#the speed at which I'm losing it is pretty incredible lol

[kafus]

file too big for tumblr so you get a youtube video but HIII I DID IT!! I BEAT THORTON!!! I GOT THE GOLD PRINT BABEY I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS TO HAPPEN TONIGHT!! months of on and off grinding and then 3 days straight of doing this nearly all my waking hours and losing so many streaks and I DID IT!!! this is one of the hardest things you can do in gen 4 ever i think i'm losing my mind. pthgss battle factory does NOT fuck around

some commentary below the cut if you're interested in my thoughts/strategy while doing this

when i saw whiscash i swapped into scizor because i thought it was safe and i wanted to preserve weavile's strength, speed, and fake out for later... and i did my calcs wrong. i've been hunched over calculators and spreadsheets for hours to have the best odds of winning this streak and somehow i was calculating doubles damage instead of singles so EQ was stronger than i expected. embarrassingly i didn't notice this until someone pointed it out to me after the fact LOL. i don't even know how i didn't catch it, of course EQ does more damage, it's STAB!! so that was actually a pretty damn dangerous switch! but he missed stone edge i am BLESSED stone edge more like stone MISS AHAHAHAFSDKFSDAL

anyway after whiscash was down i let entei take out my scizor because scizor is slow and was already on low HP, if i tried to preserve it it would probably just get outsped and die to a legendary or something later. and entei had two dangerous sets in particular it could possibly be so i really needed to scout its fire move. tbh when i saw entei my heart sank, i knew my team was really weak to fire and that it could be a problem but i just never found any good pokemon to swap while climbing round 7. i just hoped that garchomp resisting and having earthquake would suffice... but the entei had a shuca berry (halves a super effective ground hit) so outrage actually did more damage. if entei crit me at any point it would have been over but otherwise it would have been impossible to take out garchomp in two hits thankfully. and i had a persim berry if outrage ended in two turns and confused me. but didn't end up mattering!

my heart SANK when the focus band proc'd on latios (a 10% chance) but then i was like YES!! THIS IS WHAT WEAVILE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR!! THERE'S NO WAY IT PROCS TWO MORE TIMES IN A ROW RIGHT?! because weavile using fake out would give me a chance, and then if focus band proc'd again, the flinch from fake out would let me get a second turn and weavile outspeeds that latios SO it was pretty safe unless i got insanely unlucky. AND IT WORKED OUT!!!!

i dunno if i deserved this win because my round 6 (the round before this one) was INCREDIBLY lucky, like, i got the round 7 staraptor in my draft and it had choice band brave bird and just decimated EVERYTHING except a couple bronzongs which i had a strong vaporeon for, so... it was basically a freebie and then round 7 had some close calls but also i got garchomp from trading with the literal first trainer (who i almost lost to but shhh) and then all the stuff with scizor/whiscash... BUT. it's been long enough i'm TAKING IT

anyways POGGERS

i'm probs gonna upload this battle video to the dns exploit server later but i gotta wait for my parents to go to bed so i'm not interrupting them using wifi by turning on the gen 4 compatible guest wifi lol

(btw if you want to do factory yourself please look up smogon's resources on it and use calcs and stuff i promise without it it will be a living nightmare 10x more than it already is)

#hgss #pokemon #pokemon hgss #battle factory #kiki was here #kiki.txt #kiki plays games #Youtube

[kitkatopinions]

General opinion on mercury?

Merc! That's my sister's blorbo, so I love him. XD

Mercury is one of the few rwby characters who hasn't been severely impacted by bad writing, but that's largely because of how underutilized and ignored he's been.

He's a good character, his motivations are interesting to me simply because he doesn't really seem to have any, but in a way that actually makes sense. His motivations are that he just goes along with whatever is happening, he was raised into a certain life and never thought to doubt it because that's just how things were, and when he finally did snap and kill his father, he decided meeting Cinder and Cinder bringing him into her plans was fate and just went along with it, and just didn't ever really question his place in it even though he knew Cinder was manipulating him and didn't care about him. Even when confronted with the fact that Salem's plans might not be what she presented them as, he barely seemed to care because unlike Emerald he was never actually in this to make a new world. He's like an evil Sonic the Hedgehog, like "It doesn't matter now what happens, I will never give up the fight! Long as the voice inside drives me to run and fight, it doesn't matter who is wrong and who is right" it fits him, just in the evil way.

