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timemachineyeah · 1 year

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Huh…that’s a good rlly point! Each group really has something for everyone,and Hasunosora really is for the people who straight up wanted a more blatant Love Live yuri cndjdj I’ve seen those cards / scenes spread around some and it’s a little surprising how they seem to be GOING for it more than usual (also like I said it still wouldn’t be surprising if they just have two of the girls kiss or say that they’re dating at this point bc CMON)

Oh yeah, they’re making marketing decisions every time, but I think the results have largely worked (with maybe Liella being the closest to an exception- I get the feeling they’d really love for it to break into a younger more Disney channel type audience and it’s doing fine with core fans but not breaking into new audiences as much as they hoped. This is PURE speculation on my part. Just a vibe I get.)

I would be surprised if characters actually kissed or admitted to dating, but pleasantly so.

I feel like Hasunosora is tapping into that very uniquely Japanese history of yuri rep that is like…

It’s like how no one ever says it directly in a Victorian romance? Like there’s all kinds of mannered society stuff at play so everything needs to be allusion only. I mentioned from the very first whiff of Hasunosora that it gave me Maria-sama ga Miteru vibes just based on the pairing of upperclassmen with younger students and taking place in a girls boarding school

But now they’ve confirmed that Hasunosora also has a long-standing mentor/mentee tradition (though far less codified than in MariMite, it seems) and I’m absolutely certain that this is one of their big influences. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if that was basically the prompt they gave the writer (who is a writer of yuri light novels), “Do a Love Live story that’s been passed through a filter of MariMite.”

(I mean the series was hugely influential to yuri for years, a huge evolution point for the genre, so it makes sense).

But while it feels wrong to say the relationships in MariMite were only ever implied, because the romance between girls is the whole story, it is also true that the tradition and codification and “purity” and other themes served to keep them from ever using the words. This feels less like queerbaiting in the modern sense and more like… a genre choice? With its own rules and appeal? Especially given the era.

Like they weren’t hinting characters are gay without canonizing it. They were saying, “these characters are gay even if they never say so and you’re not imagining it (here let us put more lilies everywhere, the Japanese manga equivalent of flying a lesbian flag in the background every time the characters talk).”

On the surface for the era it just provides plausible deniability to the audience who want to be able to be seen in public reading it - no one looking over your shoulder is ever going to be scandalized no matter how homophobic they are. Queer coding that is so explicit that it’s not so much code as plain representation, but still just subtle enough that you wouldn’t be sure at a glance.

But like I said, I also feel like it plays into really classic old school romance. Romance that is 100% about romantic tension and not so much sexual tension. Lots of het romances also aren’t explicitly stated, but we still accept that they are romances, because what else would it be for these two people to be like this around each other? It’s not like het characters have to stand up and say “I am heterosexual! And this is my boyfriend! Let us kiss on screen!” before we accept the veracity of their relationships.

And yuri has a strong history of taking that kind of storyline and the strictures of gender or aristocratic social mores and replacing them with similar quiet rules that keep our characters talking around the subject and engaging in unlabeled intimacy. Religiosity, tradition, etc.

That being said if you wanna have a discussion about about the difference between making that choice in an original manga in the late 1990s versus making that choice as a massive money printing franchise in the 2020s - I think pointing out the difference in circumstances is warranted. Is it homage or is it a cop out? Is it queerbaiting or leaving things open ended?

After all, what Love Live! sells, above all else, what it has always sold, is the characters. They are supposed to belong to you. They’re dolls for your brain to play with. You have always been meant to get attached, to have the option but not the obligation to insert yourself. Relationships are left open ended because that’s up to you. They only want to give you a prompt, not a script. Love Live on its premise sets up a series of cozy compelling ideas and leaves them a little unfinished. The fun is very much designed to be in filling in those blanks yourself.

And you are supposed to love them. After all, it’s only a parasocial relationship if the person on the other end is real. Otherwise that’s an imaginary friend or a brain toy. Love Live! have made a very well oiled Singing Blorbo factory.

This isn’t a criticism by the way, it’s impressive as hell. Like yes capitalism bad etc etc but boy do they have a system and know what they’re doing.

But because of that I don’t expect the Hasunosora girls are gonna officially date. A kiss of some kind is slightly more likely imo, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that either. I do fully expect art that looks like they’re just about to.

I do hope they get an anime in either case though because I love the character designs and art style

And the Hasunosora music is my favorite to come from the franchise in a while

#timemachine wuz here #love live #link like love live #hasunosora

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filipinoizukuu · 3 years

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I saw your post about the FA's translations, and I totally agree. Sometimes, when they do not translate accurately, is to make it sound better or cooler in English, but it just ends up taking away a lot from the context and characters. We know how one of the most affected character interpretations is Katsuki's, a main character, no less. And Izuku and Katsuki's relationship too, which is something super super wrong, considering is deeply intertwined with the main plot of the series, thus if someone misinterpreted their dynamic, this person would miss a bigass chunk of the message the story has.

Here is the panel you mentioned before btw

I remember when I read this, only 10 or 11 chapters into the manga (?), and I was like "...I'm...pretty sure this guy didn't say that" khshsjdhs

OK FIRST OF ALL LMAO HELLO MANG!! THANK YOU SO MUCH AND DW ABOUT IT I TOTALLY GET WHAT YOU MEAN !!

(this is your warning for a long post ahead!)

In any case, I still think you're very correct on this! Not to ramble a bit, but Horikoshi's particular talent in developing the plot of MHA is actually very very brilliant and there are a lot of blink-and-you'll-miss-it details that together, assemble the big picture of what MHA is.

Translations are such an integral part of being able to understand foreign media. MHA or otherwise. The simplest of details say a lot about a character and often times make or break a series because everyone knows that strong character dynamics are what carry even the shittiest of plots.

First and foremost, I want to clarify that because of the nature of fan translations and the fact that most of it is volunteer work/ written out of pure enjoyment of the manga--we shouldn't judge these fan translators too harshly (if at all) for interpreting it the way they want to. FA, as far as I can tell, is a fan-based group that works out of donations.

The first thing I wanna bring up is that when it comes to fandom and its works, there are two types: Curatorial and Transformative. Now, the transformative part is something that must be very familiar to a lot of you. Fanfiction, fanart, and most headcanons fall under Transformative Works (i.e. AO3) because they are all about transforming the canon world to fit each individual's personal preferences. Meta-analysis posts and Character Breakdowns are also classified under this.

Curatorial on the other hand are fandom interactions made with the explicit purpose of being as close to canon material as possible. This is working out the logic of quirks, for example, or memorizing as much canon content about your favorite villain as possible. These are more cold, hard undeniable facts that lend themselves to the DIRECT VISION the creator/author had while making this media. If you were to ask me my opinion on this, this would be the moment where I tell you that the Curatorial side of fandom is where fan translations should (for the most part) fall under.

What people need to know though is that oftentimes, fan translations do not.

Translating isn't and has never been a one-is-to-one process. There are hundreds of thousands of aspects in a language that make it so that it isn't perfectly translatable. Colloquialisms to sayings to dialects, to just plain-out words that don't have a proper English translation to them! Manga is made by and for a Japanese audience, so obviously in a lot of instances, there will be cultural nuances that will not be understood by anyone who hasn't immersed themselves in Japanese culture/language.

So what does this mean then for fan scanlations?

It means that a vast majority of translators teach themselves to only get the essence of the message. They take the dialogue as they understand it and translate it to something of their interpretation. When language and cultural barriers exist, translators do what they can in order to make it understandable to the general populace. This means making their own executive decisions on how they see a character speaking. In example, if they see Todoroki using very direct and impersonal Japanese--one translator might interpret it to mean that Shouto is stiff and overly formal, while another may see it as him being rude and aloof.

The problem is, translators are fans just like us.

Like with the image Mang posted above, the translator based the usage of curse words off of their understanding of Bakugou's character. The lack of foul language in the original Japanese might have made the translator think "Oh. There just aren't enough Japanese cusses for his character." And took that as an initiative to make Bakugou's lines more colorful and violent because this was working off of the image Bakugou had had at this point in canon.

But Codi! You may cry. Wasn't it proven multiple times that Bakugou prefers concise and short lines? They should've known better!

Yes. Maybe they should've known better. But tell me honestly in your first watch-through of MHA, did you perfectly understand Bakugou's character either? Did you catch the whole 'direct and no flowery language' aspect of his language when you first saw Season 2?

Most people don't. I only really understood this fact after I'd read multiple discussions of it and even double-checked the manga myself. These are the kinds of things that only become noticeable with a sharp eye and some time to scrutiny. But the fact of the matter is that when it comes to fan translations, the clout and recognition are always going to go to who can post the quickest.

Am I excusing erroneous translations? A bit, I guess. It's hard for us to go in and expect translators to catch all these errors before release when we ourselves only catch these errors like 4 months in with a hundred times more canon context than these scanlation groups did at the time of its release.

Still, there are plenty of harms that come with faulty translations.

When a translation is more divorced from the original's meaning than usual, it creates a dissonance between what is actually happening versus what the audience sees is happening. This looks like decently-written character arcs being overruled and rejected by most of the readers because of how 'jarring' and 'clumsy' it seems. By the time translators had caught on to the fact that Bakugou was more than just a ticking time bomb, we were already several steps into showing how significantly he cares for Deku.

The characters affected most by these translation errors are often those with the most subtle and well-written character arcs. A single mistake in how the source material is translated can make or break the international reception of a certain character to everyone who isn't invested enough in them to look deeper into the canon source.

It creates hiccups in plots. Things that seem out of character but really aren't. Going back to MHA in specific, the way that inaccurate translations hurt both the 'curatorial' and 'transformative' parts of the fandom is that people have begun to cite them as proof of the main cast's characterization.

Bakugou and Todoroki are undeniably some of the biggest examples of mistranslation injustices.

Katsuki, in a lot of people's minds, has yet to break out of the 'overly-aggressive rival' archetype box that people had been placing him in since Season 1. One of the most amazing aspects and biggest downfalls of Hori's writing was that at first, nearly every character fit into a very neat stereotype for Shonen Animes (Deku being the talking-no-jutsu sunshine MC, Uraraka being the overly bubbly main girl, Todoroki being the aloof and formal rival). He made the audience make assumptions about everyone's characters and then pulled the rug beneath our feet when he revealed deeper sides of them to play around within canon.

What made this part about Horikoshi's set-up so good though were the many clues we were given from the very beginning that these characters were more than what they acted like. Even from the very first chapters, for example, we learn that Katsuki (as much as he acts like a delinquent) dislikes smoking because it could get him in trouble.

That is just a single instance of MHA's use of dialogue to subtly divert our expectations of a character.

Another example is when they replaced 318's dialogue of the Second User saying that Katsuki "completes" Deku with him saying that Katsuki merely "bolsters" him. This presents a different situation, as that line was meant to reinforce the importance of those two's relationship as well as complete the character foils that MHA is partially centered around. By downplaying their developed connection, it becomes harder for the MHA manga scanlations to justify any future significance these two's words have on each other without mottling the pacing of the story.

AKA, it butchers the plot.

With every new volume, there are dozens and dozens more of these hints and bits scattered around! So many cues and subtle foreshadowing at the trajectory of everyone's character arcs--yet mistranslations or inaccurate scans make it so that we don't notice them. This is what I mean when I said that some character arcs are being done great injustices.

Until now, many people can't accept that Katsuki Bakugou cares for anyone other than himself (much less his rival and MC, Izuku Midoriya), nor can they accept that Todoroki would ever willingly work by Endeavor's side. The bottom-line then becomes that because of people missing heavy bits of characterization that become very plot-significant in the future.

When it comes to the point where people can no longer accept or fit their interpretation of the earlier manga events to what is happening in canon, the point of a translation fails completely because it has lead people to follow an entirely different story.

TL;DR - Fan scans are hard. Translating is hard. Don't get too mad at fan translations, but also maybe don't treat them as the catch-all for how characters truly operate. Thanks.

Side note: DO NOT harass FA for any of these things. FA is actually a pretty legit and okay source for scans (they've been operating since like 2014 ffs), but regardless of that they still don't deserve to get flack for their work. You can have any opinion or perspective of canon that you want, I don't care. These are just my two (more like two million tbh) cents on translations. I suggest reading takes from actual Japanese audiences tbh if you wanna know more about the source material of MHA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#IM SO SORRY MANG I RLLY WENT ON A RAMBLE FOR THIS #asks #mang #bnha #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia

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demonslayedher · 3 years

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Kimetsu no Yaiba and its ties with traditional Japanese culture

Just a ramble and a little dive into what makes the Kimetsu fandom so engaging for someone who, as I like to say, “broke the weeb scale a long time ago.”

