To LOVE-Ru Darkness Volume One – 20 Question Manga Review

What’s the manga? To LOVE-Ru Darkness, Volume One.

Uh-huh, and what’s that mean? Stop asking me what titles mean, sometimes things don’t need to mean anything!

It says here on Reddit that the title is a pun? Please, get off Reddit. Also fine yes it’s a pun, it’s “To-Ra-Bu-Ru” which if you’re speaking Japanese kinda sounds like “Trouble” but also sounds like “To Love You”—remember the Japanese have trouble with their L-sounds. Also they like to add extra vowels to English words to fit their alphabet.

First world problems?

‘Kay. So “love”, huh? Is it a romance manga? I mean maybe… if you’re idea of romance is a 3+ person harem involving alien girls who look exactly like normal (anime) girls and who frequently disrobe in front of the protagonist for seemingly no discernible reason.

Oh, so it’s one of those kinds of manga, yeah? I’m not sure quite what you’re insinuating but it is a fan-service heavy harem manga, yes.

It’s happened to everyone, right?!

*sigh* why are we reviewing this? What’s there to say about this that hasn’t been said a hundred times before in similar reviews of this kind of content? Not exactly reinventing the wheel here! Did I mention this manga is actually a sequel of a series that ran 18 previous volumes and that not only have I read precisely ~zero~ of the previous manga series’ I’d also seen only TWO episodes of the anime adaptation when I read this.

That’s uh… that’s… why did you do that?! That seems just insane?! I can tell you the “why” of the matter later, the more interesting point to me is how I kept up with a plot I’d barely touched upon all these many books later.

Not the jealous type though.

I know you’re trying to bait me so fine…  GOLLY, HOW ON EARTH DID YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON? It’s literally the same as it was in those first two episodes just with added girls and a bit of backstory. There, I saved you from reading 18 volumes or 30+ episode of the anime adaptation of To LOVE-Ru.

Can you be sure though? Oh I’m sure there’s some To LOVE-Ru aficionado out there tearing his hair out at my sacrilegious statements but really I didn’t feel like I missed anything at all by skipping from the very first episodes of the original to the very first pages of this “sequel”.

Childhood friends ftw.

I suppose it could be argued that a good sequel allows a viewer (or in this case reader) to go in and still follow the story without the need for copious recaps. Yeah, maybe—if this was a 2 hour movie—but an 18 volume manga series? I can’t imagine reading all that and feeling fulfilled by the experience, especially when it seems like so little has changed since the beginning. With the exception of the forging of some relationships of course.

So we’ve just badmouthed the previous series for half the blog without so much as discussing the content itself! What’s it about? Rito is a very ordinary high-school boy who suddenly finds himself as the top candidate to be the King of planet Deviluke (and by extension King of the universe) and with his newly bequeathed position comes a beautiful fiance by the name of Lala, not to mention a bunch of other girls who are keen to win his affections.

She can reform me anytime…

Of course it does. So what actually happens in Volume 1 of this sequel series, can we have a fair and balanced review perhaps? Well this volume starts by vaguely recounting the events of the previous chapter, namely that Rito confessed his feelings to his long-time childhood crush Haruna, only to immediately backpedal because he’s an idiot and this series has to keep going.

What happened to ‘fair and balanced’? I never agreed to that. But fine. So basically there’s three main girls in Rito’s life, the aforementioned childhood crush Haruna, his alien fiance Lala and Lala’s little sister Momo. Rito—being a typical male and hormonal teenager can’t decide if he wants to be with Haurna or Lala. But here’s where things get ~interesting~, Momo’s fallen for Rito and fallen hard. So knowing full well she’s third pick at best at being his best girl she decides rather than directly compete with these girls for his sole attention to build a harem around him in the hopes she’ll get just a little bit of Rito’s affection.

Sounds like a plan?

That’s… that’s awful! I mean, yeah… if you’re approaching this with the idea that any of this is even supposed to be taken vaguely seriously. But it’s not, it’s a sitcom plot, albeit a sitcom with the nudity cranked up to HBO standards.

I shudder to ask you to elaborate but do elaborate, please. It’s impeccably drawn soft core pornography, so much so that it got the attention of the Japanese government for being too explicit. Though they ultimately decided, while revealing didn’t ~actually~ break any laws…

Priorities, amirite?

Right… so this is basically just a girl trying to tempt a guy into having more women in his life so she gets to be a small part of his love life? Well when you put it like that it sounds bad. But it’s really not.

You keep protesting but I’ve yet to see as much as a hint that this series is anything other than pandering to an absurd male fantasy. Rito may be a pretty dull protagonist but he’s still acutely aware of his actions, and he may not understand why he’s suddenly so desirable to so many attractive women but he at least knows not to take advantage of them or treat them wrong.

Smells like the ocean.

Why are you defending this guy? Why are you defending this series? I feel like all you do is bring up more and more issues with it only to brush them aside for facile reasons. If the genders were reversed and we were dealing with a kind of air-headed but well-meaning female protagonist surrounded by sexy shirtless men who dote on her unquestioningly we wouldn’t nearly be as critical of the series? Or maybe I’m just speaking now to the female portion of my readers who’ve sat rolling their eyes at my approval of this manga. I’m not going to pretend like this is some high-art or even top-notch quality entertainment, this is soft core pornography with vaguely interesting characters.

A truly ringing endorsement if ever I’ve seen one *rolls eyes* You mock but for some people this is all they need out of their manga.

An anaconda or an earth-worm?

Ugh. Okay, whatever. “Benefit of the doubt” and all that. So final score and recommendation? Reading To LOVE-Ru Darkness felt like being a high-schooler again and discovering Internet pornography for the first time. No, it’s nowhere near as explicit as all that, but what it is is teenage escapism, it’s (mostly) harmless nonsense. Yes it instills some sense of depth but really it’s just an excuse to look at attractive, willing girls in various states of undress. There’s plenty of harem-centric anime and manga that have a story to tell or characters to develop or allegory to… allegor? But this series seems content to tell a superficial story but tell it well. Throw in some likeable characters, humorous scenarios and sexy shenanigans and what you have is a rollicking good time for anyone willing to submit to its shallow charms.

