り組んできた全国霊感商法対策弁護士連絡会の弁護士らが2022年7月29日、東京・丸の内の日本外国特派員協会で会見を行った。

　この日会見したのは、同連絡会の山口広、紀藤正樹、川井康雄の3弁護士。

　川井弁護士は、安倍政権と統一教会の関係について、「第一次安倍政権が終わった時期に、霊感商法の刑事摘発が一気に増え、第二次安倍内閣が発足してからは、まったく摘発がなくなった」ことを指摘した。

　紀藤弁護士は統一教会に対して金銭被害などを訴えた裁判が全国で起こり、多くの被害者が勝訴していることを紹介した上で、「統一教会の行為は組織的に行われたものだった」とした。

　政治家と統一教会との蜜月関係が相次いで明らかになっていることについて、同連絡会の代表世話人を務める山口弁護士は、「信仰の自由があり、世界を見ても宗教団体の規制は難しい。だからこそ政治家には、倫理的な規範をもって旧統一教会と付き合わないようにして頂きたい」と語った。

【ビデオニュース・ドットコムについて】ビデオニュース・ドットコムは真に公共的な報道のためには広告に依存しない経営基盤が不可欠との考えから、会員の皆様よりいただく視聴料（月額500円+消費税）によって運営されているニュース専門インターネット放送局です。（www.videonews.com)

（本記事はインターネット放送局『ビデオニュース・ドットコム』の番組紹介です。詳しくは当該番組をご覧ください。）

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The Diplomat: The LDP’s Tangled Ties to the Unification Church

How Sun Myung Moon bought protection in Japan 1. The LDP’s Tangled Ties to the Unification Church 2. Richard J. Samuels (2001 report) 3. John Roberts (1978 report)

Shinzo Abe’s Assassin Succeeds in Twisted Plot to Expose Japan’s Deep Ties with ‘Cult’ – The Daily Beast

Japanese woman recruited by the Unification Church and sold to an older Korean farmer. The UC leveraged the Comfort Women issue.

The Comfort Women controversy

“Apology marriages” made by Japanese UC members to Korean men

6,500 Japanese women missing from Sun Myung Moon mass weddings

The case of a mysterious death at a CARP training session in Japan. The 18 year-old student had been beaten.

#UC of Japan #Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan #FFWPU #fraud #Sun Myung Moon #Hak Ja Han #Family Federation for World Peace and Unification #Unification Church

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walks-the-ages · 2 years

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Submitted post:

About Bleach vs ML round 3:

Hi. Just here to remind you of the round 3 of Bleach vs ML: comparaison between Masaki kurosaki and Emilie Agreste.

Although to be honest it cannot really be called a "comparaison", because like, there's none of that lol.

Masaki had only few appearances in Bleach, but with just that, we found out she was kind and loving, so impactful was her presence that her presence helped alleviate any of Ichigo's sadness during his childhood, she cared deeply for her family, and her death deeply impacted Ichigo's family along with his friends as well. She didn't just die for the sake of giving Ichigo and his father Manpain (unlike another show that uses females for the sake of manpain).

Her presence (soul?) returns once more at the beginning of the series to give Ichigo much needed advice when he was a beginner in the whole shinigami bussines and help alleviate his burden and guilt about her death.

Even more so later in the series, she would get more characterisation.

Meanwhile Emilie has... something about making a movie that only the Agrestes(?) had heard of?? Whtever she did with the peacock??

She has no personality whatsoever. I guess she was nice to Adrien?? Or that is just Adrien wearing rose-tinted lenses when about her.

Her presence has no impact aside than *maybe* giving Gabriel a reason to go full terrorist, though at this point I am not sure about that either.

Any other appearance and she is literally fridged in a cryochamber, and four seasons in, and we still don't know more about her than when the first season came.

Why is Gabriel loving her to this extent, we still don't know.

What had she done to Adrien in his childhood, how did she impact his personality, attitude, growth, we still don't know.

How she interacted with Duusuu, and what the heck she wanted to do that justified to her the risk of getting put into coma.

The fact that people can make headcanons and write about whatever idea they had about her (evil and controlling, or loving and naive to a fault, and anything in between) and that she won't be OOC says a lot.

The ML writers might as well swap her with a lootbox and the plot won't really change. Emilie is just that non-entity in her show, even though she is apparently the main reason Gabriel kickstarted the whole plot.

You can't do that with Masaki, because even though she only appeared in few episodes, she has a solid character and personality, and her presence keeps following the watchers in the form of Ichigo's own growth and his friends.

Masaki is what the ML writers think Emilie is supposed to be, and they utterly fail at that.

-----------

Thank you anon, thank you very much, because not only did you remind me I needed to make this post, you literally made the post for me! Because Masaki Kurosaki is an actual character, while Emilie Agreste is a generic, barely-existant concept.

Emilie Agreste exists literally as. A name. A woman in a fridge. She exists purely to give Adrien and Gabriel a tragic backstory that only motivates Gabriel, while Adrien doesn't give a flying fuck about his mom and literally everyone was convinced Emilie had vanished when he was like, 5.

But no, Emilie had been missing for... Less than a year.

And Adrien doesn't give a single fuck about her other than to be weirdly nostalgic over her, as if he can't really remember her and only knows about her from pictures and that singular movie that existed for a single scene and means nothing because! Because!

Because... the writers decided to come in years after the show first aired to say it's been less than a year since Emilie vanished.

Not even died, not even went missing... She just straight up vanished, and Adrien's not the only one that doesn't give a fuck about Emilie's nonexistance-- no one in Paris questions where she is, no one talks about going to a funeral or having to accept that she's gone, no one even talks about *how* she vanished, her own TWIN SISTER doesn't give a rat's ass about her identical twin possibly being murdered by her billionaire husband or being so unhappy she ran away from her marriage OR possibly being kidnapped and murdered or died in a tragic accident or. Literally anything that could possibly explain her falling off the face of the earth while married to a billionaire and with a teenage son.

Literally no one gives a single shit about Emilie as a person, even when she's being used for Gabriel and Adrien's manpain, she's literally just a tool, a concept, to give Adrien and Gabriel cheap sympathy points which fails horribly because Adrien clearly doesn't care that she's possibly dead in a ditch somewhere or ran off because she didn't love them enough to stay or anything else an actual teenager would rightfully catesteophize about their mom going missing, and Gabriel's Manpain doesn't mean much when he's a pathetically incompetent villain who's writing flipflops between irredeemable terrorist who will do anything to save his wife to sadboy candy who we're supposed to ship with his personal assistant for some god fucking awful reason because the writers are gross 45 year old white men.

Then, there's Masaki Kurosaki.

Ishinn took her last name when they got married, so Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu all have Masaki's family name of Kurosaki as part of their inheritance.

Unlike Adrien's Less-Than-A-Year-Ago Emilie that Adrien doesn't care about...

Ichigo lost his mother when he was very young, and Masaki's death was a deeply defining part of Ichigo's life; dealing with his grief, literal depression, and learning to heal from the loss is one of the major plot arcs for the first season of Bleach, and the arc could very well stand up as its own standalone storyline for anyone that isn't interested in the fighting genre that Bleach swaps to at the end of the first main arc. (Wink wink nudge nudge go watch the Bleach Live action movie if you're curious about Bleach but don't want to get into the chore of skipping past a million filler episodes)

But Masaki's role in the story doesn't end there!

Ichigo gets closure, and is able to start moving on with his life, finally able to accept that he was not responsible for his mother's death...

But the family name Kurosaki and red hair is not the only thing Ichigo inhereted from his mother--

Because Ichigo is mixed race in more than just inhereting his mother's red hair that warrants him being racially targeted through his entire life-- Masaki was also a Quincy, foreshadowed from the very beginning in every scene we see of her, and she had led an entire life before she met Ishinn and had a family, she has family history, and personality, and even when all we know is that she is gone... We know what she was like, we know she loved her family and would do anything for them, that she would gladly give her life to save her child-- and that she did.

We even know exactly how much Ishinn loved and respected her, and loved her all the more for protecting their child with her very life--

While Emilie, as you said, is literally just... A blank slate that no one can agree on-- was she just a horrifying a parent as Gabriel? Was she worse? Was she one of Gabriel's victims? Did she genuinely love Gabriel and Adrien and care for them? Was she a good person? A good parent? Was she doting? Was she controlling? Was she kind? Was she cold?

Was she using the Peacock Miraculous to save someone out of selflessness? To get rich? To hurt someone because she was selfish? Was it out of a desperate desire to have a child that she couldn't have biologically?

Or to create the perfect walking talking mannequin to be the perfect cash grab to sell to a new market?

We just don't know! Because the writers dont even know, nor do they care! Adrien being a Sentimonster is literally the biggest, half-assed retcon in the world, because the writers only care about what sells, not what's actually good storytelling.

#long post #very long post #Bleach vs Miraculous Ladybug #Bleach vs ml #Bleach #Miraculous Ladybug #large text #bold text #anon #walks talks #Ichigo Kurosaki #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Adrien salt #ml salt #Kurosaki Masaki #Masaki Kurosaki #Emilie Agreste

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thomasmartelpublication · 3 years

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Japanese Postwar Period Drama As a Modern Metaphor

Japanese Postwar Period Drama As a Modern Metaphor By Thomas Martel

With globalization cinema as a whole is becoming an art form without country, without borders and even without a definitive national language. An idea that buds in one country’s cinema may blossom in another. Cinema and the ideas that go along with it travel back and forth across oceans and continents. Japan imported it’s first Edison Kinetoscopes in 1896, and Japanese filmmakers immediately utilized cinema to engage the masses at home and abroad. My inquiry is to examine how post-war Japanese cinema took on the role of fictional historical narratives to interact with the psyche of the postwar Japanese nation. In many ways, all films made in Japan since the end of World War II can be considered post-war cinema, because of the way in which that war affected the country, and because of the way of cinema always reflects society. Japanese directors chose to represent the war, its aftermath, and apprehension about the future of the nation as a whole through the medium of chinema, and more specifically, through fictional historical narrative, or jidaigeki.

Jidaigeki, meaning “period drama”, is a term applies to fictional narrative films set before the industrialization and modernization of Japan; typically before or during the Meiji Restoration of 1868 when the Emperor Meiji reclaimed political power from the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Japanese are a very historically conscious people, and often draw on history for examples relevant to current events. Japanese film is no exception, and jidaigeki are full of metaphors for the present day. As American coauthors George Lakoff and Mark Johnson state, “We draw references, set goals, make commitments, and execute plans all on the basis of how we in part structure our experience, consciously and unconsciously, by means of metaphor”.