Also, before everyone got nerfed by bad fight choreography, Mercury was one of the top notch fighters in the show and I won't be taking criticism on that point. Kid dodged lightning

Kid kicked Ruby out of her super speed

And the other fights we see from him in the early seasons, he's barely even trying, with the exception of Merc V Yang which seems to be the most effort he puts into his fighting that we ever see and we know he still throws the competition.

I'm convinced that if they hadn't downgraded their combat to such a terrible degree, then we would've seen Mercury in even better fights. One of the few characters that I think could probably hold their own against Neo in her prime who ran circles around Yang.

But enough about the combat, because what's really great about Mercury is the potential! Because of his motivations, you can pretty much assign him any story or morality in a re-write that you want without changing his character too much. If Mercury got picked up by Qrow and taken to Ozpin after killing his father instead of getting picked up by Cinder and taken into Salem's circle, he'd have a completely different story and a whole new outlook. If Mercury had been picked up by Sienna Kahn and befriended Adam rather than being picked up by Cinder and befriending Emerald than he'd have a completely different story and a whole new outlook. If Cinder had put Mercury and Emerald on a team with Sun and Neptune instead of being on the team herself with a disguised Neo, he could probably befriend them and have a completely different story and a whole new outlook. If Mercury wound up getting dragged into running away from Salem with Emerald and instead started working with a 'survived the Fall of Beacon Roman Torchwick' who made them join the good side in an effort to beat Salem (which is what I went with for most of my fics lol) he'd have a completely different story and a whole new outlook. Also his potential dynamics outside of Emerald and Cinder are also incredibly interesting (just to be clear, his dynamics with Emerald and Cinder are also interesting but since those are the only dynamics that get any care in the show, I'm skipping over them,) especially if you start having him get a redemption arc. Because the thing about a good redemption arc is that the past doesn't just go away, it still impacts people. Mercury trying to be friends with Ruby, but knowing that the hand he played in Penny's death is always right there in her head is such a good concept. Mercury maybe having something romantic with Yang, but knowing that not only did he cheat and make her think she was losing her mind in the Vytal Tournament, but also helped cause the events that led to so much pain for her is such a good idea. Mercury befriending Nora, but always being aware of 'Pyrrha' hanging over their heads is such a good idea!

Mercury is a character that you can do so much with! The number one problem with Mercury's character is that it's been stagnating and given next to nothing for years. The last time something really interesting happened with his character was in volume six, and that was just one scene, and now volume eight set up 'he might be used more interestingly in the future,' but outside of that, he really hasn't been treated as relevant or important or been given much as a character since volume 3. This has kept him from being affected by the bad writing curse that's made almost every single character who wasn't dead by V3 an idiot, a jerk, or just plain boring, but it's also made him pretty... dry? I don't know the right word, it just feels like I often forget he exists when I'm actually watching the show these days, until he's actually on screen which is rarely. That's a bad thing. Boy literally just showed up in volume eight to remind the audience that he existed before he noped out of the season without doing anything. I wish he was better used, but a part of me hopes Mercury stays away so he stays a generally pretty good character, even if he has to remain a villain to achieve it.

Anyway, thanks for this ask!

#rwde

[ballet-symphonie]

Elya Sevenard fouettés: what could be the reason girl falls from them? I don’t get it, she is technically gifted, stable and has quite muscular legs compared to a lot of her colleagues, I just can’t understand why she can’t complete them

Her fouette technique is solid and she's honestly one of the best turners to come out of VBA. However, my teacher would call her a 'greedy' turner. She's ambitious and always wants to do more and more and more and sometimes it doesn't turn out.

In some ways, it's cool because it leads to new and exciting combinations, especially when she makes intelligent execution decisions. For example, at the end of Bolshoi's Coppelia, the ballerina does a series of fouette moving along the diagonal. Intentionally traveling and trying to cover the massive BT stage is challenging. Most just do singles, Sevenard upped the ante by doing 1+1+1+2, and smartly chose to stay in place for the double fouette and then travel on the singles. She's a very snappy turner, and she fits the turns in the music beautifully here.