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Fairy Tail – 100 Question Anime Review Special (Part 3 of 3)

If you’re still with us, what the heck is wrong with you?! If this is the first of these blogs you’re reading, best start with Part 1 and then Part 2 before reading this one!

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So you’ve been dying to talk about these characters, where do you want to start? Argh! There’s too many to talk about and so much to talk about them, I don’t know where to start—so overwhelming!

Well I guess let’s begin with the main characters? What are they like, who are your favourites, stuff like that! Well as discussed Natsu is… I wouldn’t say dull but he’s the least developed, not to say he doesn’t get some great moments like the flashbacks to when he was a kid playing ‘house’ with Lisanna is very sweet, though if I’m super cynical about it, it was only to help facilitate the audience’s connection to Lisanna through him and make learning about her death and then her eventual “return” more impactful.

…Okay, I’m already confused but go on. Lucy I can relate to a lot, because she’s a writer like me! She also has some daddy issues, not that I have daddy issues, that’s a seperate point I was making. I’ve always thought it was weird that Lucy has to rely on her Celestial Spirit’s to actually fight, because she otherwise kind of doesn’t do much, she’s like a Pokemon trainer in that respect.

Is that all you like about her? Well now you’re just deliberately goading out a pervy comment, you can’t chastise me if you’re the one who’s asking! She has ~nice oppai~ there, you happy?!

I’ll never be happy… Speaking of Happy, our cute little flying blue cat belongs to a race called the Exceed. And for what could have easily come off as an annoying animal sidekick in any other show, here is an invaluable part of their team and has a lot of great character development and emotional moments!

So there’s other Exceed? Well they don’t come in ’til later in the series but every Dragon Slayer Wizard, of whom there are Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel (there’s others belonging to different guilds too—we’ll get to them if we have time) each have an Exceed. Carla is Wendy’s and she’s annoying, though that’s mostly because I don’t care for the voice actress (I watch Fairy Tail in English, get over it!) Gajeel eventually gets Panther Lily and he’s pretty cool, he can also transform into a humanoid version which comes in handy for fighting.

And who are Wendy and Gajeel? Wendy Marvell is my fifth favourite character! She’s uses Sky Dragon Slayer magic and she grows a lot from when we first meet her as a shy and clumsy girl to the powerful and determined girl she becomes, even though I think she’s under-utilised in actual stories. Gajeel Redfox is a former member of dark guild Phantom Lord and uses Iron Dragon Slayer magic also he’s a total tsundere.

Uh-huh. Should we maybe get back to the main characters? Well these are main adjacent characters but sure! Erza is total badass and my third favourite character! I just admire her strength and resolve so much, she’s an absolute inspiration—she’s also probably the strongest member of Fairy Tail, just don’t go telling Natsu!

And the other one, Gray was it? Yup. Gray uses Ice Make magic, and likes to take his shirt off. He’s also kind of a grumpy asshole, but I guess girls like the badboy type… Speaking of which; Juvia Lockser has a total lady boner for Gray but he’s just not that into her, shame because she’s kind of adorable in an obsessive and slightly terrifying way!

What’s this about “favourite characters”? You have a list? Kind of, just the Top 5 plus an honourable mention.

Well okay, let’s hear about them? Well you already know about 5 and 3. Number 4 is Mirajane Strauss, a quietly spoken, delicate waifu who transforms into a literal demon. Like she’s so powerful that early episodes has her working behind the bar rather than fighting bad guys she’s that over-powered. I mean sure there’s “story” reasons behind it but that’s totally the reason… She also has a brother and a sister in the guild.

Another diversion from what we were doing but sure why not, tell me about them? Elfman Strauss, big muscular dude with a kind heart, obsessed with being manly. To the point of concern. When he’s in his beast mode he can kind of be unruly, at one point he actually attacked and “killed” his other sister Lisanna, only of course she didn’t actually die, she was just sent to a parallel world(?) and so returns back to her siblings and the guild afterward. Lisanna’s okay I guess, kind of boring, very cute though!

Right, back on topic your 2nd favourite character? Cana Alberona! Always drunk, frequently belligerent, also daddy issues for miles. Her father is the frequently absent but undeniably charming Gildarts Clive, a super powerful S-class Wizard who saunters in when it’s convenient to the plot.

Don’t get to distracted we’re almost at your number 1 favourite character! But first an honourable mention!

Wait, what? “honourable mention”? Yeah, a character I really like but doesn’t have enough screen-time or is kind of inconsequential.

Okay, sure, who is this honourable mention of yours? Frosch! So cute! I want one! Ahh~ I love it so much! Look at it’s pink little frog onesie! The episode all about Frosch is like pure joy and wholesomeness and warmth and—

—That’s enough! Who is your number 1 favourite character in Fairy Tail? Listen, I’m not usually into cat-girls—not that there’s anything wrong with that—but I just adore Millianna, sure maybe I’m not making this decision with my brain but whenever she’s on screen I literally can’t look anywhere else. I mean she’s not even in Fairy Tail! She belongs to an all female guild called Mermaid Heel and I just realised we totally need a Mermaid Heel spin-off series!

…You really are a lost cause. So anybody important you’ve missed out? Yes in fact! Makarov Dreyar is a very small, very old man who’s young at heart and filled with energy and enthusiasm, he also happens to be the Guild Master of Fairy Tail. He was a bit of a perv in the earlier episodes but thankfully those character traits seemed to die down a bit by the end.

…You’re one to talk… What?

Nothing, nothing. He also has a grandson, Laxus Dreyar who is a user of Lightning magic, and uh… he kind of wants to destroy Fairy Tail. Or at least he does until he doesn’t, I can’t remember what stops him from doing so, but there’s a really touching moment between grandfather and son that makes me unable to dislike his character, even if he is a headstrong, arrogant douche a lot of the time.

