This post is full of a whole lot of nerdery.
This secret... well, not restores my faith in fandom so much as.... HOLY CRAP, DID SOMEONE SNEAK INTO MY BRAIN AND STEAL MY THOUGHTS? Man, I loved BB, really I did, but that part was SUCH BULLSHIT. BULLSHIT. And I cannot even get into DiDio's hatred of the pairing without getting pissed off myself.
Though, actually, I don't know that I agree that BB was what gave DiDio the idea to want to kill off the character, I think he did have actual reasons for thinking that, they were just CRAP reasons. That whole "redundant character" crap was so lame that I just-- I can't even-- as;dlfkjas;lkjasl
I also don't know that it was BB that gave him the idea that they shouldn't be together--otherwise he'd push Bruce/Barbara, augh--but I agree with the sentiment towards both the series and DiDio! Personally, I blame Dini for that shit more than I'm furious with DiDio over it. But a lot of what happened in BB really did ruin TAS for me. Partly the Bruce/Babs stuff, but even more was the whole Terry nonsense. Holy shit, that was RETARDED. Dammit, I liked Terry, too!
Also, I have to point something out--in the comments, people are all, nooo, BB said Dick was still alive in Bludhaven! NO THEY DIDN'T. Barbara said to GO LOOK HIM UP IN BLUDHAVEN, which COULD have meant that he was alive (bullshit bullshit bullshit if he didn't even come around when all that shit was happening to Tim? I call bullshit.) but I always thought it could ALSO mean, hey, go look up the records of what happened to him over in Bludhaven. IT WAS AMBIGUOUS. I REMEMBER BECAUSE I WAS OBSESSIVE OVER ANY MENTION OF DICK IN BB.
OH GOD SO MUCH NERDERY, I AM SORRY.
So, Arashi fandom finally decided to make all fanworks be posted to their own comm? GOD BLESS YOU, FANDOM. I LOVE YOU THAT MUCH MORE AGAIN.
Also, I need this mag (you can guess which cover) like a FIRE IN MY HEART. Yuuuuuuuuukiiiiiiiiiiii, I NEED HIM, OKAY.
ALSO, this Hiro/Takeru photoshoot is the cutest thing ever omg. Takeru's hair doesn't look entirely like something crawled onto his head and died, even though I know it probably looks terrible in action. But I don't care because Hiro is ADORABLE and SO VERY PRETTY and I'm both easy and shallow. :|b But this means I'm often happy with shiny things, so I'm okay with that.
Oh and! MOAR YUUKI YAAAY. I still want to make him shave really badly, but! I kind of still love him ridiculous amounts and I love Voice for getting him a handful of photoshoots now. NEED MOAR PLZ.
ANYWAY. I HAVE WATCHED SOME DRAMAS. I'm not even close to caught up, but I am not as behind as I previously was! Spoilers for anything listed, of course.
Voice - episode 05: I know episode six is out already, but I only watched this one so far, because I wanted to talk about it on its own before getting into the next one. Partly because I want to really examine each episode closely, but also because this episode was kind of delightful for pretty much any ship of your choice.
That's one of the best things about this show--you'd think that the storylines would be real downers. And, true, they are sad, especially when you see the people they leave behind and how the circumstances aren't inevitable, they're just bad luck or just simply tragic. This week's story was no exception, the father who was trying to get that one magic shot because he became passionate about photography again after his son said he wanted to be a photographer when he grew up. That was so sweet and really kind of sad, when you realized that the random pictures they were showing things from their game of shiritori. Just. a s;dflkjas;lkjsljk SO SWEET.
I was a little less enthused with the whole project they had to do, partly because it was really predictable that Daiki was going to get cold up on the mountain and figure out the answer, but mostly because sharing body heat was the FIRST THING I THOUGHT OF. Aren't university students in Japan supposed to be smarter than that? XD And yet! I kind of also don't really mind because that's not what the show is about and they aren't trying to be too serious in tone. The light-hearted aspect of the show really wins me over every time.
Because this episode was beautiful with all the little touches. The story was sad and touching, but not soul crushing, it made you feel bittersweet by the end and then made everything better with these characters actually being pretty happy in their lives. Even when Ryousuke's not sure about his career path, it's an interesting story, not the kind that makes me want to curl up in a ball and never come out again.