However, she often has trouble because she goes for too much, ends up off the music and loses her rhythm and timing which causes her to lose her balance. Each fouette is supposed to correspond to one count of music. A standard coda in ballet is 32 counts, hence 32 fouettes: dancers rely on that rhythm to keep the turns going. When you start to add doubles or other variations, it's harder to keep the rhythm and stay on time. A double pirouette obviously takes more time to complete than a single one. That being said, 1+1+2 (4 turns total) is MUCH easier than 1+1+1+2 (5 turns total) because you're ideally supposed to time each count to each fouette (not each pirouette). With 1+1+1+2, you have to squeeze in the double pirouette in a single count in order to stay on the music. 1+2+1+2 is even more challenging because you're supposed to do 6 turns in 4 counts.

Fitting in extra turns means you have to turn faster, you need to take more energy, which also requires more control. Sometimes, that extra force can throw a dancer off. That's also why the 1+1+2 is easier, you have more time to complete the double pirouette and you can kinda relax and float it around. Marianela Nunez does a great job of showing that suspended quality for the sustained double (or in her case triple)

Dancers get tired and the supporting leg gets worn out from all those single leg releve. The more tired you are, the harder it is to keep exerting force to do the extra turns. When Sevenard is tired, she sometimes takes TOO much force because she's just trying to gut it out. In these moments, you rely on the music to keep your tempo, and your balance but if your combination is so difficult to keep in time with the music...you're in a bit of trouble. Some teachers will encourage dancers (especially those who struggle with the step) to just do fouettes 'through' the music, focusing on their body's internal rhythm and natural speed without heeding the music. It works. It's not nearly as captivating.

Now Sevenard also succumbs to insanity and has tried to do 32 counts of straight double fouette, incredibly difficult. I think this is the cleanest I've seen her do it, other times it becomes a hot mess. To her credit, she does 16 fouettes, each double taking two counts, this is still pretty musical. But she's still got me holding on to the edge of my chair, it makes me nervous. Now, I would bet that she could probably do straight doubles right after a good warm-up class. But I'm much less confident in her completing the set cleanly at the end of Don Quixote when her legs are shot because she's been dancing for over 2 hours.

Honestly, I find dancers like Maria Alexandrova who often just do 32 perfectly in music singles to be very impressive. It's an approach I'd love to see Sevanrd try sometime.

(Not me writing a ton again....does this count as a technique talk lol)

#technique talk #technique #fouette #eleonora sevenard #ballerina #ballet #russian ballet

[matfinishfuckstheworld]

sure I'll answer a hypno fetish meme here why not lol

we'll try to flavour it with f/o stuff though :)

original

If you had to choose...

Slow or quick induction?

slow seduction.

Text or voice hypnosis?

Relaxation or confusion?

please make me hang off of your every fucking word.

Dumbification or mindlessness?

I dislike most intelligence play because I have an incredibly unhealthy relationship to the most restrictive and ableist mainstream concept of intelligence.

being mindless though... Aaaaaa ❤️

A bratty sub or an eager sub?

I am so, so bad at being a brat and so desperate to be brainwashed to the point all of my f/os will comment on it.

Fractionation or fingersnaps?

snapping is so hot because im so conditioned to it now

Hypnotic bondage or memory play?

It's unique to what we do, mostly - a relatively low risk way to induce amnesia. and that's pretty special!

Magical enchantment or brain hacking technology?

What can I say except sci-fi has always been more my speed. also most of my f/os are closer to the latter

Hypnotic eyes or hypnotic voice?

eyes can tip SO EASILY into goofy and I'm very picky about them. No such issue with voice though.

Vampire or succubus/incubus?

A difficult decision. to vampires you give your mind for your body, but for sex demons you give your body for your mind (and soul). It's just a better package deal because you are both committed to the same thing which is losing your mind.

Touching instructions or hands free pleasure?

I'm a hedonist what can I say. Also I have discovered how wonderful it is to fuck yourself but have only a faint idea that it's happening. You can only have that contrast if you're actually doing it.

Staircase or elevator induction?