From the perspective of the craft of writing, Gotouge is clearly a novice. While Kimetsu is not a debut work, it’s nearly that, which is why Gotouge only got so big of a deal on anime rights due to (previous) lack of name recognition. It commits all kinds of writing sins; the flashbacks were never hinted to until they become relevant, contrived conveniences move the plot, and I’ve never seen more egregious use of telling instead of showing. But despite all that, it’s told with a lot of heart. The core bonds between people and character motivations drive the story beyond all those execution flaws. The premise is straightforward and hits on core classic themes found throughout human history of fiction. It’s that lack of nuance sometimes, as well as the pure love put into these characters, that sometimes makes me feel like I’m watching a little alligator child play with action figures and light up as they pause the pretend dialogue to tell you all kinds of exciting things about the world they are having the toys fly through whilst also making ‘bang, pow’ sound effects as they resume play. (The art likewise commits so many sins but that is so freaking endearing, let’s move on.) A large part of what attracted me to Kimetsu in the first place was the aesthetic. Samurai style warfare never gets old, element-based powers never get old, and when it comes to character designs, the motifs used throughout the series are merchandise gold for how recognizable they are. There’s a certain lack of mainstream Taisho Era manga, despite that being a very exciting and fashionable era made all the more nostalgic for its brevity and relative pre-Showa peacefulness. You know what, I’m just going to skip the preamble and get straight to it: the more deep diving you do, the more you realize, oh hell, this alligator had a ship-ton of detail and background in this.

Whether intentional or not, the series has provided a huge wealth of ties to traditional folklore, and when people who know a lot about this stuff start theorizing and pulling in outside research, dang, they can get going. Some examples I’ve heard: 1. Drawing comparisons to just about every demon legend out there, including spider demons in the mountain, demons that mingle among the courtesans, demons that attain the ability to live among humans by practicing self-restraint, and so on and so on and so on. 2. Tracing the origins of the series to some of the most ancients writings in Japan and showing how many rules and themes of demon slaying have remained consistent throughout centuries of legends. 3. Diving into the local folklore of the places tied with the series (for example, I heard a passing comment about the islands were Iguro is from having men and women live separately, which I have not verified with my own research). 4. Pulling in places not mentioned specifically in canon but bare distinct similarities with canon elements, such as many tourist sites that have recently exploded in popularity around the country (for example, one of my favorite sword-forging sites in Shimane, or a couple shrines that just happen to be called Kamado Shrine with the same somewhat rare kanji, or a garden famous for its extensive use of wisteria.) 5. Diving into the origins of names (such as how the pronunciation of “Agatsuma” has roots in Shinto mythology of a god singing the praises of his wonderful wife) and traditional patterns (the Ichimatsu (checkerboard) patterns having ties to enduring continuity, many other patterns being used to ward off evil, etc.) It’s such a fun rabbit hole (or, swamp demon hole??) which fans go really, really deep in their theories, bringing in uncanny comparisons to historical botanists or insisting that just because something has roots in the Heian period it must be chosen on purpose because you know who else has roots in the Heian period? Kibutsuji Muzan. It’s all connected, Wani-sensei, sugooooooiiiiiiii!!!! And I love to get wrapped up in that too (see here), but then when I consider translating the juicy details, I usually stop for two reasons:

1. That’s... that a lot of background that would take a really long time to explain. 2. When you get down to it, a lot of it is just fun coincidences, and I think it’s too far of a stretch to make them canon theories. It’s when I choose not to translate them that I reach two conclusions. 1. Whether consciously or unconsciously, it’s very possible Gotouge did take these sorts of very, very trivial details into account when designing the characters, especially giving the very clear level of research that did go into specifying a lot of the character details. Like, seriously, Wani-sensei, how many yyyyyyyears have you spent soaking all this up? The sheer level of Taisho Era world building is a testament to that. 2. Even without all those layers of ties to centuries and centuries of folklore, at its core, the story remains engaging because of the elements mentioned previously. It’s a classic tale of good versus evil; there are no elemental powers, it’s just people doing the best they can because they have motives that drive them--familial love, revenge, duty, regret, filling in something that’s missing. But oh, man, oh my demons, how I love, love, love how this series stokes my nerdy side, I love it, I want to climb ALL THOSE MOUNTAINS AROUND TOKYO AS FANDOM PILGRIMAGES AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HOW MUCH THIS FANDOM HAS INFILTRATED EVEN MY TEA CEREMONY LESSONS EVER SINCE THAT RIKYU-BAI NATSUME REMINDED ME AND MY CLASSMATE OF UZUI TENGEN, I CANNOT FULLY CONCENTRATE or even BREATHE, SENSEI, I CANNOT PRACTICE THIS ‘OCHA NO KOKYUU’ WHEN YOU KEEP MAKING KIMETSU REFERENCES, AND I AM NOT EVEN THE ONLY ONE WHO MADE THAT INOKO-MOCHI JOKE, STAHP------

#KnY nerdery #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Demon Slayer #KnY fandom theories and meta

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clownao · 3 years

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Rereading Korosuu Chapter 4 (the ChibaHaya chapter) from the perspective that Hayami has feelings for Chiba

And boy, is it a ride.

Check out the previous post

Listen, I’m a big ChibaHaya shipper but I never believed they liked each other romantically in canon. One of things I like the most about their dynamic is how great they are even without the typical shippy stuff like blushing, stammering etc. They work well both platonically and romantically.

So I never tried to go MiDDLe ScHOoL cHiBaHaYa is CanOn but then I read the Chinese translation Ch4 of Korosuu. And boy oh boy did it make me think Hayami has ✨feelings✨ for Chiba. (And he doesn’t.) I literally did not expect that, but once I saw things from that perspective, I can’t stop lol.

Keep in mind I’m analysing a Japanese -> Chinese translation in English, and I don’t have the Japanese raws, so the word choices may be off. And I am probably overanalysing but yes, I will eat these ChibaHaya crumbs for the tiniest bit of information.

Also keep in mind manga Chiba is more social than Hayami (you can check Fumiko’s posts for more information, she’s the Chiba expert haha). So while these two may have the same responses (eg. smiling because of what the other said), it weighs differently.

So Hayami was originally going home, but stopped when she saw Chiba trying to figure out a problem. And so she helped him pump the balloons to act as Chiba’s targets. They discussed for a bit, then they both said they were surely getting closer to their “answer”.

And then they both smiled. The translation is “速水露齒而笑。千葉也回以微笑。” which is “Hayami grinned, and Chiba returned with a smile”. But notably, the translator used “露齒而笑” (literally: grinning with teeth) for Hayami and just “笑” (smile) for Chiba. “笑” and “微笑” (which also means smile, but a little softer) are used five times in total, and considering they’re interchangeable in Chinese, the translator probably used them to add variety. But “露齒而笑”? That’s different. That’s the only time the translator used this term to describe someone smiling. And “grinning (with teeth)” feels more joyful than “smiling”. And it’s used to describe Hayami’s reaction.

Hmm.

By the way, let’s count how many times they smiled in this chapter. Hayami smiled 3 times, Chiba also 3. And literally every time they smile it’s in response to something the other did/said. Chiba smiles more than Hayami in the manga, so the fact that Hayami is smiling so much in front of Chiba... hmmm...

As mentioned before, Hayami stuttered when Chiba praised her. In the translation, she barely stuttered anywhere else. Hmm.

After a very long time, Chiba lifted his head and turned to Hayami.

“Hayami, you’re brilliant! So it was like this all along! Why have I never noticed something so simple?”

“Wh-what?”

Yeah. She stuttered after Chiba called her brilliant/amazing.

And then, of course, the most telling paragraph follows.

Hayami felt bewildered upon seeing the suddenly agitated Chiba. Even though she had always been looking at him in E class, she hardly recalled seeing him so delighted.

She had always been looking at him. Whoa.

The Chinese translation is “雖然一直在E班看著他”, special focus on “一直” (always) and “看” (look). Like, okay, it could mean “from her daily observations, she didn’t recall seeing such an expression” or “looking after him” or “knowing him from school” but this phrasing just makes me think she’s staring at him in class. And you know what, Chiba actually sits behind Hayami in another row. So she has to turn around to “look” at him, which is a deliberate action. Of course the translation used “E class”, which also means training and other misc stuff and not just conventional lessons.

Either way, she’s been observing him. She’s ALWAYS been observing him. Continuously. And she knows she’s never seen him so joyful. And the translator (and maybe Matsui?) felt the urge to point it out.

After complimenting Hayami, Chiba proceeds to explain his new theory. And thus the passage:

“So what do you think?”

Chiba turned to Hayami, a smile quirking on his lips. He lightly prodded the pages of his notebook with his mechanical pencil.

“That’s brilliant!” Hayami also used an excited tone to reply as she looked down at the diagram.

“If you weren’t there, I probably wouldn’t have thought of it. Even though it’s really simple once you notice it...”

Hayami used a smile to respond to his words.

The word “也” (also) is used in Hayami’s happy response to China. Granted, it may be a translator thing, to add word variety and connectives, but the sentence makes perfect sense without the 也.

From this we can infer Hayami’s mood is affected by Chiba’s, and probably vice versa, but Hayami’s case is specifically mentioned.

Next day, Chiba stays behind to practice again. And he looks sad because he’s failing.

Hayami thinks “I suppose even people like Chiba will feel uneasy when thinking about official operations” (一旦設想正式行動，即使是千葉這樣的人類也會感到不安吧。) This makes me !!!! because it sort of implies Hayami thought Chiba won’t be nervous. She thought of him in a positive light, only for him to disprove it. Also, the use of “吧”. “吧” is commonly used in dialogue, so here it implies Hayami is thinking the whole line despite the lack of speech bubbles, not some omniscient narrator saying it.

Then Hayami tries to encourage him.

“Relax. If you think it’s right, then it has to be.”

“Even though hearing you say that makes me happy...”

^ this is one of the most mutual shippy moments in my opinion. Hayami has total faith and trust in Chiba, and Chiba literally told her that her trust in him makes him happy. It just feels... kinda shipbaity. The sentence structure “雖然你這麼說讓我很開心啊……” (Even though hearing you say that makes me happy...) feels like something out of a romance novel (especially in Chinese), even though the words don’t exactly have a romantic meaning.

Chiba says Hayami’s words makes him “happy”, but he’s still troubled by the shooting problem. Hayami trusting Chiba despite Chiba not trusting himself makes him happy. Oho. That... can be interpreted in a shippy way.

When Hayami sees that Chiba is still troubled, she “nonchalantly” says “to fill in the gaps using intuition” (看著無法消除不安情緒的千葉，速水若無其事地說。”無法確定的地方，用直覺填補就好了喲。”)

I believe there’s a typo here, since the next line is “千葉帶著的表情抬頭看著速水”, which is “Chiba lifted his head to look at Hayami with a xxx expression”. So the translator accidentally left out his expression (the sentence doesn’t make sense otherwise), but we can easily infer Chiba’s feelings from the following lines.

Chiba basically thinks “Intuition? What? She’s talking about things unrelated to this shooting problem again.” He doesn’t say it out loud (no speech bubbles), but he probably shows his doubt through his facial expression that the translator unfortunately left out.

And Hayami wants to prove him wrong.

So Hayami roughly glanced around the classroom, and quietly uttered, “Vase, tape, Korosensei.”

Before Chiba could ask “what are you talking about?”, Hayami swiftly pulled out a pistol from her thigh and shot three bullets with surprising speed.

Hayami hits all three targets without aiming precisely. Naturally, Chiba is in awe, calling it a “miracle”. Chiba says even though he, out of everyone in 3-E. can shoot the furthest target using calculations, he can’t imitate Hayami’s perceptual(?) type of shooting.

And then:

Hayami shot a stunned Chiba a smile.

The word for “stunned” (目瞪口呆) literally means “eyes wide, mouth frozen”, but that’s just a Chinese phrase for being stunned.