Plus.
CHICKEN FARM. They had an episode at a CHICKEN FARM.
God, I love Voice.
And, okay, the episode put me in a good mood right from the beginning with Ryousuke helping Hanei out of the autopsy room, because it is never not funny when the former yankee is the one who can't stand the sight of dead bodies and, also, they are kind of really touchy-feely. Ryousuke had Hanei's arm around his shoulders! And then Daiki, Ryousuke, and Hanei go out to INVESTIGATE THE CHICKEN FARM.
I love that they mix things up with the team dynamics, that things are constantly in flux with who interacts with whom, but also. I would not say no to that threesome. Especially with Ryousuke totally giving Hanei shit about his scary smile that frightened the poor kid away. And it was a totally creepy smile, god bless Yuuki's acting for that, it was seriously lolarious.
Then they followed that with a scene at Teppei's again, where Hanei was cooking and everyone was like OMG THAT LOOKS SO GOOD and stop that, show. I don't want to want a Voice/Kabuto crossover this badly! It's just. I'm sure there's a way to connect them through cooking! Have them meet at the Hanei restaurant! Hanei/Tendou WOULD BE SO AWESOME. Though, I can't decide if Tendou would say something that set Hanei off or if they would get along perfectly, because either seems entirely likely.
a;sldkfjasljk I'll shut up about Kabuto someday, but it's probably not going to be any time soon, sorry. :x
Anyway, that scene at Teppei's was fabulous. Daiki's face when he was bitching about the egg and the chicken being together, that "parent" and "child" should never be mixed like that, and Hanei says something meaningful, so Ryousuke says, "Oi, Hanei-kun said something good just now!"
And Daiki. Oh, Daiki earned my love forever with, "Even though he was a yankee? Even though he has highlights?" and as;ldfkja;lskjasl;kj I love this show for even changing that up, too! Hanei getting up from the table, probably to go drag Daiki off somewhere (I WOULD NOT SAY NO, VOICE) because he doesn't take insults well and just a;sldkfja;lskj it was beautiful.
There was some great Hanei/Teppei stuff, too, of course. Both Hanei and mom getting in Teppei's face at the restaurant or the entire scene with Hanei's mom's story and how he had this pained, annoyed look during the whole thing, like he has clearly heard this story A MILLION TIMES and is embarrassed by his mother! And nobody is sure whether or not to believe her story and Teppei says there's no way it could be true and just. HE NEVER LEARNS. Even when Hanei is sitting RIGHT BESIDE HIM and of course he grabs Teppei by the collar and gets in his face and asks if he's calling his mom a liar and it's SO GREAT and I-- I honestly don't know if I love it more for the gay of the whole thing or because Hanei is such a typical son.
There was some cute Ryousuke/Daiki stuff as well, like in the beginning and then the two of them went back to the CHICKEN FARM and Daiki dragged Ryousuke around. And a lot of Daiki/Aki stuff, which still... I'm not sure if I want the drama to actually go there, I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'm still not running away from it, either. Aki visiting him on the mountain, the whole scene with the egg (augh, mayonaise on eggs? that sounds so gross, I don't blame Daiki for his reaction, but I forgive the show because Aki just inhaling her half of the egg was so freaking adorable) and the scene at the lab where he wants to find answers for Minoru after Aki is the one who says that losing your parents leaves this really big hole in your life that can't be filled up.
I feel like I should mind, but this show just... I can't form a single OTP from it. It's like being a fan of a boyband! How do you choose just one pairing? They're all so awesome!
Oh! The two other things I liked. One was the continuation of Aki's story about losing her parents, the little touch of her empathizing with Minoru's situation was nice. The other was the two references to Daiki's abilities--it's Eita's show, so of course he always gets to find the answer, but I liked that they're acknowledging that in the text of the series, in their own way. Ryousuke's confession to the lady teacher, when he says he's not sure Forensics is for him, because he looks at Daiki and thinks he's kind of amazing, but doesn't feel that way about himself. Hanei saying that Daiki will probably stay on the mountain until he figures out the answer. The way their teacher was pretty sure that it was Daiki who figured it out. The entire Rubik's Cube scene.