You can't feel the floors dropping outside the elevator. Also with stairs there is an inevitability and a compulsion that YOU are following whereas in the lift you just sit back and relax

Conversational or overload induction?

I find conversational off-putting a lot of the time. it makes me feel too much like a human.

Gentle or demanding tone of voice?

I want total authority.

Drooling or eyes fluttering?

I have to give credit to the phenomenon I experience the most often which is the REM flickering. Hate how hard it is to show that in a static drawing though!!!

Spirals or pendulums?

in terms of effectiveness for me, yes, but maybe I just need to spend more time with the latter.

Frozen in place or loose and limp?

A tremendously difficult decision. I like both about equally, but I enjoy the proximity to sleep.

Moans or mantras?

Brainwashing > fucking

Giggly and silly or blank and empty?

we are AAAALL ABOUT the objecthood and dollspace here. we don't have a string in our backs to pull for a silly voice line. we're just a hollow shell.

Being controlled or being in control?

let's just say that the only time I should ever be in control is when I am telling my owner with ostensibly full consciousness how better to get their claws in my brain.

[whumpsical]

Hhh

#the anxiety and misophonia is hitting HARD and I'm about to be going to the grocery store #the speed at which I'm losing it is pretty incredible lol #I've only missed a dose of T once or twice before #and yeah this little downslide is pretty on schedule-- abt 5 days after the missed shot #but I've never missed two doses in a row and i am not excited to find out what that's like #I'm an athiest but pray for me y'all #literally i was FINE yesterday and now suddenly i am not #i do not want to see how bad this gets ahah #sorry for dumping my stuff here but idk this blog seems like the friendliest place to do it #OOOH someone should make a transmasculine character and inflict this on them ahshsgdgd #captors probably aren't gonna keep up their prescription huh #hey i should do this to King #he's been on T a lot longer than i have 😈😈😈

[yourultraarchive]

Oh, no no it's not an issue at all! I don't mind it's alright! Focus and take care of yourself first and foremost! :>

And yes! I'll be doing her template once I actually find the time to draw her in her outfit and also for the mini scenes! Also I've actually ended up changing her name to Yaren instead since I was told by some people that Yuren sounded like another english word for something else (unfortunate :'D), I don't think that should change the kanji all that much but ahh I'm unsure.

Anyway sorry for the very long blabber, I did want to say what Yaren's quirk is! Her hero name is a WIP between Waterdog, Waterpuppy, Lottie or something else entirely.

Her quirk is called Axolotl, which gives her the humanoid appearance of an axolotl and is able to do anything an axolotl can do. Having gills to breathe underwater, but also lungs to live on land, a tail to swim really fast and also incredibly fast regeneration! She's usually better suited to fight underwater. She can heal almost any part of her body, minor cuts, severed limbs and even internal organs and brain! The latter however take days to weeks to heal, everything else can take seconds or minutes depending how much blood she's willing to lose to heal quicker.

Drawbacks however include her skin being irritable and sore if she's not in water long enough so she carries a water spray to help deal with it if it starts getting sore, she's very sensitive to toxins and pollution and if she overdoes her regeneration she'll get permanent scars on those areas and will be harder to heal properly next time. Plus if she overdoes it in any part of her body, she can lose too much blood and become paralyzed or pass out from blood loss.

Extra tid bits include how her skin is naturally a light pink but if she's in water long enough it turns darker and black like a wild axolotl which helps with camouflage and much much later probably in second year or third, she finds out her saliva or blood has regenerative abilities on others if they consume it or if it's placed on a wound!

I am so so sorry that was incredibly long, her quirk is pretty detailed as I've thought and researched about it a lot! I do have issue with trying to find a way to make her able to battle, and the only idea I got is that when she gets injured she can force her body to react to it to have an adrenaline rush which makes her strong enough for a while. That and also in water, due to her high speed and better suited environment she's able to sneakily attack enemies with quick powerful punches or kicks added to her quick swim speed! Thank you for reading and I am so sorry it's so long, please please don't rush yourself replying to this! As I said take care of yourself and thank you for your help! :D

Hi!

Sorry for the late reply again! (Life is busy.)

