#the end of an era deserves a web weave

[zomerszee]

on the end of the boeing 747 and the humanity of innovation

ornithopter, richard siken / the first roll out (1968), boeing / youtube user bob devreeze / boeing 747 begins flight testing phase, the aviation week archives / youtube user blue sky country / i have seen the tops of clouds, quinn norton / the final roll out (2022), paul weatherman / ornithopter, richard siken

#web weaving #web weave #poetry #richard siken #boeing 747 #aviation #rip queen (not quite) gone but never forgotten #secretly im an airbuslover but she is so beautiful #the end of an era deserves a web weave #mine #inspired by a flightradar tweet of those two roll out pics next to one another kinda made me cry btw #also love love LOVEEEE that ppl in the aviation community refer to aircraft as birds like literally makes me insane

[redfurrycat]

🤠🪅👨🐓Sugar Daddy Fic Recs🐓👨🪅🤠

Check the Top Gun Masterlist post for the latest updated version. 💕

Ao3 Authors: Chase_acow, Ginnydear, Hangmanbradshaw, LulaluzHazel, Mackwinnon, Renai_chan, Thegeckbros.

I'm a babygirl in a daddy's world > Daddy Klnk

leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream by ginnydear {E}

“Getting old,” she replies, humming again. “I guess that means you’re entering a new era of hook-ups though.” “What on earth are you talking about?” Bradley asks, turning down the television. “Come on Bradley, you know you’re gonna find some hot twenty-something who wants you to fu-” “Okay!” Bradley says, laughing a bit as Natasha sputters and laughs too. “I get it. You don’t have to continue.” “Don’t be such a prude,” Natasha says primly. “I was going to say ‘fund their grad school dreams’ before you so rudely cut me off.”

The Only Exception by mackwinnon {E}

Organized crime AU. Escort Jake meets Bradley in a club while he's with another client. Bradley's instantly intrigued and makes Jake an offer he can't refuse. It's just business. Until it isn't.

nothing’s good until it hurts by thegeckbros {E}  

there's money for the taking (and the happiness we all deserve)

“So, what, one of the richest dudes in New York wants to be your sugar daddy?” “Kinda?” Jake sits back up, straightening up and turning his body towards Javy. “He doesn’t want like sex or anything. He just needs someone to pretend to date so his uncle and PR team get off his back about his reputation.” Or a sugar daddy au in which jake is a struggling law student, bradley's a billionaire, and they weave a tangled web

you do it all your life and you never get through it

The silver lining, if there is one to be had, about watching his dad die in front of him is that the worst thing to ever happen to Bradley is over before his life has really begun. Every shitty breakup or spectacular fuckup, every broken bone or missed flight. None of it will ever come close to even touching the worst day of Bradley’s life. And then, 15 years after the worst thing that’s ever happened to him, it all happens again. Or scenes from bradley's life, before and after jake

We're Crashing Like Waves by Renai_chan {M}

Jake is a movie star looking to get some surfing lessons and Bradley is a surfer living a quiet life in Hawaii. Like the land and the sea, they come together on the edges of O‘ahu.

Sugar Daddy Bradshaw by chase_acow {E}

Cutting to the Chase

“I’ll agree to pay for one semester if you make me look good and let me touch your ass. I suppose I’ll have to live with the disappointment of no blowjob,” Bradshaw sighed, his shoulders slumping as he adopted a hangdog expression, for exactly five seconds before he grinned again. “But think about it. I can’t be your sugar daddy if you don’t give me the sugar.” “You’d be interested in something long term?” Jake asked doubtfully, wondering if he’d somehow been involved in a terrible accident and this was all a hallucination from his desperate brain low on oxygen. “Based on what I’ve seen so far, you might be sweet enough to pay through to your doctorate,” Bradshaw said with a shrug of his shoulders as if he didn’t care one way or another about throwing a hundred thousand dollars at someone he just met.

Party Favor

Bradley needed him to go to New York on a business trip, but first Jake had to have a suit that wouldn’t make the people they were meeting laugh. So Jake spent a very uncomfortable afternoon at the tailor playing a life-sized Ken doll while Bradley and the old man with too many straight pins talked about him like he wasn’t there. The suits he ended up with each cost more than his car. The bruises he ended up with when Bradley pulled him into the changing room and lifted him up to wrap his legs around his waist had faded by the time Jake got on the private plane for the trip. Earning his membership to the mile high club was kinda cool, too.

Ride 'Em Cowboy

Bradley had some work to finish, but he joined Jake in time to start the football game. As the Longhorns ran out on the field, Jake found himself sitting pretty in Bradley’s lap. His skin felt a hundred times more sensitive after staying naked and having Bradley prime him for so long. The mustache at the nape of his neck made him shiver. “Do you think you can come once for each quarter?” Bradley asked, hands on Jake’s knees to situate them to his liking. He licked his palm and then took Jake in hand, “I think you can do it.” * “Your team’s winning, baby. What do you have to cry about?” Bradley teased after they’d watched more of the game. One hand pet across Jake’s belly while the other twisted Jake’s head around so he could lick at Jake’s tears. “Is it too much?”

Know Better

“You can come, but I am not fucking you in my mom’s home,” Jake said, leaning into his stern voice. He’d learned enough about how to wrangle the older man in the last couple of months to know he had to start out solid and then stick to his guns. “And we don’t have time to fool around now. So repack, and you’d better pick at least one shirt that isn’t going to blind everyone with the print.” Bradley smirked, and Jake should have known better.

that little farm where every wish comes true by hangmanbradshaw {E}

Jake's only wish that holiday season was simple- to keep his family christmas tree farm. He never expected that wish would be granted via a man with deep pockets, an amused smile, and commitment issues a mile wide. He never expected to like him. He definitely never expected to love him. Hell, he never expected Bradley Bradshaw. Or Hallmark Christmas Movie but make it sugar (daddy) and spice and everything nice.

Serendipity by LulaluzHazel {E}

During his second year at university, Bradley found himself with no room or a place to live. Venting to his co-worker, a handsome customer overheard his problems and offered him a sweet deal: to stay at his flat in exchange for looking out for his cat. But why did his new landlord have to be a naval aviator of all things? Couldn't he just be a regular rich kid?

#Sugar Daddy Recs List #hangster #sereshaw #hangaroo #bradley rooster bradshaw x jake hangman seresin #bradley rooster bradshaw #jake hangman seresin #🐈red🐈furry🐈cat🐈tag🐈

[licncourt]

Already obsessed with your evil power couple au, separately they are unhinged, but working together they could be 1000 times worst and I love that for them. Marius as PM thinking he's the puppet master but they're manipulating him. Everyone going on about how weak and human Louis is despite his resurrection by Lestat at the end of Merrick surely making him insanely powerful, but keeping the front up so no one knows of realises till its too late for them. Do you have any details your willing to share?

Sure!! This was actually something I was thinking about like a year ago to play with Prince Lestat era, but then I caught 80s Canon Disease and wrote 140k of that. Anyway, I originally imagined it as a political drama, but I actually don't think I'm capable of that plot-wise. At least not of the rather grand plans I had for weaving webs of intrigue.

I've pivoted away from the plotty version to something more intimate and character driven (shocking I know), but everything else is the same. The inspiration for this whole idea was the conversations around the PL trilogy, how ridiculous establishing a monarchy is in the 21st century, how insanely unethical some of the practices are (fledgling labor, the food dungeon, killing "evildoers"), weird vampire oligarchs, etc.

Generally speaking, this is obviously AR being out of her mind and lacking any self or social awareness, but it made me start thinking about, conceptually, what could be done with this whole mess to make it interesting. If we have a Lestat who has decided he's down with being in this position of power, why not lean into the l'etat c'est moi of it all? Let's make him worse but in a fun way!

Lestat may have shitty self esteem, but he loves attention and adoration and material excess. What he doesn't love is logistics, intense political discourse, meetings, and putting in the hours to actually run a government. Fortunately for him, he's married to someone who does bookkeeping for enrichment and wants to be better than everyone else.

Whimpering, unwilling consort Louis is. An unfortunate yet prevalent phenomenon in fic, but I strongly disagree with that characterization. Louis is nothing if pretentious, detail-oriented, and well-versed in taking full advantage of his positions of superiority. He's a bitch and he likes to micromanage. Unethical business practices are his bread and butter.

What Louis does not like however, are lavish parties, large-scale socializing, and all the people-personing that's required to be a prince. This is the perfect situation though. Lestat was MADE to be a charismatic figurehead. He's extroverted, charming, attractive, well-spoken, and he thrives on engaging those qualities. He and Louis both can fill a role they're great at and genuinely enjoy like two halves of a whole.

I fully believe that there's a distinct possibility of them taking to be In Charge like fish to water and immediately becoming power-hungry monsters that feed off each other's awfulness because they're so in love. Maybe alone they would never think to look for a position like this, the siren call of their potential as a team is strong? After all, they deserve this. Who else could be more qualified? Obviously.

I love how so sweet and devoted and married they are in RoA, but imagine that + they are enthusiastic autocrats. Louis is subtle, he operates under the radar and is perfectly content to spend most of his time in the background taking care of the not-so-glamorous things that need to be done.

Over time he manages to completely consolidate power expand his duties to encompass all sorts of neat things like controlling managing the royal treasury and presiding over supervising legal proceedings to Help Out. Isn't that nice of him? Beautiful AND hard working! Look at him filling in for the prince at meetings, that's so sweet! Oh wow, he's rather competent, isn't he?

Lestat, of course, is the charisma (and the brawn). Half of ruling is image and public goodwill after all. When Louis needs support from the court for something or council approval for court finances to be used, Lestat parades around and kisses hands and charms brains out of the necessary parties until he's secured the bag for his man.

Of course, over time more and more people take notice of...something. Maybe Lestat isn't a matured man of the people justly guided by a council of elders after all? And wait, how come if you really follow the paper trail of all the branches of the court, Louis has final say in everything? Shouldn't that be voted on?

Don't worry though, if someone doesn't find all this business agreeable, well. Maybe it would help to remind them just how strong Lestat is. Maybe the strongest vampire in the world. Isn’t it soooo lucky that he's here? Protecting everyone from danger....?

It's a relief you're on his good side, isn't it?

#anyway louis is the puppetmaster not marius #lestat is fully aware and completely on board #he thinks it's hot when louis writes laws that violate the geneva convention #they're eating their political opponents during sex and armand is covering it up #answered #vc #loustat

[yasbxxgie]

A Black Biologist Pioneered Animal Intelligence Research, but His Work Was Buried

Black biologist Charles Henry Turner was doing groundbreaking research into animal cognition at the turn of the 20th century, yet his ideas never gained traction on account of racism and his seemingly radical viewpoint. Many concepts proposed by Turner are now accepted science, and a group of researchers to say it’s long past time to give credit where it’s due—and to avoid the mistakes of the past.

A new Perspectives essay published in Science describes the contributions of biologist Charles H. Turner (1867-1923), an American zoologist whose “early discoveries are forgotten for all the wrong reasons,” according to the paper’s two authors, Hiruni Samadi Galpayage Dona and Lars Chittka, both biologists at Queen Mary University of London.

Turner’s work went against the prevailing scientific discourse of the time, as he explored and entertained the idea that many animal species were capable of complex behaviors involving intelligence, problem solving, and even conscious awareness. Today, we take many of these ideas for granted, but Turner’s research into these matters never got the recognition it deserved.

“It is deplorable that the now-popular field of ‘animal personality’ has taken so little notice of Turner’s trailblazing approach,” they write.

For Turner’s contemporaries, it was a combination of racism and skepticism of his seemingly outlandish theories. His “visionary ideas about animal intelligence did not resonate in the field,” the authors write, “perhaps they were simply too far ahead of the time,” adding that they’re “almost completely unrecognized in the current literature.”

A deeper dive into Turner’s work reveals some truly groundbreaking insights and approaches. Born in Cincinnati in 1867—just two years after the end of the U.S. Civil War—Turner, who earned his Ph.D. in 1907 while at the University of Chicago, devised some innovative experimental approaches to studying animal behavior and cognition. In the decades prior, biologists Charles Darwin and George Wallace discussed animal intelligence, but their work was based predominantly on field observations and inference. Turner, in addition to observing animals in the wild, devised controlled experiments with animals not unlike those commonly done today.

From 1891 to 1917, Turner published over 70 papers (!), including three that appeared in the journal Science. He studied the learning curves of ants, did a comparative anatomy of bird brains (finding similarities with the brains of reptiles), studied honeybee vision, showed that insects (namely silkworm moths) can hear, studied the hunting habits of sand wasps, did maze experiments with cockroaches (in which he claimed the bugs acted with “will”), and documented detouring behavior in wild snakes (he once saw a snake catch a lizard by climbing up a neighboring tree so that it could pounce on its prey from above). He also studied individual variation and intelligence in spiders, as the authors explain:

Contrary to the still-popular view that spider web construction is a prime example of invertebrates’ robotic, repetitive action patterns, Turner reported variation between individuals in adapting their construction to the geometry of available space and the functionality in capturing prey: “we may safely conclude that an instinctive impulse prompts gallery spiders to weave gallery webs, but the details of the construction are the products of intelligent action.”

Turner’s observations and experiments led him to propose theories about the intentional behaviors of animal, arguing that they are intelligent, conscious beings. Some of these ideas wouldn’t be re-explored for another century, including the suggestion of free will among insects—an idea not revisited until only recently. Indeed, his were highly unconventional ideas; it wasn’t until 2012, for example, that a consortium of scientists signed the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, in which they admitted that all animals have conscious awareness to some degree.