I actually sort of like that they're giving a reason for it, rather than just It's The Eita Show. And it's hard not to like Daiki (the NEON GREEN earmuffs! so adorable!), with being sort of a social oddball at times, but finding this group of people to fit in with and, while it may be Eita's show, they've done pretty good at not necessarily making Daiki the only person that people have connections with.
How hard do I love Hanei's relationship with Ryousuke or Teppei? How much do I love Ryousuke's crush on the strict older teacher lady or Natsumi's very obvious crush on him? (That whole conversation where she was glad to get the e-mail from him with the tea leaf! Where he was like, girls who are happy from that are the best! So adorable!) How much do I want to see Aki interacting with the rest of the team? I actually like everyone's connection to everyone else!
I loved the picture of all five of them together on the steps that Minoru took. I love it because it was a sweet moment for the storyline, but also because I'm really attached to this group of five people, I want them to be each other's new family forever. ♥
Shinkenger - episode 01: Maybe I'm just easy to please. Maybe I'm always excited at the first episode of a new toku show. But I kind of loved this one like a fire in my heart.
A lot of it is that I like the samurai theme, I like the look of the show, it's very pretty! I'm kind of "...." over another animal-themed series so soon after something like Gekiranger, but I imagine animal themes are possibly pretty common with sentai? And yet I don't mind because it's also got the whole samurai theme, which, have I mentioned that I LOVE WITH A VIOLENT PASSION? Because I do.
But mostly I love this series already because an arrogant, obnoxious Red? SIGN ME UP. OMG I LOVE HIM ALREADY. He's obviously got issues and has been raised as a brat, but there's more going on with him and I've watched enough arrogant toku characters to know that I'm weak to that sort.
It's also that, shockingly, I'm already shipping Red/Blue. Sure, I'm weak to that dynamic half of the time, but. Wow, was Ryuunousuke ever totally gay for Takeru, to the point of lolariousness. I love him practically throwing himself at Takeru's feet or just immediately sinking to his knees in front of Takeru (not that he wasn't willing to do that for anyone who was their leader, but) or tries to protect him, while Takeru is just like, "Whatever." and moves around him.
OR OR OR. The Origami! Which, btw, I totally lolled at and I fucking love those things already even beyond that they kind of remind me a little of Zecters (shut up, I know I have Kabuto on the brain) because I love shit like that. But when Ryuunousuke starts in this explanation of what they are, Takeru's like, "So you make long-winded introductions as well?" like his entire life is one big hassle.
asl;dfkjas;ldkja;lsjk DO WANT. DO WANT SO HARD.
Not that I'm not interested in all of them, but apart from Red and Blue, they didn't really make much of an impression yet. I'm cautiously curious about Green/Pink, which I might be totally willing to ship, but I don't really have a sense of their personalities yet, the show hasn't had time to detail them much. And, okay, I'm weak to Reds, because Reds are almost always my favorites. Or at least right up there.
Nor am I only watching for the shippy stuff, because I really did enjoy the fight scene. The giant robot battle was mercifully short this time, but the fight scene was super awesome because RED'S BIG ASS SWORD OF AWESOME. I don't care how much it looks like he's over compensating, IT IS BEAUTIFUL. With all of my heart, I loved that scene where he was just mowing through the enemies while the rest of his team stood on the sidelines in shocked awe.
I love the rest of their weapons, too! Arrows for Blue! Fans for Pink! (Which just makes me lol harder at Retsu from Gekiranger.) Slicer for Yellow! Spear for Green! I am pleased with all of this! I love the Origami! FOLDED GODS ARE AWESOME.
And, again, maybe I'm just easy for new series. But I really thought this was a fun first episode and am totally looking forward to the second one. ♥
Uta no Onii-san - episode 04-05: All right, I'm going to start with the negative so that I don't end on a bummer note. Episode 04 with Akane. I am truly confused by what the show is trying to do with her character, because I find it difficult to believe that we're supposed to be sympathetic to a character who pulls the kind of shit she does and yet I suspect that we are supposed to feel for her.
But I just.
I want to light her on fire with the power of my mind. Again, her choices were valid and I don't blame her for them. The way she did it was cruel and horrible, it was a total dick move, but what's really getting to me is the way she keeps haunting Kenta's life. It's really kind of infuriating to watch her shoot Kenta down when he's trying to be serious with her, then she turns around and pulls this shit.