Right, jeez, there are a lot of characters… Oh you think this is a lot? Haha~ we haven’t even listed half the Fairy Tail members, son! Not to mention all the characters in other guilds and all the villain characters and friends and family of other characters, it would take more than a 100 Questions to talk about them all!

Please don’t. Don’t worry, I’m not going to talk about them all, just a few others I like.

Okay fine, go on. Levy McGarden who is among the most beautiful of the exceptionally beautiful women in this show. The only reason she didn’t get in my Top 5 is because Gajeel, namely her falling for him, it kinda makes her character less interesting. I think her characterisation suffers for having her act like a less crazy Juvia.

Anybody else? Laxus’ cronies, Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow. They’re fun, if a bit two dimensional, Freed is the best of the three though.

Anybody else? Macao Conbolt and Wakaba Mine, the two bickering ‘dad’s’ of Fairy Tail, I enjoy their interactions with each other.

ANYBODY ELSE? Sting and Rogue from rival guild Sabertooth are pretty cool, they also use Dragon Slayer Magic as well as Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic, I like their rivalry with the Dragon Slayer’s of Fairy Tail and of course their eventual forming of a mutual friendship.

*gasps* anybody… else… Hmm, I’m happy to stop here. At least with the character talk, I feel like I should be wrapping things up soon anyway.

Thank god, I thought this would never end. You’re such a douche sometimes…

I did notice there are a ~lot~ of scantily clad big breasted attractive females on this show? That wouldn’t have anything to do with you liking this show so much, would it? It was an unexpected surprise, I assure you.

Sure sure… so how do we go about summing up some 265 episodes of a TV show in a succinct way? You want succinct, after I just spent 1500 words talking about characters?

Who’s fault is that? Besides, this wasn’t exactly a well planned out review, you know. You only decided to do this review a few days ago… Shhh~

Final score and recommendation for Fairy Tail? Even though it’s a show I came to late, had no experience with the manga and binge watched it over the course of a couple of months Fairy Tail still holds a weird nostalgic place in my heart. The first hundred or so episodes I recall fondly and the absolute joy I had watching (most) of it is unrivalled by most anime, even today. It’s not by any means perfect, it can be repetitive and sometimes stupid, but it’s also action-packed, emotionally rich, occasionally hilarious and above all else exceedingly fun. But there’s something else, something that’s continued to be true even in some of the lacking later episodes…

What is it? Fairy Tail is a show about the power of friendship and the importance of a family that’s not one bound by blood but forged in people’s love and respect for one another and fortified by common-interests. In a lot of ways Fairy Tail—the guild—is a lot like this wonderful anime blogging community I’ve found myself a part of. We all come from different places and walks of life, with different values and opinions but we share a love for anime and we respect each other and support each other because that’s what being a family is all about. And with that I say a humble and deep thank you to everyone who is supported me and my blog, thank you for getting me to 100 followers and thank you all for being you!

(Sorry to interrupt this touching moment but you forgot to give the scores!) Oh shit, um… right: Fairy Tail Season 1 gets 88 out of 100. And Fairy Tail Season 2 scores an 82 out of 100. Thank you all so much for reading!

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Yuru Camp – 20 Question Anime Review

What’s the show? Yuru Camp (2018).

Oh, I remember you mentioning this show! Yeah, in the Food Wars review you had a bitch because it’s called ‘Laid Back Camp’ in the West. It will always be Yuru Camp to me.

So what’s it about anyway? It’s about a bunch of high school girls who like camping!

Use a hammer!

And are they lesbians? W—what?

Doesn’t Yuru mean ‘girls love’? No! It means… ‘laid back’… Okay okay, I get the point your making! But I still persist that Yuru Camp is a better name.

Sure, sure. So it’s about something other than camping right? Usually in these kinds of reviews, I’m all like, ‘haha yeah of course’ and give you the full rundown on the show but, uh… no it is literally just about camping and the things one does before, during and after camping that is directly related to the activity of camping.

This anime makes me cold, in a good way!

Oh… okay—so is it good? It’s so good.

‘Cute girls doing cute things’ and all that? Don’t be so reductive, I mean sure it ‘technically’ falls into that category, but I don’t think I’ve ever watched an anime where I’ve felt so asexual.

Begyourpardon? I mean, I’m not asexual, I’m just saying as far as these types of shows go, there wasn’t a single moment where I ever thought of any of them as anything remotely sexual.

Snug as a bug!

“Too pure”? No, it’s not even that, it’s… it’s hard to put into words. It’s like, watching this show is meditation, and for the record I’ve never meditated so what I’m about to say could be total BS, but here goes, when I watch this show I kind of just ‘chill’ and all worldly notions go out the window, I’m not watching ‘cute girls doing cute things’ I’m observing ‘human shapes communing with nature’ I’m ‘at one with the world and everything that’s good in it’.

Sounds like some boring hippy shit if you ask me! Well I didn’t ask you, you’re the one asking me!

Brutal af.

Way to get defensive! I’m sorry, it’s just watching this show through the start of 2018 was like my one purely ‘Zen’ experiences of the Winter 2018 anime season. I’m a little defensive of it, plus a little sad that it’s over…

That’s fair enough, but you know this is a review, we have to speak to it with at least a bit of objectivity, what didn’t you like about it? I was talking to Irina, who watched every episode of the season too, though somewhat against her will as she was doing it for blogging purposes and her take on the characters is interesting. She said that all the characters more or less fall into a ‘nice girl’ trope, specifically that “good girls smile, are always happy, never complain, are never mean, petty or reproachable in any way”. And she’s absolutely right, these girls are nice to a fault, but where usually I’m all about characterisation and having memorable and unique and interesting characters in my anime, here it didn’t matter as much, because the show was more about the feeling it imparted than how it applied to reality.

Expect to see exclamations of the deliciousness of food throughout!

So these ‘characters’ then, dull are they? I don’t think so! I mean Nadeshiko, is kind of our protagonist, but only because her loud and enthusiastic personality commands the audiences attention, Rin probably has the most screen time and that’s probably why the show feels so ‘low-key chill’ because she’s a lone wolf in that she likes solo camping and dislikes having to ‘deal’ with other people.