Yeah I didn't realize the english word thing either. But like I said in my original post, there are other readings to use, or the option of rearranging the name. ("ya", like has been mentioned before, is not a reading for that kanji, so it'd be a kirakira reading if anything. Unlike in English, changing one letter of a name to make it more unique doesn't work the same way in Japanese since it changes the meaning entirely in normal cases.) One of my previous suggestions in the first post were "Yujin/Yuzin" because the kanji for "ren" could be read that way in Japanese (as previously mentioned, "ren" is not a Japanese reading, but a Chinese one), but if you're set on using "ren" you could always rearrange it to "Renyu", or use the other readings for the "yu" kanji and make "Renie" or "Reniya" or something. Or you could still change "ren" and get "Jinie" or "Jiniya" or "Jinyu", among other things.

As for the quirk, it's already really well-thought-out and thorough! I don't know if you actually need to expand on it because that's already a lot of skills (I like the bit about the camouflage, and the later-in-school-years leaning how to heal others). I think it's a careful balance between being realistic and being overpowered (which can lead to potential mary-sue moments if you're being wary about that, but it's your character and if you have fun with it you can do whatever you want--besides, in canon Izuku's got that going on himself lol). You don't really need the bit about "when she's injured she can force her blood to give her an adrenaline rush and make her super strong", that feels like too much tbh.

I think the thing about trying to give her quirk so many applications is that you're trying to wield her powers over too many fields. You want her to be a battler but also good at sneaking/surprise attack tactics but also good at rescue (which is what I thought her powers would fit! Being good at being underwater and also healing? Rescuing people seems perfect for her!) but there IS such as thing as being spread too thin. Even in-universe or in-story or wherever you're planning to use her, if you have her try to do EVERYTHING, realistically she's going to burn out. It's good to have ambition, but even most characters in MHA don't have that many focuses.

I forget which characters canonically have certain career goals, but I know for certain there are several characters whose quirks and personalities are geared more toward being disaster/rescue heroes (like the Wild Wild Pussycats) or support heroes (like Nighteye) than toward reaction/responsive heroes (like All Might) or stealth heroes (like Eraserhead, but I think his type of hero work is also arguable and fits under multiple umbrellas). It's like in the very first arc where there's a bunch of heroes standing around not helping Bakugou when he was caught in that slimy villain because they knew their quirks weren't suited to that situation--it's not cowardly, but it's realistic, when they know their quirks can do more harm than good in certain situations, even if they wanted to help.

I think that's what applies here, with your character. Yes, I understand wanting her to be able to adapt to any situation, but I think there's a point where you have to give her a goal and set her toward it. Does she want to be on the frontline reacting to villain attacks as they come and going out to apprehend them first-hand, or does she want to pre-emptively stop villains before they can rise by doing investigation and stealth work, or does she want to use her incredibly fit biology to help others when disaster strikes and there's no villain involved at all? Sure she can have ambition like Bakugou or Izuku who want to be the best #1 hero, but even they have their focuses (both are reactive striker types!) and while Izuku is adaptive (ie. he's strategic and well-prepared for a raid strike to surprise attack the base Nighteye found, or he rescued people stuck under buildings and whatnot during that exam and had good "bedside manner" for lack of a better term when dealing with rescuees) most of his actual quirk training has gone toward being brute force and quick response toward emergencies and villainous plots.

You can have her be strong but also give her vulnerabilities and that's okay. Like giving her the regeneration powers but also making them necessary because her skin or bone structure is weak like a real axolotl's, which would make her not very suited to brute force situations but that's fine because if she were perfect for speed and stealth and also brute force then it wouldn't give room for conflict or growth in your story. Forcing her to work around her weaknesses is one of those things that could make her stronger--make her more aware of herself or her surroundings or her limits or what she's willing to sacrifice (like Izuku in the entrance exam--can she afford to break her bones if it meant saving someone?) but it doesn't make the weaknesses go away, and working past those weaknesses isn't going to invalidate that they exist. She's not going to win every time--that would be boring wouldn't it?--and you need to give her ways to lose as well as ways she can triumph.

