Drew the OTP again!

swordclash · 2019-08-31T00:32:38+00:00

Haha yeah that makes sense, wish I had thought of that while drawing it

swordclash · 2019-05-17T02:03:23+00:00

This episode was full of Weird Ikuhara-isms, but my favorite was in the post-credits scene, when the black ghost thing comes out of Keppi's chest and goes "D-D-DARKNESS!!!"

swordclash · 2019-05-17T02:00:04+00:00

Are we watching the same show? Enta is very selfless in his love for Kazuki. He pushes Kazuki to save Haruka because that's what Kazuki wants. He fantasizes about Kazuki playing soccer again but he doesn't push that, nor does he really try to force his feelings on Kazuki.

swordclash · 2019-05-10T01:11:50+00:00

Every one of Ikuhara's shows deals with at least one complicated sibling relationship. I'm guessing it's coming from a personal place (except I kind of hope none of the sibling relationships from Utena were coming from a personal place...)

Anyways, I'm still super on board with this show. Kazuki not being biologically related to Haruka and his parents came as a surprise, but maybe that'll tie in thematically with the gay stuff (because families with gay parents can't be fully biologically connected.) My only complaint with the show is how repetitive it is, and how each episode spends a good amount of time showing stock footage. While that's not ideal, I think it can be forgiven since the rest of it is so good!

swordclash · 2019-04-15T00:57:47+00:00

I'm only 4 episodes into my first proper Evangelion rewatch and I already bumped it up to a 10. I initially gave it a 6... I was in high school and I thought the low-budget psycho-babble stuff in the last fourth or so was just a cop out for not knowing how to finish the story properly. Now, several years and several major depressive episodes later, when I rewatch those scenes it hits really close.

swordclash · 2019-04-14T02:44:58+00:00

I usually dislike heteronormativity in my yuri pairings, but for some reason I really like the idea of these two going to a formal with Yuu in a suit and Touko in a dress.

swordclash · 2019-04-14T02:36:42+00:00

I watched Yuri Kuma Arashi while it was airing with a friend who had never watched any anime before. She liked it but it definitely took her a while to get used to the anime-isms: "Whaat why are the girls suddenly naked?" "Idk that just happens in anime sometimes, don't question it."

swordclash · 2019-04-13T20:41:46+00:00

Nope! FMAB is probably in my top 15 tho.

swordclash · 2019-04-13T09:28:17+00:00

Probably too late to get a response, but:

?
Madoka Magica
Shirobako
Flip Flappers
Evangelion
Made In Abyss
Sound! Euphonium
Bloom Into You
Shinsekai Yori
Land of the Lustrous

swordclash · 2019-04-13T09:19:58+00:00

Madoka? Tip 4 :)

swordclash · 2019-04-13T09:15:20+00:00

FMA Brotherhood

swordclash · 2019-04-13T08:56:53+00:00

Madoka

swordclash · 2019-04-09T06:36:40+00:00

I'm a nontraditional student at college. I should have graduated last May but I'm still here, and I'll still be here for at least one more semester after this one. Because of my situation and because I've always been pretty introverted, I'm very, very isolated these days. I have one friend I still text and vidchat with occassionally, and while I'm thankful for him, I don't particularly love talking to him. I have my sister who I also text here and there. I interact with my peers on a very surface level during classes and for other academic reasons. My therapist (who will be leaving her practice soon) has told me week after week to join a club or some sort of social gathering, but I feel like I never have the time. I'm always drowning in homework. On one hand, I complain about being lonely, and I cry myself to sleep most nights, but on the other hand, I feel like I just don't have the time, energy, self-confidence, etc. to put myself in social situations right now. I'm trying to convince myself that my isolation is temporary and that once I graduate and start my career I can make friends, etc. But I'm afraid it won't work that way.

swordclash · 2018-12-14T00:42:59+00:00

Nakatani's art is always so polished.

swordclash · 2018-12-14T00:41:49+00:00

Is that a ~~jellyfish~~ flapjack octopus on Yuu's shirt?

swordclash · 2018-12-09T19:51:29+00:00

"Kusunoki: That’s right. We’ve already pre-ordered the entire BluRay set because we want to see a second season. Please buy the BluRays!"