Honestly, to me, I feel:

Hayami wants to help Chiba -> Chiba is in doubt -> Hayami wants to prove him wrong and show off -> she quickly shoots her targets based on intuition/emotion, not even waiting to hear what Chiba has to ask -> (she wants to show off lol) -> when she sees he’s in awe, she smiles (smugly?)

ALSO, Hayami may have gained confidence after Chiba praised her by saying she’s brilliant, and that may be why she shot so quickly (since the adrenaline rush or something.)

Hayami then says something:

“And if at that time, you’re not confident in your theories, in the end, I’ll still shoot according to my gut feelings. (Basically saying if you can’t do it, I can do it for you.) We can do what the other cannot do. If we team up and become partners, there’s no target we cannot hit.”

Chiba gazed at Hayami’s face for a moment, then smiled and said, “Thanks.”

Wow. What surprised me is that Hayami’s the one with the speech— she’s the more serious and reserved out of the two. For her to say something so “sentimental” when she’s usually like “I respect you”, wow...

By the way, “凝視” (gaze) is used. It can mean stare, but it usually means gaze. Also he gazed at her face (臉). This is specifically mentioned. Mmmmm.

And I can’t get over “將兩者合為一體的話一定能順利地進行”. It means “if we combine two into one, it’ll definitely proceed smoothly”. They’re... MERGING lmao. It’s so shipbaity.

There’s also more stuff, like how they agree on something without speaking, but that’s... typical ChibaHaya stuff. And that’s it.

SO:

Possible hints of Hayami’s feelings towards Chiba:

1. Hayami immediately helped Chiba with practice even though she was intending to go home

2. SHE LOOKS AT HIM IN CLASS. Bro. I can’t make this up.

3. Hayami is happy when Chiba is

4. SHE STUTTERED WHEN HE SAID SHE’S BRILLIANT

5. She wanted to prove him wrong by showing off (this is a stretch)

6. She low-key put him on a pedestal (?) because she thought he won’t be nervous (this is also a stretch)

Possible hints of Chiba’s feelings towards Hayami:

1. He was very noticeably happy, perhaps a side he only shows to people close to him

2. Chiba says Hayami praising him makes him happy

3. He gazed at her face. Yes, her face.

But I don’t think Chiba likes Hayami that way. Like, he didn’t stutter when she praised him, he just said he’s happy. Hayami is usually very chill and calm, and even quieter than Chiba, so when she stutters because of Chiba, hmm...

Of course all of this is immediately disproven by the mini comic, with Ritsu claiming they reply to their emails a day late and their heart rates don’t go up when next to each other. Psssh. Okay, Ritsu. I mean, we can always hc Ritsu is protecting her friends’ privacy by lying about them. And of course Chiba and Hayami can stay as purely friends. I like their dynamic either way.

This concludes my rambling overanalysis of them. If you read till this point, I congratulate you <3 also reblogs appreciated :DD

#assassination classroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #chiba ryuunosuke #hayami rinka #chibahaya #ryuunosuke chiba #rinka hayami #korosuu #spent too much time on this #chibahaya brainrot is real

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kae-karo · 3 years

Note

for the ship thing dabihawks kaeluc and zhongven :3

HELLO HI HELLO LOVE 💜💜💜

[send me a bnha or genshin ship and i’ll answer some questions based on whether i ship it!]

dabihawks !!!!! did u mean my bnha otp??? my overwhelming majority of fic content for bnha????

What made you ship it?

u know what’s really funny i don’t know if i can find it again but i think i saw some joke in the bnha tag on tumblr at some point abt how ppl shipped it as a crack ship even tho they’d never met in canon and then they met in canon AFTER that person made the post and i think that’s half of what got me shipping it, and i actually went out of my way to get and read the manga JUST so i could put dabihawks into the (un)lost (x)

What are your favorite things about the ship?

hopefully this makes sense but like...it’s just so raw? like. it has all these deep elements to it - sure, you have the enemies to lovers, maybe childhood friends to enemies to lovers tropes, but like. there’s this really intriguing way they’re juxtaposed even in canon with each other that makes them so remarkably similar and still so different? and as characters they are SO much fun to play with and get them to interact and learn and grow from those interactions. they run the gamut of possibilities in fic, too - like sure any ship can be portrayed in whatever way, but they have so much canon-compliant possibilities for their characterizations? like you can make them toxic as hell, you can make them lean on each other or begrudgingly become allies or literally whatever and you can still tie that back to their characters in a really believable way? which i think is such a unique and really intriguing type of character. not to even get started on their backstories and how those can come into play to give them this really intense depth to both their own characters but especially in relation to each other. gods i could go on and on lmaooooo there’s a reason i have them in so many of my bnha fics

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

are there unpopular dabihawks opinions? idk lmaoooo. i feel like it’s probably bigger now, but when i first started writing in dabihawks it felt pretty small (for a bnha ship), and i think everyone was p chill? i think this question is always a little funny for me bc there are rarely any opinions i have that are so strong that they vehemently come into conflict with other ppl’s opinions like i’m not deadset on ‘one of them tops always’ or whatever lmao

kaeluc kaeluc kaeluc i love them i ship them otp content right there

What made you ship it?

how cliche is it of me to say the VERY first scene we even saw diluc where he came and rescued kaeya from the abyss mage??? (x) it is extremely cliche but that’s the one. i hadn’t even started playing genshin yet i was watching over @revyourriley‘s shoulder while he was playing and we deadass looked at each other after we saw that and both went YEP WE SHIP IT

What are your favorite things about the ship?

gods what’s not to like abt kaeluc???? the childhood friends to enemies to lovers??? *chef’s kiss* the fire and ice / red and blue / quiet polite loner and outgoing mysterious smooth-talker like man i could go on and on. not to mention kaeya as a character in general is just supremely sexc not just bc u kno he’s sexc but because he’s got this whole wealth of possibility as a character that’s as yet unaddressed. some AMAZING potential for angst and regained trust and reconciliation and rediscovering buried feelings or seeing the other in a totally new light or like gods i can’t get enough of these two tbh

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

LMAO i mean. the fact that i ship it at all is unpopular. although hot spicy take at least for me, i view p much everything through a writing lens. this is just how my brain works. so when it comes to ‘oh are kaeluc adopted brothers or sworn brothers or what’ and all that discourse, i have two thoughts: first, that i will listen to chinese fans’ explanation of the meaning of sworn brothers when it comes to understanding their canon relationship. and in some ways, their canon relationship doesn’t matter to me all that much unless the game decides to address it in more detail. and second, that when i am writing fic, they’re whatever the hell i want them to be for the sake of my plot. sometimes they view each other as brothers and that hasn’t changed, sometimes it’s changed over time/they’ve grown apart. sometimes they really only view each other as childhood friends/allies. sometimes they’ve never met in my fics. it just depends on what kind of story i’m trying to tell. is that unpopular? i really don’t know lmao

zhongven!!! okay i do ship it but it’s not all that high on my list of ships lmao like i usually ship zhongli and venti with other ppl first

What made you ship it?

honestly the art? the connection they have as immortals and archons and the only two remaining of the original seven? very inch resting potential right there

What are your favorite things about the ship?

immortals with a long and intertwined history as the only two remaining original archons? very spicy food for thought. the most polar of opposites in personality and appearance and methodology of interacting with their people??? there is so much depth to their history and each of their respective pasts to delve into which could be so intriguing to write

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

hmhmhm given that this isn’t something i ship like actively, probably not? I Just Think They’re Neat lmaoooo

[send me a bnha or genshin ship and i’ll answer some questions based on whether i ship it!]

#genshin #genshin impact #kaeluc #dabihawks #bnha #zhongven #ask game #shigarakitomura #ask

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midnightrooftops · 3 years

Text

Don’t Blame it on the Kids

Drabble #2

Story here

Summery: Shouta talks with All Might. Drabble.

Characters: Shouta Aizawa (Eraserhead), Yagi Toshinori (All Might)

MANGA SPOILERS: ch. 303 (well past season 4 of the anime) post-war arc

TW: mention/referenced abuse, mention/reference character death, canon-typical violence, PTSD, amputation, hospitals, panic/anxiety

“Oh, this is a cool one,” Mic says, holding out his phone for Shouta to see. “I think this is what Rumi is getting.”

Aizawa is ignoring him as he looks over the file in front of him.

“She’s getting an arm, not a leg.”

“Yeah, but I think this is the designer.” Mic goes back to browsing. “You think about that fake eye yet?”

“I’m not becoming a cyborg,” Aizawa says, too tired to put any malice in his voice. He rubs his eye from the mention of it and holds back a flinch at the image he sees. He’s getting used to blinking and seeing the fight, really, he is. It’s annoying as hell, though.

“But it’d be so cool,” Mic continues. “Matching glowing eyes. Tracking system to lock on your prey.”

“And yet, I still wouldn’t be able to see 3D movies,” Aizawa deadpans. He’s grateful for Mic, though. The first few days were tough, but Hizashi has gotten better about downplaying it all and Shouta is thankful for it. He can handle losing a leg and an eye. He can. But he didn’t have to weep about it.

“You don’t even go to movies,” Mic says and he’s back on his phone again.

There’s a soft knock on the door, so soft it doesn’t even register to Aizawa until he hears Mic get up.

“Hey there big guy,” he says in his friendly DJ voice. It’s still softer than normal but Aizawa owes that to it being a hospital more than Mic’s sense of comfort for his friend.

“Hello Hizashi,” All Might says and Aizawa looks up and past the curtain to see the skeleton of the man in the door frame. “Could I have a moment with Aizawa?”

“More secrets?” Mic presses but he’s only teasing the old man. All Might, for his worth, looks ashamed by it. Mic laughs, pats him on the shoulder and offers Shouta a wave. “I’m off to refresh the playlist,” he says. “Text me if you want anything from the cafeteria.”

“Thanks,” Aizawa says and watches Mic leave.

All Might closes the door. Not all the way, but enough to imply privacy. He shuffles slowly across the room to the chair next to Aizawa’s bed and sits gingerly.

“When are you getting out?” All Might asks.

“Tomorrow,” Aizawa says, pushing the papers back into the manilla folder.

All Might nods. “They expect Midoriya can leave by the end of the week.”

“That’s good.”

“Indeed.”

The silence settles between them. Aizawa let’s it.

“He hates the hospital,” All Might says and Aizawa almost lets out a real laugh. Of course he does. The poor kid spent more of his first year of high school in the hospital than actual classes. But the reason why that’s the case dries up Shouta’s amusement.

“He doesn’t say that, of course,” All Might continues. “He wouldn’t talk back to a nurse or doctor. He’s not like me. I fought them tooth and nail any time I ended up here.” A smile creeps onto his face. “No, but I can tell. He gets anxious as soon as he has energy back in his body. He’s desperate to leave, even now. After telling you, I could see how eager he was to go home.”

“Was it his decision?” Aizawa asks, knowing why All Might has come.

“Yes.” All Might looks at Aizawa and his eyes are heavy but honest. “It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you.”

“I know.”

“It’s a big responsibility.” It’s an excuse.

“Too much for a kid,” Aizawa says.

All Might nods. For his worth, he seems to sincerely agree. “In my retirement, I’m beginning to think it’s too much for anyone to bear.”

Aizawa sees the way his shoulders hunch, the way his spine, even through the suit, is still visible. He sees the skin pulling at the man’s face and hears the rattle of blood in his breath. For all the times All Might has been in his natural form around Aizawa, he never wanted to see the hero. It was a painful sight.

He thinks, for all Shouta’s criticism, he can agree with that. Which begs the question…

“Why him?”

Why Midoriya? Granted, he knew now he knew nothing of the kid. He’s been pouring through Midoriya’s records, trying to figure him out, trying to make sense of what he was just told.

A smile crosses All Might’s face and his eyes aren’t looking at anything in the present anymore, they’re seeing the past.

“He asked me, once, if a quirkless kid could be a hero. And for all my honor and duty, I told him no.”

Quirkless? Quirkless?!

“And then, when a villain was attacking his friend and no other heroes, including myself, could step up to save him, Midoriya ran straight into the fight.”

Aizawa knows about the sludge monster incident. Mostly from Bakaugou’s file but he knew Midoriya was involved. Jumping in without permission. It was a red mark against the kid.

But not in the version All Might told.

“Put simply, that boy reminded me why I was a hero. He has that power inside him, the one we can’t teach, the one that has nothing to do with One For All.”

Aizawa knows what he’s talking about. Usually, it’s the reason why Midoriya is the problem child of the problem class. But it’s a spirit he’s seen in the best heroes.