In Turner’s era, the traditional approach saw animals as creatures driven almost exclusively by instinct and held that any apparent intelligence could be explained by sheer persistence, among other processes, as the authors describe:

Early ethologists such as Oskar Heinroth, Charles Whitman, and Wallace Craig focused instead on innate behavior and imprinting, a simple form of learning. Where problem-solving was observed, such as when animals open puzzle boxes, behaviorists such as Edward Thorndike proposed that this materialized as a result of trial and error, not insight or understanding of the nature of the challenge. None of these scientists were interested in individual variation of behavior.

Turner, in addition to not receiving the recognition or respect of his peers, was denied a position at the University of Chicago. This snubbing was due to racism, the authors contend (Turner became a high school teacher after earning his Ph.D.) This limited his access to resources that could’ve pushed his research to the next level, such as lab equipment, texts, and research assistants; the lack of the latter prevented his ideas from trickling down to the next generation of biologists. As the authors point out by comparison, Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), famous for his salivating dogs, trained more than 140 colleagues.

The authors “cannot help but wonder what Turner might have achieved if he had had comparable resources and manpower” as the “entire field of animal cognition may have developed differently.” To which they added: “One would hope that nowadays, a person of Turner’s caliber might not face similar adversity in terms of academic employment opportunities or long-term recognition of their contribution to science” but even today “very few scholars in animal cognition, or indeed across biology, are Black.”

Turned died at the age of 56 from a heart condition, but not before he made contributions to the U.S. civil rights movement, fighting for social and educational services among Black people living in St. Louis, Missouri, where he made his home.

Turner’s story is as intriguing as it is frustrating, a sad reminder of the immense contributions made by people who, over the course of history, have had to endure hardships imposed by systematic discrimination [racism].

#charles henry turner #amerikkka #racism #black scientists #black biologists #gizmodo #animal cognition #comparative anatomy #education

[gabriel-gabdiel]

【Draft】Youtou Shinnoken Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

The Reikai Senshi hold the Shin Juppon Gatana at bay temporarily, but for how much longer?

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here.

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

At the Okushiri Airport...

Natsuki Shinaki freed herself from Kuronue's chains, accelerating them even while at rest by focusing her reiki unto them.

Kuronue barely dodged the broken chain shrapnel along with the follow-through Kousa Dageki (Cross Strike) strike and thrust combo that nearly crushed his skull and/or put a hole in his trachea.

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he got hit after all. And killed.

However, the next thing Natsuki knew, he was 6 feet or 2 meters away from her, none the worse for wear. As though  she hit and killed a mirage.

Damn. That was close.

They were right inside the flaming wreckage of a 747 cargo plane right that Karasu used to blow up the airport, which served as more shrapnel for the crow youkai to use.

Yes, Natsuki Shinkai could be as soft-hearted as Kurama in that she didn't indiscriminately kill her enemies. However, when she was pushed far enough, she could be every bit as cruel as the Youko.

Especially if she thought you deserved it. Like her father, Feng Xinhai, attempting to kill Daiji Matsudaira with a half-formed supercell of a tornado.

A simple humiliating parry of her friend's flying kick was enough to send her to the edge.

Figuring out what Kuronue meant by Natsuki's limits, he started blasting the surrounding buildings and planes of the Okushiri Airport.

Even though she could redirect the explosions or even rubble away from herself, the merciful Natsuki kept her barrier down against the high-speed shards of earth and glass for fear of deflecting it against nearby civilians or her friend, Likka.

"Dammit," she cursed as she concentrated hard to push the rubble and debris from the explosions at only Karasu and Kuronue in order to protect Ikumi.

"I understand her weakness now," said Karasu. "She's only as powerful as the attacks directed at her! She also needs to concentrate hard to manipulate the direction and trajectory of objects coming at her or else there'll be collateral damage!"

"That's right. And she can't do those two things at the same time!" said the bat demon, who sneered and then produced Clamshell Shrapnel Bombs for good measure.

Meanwhile, Kuronue himself easily maneuvered through the raining debris, metal shrapnel, glass, and rubble in order to attack Natsuki with them, knowing that she could only dodge and couldn't return fire with any effective offense of her own.

The demons attacked simultaneously at two fronts, which kept her from focusing her psionic redirection powers properly.

She held on remarkably well though, redirecting the rocks at both demons while using Hawatari (Sword Halt) and Hadome (Sword Crossing) at the supersonic Kuronue's attempts at making her slip up and

"Ahhh!" Likka Ikumi cried out in pain as several of the shrapnel hit her on the thigh and side.

There were too many flying debris chaotically shooting at every direction and at different speeds for Shinkai to properly take account of and deflect.

"Likka-tan! I'm sorry!" shouted a tearful Natsuki, only for Kuronue to aim for her neck. She then faced her attacker and said, "Fine. You want me to kill you? Then I will!"

She proceeded to do what Kuronue claimed she couldn't do, which was to reverse the flow of his blood in one direction, leading his head swell and burst like a balloon.

A second Kuronue appeared right behind the deceased one, his scythe in the ready. "Whoa. How scary."

'What the hell was going on anymore?' thought Natsuki as the sickle cut through her stomach.

Karasu then threw a new grenade at Natsuki, who attempted to deflect it only for it to explode in her face.

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original concept by Chad Yang

The Misao reincarnation known as Likka Ikumi gets to activate her special powers at last.

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

***

At Nabetsuru Rock...

The Nabetsuru (Pot Handle) Rock was a tourist destination in Okushiri Island. It was a rock formation visible across the shores of Okushiri with the appearance of a pot handle.

Speaking of pots, the water surrounding the rock soon boiled, steamed, and bubbled. Something was afoot.

The half-healed zombie body of Usui Uonuma was still licking his wounds from his defeat against Hajime Saito when one of the ferry-girls located him off of Nabetsuru Rock and informed the Reikai Senshi of the fact.

Shikigami from Houji gathered around him to present him with enough negative energy to heal him up. It was weird how jaki could heal a body, but he knew his body was really more of a corpse and he was more of a vengeful ghost than a reincarnated spirit.

He knew and he didn't care. He'd cling to existence by any means necessary after it was nearly snuffed out by Makoto Shishio and "permanently" ended by Hajime Saito.

He had by then reconnected his body's top half with his bottom half, but the wounds were still tender and his spine was still in bad shape. The Spirit World Warriors were really hammering their forces down, weren't they?

A few minutes later and there he was.

Jaganshi (Evil Eye User) Hiei.

Probably the second or third most powerful member of the Spirit World Warriors, behind Kenshin Himura (with the Demon Sword) and Yusuke Urameshi (once he got over his Kugai issues and fully unleashed the power of the Spirit Light Wave Gem).

Usui smirked, opened his mouth, and licked his lips.

It was the Shingan (True Eyes) versus the Jagan (Evil Eyes).

The blind swordsman turned spearman zombie wondered. If he had Jine Udo's Jagan on one eye socket and Hiei's Jagan on his other eye socket, would he finally gain the power he needed to usurp the likes of Tenro? Or the Chojin?

Or Shishio?

'Same difference.'

He remembered how his Tinbe grew thick enough to stop even the ultimate attacks of both a super-powered Kenshin and Saito, which in turn allowed his Rochin to penetrate to anything weaker than his Tinbe.

If he had the power of one Jagan to hypnotize people and the other Jagan to gain control of demonic energy, he'd be unstoppable.

The most powerful Shin Ju who possessed both superhuman senses and supernatural powers.

'But first thing's first,' he thought, noticing the fewer number of shinigami (death gods) assisting his healing as Hiei approached his perch on the rock at dangerous speeds.

The sea seemingly sliced in twain from his flashing steps as though he were a miniature speedboat Moses himself parting the Red Sea like theater curtains.

***

There were too many of them. There was a suffocating amount if Iwanbos there as well as shikigamis who fed them jaki (negative energy).

The combination of Houji "The Onmyouji (Occult Priest)" Sadojima and Edward "The Puppet Master" Gein (also known as Dr. Shoji Sugino from Unit 731) were too much for this batch of Reikai Senshi to handle.

That was the simple conclusion that the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors) and the Oniwabanshu (Garden Keepers) had when fighting against the armies of Iwanbo and shikigami from both

Like the Roku Youkai in Mt. McKinley versus The Nameless Yatsume, they Reikai Tantei and the Oniwabanshu were flooded with Iwanbo versions 1, 2, and 3 and the shikigami they fed on for jaki and power ups, like this was an ecosystem and the Reikai Senshi were prey.

Kuwabara had been chopping out Iwanbos and familiars left and right with his twin Jigen Tou (Dimensional Sword), only to end up sapped of energy and with only one flickering Dimension Sword left as more and more of the puppet monsters appeared.

At the same time, he had to contend against Houji turning everything nearest him into freaking Toguro Ani, with their wounds or even pureed bodies healing instantly.

Gein, in turn, used his jaki to supply Houji with fresh corpses to bring to life and heal.

The reincarnated Okashira (Boss) of the Oniwabanshu, Daiji Matsudaira (formerly Aoshi Shinomori) fluidly maneuvered against the razors-sharp web of trip-wires that the World War II era mad scientist ninja known as Gein weaved with his diamond-covered threads, only to be bull-rushed by the one Iwanbo Version 3 with the four arms: The Iwanbo Version 3.2.

The Iwanbo 3.2 had thus far trampled on all of the efforts of the Tokyo Oniwabanshu to take it down, whether it was through poison, fire, sword slashes, brute strength, or martial arts.

Like Shikijo, it got cross-slash scars from every part of its body, but it still kept moving, shrugging off the rain of kodachi Daiji produced as well as the pistol shots to the head it got a little while later.

Kuwabara did notice how the monstrous puppet recovered as quickly as Toguro Ani while sporting the same ridiculous musculature and power of Toguro Ototo. 'Hiei and Kurama's investigations were true! That old ninja guy really was responsible for demonizing the Toguro Brothers!'

Meanwhile, Kuwabara desperately held on to his knife-sized Jigen Tou, willing it to remain in his hands even as he had to contend against an undead army of shikigami and Iwanbos.

He sliced apart portals, warp gates, dimensions, space, and even the sky itself with the way his cuts remained in the air like cracked on glass, cutting through the guts of the zombies down below and the ghoulish ghosts from up above.

Houji and Gein pushed him to the brink of using up all his spirit energy, which may then force him to use his own life force to keep on fighting.

The Onmyouji sloppily sliced at Kuwabara, who then blocked the blade but buckled on the weight of the Chojin's negative energy instead of the strength of the strike. 'Dammit, we're going to lose!'

The bowl-cut man cackled and ranted, "This is the power of the Chojin! This is the power of the gods! You were no match from the start!"

As for the Shinomori of the modern era, he threw every last kodachi he could master at the charging Iwanbo, whose tackles were so impactful he turned even fellow Iwanbo and stray shikigami into road kill, ground beef, or ectoplasm.

Even after turning into a knife holder sculpture or Julius Caesar after his assassination, he would not stop charging.

The tired Okashira ended up taking a knee. He willed himself to move away with his Water Flow Movement, but Dr. Sugino caught him off-guard, the razor-wire biting into his neck. "Checkmate, Okashira. You killed me before, right? Well, let me return the favor."

Daiji struggled against the old man, surprised at how strong he was for his age, the piano wire digging deeper. They'd be both turned into mush by the rampaging Iwanbo 3.2, but only one of them would end up getting resurrected by the Onmyouji when all was said and done.

The air around them then changed as the ghosts of the Oniwabanshu rose again. However, something was different about them. They exuded menace that wasn't there before.

Hannya, Shikijo, Hyottoko, and Beshimi rose up like zombies hungry for flesh.

"Don't you dare touch the Okaaashiiiraaa...!"

***

As Likka Ikumi, Misao Makimachi's Heisei reincarnation, went unconscious due to blood loss, she dreamed of what had happened earlier, when she was deemed a C-Level martial artist ninja girl while the rest of the people she knew from past and present ranked B-Level and higher.

"This isn't fair!" Likka complained. "You'd be B-Level too if you didn't have special powers yourself, you little brat!"

"Yeah, funny how that works. Even Cat Eyes got better superpowers than you and your quick costume changes! OW!" teased Yahiko right at the moment he got hit upside the head with Misao's patented flying kick.

"KECHO GIRI!" Likka screamed. "Grrr! I want superpowers too! I don't want to end up in the battle field being some sort of liability to Uncle Jiji (Daiji) or Tsuki-chan (Natsuki)!

Yahiko then relented, "Jeez, Weasel-chan! Don't be upset about me being stronger than you, you only 'woke up' recently! But you're Makimachi Misao and yes, you're better at hand-to-hand combat than I am."

Ikumi paused then pouted. "Really, Yahiko-chan?"

Kenshin himself said, "Misao-dono, I know that Shinomori Aoshi's talent might have blinded you of this fact, but shinobi (spies) are not known for their swordsmanship or power. They're instead known for their cunning."

Natsuki herself interjected. "You are not a swordsman but a spy, Likka-tan. A ninja. A shadow warrior. You can take down a samurai many times more powerful than you by ambush and numbers. Use that."

Likka then woke up in time to see the miko (priestess) ferry-girl tending to her shrapnel wounds, removing the foreign objects and healing her body the best she could.

"Please, wake up! Please, hang on!" pleaded the shinigami known as Hinageshi.

***

Back at the Kyujimayama Observatory...

Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

Again, their supposed Okashira had failed them and soiled their memories. Or this watered-down copper version of their Okashira living in the present Heisei Era.

These ghosts that served as Daiji Matsudaira's guardian angels from the death of his wife to the present, when he discovered his dark destiny as being the reincarnation of the Last Oniwabanshu Okashira, were now forced to demonize themselves.

They abandoned their humanity and turned themselves into monsters in order to keep

The combination of Houji the Onmyouji and Gein the Puppet Master was truly too much for Kazuma Kuwabara and the Oniwabanshu them to handle.