First she added the L-O-V-E song to the playlist, the flashback showing us that it was (again!) Kenta's idea that she was taking for her own and that it was obviously an important song to the two of them. And that was another dick move, but what really made me hate her was sending the tickets and flyer to Kenta.
You kicked him out of the band, you stole his dream, you rejected him when he tried to be serious with you (which was the problem, you said), and then you send him tickets to your premiere? The one in which you added your song to the listing?
How on EARTH is that anything but cruel?
I mean, let's set aside the issue of Akane rejecting him, because that's the sort of thing that just makes me flap my hands and unable to say anything because it's so infuriating, that she would invite him there, give him hope, only to shoot him down again.
Even if it's not cruel, it's horribly mixed signals. You shoot him down one week, then send him tickets the next. What the hell is he SUPPOSED to think? How is that NOT a clear signal that she wants him? And yet she rejects him and is like, no, you have to stop this, Kenta, you have to find your own place to shine!
It just. It frustrates me deeply how incredibly... I don't know. Childish, maybe. She's something and it makes it incredibly difficult to sympathize with her.
*deep breath*
On the other hand. After catching up on reaction posts--especially capncomo's really thoughtful commentary--I do feel like I'm letting my attachment to Ohno/Kenta and my anger at Akane get in the way of looking at things clearly. Because we have seen that the manager is a very controlling person and not necessarily a nice guy and he's said that he made the band ditch Kenta and we see that he's already packaging Akane in a way that she's clearly not happy with. It's all too easy to imagine him manipulating her into making some really poor choices.
If she was manipulated into some of these choices, if the manager pressured her or fed on her unsureness about their debut, if she really does still love Kenta and is trying to make the best of a bad situation, I... I'm not sure I'm really ready to forgive her or anything, but maybe I could get to a point where I could stand them.
Because, as glad as I was to see Kenta ditching the concert to go help Michiru, he did still rush over there at the end. And the way she's handling this is really, really awful. And I'm not sure I trust the show to actually intend this with her... or at least to show her reasons in a way that makes it okay, given how poorly they've handled the entire thing so far.
And I'm not sure where all of this is going. The manager's involvement and frequent interest in what Kenta's up to seems to imply that all of this is going somewhere, but I'm just not sure where yet.
I'm also a little "...." over Michiru's attitude in episode 04, because she really was downright cruel. And yet. They kind of had a point--as Kenta says, just because you don't treat her like one, doesn't mean she isn't still just a kid. And it's nice to see that she's not a little miniature adult, it's nice to see her having some less than perfect moments, to not just stick her in the role of saying adult things in a child's body. Her crush on Daigo-kun was adorable and I LOVED that Kenta chose helping her out instead of going to the concert.
And I'm really pleased with the way the family storyline is progressing, even when Kenta and his father had a fight, they were getting a lot of their issues out in the open, and they both made an effort. I love that Kenta's argument was that they weren't letting him help the family out and it was HIS FAMILY, TOO, while the father was clearly stubborn and didn't want to burden his kids with his own problems, then the father talked to Urara about how parents just want their kids to be happy and Kenta realized that his dad was pleased with him for finding something he loved and a;lsdkfja;lskjslkj it was all tied together beautifully.
I loved the inclusion of Urara's storyline into everything with Kenta and his father, I love that it started out with the matchmaking meeting and Urara being like, we're going to get married!, and KENTA'S REACTION. His HAAAAHHH and THE LOOK ON HIS FACE. Beautiful. I cannot tell you how hard I LOLed. Then everyone thinking they're dating! MORE LOLLING FOREVER.
I love the way they continue to play with the meta aspect and episode 05 was the best yet for how they've clearly been doing it on purpose. The mention of "Ohno" (how both Kenta and his father have similar-sounding names) was the most blatant yet, but I love every time Kenta bitches that they're not idols. The ENTIRE SCENE at the beginning of episode 04 with Manabe lecturing them, Ohno and Maru's FACES and Ohno's little Tch noises and the RULES, it was all so beautiful.
Same for Ohno getting just totally owned by those little Macaron-whatever girls. Tiny little girls! Just totally OWNING him with having boatloads more experience than him!