Indeed, it is through the use of metaphor that Japanese cinema uses characters, dialogue, and imagery to depict modern international relations and concerns, as well as specific fundamental elements of Japanese society, such as ie, or “household;”which was put under significant stress during and after the war. Due to the popularity of the genre, there were, of course, many jidaigeki produced during the Second World War. Take, for example, Kenji Mizoguchi’s 1941 film Genroku Chushingura, an oft- told story of forty-seven loyal samurai who avenge their innocent master’s execution and then proceed to dutifully follow him into death through disembowelment. There have been hundreds of film adaptations of the story, but this is perhaps the only one financed by The Ministry of Information while under military rule to boost morale. Even stylistically it is clear; the soundtrack consists of bugles, trumpets, and deep, plodding drum beats. Unlike many other adaptations, this one doesn’t show any blood, despite the gory nature of the story. The forty seven ronin are heroic, yes, but equally as

heroically depicted are their wives, who, with great strength and resilience remain true to their doomed husbands, not unlike the wives and families of soldier sent to war to die.

Akira Kurosawa’s 1945 film The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail is also a retelling of a classic history-based story. The viewer follows a young war hero, Yoshitsune, in disguise and on the run with a small band of loyal followers after being betrayed by his own brother- the military dictator of Japan. Because the story was so well known and respected, perhaps it was not viewed as the protest film that it actually was, further, the film was banned by the American Occupation supposedly for promoting feudal values, although the ban may have been in response to the film’s persuasive power. After WWII, jidaigeki re-emerged to perform new metaphorical functions.

Because the real and fictionalized events of jidaigeki are supposedly removed from the events of modern-day they serve as ideal, safe metaphors for a people in need of a means of discussing their present concerns- the disastrous results of imperialism and militarism, both Japanese and Western. Popular cinema was the ideal tool for these demilitarizing metaphors, and that is exactly where they were reinvested. As Japanese- American scholar Marie Thorsten Morimoto has suggested,“a nation’s metaphors converse with its politics. Hence, with the dismantling of the Japanese Empire at the close of the Second World War, the images which shaped the... state also, in a sense, became ‘demilitarized.’ Like the guns and missiles they supported, war metaphors were ‘left over,’ waiting to be reinvested into peacetime Japan.” (Morimoto, 11).

Typically in jidaigeki, samurai cast as the main role in Japanese cinema had represented the Japanese masculine ideal: strong, courageous, courteous and polite, and chaste. However, after the war this masculine machismo was seen as somewhat fascist, and the heroes onscreen changed into imperfect, often lost or wandering swords in a tumultuous, war savaged country. Alternatively, they are disenfranchised warriors in time of peace that has no need for bushido and the real lords are mob bosses and gamblers who dominate the fictional-historical and post-war Japanese and international society.

The 1966 film Dai-bosatsu toge, or “The Pass of the Boddhisattva” by director Kihachi Okamoto is a good example of cinema filled with metaphors. The story follows a young and sword-skilled samurai named Ryunosuke, who, while initially abiding by the samurai code, bushido, more or less embodies opposite. He is quite, contemplative, but also cold and merciless. His peers respect his finesse with the sword, but he is at times seen him as brutal and without remorse. He is constantly challenged by “good-hearted” samurai, and is left with no option but to cut them down one by one. Ryunosuke seems unbeatable. He is an intriguing model for postwar Japan; a nation grasping to traditional ideals all the while reevaluating them as brutal and cold, particularly after the atrocities committed during the Pacific expansion and conquest of China, of which to this day there remains a strong denial. Controversially, events such as the “Nanjing

Massacre” are not even included in Japanese textbooks. Therefore, the only way to speak about these events is through metaphor and cinema.

Ryunoske’s world is thrown upside-down when for the first time in his life, he meets as a sword of comparable ability. Ryunosuke and Shimada play opposites, with an ever growing tension between the two. Despite this, they always remain civil, bound by societal form. These characters represent conflicted and confused views of Japan’s supposedly noble warrior class. Could they be cold, brutal, sociopathic murderers or indeed, honest and humble protectors?

In the end, all of Ryunoske’s brutal acts, such as mercy-killing an old man he heard begging for death, killing an opponent out of self- defense in a tournament, cutting down his wife after she threatens to kill their baby, and other seemingly justifiable acts (just as the atrocities of WWII may have seemed justifiable) drive the anti hero mad with guilt at realization of the impossibility of his circumstances. The film concludes with Ryunosuke drunkenly and madly cutting his way through a burning mansion- an apt metaphor for the state that Japan was left in at the end of the war. He is injured, bleeding, and surrounded by enemies, but he refuses to lay down his sword. It is never revealed if he escapes or is killed, and this represented the uncertainty of Japan’s future that was prevalent in post-war Japan.

Japan had long considered itself the most virile, strongest and superior race in Asia, but defeat by a western power certainly posed a new threat to this nationalistic ideal. In this way Japan’s metaphors became increasingly trans- sexual; submissive to western “barbarians”, yet clinging to the position of an aggressive power in Asia. This persistent attitude became even more apparent during post-war cinema. Feminine characters (who represent Japan as a nation victimized by western powers) are starkly contrasted with brutish, old- fashioned, almost comical masculine characters, as is aptly illustrated in Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 film Seppuku.

Seppuku tells the story of a young samurai named Chijiiwa who is fonder of the brush than the sword. When Chijiiwa’s father is forced by the Shoguante to commit seppuku, or ritual disembowelment, he goes to live with a family friend in poverty. He is forced to sell his sword, then, when his infant son becomes sick, Chijiiwa goes to a neighboring powerful household to beg for alms by means of threatening suicide, and he is then forced to slowly and painfully kill himself with a bamboo sword. The young and un-warrior like samurai’s body is then dumped off at the house unceremoniously . The rest of the film tells the story of how the family friend, a dangerous and impoverished ronin named Hanshiro, exacts and bring calamity to the household at fault for the destruction of the young and innocent family. Hanshiro arrives at the clan’s gate, threatening, like, Chijiiwa, to commit seppuku. He is admitted, but each of the clan’s assistants that he calls upon to act as a second happen to be home sick that day. Then, when he is about to be killed, he throws on the ground the topknots of each of the

supposedly honorable warriors responsible for Chijiiwa’s death, revealing their hypocrisy and sadistic nature. In the end, Hanshiro is unable to be killed by any of the clan’s warriors, so instead his is gunned down while carrying on his shoulders the clan’s ancestral armor. The empty suit of armor represents the vapidity and non-existence of the so-called bushido that was essentially reanimated for political use during the Second World War. Meanwhile, the dying Hanshiro represents a more realistic view of the nation’s recent past; that of a bleeding population struggling to maintain a dead ideal in the face of vain leaders. Moreover, Hanshiro’s death by a superior technology shows the viewer that modernity leaves little room for tradition.

A film that skillfully represents post-war Japan on an international stage through period drama is Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 film Yojimbo. A “yojimbo” is the old Japanese term for a “sword for hire,” essentially, a masterless samurai willing to sell his skills as a swordsman for assassination, dispute settlement, or protection. The main character of the film is just that, a lone swordsman walking down a dusty path without a name or direction. Like Japan, all he has left is his wit, and a remnant of whatever life he once led- his sword. Unlike the heroes of old Japanese cinema, he is carefree, blown about by the the winds of chance. He is lax, even comical at times. Not only this, but his name is never even revealed to the audience. He is not a famous or noteworthy hero; he represents any man, or every man.

Yojimbo is set in the 1860’s; a time when the warrior caste had essentially collapsed in favor of capitalism. Warlords no longer sought to hire famous or skilled swordsmen, they were too concerned with their own political preservation to even arm themselves to any great extant with modern weaponry. The protagonist wanders into a provincial town that is caught in a war between two rival factions. The yojimbo finds his skills as a swordsman lucrative, but his wit perhaps even more lucrative, as he plays to both factions of the town. He is a gruff, masculine samurai more than proficient with his sword, but he is also very cunning, and uses his wits to dupe the whole town, all the while making himself all the richer. This representation is relevant to post-war Japan primarily as a way of representing the disarmament of military super-power Japan and the transition into the scientific- economic superpower that it has become. “The transition was also one from a society threatened by the scarcity of food, where physical resources translated into physical strength, to a society hungry for knowledge, where young people began competing with their wits in a new game of “human capitalism” (Morimoto 21). Morimoto’s point is true, and can be seen in the rigorous preparation and competition between high school students applying for University. As such, this transition may be seen as beneficial but it also conveys the widespread feelings of nostalgia that the Japanese people felt during the difficult times immediately following the end of the war. Japan, and all of it history and traditions would be sold on the global market.

Besides serving as a metaphor for Japan’s transition from a militaristic

nation to an economically driven nation, Yojimbo illustrates Japan’s position in the Cold War as tension between the United States and the Soviet Union escalated. The village in which the entire film takes place can be seen as a miniaturized version of the world- in a transition phase, shrinking with huge gains being made in communication and transportation, but also dominated by two opposing forces. In the context of the film, these forces are rivaling factions, but in actuality the were the America/ NATO and the U.S.S.R./ Warsaw Pact. Much like Japan during the cold war, the unnamed yojimbo is often both detached and heavily involved in the “mutual assured destruction” of the town. He is ambivalent, an outsider, and the combined forces of the town are far more numerous and powerful than him and yet they both seeks his aid. Fitting with previous descriptions on how Japan views itself, “dominant themes in Japanese cultural self-representations have long been those of uniqueness, isolation, and victimization- hence, of a lone nation struggling against all odds” (Morimoto 22). In the end, the protagonist has prospered even more than either of the two factions, whose battle for dominance has ended in a clash leaving the town a quieter place than before. The “hero” of the film has saved a family, perhaps representative of the Japanese family as a whole, while dogs wander the streets feasting upon the remains of those less fortunate.

There are many more jidaigeki films with equally potent metaphors. Because of the context of film and viewership, we must be careful not to confuse metaphors or imagine them where they do not exist. However, metaphors are a powerful tool in the hands of Japanese filmmakers, and their many uses and examples should not go unnoticed.

Dissanayake, Wimal.1994. Colonialism and Nationalism in Asian Cinema. Indiana: Idianana University Press. Morimoto, Marie Thorsten. 1994. The ‘Peace Dividend’ in Japanese Cinema, Metaphors of a Demilitarized Nation. Indiana: Indiana University Press. Mellen, Joan. 1976. The Waves at Genji’s Door: Japan Through it’s Cinema. New York: Pantheon Books.

Said, Edward W. 1985. Orientalism Reconsidered. New York: Vintage Books. Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. Metaphors We Live by. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1980. Print.

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midnightactual · 4 years

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Some Thoughts on the Hōgyoku

I initially talked this out with @mysteriousshopkeeper and then wrote it up for @sphaeraa to look at. It’s been somewhat edited since then. It mostly concerns my thoughts on what was going on between Kisuke, Aizen, and their two Hōgyokus. While that isn’t exactly Yoruichi’s wheelhouse, it has some bearing on her thoughts on what happened later, so, that’s why I wrote it out. I know the former is working on some extended meta regarding it, so I thought I’d put it up.