Daiji did the Jissen Kenbu (combining the Water Flow Movement with his one-handed kodachi strikes) on Gein, who was not as adept at pure ninjutsu as his Meiji Era counterpart, but his supernatural powers and modern scientific knowledge more than made up for his lack of athleticism.

Just behind them, the transformed Oniwabanshu tore apart the four-armed Iwanbo 3.1 like a pack of wolves.

"Saaaave the Okashiraaa! At aaaall cooosts!"

Shikijo's muscles bulging and popping as his complexion turned grey or even metallic, grabbing one set of the Iwanbo's arms and stopping him on his tracks.

Beshimi biting and throwing spines growing from all over his body, the corrosive poison seeping into the undead veins of the puppet monster.

Hyottoko turning into a full-on kappa youkai who breathed fire, toasting the creature from behind.

And finally, there was the tri-clawed Hannya, who stabbed the Iwanbo, sliced the veins of his other arms, and ravaged him like a rabid wolverine.

The more they ripped apart the puppet, the more mindless they became. Like animals.

Houji chuckled at the display, letting his shikigami deal with the weakening Kuwabara for a change. "How would it feel if I took away your ghost friends and brought them to our side, Okashira?"

Meanwhile, Gein was already using his own knowledge of the dark arts in order to form a fresh new over-muscled Iwanbo 3.1.

No. Enough was enough.

The deceased Oniwabanshu had been haunting his soul all this time, even a hundred years later in another body, because they felt like they had failed in protecting him when the opposite was instead true.

Time and time again, they'd saved him.

His blue eyes shining bright like stars on a clear night, Daiji's aura of reiki (spirit energy) flared to life and reacted to the youki (demonic energy) emanating from his former Oniwabanshu comrades. He then started to absorb their dark energy unto himself, shouldering all their anger and feelings of failure unto him.

It was his own failure and lack of strength that kept them anchored to him for so long, keeping them from passing on.

It was his turn to save them.

"Uh, what happened?" asked Shikijo.

"I don't remember much," said Beshiimi.

"I feel hungry," said Hyottoko.

"You can't be hungry! You're a ghost!" admonished Hannya, who then turned towards Daiji. "It's the Okashira. He has saved us again, as usual!"

As the Okashira absorbed more of their dark energy, the Oniwabanshu ghouls started to go back to normal. They were neither demons nor monsters any longer.

Daiji then went face-to-face with the Iwanbo 3.2, who had again cannibalized the corpses or even "living" bodies of his undead brethren as well as the nearby shikigami unto him. To build his strength by feeding on the weak just like Matsudaira.

The Iwanbo 3.2 charged at Matsudaira, with the pair of Houji and Gein close behind him.

"Kill the Okashira! Do so and we'll have this battle in the bag!" said Gein to his puppet.

"We might even be able to revive him and turn him into one of the Dai Kaijin," added Sadojima.

They were in for the shock of their lives.

***

Back at Nabetsuru Rock...

Jaganshi Hiei ran on water like Jesus Christ in a hurry then blasted the rock where the half-healed or still-healing Usui Uonuma lay with a Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha (Dragon of Darkness Flame).

The fire demon didn't want to take any chances. However, as expected, Uonuma's Tinbe still remembered the sheer power of the most powerful strikes given to it by Battousai and the Miburo.

It was able to survive the atomic heat of the Makai flames from Hiei's deadliest attack, neutralizing it.

"Hn."

Usui answered that indignant harrumph with a chuckle. "And just like that, my Tinbe is now fireproofed as well as shock-absorbent. Is that your best shot, Jaganshi Hiei?"

Hiei then visually disappeared from Uonuma's midst, but the blind man couldn't even see him even when he was floating in the sea or running on the water anyway, so he wasn't too worried.

He was able to hear him all the while though.

The blind spearman could only smile as he caught each and every slash or stab Hiei attempted at him, deflecting them away like rain with his Tinbe umbrella.

He was made aware that the Shin Ju had lost contact with Houji and Gein, which meant that there wasn't enough shikigami and jaki left to heal him soon.

However, he was an S-Level entity himself.

This meant that even though he didn't have the Onmyouji's assistance to heal him, he could damn well heal himself. Not at the cancerous rate that Toguro Ani did, but fast enough.

'I just need to buy myself a little bit more time,' Usui thought, blocking all of Hiei's sword strikes and countering with his Rochin spear that was as irresistible as his Tinbe was unbreakable.

'Battousai's reports are accurate,' thought Hiei. 'This man is hard to kill, even without the powers of the Onmyouji aiding him and keeping him alive. Or at least undead.'

The two combatants jumped from the rock to the shore, their feet both using the waves and the surface tension of the saltwater to travel from that long distance.

Not once was Hiei able to scratch the injured man. Not with the Kokuryuha. Not with his blade.

However, the blind Shin Ju in turn was not fast enough to counter with his Rochin. He kept missing his kaeshi (ripostes) even though he parried or blocked all of the fire demon's physical attacks.

Getting behind Usui to stab him and avoid the shield didn't work because the spearman sensed his presence every time and blocked accordingly.

However, thanks to Hiei's Jagan and his inborn twitch reflexes, the Rochin could not touch him in turn, no matter how badly he missed or got parried by the former hitokiri turned Juppon Gatana member.

Perhaps it was because he was too injured. Or perhaps it was because he was too slow from the get go.

They seemed to be at an impasse.

***

"Ahhh!" Natsuki shrieked, her impenetrable deflection shield working against her, drawing the implosion towards her instead of away from her due to the nature of her reversal powers.

The crow demon smirked.

His experimental pillbug implosion bomb was a success.

Shinkai predictably attempted to deflect it like Karasu's other bombs, but she did so by reversing its momentum. This made the bomb explode instead of implode unto itself.

The way Natsuki affected her environment was to use the inertia of the objects going towards her and reverse their momentum so that she didn't have to expend her spirit energy moving them away.

To reverse the momentum of an implosion bomb was to turn it into an explosive. "Now, Kuronue! While you have the chance!"

Then, after several more Kuronues died out, one of them decapitated Natsuki with his scythe.

Game. Set. Match.

However, that Natsuki turned out to be a standee advertisement of a stewardess instead. Taken from the rubble.

"!?" intoned Kuronue, only to realize it was the Misao reincarnation who duped him into decapitating the decoy.

A classic ninjutsu trick.

Karasu attempted to get rid of the troublesome onmitsu (ninja girl) with his variety of bombs, only to be greeted with a rain of kunai (ninja daggers) moving at every which way and direction, defying the laws of physics, gravity, and momentum.

He yelped as a dagger ended up in his eye, which would normally be weak enough for him to swat away. 'Where is that damned ninja...?!'

As for Kuronue and Natsuki, they were locked in a battle of wills and wits. Or perhaps a war of attrition.

For different reasons, both Shinkai and the bat demon ended up cleaving or crushing through dozens upon dozens of their respective "clones". With Natsuki, they were illusions made by Likka. With Kuronue, it was still a mystery where they came from.

For every Kuronue that got beat up, head-crushed, stabbed, or disabled by some way, so too did every Natsuki suffer getting their limbs chopped off, their heads decapitated, and their bodies bisected horizontally or vertically.

The fading corpses of Shinkai and Kuronue that littered the landscape disappeared as soon as they fell.

"I don't care anymore!" the one-eyed Karasu threw implosion bombs at the pair's direction. "I'm sure you'll somehow survive this, Kuronue, but she won't!"

That was when Likka Ikumi finally decided to show herself and detonated the bombs with her flung kunai, one of which ended up stuck unto Karasu's hand.

"...Fool! You fell into my trap!" said Karasu even as one of the implosions set him ablaze, with him taking his mask off with his other hand in order to activate another Full-Body Implosion. "Now to kill you to get rid of all these illusions!"

Likka then smirked before she shifted forms and turned into Natsuki.

"...What?!"

A flabbergasted Kuronue spared a glance at the Natsuki he was fighting. The bat demon chopped her up, only for her to turn into a stop sign.

"Since when were you under the impression that you were fighting Tsuki-chan?"

"Natsuki" then appeared behind him and turned him into a kunai holder, who sure enough ended up being Likka instead, mimicking her friend all the while.

"I will not be a burden to Tsuki-chan any longer! I can help her out! We can win against you two!" said Ikumi.

Thus was the power of the "C-Level" Likka Ikumi: Optical Illusion. Perfect Deception. Absolute Fantasy.

It allowed her reiki to create mirages or hallucinations from her own imagination that, when used properly could make gods kneel and devils cry.

A special power that could beat even S-Levels to submission.

A power similar to that the Kanji Killer and his hypnotic Jagan, but it involved projecting her imagination unto reality like realistic mirages instead of invading her opponent's psyche to see what she wanted them to see, thus she used up less reiki to do it.

"You've underestimated the both of us," said Shinkai, whose only injuries were from that one implosion bomb that slipped through. "Now pay for your arrogance!"

Just as Karasu was about to explode and take both the girls with him, Yutaro's reincarnation reflected and focused all that potential energy towards Kuronue, blasting him with her own version of Suzaku's Railgun.

She turned the crow demon into fuel and matter for her own energy gun, the same way Suzaku could turn any piece of steel into a blast of energy himself.

The golden beam of light seemed to kill multiple clones of Kuronue at the same time, his body stubbornly refusing to disintegrate, with him reviving over and over only for him to die again, until there was nothing left of both Karasu and Kuronue.  

***

Hiei harrumphed.

His speed did not phase his opponent one bit. Nor did his S-Level youki and Dragon of Darkness Flame.

However, he had to kill him there and then. He with his Tinbe was too dangerous to be left alive. He'd just disrupt their plan to take out Houji Sadojima permanently and drive the Shin Ju back without hope of resurrection.

Was it shameful to strike down an injured man? In war, there was no such thing as honor or fairness. Just survival of the fittest.

Usui cackled. "The speed by which you attack and how hard it is to catch you off-guard. You remind me of someone."

Hiei didn't answer back.

"Ah yes. Sou-kun," said Uonuma with a hint of wistfulness in his voice even though his comrade Soujiro Seta was still with him, just in a different unit of the Chojin's Army (the Dai  Shin Kan).

The two used to spar from time to time, with both being amazed at the other's prowess.

Seta shocked that no matter how fast he went, the Tinbe would block his strike despite his lack of presence or sakki (bloodlust). Uonuma surprised at how, at times, the boy would reach supersonic speeds.

Instead of turtling up in defense, Usui attacked for a change, the sands of the beach blasting behind him like a sandstorm. His Shingan senses and Hiei's Jagan kept the both of them from making fatal contact with each other, the most they could do was flesh wounds.

The longer the battle went the further Usui pushed Hiei into a corner (literally even as they battled from the beach to the resort to the streets and to several nearby buildings), much to the prideful demon's shame.

Perhaps the youkai underestimated the revived human's abilities just because he was injured.

"His Shukuchi made him so fast and his lack of bloodlust made him absolutely dangerous. Your speed and constant bloodlust reminds me of him. You're always brooding like he's always happy. Like twin sides of the same coin."

"Sou-kun", huh? Soujiro Seta was a thorn in his side all throughout his mission and investigation on human experimentation at Alaska's Mount McKinley (also known as Denali).

Hiei harrumphed again, growing impatient. Someone this injured should not be able to be this hard to kill.

He still had an ace up his sleeve that the nimble "Ten Ken (Heaven Sword)" lacked.

Doing the Sword of Darkness Flame felt like a waste of time, but he did it anyway. If speed didn't work then power might tip the scales of their deadlock.

This only made the deranged and wistful yet sightless man happier for some reason.

A wave of nostalgia filled Usui. He couldn't see the fire of Hiei's flaming sword with his own actual eyes, his stolen Jagan from Jine sealed away with his blindfold, but he felt the heat from blade, giving him goose bumps and raising the hairs behind his neck.

He was for all intents and purposes a living corpse with an unbeating heart, but his mind made him feel like his heart was racing and his blood was flowing like hot fire through his veins. His aortas. His artificial circulatory system.

To Hiei's surprise, Usui discarded his impenetrable Tinbe and charged with only his Rochin. Shouting one name all the while like a lunatic.

"DIE, SHISHIO!"

The longer the battle went the further Usui pushed Hiei into a corner (literally even as they battled from the beach to the resort to the streets and to several nearby buildings), much to the prideful demon's shame.

It wasn't because Uonuma was as fast as him. Rather, Shishio's oldest rival was used to fighting people as fast as he was, like Soujiro.

This allowed him to use prediction and skill to match superior reflexes.

Compared to Soujiro and even Hiei, Usui knew more nuanced sword/spear forms and cutting/stabbing techniques than a simple upward, side, or angled slashes. Fire sword or no fire sword.

Like a drunk brawler picking a fight with a championship boxer. Quickness could be countered by experience against predictability.

Perhaps the youkai underestimated the revived human's abilities just because he was injured.

The jaganshi attempted his usual modus operandi of making his opponent miss, slashing at his afterimage, only for him to appear from behind and slash him to bits.

However, it was Hiei who ended up slashing at air and an afterimage that wasn't there.

Did he heal his wounds already...? Was he hiding his true speed all this time?!

Hiei's Jagan tried to sense and locate where Uonuma was, like always. His sight beyond sight serving as his means to activate his tripwire reflexes.

Wait a minute. He couldn't see or sense him. Even his jaki was gone. His vision had become clouded. 'Dammit...!'

The Rochin shot him right into the sign saying they were in Kitaoimisaki Park, his youkai blood spewing forth his mouth, nostrils, and even his three eyes.

The illusion faded away like a pile of cherry blossom petals blown away by a strong breeze, and soon reality set in.