“I know you don’t agree,” All Might says. “I thought All For One was dead. I thought he had more time. Time to grow and develop...” All Might bows his head. “It’s no excuse.”

It’s not, but it explains some things.

“You said he was quirkless?”

All Might nods. “I should think that’s his part to tell,” he says and again, Aizawa can agree with that.

But…

Damn. Midoriya being quirkless makes sense. Aizawa remembers the beginning of the year. He remembered the entrance exam.

Midoriya wasn’t a lazy kid. He wasn’t just overusing his quirk to get attention or try to impress people, like Shouta originally assumed. He literally had no control.

“Who else knows?” All Might looks confused and Aizawa supposes this was one of the things he missed in the discussion earlier.

“Nedzu,” he says and Aizawa has to hold back a groan. Of course he did. At least All Might wasn’t the only one at the school to blame. “Chiyo. Mirai did. Detective Tsukauchi and young Bakugou.”

Aizawa nearly chokes on his own spit.

“Bakugou?”

“He’s been helping Midoriya train,” All Might says and… yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Aizawa can probably put a date on exactly when Bakugou learned.

“The after-hours fight?”

All Might nods and there’s a smile in his eyes.

Of course.

“He respects you,” All Might says. “It’s one of the reasons why he didn’t tell you. Not just because I asked him to keep my secret, but I suspect he didn’t want to influence how you saw him. From my time knowing him, he hasn’t shown the least interest in fame or admiration. He wants to be the best, but not for the title. He wouldn’t want you to judge him based on my quirk.”

“He’s going to have serious issues,” Aizawa says and All Might coughs, spitting blood. Aizawa doesn’t let go of his glare. “You gave a quirkless child the perhaps the most powerful quirk in the world and asked him to carry on your legacy. These kids are under enough pressure at school.”

All Might had the good sense to look ashamed but then he smiled.

“I know it’s unfair to ask it of Midoriya,” he says. “And, to be truthful, part of keeping the quirk a secret is so that he doesn’t have to carry on my legacy.” All Might’s eyes twinkle and Aizawa doesn’t know if it’s tears or just how he looks when he’s inspired. He’d believe either. “When I gifted young Midoriya my quirk, it was to give a quirkless child a chance to achieve his dreams. He was never supposed to face All For One. I thought I had ended that monster. On my life, I thought he was gone.”

It was the closest to hatred Aizawa had ever seen from All Might. The tone of his voice, while still constrained, seethed something Aizawa never heard from the hero. He couldn't tell if it was directed at the villain or the hero himself.

Shouta sighs, his head pounding with this new information. Not just that Midoriya was supposed to face this horrible threat but that Bakugou knew about it and that, perhaps, some of the other students. He wasn’t even focusing on Todoroki yet and all the news about his life out there.

“It’s not my business,” he says.

“I’m respecting Midoriya’s wishes,” All Might says. “He wants you to know. And I’m glad you do. Without you, I can’t imagine what would’ve happened to him.”

What would’ve happened to Midoriya? It was Midoriya, Bakugou and Todoroki who had saved Aizawa in the fight. For all the pro heroes there that day, those three showed up and beat the villain back. He could scold them. But when had that worked before? And, as he was currently down a leg and eye, he couldn’t fault them.

Even when it was Midoriya who, after identifying the threat, had run and led the villain away from civilians. While he could scold Midoriya for returning to the fight, Aizawa would be dead if the boy hadn’t returned. How do you explain that to an up-and-coming hero sworn to protect others?

Even so, all three of them had gotten so close to unlucky. That’s what it was, really. He could preach all he wanted about talent and skill. But in the end, sometimes it was pure luck. Sometimes, it was just him who got picked up over another hero and that’s how he’d survive. Sometimes it’s self-sacrifice, sometimes it’s just luck. Sometimes he thinks-

“Aizawa?”

Shouto looked up, unaware how long had passed since their last exchange. He couldn’t remember the last thing they spoke about.

“I suppose I should let you rest.” All Might moves to leave.

“All Might,” Aizawa says, then corrects himself. “Toshinori. Thank you for telling me. I’ll teach him everything I know.”

He doesn’t think he sounds desperate, he hopes he doesn’t. He doesn’t know why his heart is beating so fast. He doesn’t understand why he’s suddenly so upset.

But All Might, Toshinori, gives him a small, soft and warm smile and nods.

“I wouldn’t trust him to anyone else,” All Might, former number one hero, says. He leaves the room.

Aizawa doesn’t know why the room is spinning. He doesn’t hear when Hizachi comes back. He hears his ridiculous excuse of a joke bring him back to the present and settles back in.

#shouta aizawa #eraserhead #all might #yagi toshinori #bnha #bnha fanfic #drabble #manga spoilers

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gross-gal · 4 years

Note

yo!! i dont know jackshit about Darkstalkers!! What's it about?? What do you like about it?? What do you NOT like about it?? Tell me alll!!!! (@gamer-gremlin-gf-ships)

AAAAAA THANK YOU @gamer-gremlin-gf-ships

SO. I’LL PUT THIS UNDER READ MORE BECAUSE THERE’S A LOT.

Darkstalkers is a fighting game developed by Capcom. The main gimmick is that, most of, the fighters are based off of horror archetypes. So ya got vampires, zombies, frankensteins, fishmen, ghosts, all that shit.

There isn’t really much story wise I can elaborate on since, fighting games don’t usually have that much of a story to begin with. BUT, in Darkstalkers 1 and 2, main story is that this big bad dude named Pyron kinda wants to determine if the Earth is worthy to be ruled under him or if he’ll destroy it. Pyron is a shape shifting alien dude from the planet, Hellstorm and he’s really looking for a good brawl so he goes and fights the most powerful Darkstalker, which is whoever you choose to play as.

Now then, to avoid confusion, Darkstalkers 1 and 2 (or Vampire Hunter/Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge) are basically the same game. 2 is more of an updated version of 1, has two new characters, better gameplay, and it also changes some part of the story because Demitri (the vampire dude) actually was the one who originally started the whole tournment thing in determining who was the most powerful and I think? Pyron kinda ends up in the way. In 2, it basically is changed to Pyron is the one that starts the tournament, and that’s the canonical version.

So 2 isn’t really that much of a sequel, while Darkstalkers 3 (or Vampire Savior) is an actual sequel to the series. This introduces the antagonist, Jedah Dohma, whose plot is that he wants to collect all the powerful darkstalker souls and put them into this big demon baby, which then be used as a vessel for him. Jedah’s whole thing is that he’s basically disappointed in what has become of the demon world (makai world) and decides that he’s going to annihilate both the demons and humans. He sees himself as a savior, and while there really isn’t a protag, Jedah kind of is considered to be one in 3.

NOW. WHAT IS A DARKSTALKER? It’s literally just...fucking monster? I guess? There really isn’t a specific definition but just know, everyone, besides B.B. Hood because she’s the only true human in the series, is a Darkstalker.

Just gonna get my problems out of the way. Obviously, the series has some sexual stuff, which is fine but it can get uncomfortable. Demitri is a pretty big example since he literally has an ability that just involves transforming the opponent into a younger, more desirable person so that he can drain their blood? I won’t go to into it since it’s gross but yeah. Then of course there’s Lilith and yeah...REALLY WISH THEY DIDN’T MAKE HER LOOK LIKE THAT BECAUSE SHE’S A PRETTY COOL CHARACTER.

Darkstalkers also doesn’t offer much as far as a story, this is sort of good because it offers a lot of freedom as far as writing, but to be honest? A lot of stuff which tries to elaborate on the Darkstalkers lore or whatever, KIND OF SUCKS. I myself, am not into the Udon comics or the mangas, the OVA also doesn’t offer much of a great story. Which is a shame because Darkstalkers has a lot of potential but so many attempts, just kinda fail because they miss the point in the series. Udon and the Vampire Savior manga in particular because they take the series way too seriously or just characterize really strangely? The OVA probably offers the best in terms of story but it’s not even much because the only actual good and satisfying one, is Donovan’s story. His is the only one that actually has a conclusion. Otherwise, the OVA suffers from poor pacing, lots of exposition, or just OOC moments. LIKE??? REALLY DOESN’T MAKE SENSE AS TO WHY FELICIA GETS ALONG WITH ZABEL OR MORRIGAN ENDING UP WITH DEMITRI?

And then I guess a more minor complaint. Darkstalkers has a very specific style, I really think the series look best in the first two games and in the OVA. I personally am not a big fan of the character art in 3 jdskal

NOW FOR THE POSITIVES.

I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW MUCH I ADORE THE ART AND ANIMATION IN THE SERIES????

The main artists for the series are Bengus (Gouda Cheese) and Daigo Ikeno. Bengus really fucking nailed how the series should look. It’s got that perfect balance of the gothic, sensual aesthetic with exaggeration and fuckin weirdness of the series. Darkstalkers is a series that completely embraces it’s wacky side and just how campy it’s influences are. I mostly love Bengus’ earlier works from 1 and 2. Daigo’s stuff is much more casual and less elaborate compared to Bengus’ works but I kinda love that, he’s really great at showing off the characters in more casual situations and showing off their goofier sides. I’ll share some of my favorite pieces at the end.

OH GOD. AND HOW CAN I NOT BRING UP THE ANIMATION???

While I wouldn’t say it’s as fluent as Street Fighter Alpha 3′s sprites, because Darkstalkers is able to be more creative with it’s moves, the results are some super wacky and fun animation. Darkstalkers animators heavily referenced old Looney Tunes and Hanna Barbera cartoons when it came to animating. I really don’t know a whole lot of fighting games, especially from Capcom, that look the way Darkstalkers looks. And a lot of that comes from the fact that Darkstalkers isn’t very limited. Characters can launch missles, fireballs, fucking blood?. Characters can extend or manipulate their body. Or just do weird shit like transform characters into basketballs, make characters perform in a rhythm game?, A CHARACTER STRAIGHT UP USES HIS ASS CHEEKS TO GRAB YOU AND SUMMON LIGHTNING?? Everything is super fucking wild and that’s what makes the series.

A lot of people say Darkstalkers needs to be gorey and sexual but that’s really not what the series is about. Yes, Darkstalkers is def sensual but it also really doesn’t take itself seriously. That’s what so many people miss. And honestly? Even though it was terrible, the American cartoon ends up being the most accurate to the source material because it gives no fucks and so much weird shit just happens.

Another thing I love about Darkstalkers is how much it subverts it’s characters and just how creative they got. You have an Australian zombie rockstar, a catlady that’s also an idol and a nun??, a demon possessed samurai ghost armor guy. The character design is genuinely fucking brillant and not at all what you’d expect to get when given the idea for monster characters. I would talk about the characters but you see how long this post is starting to get.

And I haven’t talked that much about gameplay but Darkstalkers feels fucking great. If you’re curious about which game to get into, absolutely go with 3/Vampire Savior. It feels great, combo inputs are relatively simple, you can straight up beat the game just by button mashing, and no character really feels too similar. It’s also a very fast game too, if you ever watch tournaments, they go by so fast and when you play it, you’re very much engaged. It’s a game that requires a lot of attention and I enjoy that. I also have to mention this but, pretty much every character has their own unfair, bullshit tactic that, if you plan on getting good, will require you to figure out how to avoid depending on what character you use. There’s a sorta popular joke with the game that, it’s balanced if all the characters are broken. I’ll admit, probably not the best game for someone like me that sucks as far as remembering stuff and being able to plan ahead, but I still have lots of fun with the game!

I really didn’t expect to become as engaged in the series as I did but there is a lot to appreciate about Darkstalkers. It’s unfortunate to because, sadly, Darkstalkers likely will never get another game.

While the series is technically popular, it’s still way too niche compared to most fighting games. It just never had the same impact as other fighting games, and ultimately, no matter how good those games feel to play, there’s always shit like Marvel vs Capcom that just is more well known and features more stuff that just is what people prefer going to. I think Capcom will pretty much stick with having Darkstalkers characters appear in crossover games vs actually giving the franchise another game

They tries reviving it with Resurrection, which was a re-release of the games on Xbox and Playstation, but it hardly even sold that many copies. Which is where the phrase “Darkstalkers are not Dead” originated from, a phrase that has become a joke now in the fighting game community. Even if they were to revive the series, it’d be difficult recapturing that same vibe since most of the original crew are working on completely separate projects. There’s also a part of me that does fear the idea of another game because of how it’ll be handled. I’ve heard people mention possibly having the Skullgirls team develop or maybe Arc Systems, I just don’t want a lot of the charm to be lost in a sequel.