People seem to tend to want to think of ‘early’ Bleach (the first 70%, up to Aizen’s defeat and the timeskip) like it’s Death Note: this grand game between Aizen and Kisuke like they’re Light and L. I don’t think that’s really the case. I think they were the grandest pawns of the Hōgyoku. This all started from a link on the nature of the Hōgyoku as it relates to the Soul King, and it got me thinking...

So, what does the Soul King want? Just bring reunified is a rather transitory objective. What does it want after that? Revenge on the Shinigami? Freedom? Nirvana? I think after a million years (or 70,000 in my HCs) of torment, its foremost goal would just be ending its own suffering, whether that be through death or departure. So, it should follow that the parts of it want the same thing.

If that's the case, then the easiest way to free itself, most certainly, is to be free of the need for it to exist as it does: i.e., to reformat the universe to not require it. The current arrangement of the cosmos broadly follows that of Buddhism:

God’s Realm: Soul Society (inc. Soul King’s Palace)

Human Realm: Earth

Demigod Realm: ??? Quincy Realm?

Animal Realm: ??? Not a place but a state?

Hungry Ghost Realm: Hueco Mundo

Hell Realm: Hell

(The Soul King’s Palace seems less like a separate dimension from Soul Society than a part of the same dimension, whatever the wiki says. You can’t skydive from Hueco Mundo to Hell, for example.)

(It also seems to me that the Quincy occupy the same position with regard to the Shinigami as the Asura who inhabit the Demigod Realm do to the Gods. It also seems notable that there is no one in European history a thousand years ago who really matches Yhwach, which implies his conquests weren’t taking place on Earth. The simplest answer, to my mind, is that there is a sort of Quincy realm. And what happened to that in canon? Well... it probably became Soul Society Western Branch. It’s either that or the analogy with Buddhism is only partial, as there seems to be a repeated emphasis in CFYOW on ‘the three realms’.)

This organization is maintained by the Soul King. If it goes, the whole thing falls apart... seemingly. But to maintain it is to suffer. As it is, to escape the Soul King would have to kill all the Shinigami or be rebound. Even Yhwach, its supposed ‘son’, simply absorbed its powers. Even he didn’t offer escape, as he failed and was cut down into the new Soul King; and even if he’d succeeded, the remnants of the Soul King would’ve been bound to his vision, not the Soul King’s own.

So what does the Soul King want, and what were the Hōgyokus and later The Hōgyoku trying to do? Well, if the goal was to escape, then here’s my theory:

Kisuke develops Hoagie 1, uses it on the Vizard, and doesn’t quite know what it does exactly but decides it’s dangerous.

Unbeknownst to him, Aizen is developing Hoagie 2, and using it for nefarious things like absorbing people’s souls in part or wholesale.

Kisuke decides to hide Hoagie 1 in Rukia on her first mission to the human world that she can’t recall. This is rather early on in her career as a Shinigami, either before or after Kaien’s death, so it’s inside her soul for 40–50 years. Why her? Maybe she was just there, maybe he saw there was something unique about her, who knows.

Hoagie 1 either therefore sees what happens with Kaien (as a result of Aizen’s continued experiments), or knows of it from her memories (or future timeline, depending!). Either way, it spends far more time with her than anyone else, and is likely soaking in her thoughts and desires. Rukia rather plainly loved Kaien and was quite influenced by his philosophy.

Rukia’s rather unique in terms of her ethical perspective. I found this piece on it. So maybe Hoagie 1 can sense that within her philosophy is a means for the Soul King to be free. However, she doesn’t have enough power to do it on her own. (Though it’s notable that Rukia [and Renji] manage to achieve bankai in very short order despite being nobodies from Rukongai when even the Great Noble Clans only yield up someone who can do bankai every few generations, isn’t it?)

Hoagie 1 starts talking to Hoagie 2, because they’re entangled, and they begin to put in motion a plan to produce the power needed for this, which also coincides with a scenario to unite them so they will be one complete and delicious sandwich. (This is remarkably similar to the plot of Neuromancer, wherein two AIs that are designed to fit together into a single super-AI, maneuver humans around to achieve that end.)

Hoagie 1 and Hoagie 2 gradually contrive a situation which draws in Isshin, uncle of Kaien, along with Aizen and his prototype White, and Kisuke, along with Masaki. The result is eventually Ichigo, a being who fuses all the major powers into one package and who also just happens to look and act a lot like Kaien. (Whether Ichigo is “patterned upon” Kaien, or is some kind of nexus event the Hoagies saw in the future timelines, or is “destined” and Kaien is merely his foreshadowing... and indeed if Rukia had Hoagie 1 while Kaien was alive... are all interesting questions but a bit beside the point.)

Eventually, Ichigo and Rukia meet. Aizen will later claim this is his doing, but he takes credit for everything and for some reason seems to believe that he’s immune to the effects of the Hoagies because he knows what they really do, as though that’s any defense. More than likely, he is simply doing what is necessary and thinking it’s his own will (especially because he’s self-betraying and doesn’t really want to be Soul King himself). Kisuke, meanwhile, already has objectives that broadly align with that of the Soul King and the Hoagies (the destruction/replacement of the current cosmology) so he doesn’t need much coaxing.

Aizen attributes Rukia’s loss of powers to her guilt, but it’s likely just as much that Ichigo always desired the power to protect and took her powers as much as she gave them. Probably an equal push-pull thing. Either way, Ichigo and Rukia begin an upward power spiral which will continue throughout the series, giving them more and more power.

Hoagie 1 also creates ‘lancers’ and proxies to accompany and support them, by empowering Chad, Orihime, and Tatsuki with spiritual abilities despite being ‘sealed’ in Rukia. (This alone is evidence that such ‘sealing’ doesn’t prevent its actions whatsoever.) Not much will come of Tatsuki but you don’t always land every hit. (Aside: this means that Ichigo, Rukia, Chad, Orihime, and by association Uryū might be called... Hoagie’s Heroes.)

Hoagie 2 meanwhile ensures that Aizen finds the means to safely remove Hoagie 1 from Rukia’s soul as a “backup.”

Hoagie 1 and Hoagie 2 are eventually reunited into The Hoagie, the Ultimate Sandwich. Aizen eats it.

Aizen’s behavior in Karakura is very strange, erratic, and arrogant, enabling Ichigo to show up and beat him, especially when The Hoagie begins to reject him. It basically causes Aizen to fail, because his role is essentially over.

Although The Hoagie is stuck with Aizen, its plan continues on inertia. Ichigo and Rukia go onward, having become the linchpin of Kisuke’s own efforts to (unknowingly) continue the plan. (Hence: “Kurosaki, Kuchiki, I leave it to you.”)

All of this gets messed up with Yhwach’s own timeline selection nonsense, which causes this plan to fail at the 11th hour, and results in him being chopped up and imprisoned as the new Soul King instead.

But the game is still afoot. If Ichigo and Rukia during TYBW are the equivalent of Paul Atreides in Dune, then perhaps there is still a Leto II (or Duncan Idaho) waiting in the wings to complete the plan and take everyone onto the Golden Path. It could be that Ichika and Kazui have a kid together, or it could be in the thousands of years of the rest of their lives that Ichigo and Rukia do, or it could be someone that they aren’t actually related to but have influenced will try and change things, or all of the above, or something else entirely. The particulars don’t really matter too greatly. Because if nothing else, Kisuke is still out there, dissatisfied with the shape of things. And so too is Aizen.

So, my view is that Kisuke, and thus the Urahara Shōten (to include Yoruichi) are thus likely still aligned with this goal of destroying the existing cosmology through basically rebooting the universe (initially in Ichigo and Rukia’s hands), operating off a plan set in motion by the Hōgyoku to free the Soul King.

Although that plan has clearly fallen apart, it thus stands to reason that this remains the overall goal of the Urahara Shōten, as both Kisuke and Yoruichi seem very dissatisfied with the cosmological setup for their own reasons. This means that they’re basically the Team Rocket of Bleach. (Is Tessai their Meowth?)

Also, just as an aside... the Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, has a common Japanese name of “Hogyoku” (1, 2) It’s also called “Benihime”. And the names Shihouin and Kuchiki mean “Four Maple Court”, and “Rotten Wood”, respectively. Just a strange but interesting pattern...

#Out Of Character #Meta #Headcanons

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whale-wolf · 5 years

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Here’s the thing about Bleach. I mean, yeah, Ichigo had desires for a normal life in the beginning. Seeing ghosts was weird, he had grief/guilt over his mother’s death, etc. But, when he became a Soul Reaper, he changed. He realized he had this power to protect, not just his family, but everyone. He hated his powers because of what happened to Masaki, but when he saves spirits, protects others, he finds solace in his powers. Because that’s the thing: people change. And when Ichigo no longer had his powers, it hit him hard. That is why he joined Ginjo (or partly). If Ichigo didn’t want his powers, if he wanted to live a normal existence despite everything he went through as a Soul Reaper, why didn’t he decline? Ichigo didn’t do it because Ginjo persisted; he did it because he wanted it. And Isshin and Kisuke knew that, and they helped in that happening.

So... it becomes clear that Ichigo’s desire for a normal life isn’t as strong anymore. Not as strong as his desire to have powers, to protect.

If we didn’t have the Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc (that showed Ichigo’s depression), then the ending wouldn’t have been so out of character (it still would be a little, though.) If he had constantly wished for a normal life, I wouldn’t have been surprised that he stayed in Karakura Town. But, his character arc was not like that.

It’s different for mangas like Inuyasha, Fruits Basket, and Fullmetal Alchemist. In Inuyasha, they were fighting for so long, fighting for love, fighting for family, that it’s nice to see them settling down; it’s nice to see Inuyasha throw away his dream to be a full demon to be with Kagome.

In Fruits Basket, the Sohma Family does not have a normal existence at all. And it hinders their relationships with others. Look like Yuki and Kyo. Yuki, abused and neglected, wants nothing more than to run away. Kyo, angry about his status, wants to gain his family’s respect. In the end, they get something much better that helps ease all that pain. (Don’t get me started on Hatori and Momiji).

In Fullmetal Alchemist, the Elric Brothers are on this journey to return to their normal lives. And that’s what they get: their bodies, their home, their family. The only way the ending would be weird is if Riza and Roy got married and had kids, and she decided that she didn’t want to be in the military anymore to become a stay-at-home mom. I have to admit, I wouldn’t have minded them being canon, but as long as Riza didn’t give up anything.

Anyway, this is long, but the point is, Bleach ending made no sense based on Ichigo’s character arc. These types of endings make sense for characters that continue to suffer because of their current lives, characters who need to find peace and love, etc.

I also have to point out that Inuyasha, Fruits Basket, and FMA are all done by women, so maybe they just know how to write better, consistent stories.