As soon as the flames from Hiei's Jaou-En-Satsu Ken (Sword of Darkness Flame) enticed Usui's senses, he lifted his blindfold and unsealed the power of Jine's version of the Jagan.

Apparently, even Hiei's artificial Jagan that Shigure transplanted unto him was susceptible to its hypnosis. Along with the eyes he was born with.

The Forbidden Child of the Koorime fell into a boneless heap before his blood pooled from underneath him.

He was too careless.

He believed he was there to take care of injured game, forgetting that an animal's flight or fight reflexes made them many times more dangerous than usual.

"That was refreshing," said Usui. "I have to thank you, Jaganshi Hiei. Your flaming sword reminded me what I'm truly fighting for, after a century."

The maneuver he did on Hiei was something he himself wished to do on Shishio himself. Trick him with the Jagan then stab him in the back. S-Level or no, that would kill him.

Uonuma then frowned. Inwardly, he thought, 'I haven't mastered Jine's Jagan. I can only use it once a day. Maybe more with the help of the Onmyouji's power up, but he's sealed off from the rest of us right now.'

After a minute of pondering, the taller, bearded man grabbed hold of the diminutive demon by the hair and lifted him up high over his shoulders, his bloodstained Jagan in full view.

"No matter," Usui decided. "I have a new Jagan to play with now. As soon as Gein returns, I'll have implant Shigure's Jagan into the empty socket of my other eye. Then I'll have the power of both the Shingan and the Jagan at my hands."

Uonuma trembled with barely contained excitement, which woke Hiei up after blacking out from the pain of being stabbed hard.

"Neither Battousai nor Saito Hajime nor Shishio Makoto nor Tenro not the Chojin will stand a chance against me once I have both those Jagan in my possession along with my Tinbe and Rochin!"

Just as Uonuma was about to melon-ball Hiei's Evil Eye from its artificial socket, Kurama then arrived, parrying the Rochin away with the Grass Blade.

"...Ah. You must be the Legendary Youko Kurama," said Usui with a sneer. "Udo Jine has told us a lot about you."

***

Kyujimayama Observatory suddenly had an entire building sprout from its lookout.

An ominous castle made of black spires and iron ore.

A structure with no discernible entrance, doors, or windows.

Earlier, just as the Iwanbo 3.2 was on the verge of turning Daiji Matsudaira into a messy pile of shattered bones, giblets, and mince meat, something changed inside the policeman's soul.

By absorbing the guilt and unfulfilled desires of the Oniwabanshu that left them as earthbound spirits, that energy mixed with the reiki of Daiji's soul and the kenki (swordsman spirit energy) of Aoshi's warrior spirit.

Pushed into a corner and forced to feed into the negative energy of his comrades, his reiki and kenki started to mix with their youki and jaki.

It produced a whole new kind of energy: A swordsman's energy mixed with a human soul's spirit energy and the bloodlust of a demon.

Reiatsu (Spirit Pressure).

Like Shinobu Sensui's Sei Kou Ki (Holy Light Energy), Daiji produced a different sort of spiritual energy worthy of one the gods or shinigami themselves or their version of the police, the Reikai Tokubetsu Boueitai (Spirit World Special Defense Squad).

It was through this cocktail of different energies that he was able to produce the spire-filled castle by which he trapped Houji Sadojima, Gein, and their undead army in one huge, tangible prison with his Quest-Class powers to create matter out of spirit energy but without sacrificing his life energy to do so.

And, like the One-Eight-Ten Killer before him, he himself was on the verge of breaking through from A-Level to S-Level by learning this technique that took Sensui years to perfect.

Afterwards, a flabbergasted Kuwabara created a portal out of the constricting spire, with the similarly exhausted Matsudaira in tow.

They'd stopped the Onmyouji from reviving the Shin Ju every time they were beaten. For now.

"You're really something else, Officer Matsudaira. You know that?" said Kazuma.

Catching up with his own shallow breaths, Daiji turned behind him, "I can't let them down. Not again."

Kuwabara himself turned towards where the copper was staring, in time to see the will o' wisp or blue fireball souls of the dearly departed Oniwabanshu.

Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

With a smile hidden behind his mask but could be heard from his ghostly voice, Hannya said, "As expected of our Okashira."

From there, Uchiko Shikoku (Sayuri), the ferry-girl of the Northeast Quadrant, arrived and started replenishing their spirit energy, although she pouted as she told Daiji, "I was almost sure you'd die, Ikemen (Pretty Boy). Oh well. Maybe next time?"

To Kazuma, the blonde shinigami instead said, "You, I couldn't care less if you died or not."

"Nobody asked you!" shouted back Kuwabara.

***

Kitaoimisaki Park located in the westernmost corner of Okushiri Island.

The Sea of Japan served as its backdrop and it was designed as an open-air museum of sorts that was filled with sculptures made by Masayuki Nagare, a modernist Japanese sculptor.

"RENGOKU SHOU! (PURGATORY WOUND!)" shouted Hiei as he pummeled the open Usui with his fists of flame, but the flurry of blows were also countered and neutralized by the damnable Tinbe shield.

It did allow him to get away from his captor, though.

Meanwhile, Kurama had actually arrived there just in time with the assistance of both Sayuri the Ferry-Girl and Kuwabara's Jigen Tou. He did tell them to go immediately.

"Let's not risk having Usui use Jine's Jagan again," Kurama said. "Leave and don't look anywhere near his face or eyes. Kuwabara-kun."

"You got it, Kurama," said Kuwabara before making a portal out of there. "Hiei, you fucked up! Now Kurama has to bail you out!"

Kazuma jumped right into the portal he made before Hiei could follow him and beat him up for his remark.

Kurama then told Hiei, "Kuwabara-kun's right, you know," which made Hiei seethe even more. "I know how you feel, but sit this one out for now. Let me handle this while Sayuri-san heals you for now."

As for the scythe-bearing Uchiko "Sayuri" Shikoku, she balefully used her powers to heal the damage done on Hiei, although the pint-sized youkai didn't look too pleased about it.

"Look, we're both not happy about this, so could you stop glaring at me?" said Uchiko, who wanted to see what was next for the death-defying "hunk" known as Daiji Matsudaira.

Actually, Kitaoimisaki Park was under Botan's jurisdiction (she was assigned the northwest quadrant), but she was too busy guiding Yahiko safely towards the Onmyouji, so Sayuri had to do for now.  

Usui chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Toguro Ani warned me about you," he said. "You're quite the trickster, I hear. So are you going to fight me now?"

"Yes," Kurama said, picking a rose seed inside his hair and turning it into a rose then finally into the Rose Whip. However, this time around, it was a Rose Whip tied around the handle of the Grass Blade, thus turning it into a Rose Kusarigama (Chain Sickle).

"I hate tricksters like you," confessed Usui. "You remind me of a Saizuchi that could somehow fight. The best way to take care of people like you is to kill you before you can come up with a convoluted scheme to take me down."

"Saizuchi?" repeated Kurama as he attempted to scan through Kenshin's memories given to him through his contact with the Demon Sword. "I don't know who that is." Himura must've never met that particular Ten Sword member.

They then proceeded to fight. Kurama was decently fast but not blindingly fast like Kenshin Himura, Soujiro Seta, Yusuke Urameshi, or Jaganshi Hiei.

However, like with how Usui countered Hiei's speed, Kurama knew how to methodically place his whip strikes and whiplash to minimize movement and maximize his range.

Also, thanks to his new weighted weapon, he could actually maneuver his whip to bounce off the Tinbe then hook-stab Uonuma from the back, like her were fishing in the ocean.

What a frighteningly clever demon.

It took full concentration from Usui's Shingan to predict the trajectory of every whip strike and whiplash from all sorts of awkward angles.

Kurama was also careful enough to attack from the distance and patiently wait when he'd commit to the strikes to keep himself from giving away any openings. A true chess master that outwitted even the likes of Feng Xinhai.

Truly irritating. He had no time for such nonsense.

Whatever they did to Houji wouldn't stick and the boy they were pinning their hopes to would be killed by either him or another surviving Shin Ju member. It was inevitable.

Usui let the Rose Chain-Sickle wrap around his Tinbe, which allowed him to pull Kurama towards him and stab him with the Rochin at last. The fox spirit turned human was able to twist his body in time to prevent a full-on stab like with Hiei, as though he was used to these situations.

Kurama grunted and tumbled backwards before ending up kneeling and gasping for breath.

Uonuma spared a sightless glance at Hiei and Sayuri, sneering at the youkai in particular. This was more for Hiei's sake (and mockery) than a need for him to sense the demon by turning his head, since he had Jine's Jagan sealed.

"I've defeated both Kurama and Hiei! The right-hand men of Yomi and Mukuro! Even the best that Makai (Demon World) could offer is no match against me!"

Before he knew it, he felt his Tinbe start to crumble, cracks forming all around it like the time Kenshin hit it with the follow-up strike of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash). "What? But how...!?"

His fingers then noticed the growth of moss on the shield, which had taken root throughout the battle. "Moss...?"

Kurama said as he stood, "A rolling stone gathers no moss. But a turtle shield might. It's amazingly sturdy, with it getting stronger the more you break it like organic bone. But since I added Makai Moss to it, the tiny cracks and marks it was supposed to heal couldn't heal because the moss roots had taken its space."

Like moss on an old building, the moss on Usui's Tinbe compromised the strength of the magic item, keeping it from healing properly. Making it crumble as the parts where bone or shell was supposed to be was instead replaced with moss.

Also, the Rochin strike to his side was shallower than before, the spear becoming brittle in cadence with the weakening of the Tinbe.

A cold sweat dripped down Usui's beard. Even after he was warned by Toguro Ani to watch out for Kurama's trickery, he still ended up tricked in the end!

He glanced again at Hiei, this time not to mock him but instead because his Shingan sensed the sudden spike in heat from the fire demon, which in turn knocked Sayuri back.

"Jaou-En-Satsu...!"

"NOOOO...!"

"KOKURYUHA!"

Multiple Dragons of Darkness Flames engulfed and cracked open the compromised Tinbe like a nut, the Makai Moss burning away along with the rest of the turtle shield as the second-in-command of the Juppon Gatana and Shin Ju practically got nuked into place.

"I take it back," said Uonuma, gasping for air even though he didn't really need to breathe. "You don't remind me of Saizuchi after all. You're more like Shishio Makoto himself. Shrewd as a fox yet fights like a demon."

***

Back at the Okushiri Airport...

Sayaka finished up her report to the other Reikai Senshi and then said to them. "So far so good. Kurama-san's' plans are coming along smoothly. I've also heard reports from Sayuri-san that Sadojima Houji and Gein had been sealed inside a castle-like structure by Matsudaira Daiji-san."

"As expected of the Okashira!" said Likka, mirroring Hannya's sentiments. "We have this mission in the bag!"

Natsuki then told the young Spirit World Inspector, "Tell Shuichi-sempai, I mean, Minamino-sempai to watch out for that Kuronue person. He may still be out there."

Sayaka tilted her head to the side in askance. "Tell Kurama about Kuronue? Why? Isn't he dead? Didn't you just kill him? Killed two birds with one stone by making Karasu into a Railgun?"

"That's the thing. I'm not sure he's dead." Shinkai shook her head. "Killing him is actually easy. Keeping him dead is hard. He might still be out there, hunting Kurama at this very moment."

The Heisei Era Misao piped up, "Yeah, it was weird. Every time it seemed like you've killed him, another him kept popping up in his place."

The youngest ferry-girl considered their words. "Do you think he's like Toguro Ani? An S-Level, Regent-Class regenerator?"

Natsuki shrugged. "The best way I could describe it is that he's like Schrödinger's Cat. Like he's alive and dead at the same time."

"Maybe even Schrödinger's Bat!" Likka quipped to mostly silence.

***

Before the Kokuryuha could completely sublimated or at least carbonize Usui's body to the point of Gein probably needing to create a new one for him, with Jine's Jagan forever lost along with him, Kuronue pushed him aside and took in the full brunt of the Demon World equivalent of a nuclear warhead.

"...Kuronue!" Kurama shouted out at the bat demon, concerned with the wellbeing of his partner in spite of their circumstances.

Then a curious thing happened.

Kuronue turned into a shadow in the street. Only for another him to appear, who also turned into ash. Another him then replaced him, dying from the flames of the black dragon conflagration. Then another. Then another.

The bat demon died probably a dozen more times before Hiei thought it prudent to return the flames into his arm as tattoos, sealing them. Not willing to let Kurama's partner from millennia ago to waste more of his demon energy.

After the present Kuronue gasped his dying breath, a new him appeared, completely healthy and unharmed.

What the hell was going on?

Even Kurama was shaken. He heard Natsuki's explanation about Kuronue's new powers relayed to him by Sayaka, but even then he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it in action.

Was it instantaneous resurrection powers like with Toguro Ani? Clones, like with Suzaku? Or even hypnotic illusions, like with Likka Ikumi and Jine Udo?  

The Kuronue Kurama knew that died because of a bamboo trap never had such powers. Granted, he was a weaker demon around that time. But still.

"Uh, Usui, was it?" said Kuronue to Usui. "You should be more careful when fighting Kurama. He's a sneaky one, you see. Don't let him figure you out or else he'll get you. It's rare for him to get overwhelmed, like in the case of that one S-Level Reikai Tantei or the Reikai Boueitai."

Uonuma harrumphed. "Ah, so it's you, newbie. Don't get full of yourself. You were only revived by the Chojin because you're the only guy we know who could deal with Youko Kurama. It was supposed to be Udo Jine, but he failed and got killed by him."

The bat demon could only laugh. "Haaai (Yeees). Read you loud and clear, sempai."

Hiei told the blonde shinigami, ""You better leave now if you don't want to get hurt."