Since a fighting game isn’t really possible, I do hope for maybe a show or comic series that explores the characters and story more.

My brain is kinda blanking rn but yeah. I just fucking love this series a lot. I hope maybe someday I can contribute something great to this franchise and I hope you listened to me ramble about it.

#i am so fucking sorry #but thank you djsakljdskalda #Anonymous

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princesshalfdemon · 4 years

Note

What are like, the good and bad points of Grimoire? I've been thinking of reading it but like, can't read it online for free and I haven't seen anyone else that's read the entire manga, so I was hoping to ask for opinions on what's good and what's bad about it before maybe getting it.

oh god this is hard to really explain in-depth without Spoiling Everything but like basically at its gist, it’s not written by Go Nagai which is... a blessing and a curse tbh?

Devilman Grimoire is filled with actually kind of unique ideas for it’s setting while also drawing a lot from the 1972 anime (that i’ve never seen) and just generally having a really shounen action attitude in its air even when the world starts falling apart. it’s also the only Devilman manga (to my knowledge) that ends on a completely unambigiously happy note that the protagonist’s had to work like hell to grasp, by far the best version of Miki in terms of personal agency and the only one where she finally gets to see the end of the story!

hell, at its heart, she is the main protagonist of this story (even taking over entirely after a timeskip), even though Akira usually does more of the musclework like usual. but there’s also So Much Wrong With Devilman Grimoire

some of the good:

if you’re a bit put off at how depressing Devilman can be it can be really refreshing to see a version that wasn’t the animes that were just loosely adapting the source where the protagonists actually win

probably the best version of Miki where she’s allowed to shine and even become a Devilman and stand equally with Akira on the battlefield instead of as emotional support

genuinely unique plot that isn’t just a rehash of what Go Nagai has done, even if that plot... isn’t the best, if nothing else it has a unique identity with it’s story and setting that isn’t just “yeah this is based off of what Go Nagai did.”

exploring the origins of demons and giving them a unique origin that isn’t present in other Devilman stories was very interesting, and how it ties to the story’s true villain

on that note not just using Satan or angels as the main villain again is pretty nice since it doesn’t feel like “oh we’re just still dealing with God being an asshole”

on that note Miki going toe-to-toe with Satan of all Devilman characters alongside Akira is pretty damn cool

new main antagonist was mostly good but still not the most original (more on that below)

Tsubasa/Sirene was (... mostly) a pretty good character until canon sort of forgot about her despite having been one of its main antagonists

good art

it’s really nice to see the Devilman Corps actually accepted by humans, with a narration even saying the name “Devilman” became synonymous with “Hope” in the hellish new world. with how much shit Akira and Devilmen always go through it’s really nice to see a scenario where people actually understand that the Devilmen are the last things standing between them and the demons

did I mention Miki was the best part of this manga? Miki was the best part of this manga. if you read this you’re reading this for Grimoire!Miki

nya’ll I love Grimoire!Miki

and on some of the bad (this one is a bit all over the place so bare with me):

even the mangaka didn’t want to write this story and holy fuck it starts to show after a while

story after the demons start really messing up the earth is extremely rushed and seemed to forget characters. this really should have been six volumes i think. the pacing of volumes 1-4 was alright but 5 seems like a max sprint to the finish line, like the mangaka really did not want to write this anymore

bad fanservice concerning Miki and especially Tsubasa, and like this is kind of a norm for Devilman but there’s something particularly bad about Tsubasa considering how much younger she is in an already young cast. i’m not excusing it but Devilman seems to have more sexual horror and violence in it than fanservice and this manga has plenty of all three in particular (especially Miki’s Devilman form where the fire initially covers her breasts but then it just stops after the timeskip?). i have a sky-high tolerance for fanservice and the like and even that struck me as particularly out-of-place for Devilman and if this manga was more well-known it’d absolutely be the biggest source of discourse you’d see around it by a huge margin

i know i’ve said this story does feel more original to itself than other Devilman things but that doesn’t mean it’s that great or completely built from the ground up. devils are possessing humans, devilmen fight them, the world goes to shit, the line between human and monster blurs. like i feel like it has its own unique identity but its not like finding a needle in a haystack in uniqueness

this isn’t a big nitpick but Satan being pretty minor feels Really Weird this is also the straightest Devilman manga by far

the main villain while a very interesting from Satan could’ve had more done with him even though I actually personally enjoy him more than Satan

the new origins of the demons is interesting and there could have been some really interesting ways of what this means for the possessed humans and how they existing in the people they’ve taken over, and they could have dropped hints and pieces throughout the story before the big final reveal, but instead it’s really only shoehorned at the very last moment

jun still really gets the short end of the stick even though post timeskip had the opportunity to actually explore her

all-in-all Grimoire is already a hard sell even if you could find it easily online (unless you can read Japanese) and the fact you actually really have to buy it to read it doesn’t make it easier.

do you have a sky-high tolerance for gross stuff as long as you can enjoy some aspects? do you actually love Miki that much and are that interested in watching her get to be badass? you got some cash to spare? if the answer to all three is “yes” then maybe buy volumes 1-3 before deciding if you actually want to finish it.

#devilman #devilman grimoire #devilman g #long post #just my two cents #Anonymous

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drev-the-procrastinator · 4 years

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1, 8, 12 and 52 for the writing thingy!!!

Look at me finally answering these after like a whole month lol

Thanks for the ask!

1. Tell us about your WIP!

Which one lol, I’ve got many of them. Too many. Really. That, coupled with the fact that I am a slow writer because I keep getting distracted and procrastinating (like with answering these asks,,,,) means that pretty much everyone on this site will die of old age before I finish like any of them :’D

Anyway, I guess I’ll give brief summaries of all of the… main ones. This is gonna be a long one, fellas! I guess in the order I came up with them? Or the order I’m pretty sure I came up with them in.

TT: My original story I’ve been low-key working on and reworking since… 2012…? It’s a fantasy story, and it is… way too long probably. Also needs a lot of work. Worldbuilding and character building and plot building… At the moment, I guess I could summarise it as, our world gets wrecked for some reason, and the main characters, these two girls, who got saved into another, fantasy world with like… a bunch of other survivors, leave the Earth-refugee camp and get tangled with like, politics? Of that world? Well, politics and then eventually like, a war type thing… I didn’t say it was good, and I did also say it needs a whole lotta work. I’m pretty happy with some names younger me came up with though! Also it has dragons, so. Yup.

Fantasy fanfic: I am very good with names, as you’ll come to notice. Anyway this is a.. Hetalia fantasy fic..? I came up with in, like, 2014. I’m not actively working on this one at the moment, but I would like to maybe write it one day, and my most beloved OC originated in this story, you may have seen me mention her in my tags? I haven’t managed to come up with a name for her, but I call her the Asshole Goddess, because she’s a goddess, and also an ass. So.

Anyway this one’s pretty cliche, and it’s like, an absurdly large cast of Hetalia characters ending up in a fantasy world, where a bunch of other characters, who’d gone missing earlier, have apparently been taken to? Then it’s a journey to find and get them back, friendships are formed and magical things are encountered, but uh oh! They’re mortal here and can die! And many do. You may note I was 14 when I came up with it, so. Well. It is quite edgy. Had some good concepts though!

Kingdom AU: Great with names, as I said. This one is also a Hetalia fic, because that is the fandom I’ve been stuck in forever, though mostly just because I’ve so many fics for it. This is the odd one out in my fics though! This is like, a royalty AU of an rp AU me and my friend made by accident one time? The RP, not this AU, this is all my invention. It’s really just for me and my friend, since it’s based on that strange RP and the main thing in it is like and OC x canon character ship? That’s also why it’s the weird one, I don’t usually have much romance in my fics because I’m not big on ships and just prefer gen stuff, but this one is like primarily romance? Lots of pining. And it’s very soft. And I love this AU with all my heart. It’s also got a whole lotta angst!

Basic plot is the more or less classic, kinda cliche, peasant girl goes to get a job in the royal palace to help her poor family and meets the crown prince, and they become friends, and slowly fall in love.. Except, well, this is weird also in that the end point isn’t them getting married or confessing their love or anything, that’s like...Maybe the midpoint? There’s also politics, kinda worldbuilding? It’s set in like a 1700s type setting, I think, And while it’s not really a fantasy world since no magic, it’s not like, a real world setting. Anyway, yeah, this is near and dear to my heart.

The Home Front Fic: This! This is the one I’ve been trying to work on lately! It’s about life on the Finnish home front during WWII, and yes this is uh, also a Hetalia fic. Sorry. Though to be fair with this one and the previous one everyone’s probably gonna be so OOC and the setting is so different they might as well just be original works lol. Anyway, it’s a human AU, and also had a lot of OCs for that reason because it’d be tough to make a story of this scope with like. Three characters.

Basically! Tino is a 8, soon to be 9-year-old boy living in the Finnish countryside in 1942. His dad’s gone off to war, as well as the farmhand they had at the farm, and his mom and grandma can’t take care of the whole farm by themselves. So when they hear a nearby factory and some other farms in the area are getting extra work force in the form of Soviet prisoners of war, they decide to ask for one, too. They get a worker, his name’s Ivan. It takes some time, since they’re technically enemies, right, but eventually Tino befriends him and slowly he kind of becomes a part of the family… But you know what happened when the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union ended in September 1944? :) Well, I’ll just say that Stalin did say “There are no Soviet prisoners of war, only traitors.”

This one also has angst. But it also has found family! I like it a whole lot, I wish I’d written it already, but I have been having such a hard time starting it. :(

That BNHA Fic: I can call it that because I’ve only got one so far! So this is a My Hero Academia fic, and hmm. I haven’t talked about it too much, but I do like it, even though my focus has been pulled back to the Home Front Fic again. I do wanna write this one!

So this is like a future fic? It’s canon divergent because some stuff happening in the manga rn is not gonna work with the plot, I guess it’ll diverge at least from like… all the New Year’s chapters? I don’t remember what the number is.

Anyway, the main character is Eri, who’s been going to like this boarding school meant for kids with volatile quirks. She wanted to go there herself when some years ago her quirk had gone bonkers, she thinks? Something like that, she doesn’t remember that well anymore, but anyway, she’s going to apply to UA! Just the Gen-Ed, her quirk isn’t any good against robots. She’d love to be a hero, though, she knows so many heroes and she just wants to help people, but her quirk is no good. :( Anyway she’s back in Musutafu for the summer break in her last year of middle school, and she meets Mirio and Aizawa at the train station, and they go around the town meeting everyone! In the entrance exams she meets Kouta, who for some reason doesn’t want to be a hero though he’s got a really good quirk for it, and he’s proud of his parents who were famous heroes! They both get into UA, and she manages to convince him to try to get into the hero course through the Sports Festival, and he does! She doesn’t get that far in the festival though, because even though she’s practiced using her quirk, she’s scared to use it on people when in battle and stuff. Anyway, she’s very upset about it, and when she tells Mirio about how she wants to help people, but can’t, because her quirk sucks, he gets this look on his face and later tells her that he knows someone who could help. They go to meet this scarecrow lookin’ dude, and oh wait, is that All Might?? Why’s he refusing to help her out from Mirio’s request?? And later, what’s this One For All Mirio’s talking about?? And whose kind arms does she keep dreaming of in her sleep???

So yeah. That’s the BNHA fic. One more WIP to go!

Space Fic: Back to Hetalia, and this is technically an older fic but I decided to someday actually write it just recently. So it’s my Historical Human AU No. 3. It’s based on a space facts video fact, where it said that in 1963 Kennedy had proposed the USSR and US go to the Moon together, and Khrushchev had been meaning to agree, but then Kennedy died and the plan was abandoned. This story idea was like, but what if they’d gone through with it? And then, because why not, what if they’d included other countries as well? And this WIP was born. It’d be like, the main characters would be representatives of their home countries, sent to take part in the program and they’d all be candidates for going to the Moon, but there’d be only 3 spots on the rocket so like, they’d kind of have to compete for the spots? And the ones that wouldn’t pass would take part in the mission on Earth. So then there'd compete, there’d be personal drama, their personal relationships would be affected by the relationships between their home countries, but overtime friendships would be forged, and they’d all just become… one big ole found family. A space family. A big ole found space family. And the Overview Effect would also play a part. This is kind of on the back burner, this’ll need lots of research and the Home front fic also needs a lot of it, so I’ll try to.. write that first, I guess? We’ll see.