(A good example of this, and this is the first thing that popped into my mind even though it's not MHA, is Edward Elric from FMA. He's the main character so of course he wins a lot and he's tough and cool and seems like he's so strong. But the most prominent moments in the story are when his prosthetic arm/leg don't work, or he loses them, and he still fights but he's disabled but he's fully aware of this, and having abilities to work through the fights when he's missing an arm doesn't mean he's forgotten that he's missing an arm or that he never needed it to win. It means he found a way to work around those weaknesses and still achieve his goal.)

I kinda lost track of the original question/thought here, but to round back to it--when your character is injured, the adrenaline rush to fight longer or get to safety? That should be all her, that's character traits and determination and strength of will, not part of her quirk. She doesn't need some superpowered adrenaline rush to be part of her quirk, and you don't need to make her "able to battle" if she's not suited for it, unless that's one of her goals (while foregoing the other potentials her powers have--if she's aiming to fight villains face to face, then she's probably not focused on rescuing people or rounding around for a sneak attack, and in that kind of situation she should leave that up to real rescue/response heroes while she's playing distraction and keeping the villains' focus on her!) and if being able to battle ISN'T her main focus, then in a situation where she HAS to, you can make her struggle and that just makes her all the more real and interesting. You can make her get help from her classmates, or you can make her fight and lose and realize she's not suited for battle and switch focus (if it was her original focus) or realize she needs a plan to deal with that in the future while still staying true to her actual goal (if she wanted to focus on rescue for example, and she had to fight a front-line battle and she realizes she's not great at it, then maybe her strategy can just be to run and get a strike in here or there but the ultimate goal is to wait for help and backup to arrive in that case).

That was a lot so I hope it was useful and not too rambly but remember that these are just suggestions! I was just talking ^_^;;

#leafychaotic #asks #replies #archivist #(not directed at you but) general reminder that if you like getting my help please consider donating! thanks <3

[gone-forever-bye]

My Top Ten Manga:

To go with my top ten anime list.

10. Otaku no Musume-san

Here we have a manga that is about a girl who's always wanted to meet her father and discovers that he is a shameless otaku. Hijinks and adorable father/daughter affection ensues. There's weird character, cute characters, and a final act that is pretty messed up but this is a manga that I think is good from start to finish. It's a good read. It pulls at the heartstrings while making you laugh and it can even serve as a do/do not guide for all you otaku parents out there. XD

Favorite character: Kannau Yukimura

9. Air Gear

This beautiful and heavily detailed stylish manga is about a world where skate-like contraptions known as Air Treks are used as a way to fly, get places, and build your own gang to own the skies. The art is gorgeous, the characters all mesh into a kind of gray area although there are some typical good guy/bad guys thrown in, and the series manages to evoke true feeling from the reader with how raw it can get. I highly reccomend. Favorite Character: Ringo Noyamano

8. InuYasha

The manga that cemented my love for all things anime Inuyasha is the compelling fantasy tale of a half-demon and a young junior high girl. I can't express into words what an impact this manga made on me. The designs of the assortment of demons that are based on Japanese folklore and mythology, the tragic backstories so many of the main characters possess, the out of this world fight scenes, all the way to the incredible chemistry between Inuyasha and Kagome. It's hard to put down once you've started reading. The manga outshines the anime because it doesn't quite feel like it loses its pacing as the anime kept getting dotted with filler. It's interesting, dark in some places but never without a ray of light, and artwork that suits the story well. Favorite Character: Rin

7. Gunsmith Cats

An oldie but goodie. We've got guns, muscle cars, and hot chicks, all in above average detail. Don't waste time with the anime, the manga is where this story of bounty hunter/police officer Rally Vincent and her partner Minnie-May really shines with explosive fun. Mature and loaded with everything from kidnapping to drugs to high speed car chases I have to say that I make it a point of rereading this series often. I've yet to find another that I enjoy as much as this one for this particular genre. Favorite Character: Rally Vincent.