Or the entire sub-plot with Sakura thinking about marrying the rich son, while Kacchan is like NOOOOOO KEN-CHAN HELP ME WOULDN'T I BE A BETTER BROTHER FOR YOOOOUUU? I ship them so hard and this was just. Shipper paradise for them.
I really love that they gave Urara some depth but tied it into the main storyline that was happening with Kenta. I loved her conversation with Kenta's father, it was surprisingly touching and genuine, really revealing for both their characters, not a match up I would have expected, but so awesome nonetheless. And, oh, god, Ohno in the background in the crow's outfit? Skulking around the corner so his dad wouldn't see him? Just. a s;dlfkja;sljk the physical comedy aspect of this series is SO MUCH FUN.
Also, I really want to know who Manabe has fallen for. Is it a love kind of fallen for? Is it that she's fascinated with Kenta as a star for her show? I'm sort of torn between who it is that she's fallen for--she wouldn't say and then the show switched to Kenta walking down the street at night, which seemed signifigant. But I suspect that was just to throw the audience off, I think she's fallen for creepy manager guy, which is too bad, because I think I might dislike him. :/
asl;dkfja;lksjlskj new episode soon, right?
Though, actually, I don't know that I agree that BB was what gave DiDio the idea to want to kill off the character, I think he did have actual reasons for thinking that, they were just CRAP reasons. That whole "redundant character" crap was so lame that I just-- I can't even-- as;dlfkjas;lkjasl
I also don't know that it was BB that gave him the idea that they shouldn't be together--otherwise he'd push Bruce/Barbara, augh--but I agree with the sentiment towards both the series and DiDio! Personally, I blame Dini for that shit more than I'm furious with DiDio over it. But a lot of what happened in BB really did ruin TAS for me. Partly the Bruce/Babs stuff, but even more was the whole Terry nonsense. Holy shit, that was RETARDED. Dammit, I liked Terry, too!
Also, I have to point something out--in the comments, people are all, nooo, BB said Dick was still alive in Bludhaven! NO THEY DIDN'T. Barbara said to GO LOOK HIM UP IN BLUDHAVEN, which COULD have meant that he was alive (bullshit bullshit bullshit if he didn't even come around when all that shit was happening to Tim? I call bullshit.) but I always thought it could ALSO mean, hey, go look up the records of what happened to him over in Bludhaven. IT WAS AMBIGUOUS. I REMEMBER BECAUSE I WAS OBSESSIVE OVER ANY MENTION OF DICK IN BB.
OH GOD SO MUCH NERDERY, I AM SORRY.
So, Arashi fandom finally decided to make all fanworks be posted to their own comm? GOD BLESS YOU, FANDOM. I LOVE YOU THAT MUCH MORE AGAIN.
Also, I need this mag (you can guess which cover) like a FIRE IN MY HEART. Yuuuuuuuuukiiiiiiiiiiii, I NEED HIM, OKAY.
ALSO, this Hiro/Takeru photoshoot is the cutest thing ever omg. Takeru's hair doesn't look entirely like something crawled onto his head and died, even though I know it probably looks terrible in action. But I don't care because Hiro is ADORABLE and SO VERY PRETTY and I'm both easy and shallow. :|b But this means I'm often happy with shiny things, so I'm okay with that.
Oh and! MOAR YUUKI YAAAY. I still want to make him shave really badly, but! I kind of still love him ridiculous amounts and I love Voice for getting him a handful of photoshoots now. NEED MOAR PLZ.
ANYWAY. I HAVE WATCHED SOME DRAMAS. I'm not even close to caught up, but I am not as behind as I previously was! Spoilers for anything listed, of course.
Voice - episode 05: I know episode six is out already, but I only watched this one so far, because I wanted to talk about it on its own before getting into the next one. Partly because I want to really examine each episode closely, but also because this episode was kind of delightful for pretty much any ship of your choice.
That's one of the best things about this show--you'd think that the storylines would be real downers. And, true, they are sad, especially when you see the people they leave behind and how the circumstances aren't inevitable, they're just bad luck or just simply tragic. This week's story was no exception, the father who was trying to get that one magic shot because he became passionate about photography again after his son said he wanted to be a photographer when he grew up. That was so sweet and really kind of sad, when you realized that the random pictures they were showing things from their game of shiritori. Just. a s;dflkjas;lkjsljk SO SWEET.