Uchiko said, "But you're not yet finished...! Ah. You know what? Fine." She then used her scythe as her means of transportation instead of a long boat paddle.

Kurama and Hiei backed away unto each other's sides while both Uonuma and Kuronue loomed towards them, their weapons at the ready.

The Tinbe had already started to reconstruct itself. The gambit Kurama used to weaken it couldn't be used twice now that Usui was aware of how his trick worked.

"Is that really Kuronue or just another imposter?" Hiei asked Kurama, remembering the Meikai (Nether World) god who impersonated the bat demon to mess with the youko's head.

"I'm afraid that's him," Kurama said, his smile looking more like a wincing grimace. "And yes, he does know me like the back of his hand."

"Hn," said Hiei. "Then the same could be said with you to him, right?"

Minamino turned towards his fire demon companion and smiled. "Yes, of course."

***

Meanwhile, in the sky overlooking the northwest part of Okushiri Island...

Botan flew top-speed towards Kyujimayama Observatory, exchanging places with Sayuri since that was under the northeast quadrant's jurisdiction.

Right behind her, riding shotgun, was a tired Yahiko Myojin, who was conserving his strength for the battle ahead against the Chojin's conduit.

As soon as they got confirmation of where Houji the Onmyouji was hiding, they flew up in the sky under Kurama's orders while Natsuki met up with Likka in order to run interference against the incoming Karasu and Kuronue (a replacement Shin Ju along with Toguro Ani).

Even better, they stopped bothering to hide in the clouds for fear of aerial strikes after both Natsuki and Daiji neutralized their targets.

The Yutaro reincarnation blasted away Karasu (who could make flying Trace Eye bombs) and the Aoshi reincarnation trapped both Gein (Kaoru didn't remember who that was) and Houji (Kaoru heard of him through Sanosuke) inside a sealed castle-like structure.

Now was the perfect opportunity for them to strike Houji down before finishing off the rest of the Shin Juppon Gatana and rescuing Okushiri from being under siege.

However, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Instead of them going straight to the sealed Houji and Gein, the two Chojin minions apparently decided to go to them instead.

"What the hell is that, Tanuki-chan!?"

"!?"

The top portion of the castle of spires proceeded to float towards Botan and Yahiko like some sort of alien ship or U.F.O.

The monument to their success had now become the monument of their imminent doom.

The jaki laser beams blasting through the windowless structure, creating windows at last certainly weren't in their best interests.

"AHHH! Retreat!" screamed Botan while the Kaoru inside her head and body wondered how ordinary humans from the Meiji Era could take on something as ridiculous as a floating sky fortress.

***

Multiple Kuronue "clones" served as Usui's meat shield as his actual shield reconstituted itself, now strong enough to resist the Kokuryuha and perhaps even Demon World Moss.

"What's going on? Is it Jine's Jagan again?" asked Hiei.

"No, I don't think so," said Kurama. "From what I remember, Jine's hypnosis illusion affected one person at a time. I'm not sure if Usui evolved the Jagan to do multiple hypnosis or mirages like with Ikumi Likka's powers."

Hiei grunted. It was a scene reminiscent of one of the Dai Shin Kan (Great Priests), whose name escaped him at the moment, multiplying endlessly. Something Yatsume.

Was this the M.O. of the Overfiend?

Was it his way of showing his undead army of Dai Kaijin (Great Monsters) were as unlimited as a pestilence? Like a swarm of locusts or a pack of rats? Unkillable like an intrusion of roaches? Were they going to infest the world like a plague, from Kuronue to Suzaku or even the Iwanbos of Gein and the Shikigami of the Onmyouji?

He even heard from his communicator that the same thing happened with Gein and his Iwanbo meat puppets with the assistance of the Onmyouji, which forced Detective Matsudaira to seal them off inside a windowless, spire-filled prison.

He was sick of this clone nonsense but knew that using up his Kokuryuha wasn't in his best interests.

Kurama was able to murder several shadow clones of his partner, only to succumb to cuts and slices to his neck, abdomen, and thigh.

This reminded him of his fight with the Fake Kuronue. That Meikai God did a convincing impression of his old friend.

But this time he was fighting the real deal, and none of his tricks were working against him.

"Rejoice, Youko!" said one of the Kuronues. "When the Chojin snatched me up from the depths of Hell, he told me he did so because he saw you as a threat. You were the only one who wielded the Demon Sword and used it to boost your powers to X-Level."

Kurama frowned, decapitating that one Kuronue and countless others with his Rose Kusarigama. "Who cares about being X-Level?"

Usui shook his head. "Fool! I'd jump at the chance to be as powerful as the Chojin himself! The only X-Level in existence at present! More powerful than the most powerful of the Demon World! You could've single-handedly killed the Shin Ju if you had that kind of power! Save everyone on the Human World you so love! Why do you deny greatness?"

The Youko inside Kurama smirked, and for a split second his true form emerged. "What's the fun in that? Something given is taken for granted. Something earned is treasured."

A horde of Kuronues laughed upon hearing this and chorused, "Ah, now that's the Youko I know and love."

Hiei also chopped and burned the Kuronues before him with his Jaou-En-Satsu Ken with flames that, unbeknownst to him, were reminiscent of Shishio's Homura Dama.

He did know enough about them to know that doing so would entice Usui to fight even with his unfinished Tinbe.

It was risky fighting someone with the power of hypnosis, but as long as the brilliant and prepared Kurama was there, Hiei had no fear against such hallucinations. Whether they were from Kuronue or Usui.

Kuronue continued, "The Chojin then let me choose my powers according to the best way to take you on, Youko. Knowing you, I told him that the only way I can defeat you is if I'm given unlimited retries to do so. You're a cunning fox. Most people would die a thousand deaths first before they can find an opening to take you down. So I chose that power."

Hiei had to admit that that sounded about right. You did not want the Youko as your enemy.

Using the brief rise of power elicited by Kuronue's tempting words about gaining X-Level through the Youtou Shinnoken, Kurama turned a single stalk of bamboo into the Hydra Bamboo once more.

The persistently growing bamboo that few faster the more you cut it down. The only ways to kill it was overcrowding or by burning it to the point of carbonization.

The forest of bamboo pierced through the hearts, lungs, stomachs, muscles, intestines, livers, kidneys, and brains of the nearest gathered Kuronues while the rest scattered like flies. Or bats, since he was a bat demon.

"Hiei, NOW! While we still have the chance! Kill Uonuma Usui! I'll figure out a way to deal with Kuronue later."

The jaganshi charged with his flame sword, able to keep the Hydra Bamboo at bay with his burning slices and cuts so that he wouldn't get overwhelmed himself by the deadly malignant forest.

He wasn't able to kill the half-healed Uonuma earlier but now he should be able to fare better against the blind man's half-formed turtle shield. His airtight defense earlier was now broken in half.

Usui's supernatural hearing and enhanced reflexes allowed him to block Hiei's 17 fire sword strikes in one second.

However, that second of blocking was the opening the fire demon needed in order to blast a Dragon of Darkness Flame straight at the night sky before it came crashing from behind Uonuma while he was busy defending against the Sword of Darkness Flame.

One of the Kuronues ended up protecting Usui from the rear, his chain scythe weapon turning into a mine's worth of steel and iron ore that melted from the heat of the Black Dragon Wave Technique, which in turn flooded the bamboo forest with molten metal.

Also, the Tinbe was now about two-thirds complete instead of just once half, with it having a pie-sized opening left on an otherwise finished turtle shell shield.

They were running out of time. They would be back to square one or worse if the Onmyouji managed to escape Daiji's seal before Yahiko could get to him and neutralize his connection with the Almighty Chojin.

Again, Kurama used the Invasive Kudzu to smother and eat the fire and demonic energy away, making it grow with the same uncontrollable menace as the Hydra Bamboo had over being sliced or physical torn apart.

Kuronue said, "I've seen that technique of yours before as well!"

From there, one set of Kuronues served as gardeners who chopped and diced up the Invasive Kudzu before it could absorb enough energy to become a problem, with them even sacrificing several of their own in the process.

The other set of Kuronue's kept the blaze of the growing forest fire alive, filling the air with smoke and flames that ate up the bamboo before it could grow enough to become unstoppable.

Unlike the mindless clones of Gein and the Nameless Yatsume, Kuronue's phantoms had a frightening hivemind that learned from every mistake they made and adjusted thusly with every new generation of himself.

One Kuronue branching out into multiple versions of himself, thusly exploring infinite possibilities. The Quantum Kuronue.

Maybe he should've gotten hold of the Demon Sword and finished all the Shin Ju off with one or ten slashes. A potential eleventh slash for the Onmyouji.

But that was the boring way of doing things. And Kurama loved a challenge. How should he solve this puzzle that Kuronue suddenly became?

Besides which, Kurama noticed that Hiei had been hiding one more ace up his sleeve all this time. An ace that the Shin Ju were probably also aware of, but had yet to experience firsthand.

Hiei backed off from Usui's Rochin stab, sheathing his sword and adopting the same battoujutsu/iaido (sword-drawing) stance that Himura Battousai would do.

The whole park had become a mess. One part of it was composed of a bamboo forest engulfed in flames and molten metal that was starting to harden.

The other parts were bits and pieces of kudzu grass reaped apart by scythes, with several of them allowed to eat the red and black flames and grow, controlling the blaze.

That was one helluva landscaping job Kuronue did.

The army of Kuronues had remerged unto one body, awaiting for the next attack from Kurama to occur that they'd dissect and deconstruct.

Once Uonuma's Tinbe was completed, nothing in their arsenal would be able to take down his defensive turtle shield.

The shell had already tasted every last technique they could throw at it, from Demon World Moss to Makai Flames. Everything but the kitchen sink.

Hiei disappeared, and Kuronue multiplied once more.

Usui lay in wait, his Shingan soaking in all the different noises yet his supernatural senses able to distinguish which ones were Kuronue and which ones were Hiei. He also screamed, "Hey, Newbie! When you decapitate the fire demon, make sure to keep his Jagan intact! I need that!"

Kurama walked calmly towards the chaos of burning bamboo, chopped kudzu grass, a self-contained forest fire, and what seemed like an army of Kuronue converging into what appeared to the naked eye as empty space but instead was actually Hiei.

He then snatched the jewel necklace hanging from the neck of (one of the many clones of) Kuronue.

The youko figured out the new powers that the Chojin bestowed upon Kuronue. All of his clones were the real him.

On a quantum level, Kuronue managed to exist in multiple planes of existence and manifest himself in one reality, allowing one of his selves to die and his other selves to live at the same time in an infinite loop.

It allowed him to interact in one dimension in a multi-dimensional manner, so that he could do one, two, three, or more things at the same time until he succeeded in an instance, his realities branching forth endlessly as he explored every possibility.

For a schemer like Kurama who tended to finish off opponents with cunning and wit, he was an absolute nightmare to handle. He was like Yusuke. Creative. Unpredictable.

A demon who'd never attack you from behind but knew every trick in the book because he was an expert in unraveling mysteries, traps, techniques, and lies. He loved figuring out the truth behind everything.

The same bat demon who ended up dying, ensnared by the simplest and most primitive of bamboo traps due to his immense sense of sentiment, which was ironic and truly unbecoming of someone as clever as him.

He should've known better.

Kurama figured out that the Meikai God who impersonated the Fake Kuronue was a fake with the way he discarded the jewel around his neck. In the same vein, he knew this Kuronue was the real deal when he... all of him... scrambled for the jewel with a high amount of sentimental value to him.

The seeming dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Kuronue all jumped at grabbing hold of the jewel Kurama threw away in the same manner that the Meikai God Kaiki did to finish him off.

This was the opportunity Hiei was looking for.

"Jaou-En-Satsu KOKURYUHA!"

***

A bloodied young Kuronue cackled with gnashed teeth and a raspy throat at Youko Kurama and his bloodstained claws.

Maimed but not broken. His body scourged with lacerations. His limbs flopping uselessly on the floor.

His clenched teeth gripping the string of a necklace.

The leader of the demon bandits looked at the bat demon with disdain and confusion. The kid managed to steal a necklace from their haul.

"Why are you so happy? That's just a trinket compared to the treasures we've gathered," Youko Kurama said with a toss of his silken hair.

On shaky legs, Kuronue rose up, his bloody back on the craggy wall. "If it was so insignificant, you wouldn't have almost killed me to get it."

Kurama raised his clawed hand, the constant lightning from Makai's dark clouds illuminating his silhouette. "Would you die for that necklace?"

Again, through clenched teeth, Kuronue spoke. "What an honor it would be to do so. Let me die a martyr. Let me be known as the one demon who outwitted the Legendary Youko Kurama."

Kurama changed his mind then and there. He put down his raised arm, turned, and walked away.

"HEY! Are you just going to let me go, you coward?" Kuronue spat, which led to him dropping the necklace, leading to him going on a mad scramble for it, willing his trembling arms to catch it.

"Rest up. Heal your wounds. You're now part of my bandits. Bring my jewel along with you," commanded the youko. "We hunt in the next earth day."

After finally grabbing hold of the jewel, Kuronue demanded, "And if I refuse?"

While still facing away from him, Kurama turned his head and gave the bat demon a sidelong glance. "I don't think you will."

From that point forth, the youko ended up with an ally more valuable than the trinket he stole from him.

***

The Dragons of Darkness Flames killed every last one of the Kuronues with its flames of the Demon World burning them to sublimation at an atomic level.

Kurama went down on his knees, exhausted. He'd lost a lot of blood from his battle with what seemed like a thousand Kuronues converging at him at once.

However, in the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw at least one Kuronue move out of sight.

If a Kuronue had survived, then there was at least a one in a hundred or one in a thousand possibility that if Kurama had thrown away that necklace, he wouldn't have gone after it.

He was learning. He was evolving.