6. Buso Renkin

I'm a big fan of manga that doesn't force a simple storyline to be stretched over fifty volumes. Ten volumes was the perfect size for the story of Katsuki Mutou as he is accidently thrown into the world of alchemy and humunculous. This is a complete manga by the creator of Rurouni Kenshin that I think really emphasizes Watsuki's strength as a shounen manga author who can take so many shounen tropes and make them work almost effortlessly. It didn't need to be ground breaking because it wasn't trying to be. It's an honestly good manga from start to finish with one of the most memorable anti-hero's I've ever read. Favorite Character: Papillon

5. My Little Monster

I'm not the biggest shoujo manga fan like I used to be but I will say that My Little Monster is a great way to change the formula. None of the characters acted the way I expected. They are all weird and extreme in the most interesting of ways while still capturing the uncertainty and naivete that teens suffer from. It's really difficult to dislike any of the characters. They're all so likeable although Natsume will probably make you grind your teeth because that girl is insane. A must read for any shoujo manga fan. Favorite Character: Sohei Sasahara.

4. Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden

I like shoujo manga that doesn't just focus on romance. Genbu Kaiden is the prequel to Fushigi Yugi and I have to say it's better in every way. It's a lot more balanced, mixing the romance into a beautiful but sad story, unforgettable characters, action scenes that really emphasis the importance of the plot, while all being accomplished with the ridiculously gorgeous Yu Watase art style. Another must read for any shoujo fan. Favorite Character: Takiko Okuda

3. Rurouni Kenshin

There was no way this manga wasn't going to make the list. Unlike the anime this manga is outstanding from start to finish. For me this is the ultimate in sword fighting. The visuals are exactly what you want from samurai dueling and there's never a dull moment. The cast is one of the best in my opinion and I love that the narrative never bores me even when they're just explaining fighting styles or attacks. Watsuki's distinct shounen style is a favorite of mine. The evolution of Himura Kenshin is the plot and its worth every panel. Read the final arc of you can. It's amazing.. Favorite Character: Kamiya Kaoru

2. Chrono Crusade

I will make a rant about this manga later because I will fight for this series until the day I die. Do no watch the anime. Even though I bought each dvd and have watched them over twenty times at least, the anime does the manga NO justice. Eight volumes, all inspiring story telling. Chrono Crusade starts in such a way that you think it may be a lighthearted story of a gun-toting 'nun' and her demon sidekick but it quickly evolves into so much more. Rosette and Chrono are a duo the you will root for from page one as they fight demons, friends, and everything else that stands in their way to fix the damage that was done so many years ago. Another series that accomplishes a complete story in ten volumes or less which keeps the plot from being unnecessarily stretched. It evokes so much feeling, making you relate to the characters in such a way while still powering through the story because this is a tale about time. By the end you'll find yourself a little less able to take your time for granted as you cry for these characters that have an ending that you can take as either good or bad. I always put this one at the top of my must read list and it holds a very special place in my otaku heart. I'm disappointed that such an intense manga did not get a proper anime adaption though I do understand why. Favorite Character: Chrono

1. Detective Conan

Anyone who knows me should have expected this. Lol. Detective Conan for me is the ultimate manga. The award winning mystery series is an ongoing manga that never fails to impress. It's familiar while evolving with us so it has a loyal fanbase made up of twenty year veteran fans to new ones every day and the number just keeps growing. High school detective Kudo Shinichi is the pride of Tokyo Japan before he stumbles across a mysterious transaction involving a pair of men clothed in black. He's discovered and force fed a drug that instead of killing him, reverts his body to that of a seven year old. He retains his adult mind and begins hiding his identity while going by the name Edogawa Conan and solving mysteries through his childhood friend's father's detective agency. The story takes off from there. The series is vast, featuring over 1000 chapters, over 20 movies, over 50 seasons, dozens of OVA's and specials including live action, and being featured in multiple ways throughout Japan. It even has its own museum in Gosho Aoyama's hometown. While not for everyone, especially those thrown off by the sheer amount of content, Detective Conan is a series that is loved by all ages all over the world and has been here since the early 90's for a reason. It has become my reason for living and it will never leave my #1 spot. Favorite Character: Kudo Shinichi (for life!)

As I have said before I gauge a series on its ability to draw me in, keep me attached, and talent for making me come back.

#detective conan #meitantei conan #case closed #chrono crusade #rurouni kenshin #fushigi yugi genbu kaiden #my little monster #buso renkin #gunsmith cats #inuyasha #air gear #otaku no musume-san #my dad is an otaku