And does she go through some sort of change of heart? Well, kind of, she’ll always be that lone wolf on her moped, ogling doggos as she drives but she at least comes to understand that camping can be fun with other people too!

Too many ‘good boys’!

It all sounds very slight. Where you been? I never said it was anything other than the most light-hearted and relaxed of anime experiences! It’s not like I ever sat week-to-week wondering what the thrilling conclusion to the cliffhanger moment of ‘will they arrive at the camp and eat food?’

Food, eh? So it’s a food anime too? It starts simple enough with a curry Cup Noodle and somehow escalates to sukiyaki and A5 wagyu beef by the end! But yes, food plays a big part in this anime, like even more so than some actual anime that are apparently solely about food!

Just dreamin’ ’bout dat juicy meat…

Well I think I’ve gotten a fair idea what this show is about, anything else to add? I want to go camping. And I hate the outdoors.

H—how can you hate the outdoors? Oh right, Mr. Sports Hater, M.D. I sometimes forget you’re a recluse. I’m a doctor now?—And a spider?!

“She makes it look so delicious”

Final score and recommendation! This is a hard one to quantify, like, don’t go in expecting anything resembling a story, not even by slice of life standards, nor is this an anime that has the sort of character growth that makes up for said deficiencies in story, what this is, for those who can appreciate the mindset is nothing less than a religious experience! It defies rating and review, it is peacefulness incarnate even if it’s little else, and for me that’s all I want amidst this turbulent world. 89 out of 100.

Splat.

My First Girlfriend is a Gal – 20 Question Anime Review (Moderate Spoilers)

What’s the show? My First Girlfriend Is A Gal (2017).

Hmm, not to get all “heteronormative” on you, as you so like to claim I constantly do, but well obviously a girlfriend is a gal, am I missing something here? It’s okay I forgive you for you for how painfully straight you are. But to answer your question, yes ‘gal’ is a Japanese term; it comes from the word ‘gyaru’ which refers to a specific type of girl.

Oh? How to explain this in the way a ‘filthy normie’ would understand. Oh right, I don’t need to I can just let the English dub do it for me. Gals are like, you know, total valley girl bitches! Like you know whatever!

Isn’t that all high school boys think about after all?

I think I see what you’re getting at, so stereotypically shallow, wear lots of make up, love shopping and socialising? Yeah pretty much, the funny thing is…

What? Well, I don’t usually watch shows with the English dub, and it’s even rarer that I’ll bother to check out multiple episodes in both formats if I’ve decided on one or the other, but the original Japanese version and the English dub are like two completely different shows!

How so? Well the Japanese version is a romantic comedy whereas the American version is a bawdy sex comedy.

Let me just squeeze pass here…

But isn’t the only difference the dialogue, how can it make that much of a difference? Episode 8, beach episode, one of the supporting characters enters the scene with a water pistol and shoots the main guy. In the Japanese original her subtitles read simply “I’m joining in, prepare yourself”, in the English dub she says “That’s right I’m a squirter, better watch your back”.

Huh, that’s quite the liberties taken… Which might be okay, if it weren’t nearly every line of dialogue, there’s a difference between making an adaptation relevant to a Western audience and completely re-writing the script! Every opportunity for innuendo is seized upon and none of it is in the original subtitles. It’s like, it’s like, okay I’m going to make a very specific reference here so try and follow along.

Okay. It’s like when those semi-racist TV-shows of the 90’s used to re-dub clips of foreign movies with intentionally comedic and out-of-context dialogue to get some cheap laughs.

Don’t mess with Ranko.

I get what you’re saying, but what’s the problem? Just go back to watching the Japanese subbed version instead, like you did with Dagashi Kashi and Food Wars! *whispers* come closer, I need to tell you a secret and I don’t want the others to hear this…

Uh… okay. What is it? The English dub is really f**king funny.

Torturing pervy virgins is fun!

So what’s the problem then? Are you kidding me? You can’t just rewrite someone’s material just because you thought of some funnier lines than the original. This isn’t a Hollywood remake, it’s an English dub, it’s supposed to be a ‘translation’ not an ‘adaptation’. Also, I don’t want to sound like I’m siding with those assholes who took down Funimation’s website because the dub decided to throw in some Trump jokes, I don’t care what the jokes are and I don’t care about politics, that’s not the issue here.

But the plot is the same surely, what’s it about anyway? It’s about virginal nerd Junichi and his desire to get a girlfriend, he decides to confess his love to busty blonde ‘gal’ Yukana, despite her being fifty seas out of his league, but to his surprise and adulation she decides to go out with him. The rest of the series is their awkward but kind of adorable courtship and the various obstacles that are thrown up along the way.

Obstacles such as? Such as her overaggressive best-friend Ranko, a fellow gal who may or may not have a thing for Yukana and Junichi—just not the two of them together. And of course there’s Nene, the ever dependable and clingy childhood friend who has the third largest set of breasts of any anime girl I’ve ever seen.

Also she’s 140cm tall, or 4ft 5in. I can’t even imagine what Nene would look like irl.

Is she your best girl then? How dare you! No, actually, in this show I’m actually torn between our main love interest Yukana just because of the seriously noteworthy amount of character development she’s given and the smart, sultry mysterious third(fourth?) girl to the burgeoning harem Yui.

The show should be told from her perspective.

Seems like you do like this show. It’s funny I went into the review with the intention to write a negative review, at least negative for me. But the more I talked about it the more I realised how much I like it, even if it pisses me off how the English dub is both simultaneously, a travesty to ideas of authorship integrity and also much much funnier.

What were the negatives though? Oh, well Junichi even though he starts off as a ‘good guy’ has too many moments where you wonder what on Earth Yukana sees in him, especially towards the end of the season. Also, Junichi’s 3 schoolyard charms are very hit and miss when it comes to their comedy, and downright obnoxious when it comes to their ogling.

You don’t wanna know what the chubby one’s thinking.