Kurama smiled. At least something good came out of the Chojin's plans to revive their dead enemies/comrades to use against them.

***

To Be Continued...

I based Kuronue's new powers on the version of Kuronue featured in my first-ever fan fiction, "Shonen". Something about the (watered-down for fiction version of the) Many-World Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics with a dash of Schrödinger's Cat thrown into the mix.

The boss battle is fast approaching, but those mini-bosses can be quite the handful!

Ciao, Abdiel

#nabetsuru rock #okushiri #accelerator #railgun #aizen sōsuke #yuyu hakusho #幽☆遊☆白書 #rurouni kenshin #るろうに剣心 #demon sword #youtou shinnoken #妖刀真の剣

[dlamp-dictator]

Who’s the Bad Guy Now?

While I haven’t finished the last episode yet, My Next life as a Villianess has been quite the fun ride. It’s funny, thoughtful, and probably has one of the best protagonist of a harem anime since The Fruit of Grisaia’s Yuuji Kazami. This is definitely definitely an anime I can recommend to anyone, which is a refreshing thing to say since the majority of anime I like tends to be either absolute fanservice garbage like Cross Ange, extremely genres like MagiPro and Granbelm, or something offensively generic and uninspired like Assassin’s Pride. 

Along with that, I can say that this anime is a refreshing take on both harem and otome tropes. Making our protagonist's obliviousness to her harem’s affection more comedic than frustrating while still giving her the charisma needed to actually get that affection in the first place. I could honestly do a whole Rambling on how well this all works together. 

But I’m not going to do that.

See, the whole ‘Villainess’ trend has been going on in Japanese manga, Korean Manhwa, and Chinese Webcomics for some time now, at least a year from my memory. I’ve been meaning to talk about some of these manga and this genre as a whole for a while now, but I’ve never really found the drive until now. So I wanted to take a bit of time to discuss a few of these stories and series in a way similar to my old Anime Updates, a general summary of the story and my overall views of each while hitting a point or two in a few paragraphs.

However, before I talk about the other manga and manhua... 

Disclaimer 

All of series I’m going to be talking about are, to my knowledge, not released or translated in the west officially. Most of these are fan translations by folks wanting to spread the respective series. However, with that said these are still technically pirated media. A lot of the translation groups have even asked to not post pictures of their translations on social media sites, specifically Instagram, as they could possibly face some form of legal action from the author. As such, I won’t be post too many pictures of what’s available save for official, untranslated art if I can.

With that said...

Let’s start with the big one. This is the main thing I wanted to talk about. What it Takes to be a Villainess or The Justice of Villainous Woman is a pretty interesting take on both Villain and Isekai tropes. The story focuses on Yu(?) Hwayoeng, a typical 23-year-old Korean woman who enjoys soap operas, racy novels, and being with her boyfriend. Well, at least until her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend and she accidentally slipped into a river and died, only to be reborn in the body of a Satiana(?) Altizer Cailon(?), a noblewoman with the reputation of a bratty villainess. Through several events, she learns she’s a Regina, a canidate for the next empress of the empire. However, Satiana’s awful reputation as a villainess competing with the saintly reputation of her opponent Irene, who is already the lover of the current prince and next emperor. With enemies at every corner and a prince she knows nothing about save for his cold demeanor toward her, Satiana, or commonly called Satie, must find away to become Empress despite her foul reputation and hostile political environment.

Now, despite Satie being a ‘villainess’, the story sets it so that she’s already condemned and somewhat hated among noble society. This isn’t a tale of how a villainess avoids a bad end, but how someone goes from an underdog brat to a proper member of high society and cares for the people she rules under. Despite the premise, this isn’t much of a romance of Satie winning over the cold prince, but Satie working both with and against the system to make policies and arrangement work in her favor with the little tools she has. Her first obstacle isn’t softening the cold prince, it’s figuring out how to get maids and secretaries to help her run affairs despite her superiors hindering her from the most basic of rights as a noblewoman. She has to use both the memories borrowed from the original Satie and her memories from her past life to help her get through the tangled web of political intrigue. 

Speaking of which.

Satie Never Forgets

Like I said, the main interest for me in this is the twist on several Villain and Isekai tropes. One of which is that Satie never forgets her time as Yu or her certain circumstance. She never forgets that she died after soon being the victim of an affair, or that she, as Yu, was a controversial figure in her university as someone that spoke out against injustice and problems despite decorum saying otherwise. The former keeps her from pursuing the prince despite his advances, the latter keeps her from letting people’s wrongdoings go unannounced, much to her own detriment at times. She never forgets that she more or less stole the body she’s in, so tries her best as Regina to do her new family right. And after about 30-ish chapters she breaks from her Villainess reputation and persona and can start handling things properly. It becomes less of an Isekai or romance story and more of a political drama with Isekai and Romance elements in it. The best parts of this series is when Satie is planning her next move through all the political wrangling, or when she uses knowledge from her previous life to improve the lives of others. Not just that she’s from a modern era, but that she was also a former babysitter for her family, or had a natural knack for flirting and acting to begin with. She smart and can think on her feet. 

However... that said, I have one glaring issue with this series.

Romance and Morality

As of me writing this we’re at about chapter 92. Within the more recent chapters they’ve finally explained things from the Prince’s prospective as to why he’s so cold and why he chose Irene as a lover. And while I find that side interesting and the story takes advantage of us seeing his side of things for future plot events, I feel like the story wants us to question who is in the right. 

This... bugs me a little.

While I don’t mind moral ambiguity in my media this series has been trying very hard to get us to root for Satie for over 90 chapters, successfully might I add. She’s used her villainess reputation when she needed to, she’s punished wrongdoers, treated well those who have deserved it, and while the prince has slowly softened his stance on her she’s still hesitant to approach him, as he already has a lover. Through the Prince’s chapters we learn his and Irene’s relationship is more political than romantic and that Irene isn’t the kind saint she makes herself out to be. However, I feel like this moral fracturing is more annoying than interesting. Granted, this is to set up some bigger drama in later chapters and the chance to see other perspectives is nice, but... eh, your mileage may very. For what it’s worth, it’s building up to some interesting twists in the next arc or two, but the mystery of who is in the right by what means feels annoying when Satie’s been walking that tightrope for the last fifty-ish chapters.

Other Critiques

Just my general critique all of the series you’ll see here, but translations have slowed down as of me typing this essay. The last one was about 2-ish months ago, at least on the site I use for this specific story. The translations can’t really get a good read on how to properly spell Satie’s name either, if the (?) didn’t clue you in. Nothing deal breaking, but an annoy tick nonetheless. 

Anyway, only the next story!

The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass takes a different, if still common turn for these Villainess stories. Aria Roscente is the daughter of a prostitute that soon became a noble due to her mother marrying into nobility. She lived a lavish life and was quite arrogant as she grew up, but was slowly manipulated in her ignorance by several parties, the most egregious being her sister Mielle who pushed Aria into the role of villainess while making herself seem like a saint. And due to those machinations she was executed. With her last dying wish being for a second chance she’s granted that chance by traveling back in time to around her childhood through a magical hourglass, giving her the perfect change to lay the seeds of her revenge against all those who conned her. 

Now, time travel in these Villainess stories isn’t new, but I like this one’s take on it. Aria has a semi-manipulate time in the more recent chapters as of my writing this, and she uses them to her advantage in other to get revenge on those who wronged her. With her knowledge of future events she can make relationships of lower class individuals who will have higher stature in years to come. She can have almost prophetic knowledge of future disasters to come so she can be seen as a hero for preventing or preparing for them. And she can curb an future opponent’s advancements into high society. However... she’s stunted by thae fact that her child self won’t be taken too seriously and that Aria herself only has a passing idea of events to come, as her past arrogance made her rather flippant toward important court events.

But there’s one more issue I have with this story...

Aria is an Asshole

This might be a frequent criticism I have for a lot of future stories and series I want to cover, but to focus this on Aria for this, she is an almost cartoonishly evil character at times no real reason. Unlike like Satie who uses her bad reputation and evil persona strategically to sway opinions and weave the political landscape of the empire, Aria is an outright bastard out to tear down those that stand in her way as she manipulates things to her advantage and slowly ruins the lives of those who wronged her in the past. While we’re told this revenge is for deeds done in her past life, the people she targets are currently blameless in the new timeline. And the one that supposed ruined her life, her sister, may in fact be manipulated by other parties to see Aria’s undoing. However, Aria doesn’t care about this and proceeds to emotionally torture her younger sister throughout the story, relishing in her agony. Again, we’re told Mielle has done evil and manipulated Aria in her past life, but since we don’t see those moments it just feels like someone picking on the weak, like we’re just watching a bastard be a bastard and suppose to enjoy it. And unlike Light Yagami or Lelouch vi Britannia, her schemes and mannerisms don’t have much flamboyance or flair to them. This is just a scheming bastard ruining peoples lives, and I can’t really root for her. I’m currently at chapter 18 and so far there are translations going up to chapter 20 as of me typing this, but I’m loosing my taste for this series fast if Aria is going to just keep being an asshole without having an real opponent out to get her for it. There’s been moments of some actual opposition, but nothing concrete to say she has an opponent yet, not a tangible one at least. 

I also hear the original novel version of this story is a lot better, likely due to it taking time to explain a lot of her targets past deeds and making Aria’s evil acts seem a little more justified. It’s a lot easier to explain that in a book rather than a comic. 

It’s a little early for recommendations, but a Chinese comic The Bloody Merchant Empress and the Cold Husband's Forceful Doting is a much better version of this premise. When the wronged Empress is returned to the past as the daughter of a wealthy merchant she uses her knowledge of the future and family’s resources to better the country while also humiliating her cold, manipulative, and obsessive former husband. I’m only about 60-ish chapters in that one out the currently 90-ish that are translated as of me typing this, but it’s pretty entertaining so far and has a protagonist I can root for.

Aria... just isn’t an appealing protagonist to me, at least not yet, but I’m willing to at least get though another 5 chapters before calling judgement on it.

The last thing I wanted to cover was I'm Not a Villainess!! Just Because I Can Control Darkness Doesn't Mean I'm a Bad Person! This manga is about a girl named Sakura that was reincarnated as the dark magic user Claudia Letsya, the villainess of a popular novel she read. Realizing the plot and her death at the hands of the series protagonist, she works from her childhood onward to prevent her death by sowing seeds of kindness and generosity. It isn’t as simple as that however, as the world of Lacia is deeply prejudice toward those using dark magic, as well as Claudia’s own appearance since dark skin and hair are foreign to the country. Along with that, her powers are prophesied to bring ruin to the country as well. So with the cards stacked against her, Claudia must fight back every prejudice against her to prove she’s not the villain the world claims her to be, and to not die in battle as an enemy.

One it’s own this manga is pretty interesting. Claudia is already hated due to prejudice and prophecy, so she has to somehow fight against the system that already condemned her. And unlike Satie, who already had years of experience as an adult living in the adult modern world, Sakura died as a child and only has a child’s prospective on things. She’s a rather smart child, but she still doesn’t have the intelligence or status to have pull over the world. She can only do so much with the cards against in her current body and status. She has to make friends and allies fast. She eventually does this and gains a slightly better reputation than the original novel gave her, however...

The Big Twist

Spoils for chapter 6 onward, but later we large that the protagonist of this world, Amelia Logan, is also reincarnated like Claudia and knows the story and world she’s in as well. However, unlike Claudia who’s trying to prevent her death, the owner of Amelia’s body is a haughty, arrogant, and snobby person who is ignorant of our villainess’s plight and is currently trying to set Claudia’s path to follow the ‘script’ so she can kill her. 

This part I find interesting, as it give a lot more depth and a more interesting dynamic. While Claudia is trying to change her fate she has to deal with this awful, arrogant heroine that’s honestly doing more to ruin her own reputation than Claudia’s by being so pushy. And while the side cast can’t stand this arrogant light user, the society of Lacia wants Claudia as dead as Amelia does, so conspires against her. This adds another challenge onto Claudia, as the usually kind and trusting heroine is now her biggest adversary. And while that’s funny in a way, it also makes for a small problem I have with the series. That being... 

Amelia is an Asshole 

I didn’t think I’d use this criticism twice in the same Rambling, but okay. Like with Aria, Amelia is cartoonishly malicious toward Claudia. And while she’s always called out on it, she comes across more as annoying than comedic or imposing. This is probably intentional and updates are only up to chapter 9, but sometimes makes me wonder how Amelia can be so awful as a person and still keep her standing as a heroine. She tends backpedals the plot a little by being so inept of her status and assumes the fact that she’s ‘destined’ to kill Claudia means she’s free from criticism despite constantly being called out by the main cast. It’s less funny at times and more irritating that she can’t understand the story is moving in a much different direction than originally written and should act accordingly. 

This is a personal gripe however. Like I said, there’s only 9 chapters of this manga currently translated so there’s plenty of time for things to get better. This might not even be a line crossed with most readers, but it’s crossed it for me so I’m going to mention it. That’s not a deal breaker, but it is annoying to read through. 

Sadly, this manga only has 9 chapters out as of me typing this, and translations has moved to a crawl. The original novel seems have slowed as well in terms of translation speed, so this might just be a pointless inclusion on the list. Nonetheless, it’s definitely an interesting short read, if only for that 

Fuck it, I’ll make a thumbnail myself.

I’ve been meaning to find an excuse to talk about Villainess Ventures for a while, months really, and with this giant review/impressions/overview of villainess stories now’s as good a time as any.