I was a little less enthused with the whole project they had to do, partly because it was really predictable that Daiki was going to get cold up on the mountain and figure out the answer, but mostly because sharing body heat was the FIRST THING I THOUGHT OF. Aren't university students in Japan supposed to be smarter than that? XD And yet! I kind of also don't really mind because that's not what the show is about and they aren't trying to be too serious in tone. The light-hearted aspect of the show really wins me over every time.
Because this episode was beautiful with all the little touches. The story was sad and touching, but not soul crushing, it made you feel bittersweet by the end and then made everything better with these characters actually being pretty happy in their lives. Even when Ryousuke's not sure about his career path, it's an interesting story, not the kind that makes me want to curl up in a ball and never come out again.
Plus.
CHICKEN FARM. They had an episode at a CHICKEN FARM.
God, I love Voice.
And, okay, the episode put me in a good mood right from the beginning with Ryousuke helping Hanei out of the autopsy room, because it is never not funny when the former yankee is the one who can't stand the sight of dead bodies and, also, they are kind of really touchy-feely. Ryousuke had Hanei's arm around his shoulders! And then Daiki, Ryousuke, and Hanei go out to INVESTIGATE THE CHICKEN FARM.
I love that they mix things up with the team dynamics, that things are constantly in flux with who interacts with whom, but also. I would not say no to that threesome. Especially with Ryousuke totally giving Hanei shit about his scary smile that frightened the poor kid away. And it was a totally creepy smile, god bless Yuuki's acting for that, it was seriously lolarious.
Then they followed that with a scene at Teppei's again, where Hanei was cooking and everyone was like OMG THAT LOOKS SO GOOD and stop that, show. I don't want to want a Voice/Kabuto crossover this badly! It's just. I'm sure there's a way to connect them through cooking! Have them meet at the Hanei restaurant! Hanei/Tendou WOULD BE SO AWESOME. Though, I can't decide if Tendou would say something that set Hanei off or if they would get along perfectly, because either seems entirely likely.
a;sldkfjasljk I'll shut up about Kabuto someday, but it's probably not going to be any time soon, sorry. :x
Anyway, that scene at Teppei's was fabulous. Daiki's face when he was bitching about the egg and the chicken being together, that "parent" and "child" should never be mixed like that, and Hanei says something meaningful, so Ryousuke says, "Oi, Hanei-kun said something good just now!"
And Daiki. Oh, Daiki earned my love forever with, "Even though he was a yankee? Even though he has highlights?" and as;ldfkja;lskjasl;kj I love this show for even changing that up, too! Hanei getting up from the table, probably to go drag Daiki off somewhere (I WOULD NOT SAY NO, VOICE) because he doesn't take insults well and just a;sldkfja;lskj it was beautiful.
There was some great Hanei/Teppei stuff, too, of course. Both Hanei and mom getting in Teppei's face at the restaurant or the entire scene with Hanei's mom's story and how he had this pained, annoyed look during the whole thing, like he has clearly heard this story A MILLION TIMES and is embarrassed by his mother! And nobody is sure whether or not to believe her story and Teppei says there's no way it could be true and just. HE NEVER LEARNS. Even when Hanei is sitting RIGHT BESIDE HIM and of course he grabs Teppei by the collar and gets in his face and asks if he's calling his mom a liar and it's SO GREAT and I-- I honestly don't know if I love it more for the gay of the whole thing or because Hanei is such a typical son.
There was some cute Ryousuke/Daiki stuff as well, like in the beginning and then the two of them went back to the CHICKEN FARM and Daiki dragged Ryousuke around. And a lot of Daiki/Aki stuff, which still... I'm not sure if I want the drama to actually go there, I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'm still not running away from it, either. Aki visiting him on the mountain, the whole scene with the egg (augh, mayonaise on eggs? that sounds so gross, I don't blame Daiki for his reaction, but I forgive the show because Aki just inhaling her half of the egg was so freaking adorable) and the scene at the lab where he wants to find answers for Minoru after Aki is the one who says that losing your parents leaves this really big hole in your life that can't be filled up.