#anti bleach #anti tite kubo #Ichigo kurosaki #anti ichihime #anti bleach ending #long post

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tobito · 5 years

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you carry my burdens and i carry yours

pairing: ichigo/rukia rating: t for angst, language and mentions of blood word count: 2174 summary: in which heavy rain falls on heavy hearts and ichigo and rukia finally talk about masaki and kaien's deaths.

Rukia hated the rain.

It reminded her of things she wanted to forget.

It reminded her of Ichigo's pain. Of how quiet he became whenever droplets would begin to fall from the sky. Of how he refused to tell her what was wrong, even though he'd never hid anything from her before. Of how much it hurt to see him cry in anguish when Kugo took his powers. Of how she could do nothing but watch as it soaked him wet and disguised itself with his tears.

The rain was cruel to Ichigo and that's why she hated it. That's why she had to stop it for him whenever it threatened to fall and hurt him again.

But, she also hated the rain because it reminded her of Kaien. It reminded her of her shaking hands gripping her sword as it impaled the man she admired more than anyone else in the world. It reminded her of his cold body pressed against hers as blood spilled from the wound in his chest. A wound she bestowed upon him. It reminded her of his last words, of him entrusting his heart with her because she, no one else, would protect it with her own life.

She hated the rain that wasn't loud enough to mask her screams the night she lost him. The rain that mocked her and reminded her she wasn't the only one who cried, that her tears were nothing compared to the heavy drops falling from above.

She hates the rain. But, she knows Ichigo hates it just as much. So, she swallows her own sorrows and searches for him. Because he needs her, even if all she can offer is her silent company as her own heart mourns inside her chest.

She finds him on a hill, just above the cemetery. She thinks about asking him why he chose this place, but stops herself when she remembers it must be because of his mother. Rukia doesn't know much about her, just that she was a great woman, a Quincy, who died too young. Rukia doesn't say anything as she sits next to Ichigo on the ground. He's in his Shinigami form and it leaves her wondering where he left his human body, and whether or not he really cares about that right now.

"You know, you'll get sick if you stand out here without an umbrella," she says and almost slaps herself because of course he can't get sick when he's a shinigami and she knows it. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Ichigo doesn't say anything and Rukia is both glad and very concerned. Glad he didn't acknowledge her stupid mistake, but worried he might not even know she's here right now. Rukia curses herself for a second time. She had been foolish enough to think Ichigo might have found closure now that Yhwach was gone and the war was over. But scars, if deep enough, will always leave a mark.

She sighs. Stopping Ichigo's rain usually came naturally, she needed to pull herself together. It wasn't about her right now. Only him and him alone.

"You don't have to say anything, you know."

His voice startles her, causes a chill to travel down her spine. He sounds tired, sad, and she hates it more than anything.

Ichigo is right, though, she doesn't have to say anything. She could just sit beside him and wait for the rain to stop. She could tell him what she said before, that he doesn't have to open up until he's ready to do so. That she will be here if he ever wants to talk.

But she knows Ichigo won't talk. It doesn't matter if Yhwach is dead, or if the war is over or any of that crap. It won't bring his mother back, it won't give him closure, it won't ease his pain.

But Rukia can't just not say anything. Maybe it's her throat asking for release from that tight knot suffocating her, but she lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and she speaks, "I know. But I want to."

"Rukia," she starts after a few seconds but the petite lieutenant stops him.

"I hate the rain too. It reminds me of everything I've lost," she says and avoids looking at him. She can't look at him. Not yet. Not until she says what she needs to say.

"Have I ever told you about the first time I killed someone?" She doesn't let him answer. "Not a hollow. A person. It was a long time ago. When I joined squad 13, I wasn't welcomed with open arms." She recalls those times with a bitter taste in her mouth and clears her throat, "My squad members thought it was unfair, for scum like me to be adopted into the Kuchiki clan and be thrown into a division almost immediately. They were afraid I'd become a seated officer without working just as hard as they did. Everyone hated me before they even knew who I was. And I couldn't exactly blame them, could I? I didn't deserve to be there, I should've stayed at the Academy longer. My skills were next to mediocre. I hated being there. I hated being told I wasn't good enough. Because the longer I was there, the more I believed everything they said."

Rukia took a deep breath again and felt Ichigo's gaze on her. She didn't look back at him, continuing her tale instead, "I thought I'd never get someone on my good side, much less make a friend. But, then I met him. His name was Kaien. Kaien Shiba. He was Captain Ukitake's lieutenant at the time."

She heard Ichigo let out his own breath. She knew he recognized the name. From what she gathered after the war from the rest, his father had told him the truth about his heritage. About who he was before he met his wife. That he was head of the Shiba clan and captain of the 10th Division before he went missing in the world of the living.

"Lieutenant Kaien was kind to me, but he was also very blunt. He pushed me to be the best version of myself. He wasn't afraid to scold me because of my last name or distance himself because he thought I was just a brat being handed everything. To him, I was an important member of the squad. He was the first person to welcome me with open arms when Renji and my brother weren't there. To teach me about what it was like to be a shinigami. To care for me. Ichigo, he was the first person I ever loved."

Rukia finally looked at him only to find him looking right back at her. Was that sadness in his eyes? Understanding? Surprise? She couldn't tell.

"He had a wife. She was beautiful and brave." And everything I wanted to be. "She was hurt during a mission to cleanse a hollow. She was brought back to the squad barracks, except it wasn't actually her anymore. The hollow she was sent after had managed to devour her soul and was using her body to trick and kill other shinigami. Captain Ukitake and Lieutenant Shiba tried to stop it. I was told not to interfere. Kaien wanted revenge for his wife, it was a battle to defend his pride as both a husband and a shinigami. I should've gone back, should've called for back up even if the Captain told me otherwise. But I stayed and I got in the way. I fucked everything up."

The use of a curse word startled Ichigo and she noticed the boy scoot closer to her, a look of concern in his eyes, "Rukia."

"I got him killed, Ichigo. The hollow took over him and I put my sword through his chest. I killed the man I loved and instead of cursing me to death, he used his last breath to entrust his heart to me."

She wanted to say more, about what his death did to her but she couldn't speak. A sob itched inside her throat and she struggled to keep it in. The rain poured louder and she couldn't breathe.

God, she was panicking. This was very bad.

A flick to her forehead managed to push her out of her own thoughts, Ichigo had ended up in front of her, his inches away from her forehead. "You're stupid, Rukia."

Huh? "Huh?"

She just poured her heart out to him and all he did was insult her? She was about to yell at him when she noticed his eyebrows furrowed in obvious annoyance. Why was he upset?

"Kaien...my cousin, didn't die because of you. You didn't kill him. Hell, you saved him. He was able to leave this world as himself because of you. He entrusted you with his heart, his memory. I may not know the guy, but he clearly wouldn't want you to say these things about yourself. So what if the guy had a wife? He still loved and cared about you. Just as much as you love and care about him too. So stop being an idiot. He's not gone, is he? His heart is still with you."

The way he yelled at her surprised her. Usually, it was the other way around. She wasn't used to Ichigo raising his voice at her, even if he didn't do it to offend or disrespect her. He genuinely wanted her to understand that her suffering, her guilt, wasn't okay.

I see.

It was quite foolish of her, really. To not have noticed until now. Ichigo didn't just look like Kaien. He was Kaien. He was Kaien's harsh and gentle words of encouragement. He was Kaien's pride and humbleness. He was Kaien's bravery and determination. He was the Kaien she had fallen in love with.

But he was also Ichigo. The Ichigo she loved now. The Ichigo she will always and forever love.

She rose her palms and placed them on either side of his face. Ichigo looked surprised at her action but did not pull away, instead he did the same.

"Never again blame yourself for his death, Rukia. You're not someone who takes lives, you're someone who saves them. Just like you saved mine."

She nodded and let out a gentle laugh, quiet and subtle. But still there for him to see and hear.

"I didn't know. That you hated the rain as much as me. Guess I was too focused thinking about myself." He dropped his hands to his side and she followed suit.

"It's okay. You don't have to-"

"I thought I'd be okay. Yhwach is gone. The man who killed my mother is dead and I delivered the final blow. But, there's still a gaping hole in my heart. I still think I could've done more to save her back then. I still think that maybe, just maybe if I had been strong enough back then, she wouldn't have died the way she did," Ichigo said, his eyes drifting to the cemetery below them.

"I'm sure your mother and your cousin feel the same, then," she said to him, softly. "I did not know your mother, Ichigo. Even though I would have loved to. Truly. She sounds like a wonderful person. She gave birth to three spectacular children. She raised a family who was kind hearted above all else, even after she was long gone. Ichigo, your mother did not deserve to die. But you do not have to carry the blame of her death. Not anymore. Not when I'm here to share it with."

"Rukia-"

"No, Ichigo. I will not take no for an answer! Didn't I tell you before? Comrades are supposed to be there for each other. If the weight is too much for you to carry some days, then I'll carry it for you. Because I know you'd do the same. Not just for me. But for Ishida, Inoue, Chad, Renji and everyone else."

Ichigo's eyes widened before he scoffed, a hint of a smile on his lips. "That's how it is, huh? You carry my burdens and I carry yours?"

Rukia nodded, "Yes! No buts, no what ifs."

Ichigo gave the cemetery one last look before his eyes found their way back to Rukia's. She was right. He wasn't alone. He had her now.

He knew his mom would've loved her, just as much as his dad does. As much as his sisters and friends do.

And sure, he didn't know Kaien, but he was glad he had been there for Rukia when no one else was. He was glad the man had given Rukia the strength and confidence she has now.

Ichigo hates the rain.

He hates what it reminds him of. Losing his mother. Losing to Byakuya and Renji. Losing his powers.

But as much as he hates the rain, he will always be grateful it brought him the greatest gift.

The best thing to ever happen to him.