So how do you review a show like this? I don’t know… like this I suppose, what you’ve been reading. If you watched it in Japanese only and thought it was dull then watch the dub. If you watched it in English and thought it was crass and dumb then watch the sub. If you’ve watched neither… I don’t know, watch whatever you think will satisfy you better, an authentic but kinda dull romantic comedy or a very funny but inaccurately dubbed imitation.

If only every episode could have been as interesting as episodes 9 & 10.

Great but that’s not what I meant, how do you review a show like this. What score do you give something that’s essentially two different things? I… I don’t know. Quick, put me on the spot and make me decide!

Final score! The worst thing that can be said for the Japanese version is that it’s frequently dull, that in of itself deserves a score of 65 out of 100. The English version, while occasionally hilarious is an inaccurate representation of the actual product, but the issues of character and plot and tone persist despite the added comedy, an appropriate but not much better 69 out of 100

 

Real Neat Blog Award – Untold Questions

Guess what? What!

Someone thinks you’re ‘real neat’ enough to get an award. Do they think I’m hip and happening and far out and outta sight, too?

Or maybe they just think you’re ‘neat’ as in ‘tidy’? I will also accept that.

But seriously you were nominated for another award ‘The Real Neat Blog Award’ (again)! Somehow I feel like that should read the ‘Real NEET Blog Award’ seems more appropriate all things considered.

I don’t know what that means. Quiet, normie!

Anyway… The Spooky Red Head nominated you! Truly the spookiest of redheads! Thanks for the nomination!

You know the drill, rules plz. Right, 1. Display The Award Logo, 2. Thank The Blogger Who Nominated You, 3. Answer The Questions Of The One Who Nominated You, 4. Nomination 5-10 Bloggers, 5. Ask Them 7 Questions.

Thems the rules! “Thems?”

Shut up, let’s just get to the questions…

1. Do you have a favourite Care Bear?

That’s like asking if I favourite child! No, I have no children and I have no care bears that I care for, NEXT QUESTION!

2. What about a favourite My Little Pony?

Why do I feel like I’m being interrogated here? No I’ve never masturbated to MLP hentai, no matter how much you torture me I’ll never admit to it in a court of law! But seriously, no, I do not partake of the “pony”.

3. Who’s your favourite sailor scout?

Whichever one was gay with the other one, the one where in the English dub they made them sister’s because… “we shan’t dare have something as debauched as same sex relations on this cartoon!” Yeah but I never watched much Sailor Moon either! Talk about the trifecta of animated shows I’ve never watched! 

4. What genre of music do you like?

I like all genres, except country. Literally, just a look at my iTunes playlist it’s 8000+ tracks of the most random musical choices. But if I had to pick one genre it would be ~alternative~

5. Do you have a favourite animal?

Do monster girls count? Because I’m partial to a snake girl, bird girl, horse girl and spider girl from Monster Musume… if not and you mean actual boring ass non-anime animal, then I dunno, a flamingo I guess…

6. Favourite subject in school?

English, because I got to be a smart ass. And Japanese because I am become weeb.

7. What’s your favourite Disney movie?

What makes you think this ‘Frozen Heart’ of mine likes Disney movies? Just ‘Let it Go’ already… ‘For The First Time In Forever’ I don’t have an answer, okay?

And that’s all the questions now? Yup.

So now you have to nominate 5-10 bloggers! So I heard… right so I nominate:

@negativeprimes (Curiously Dead Cat)

@wdbox (YahariBento)

@jiraiyan (Otaku Orbit)

@keikosanimeblog (Keiko’s Anime Blog)

@magicconan14 (Animanga Spellbook)

To those nominated just know there’s no obligation to make a post, I know things are busy for everyone, just take it in your stride. And to those I’ve neglected to nominate, SORRY! It’s hard to keep track!

And now you have to come up with 7 questions to ask them, no pressure to be interesting and funny FYI… FFFFFFFFFFFUUUU…

Questions? Right, so the questions are:

1. If you had a BILLION money (currency of your choosing), how much of it would you spend on anime/manga?
2. What’s your favourite Pokemon!?
3. Do you play video games? If so what’s your favourite? (Or one of your favourites)
4. If you could go back and time and tell your child self one thing, what would it be?
5. How much money would it take for you to walk around the streets of your country’s biggest city holding a dakimakura (body pillow) of your favourite anime character?
6. What do you like to put on your ice cream?
7. What’s the meaning of your life? #toodeepforme

And that’s it is it? I think so! Man these award blogs are too much fun! At this point I think I’ve nominated nearly every one of my followers so from here out expect some repetition in who I nominate! Time to sleep now!

Goodnight. ‘Night.

Citrus Episode Ten – 20 Question Anime Review (Spoilers)

What’s the show? It’s episode 10 of ‘Citrus’ (2018).

Single episode review, huh? We haven’t covered the other 9 episodes though, so how about a quick run down? Yuzu’s mother has married a new man in a new city, and so Yuzu’s now attending a prim and proper private school, which doesn’t jell with her individualistic persona. She’s also got a new step-sister, Mei, the ‘by the books’ student council president! But when Miss prim and proper plants a kiss on Yuzu to get her to shut up, all sorts of strange feelings begin to stir inside Yuzu, not the least because that was her first kiss!

So we’re doubling down on the forbidden romance, huh? Well if you want to put it like that…

Staring contest!

What do you mean? Calling lesbianism ‘forbidden romance’ is part of the problem that so many young girls have to fight against, especially in Japan, where there’s not nearly enough representation of same-sex couples in the media outside of content produced for men (i.e. fetishising it).

But isn’t this for a male audience? I don’t think so, I mean, I wouldn’t put in the same category as something like Sakura Trick, (which is a subject for another day). The fan-service is turned all the way down, it’s just kissing and the occasional grope, but it’s always presented as a big deal, for either one or both of them when it happens. Besides, I doubt there are many people sitting through 20+ minutes of talking and plot and character development per episode just to get a single kiss.

But this is based on a manga? *brain explodes*

I think you underestimate perverts. I speak for the perverts!

Was that a fucking Lorax reference? I don’t know, but I’ve got wood.