I feel like I should mind, but this show just... I can't form a single OTP from it. It's like being a fan of a boyband! How do you choose just one pairing? They're all so awesome!
Oh! The two other things I liked. One was the continuation of Aki's story about losing her parents, the little touch of her empathizing with Minoru's situation was nice. The other was the two references to Daiki's abilities--it's Eita's show, so of course he always gets to find the answer, but I liked that they're acknowledging that in the text of the series, in their own way. Ryousuke's confession to the lady teacher, when he says he's not sure Forensics is for him, because he looks at Daiki and thinks he's kind of amazing, but doesn't feel that way about himself. Hanei saying that Daiki will probably stay on the mountain until he figures out the answer. The way their teacher was pretty sure that it was Daiki who figured it out. The entire Rubik's Cube scene.
I actually sort of like that they're giving a reason for it, rather than just It's The Eita Show. And it's hard not to like Daiki (the NEON GREEN earmuffs! so adorable!), with being sort of a social oddball at times, but finding this group of people to fit in with and, while it may be Eita's show, they've done pretty good at not necessarily making Daiki the only person that people have connections with.
How hard do I love Hanei's relationship with Ryousuke or Teppei? How much do I love Ryousuke's crush on the strict older teacher lady or Natsumi's very obvious crush on him? (That whole conversation where she was glad to get the e-mail from him with the tea leaf! Where he was like, girls who are happy from that are the best! So adorable!) How much do I want to see Aki interacting with the rest of the team? I actually like everyone's connection to everyone else!
I loved the picture of all five of them together on the steps that Minoru took. I love it because it was a sweet moment for the storyline, but also because I'm really attached to this group of five people, I want them to be each other's new family forever. ♥
Shinkenger - episode 01: Maybe I'm just easy to please. Maybe I'm always excited at the first episode of a new toku show. But I kind of loved this one like a fire in my heart.
A lot of it is that I like the samurai theme, I like the look of the show, it's very pretty! I'm kind of "...." over another animal-themed series so soon after something like Gekiranger, but I imagine animal themes are possibly pretty common with sentai? And yet I don't mind because it's also got the whole samurai theme, which, have I mentioned that I LOVE WITH A VIOLENT PASSION? Because I do.
But mostly I love this series already because an arrogant, obnoxious Red? SIGN ME UP. OMG I LOVE HIM ALREADY. He's obviously got issues and has been raised as a brat, but there's more going on with him and I've watched enough arrogant toku characters to know that I'm weak to that sort.
It's also that, shockingly, I'm already shipping Red/Blue. Sure, I'm weak to that dynamic half of the time, but. Wow, was Ryuunousuke ever totally gay for Takeru, to the point of lolariousness. I love him practically throwing himself at Takeru's feet or just immediately sinking to his knees in front of Takeru (not that he wasn't willing to do that for anyone who was their leader, but) or tries to protect him, while Takeru is just like, "Whatever." and moves around him.
OR OR OR. The Origami! Which, btw, I totally lolled at and I fucking love those things already even beyond that they kind of remind me a little of Zecters (shut up, I know I have Kabuto on the brain) because I love shit like that. But when Ryuunousuke starts in this explanation of what they are, Takeru's like, "So you make long-winded introductions as well?" like his entire life is one big hassle.
asl;dfkjas;ldkja;lsjk DO WANT. DO WANT SO HARD.
Not that I'm not interested in all of them, but apart from Red and Blue, they didn't really make much of an impression yet. I'm cautiously curious about Green/Pink, which I might be totally willing to ship, but I don't really have a sense of their personalities yet, the show hasn't had time to detail them much. And, okay, I'm weak to Reds, because Reds are almost always my favorites. Or at least right up there.
Nor am I only watching for the shippy stuff, because I really did enjoy the fight scene. The giant robot battle was mercifully short this time, but the fight scene was super awesome because RED'S BIG ASS SWORD OF AWESOME. I don't care how much it looks like he's over compensating, IT IS BEAUTIFUL. With all of my heart, I loved that scene where he was just mowing through the enemies while the rest of his team stood on the sidelines in shocked awe.
I love the rest of their weapons, too! Arrows for Blue! Fans for Pink! (Which just makes me lol harder at Retsu from Gekiranger.) Slicer for Yellow! Spear for Green! I am pleased with all of this! I love the Origami! FOLDED GODS ARE AWESOME.