So, if you’ve been following me for awhile you might occasionally hear me mention the youtube channel SugarPunch Design Works, a channel ran by Majikura and A Bad Idea (ABI for short). These two do a mix of parody recall episodes, animation critiques and discussions, podcasts, and anime harem reviews. The latter was something ran by Majikura with some animated bits by ABI. However, due to difficult copyright and fair use issues, Majikura has gone on record saying the harem reviews are more or less in hiatus until mentioned otherwise. In the meantime, he’s made a Webcomic on Tapas called Villainess Ventures, a comedic webcomic that treats villainy as a business and deconstructs/parodies common villain tropes. The premise is simple, protagonist Veronica Nightingale is a consultant for villains, advising them on schemes, giving them new business avenues, and so on. Like I said, there are a lot of tropes being played with here. That’s the basic synopsis, I’ve nothing more to say aside from that I’ve enjoyed reading it and I recommend you all give a look.

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Look, I know I kind of railed on the last three series there for at least a paragraph each, but... well, this is a bit different. I don’t exactly feel comfortable critiquing a webcomic in the same vain I do other series, as this is a free comic that is available on a website at no cost. Technically the last three are in that same vein of being free to read, but that’s through piracy and are technically official works for purchase, just not on English sites/stores. I view webcomics in the same way I do things on fanfiction.net and fictionpress.net, I only review and critique things on request and on my own time (and yes, people on both these sites have requested reviews/critiques from me at points). At the moment I’d say the only strike I have against this series is that the artist/writer could announce their hiatuses more accurately, but that’s it. Overall this webcomic is updated weekly, one page per week, with a month or two of hiatus after every two-ish arcs. If you wanted my personal recommendations Professional Henchman and Join my Team are my favorites at the moment. The character designs are pretty good, you’ll find your favorite among the cast rather quickly, and it’s starting to get updated again as of me typing.

Like I said, this is a webcomic that’s free to read on a site that’s, as far as I’m aware, free to use and sign up to comment and subscribe to your favorite comics on the site. And feel free to subscribe to this comic and tell ‘em Allen X sent you.

And that is it for this Rambling. I still have to wrap up the Arknights essays... so there’s that. I’ll see you all a bit later. 

#your dictator is speaking

[thesnootyushers]

The British public loves a good police show. Here are some of the best!

The TV police procedural has been a stalwart of British television since Dixon of Dock Green first walked the beat in 1955.  The genre has evolved and developed over the years, but the British TV bobby has never been too far from our hearts as we have tuned in en mass to watch their adventures.

With the recent death of Inspector Morse author Colin Dexter, and the highly anticipated 4th series of the amazing Line of Duty starting later today, Snooty Ushers Dave and James have put their heads together to make a list of our favourite British TV cop shows.  The only rule was that it had to be about actual British police (so no Sherlock, Cracker, or any of those amateur sleuth shows). So, in no particular order, let us begin

Just missing out: New Tricks, The Fall, Ripper Street, Between The Lines, Rebus (with Ken Stott, not John Hannah),  Maigret (because it is French!), A Touch of Cloth

Line of Duty (BBC, 2012-)

Dave: What better place to start than with the original inspiration for this list, the brilliant Line of Duty.  The show focuses on AC-12, a special team of elite officers who investigate the police. While this echoes the similarly themed Between The Lines from the 90s, it stands on its own as one of the best British police procedural dramas.  About to enter its 4th season, each series focuses on a different, but interconnected case, fronted by a high profile British actor.  The AC-12 team recur throughout.  It is grounded firmly in reality and it so brilliantly written, intricately plotted and tightly directed that something as simple as 3 people sitting in a room having a conversation can deliver such incredible tension.  The cast to deserve so much credit, the AC-12 officers led by Irish stalwart Adrian Dunbar’s damaged every-man Superintendent, Martin Compston is instantly relatable as the terrier like DS Steve Arnott (although I do take issue with him not using his Scottish accent), but it is Vicky McClure as DC Kate Flemming who is the real star.  The 3 series so far have weaved such a tight web of intrigue and tension that I wouldn’t dare revel any plot points here, I would just implore you all to catch up before the new series starts.  If you need another reason, Keeley Hawes, in Series 2, gives one of the most devastating, intense and down right brilliant performances in recent memory.

James: This is a show that proves that British TV can match anything from around the world. It’s also my favourite ongoing British show of any genre. One mistake seemingly ruins a promising young police officer’s career, and he is shunted to the AC-12 (“Internal Affairs” if we were in America), in an attempt to push him out of the force. But instead, DS Arnott truly finds his niche, as does the show itself. There are loads of police shows with conflicted and morally ambiguous lead characters, but Line Of Duty focuses almost entirely on their feet of clay, yet never falls into witch-hunt territory. Lennie James, Keeley Hawes, and Daniel Mays have given three different performances as heroic cops who come under AC-12’s gaze, and the three series so far have all taken different paths, never covering the same ground. And the interrogation room scenes are the high point of the show as weeks, sometimes years worth of story lines are brought together. A truly great show.

Life on Mars (BBC, 2006-07)

Dave:  If Line of Duty is grounded in reality, this is something different all together.  Sam Tyler (John Simm) is a DCI working in Manchester.  When he is involved in a car accident, he wakes up in 1975.  He is still a cop, but a rank lower and finds himself working for the oafish DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister).  This just worked on every level.  The ambiguity surrounding Sam’s predicament kept us guessing.  Is he dead? crazy? In a coma? Or has he actually traveled back in time?  The world of modern policing contrast with the good old days of the 70s made for some thrilling moments and some genuinely funny moments too, with the chemistry between Simm’s straight laced, lateral thinking, by the book cooper and Glenister’s blunt instrument works a treat.  The ambiguity continued after the conclusion of the series, with the story continuing on the 80s set sequel series Ashes To Ashes, which saw Gene Hunt move to London and paired with a female detective (Keeley Hawes).  While never hitting the heights of Life On Mars, it ran for 3 seasons and gave us a satisfyingly heart-breaking conclusion.  This will be forever remembered for giving us immortal and unforgettable DCI Gene Hunt.

James: Whether it was their intention from the very beginning or not, the makers of Life On Mars got to cherry pick all of the best bits out of 70s cop shows. We got a modern piece of television – Sam Tyler struggling with the nature of his reality and Gene Hunt getting into car chases and punching criminals. And as someone who lived in Manchester it was great to see how they shot around the city to get that Seventies feel.

Also, the third series of Ashes To Ashes also deserves a mention, as Daniel Mays (who featured in Line Of Duty as well) gave a fantastic performance that shepherded the whole saga to a great conclusion.

Snooty Usher TV Trivia Fact #711 – The American version of Life On Mars (with Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt) ended after one season, and being years away from wrapping their own version, the original writers gave their US counterparts free reign, and they came up with a doozy. Both the “modern day” and 1970’s realities were both just a simulation to keep astronauts minds active on a mission to Mars, and a glitch had causes Sam’s program to jump from one simulation to another.

Snooty Usher TV Trivia Fact #712 – There are currently Czech and Russian versions running in those countries that take their Sam Tyler character back to Soviet-era police, giving another level to the show.

Inspector Morse/Lewis (ITV, 1987-2015)

Dave: Based on the novels of Colin Dexter, Inspector Morse ran for 33 episodes across 13 years, becoming one of the nations favourite detectives.  He was the epitome of the gentleman detective, a middle class bachelor with middle class interests, he drove a classic Jaguar, listens to opera and has a fondness for real ale, this was contrast in his relationship with his partner DS Lewis, a working class family man from the North East.  Set in the beautiful city of Oxford, with the various colleges and classic architecture used as a stunning back drop.  Now, the term national treasure is banded about a little too often for my tastes, but is there a better way to describe John Thaw?  His gruff nature embodies Morse with an every-man quality that masks his vast intellect.  Kevin Whately’s Lewis is perfect foil as his put upon Sergeant.  Their relationship is central to the show’s success and longevity.  The series ended in 2000, when Morse collapse and died of a heart attack, his legacy would live on however when in 2006, when Kevin Whatley’s Lewis would return.

Robbie Lewis is now a Detective Inspector, he is widowed and his kids are grown. Paired with a new DS, James Hathaway played by Lawrence Fox.  Hathaway is a chain-smoking, emotionally detached intellectual. Lewis is Colombo like, in as much as his scruffy appearance and the fact that is not an Oxford man, means he is constantly under estimated by the high brow university community.  While he relies of Hathaway’s classic education at times, he is more than a match for Oxfords criminal element.  Lewis and Hathaway’s chemistry would rival but not quite eclipse that of Morse and Lewis, but was the driving force behind this shows success, it was baffling when after 7 series and a natural conclusion, they brought the show back for 2 more years, changing the dynamic of the leads and for the first time in nearly 30 years, the show began oustay its welcome.

The conclusion of Lewis was not the end for the franchise.  In 2011, ITV turned back the clock with the prequel series Endeavour.  Set in 1965, it focuses on Morse’s early years as a DC.  Shaun Evans does a great job of honouring Thaw and giving us a believable young Morse and Roger Allam adds a touch of class as Morse’s noble DI, Fred Thursday.

James: Morse is a national treasure. It really is the gold standard that all detective shows are aiming for. The character work between Morse and Lewis was brilliant, and they knew when to inject some levity and humour into what was a serious drama. Decades before Sherlock, theses were basically films that were shown on ITV, and we got thirty three of them. Although Lewis is slightly in its predecessors shadow, it featured a nice change of dynamic with the two leads, and in a nice touch of symmetry, there were also thirty three episodes of Lewis.

I would echo Dave to say that Endeavour really does uphold the quality of the shows that came before it. There’s the same sheen of quality, and Shaun Evans portrays Morse’s traits without simply mimicking John Thaw.

Snooty Usher TV Trivia Fact #713 – Inspector Morse author Colin Dexter made a cameo in all but three of the Morse episodes.

Snooty Usher TV Trivia Fact #714 – In the pilot episode of Endeavour, Morse questions a newspaper editor.  The editor asks if they have met, as he seems familiar to her.  The editor is played by John Thaw’s daughter Abigail. She recurs throughout the series

Luther (BBC, 2010-16)

James: Neil Cross wrote for Spooks and Doctor Who before being Luther, and his writing deserves a lot of credit. He has created a conflicted detective haunted by his past, and set him in a harsh, yet real-feeling London. However, in this could be the set up for almost any detective show – Idris Elba makes Luther into a great piece of work. His performance really nails the complex character, making him sympathetic but still hard as nails. He will make a great next Bond… or Doctor Who!

The show also stands out by giving Luther a full-on nemesis. Ruth Wilson play Alice Morgan, a character who comes in and out of the show. Cross has always said Luther is inspired by Sherlock Holmes and Columbo, and by giving the detective his own Moriaty, Luther raises the bar again.

I truly hope that we get more episodes of Luther. The most recent series was only two episodes, and surely it would be possible to squeeze another couple into Elba’s (and Cross’) increasingly busy schedule. Perhaps just even a one-off to finally wrap up the series, although the end of the third series seemed to do that quite well – coat and all – before it was brought back. Maybe Netflx or Amazon Prime could throw enough money at it to get another go around.

Taggart (STV 1983-2010)

Dave:  Now, I am a Scotsman who has lived in England for the better part of 10 years and this show has a lot to answer for.  The amount of times I have been asked to utter the phrase “Thurs bin a murder”, well let’s just say it is more than once.

Set in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Taggart was and remains the UK’s longest running TV police series.  The show survived the death of its title character, when the great Mark McManus died in 1994.

Jim Taggart, was a gruff no nonsense Glaswegian, with little time for sensitivity.  The show was just so brilliantly Glaswegian, the best part of watching this growing up was trying to spot the locations where it was filmed.  The show declined in quality following McManus’s death, relying on the more gruesome elements to attract viewers, (I recall one episode where 6 people were murdered, too much!!).  Those early years though gave us something so intrinsically Scottish that DCI Jim Taggart will forever be one of my all time favourite TV cops.

Heartbeat (ITV, 1992-2010)

James: Trips to Aidenfield were a staple of Sunday nights when I was growing up. It started out with Nick Berry was Nick Rowan, a London police officer who moves to North Yorkshire with his wife , Dr Kate Rowan (Niamh Cusack). The two of them have to deal with small town life, as well as some pretty hard hitting storylines. Bill Maynard’s turn as lovable rogue Greengrass provided the  light relief, and the policing team of Ventress, Bradley, and Blakeston were always welcome.

Later series broadened the focus from a single lead character when Rowan transferred to the Mounties in Canada after Berry decided to leave. Jason Durr came in as Mike Bradley, and it became more of an ensemble show, with the storylines moving into the more usual Sunday night territory that. But those early shows left and indelible mark on this Snooty Usher.

Messiah (BBC, 2001-2008)

Dave:  The first series of Messiah was one of those shows that just blew me away.  It was dark, it was scary, it was gruesome.  Ken Stott is DCI Red Metcalfe, he and his team are faced with series of brutal killings.  As they delve deeper, they find that someone is killing people, mimicking how Jesus’s apostles died. Now, I am a sucker for serial killers with a religious motive and this is one of the finest examples of it.

Red and his team returned for 3 more series and new cast taking over in 2008 for a further 1 series, with Marc Warren taking over from Stott in the lead.  While they were suitably gruesome, it never quite hit the heights of this ground breaking first case.

James: My sister and I used to buy cheap books from charity shops when we went on holiday. One of these books was about a series of gruesome murders that wove religious themes into plot. We talked about how it would make a great film or TV show – and when we got home we found out that it did! Ken Stott was just perfect as the detective trying to get to the bottom of these horrific crimes. He played the role like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, like he constantly had a splitting headache. The supporting characters were excellently cast as well.

A Touch of Frost (ITV, 1992-2010)

Dave: I love Del Boy Trotter as much as anyone, but for me at least, this is David Jason’s finest hour.  The gruff, empathetic Detective Edward ‘Jack’ Frost.  Based on the novels of R.D Wingfield, A Touch of Frost was a firm favourite in the McKee household.  This is set in the fictional town of Denton, in the south midlands and while they are completely different, it is difficult not to compare Frost with ITV other long running Detective series Inspector Morse.