*facepalm* And here I thought we were getting somewhere serious with this. We are, I just felt like making a dumb joke.

At least I know how to say ‘crap’ in Japanese!

Right, so why now are we talking about Citrus, and not after any of the other episodes? Because Episode 10 of Citrus just played it’s strongest card yet, also it introduced two characters who are just all kinds of great, but let’s start with the moment that made me punch the sky in jubilation.

Go on. So, some serious stuff went down between Yuzu and Mei at the start of the episode, which ends in the two not talking to each other for some months. Yuzu wakes up late on the day of their year levels excursion to Kyoto and has to hurry there, meanwhile at the train station we meet two white haired twin-sisters, the older (but shorter) one, Sara gushes about a beautiful and kind person she just met. Some stuff happens, and Sara runs into Yuzu at the station gift shop, they’ve both missed their train to Kyoto, so they decide to go together. They get talking on the train and Sara begins telling her about this ‘wonderful encounter’ she had. Yuzu’s surprised to discover the person she is smitten for is a girl when Sara comes out with this simple, but obvious to everyone with a sense of empathy, statement. “If I decide I like someone, it doesn’t matter if they’re a boy or a girl.”

Yes, all of the yes. Why can’t this girl be the protagonist?

True. It might seem obvious, but this whole season Yuzu, despite being a kind and caring individual has constantly been throwing up the whole, ‘I can’t love Mei, she’s a girl and I’m a girl, that doesn’t work’ shtick. But in one simple sentence, everything the audience has (hopefully) been screaming at the screen is put so succinctly to Yuzu, Loving someone the same sex as you shouldn’t be a taboo, love is love.

Even if she is her stepsister? Listen, I admit, the whole stepsister thing is probably the most unnecessarily ‘drama for the sake of drama’ thing about this show, it would have been pretty much the same show if they weren’t ‘suddenly siblings’. But they’d been stepsister’s for literally less than a day before something happened between them, it’s not like they grew up together, it’s only taboo on paper… and to sell more books.

So what happens with the rest of the episode? Yuzu and Sara have a heart to heart discussion on a park bench in Kyoto on their way to find their respective school groups. We learn the nitty gritty about what caused the recent fight between Yuzu and Mei, even though Mei was willing to take the next step forward in their relationship, Yuzu wasn’t ready and pulled away, which hurt Mei.

“I was scared”

Fair enough, and then? And then they make it back to the hotel their classmates are staying at; Sara reunites with her younger (much taller) sister Nina and later Yuzu tries to reconnect with Mei, only things aren’t going to be that simple.

Anyone else obsessed with the way Yuzu says Mei’s name? Like she somehow makes it sound like a two syllable word, I love it!

Oh, how so? Well aside from the fact that Mei’s obviously been hurt by someone she confided and relied upon so deeply, a challenger appears.

The plot thickens!

A challenger for Mei’s affections? Perhaps, see it turns out the girl that Sara was smitten with at the train station, the one she’s fallen head over hells for, is actually Mei!

*gasp!* Yeah I admit I saw it coming a mile away but it does add some more drama to the show, which is fun!

In my personal experience, everyone in Tokyo is wonderful.

So I take it since you decided to review it this is your favourite episode so far? Yeah of course! It showed a kind of maturity that the tone often alluded to, but the dialogue failed to back up throughout.

And does that mean you’d recommend it to people who dropped or doubted the show’s intentions. I mean, it’s hard, this kind of subject matter is sensitive to a lot of people, and those who might thought it was pandering or fetishist at the start are welcome to that opinion but I think it’s deeper than that. It’s no work of art by any means but I think it has some important things to say about same sex relations and how they’re perceived, especially in Japan, although the fact it’s taken ten whole episodes to get to a quote worth quoting in favour of the show’s portrayal of same-sex relationships is a little damning. I don’t think this will change many people’s minds but it’s worth bringing up at least.

Oh and why’s it called ‘citrus’? I don’t know, because Yuzu is also a type of Japanese citrus fruit? Because love is sweet and sour? Who cares, it’s a good, short, evocative name, it suits the show well.

Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary Volume 1 – 20 Question Manga Review

What is this? It’s like an anime except it’s not moving? It’s called a manga; it’s the book version a lot of anime’s are based off!

Oh? So I imagine just as with book to movie adaptations there’s a lot of people saying “oh but the manga was better than the anime”? Haha, probably, but that’s not really what we’re here to discuss. Mostly I’ll be featuring manga that hasn’t yet gotten an anime adaptation, I figured that’s more fun anyway…

Yeah I guess so. So what’s the manga (heh that’s so weird to say!) It’s Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary Volume 1.

So big! Her eye, I mean…

Nurse? Monster? Is this perhaps about monster girls? Maaaaybeee…

You really have a thing for monster girls don’t you? I have my reasons!

Sure sure, let’s not go down that dark avenue and instead focus on the matter at hand, what’s it about? Nurse Hitomi is busty one eyed school nurse, who with the aid of her spriggan assistant helps the monster students of her high school deal with the various issues that come about from their burgeoning “monster” traits, which like puberty seem to be manifesting in their mid teenage years.

Probably good advice, even if it’s strangely put.

So it’s a slice of life manga? I guess so! The closest thing I can compare it to is ‘Interviews With Monster Girls’ a fantastic anime that I’ve yet to review on the site, but it’s a show that’s less about situation as it is more about character and relationships, while still ostensibly being a ‘slice of life’. Except, unlike ‘Interviews With Monster Girls’ in Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary there’s a clear divide between the faculty life and the student life, in some ways its more mature in that respect because there’s whole chapters that are set away from the school and are focused on her social and romantic life.

But? Well it might be all about the adult teachers but it is very immature and inappropriate at times.

Oh boy…

Sounds right up your alley! Quiet you.

So what do you mean exactly by ‘immature?’ I mean some of Nurse Hitomi’s advice to her students is the kind of thing you’d see in an issue of Penthouse magazine. It’s half genuinely sincere and half sitcom shenanigans.