His White Moon.

also posted on ao3

#ichiruki #bleach #caro writes #happy ichiruki month btw....i miss these two a lot

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zanguntsu · 5 years

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The Power to Protect

im bored and i want to lay down ny thoughts about ichigos character.

first and foremost, ichigos a protector like thats so central to his character that you cant remove it and expect the same character.

he needs power to reach his goals hence he is a fighter. he wants to protect people. its interesting to see how what ichigo wants to protect escalate in size, like at first he restrained it to his family and people he knows:

to a “mountain of people”:

and finally to literally everyone:

hes compassionate, even if he did start off as a mild asshole. he became more ambitious as time went all, which i believe was caused by his shinigami duties that gave him much more to care about, moral responsibility. its an obligation, he had to help since he would never leave someone behind. he started off with a smaller circle but since he gained Shinigami powers, he had a duty to protect spirits and he eventually decided that he should protect everyone.

the ability to save someone is linked into strength. ichigo states that the reason he learned karate was to protect his mom and his loved ones. the escalation of people he wants to protect is effectively determined by his power as well. In the beginning, he didnt have powers, hence he want to protect a small number of people. after becoming a shinigami, a death god, he graduated eventually and in the end, he’s confident in his ability to protect others. its one of the motives that leads to him fighting. its a method of how he can protect others, the way he knows best. when he lost his powers, he held up a facade that he was fine:

he longs for his powers as a shinigami since that allows him to protect others. he lost all his reiatsu, meaning he cant see spirits and by extension hollows. hes useless since he cant see the things that attack his friends. in the face of tsukishima, there was nothing he could do without powers.

the foundation of his desire to protect others stems from his name and the first person he wanted to protect was his mom, however he saw that he failed to protect her.

this is where ichigo’s compassion comes into play. he doesnt want to see others suffer in the way he has, having lost someone and suffered tragedy. he wants to do his best, and he understands he cant realistically protect everyone, no matter how hard he wants to. he has empathy and kindness to others, using his hurt as fuel for his actions. his will to protect gives him the power to do the impossible. he learned bankai to save rukia, completely hollowified to save orihime, and went after yhwach himself to save uryuu. its impossible to slay the moon and shatter fate, and yet his blade does just that.

he also feels extreme guilt when he does fail, and i believe his tendency to feel despair is rooted in masakis death. After all, what good is a protector who cant protect? his very name means “one protector”, which is basically his purpose in life. that guilt leads to despair at his own powerlessness. he feared his hollow powers from the beginning because of how dangerous they are, and since hollows have a tendency to first target their loved ones, no doubt his first victims would be his sisters. hes powerless to stop his inevitable hollowification, hence his despair. he was powerless against aizen and he couldnt stop him from going to karakura town, which leads to his despair. maybe its as if hes thinking about his mom, and how his inability is sure to lead into failure. but he can find the strength to fight back by his motive, and that leads to action.

ichigos philosophy is kind of hard to pin down from his behavior. hes more morally relative because it changes from time to time depending on the scenario. I think consequentialism can fit ichigo on occasions, where the outcome of the action determines the morality.

ichigo has used this idea in the fullbringer arc:

he’s ready to straight up commit murder because tsukishima harmed ichigo’s loved ones, and with the possibility of protecting others, he’s willing to go with this action. it contrasts his actions at an earlier time:

in this instance he was not wronged in the way tsukishima wronged him but hes going after aizen with intent to kill despite having had reservations about it like 30 chapters ago. he’s set on being pragmatic and taking the first shot.

even more recently, he goes back to the more altruistic mindset by actively telling an enemy to dodge

i feel like it depends on how big the threat is as well as the scenario. in the first case, ichigo had just lost control over his hollow side and wrecked havoc, harming everyone around him. he literally became a monster and hurt the people he cared about and Ulquiorra became his first canonical kill (from what i remember) but he lacked the control. fast forwards to aizen, he recognized aizen as a huge threat to everyone and karakura town and as a protector he has a duty to stop aizen by any means possible. with tsukishima, it was very personal since he turned everyone against him and that really messed with his mind, especially since he was powerless to do anything which leads to desperation and murderous intent. even the slightest possibility of saving his friends motivates him. finally, the more recent arc had ichigo warn someone to get out of the way of his attack and i feel like it had more positive intent mixed with self-assured confidence, seeing as he was fully ready to straight up take on 8 sternritters following that. he’s confidant in his power now, hence him being slightly dorky during the fight (bad landing, was a little cocky). his will to protect serves as a motive for his actions and dictates what he determines as moral, such as the life of someone else, and eventually that determines the action he takes. he is a kind person, to his loved ones and the people who haven’t really done anything wrong to him but the enemies who threaten all he holds dear wouldn’t have that same mercy.

#ichigo kurosaki #meta #bleach #i have a lot of feelings #i reaches the photo limit shshsjdjk #long post #the post is a mess because I have a lot of feelings

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akaluan · 6 years

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bibliomatsuri replied to your post “kuroiwriting replied to your post: When All Is...”

but worldbuilding? shiny??? (unless u don't want to talk about it / unless spoilers, in which case ignore this)

*snerk* nothing is particularly spoilery, I don’t think, it’s mostly just fragments that aren’t really connected to much. So... let’s see here...

((This went a lot longer than I expected, lolol))

Being an Arrancar so suddenly, Ichigo can’t use Final Getsuga.

He still has Shiro and Zangetsu, though. Shiro is more prominent than before, of course, and Zangetsu is weakened due to being a Quincy manifestation in an Arrancar.

In this case, Ichigo goes for Resurrección, and then tries to figure out Segundo Etapa. He reaches the first, and gets an unstable version of the second during the dangai training.

Not that he’s certain that either is enough to beat Aizen. He’s actually pretty sure it isn’t. But what else can he do?

(He’s done what he can. Threw himself into learning everything Shiro would teach him. Everything Zangetsu reluctantly agreed to teach him. He’s done what he can and now he has to try.)

(Frankly, Isshin is a bit terrified of this new version of his son. He can see traces of the Hollow that nearly cost Masaki her soul in the Hollow traits his son is displaying. He wonders how much of that Hollow Ichigo has inherited.)

The fight with Aizen goes... not poorly, precisely, but not entirely well.

Ichigo’s still learning how to be an Arrancar. His instincts are all twisted up, and the tail he gains in Resurrección (and which lengthens in Segundo Etapa) is... frustrating.

Still, he’s got a pretty wicked high speed regeneration going on -- not nearly as good as Ulquiorra’s, but still visibly powerful -- and that combined with everything else means he can just... keep going.

(Like his bankai, Ichigo’s strengths are still focused on speed and stamina. He’s strong, of course, almost overwhelmingly so, but his speed still trumps everything else.)

Aizen isn’t actually prepared for the level of speed that Ichigo gains in Segundo Etapa. This is Aizen’s downfall.

(Frankly, Ichigo isn’t entirely prepared for his own speed either. He’s just very adaptable.)

Ichigo manages to win, and Aizen is sealed, and everyone goes home... sort of happy.

(Now comes the hard part. Adapting to life as an Arrancar in the living world.)

(Urahara has his hands full trying to figure out how to deal with this.)

No one initially realizes that Ichigo has poison. It’s not like he uses his claws during the rest of the invasion of Hueco Mundo or when he attacks Aizen.

Because no one realizes this, Ichigo doesn’t know he needs to be careful. He scratches Uryuu on accident, and no one thinks anything of it.

(Urahara wasn’t around to think anything of it, when it happened.)

Uryuu grimaces at the way the shallow marks feel like they’re freezing, but waves Orihime off -- the wounds are barely bleeding, she doesn’t need to waste her energy on healing him.

It’s only luck that has Uryuu around the others when the poison starts to overwhelm him. Orihime hastily summons her fairies and struggles to reject Uryuu becoming a Hollow.

(Urahara is here this time. He gets to watch as yet another Quincy struggles against the fate of becoming unmade. Except this time he knows the Quincy. This time it’s not just academic.)

Ichigo is horrified by this. By the knowledge that he caused this. He decides to leave ‘for everyone’s good’.

Uryuu is furious about this decision when he finally recovers and wakes up. He marches up to Urahara and demands the man help him drag Ichigo back to the Living World.

Urahara points out that so long as Uryuu and the others remain vulnerable, Ichigo’s never going to willingly return.

Uryuu gives Urahara a look and asks if the man’s reputation as an inventor and mad scientist is deserved or not.

(Urahara hadn’t expected Uryuu to be the one who approached him about this. He had spent time trying to create some sort of defense after he recovered traces of the poison from Masaki. He just... doesn’t entirely know if it will work.)

But when the others come to him, backing Uryuu up, Urahara sighs and goes forward with it.

(Besides, with Inoue around, things aren’t quite so dangerous.)

Urahara coaxes Ichigo back to the Living World, with a promise of figuring out how to make his friends immune, but that he needs Ichigo there to help him with that.

Everything actually turns out pretty well? At the very least, Sado and Inoue have no adverse effects from what Urahara has created, and introducing some of Ichigo’s poison to Sado afterward results in... nothing. Same with Inoue.

It’s Uryuu that has problems. He reacts poorly to the initial solution, requiring Inoue to heal him. And the next. And the next.

Uryuu is a Quincy, and every solution Urahara can produce is... harsh, relying on Hollow reiatsu or Hollow nature or some other Hollow-natured thing that makes Uryuu’s Quincy nature rebel.

The one solution that doesn’t is equally uncomfortable, and relies on Uryuu remaining close to hand: implanting an artificial filter in Uryuu’s soul that can handle both the Hollow reiatsu and the poison.

Except it doesn’t change the fact that Uryuu gets sick, and leaves him aching constantly. And Urahara needs to keep an eye on it, to make sure the filter remains operating correctly.

Eventually Urahara runs out of ideas except one. which he doesn’t want to use. But Uryuu is still insistent and Ichigo reluctantly agrees when Urahara proposes it to him.

(Urahara is going well beyond his own comfort, Living World science and medical knowledge mixed with Shinigami healing.)

(He’s never been a medic of either sort. This is a foolish endeavor, and yet...)

Inoue stays nearby during the entire event. Just in case.

Urahara takes a piece of Ichigo’s Quincy nature and implants it in Uryuu.

(He’s hoping that Uryuu’s soul doesn’t reject it. Hoping that Uryuu’s soul will ‘learn’ from Ichigo’s nature, and gain the resistance to Hollow nature that Ichigo grew up with because of his mixed heritage.)

Inoue is necessary.

Uryuu’s soul doesn’t take kindly to the intrusion. He’s been through too much, put himself through too many efforts in too short of an order, even with Inoue there to reject the damage.

Inoue... doesn’t want to see this continuing to happen. She doesn’t want Ichigo fleeing again, and she hates seeing Uryuu constantly in pain, constantly on the edge of serious illness or death--

Instead of rejecting what’s been done to him. She rejects what’s happening.

She rejects the way Uryuu’s soul reacts, keeping him under her shield while the piece of Ichigo’s soul integrates into Uryuu’s. While Uryuu’s nature slowly twists and takes on the darker edge that Ichigo has.

It takes days, and Ichigo retreats in shame. He’s done this to Uryuu. Done this to all of his friends and family. The only reason he doesn’t flee back to Hueco mundo is because he feels like he can’t while Uryuu is still suffering.

(Inoue drives herself to a thread, trying to keep Uryuu alive through the entire process. Urahara does what he can, but there’s very little he can do.)

(Urahara hates feeling so helpless.)

In the end, Uryuu survives. Tired and worn thin and barely able to stay awake for more than a couple hours at a time, but he survives. He’s out sick for over a month, trying to regain his strength and accustom himself to how his very nature has changed.

(His control is shot and his powers are unreliable. He’s given up his claim on being a true Quincy in favor of staying at Ichigo’s side without danger.)