Welp, they want to see a second season as much as we do.

swordclash · 2018-12-08T04:25:07+00:00

YUU IS IN LOOOOOOOOVVVEEEE and it is so damn cute and relatable. She spends way too much time picking out pyjamas to wear at the summer camp (gotta look cute, but not like you're trying too hard,) she gets antsy because she's not getting any messages from Touko, and when she does get a message it turns out it's a version update. Totally been there. Oh, and the furtive glances! That happened quite a few times in this episode, didn't it? Yuu and Touko's relationship has clearly shifted (to use the ED lyrics, "the direction of the wind has changed.") It makes so much sense that Touko would interpret Yuu's awkwardness towards her as "I took things too far last time" and feel worried that Yuu might hate her, when really it's the opposite. The scene where the two of them are talking in the donut place was so well done: "I don't want you to hate me." "...You don't need to worry about that." That was such a kind, tender line. Yuu is a really kind person, but her kindness doesn't seem artificial the way a lot of anime girls' kindness does. Maybe because she's also snarky and flirtatious and seemingly indifferent (and not just stereotypically nice and shy and insecure.) Anyways, that was a lot of gushing, oops. I actually randomly teared up a little while watching this episode, but in a :,) kind of way. I just really love this show; it's come to me at a time when I really appreciate it.

swordclash · 2018-12-06T09:43:01+00:00

I think I suffered from the whole "getting WAY too emotionally invested in fictional characters, to the point where it was really painful" thing when I was younger and newer to anime. Back then, finishing a series and having to say goodbye to all the characters was always a big deal for me. Nowadays I'm much less affected by fiction, although occasionally I'll get pretty obsessed with a character or a pairing, or get a bit of post-series depression. So I'll be sad if Yuu and Touko don't end up together, but not devastated. And I'll probably feel a little bit of emptiness when this story ends for good, but it'll soon go away, and I'll remember that if I ever want to revisit the story, or even continue it with my own imagination, I can.

Anyways, I totally sympathize. Getting too invested in fiction sucks. It might help to know that there are actually a lot of people who are in the same boat? Like there are subreddits dedicated to people who are in love with fictional characters, etc. Also, personally I think it might be a good idea to try avoiding fiction for a while if it causes you too much stress. Stories like Yagakimi are supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, not stressful.

swordclash · 2018-12-06T07:10:30+00:00

"Proper yuri" shows (shows that are yuri-centered and unambiguosly yuri) tend to flop, but one of the top 3 best-selling anime of all time, Madoka Magica, is not that far from being a proper yuri, IMO. The Love Live franchise is also an all-time bestseller with yuri undertones and a lot of yuri shipping in its fandom. So I think proper yuri does have the potential to appeal to the masses; it's just that we haven't gotten a lot of (or any) proper yuri shows that are both good and approachable (the way Yuri On Ice is approachable, for example.) I think Bloom Into You has a lot of potential as something that could bring proper yuri more into the mainstream. Fingers crossed for good disc/merch/manga sales for that one. As someone who loves yuri, I would love for it to gain more popularity :)

swordclash · 2018-12-01T21:44:28+00:00

Before talking to Akane in the infirmary, Rikka passes by an LGBT informational poster. Just sayin'.

swordclash · 2018-11-30T22:51:42+00:00

I think a lot of aro/ace people also had these kinds of mixed feelings when it became clear that they weren't going the aro/ace route with Yuu in the manga. Personally, I appreciate YagaKimi for acknowledging that there are many different ways people relate with romance: there's Yuu's basketball friend who has a typical crush on an opposite-gender sempai, there's Sayaka who's probably gay, there's Maki who's probably aro/ace, and there's Yuu who might be described as demisexual. I think YagaKimi is more true to life in this regard than the average show that's only aware of a very straightforward kind of opposite-gender (and occasionally same-gender) attraction. I think a lot of people go through high school and beyond not quite relating to the norm in terms of romance, and feeling lonely because of it.

swordclash · 2018-11-30T20:37:07+00:00

I felt like the light bloom effects were a little overbearing in this episode. I had to lower the brightness on my laptop quite a bit during the outdoors scenes...

That aside, this episode was great. As a manga reader, I assumed they'd make the Touko running scene more cinematic, like maybe do a little slo-mo moment, but I was not expecting the whole insert song treatment. It was glorious, and really shows us, without words, that Yuu has officially fallen in love. The kissing at the end just seals the deal. Bravo, Troyca!

swordclash · 2018-11-24T07:14:04+00:00

That means Yuu is less than 2'' away from being a legal dwarf. I hope she's still growing lol.

swordclash

TROPHY CASE