So, uh, I finished Sound Euphonium a few days ago.
I feel empty inside. No other seasons left, Liz and the Blue Bird is not available in my country, or apparently anywhere outside Japan and the US (I'm actually considering importing the BR).
Jumping around trying to find something else to watch - and to justify paying for this sub - landed on the following:
Shirobako
Not sure about this yet. The characters are just a little bit too annoying so far. Only 1 episode in. Learning about the inner working of the industry is neat though.
Tamako Market
Figured another Kyoto Animation show would work instead... and maybe not that either. Does this get better? I do like Mochi, I don't like that bird.
I keep reverting back to watching episodes of Space Battleship Tiramisu instead.
Sweet Blue Flowers is really good if you don't mind slow character driven shows. It might be a top 5 anime for me.oh man, I still need to see sweet blue flowers. thanks for the reminder
I think I talk about kyoani too much
That abuse count 😂🤮Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai. 14 "O Holy Knight"
Another tragedy awaits the black cat, down on luck. As the holy night approaches, Kyousuke must again choose his fate while recounting the summer spent with Kuroneko. He escapes into the dead of night—as she expected—"Ruri" is turned down for the final time. There's someone else, with certainty now. Being pulled to bits yet again results in tearing apart her Destiny Record. She loves him no more. Never again will they cross paths, the grimoire's curse lifted. Then, she lets out a wretched screech. This gives birth to her final form. Yamineko immediately curses the world around her, especially those in love, like her ex-boyfriend. The curtains close on their future together when she walks away into darkness—everything she ever wanted relinquished to his little sister.
Back home, Kyousuke asks Kirino out to a couples-only event in Akibahara on Christmas Eve. Him pointing out they can do anything else they want afterwards gets her to agree. She ceremoniously wears what she did last time they went out on this holiday. It's a day full of nostalgia for them. Once Kirino nabs her limited-edition trinket, he suggests visiting Sky Tree. When she whines that it's meaningless during the day, he shows her they can pass the time playing an incest game at the hotel he's already booked... Come nightfall, the skies are unfortunately clouded. How's he going to make up for that! By the power of God Almighty, it begins to snow.
As it turns out, Kirino's going abroad again after graduation. Her assurance that she'll be fine this time is met with Kyousuke's silence. He turns to tell her there's someone he likes and that person is—she stops him and runs away in tears. This is the hobby group's cue to swoop in on their otakumobile. Because this date was Kyousuke and Saori's brainchild, she was on standby in case anything went wrong. (Yamineko's just here to bear witness to the end of the world.) Kirino's spotted just in time for the traffic to stop them. Now effortlessly on the green, all that's left is to tap it in.
The one Kyousuke loves is Kirino and he doesn't want to let her go far away again. She reminds him not to mix up 2D and 3D, and what about Ruri! On cue, Ruri blasts Kyousuke's voice through the busy street from the mega speakers of the otakumobile. This tailwind encourages him to press on. All others were sacrificed for this moment. Once more, she implores him to reconsider. He tearfully let's go of wasting the chance to fondle those other girls' breasts. Like some self-aware puppet, though, he can't stray from this performance. There's not an ounce of regret to any of it anyway. Even fear of rejection—nothing stops this show.
The incest games she loves, the courage to elope, he can't live up to those expectations but his love won't lose to fiction. Life before, Kirino professes how much she hates him and how grossed out she is and he should be. That "all love is impure" is his only defense (thanks Yamineko). Finally, to tie her down so that she doesn't go anywhere, he asks for his sister's hand in holy matrimony. This melts away all reason in her mind. It's official once she replies with the softest...
People watched this. Many people. That's the most crazy thing about it all. For those unaware, there's something of a sexual connotation Christmas Eve holds for Japanese people... The siblings just leaped to the most binding bond of all too—marriage, the gatekeeper of morally just sex. There's so many issues with this that I don't know where to begin. Age and relation being the biggest ones, obviously. However, it "solves" all of their problems in one fell swoop, so whatever.
Someone somehow recorded Kyousuke's last rejection to Ruri. Was it Kirino listening on the other end of Ruri's phone? I mean, recording speech is Kirino's thing, not Ruri's, so... sigh, I just don't care any more. All these characters are nuts, so what does it matter which one's the most far gone. Bring on the last two nightmares.
—————
Sexual abuse count: 8.666
Why not use "a millionth" at that point? Does it sound better in Japanese with their 10000 groupings instead of 1000?
don't you know the power levels in symphogear are all meticulously calculated to be exactly follow the physical laws of its world
So...Savage Maidens 10
This was the last place I would have guessed we would see a Street Fighter V advertisement
Crunchyroll is still missing the last episode of AXZSymphogear G, GX, AXV
And I'm finally caught up. Apparently the last episode of AXV was just released on Crunchyroll today? I didn't even plan for that, talk about coincidences.
Show is still stupid as all get out and I love it. I jokingly thought halfway through GX that Hibiki punching something is the solution to every problem and then AXZ shows up and goes "yeah, pretty much".