(He’s not only gained a resistance to Hollow reiatsu, he’s gained Ichigo’s immunity to his own poison.)

(Despite everything, he can’t really say he regrets it.)

Of course, it takes months to convince Ichigo of that. Uryuu gets used to stalking into Hueco Mundo and keeping Ichigo company there until his friend finally agrees to come back home.

Uryuu isn’t good with words and he knows this. But actions? He can do that. He sticks by Ichigo no matter what, refusing to be chased off.

(He gets pretty good at fighting alongside his friend, beating off the Hollows in Hueco Mundo who think Ichigo and Uryuu would make a good meal.)

(He gets inured to the way his body is capable of surviving on free reishi for a time, instead of food.)

(He’s picked up a bit more from Ichigo’s nature than just poison immunity and resistance to Hollow reiatsu.)

By the time Ryuuken actually realizes what’s going on, everything is over and he’s faced with his son being... not entirely his son anymore.

Uryuu’s smiles are sharper and his nature is darker. He’s a Hollow-tainted Quincy, a thing that shouldn’t even be possible.

(Isshin really isn’t in any better position than Ryuuken. He and Karin and Yuzu got the same solution to Ichigo’s poison that Chad and Orihime got, though Ichigo usually only remains around them in the gigai that Urahara built for him.)

(Ichigo can’t return to his body anymore. The Arrancar change means his body can no longer support his soul.)

Uryuu’s body, too, slowly suffers from the constant change between kishi and reishi, on top of the way his soul has been altered. His Living body is still a bit too Quincy in nature, and his soul now permanently contains Hollow reiatsu.

Inoue does what she can, but the more she rejects the damage the more difficult it becomes to do so.

In the end, about the only thing they can do is to accept that Uryuu’s Living body can no longer support his soul either. Urahara reluctantly goes through with it -- Uryuu’s chain is already significantly corroded, and it doesn’t take much to see Uryuu Actually Dead.

(Again Ichigo feels heavy guilt. This is his fault.)

(This time, though, he stays at Uryuu’s side.)

Uryuu forces himself to struggle through, regaining his strength and control for a second (third) time.

(Ichigo doesn’t understand the lengths Uryuu is forcing himself through, just to stay at Ichigo’s side. He doesn’t understand, but he refuses to push Uryuu away at this point.)

By the time the Wandenreich start poking around, Uryuu and Ichigo and pretty damn co-dependent.

Uryuu still goes with them, still infiltrates the enemy with the hope of exposing their weaknesses, but this time Ichigo is aware of what’s going on.

Uryuu tries to keep a lid on his Hollow nature. Tries to keep the other Quincy from realizing he’s anything more than a Gemischt.

Yhwach knows. He offers Uryuu a Schrift, with the promise that Yhwach’s gift will help Uryuu overcome the ‘unfortunate taint he has been cursed with’.

(Uryuu is infuriated. His nature is not a curse. He walked willingly into these changes, and given the chance he would do it all again.)

(Yet what can he do but accept Yhwach’s “Gift”? To refuse is to reveal himself for the traitor he is.)

Yhwach reveals Uryuu’s secret before the entire Wandenreich, while declaring Uryuu his successor. No matter how Yhwach spins it -- that Uryuu is the next evolution for Quincy, that his survival as both a child surviving Aushwalin and a teen surviving Hollow infection means that he will lead the Quincy to glory -- Uryuu is still an outsider, still tainted and impure.

The Wandenreich hate him, and Yhwach’s words do nothing to assuage that hate.

(Uryuu can’t wait to bring their empire toppling down around their ears.)

#bibliomatsuri #replies #drabbles #my fic #unedited #sorta #meta #basically some backstory for Nothing is Known #the more i wrote the more there was #apparently i have lots of ideas for the backstory of this that i don't know if i'll ever write #lulz #how did this get so out of hand

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questir · 5 years

Note

👨 = What’s your muse’s relationship with their father, what made it that way?

@kivaember /family headcanons (accepting!)

*rubs my gremlin hands together* OH BOY.

Batbayar came from a pretty… intense family (surprisingly enough)—he lost his parents after they participated in the Naadam and his other siblings all but drifted apart after that event. This heavily affected the way he raised Masaki because he didn’t want his kid to end up alone like Batbayar did, so he heavily practiced kindness and understanding first before drilling it into Masaki’s head that violence is a last resort. That, and he was just a huge fuckin’ teddy bear full of affection. He loved helping his wife! He loved being with his kid! His whole world was his family!

Masaki pretty much idolized him because WOW Batbayar is the best dad ever! It’s also worth to note that when Masaki experienced his first bout of gender euphoria, the first person he talked to about it was his dad. They had a really close relationship that changed drastically after Masaki’s kidnapping.

His dad was the one who urged his mother to listen to the elders (whose position was that they couldn’t afford to bring Masaki back because they didn’t want to risk waging a losing war against a tribe that was stronger than them). Batbayar didn’t want his family to be cut off by the tribe’s protection and was extremely torn whether or not to go after Masaki himself but, in the end, he chose to listen to the elders and wait for someone else to rescue his son. (Which drove wedge between him and Nergui…)

Masaki wasn’t quite the same when he returned and found out the truth of why his yol was the one to rescue him and not his parents.He was, more or less, despondent to his parents’ attempts to reach out to him and even moreso to his dad. He still held a lot of admiration and respect for his dad and loved him deeply, but… they didn’t really have that level of trust anymore despite Batbayar’s frequent attempts to apologize and redeem himself.

By the time Masaki left the Steppe, their relationship was on the rocks. So… Masaki has a lot of complicated feelings when he learned of his father’s death. He’s still trying to process them but he’s definitely full of regret and guilt that they never made up before his dad died.

#kivaember #msg / reply #post / headcanon #woW this is long #and sad #why did i do this to myself dksjflkdsfa #tw: family death mention

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officialotakudome · 3 years

Text

New Post has been published on Otaku Dome | The Latest News In Anime, Manga, Gaming, Tech, and Geek Culture

New Post has been published on https://otakudome.com/sentai-announces-new-acquisitions/

Sentai Announces New Acquisitions

Sentai Filmworks has announced several titles for the 2021 release schedule:

HOUSTON, July 27, 2021 – Home video distributor Section23 Films today announced its October slate of releases which includes Sentai Filmworks laugh-out-loud anime series, Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time. A Special Steelbook release will be available on October 12th.

Product details follow, in order of release

Coming October 2021

Title: NAKAIMO ~ MY LITTLE SISTER IS AMONG THEM!

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 325 min.

Street Date: 10/5/2021

Format: BD

Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: The terms of Shougo Mikadono’s late father’s will are strangely specific: To claim his substantial inheritance, Shougo must first transfer to Miryuin Private Academy, find a nice girl from among the student body, and convince her to marry him. As twisted and unromantic as that demand may appear, it does seem doable, right? Unfortunately, there’s an even greater moral obstruction standing between Shougo and a rich happily ever after, as one of the students attending the school is Shougo’s long lost little sister… and he has no idea which one she is! Can Shougo navigate this minefield and find a future bride without committing a major sin? And if his little sister is revealed, will it be in a manner that’s socially acceptable? Insanity is hereditary and Shougo’s about to go sibling crazy in NAKAIMO – My Little Sister is Among Them!

Title: PETER GRILL AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S TIME

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 180 min.

Street Date: 10/12/2021

Format: BD

Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $129.98

SYNOPSIS: Peter Grill may be the most powerful warrior in the world, but in a culture where strength is everything, there are lots of ambitious young women who will do anything to “acquire” Peter’s superior genes in order to bear powerful offspring! So, even though Peter just wants to marry his fiancée, he’s instead being beset by a bodacious bevy of Peter-obsessed females fiercely determined to get into his bed and/or ironclad pants! That would be a sticky situation even if the bawdy belligerents were merely human, but with elves, trolls and orcs all craving a little private Peter action, can even Peter stand up to this wave of pulchritudinous force? His flesh may be strong but his will may not hold up quite as rigidly when comely babe after babe keeps coming to test this poor Peter’s mettle in PETER GRILL!

Title: NOZO X KIMI

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 75 min.

Street Date: 10/19/2021

Format: BD

Language: Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $29.98

SYNOPSIS: What could be more embarrassing than being caught peeping into the girls’ locker room? Being caught inside the girls’ locker room inside a locker! And yet, that’s where Kimio Suga finds himself! And even if it was by accident, as soon as that door opens and he’s discovered, he’ll be branded a pervert and maybe even suspended! Except… the girl who finds him is Nozomi Komine, who lives in the house across from his, and she covers for him! Unfortunately, that isn’t an act of kindness, it’s the prelude to blackmail! Because Nozomi has certain games that she’d like to play and Kimio’s location and guilt make him the perfect plaything! And if that’s not bad enough, the situation gets really out of control when she starts bringing other girls in to play with her toy in NOZO X KIMIO!

Title: SAY I LOVE YOU

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 325 min.

Street Date: 10/19/2021

Format: BD

Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: When Mei Tachibana was unfairly blamed for a tragedy, not one of her so-called friends stood by her. In the heartbreaking aftermath, Mei found an easy way to avoid any future betrayal – to never make any friends again. Only now, for some inexplicable reason, one her school’s most popular guys, the annoyingly charming Yamato Kurosawa, has taken an interest in the girl who might as well be a ghost to the rest of the class. And when she needed help, he actually came. Mei’s not a princess in a tower and she wasn’t looking for a white knight. So why has everything become so complicated since he kissed her? Is she ready to trust and risk her heart again? Is it time, at last, to make the commitment with the three words that change everything in SAY “I LOVE YOU”?

Title: SHE, THE ULTIMATE WEAPON

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 325 min.

Street Date: 10/26/2021

Format: BD

Language: English, Spanish & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: Separated in the chaos when their city was bombed, students Shuji and Chise lives are shattered despite the actions of a mysterious defender. After reuniting with Chise in the ruins, Shuji is horrified to discover that she is no longer the girl he knew. Twisted and reshaped by nightmarish science, her body has been transformed into something that isn’t completely human: a living weapon! And even worse, the remaining facets of the person she once was seem to be fading away. Can Shuji continue to feel love for the shell of the person Chise once was? And how long can Chise’s soul endure inside a device whose only purpose is to kill? As the fires of war burn, a young woman teeters on the brink of becoming the engine of the final apocalypse in SHE- THE ULTIMATE WEAPON

Title: VENUS WARS

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 105 min.