So that’s all my WIPs. There are other fic ideas that I haven’t put much thought into yet so they’re not on the list, but yeah!

8. Do you have any writing buddies or critique partners?

I don’t have any one person who I’ve talked to about all of my stories, but I have discussed my stories with a few people! Both online and irl. I’m also on a couple discord servers that are for writing or where people talk about writing, even though for the most part I’m too shy to talk much on any of them ;u; But the people who’ve been awesome enough to listen to me ramble about my stories have helped me a lot!

12. Which story of yours do you like best? Why?

Aaaa, don’t make me choose between my children! ;__; I love them all,,,

Well, I am very fond of TT, since it’s my own original story and I’ve worked on it the longest… Then again, the Kingdom AU has a lovely aesthetic and those two pining idiots in it… But also, that BNHA fic has some really nice plot and character moments? But also I’ve spent so long researching for the Home front fic and it’s got my boys in it! And the atmosphere in it is so nice, and it has found family,,, But then also… Space??? And even the fantasy fanfic has the Asshole Goddess in it?? And a nice storyline with Liech?? See I can’t choose ;_;

To be fair, the story my dumb brain takes interest in changes every now and then, for example lately I’ve been mostly thinking about TT, the Kingdom AU and the Home front fic, so I guess those would be my favorites at the moment? But a couple weeks ago I was really into the Space Fic, and at the start of the year it was the BNHA fic. So it depends! But I do love them all.

52. Who do you write for?

Well, primarily probably for myself. I do often find myself in a situation where I’m looking for fics or books to read but none of them really click, and then I realize I’m looking for my own story. Which I haven’t written. So that’s definitely a big one! Then, to some extent, I also write for the people I’ve rambled about my fics to, so they might maybe someday get to experience the whole thing through something other than just my ramblings :’D But mostly for myself, I think.

Thanks for the ask again and sorry for taking so long!

#it's been 84 years.....#long post #drev's fics #did i have an ask tag? i don't remember

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madsciencestudent · 4 years

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5 Fave Male Characters

Tagged By: @pandoramusicbox09

Tagging: @enelle2890, @paper-doodle, @sleepy-shark, and anyone else who wants to do this.

(Oh geez, here we go. XD)

1. Steven Universe

Okay let’s get the show that ripped my heart out last out of the way first. Steven is the pure cinnamon roll on this list, and why he’s my favorite. Steven in the original series was the compassionate male hero I always wanted but never realized I wanted! I did have an issue with him always putting others before himself, but then the creators turned around and BAM! Addressed it in Future with a poor 16 year old who’s trauma finally caught up to him and manifested. Steven is a newer character, I’ll admit, but his stories and development into a hero and then a struggling young adult just... Sticks with me.

2. Orochimaru

Smart, mysterious, dangerous, a ‘mad scientist’, even if it’s for selfish gains he takes in the lost, abused, and abandoned, cynical and wanting to watch the terrible world he lives in burn, an Asexual Icon even if the homophobic and transphobic fans like to say otherwise (all those jokes about him being ‘gay’ or ‘wanting to be a woman’ were NOT meant to be empowering but derogatory-I was there I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE), and with absolutely BEAUTIFUL hair and eyes, awkward weeby teenage me was obsessed with the best character in Naruto. And never really got over it. I stopped following one of the most popular manga and anime the first time the Sell Out of an Author tried to make it look like asshole Sasuke was better than him, and thankfully the character was never ruined for me like I know he was for others and the series as a whole was the longer it was milked for money. So Orochimaru remains the same dangerous and well written villain he was when he first pulled off that face in front of Anko all those years ago to me.

3. Alastor

Another newer character, Alastor is one of those fun yet deadly villains that is also layered. He was a serial killer in life- which if properly written can be interesting in his development and spiral down the path for becoming a serial killer- and a powerful demon in death. There is a lot of potential there for him to develop into a fascinating character as well as a mysterious one. Everyone else in the series seems like they can be redeemed and actually change their after life, but Alastor is the one who seems like he’s going to drag all of them back to Hell and is going to be there true threat of the series. Yet, he also seems like the one who is necessary for the others to access the resources they need to turn their afterlives around. So there’s more conflict there. Are the resources they’re receiving from him actually what they need, or is he undermining them at every turn disguised as aiding them? He’s fun and impossible to get a decent read on!

4. GraveRobber

The character that gets things rolling in Repo! The Genetic Opera, and mostly acts as the narrator in the final cut of the film, GraveRobber is exactly what his name says. One of the poor souls who fell into Geneco’s debt trip and now works as a drug dealer and grave robber (in order to actual get the drug from corpses’ brains) to get by in the world built on organ failures and capitalism! GraveRobber doesn’t have a lot to do in the final film, but his songs and guidance of the main character are an excellent touch. He also adds what I think is a main undercurrent of the film- none of the characters are truly ‘innocent’ or ‘pure’ like most media portrays; they all have some undesirable parts and ways to get by.

His actor is also one of the writers and performers of the indie stage shows that inspired the film (who did in fact write the film) and whom I’ve met in person, and he was very nice when we interacted.

5. Sweeney Todd

Well, since he IS the title character of my all time favorite movie, I better mention him here. Also fun fact he’s the inspiration behind the one black streak I have in my hair which sort of became my own brand over the years SOOOO- Tragic and vengeful, Sweeney Todd is just... A complex character who’s been kicked around by the corrupt system and world enough that he gives into the darkness and wickedness of it all to become his own monster at the end. (He killed the woman he loved and who he thought he was avenging the whole time!)

Honorable Mention Since I’m Not Sure Where This One Fits Anymore:

Cell

(I can hear @paper-doodle from here and @sleepy-shark calling me out for the Weeb I am. XD)

So... Cell is a favorite all time character of mine without a doubt, but given my thoughts and headcanons I had developed for him when I used to RP him on here and still use to this day.... I kinda don’t entirely classify him as a ‘male’ character anymore? I mean I kinda do but- IT’S COMPLICATED. It is pretty well established that in the manga Cell is referred to with ‘he/him’ and ‘it’ pronouns (even more so in the English dub of the anime I first grew up with because MANLY ANIME IS MANLY and woman can NEVER be that buff right that’d just be ugly (I’m being sarcastic if you can’t tell)) but it’s mostly other characters using those pronouns when talking about Cell. And because Cell technically is classified as ‘female’ by human definitions when it comes to reproduction (if an multicellular or macro organism is capable of asexual reproduction- like Cell is (see Cell Juniors)- then they’re usually classified as female), and at least in the manga Cell doesn’t seem to give a flying fuck about anything that isn’t fighting related, I kinda got to wondering about whether Cell does view themselves as male or female or both or neither. Eventually I developed the headcanon that Cell honestly doesn’t care one way or the other; people can call Cell whatever pronouns they want and Cell will just roll with it (so basically Agender with no pronoun preference), though Cell will pull out the ‘you know, by human definitions, you know I’m a female, right?’ line whenever a sexist is mouthing off near them because the dawning fear and back tracking fuels Cell. Cell has mostly gone with the male pronouns though since those are the ones used the most when applied to him, but like I said, Cell can change gears pretty quick based on the other person.

Sooooo, yeah. Canonly and a majority of fandomly speaking, I guess Cell is still classified as a male character, but since I developed a different view on him.... Eh? I guess I’m in the Cell is Nonbinary Camp so maybe Cell shouldn’t really be on this list. But again, Canon and a majority of Fandom and his own flexibility in my headcanons makes it complicated so Cell gets a special mention.

#meme #that last one got complicated fast because..... MERGH!

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another-mexico-oc · 5 years

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HETALIA AND COUNTRYHUMANS: Pros and Cons

Hi! Before I start PLEASE DON´T MAKE A “WHICH ONE IS THE BEST” WAR, I personally enjoy both fandoms, and both have their good things, as well as their bad things. Also, this is not a “Who did it first” thing, because let´s be honest, national personifications are not a contemporary idea, they have been for several years, there we have Uncle Sam (U.S.A), Marianne (France), John Bull (U.K.), etc.

So, without further more, let´s go with the analysis:

HETALIA:

Pros:

Being the work of a single author, the characters have an established design and personality.

The author, Himaruya Hidekaz, could have gone down a conventional path while writing the story of the manga, particulary during World War events, depicting some characters as the villains, and therefore, the others as the heroes who have to defeat them. But fortunately, he didn´t. Unlike some war movies and other media, where they try to portray some countries as the good guys who had to defeat the evil enemies, Hetalia is written as if it was only the rivalry of two groups, which give me the next point...

In Hetalia, no character tries to be portrayed as if it was the best or the worst country. Himaruya designs his characters based on both, good and bad stereotypes of the country. Everyone has their good qualities, as well as their own flaws. Personally, it´s hard to choose a favorite character, everyone is likeable and no one feels like a Mary Sue.

The country characters have no power over their bosses (presidents, kings, prime ministers, etc.). This is a way for Himaruya to justify some terrible events that occurred during History. The countries have to follow orders, or are influenced by the boss they have at the moment. Although sometimes it is show that countries can share opinions and discuss with their bosses. If they have something on their minds or want to do something, they have to consult it with their boss first, to get their approval. And sometimes they are even UNAWARE of their bosses choices!

Cons:

Even if Himaruya tries his best to give every character a likeable personality based on the country stereotypes... he has also made some mistakes and inaccuracies. This caused hard consequences, like the government of Korea banning the anime and the manga, all because of the country representation, not to mention the rivalry between Korea and Japan. Also, some countries personality doesn´t seem to be accurate. For example, many people agree that, though Finland and Sweden characters are likeable, the author have switched their personalities.

You can find some historic inaccuracies in the manga and the anime, so don´t try to rely totally on Hetalia to pass your next history exam. For example, I heard many polish people complain about one episode, which takes place during Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The Poland character was depicted as weak, who gives up quickly and depends on Lithuania to win the battle.

Giving all this information, Hetalia is not for everyone. Not all people are big fans of humor involving stereotypes or terrible events like war. Yeah, war is awful, but I think Hetalia partially mocks how useless war is. And there always will be the person who will say: “No! Not everyone in my country is like that! This does not represent me!” I´m mexican, and even if I don´t drink tequila or say common mexican phrases like “Wey, que pedo!” I can still laugh of my own country stereotypes (of course, those I don´t consider racist or denigrating). Talking about Mexico...

The lack of Latin and African countries, as well female characters. Yes, at first the Hetalia focus were the Axis and the Allies, the main countries who got involved in WW2, but then Himaruya started to introduce other nations, even the micronations! And yet we don´t have enough latinos or africans. In part I can understand why. For what friends who have visited Japan have told me, and for what I have seen on the internet, japanese people are still very unfamiliar with the latin culture. It´s a little sad, because, for example, my country has a very interesting story with other countries. And about the female characters, yes, we have Nyotalia, which is practically an AU where the characters are gender-bent, having the majority of them being girls, but in the normal Hetalia universe, we have more men than women. Himaruya had shared sketches of Portugal, Korea and Poland, who originally were going to be girls, but apparently he changed his mind and decided they were going to be guys. I don´t know how he chooses a character gender, but I think he should not be afraid adding more female characters, seeing some of the already existing are pretty badass.

COUNTRYHUMANS:

Pros:

Apparently Countryhumans is free from copyright, so anyone can have their own depiction of their country, and can establish their own personalities and design...

(Which is not very complicated, because the countryhumans designs consist in the country flag as their skin color, they usually don´t have hair and their eyes are completely white, so you just have to add the clothing).

The countries you don´t find in Hetalia can be found here! I love to see Mexico and all Latin America in this fandom, their personalities and their interactions between them and other countries.

The fandom from all the world can share more accurate historic events, as they have more knowledge of the history of their countries and what actually happen in those places.

Therefore, the personalities of the countries can be a little more accurate.

Countryhumans can be depicted as both, women or men.

In conclusion, as you are free of copyright, if you are not happy with the representation of your country, you can design your own depiction and we all are content, right?