Now to finally see what kind of craziness you all have been falling backwards about in XV.
Given 6-9
The performance was genuinely great and I really love the song that sung. Legit started tearing up a bit. I say this almost every time I talk about the show, but it's so good to have a gay anime that isn't dogshit.
Enta sucking Kazuki's recorder, sniffing his dirty jersey, and sabotaging everything he has to do with Toi would will never not be creepy, disgusting, and a turn off though.Agreed! Factor in this, Sarazanmai, and a couple of characters in Carole and Tuesday and we have had a great year for gay representation in anime (sorry of I messed others)
Enta licking Kazuki's recorder, and sabotaging everything he has to do with Toi would will never not be creepy, disgusting, and a turn off though.
Carole & Tuesday 20
Abolish ICE.
I was expecting the political slant in the story but jesus.
Edit: OH SHIT, that was Denzel Curry!?
I hope we get something like this for the finale
Hibike's queer baiting made it really hard to watch.
They really should have just cemented the relationship as romantic (which it was alluded to in a truck load of symbolism) instead of keeping it open because of the LN's ending.
this is a really well-articulated thread on why I hate seeing eupho dismissed as queerbaiting. it has some spoilers for chikai no finale though
the shoe thread got so much attention i thought about it More today and then i thought about something i've always sorta known but had trouble articulating: hibike is an inherently queer show
a lot of the time people present the argument that if reina were a dude there would be zero debate over whether kumirei was meant to be seen as canon. which is true! but if reina were a dude a lot of the intricacies of the relationship wouldn't be there.
her "i want to become special" speech sounds like it should be in a john green novel, but because it's a conversation between two girls literally hiding from the hotbed of heterosexuality below them it becomes a sort of shared understanding rather than "i'm not like other girls"
reina is lonely, is the thing. she's kumiko's mirror in a lot of ways - kumiko puts on the front of friendliness while being distant, reina wants someone by her side in her quest to become special but is so narrow-mindedly following that ambition that she ends up alone.
so many of hibike's central themes - passivity vs action, uncertain futures, finding your passion - tie in really closely with what it's like growing up gay in high school! take that away and you really don't have much at all.
it's why i get really defensive when people think i'm just mad about a ship - sure, i love kumirei, that's part of it - but it's really the entire world these characters inhabit that makes them so vibrant, and it's what makes shuichi feel bland and out of place
kumiko oumae is a lesbian and her entire narrative feels built around that identity in a way that doesn't make it her only defining trait (she's the protagonist! she's complex and well-written beyond her sexuality) but also doesn't let us forget it
it's that delicate balance people are always talking about: so many books/movies/etc. for so long were ABOUT being lgbt+ rather than about people who just were a part of the community (hello rainbow boys), coming-out stories and the like.
and we need those! they're important! but then people started saying, well, we want stories with queer characters who are just allowed to exist and go on fun adventures and fall in love like their straight counterparts! and those are important too!
but what hibike portrays pretty well is that in real life it's usually both of those things. our whole lives don't revolve around being lgbt but it's something that informs our interactions with the world, who to trust and who to avoid, who we can latch onto.
my orientation isn't my only defining factor but it's one that makes my view of the world different from a straight person's. hibike gets that but also insists on putting shuichi in there and it's all very frustrating.
heteronormativity exists in hibike's little universe, too - "like man and woman, instrument and player are made for each other," asuka says, and of course the only characters explicitly stated to be a couple are gotou and riko
even as natsuki and yuuko flirt-banter till the cows come home. kumiko and reina feeling distanced from that world really felt genuine and impactful and i think about it a lot.
liz and the blue bird handles this stuff in a different way - its central theme IS the love story, and it doesn't shy away from this. even when nozomi and mizore are shown apart, they're never far from thinking about the other. it's gay as hell.
and it uses the ultimate representation of youth, a fairytale (albeit a fairytale made for the film) to tell this parallel story. liz's world is bursting with color, timeless, with the only physical danger being a bad storm and the sadness coming from within.
it's brilliant. it's sad. it's about yearning and loving and understanding when it's time to let go and because there is no shuichi-shaped obstacle it is allowed to tell its story in a much more impactful fashion. thank you for coming to my ted talk
Hibike's queer baiting made it really hard to watch.
They really should have just cemented the relationship as romantic (which it was alluded to in a truck load of symbolism) instead of keeping it open because of the LN's ending.
Upto episode 22. Does Netflix have the directors cut episodes as standard?
Do I need to watch Death 2? (This is the second cut of rebirth right?)
Should I just watch all the series and then watch end of Evangelion?
Thank you, makes it easy. Feels like before Netflix uploaded it, you needed a literal guide on how to watch.
But, but... Mr. Kigami's episode, man! :-(If possible, I would recommend skipping Tamako Market, which isn't especially interesting overall, in favor of the film Tamako Love Story, which is actually very good.
That's why as a self-contained story adaptation Classmates is in a class of its own! ;-)gahhhhhh what is it with excellent queer anime adaptations and ending abruptly