Frost never had an established DS like Lewis, working with a series of different sidekicks which really worked.  The humour in the show came from Frost’s interactions with his boss Superintendent Norman “Horn Rimmed Harry” Mullett.

James: A Touch of Frost was great. David Jason knew just how much comedy business to put into his performance. I think everyone was surprised just how good he was in the more serious role, and I remember trying to find out if Denton FC was a real football team.

Prime Suspect (ITV, 1991-2006)

Dave: While I enjoyed the early episodes of Prime Suspect, I was never a massive fan of it, mainly down to the fact that I don’t really like writer Lynda La Plante’s work.

Having said that, the quality of this show and the performance of Helen Mirren demands attention.  Ground breaking and harrowing at times, this gave us a really believable, flawed female lead. Tennison has been oft imitated and never, to date, bettered.

The Bill (ITV, 1984-2010)

Dave: And finally, no list of police shows would be complete without this long running series.  Set in the fictional Sun Hill Police station, this gave us a load of memorable characters. Remember PC Reg Hollis? WPC June Ackland? DCI Frank Burnside? The list goes on.  It lost something for me when it changed from the 30 minute episode format, but I still hold many fond memories of this show

James: I love shows that are truly episodic. Whether it is the monster of the week episodes of shows like Buffy or The X-Files, or the half an hour episodes of The Bill that were on every Tuesday and Thursday. The ongoing tales from Sun Hill lost something when it went to an hour long, but those early episodes will last a long time in my memory.

Until next time, thanks for reading. Stay gold Ponyboy, stay gold, and catch ya later on down the trail.

10 Of The Best British Cop Shows The British public loves a good police show. Here are some of the best!

#best tv shows #British cops #british police shows #British tv #police #police shows

[recentanimenews]

Staff Picks: Our Favorite Anime of 2016

After a bit of a delay, we're back with our third and final set of Staff Picks. David, Ink, Evan, and Jared rattle off their top three new anime titles of 2016 (that means retro releases are disqualified, though there were a lot of good ones this year). Taking a look at both the breadth of genres and the artistic ambition of these series and movies, it's easy to see that 2016 was a pretty fantastic year for anime. Here's to another one.

David Estrella

Kizumonogatari Parts One and Two

To no one’s surprise, Kizumonogatari Parts One and Two are the best anime of 2016. In all likelihood, Kizumonogatari Part Three will be the best anime of 2017, having missed the cut off by about six days. “Best Anime of 2017” is looking like a title defense without any promising contenders on the horizon, save for perhaps Makoto Shinkai’s runaway monster hit your name., staggering into the US a year after its heroic Japanese theatrical run like a favorite uncle that always arrives at the end of your birthday party. Will there be an anime that’s as impactful with the violence, as seductive with the visuals, and as hypnotically scripted as Kizumonogatari? Takeshi Koike’s Redline and its infamous “seven hand-drawn years” development cycle is perhaps the closest analogue to the experience of having to wait this long for a project that many assumed just wasn’t happening anymore. Well, Kizumonogatari did happen, I flew out to Japan to see it, to live and breathe it on opening day, and just that one hour runtime for the first part alone blew the doors out the theater. Everything after Kizumonogatari is an exercise in disappointment, an eternal trial for my commitment to the medium in this monochromatic post-Kizumonogatari world.

Ink

Picking three titles for AOTY (Anime of the Year) is nerve-racking when you consider the sheer number of series that debut (let alone continue) per season. For every title that deserves recognition for its animation, there’s another that’s got a great story, another that has great art, and another that’s of social value. And while it feels like any Sayo Yamamoto work should be included on principle alone, sometimes there’s just too few accommodating slots.

#3 Mob Psycho 100

I like stories that surprise, stories that upend or skew expected methods of execution or outcome. Most fans of Mob Psycho 100 will immediately cite the art and animation as its main draw, and that’s because there seems to be nothing else praiseworthy in the first two episodes. The story of an inept boss taking advantage of and credit for his employee’s true talents is a little too real to be funny and too overused to be engrossing, and the associated humor is as stale as the aforementioned concept. But what this series does to avoid that trench is turn the narrative away from that situation to focus on the main character’s inner turmoil, turn away again to focus on his relationship with his brother, and link everything together by heading down another avenue. The world expands organically and without contrivance. It’s a grand bit of storytelling, told with an unexpected tenderness spiced with laughter, under an umbrella of raw and powerful art and animation that’s portrayed some of the best action scenes this year.

#2 Keijo!!!!!!!!

It’s just about to wrap up for the season as I write this, so I’m probably a little biased, but this is the best damned anime comedy of 2016. Every single episode literally made me laugh out loud multiple times, and as a man who values the healing power of laughter, and given the ever-sinking shithole that is 2016, I can honestly say that this is a healing anime. On more than one occasion, I’ve elicited the concern of neighbors and housemate alike for my post-guffaw, out-of-breath wheezing/gasping. That’s because the show approaches a fictitious sport with earnest exuberance for the elaborate exaggerations within. That is to say Keijo!!!!!!!! takes itself seriously and reaps the benefit of humor through contrast. The show also manages to all but bench fanservice while being all about T&A, which is a rather incredible feat. That’s not to say this show is particularly empowering, but it knows how to make fun of and thereby negate its own offensiveness while being wildly entertaining with its absurdity. What I thought would surely be the worst of the season turned out to be one of the most enjoyable of the year.

#1: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju

Brilliant in its staging and how that relates to story, characters, and concept, this Showa-era anime centers around two comedic storytelling practitioners who grow up like brothers and fight like them too. This show wows with the subtlety of its own storytelling and the storytelling capabilities of its VAs as rakugo performers. The level of detail in the character and background art, the dedication of trained camera focus, and degree of imaginative storyboarding of this period piece are also commendable. Set outside of traditional classrooms and featuring a large range of ages, this is also a great anime with which to introduce anime to people who don’t normally watch anime. It’s drama, pure and simple, told in an engrossing and visually appealing manner. I’ve heard of rakugo before via an anime comedy but didn’t realize that focusing on that art form and (the fictional lives of) its performers could be this interesting! For an in-depth discussion, listen to Episode 001 of the Oldtaku no Radio podcast. The second season airs in the winter 2017 season, so catch up quick!

Best Anime Short:

#3 Ojisan and Marshmallow

#2 Yamishibai S3

#1 To Be Hero

Best Anime We Never Got:

Konnichiwa Onara Gorou

Biggest Disappointment:

Flip Flappers

Evan Minto

#3: Erased

Originally considered by many as a shoe-in for Anime of the Year, Erased stumbling a bit at the finish line was enough to condemn it as a failure in the eyes of some fans. The series builds up a tense, time-traveling murder mystery in its first 11 episodes that the finale doesn't quite deliver on, but the journey is so immaculately executed that it's hard to dock it too many points. There's so much to love in Erased that it's hard to sum it all up: evocative cinematography, authentic depictions of grade-school friendships, nail-biting cliffhangers.... But what really stands out is the unexpected ability of director Tomohiko Ito (Sword Art Online) and A-1 Pictures to replicate the escalating tension and complex relationships of American "prestige" TV series like Breaking Bad and Mr. Robot. By the end, Erased may not weave quite as intricate a web as it seemingly sets out to, but along the way, it reminds us that TV anime is still capable of breaking into the sort of mature adult storytelling that has often been the exclusive purview of live-action TV.

#2: Mob Psycho 100

Last year webcomic artist One burst onto the anime scene with the smash-hit animated version of One-Punch Man, but the anime was based on artist Yusuke Murata (Eyeshield 21)’s Shonen Jump version of the series (adapted from One’s original webcomic). The real test for One was his second anime adaptation, this time without the filter of Murata's art. Appropriately, Mob Psycho 100 leaves behind One-Punch Man's grandiose action tendencies in favor of surprisingly heartfelt teenage soul-seeking, all while One maintains his off-kilter sense of humor and penchant for the grotesque. On top of that, Studio BONES delivers what might be some of their best work yet, as their animators attempt to one-up their coworker, Shingo Natsume, who directed the animator showcase that is One-Punch Man. The psychic powers in Mob create a kaleidoscopic world in which reality bends and distorts at the whim of its characters, who are themselves animated with wildly exaggerated expressions despite One's remarkably simplistic designs. If One-Punch Man introduced One's shockingly unique style to an anime world plagued by sameness, Mob Psycho 100 has cemented his place among this decade's most essential new creators.

#1: Space Patrol Luluco

In a shocking twist, a series featuring Inferno Cop made my Anime Staff Picks list! Space Patrol Luluco is a shameless work of self-congratulation, combining characters and settings from Studio Trigger's entire catalog into a mashup which clearly draws inspiration, at least in part, from the Marvel comics that director Hiroyuki Imaishi & co. love so much. That this feat has so rarely been attempted in anime should come as no surprise to anyone who's been keeping up with Trigger; they've consistently pushed the envelope in anime, whether its lo-fi comedy like Inferno Cop or Disney-esque family-friendly animation like Little Witch Academia. Not only does Luluco feature Imaishi's trademark breakneck dialogue and manic animation, but it builds nicely into something with real heart to it — not unlike Kill la Kill (though KLK screenwriter Kazuki Nakashima sat this project out).  Peppering the core story, itself full of nonsense about space shoplifting and black holes, are cameos and references from every Trigger project so far, including Kill la Kill and Little Witch Academia and even Ninja Slayer and Kiznaiver. But it's the unrelenting energy and clear creative passion that makes Luluco shine so brightly in a sea of phoned-in anime cash grabs. Long live Studio Trigger! 

Jared Nelson

#3: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable

David Production hasn't gotten anywhere near the credit they deserve for their work on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable. I never thought I'd be living in a time where people could grow accustomed to having anime adaptations of Hirohiko Araki’s legendary manga. In my opinion, Part 4 stands as the best JoJo anime yet made. While Part 3 had an epic, globetrotting scale and told of an ancient evil and the battle to end a family curse. With Part 4, Araki went in the opposite direction, exploring the lives of the residents in the town of Morioh. A lesser creator may have failed to exceed the iconic Part 3, but Araki not only delivered, he surpassed himself. Part 4's stories and characters show Araki at his most creative yet. The Stand users in this series have extraordinarily imaginative powers that lead to sometimes zany, sometimes dramatic stories that leaving you guessing what could happen next. The craziness rose to a whole new level and capturing Araki's genius was a monumental task, but the animation staff at David Production did a marvelous job of bringing the crazy, noisy, bizarre town of Morioh to life. It’s one thing to create a work of genius, it's entirely another to adapt the work of a genius and heighten its impact even further. Diamond is Unbreakable deserves a spot as one of the best anime of 2016.

#2: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Ink and I covered this show extensively in our (extremely long) debut episode of Oldtaku no Radio because it blew us both away for a whole host of reasons. From its debut episode, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu stood apart as a mature, artful tale worthy of celebration. In a time where nearly all anime seem to revolve around adolescent concerns it was so refreshing to see a (period!) drama aimed at adults and featuring adult characters. It introduced the Japanese art of Rakugo to a broader audience and its depiction of Rakugo storytelling could itself be a masterclass in storytelling. Not only did the Rakugo performances leave me spellbound in and of themselves, they also advanced the larger plot of the show and the character arcs of the performers all at the same time. I’ve never seen layered storytelling so skillfully interwoven throughout an anime. Rakugo also depicted nuanced, complex relationships between its principal characters, particularly Shin (Sukeroku) and Bon (Kikuhiko/Yakumo the 8th). Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu stands out as a compelling story of passion, drama, and tragedy. After seeing it, I was convinced it would be my Anime of the Year, and I can’t wait to see its second season. It looked like 2016 would pass without any other show even coming close to matching it…then Sayo Yamamoto said “hold my beer and watch this.” Well, probably not. But that’s sorta what happened.

#1: Yuri!!! on Ice

Yuri!!! on Ice took anime by storm this Fall and it’s my pick as Anime of the Year 2016. This show has all the hallmarks of a strong show: memorable characters, a great score, and excellent storytelling. How it uses all those qualities sets it above all the rest. Yuri’s personal growth over the course of the series results in a very satisfying character arc. You can’t help but cheer Yuri on as he breaks through the barriers of his own self-doubt to reach greater heights as a competitor, artist, and person. As the series progresses we learn more about each skater’s motivations while advancing the overall plot at that same time. It turns out figure skating is a perfect vehicle for this kind of layered storytelling!

Like Diamond is Unbreakable, Yuri on Ice has memorable characters. Like Showa Rakugo, Yuri on Ice portrays nuanced dramatic relationships between its three leading characters. But unlike the other two, Yuri on Ice combines all of these qualities into one show, a show that isn’t based on prior work, but an original work from Sayo Yamamoto and Mitsurou Kubo. But above all those reasons, this show is an important show because it prominently and proudly features a healthy, open homosexual relationship. Yuri and Victor’s relationship isn’t played up for laughs or just suggested, their relationship is the heart of the show. So many times in the past, we’ve seen LGBTQ characters in anime exist simply as a punchline or as degenerates. With Yuri on Ice, we finally have a mainstream hit that treats gay men with the respect they deserve. Yuri on Ice is the best show of 2016 for a host of reasons and I won’t be the first to say so. I’m just happy that I get to say it at all. It’s definitely a show born to make history.

That's it for our Staff Picks. What are some of your favorite anime of 2016?

Check out our picks for manga and video games too!

Staff Picks: Our Favorite Anime of 2016 originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on January 25, 2017 at 7:48 PM.

By: David Estrella

#Anime #News #Ani-Gamers