Cons:

What can be a pro can also be a con. As Countryhumans has no what we can consider canon characters of all the OCs, we cannot decide which of the designs will be the most accurate or the most representative, as everyone has their own favorite depiction. And yes, there can be a lot of Mary Sues in the fandom. (There Mary Sues in the Hetalia fandom too, but those are created by the fans, not by Himaruya)

Oh no, here I come with the controversial issues... Remember what I said in Hetalia, that Himaruya tries to not to classify the countries as heroes or villains? Well, the Countryhumans has this problem... sometimes. For example, I have read fanfictions, and watched fanarts, in which Mexico is depicted as the poor victim of the evil U.S.A. who wants to control everyone, and also the mean Spain who slaved him for years. I am not saying U.S.A or Spain have never done something wrong, but as a Mexican I can tell that Mexico has also made mistakes in the past, and it´s not the poor victim some authors describe.

Also, in Countryhumans, the way the authors justify the horrible events of the past, is separating the present country from their former one, and then we have: Nazi Germany and Soviet Rusia, who are completely different people from the Germany and Rusia of today. That´s not the problem, actually is a good way to justify the history of the country. The problem is how authors can represent this two polemic figures...

Therefore, Countryhumans is not for everyone either. There are still people who are very sensitive with the Nazism or the Soviet Union era, and watching this two depicted as “cute” or “cool”... can be creepy. Like I said before, in Hetalia at least they try to avoid political and social themes (the american dub and the dark Hetalia is another theme, the last one was created by the fandom itself), so Germany is never referred as a nazi, nor Russia is ever called Soviet, and both had to follow orders of their leaders orders, even if they didn´t want to, and the countries don´t have to represent the boss ideology.

In conclusion, both have good and bad qualities. Yes, both can have a toxic fandom, but they also have people who are interested in history and like to see how these countries can forget the past and live in harmony together.

Hetalia satirizes history and mocks war and stereotypes, while the fandom and Countryhumans do the same, but also can explore the things Hetalia doesn´t, like other countries, dark history or other themes.

In both cases, we can tell the World History is very complex, that is hard to be 100% accurate when you try to explain it with anthropomorphized countries. However, is more enjoyable to learn about other countries, their history and the culture through Hetalia and Countryhumans than a textbook. Even when you have watched both of these, reading a textbook is no longer boring. So, if you are an Hetalia fan or a Countryhuman fan, or both, enjoy your fandom and try to avoid the toxic part :)

#hetalia #Axis Powers Hetalia #APH #countryhumans #analysis #not war #peace #i love both

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makeste · 5 years

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on mysterious vestiges and intricate OFA time-travel plots

okay so I have done a lot of thinking about this over the course of the past week and have finally reached a point where I feel like I’ve more or less organized my thoughts, so here goes lol.

first off, a quick clarification; my lack of commentary on this in the recaps was due to my complete and utter failure to pay attention. sometimes I miss some pretty big details. in this case, I was so caught up in analyzing the OFA Avatars we could see that I failed to pay much notice to the two silhouettes aside from checking if either of them looked to be female. it didn’t occur to me to look for similarities to characters we already knew, because that wasn’t even a possibility in my head. obviously these two characters died years and years ago, so there’s no way they could possibly look familiar! logic! lol. (and off-topic, but I like to think this lends more weight to the Dabi = Touya theory because it just goes to show you that if you dismiss a possibility out of hand, your brain can completely ignore some pretty compelling evidence. so I think it is possible that Endeavor wouldn’t have recognized his grown up evil villain kid.)

anyway, so let’s start off by posting the silhouettes in question, from chapters 193 and 194:

and now some side-by-side comparisons. I’m going to start with Kiri first, mainly because I think the evidence isn’t as persuasive in his case.

like... I dunno. the shoulder pads are definitely similar, and an argument can be made that the silhouette clearly has something on their face that might be an upgraded version of Kiri’s faceguard. but that’s where the similarities end (and even with the faceguard, Kiri’s has a distinctly pointy shape that’s clearly more decorative than functional and which I believe is meant to emulate Crimson Riot’s distinctive pointy hairstyle. him changing up the look would defeat that purpose).

the hairstyle is very different. Kiri’s hair has a very pointy look to it whether he’s wearing it down in its natural state or gelled up in his usual spikes. a style like this would mean he’s grown it out to the point where his bangs are gone and it’s long enough to pull back completely with no hair coming loose on the sides. this would imply a significant timeskip prior to whatever is going on here. and that’s one thing I don’t see Horikoshi doing based on his interviews (though hey, who knows, I could be wrong).

lastly, there’s the matter of why Kirishima would be involved with OFA, story-wise. with Kacchan it makes some sense, since his story has been tied to Izuku’s from page one of the series, and over time his character has become increasingly connected to the OFA plot. Kiri, though, lacks any involvement in OFA matters as of now. he also lacks the personal connection to Izuku that Katsuki has; in fact he’s probably at least a good 5-6 characters down if I were to make a list of the 1-A students that Izuku is most closely connected to.

so given all this, for now I’m inclined to say that this figure is more than likely not Kirishima. as for who it might be instead, there’s a theory which I can’t find the link to (I’ll edit if/when I do) that it could be AFO’s masked bodyguard from chapter 193, which could be interesting and would make sense timeline-wise (if he was the second or third wielder). and their appearances do somewhat match up, although again it’s not exact.

aside from this, though, I have no current theories on their identity or why it’s currently being concealed. so for now, let’s move on to the other figure instead.

this last one is what sold me. with the other two images, I could be convinced that the similarities are just coincidence. we do, after all, have plenty of other characters with similarly spiky hair.

but for me, that last comparison goes past what can be considered a coincidental resemblance. here, take a look at it again, this time with the left image superimposed over the right:

this isn’t just “oh it looks kind of like his hairstyle/gauntlets/neck guard.” this doesn’t just resemble him; this is his exact profile. for Horikoshi to have drawn this and not been aware of the resemblance is frankly impossible. which means it must have been done intentionally.

besides which, there’s also the question of why he would keep the character’s identity hidden otherwise. if their appearance isn’t actually some sort of spoiler, then why hide it? I can’t think of any reason, which leads me to believe that it’s not just the hair, but the face as well. for whatever reason, this character design deliberately resembles Bakugou’s.

now granted, that doesn’t mean it actually is him. here are some other possibilities I can think of:

reincarnation (or hinted/implied reincarnation)

an ancestor of his

it’s not actually Kacchan, but whoever it is has a quirk that allows them to appear to others in the form of someone close to them, and so to Deku, they appear to be identical to Kacchan

some unrelated character that just happens to resemble him in a way which is intentional on Horikoshi’s part but coincidental in the story (possibly for humor purposes; “dsflkj he looks just like Kacchan how in the -- !?”)

however, I’ll be perfectly honest; none of these rings true to me. reincarnation doesn’t really seem to fit the tone of the series thus far. OFA itself is about as spiritual as we’ve gotten here. aside from that, we’ve steered pretty clear of metaphysical concepts and anything relating to religion, souls, afterlives, etc., so this would be a bit of a whiplashy concept to introduce at this point.

as for an ancestor, that seems more possible (particularly since we’ve seen that genes run incredibly strong on Mitsuki’s side of the family), but also would involve more coincidence than Horikoshi usually tends to work with. Katsuki’s ancestor just happened to be one of the original wielders of OFA, and now half a dozen generations down the line, his descendant just so happens to develop close personal ties to not one but two other OFA users. I mean, it could happen, but it’s odd, and I don’t really see the necessity of throwing in a detail like this, and it’s not often that Horikoshi does something simply for the hell of it without having some kind of purpose.

regarding option #3... it’s possible? weird, but possible. I don’t have any real rebuttals for it, other than it’s just really weird. I really only listed this because the idea occurred to me and I wasn’t able to completely dismiss it lol.

and lastly, the full-blown coincidence option. the character just happens to look like Kacchan. now @interstellar-elf, I know you mentioned the possibility of Horikoshi reusing a character design from a previous series:

here’s an image of Nina for those unfamiliar (she shows up in chapters 4 and 5 of the series, which you can find on the usual manga reading sites, sometimes listed as Sensei no Baruji instead of Barrage):

anyways, here’s my issue with this though -- this character design has already been reused. with Kacchan himself (and Mitsuki). if Horikoshi wanted to dust off an old design, I don’t think he would choose one so similar to an existent character, let alone one of the principal characters in the series. he has plenty of other available designs that aren’t going to invite the same comparisons. he already has two characters with strikingly similar appearances to Nina’s; why create a third? and again, why hide it if it doesn’t actually have some sort of plot importance?

all this leads me to believe that the most likely explanation is the simplest one: the shadowed figure that looks like Kacchan... is Kacchan.

and I know that I said “simplest” just now, but obviously a revelation like this would be anything but. how and why would Kacchan possibly be chilling out in Deku’s OFA dream presented as one of the 8 previous OFA avatars?? and here is my best answer: I have no idea. lol. this is beyond strange. chances are that any explanation I can come up with is going to end up being wildly off base.

having said that, the rest of this post is basically just wild conjecture. because if it is Kacchan, then there’s really only one possible explanation for how it would be possible:

time travel, bitches.

I know, I know. first off: is that even possible? but I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say yes. partly because all things are possible, because quirks; and partly because superhero comic storylines are fucking rife with motherfucking time travel. it’s a comic book staple. some of the most beloved storylines (Days of Future Past, anyone?) hinge on it. so yeah, sure, why not? let’s say it’s a thing.

and so now we finally get to the part of the post where I basically go nuts and basically just describe to you all the elaborate time travel plot that I came up with. will this be what happens in the series? almost certainly not. I’ll be honest, I have no idea what’s actually going to happen. not the slightest clue where this is leading. this all still seems really weird to me. but what I can tell you is what kind of plot I would come up with if I was the one writing it, and basically just doing what I want but whilst trying to fit the plot within the existing canon and what we know.

so here goes!

AFO comes up with a plan to undo the whole “All Might melted off my face” thing -- nay, the whole “All Might” problem to begin with -- by sending someone back in time to halt the OFA cycle by killing one of the past wielders. (not sure why they wind up going so far back in order to do this; maybe they only have minimal control of the actual time travel and kind of have to work with what they’ve got)

it more or less works, but Deku and Kacchan are caught up within the time travel user’s quirk and thus spared from the Back to the Future-like effects. but somehow they’re able to see what happens, and they realize that the bad guy somehow altered the past and they have to figure out what (s)he did and stop them

whilst in the past, Deku spots someone he recognizes from his OFA dream (most likely the guy standing in between All Might and Trench Coat, by process of elimination) and is all “oh snap that’s one of my OFA homies”

he then realizes “oh shit Time Travelling Bad Guy is trying to fucking kill this dude” and so he and Kacchan try to stop it

they are only partially successful; TTBG succeeds in mortally wounding OFA IV (oh yeah, forgot to mention that it turns out this is the fourth OFA user). but, in order to keep the OFA line from dying out, OFA IV passes the quirk along to Kacchan (because it has to be him, because Deku already has it and no one wants to experiment with what might happen if someone gives you OFA twice. and also, it’s possible that at this point the mysterious shadowy figure in Deku’s head has cleared up some and he realizes that it is Kacchan, and that this is all part of some closed time loop/predestination paradox bullshit lulz)

so now Kacchan is all “wtf am I supposed to do with this shit now, though, I obviously can’t stay here in the fucking past forever, we’ve gotta figure out a way back” and Deku is like “yeah”

and something something plot coincidence they end up running into OFA VI (because Kacchan is of course OFA V, since it’s the only number that’s part of his name), a.k.a. Trench Coat, whom Deku also recognizes and is like “OH SHIT, KACCHAN, GO AND GIVE IT TO THAT GUY”

so they do, thus succeeding in preserving OFA so that Nana, All Might, and then Deku can one day receive it, and thus restoring the timeline back to its natural “AFO gets his face potato-ized by All Might whether he likes it or not” state

and something something they figure out a way back (or maybe the time travel quirk just wears off, maybe they only had 24 hours or some shit like that), The End

except not quite because lol now Deku’s got a version of Kacchan just chilling out in his head, so that’s fun. and then the one thing that I don’t really like about this theory: the fact that this means he’ll end up getting Kacchan’s quirk. though maybe he’ll just avoid using it since it doesn’t feel right. or maybe he can’t use it without injuring himself since his palms don’t have the same resistance to said quirk that Kacchan’s do. or something like that. or maybe he somehow doesn’t get the quirk after all for whatever reason, but that seems less likely though

aaand that’s it. honestly, this would be a lot of fun but it also seems... how to put this... wildly indulgent, lol. like, this would be a dream arc for me. so for that reason alone I’ve got a lot of doubts. and also I have doubts because it feels like something out of Star Trek. not quite sure that this would fit in with the general tone of the series. mostly it’s just me throwing ideas out there. but hey, it’s fun, so.

anyways, so this post ended up being so much longer than I originally intended, but tl;dr: whatever the case ends up being, I think that one silhouette likely is Bakugou, and the most likely explanation is that some sort of time travel is involved. other than that I really don’t have much of a clue lol. if you guys have thoughts hit me up!