Street Date: 10/26/2021

Format: BD

Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $29.98

SYNOPSIS: When an ice comet slammed into the planet Venus, terraforming its toxic atmosphere into one capable of sustaining human life, mankind’s dream of colonizing other worlds became a reality. Unfortunately for the colonists, Venus isn’t the paradise they’d dreamed of. As crops fail and competition for resources intensifies, hostilities grow until the two inhabited continents stand on the brink of war. Reporter Susan Sommers arrives in the capital of Aphrodia just as Ishtar attacks and only the intervention of Hiro Seno and his Battle Bike team saves her from certain death… but now Aphrodia is under Ishtar’s control and Sue, Hiro, and his teammates find themselves on the run! However, their unique skill at Battle Bike, which combines motorcycle racing with roller derby, may just prove to be the secret weapon Aphrodia needs to win the VENUS WARS.

About Section23 Films:

Section23 Films provides home video marketing and distribution services for a variety of companies, including Sentai Filmworks, Switchblade Pictures, Maiden Japan, Kraken Releasing and AEsir Holdings. With its special focus on genre entertainment, Section23 Films distributes some of the very best anime, martial arts, and horror titles on the market today.

HOUSTON, TX — July 21, 2021 — Today Sentai revealed the event and exclusive guest lineup for Sentai at Home 2021, Sentai’s digital panel experience for anime fans around the world. Anime enthusiasts can catch Sentai at Home 2021 on Wednesday, August 20, 2021 at 2 PM CDT and should visit athome.sentai.com to learn more about this free event. To bring the joy of anime to fans at home, Sentai will treat viewers to a lineup of exclusive interviews with an array of Japanese talent, including cast members from Non Non Biyori, Redo of Healer, Getter Robo Arc, Princess Principal, Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory and other Sentai favorites. Fans can also look forward to interviews with anime directors Morio Asaka (NANA), Masayuki Kojima (MADE IN ABYSS), Jun Kawagoe (Getter Robo Arc), Takuya Asaoka (Redo of Healer), Shinya Kawatsura (Non Non Biyori) and Masaki Tachibana (Princess Principal), as well as inside looks at the work of sound director Soichiro Kubo and music composer Hisaki Kato of HERO MASK. Additional guests include the creator of Redo of Healer, Rui Tsukiyo, and decorated music composer Kevin Penkin of MADE IN ABYSS fame.

In addition to Japanese guests, Sentai will host a retrospective look at the influential Lone Wolf & Cub television series with special guests Max Allan Collins (author of Road to Perdition) and Cinapse film critic Ed Travis, who will discuss the widespread influence of this culturally significant work. Alongside comedic interludes from comedian Chinedu Ogu and YouTube personality Roxxy Haze, fans can anticipate exclusive dub clips, sneak peeks of Sentai’s upcoming home video releases, thrilling previews and so much more. Sentai hosted the first iteration of Sentai at Home in August 2020. To learn more about Sentai at Home 2021 and to stay up-to-date on the event’s latest news and developments, sign up for the Sentai at Home mailing list. For Sentai’s latest announcements regarding this and other great titles, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

HOUSTON, TX — July 7, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired irreverent comedy series Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory for the Summer 2021 simulcast season. Sentai will distribute the series to audiences in North America, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland, South Africa, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Nordic Countries, Spain, Portugal and Central and South America.

Down-on-his-luck Koushi Nagumo wanders the streets unemployed, homeless and in search of his next meal. His fortunes improve after a chance meeting with a vivacious young woman whose proposition seemingly solves nearly all his problems. Thanks to her, Koushi enters the welcoming halls of a dormitory at a women’s college… only this particular assignment is no stuffy, sleepy affair. The Goddess’ Dormitory is known for housing the college’s most unruly students! If he wants to keep a roof over his head, Koushi must become the “Dormitory Mother” charged with maintaining order and good discipline. But doing his job and keeping his sanity are no small feat with characters as endearingly eccentric and untamable as these!

Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory is directed by Shunsuke Nakaju (episode director: BanG Dream!) and produced by studio asread (The Future Diary). The series stars Misuzu Yamada as Koushi Nagumo, Ayaka Nanase (SWORDGAI The Animation) as Atena Saotome, Chiaki Takahashi (School Days) as Mineru Wachi, Risako Murai (Date A Live) as Kiriya Sensho, Asaki Fukuyama as Frey, Yuki Yomichi (Super Cub) as Serene Hozumi and Hikaru Nanjo as Khoroya Sutea.

Sentai will release Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory in association with select digital outlets in Summer 2021 with a home video release to follow.

For Sentai’s latest announcements regarding this and other great titles, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

HOUSTON, TX — July 1, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired partial rights to the anime TV series Getter Robo Arc, the hotly anticipated next chapter of the iconic Getter Robo saga, based upon the original work of Ken Ishikawa and legendary mangaka Go Nagai. Sentai will distribute the series in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, and Central and South America.

The world is on the brink of apocalypse following an onslaught of invaders. To fight the attacking hoard, one of the original Getter Robo pilots, Hayato Jin, has finished Getter Arc, a new fighting unit based on the final work and ultimate masterpiece of Professor Saotome. Now the son of Ryoma – one of Hayato’s copilots on the first-generation Getter – Takuma, the half-human half-Saurian Kamui, and Baku, younger brother of the extraordinary ESPer Tahir, step aboard the Getter Arc to combat the ruthless incursion and restore hope to their ravaged world!

Produced by Bee Media (Night Head Genesis, Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact) and Studio A-CAT (LBX Girls), Getter Robo Arc is directed by Jun Kawagoe (Shin Getter Robo, episode director for Baccano!) with scriptwriting and series composition from Tadashi Hayakawa (MÄR, Doraemon (2005)). The series’ character design is by Hideyuki Motohashi (Hikaru no Go, Fushigi Yugi).

The cast includes Yuma Uchida (BANANA FISH, Grand Blue Dreaming) as the lead character Takuma Nagare, Naoya Uchida (Vinland Saga, Moriarty the Patriot) as Hayato Jin, and Kazuhiro Sunseki (The Walking Dead (Japanese Dub), Adventure Time (Japanese dub)) as Baku Yamagishi. Newcomer Arimaro Mukaino will make his voice acting debut as Sho Kamui.

Sentai will stream Getter Robo Arc in association with select digital outlets in Summer 2021 with a home video release to follow.

For Sentai’s latest announcements regarding this and other great titles, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

HOUSTON, TX — June 29, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired TSUKIPRO the Animation 2, the latest addition to the TSUKIPRO multi-media franchise, to its growing catalog of idol properties like Utano Princesama, BanG! Dream and D4DJ. Sentai will distribute the title in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Nordic countries, Spain, Portugal, and Central and South America.

The bands of TSUKINO TALENT PRODUCTION are back and ready to rock in season two of TSUKIPRO the Animation! Whether you’re a fan of rock, EDM or pop, there’s a band for you to love under the TSUKIPRO label. Get to know the members of SolidS, QUELL, SOARA and Growth as they grow closer as bandmates, weather the drama of idol stardom and bring their music to the masses with style!

The series is produced by AZ Creative (Dame X Prince Anime Caravan) and directed by Shigeru Kimiya (episode director: Squid Girl) with series composition from Satoko Sekine (Mysteria Friends).

The series stars Takuya Eguchi (Akihiko Kaji, Given) as Shiki Takamura, Soma Saito (Takumi, Akame ga Kill!) as Tsubasa Okui, Hanae Natsuki (Tanjiro, Demon Slayer) as Rikka Sera, Yuichiro Umehara (Mitsuhide Rouen, Snow White with the Red Hair) as Dai Murase, Shunsuke Takeuchi (Brawler, Akudama Drive) as Shu Izumi, Kotaru Nishiyama (Ryuichi Kashima, Gakuen Babysitters) as Eichi Horimiya, Shugo Nakamura (Tomoki Takashima, Outburst Dreamer Boys) as Issei Kuga, Sho Nogami (Shiki Iseya, THE IDOLM@STER SideM) as Ichiru Kuga, Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Yuri Katsuki, Yuri on Ice!!) as Sora Ohara, Yuki Ono (Taiga Kagami, Kuroko no Basket) as Morihito Arihara, Makoto Furukawa (Saitama, One Punch Man) as Soshi Kagurazaka, Taishi Murata (Haruto Soma, Just Because!) as Ren Munakata, Chiharu Sawashiro (Argon, Show by Rock!! Stars!!) as Nozomu Nanase, Shunichi Toki (Ginji, Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits) as Koki Eto, Yoshitaka Yamaya (Itsuki Kawasumi, The Rising of Shield Hero) as Kensuke Yaegashi, Daiki Yamashita (Izuku Midoriya, My Hero Academia) as Ryota Sakuraba and Junta Terashima (Takumi Kijima, Ao-chan Can’t Study!) as Mamoru Fujimura.

Sentai will stream TSUKIPRO the Animation 2 in association with select digital outlets in Summer 2021 with a home video release to follow. Additionally, Sentai will stream the first season of TSUKIPRO the Animation in association with select digital outlets.

For Sentai’s latest announcements regarding this and other great titles, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

HOUSTON, June 29, 2021 – Home video distributor Section23 Films today announced its September slate of releases which includes Sentai Filmworks highly anticipated film follow-up to the Girls und Panzer anime series. Girls und Panzer das Finale – Part 1 will be available on English dubbed Blu-ray September 14th.

Product details follow, in order of release

Coming September 2021

Title: HEAVEN’S MEMO PAD

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 325 min.

Street Date: 9/7/2021

Format: BD

Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: Narumi Fujishima has never fit in with his classmates. Joining the gardening club didn’t make him Mr. Popularity, as there was only one other member… but when he’s introduced to a reclusive girl who lives above the ramen shop, Narumi’s whole life changes radically. That’s because while Alice may be a NEET (someone who is Not Employed, being Educated or in Training,) that doesn’t mean that she does nothing all day. Quite the contrary. Besides collecting stuffed bears, Alice is an expert hacker and runs a secret detective service utilizing the talents of her other NEET acquaintances! To his surprise, and great personal peril, Narumi quickly finds himself drafted into this strange, elite team, and now his life is anything but boring as the NEETs take on a deadly new drug hitting the streets in HEAVEN’S MEMO PAD!

Title: GIRLS UND PANZER DAS FINALE – PART 1

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 48 min.

Street Date: 9/14/2021

Format: BD

Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $19.98

SYNOPSIS: The tank-crazy girls of Oorai Academy are shell-shocked when Momo’s preoccupation with locating new tanks for the upcoming Caterpillar Tread Cup causes her to fail her college entrance exams! However, the diabolical minds of Miho and the Oorai teams concoct an uber-crafty battle plan to give Momo a second chance at her exams. The catch? They’ll have to promote Momo to the position of overall commander while Miho steps down to vice commander! With Oorai’s greatest challenge coming up, it’s a terrible time to break in a new general, and that’s only the first bombshell in a new series of barrages. Can duplicitous rivals, ridiculous contests and a maid-mad gang of juvenile delinquents stop Oorai’s mechanized path to victory? Gears grind, bombs burst, and all obstacles are plowed under as the mayhem ensues in GIRLS UND PANZER DAS FINALE – PART 1!