Is that a detriment to the series? Not yet, I imagine it’s going to get more serious as it goes along, the adult characters all have various flaws which make them a lot more interesting than expected, and that’s in addition to the various monster traits.

*insert Wookie noise*

So who are the other characters? Well of the faculty there’s Moji, who’s basically Chewbacca except he speaks perfect English (Japanese?). Then there’s Tatara who is four-armed cigarette smoking “cool” dude, who Hitomi has had a crush on since they were kids but it’s unreturned because he’s into loli.

And he’s a teacher?! Yeah but I don’t think the book’s going to go there, I think it’s just used as an excuse to have the ‘will they/won’t they’ dynamic between him and Hitomi.

He’s a bit of a douche to be honest but I’m sure they’ll work to soften his character in future volumes.

Fair enough, I guess… So how’s an average issue go? Well I’ve read 2 volumes so far and have bought the 7 that are currently available, so I can confirm that each book after the first volume see’s Nurse Hitomi and her assistant see three different monster students, help them through their various monster related hang-ups and interspersed with some chapters about her social life.

The first book is different then? Well she see’s 5 different monster students in volume one, they are kind of like self contained stories, and depending on the student they can varying tones which makes for a very entertaining read. The first volume sees Hitomi dealing with a girl with a 300cm long tongue, a zombie girl who’s prone to misplacing body parts, a very tall girl, a very small girl and an invisible girl. The story with the invisible girl is particularly touching.

The five monster students featured in volume one.

Interesting, so it’s got some depth to it too. I did already say that, it’s almost like you don’t believe me.

Well when it comes to monster girls it’s hard to know if there’s not bias in your review. Of course there’s bias! I mean it’s not like this manga is a must read for everyone but if you’re into this kind of thing, well… you’re probably already reading it.

She’s fine, really. It happens all the time!

So your recommendation is for people who’ve probably already read it… great first manga review! This is sure to catch on! Shut up, I’m still working out all the kinks.

Oh I know all too well about your “kinks”. Hey! Leave the witty wordplay to me!

Right. So what’s the final verdict on Nurse Hitomi’s Monster Infirmary Volume 1? It’s cute, it’s sexy, it’s funny, it’s charming, it’s got an art-style I adore and if you’re a fan of monster girl related manga and haven’t already checked it out then your missing a quality read. For everyone else, you might enjoy the messages about body positivity and equality that come with Nurse Hitomi’s advice to her monster students but honestly the book knows its niche and plays to it well. Take my temperature Hitomi-chan, I’m running a fever! 90 out of 100.

 

***This is my first 20 Question Manga Review! I hoped you enjoyed it, it was a lot more work than the anime reviews (though it’s certainly quicker to read a single manga than watch a whole season of an anime!) If you have any feedback or suggestions let me know and whether your interested this to continue!***

Darling in the FranXX Episode 8 – 20 Question Anime Review (Spoilers)

Please note: This review is no longer representative of the author’s feelings on this show for an up to date review please read: Puberty & Robots – A 20 Question Reassessment of Darling in the FranXX (Episodes 1-15)

What’s the show? You know what the f**king show is, don’t be cute.

Whoa! Where’s this anger coming from? You ever watch something so insulting that you despair for humanity?

Hmm, like Adam Sandler’s ‘Pixels’? Right, sure, except the difference is there aren’t thousands of people proclaiming the brilliance of Pixels a lot of people are with Darling in the FranXX.

Oh boy. We’re going here again aren’t we? I intended to do a quarterly review of this show every 6 episodes, content to watch on in eye-rolling disbelief as the show progressed. But episode 8 made me so mad I almost put my fist through the screen!

So the clothes melting monster slime only touches the women, hmm? HMM?

Haven’t you heard the phrase, ‘don’t blog angry’? No, and I think you just made that up.

Well someone has to be the voice of reason, besides no one likes reading your rants… They don’t want to read it, they don’t have to.

No chance of that, I’m in full rage mode!

Way to antagonize, buddy. So I guess there’s no stopping this 50 ton freight train of hate, so what about the episode has got you so riled up? Oh you know the usual trash you’d come to expect from this show: casual sexism played for laughs or titillation, women being reduced to less than objects as they are stripped and ogled and then told to not be so up right about it. Reinforcing toxic gender stereotypes, suggesting that women should just ‘get along’ with men regardless of how uncomfortable it makes them.

It’s like ‘the Fappening’ all over again…

U Mad Bro? Don’t you fucking meme with me!

Sorry! I just thought we needed a little levity. So the show continues to be shitty to its female characters, what else is new? Not to be harsh but you knew that 3 episodes in, why do you keep watching if it aggrieves you so much? Because I’m fucking delusional obviously, it’s like the dog who keeps going back to its owner even though it knows it’s going to get beaten down. Because the owner was once good and kind and fun, but is now content to do everything to undermine any sense of what used to be.

Did I forget to mention “heteronormative” because, well yeah…

So ‘all that’ aside, is there anything redeemable you can say about it? I know you praised the animation and the mystery behind the larger story in the previous review, what about now? Nada.

Yikes, you’ve really lost anything favourable to say about the show haven’t you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this defeated by something. It’s like if you went to a decent restaurant for a while and then one day after going you get the worst food poisoning of your life, like literally body sweats, white knuckle, out every orifice kind of food poisoning. You’re not going to go, when asked “how’s that restaurant?” Say “yeah the bread sticks are good and the wait staff is nice,” no you’re going to say, “stay away, I nearly shat my soul out after eating there.”

Who could’ve guessed this show was written by men?! I mean women totally just sit around and lament about how they nag too much.

Evocative imagery… But do you see what I’m saying? There comes a point where it doesn’t matter if a show is half good, if the part that’s half bad is so bad it makes you shake with rage.

So it is half good? You want me to be honest? Fine, yes, the animation is still very good and the setting is interesting, and the mystery is one that begs answers. But it’s also dumb as heck, I mean this episode literally had a trope as tired and lazy as dividing the house in two with a taped line to determine the boys side and the girls side. I mean really?! Why not just get all your plot points from old sitcom reruns since you’ve evidently run dry of all the anime tropes you stuffed in to the previous episodes?!