#bnha #boku no hero academia #bakugou katsuki #kirishima eijirou #midoriya izuku #bnha meta #bnha theory #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #tbh there's no explanation for any of this that isn't intensely weird #the whole thing is just totally bizarre #I keep trying to come up with alternate explanations #but every time I go back to that third kacchan silhouette and it's like damn though #that's him!!#it's just so out there #guess we'll see #bak-u-go

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natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk · 5 years

Text

Anime Recommendations for Cthuturu

My great pal @cthuturu recommended some anime, so I decided to post a list! You know, just in case anyone else wants to watch it.

Action:

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

You don’t need to watch the original. This one is the canon timeline, and it’s purely based off the manga. It’s a classic, and it’s the highest rated anime on a whole lot of anime sites. This was one of the first anime I watched, so I don’t remember it too well, but I remember really enjoying it.

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Sequel: Magi: The Kingdom of Magic Spinoff: Magi: Sinbad no Bouken (you don’t need to watch this one)

This one actually was the first official anime that I watched beside some dubbed Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh. It set the standard of anime I watched pretty high, but I found myself laughing a ton and enjoying it. It’s not as action-driven as a lot of shounen though since they do play into a more political and adventurous background at times. But this story is about a perverted kid, Aliboob the guy who can’t get his life together and cries a little too often (like Deku), and one kick girl.

Kyoukai no Kanata

Beware: This contains romance

It’s goe the cutesy elements of Kyoto Animation, but it’s got action too.

Noragami

Sequel: Noragami OVA, Noragami Aragato, Noragami Aragato OVA (in that order)

Beware: This one does contain romance elements

This one is really funny too, and it’s about some slacker god who is down on his luck of being a god.

My Hero Academia

Sequel: Season Two, Three, and Four (S4 is coming in September) Side story: OVAs

Because if you haven’t watched it, you should go do that.

One Punch Man

If you liked Mob Psycho 100, you might like this one. Season two is coming out soon.

No. 6

Beware: This one contains romance elements

But I found those romance elements to be secondary to the show’s actual plot because if I were to choose between the setting of post-apocalyptic chaos vs romance, I’d say the first is far more dominant.

Slice of Life:

Kimi to Boku

Beware: Contains the occasional romance elements

I say this because nobody ends up being canon, their lives are a mundane humdrum, and I enjoyed that it was a friendship driven show. It’s about bros being bros and living out life. You’ve got the twins (who I still can’t tell apart), the feminine one, the glasses nerd, and the foreign loud one.

Gin no Saji

Beware: Contains romance elements

It’s basically about a farming school. It also touches on the values of people and their goals that sometimes aren’t reached and how to recover from failure. But really, it’s just a fun show. This is from the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Barakamon

This is about the antics of a bunch of kids and a self-centred calligraphy guy who originally just wants to get better at his craft but eventually gets roped into the activities of everyday life.

Hinamatsuri

This one is about a yakuza essentially adopting some random esper girl who landed in his apartment. If you liked Mob Psycho 100, you’ll probably like this one.

Violet Evergarden

Edit: they put this where the hinamatsuri gif was, and I almost lost it. HAHAHA

Beware: Death mention

A former cold-hearted soldier tries to discover the meaning of love while writing letters for others. Apparently, it’s quite sad.

Anohana

Beware: Contains romance elements; heavy death mention; can be interpreted as sad

This one is about a girl who died and comes back as a ghost and tries to haunt her former friend group back together since they can’t overcome the grief of their loss. It represents the importance of life and just how much a person can mean to someone else.

Natsume Yuujinchou

It’s about a guy and his cat trying to relieve spirits. It’s a little episodic, but there are orders to the thing. But they’re literally called, “Natsume Yuujinchou San/Go/etc.” which are basically numbers, so I probably don’t need to go over what order they go in.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

I’m not calling this a romance because if you wanted some good canon romance, you should’ve gone somewhere else. Nobody ends up with anyone, life is a mess, and how did these characters end up where they are? It’s really funny.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

The humour is hit and miss, but this is usually a recommendation for people finished Nichijou which is a far better-known slice of life comedy. This one is centred around boys and their antics though.

Angel Beats

Warning: Contains romance elements; heavy death mention

They’re all dead. What can I say? It’s oddly funny for a series about dead people, but some people do find it sad.

Violet Evergarden

Romance:

I think I recall them saying that they don’t like romance because of the singleness in life, but I will still put these down here in case they ever change their mind.

Toradora

It’s about two people trying to get into a relationship with each other’s friend. It’s also one of the best romance anime I’ve watched to date.

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime

This one is purely cheese and sugary sweetness. It is a modern adaptation of a fairy tale romance featuring a red-haired (more like pinkish red) Shirayuki (Snow White), a white-haired prince and his retainers, and some scrub they picked off the street that has no eyebrows.

Wotakoi

It’s about two forever alone friends trying to be in a relationship.

Ouran High School Host Club

Some person broke an expensive vase and now has to pay back the debt by working at the host club even though she’s biologically female.

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai

Chuuni is a term used for people who like to act like fictional characters in real life. It’s also an adorable anime.

Tamako Love Story

This one is also pure cheese and sugar. You can watch Tamako Market first, but this is also an independent movie if you take out all the parts with the fat bird in it. That sounds weird without context.

Your Lie in April

This is one of the most popular romance anime out there, and it’s really nice. I would highly recommend it.

Seishun Buta Yarou

People usually recommend the Monogatari series after this one, but this one is far easier to watch and easier to navigate since it doesn’t have a bunch of seasons and movies. It’s about a plain guy solving these girls’ problems.

Tsurezure Children

A bunch of people try to find their own romances but end up having a lot of odd situations along the way.

Movie:

Anthem of the Heart

This does contain romance being hinted, but they never show it on-screen. This movie is about a girl with anxiety being cursed by an egg. I kid you not, an egg.

A Silent Voice

Beware: contains suicide and bullying

Besides the warnings above, this movie is a coming of age tale about a boy who seeks redemption after bullying a girl when they were younger. It brings up the question of whether a man can ever truly redeem his sins.

Your Name

This one is about body-swapping and a lot of switching between two characters: a city boy and a country girl. They each try to live each other’s lives. I’m planning on watching this one again on Sunday.

The Boy and the Beast

This one is about a boy who ends up being mentored by a beast. Uh... besides that, it’s just easier to watch than for me to explain terribly (but isn’t that the case for all of these?)

Other Anime that I Haven’t Watched (Moe stuff):

K-On

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Hibike Euphonium

Non Non Biyori

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho

Love Live

Lucky Star

Azumanga Daioh

Yuru Camp

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darklightsworld · 6 years

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Hi, I saw a defintion of fujoshi as "For anyone confused, a Fujoshi is a yaoi fangirl who basically sexualizes gay relationships to a high degree. Aka "Omg my sinners!!1!" Or "Omg yaoi" when they see a gay couple irl or in media, which is HIGHLY homophobic." I was wondering, if a girl (it's always a girl somehow, they never mention fudanshis) doesn't sexualise m/m relationships in the media(media? or just japanese media?) I presume they are not fujoshis?

Oh and I guess it’s always presumed the fujoshi will scream YAOI! and ‘uke/seme’ when talking about m/m which does walk the line of being a weeaboo. Are people just mad about 2000’s yaoi con weeaboos with yaoi paddles? Does shipping a pairing from any japanese media mean you are fujoshi? Does their gender and sexual orientation affect the criteria of being a fujoshi? Sorry if this is worded weirdly.

Ahh sorry for the bother. I have just come to the conclusion people are angry about (mostly) girls calling themselves fujoshis and generally being obnoxious about it e.g. hating a woman character for breaking up their OTP, seeing two men holding hands and squealing about it etc. It’s more about their behaviour huh. I guess because some of them declared themselves as fujoshis everyone seems to think all fujoshis are like that. Just like how extreme fans of Naruto are called Narut*rds.

Yes, I think you are right. Those who define fujoshi the way you wrote in the beginning screams hatred for those who “dare” to ship something that the speaker does not, gross overgeneralization, imaginary moral superiority over what they believe fujoshi are, with a hint of misogyny - the usual mix, I would say.

As usual I can only talk about what I know about the Japanese situation, but it is quite similar and very different at the same time. The first and foremost difference is, fujoshi is mostly related to manga/anime/games, to a lesser degree to fictional live-action content and almost never to real life people! Even among fujoshi shipping live-action characters can be considered weird, and those who ship real life men are literally shunned within the community!

Also, being a fujoshi is not related to sexuality, sexual minorities in any way - it works as a dreamworld fantasy only. As opposed to the US where many immediately link things to LGBT, in Japan there’s no connection at all. Of course there are queer fujoshi, but the two may or may not be related at all. In general for most fujoshi it’s just fiction, shipping and dreams, and they don’t link their m/m content to real gay people, so it won’t really happen that fujoshi squeal at the sight of real gay men holding hands - they will most likely not care at all, and sad but some will be disgusted.

Another difference is, that fujoshi in Japan prefer to lay low as opposed to the loud (probably teenage) girls you mentioned. Here people would not out themselves as fujoshi, they keep their hobbies a secret from their families (I’m talking about adult women with children here!), and they generally dislike it, when the eyes of society are suddenly directed at them - for example due to someone famous outing themselves as fujoshi (who will definitely be flamed afterwards) or overly big media campaigns for a BL movie and such. It works most probably like: if you keep quiet you are left alone to do whatever you want, no one will judge you, try to regulate you etc. There is also the problem that the word fujoshi is often misused for every female manga/anime fan even in Japan (of course by those not involved in the subculture), and those who are not fujoshi feel uncomfortable by that.

As for the similarities, fujoshi is always tied to shipping (thus doujinshi and other derivative works), and obviously the shipping happens in non-BL manga and anime, that’s how is has been since the beginning. And this is where male otaku (and to a lesser degree m/m hating female otaku) come in and hate upon fujoshi, because they dare to ship two male characters, something that’s not canon, and they defile the holy original material. Well, shipping _is_ about fantasizing the way you like, so that argument about canon absolutely doesn’t make any sense. I’m also calling double standards, because male otaku obviously ship non-canon hetero pairings and enjoy non-canon porn doujinshi, not to mention non-canon yuri pairings, so they are just the same, really.

The next step that made male otaku butt-hurt was when non-BL contents started to cater to fujoshi, like making boys more attractive and “easier to ship“ for example in Shounen Jump many years ago or more recently in anime. Content-makers obviously realized the financial possibilities of the fujoshi crowd, so it’s no surprise they try to utilize it, there’s no helping it. Also, it’s not like Shounen Jumpmanga cannot be enjoyed like before (or that there’s less male-oriented fanservice in it): there are many readers who don’t care about this, and many don’t even notice that boys are easy to ship - it’s something you only notice when you know what to look for.

In any case fujoshi get a lot of hate on the Japanese net from mostly male otaku for shipping male characters (calling them 腐豚, where豚 means pig - kind of equivalent to fujoshit). And Japanese fujoshi are not even loud about their preferences, so I guess there would most probably be hate in the US even if there were no obnoxious fans. Obviously the doujinshi world is based on m/m pairings, but that’s how is has been since the very first Comiket, and there are obviously m/m fanarts for example on pixiv, but these are tagged as such, so it’s not like they cannot be avoided. And if someone posts m/m content on their own social media that’s their own business, nobody has the right to police them for their fantasies. All in all, be it in Japan or the US, if someone doesn’t want to see m/m content about their favorite anime, they don’t have to, but it’s easier to call names on the internet, just because someone dares to enjoy a story in a different way they do - when in reality manga and anime _are_ about multiple readings.

#manga meta #fujoshi #tell me #why can I write long answers to any manga related topic #but can't seem to write my thesis ><

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