Title: MAGICAL GIRL SITE

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 300 min.

Street Date: 9/14/2021

Format: BD

Language: Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: Bullied by other girls at school and abused by her brother at home, Aya Asagiri’s life has become so bleak that she’s contemplating killing herself just to escape. Then a strange site on the internet promises to make her a magical girl and the consequences prove beyond terrifying when a toy gun left in Aya’s locker kills one of her bullies! Being a murderer isn’t the worst part of Aya’s new situation, however, as it turns out that there have been other Magical Girls before Aya, and someone has been systematically hunting them down, killing them and taking their magical artifacts! Together with her classmate Tsuyuno, Aya must now track down the other magical girls and discover who is murdering them and why… all before an ominous counter finishes a deadly countdown on the MAGICAL GIRL SITE!

Title: DUSK MAIDEN OF AMNESIA

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 325 min.

Street Date: 9/21/2021

Format: BD

Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: 60 years ago, a young woman was left to die in the abandoned original school building behind the exclusive Seikyou Academy, so it’s only natural that Seikyou is rumored to be haunted. Nor is it surprising that the school’s many clubs include one for students interested in “paranormal investigations.” What is shocking, however, is that the founder of that club is the ghost herself! Unable to remember how she died, Yuko’s spirit has been bound to the school for decades, but when a new freshman, Teiichi Niiya, turns out to actually be able to see her, she may finally be able to unravel the mystery of her gruesome death! But will that free her? Or will her sudden close association with a mortal have even stranger repercussions on both of their fates? The answers await in the DUSK MAIDEN OF AMNESIA.

Title: MADE IN ABYSS

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 330 min.

Street Date: 9/21/2021

Format: BD

Language: English, Spanish & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $69.98

SYNOPSIS: Anyone can descend into the Abyss, but few who survive the massive, multi-leveled pit’s dangers make it back unravaged by madness and nightmarish physical transformations. Still, when 12-year-old Riko learns that her missing mother may be alive in the Abyss’ inky depths, she and her friend Reg decide to brave the ultimate darkness in the astonishing twin feature films that recap the acclaimed TV series, MADE IN ABYSS. But as harrowing and gut-wrenching as those adventures may be, the tensions will only continue to mount. Because now Riko, Reg and Nanachi must ford seas of corpses, survive fields of parasitic insects, and confront the most potentially dangerous entity of all, Bondrewd, the body shifting guardian of the gate to the sixth level, in the all-new feature length masterpiece – MADE IN ABYSS: DAWN OF THE DEEP SOUL!

Title: TO LOVE RU DARKNESS 2

Published by: Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by: Section23 Films

Run Time: 350 min.

Street Date: 9/28/2021

Format: BD

Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP: $69.98

SYNOPSIS: What is it about Rito Yuki that continues to draw beautiful alien girls towards him from all across the galaxy? It’s not as though he’s particularly attractive or talented, and his social skills are mediocre at best. And yet, somehow, this lackluster Japanese student has become the center of a girl-vortex that’s sucking in more out of this world beauties than a black hole during a sale in a lingerie shop! Between Develukan Princess Momo, who’s steadfastly determined to nail her Earthling paramour into a permanent relationship, even if she has to recruit family help to do it, and the transforming assassin Golden Darkness, who has her eyes set on taking Rito’s hide as a trophy, things are just as out of control as ever when the Develuke Saga continues in TO LOVE RU DARKNESS SEASON 2!

About Section23 Films:

HOUSTON, TX — June 28, 2021 — HIDIVE announced today that it acquired the feature-length recap of the Girls und Panzer anime series and Girls und Panzer: This is the Real Anzio Battle! The compilation film is titled Girls und Panzer Compilation: The 63rd National High School Sensha-do Games.

Charge ahead into tank warfare with the explosive recap of both the Girls und Panzer anime series and the events of Girls und Panzer: This is the Real Anzio Battle! Whether you’re new to the franchise or revisiting an old favorite, catch up with the tankery experts of Oorai Girls Academy as they practice Shensha-do, the art of tank combat. Watch as the members of the team face their fears, find themselves and cause a ton of tank-fighting mayhem in Girls und Panzer Compilation: The 63rd National High School Sensha-do Games.

The film is animated by studio Actas (Princess Principal, Girls und Panzer) and stars Mai Fuchigami (Sakura Trick, Assassination Classroom) as Miho Nishizumi, Ai Kayano (No Game, No Life, Say “I Love You”) as Saori Takabe, Mami Ozaki (Soni-Ani: Super Sonico The Animation, Witchcraft Works) as Hana Isuzu, Ikumi Nakagami (BanG Dream! 2nd Season, Glitter Force) as Yukari Akiyama and Yuka Iguchi (Ascendance of a Bookworm, A Place Further Than the Universe) as Mako Reizei.

HIDIVE will stream the recap film to audiences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. The film begins streaming on Friday, July 2, 2021 at 17:00 UTC.

For more information on upcoming shows, visit HIDIVE at www.hidive.com and follow us on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hidiveofficial

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hidiveofficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hidiveofficial/

About HIDIVE

HIDIVE, LLC operates the HIDIVE branded entertainment streaming service available via web browser, mobile devices and gaming platforms. HIDVE offers a vast array of Japanese pop-culture programming spanning six decades. From the latest anime simulcasts direct from Japan together with exclusive DUBCAST editions, to classic series and kaiju films of yesteryear, HIDIVE’s all-you-can-watch catalog offers something for everyone. HIDIVE’s parent, Sentai Holdings LLC, is a Cool Japan Fund portfolio company.

HOUSTON, TX — June 24, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired Girls und Panzer das Finale – Part 1, the highly anticipated film follow-up to the Girls und Panzer anime series. Sentai will distribute the film to audiences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia and Nordic countries.

Momo needs to get her priorities straight! Too much tankery and not studying for her entrance exams lands Momo in the hot seat. Luckily her friends won’t let her flunk out without a flight, and they’ve hatched a foxy plan to put her back on top… literally. Miho’s stepping down to let Momo take up the mantle of commander, because if she can lead the team to victory in the Continuous Cup, Momo will earn a second chance to retake her exams. The stakes have never been higher for the team as they fight for tank supremacy both on and off the combat field!

The film is produced by studio Actas (Princess Principal, Girls und Panzer) and directed by Tsutomu Mizushima (Shirobako, The Magnificent KOTOBUKI). Reiko Yoshida (K-On!, Non Non Biyori) penned the film’s script. The film stars Ikumi Nakagami (BanG Dream! 2nd Season, Glitter Force) as Yukari Akiyama, Mami Ozaki (Soni-Ani: Super Sonico The Animation, Witchcraft Works) as Hana Isuzu, Mai Fuchigami (Sakura Trick, Assassination Classroom) as Miho Nishizumi, Yuka Iguchi (Ascendance of a Bookworm, A Place Further Than The Universe) Mako Reizei, Ai Kayano (No Game, No Life, Say “I Love You”.) as Saori Takebe and Kana Ueda (Fate/stay Night, Maria Watches Over Us) as Momo Kawashima.

Sentai will release Girls und Panzer das Finale – Part 1 in association with select digital outlets on home video in Q3 2021.

For Sentai’s latest announcements regarding this and other great titles, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

HOUSTON, TX — June 22, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired Magical Girl Site, the darkly surreal, reality mangling series that flips the magical girl genre completely on its head. Sentai will distribute Magical Girl Site in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal.

Aya Asagiri’s life could not get any worse. Relentlessly bullied by peers and family, she spirals into darkness and despair. Nearing rock bottom, she receives a mysterious invitation from Magical Girl Site, a website promising to grant her lifechanging magical powers. At first, Aya dismisses the lure as just another cold-hearted prank, but a fateful choice makes clear that dark abilities now grow within her. As she discovers dangerous new powers, Aya learns she isn’t alone in her situation. Banding together with other “magical girls,” Aya must expose the Magical Girl Site and its true intention.

Animated by production doA (Is the Order a Rabbit?? Dear My Sister), Magical Girl Site is directed by Tadahito Matsubayashi (episode director for Vinland Saga) with series composition by Takayo Ikami (Penguindrum). The series stars Yuko Ono (Konohana Kitan) as Aya Asagiri, Himika Akaneya (Noragami) as Tsuyuno Yatsumura, Yu Serizawa (REAL GIRL) as Nijimi Anazawa, Haruka Yamazaki (Monster Musume: My Everyday Life with Monster Girls) as Sarina Shizukume and Aina Suzuki (Love Live! Sunshine!!) as Rina Shioi.

Magical Girl Site will be released in association with select digital outlets with a home video release to follow.

For Sentai’s latest announcements regarding this and other great titles, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

OUSTON, TX — June 16, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired the Mushibugyou OVA collection, based upon the shonen anime series of the same name. Sentai will distribute the three-part OVA to audiences in the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa as well as Latin America.

As giant insects lay waste to the land of Edo, the Insect Magistrate Office gathers powerful warriors to defend the populace from the invading threat. A rookie swordsman named Jinbee Tsukishima seeks to atone for past sins by joining their ranks, but he’ll need to prove his worth if he wants to find redemption and curb the insect infestation.

Produced by Seven Arcs Pictures (Trinity Seven, Mushibugyou, Vivid Strike!), the Mushibugyou OVA is directed by Takayuki Hamana (Erin, Library Wars, Arte) with character design from Yoshimitsu Yamashita (Blade of the Immortal, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, Samurai Flamenco). The OVA stars KENN (Ahiru no Sora, Beyond the Boundary, Space Brothers) as Jinbee Tsukishima, Rumi Okubo (Sabage-bu!, One Week Friends, Death Parade) as Hibachi, Takuya Eguchi (My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, My Love Story!!, BAKI) as Shungiku Koikawa, Takuma Terashima (Kokoro Connect, Log Horizon, MEKAKUCITY ACTORS) as Mugai and Yuu Serizawa (Real Girl, Magical Girl Site, How clumsy you are, Miss Ueno.) as Tenma Ichinotani.

Sentai will stream the Mushibugyou OVA in association with select digital outlets with a home video release to follow.

For Sentai’s latest announcements regarding this and other great titles, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About Sentai

A Cool Japan Fund portfolio company, Sentai is a leading global supplier of anime and official anime merchandise, distributing and curating one of the industry’s most diverse libraries of top trending and classic titles. Sentai offers thousands of hours of content across both traditional and digital platforms and is dedicated to bringing captivating stories and iconic characters directly from Japan. With hit series that include MADE IN ABYSS, Food Wars!, Princess Tutu and Parasyte -the maxim-, Sentai’s catalog continues to grow with new favorites like Bloom Into You, Revue Starlight and O Maidens in Your Savage Season, as well as classic anime series such as Legend of the Galactic Heroes and The Big O. For more information, visit www.sentai.com

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