“Lucy! You’ve got some ‘splaining to do!”

I have a feeling I know the answer to this question already, but seriously why don’t you drop the show? Nobody’s forcing you to watch it. Yes, in fact every one is forcing me to watch it. Every 5 star review or 10/10 score is goading me into try and understand what kind of people are out there and what they could possibly see in this show? Like I long gave up trying to understand the scores shows get on MAL relative to one another, and understanding people is about as fruitful endeavour as trying to drink soup with a sieve. But I need to know that it’s more than just ogling girls in demeaning positions and big robots fighting that has made this show so acclaimed and so quickly.

Maybe it’s just not for you? Maybe, but then who is it for?

People not like you. And why are there so many of them?

I don’t know. And why do they hate women so much?

Okay then. I think it’s time we pull the breaks on this train before you say something that looses you a follower. It’s okay, they probably won’t notice, they’re too busy what with all the women hating.

She’s giving permission for to be leered at, but only a little. Because, you know, nobody likes a king leer. #lamejoke

You know you could be wrong and this show goes on to subvert all your expectations by the end. I hope this day comes, I truly do. I hope after episode 24 airs and it’s actually revealed to be a masterclass in feminist discourse, that everyone who’s been aggrieved by my comments towards the show they love comes to me and says, “ha! You were wrong, it was smart and sensitive and actually about deconstructing all the things you said it was enabling” and I’ll say, “guess you were right all along, pardner” and I’ll tip my Stetson to them and ride off into the sunset on my gallant steed content in being wrong and contrite enough to know that I was a fool to ever doubt the geniuses at Studio Trigger.

Well I’m glad you got that off your chest, it must feel better to have written that all down now you can do the sensible thing and delete it and everyone will be happy. And published!

Yuru Yuri – 20 Question Anime Review

What’s the show? Yuru Yuri

Ah! I’ve been around you long enough to know what both of those words mean? Oh?

So in the west this show is called ‘Laid Back Lesbians’? *face palm*

What? Was I wrong? You’re wrong in that no it’s not called that in the west, it’s still Yuru Yuri. But you’re not wrong in that’s pretty accurate for what goes on during most episodes.

I won’t even feign surprise that you’re watching a show like this. Like what? Don’t judge a book by its cover; this show is way more than just girls love. It’s first and foremost a comedy, and a genuinely hilarious one at times too!

Fine, I’m listening, go on. So the main characters are four middle school girls-

Stop, I’m sorry, did you say middle school girls? That’s perverse even for you! And there you go transplanting your heteronormative assumptions on things that shouldn’t even be seen as the least bit sexualised but because you consider lesbianism a fetish as opposed to an actual way of life you can’t separate something as honest and pure as self-discovery from what you search on RedTube whenever women’s sport comes on the TV!

I… I’m sorry, I just assumed because you watch so many fan-service anime that this was just one and the same. There’s literally no fan-service here unless you consider girls exploring their complicated and raw feelings for other girls to be fan-service, in which case I suggest you leave.

No, no I’ll stay. Again, sorry. It’s fine, I forgive you this time.

So who are our characters? Protagonist; Akarin! Akari has a serious issue, she’s very forgettable, to the point where the show itself forgets she’s even a character in her own show to hilarious comedic affect. Like it’s hard to put it into words but the way this show treats its protagonist is akin to high art. It’s brutal and cruel and unexpected but insanely funny and entertaining.

And the rest? There’s Kyoko who is fun incarnate, but also incredibly clueless at times. A great deal of the one-liners and randomness that make up the comedy comes from her. Then there’s Minami who is the strong, silent type, she’s the level headed one of the group but can’t resist a pun. And then there’s Chinatsu, who’s the super cute one who has a passionate crush on Minami despite the constant suggestive advances of Kyoko who idolises the pink haired princess because of her resemblance to her favourite anime character a magical girl called Mirakurun.

So that’s everyone of importance? Not even close! Then there’s the members of the student council, Ayano is the vice president and is as straight laced as the come but she’s secretly in love with Kyoko, even if she’ll never admit it. Ever by her side is Chitose who is a total pervert and imagines Ayano and Kyoko in suggestive situations at every available moment, which causes her near-fatal nosebleeds. And then there’s ‘doth protest too much rivals’ Sakurako and Himawari who just seriously need to get laid. And I could go on, but well, there’s a couple more characters who benefit from the surprise of their discovery in episode 9 of the season.

Things got complicated, and quick! Don’t presume that because it’s all cutesy on the surface and is about middle school girls that it’s somehow less complex than the myriad other school based shows out there.

Lesson learnt. So what’s an average episode of Yuru Yuri contain? Making fun of Akari’s non-presence no matter the situation. A lot of talking, then finally a plot developing, then doing everything to subvert those expectations, then something totally random. Intersperse some sexual tension and unreturned feelings and heaping dollop of total nonsense and you have the average episode of Yuru Yuri.

Dare I ask who your best girl is? Usually if I have to think about the matter longer than 10 minutes it usually means I don’t have a best girl.

What?! Shocking, I know. I think because the characters relationships are so dependent on one another, not just emotionally within the show but structurally externally too, I can’t really choose.

Maybe it’s because they’re middle school aged you feel weird about picking one as a ‘best girl’? Nope, no weird feelings about that at all.

For once I’d just like you to have a normal response. No chance!

Fine, whatever. Anything else to add? The final episode of season 1 is one of my favourite episodes of any comedy or slice of life anime’s I’ve seen so far, it starts off strong and keeps building and building, I was in awe of what I was witnessing. If I were reviewing that episode alone I’d probably give it 99.

Wow, high praise indeed, but what about the season as a whole? Final score? If you’re put off by the title or the genre or the ages of the characters at least give it a go, you’ll know pretty quickly if it’s the show for you as the first couple of episodes are very indicative of the rest of the season. Personally I couldn’t get enough of it and am glad there’s another two seasons to watch. Unforgettable, 92 out of 100.