And, again, maybe I'm just easy for new series. But I really thought this was a fun first episode and am totally looking forward to the second one. ♥
Uta no Onii-san - episode 04-05: All right, I'm going to start with the negative so that I don't end on a bummer note. Episode 04 with Akane. I am truly confused by what the show is trying to do with her character, because I find it difficult to believe that we're supposed to be sympathetic to a character who pulls the kind of shit she does and yet I suspect that we are supposed to feel for her.
But I just.
I want to light her on fire with the power of my mind. Again, her choices were valid and I don't blame her for them. The way she did it was cruel and horrible, it was a total dick move, but what's really getting to me is the way she keeps haunting Kenta's life. It's really kind of infuriating to watch her shoot Kenta down when he's trying to be serious with her, then she turns around and pulls this shit.
First she added the L-O-V-E song to the playlist, the flashback showing us that it was (again!) Kenta's idea that she was taking for her own and that it was obviously an important song to the two of them. And that was another dick move, but what really made me hate her was sending the tickets and flyer to Kenta.
You kicked him out of the band, you stole his dream, you rejected him when he tried to be serious with you (which was the problem, you said), and then you send him tickets to your premiere? The one in which you added your song to the listing?
How on EARTH is that anything but cruel?
I mean, let's set aside the issue of Akane rejecting him, because that's the sort of thing that just makes me flap my hands and unable to say anything because it's so infuriating, that she would invite him there, give him hope, only to shoot him down again.
Even if it's not cruel, it's horribly mixed signals. You shoot him down one week, then send him tickets the next. What the hell is he SUPPOSED to think? How is that NOT a clear signal that she wants him? And yet she rejects him and is like, no, you have to stop this, Kenta, you have to find your own place to shine!
It just. It frustrates me deeply how incredibly... I don't know. Childish, maybe. She's something and it makes it incredibly difficult to sympathize with her.
*deep breath*
On the other hand. After catching up on reaction posts--especially capncomo's really thoughtful commentary--I do feel like I'm letting my attachment to Ohno/Kenta and my anger at Akane get in the way of looking at things clearly. Because we have seen that the manager is a very controlling person and not necessarily a nice guy and he's said that he made the band ditch Kenta and we see that he's already packaging Akane in a way that she's clearly not happy with. It's all too easy to imagine him manipulating her into making some really poor choices.
If she was manipulated into some of these choices, if the manager pressured her or fed on her unsureness about their debut, if she really does still love Kenta and is trying to make the best of a bad situation, I... I'm not sure I'm really ready to forgive her or anything, but maybe I could get to a point where I could stand them.
Because, as glad as I was to see Kenta ditching the concert to go help Michiru, he did still rush over there at the end. And the way she's handling this is really, really awful. And I'm not sure I trust the show to actually intend this with her... or at least to show her reasons in a way that makes it okay, given how poorly they've handled the entire thing so far.
And I'm not sure where all of this is going. The manager's involvement and frequent interest in what Kenta's up to seems to imply that all of this is going somewhere, but I'm just not sure where yet.
I'm also a little "...." over Michiru's attitude in episode 04, because she really was downright cruel. And yet. They kind of had a point--as Kenta says, just because you don't treat her like one, doesn't mean she isn't still just a kid. And it's nice to see that she's not a little miniature adult, it's nice to see her having some less than perfect moments, to not just stick her in the role of saying adult things in a child's body. Her crush on Daigo-kun was adorable and I LOVED that Kenta chose helping her out instead of going to the concert.
And I'm really pleased with the way the family storyline is progressing, even when Kenta and his father had a fight, they were getting a lot of their issues out in the open, and they both made an effort. I love that Kenta's argument was that they weren't letting him help the family out and it was HIS FAMILY, TOO, while the father was clearly stubborn and didn't want to burden his kids with his own problems, then the father talked to Urara about how parents just want their kids to be happy and Kenta realized that his dad was pleased with him for finding something he loved and a;lsdkfja;lskjslkj it was all tied together beautifully.
I loved the inclusion of Urara's storyline into everything with Kenta and his father, I love that it started out with the matchmaking meeting and Urara being like, we're going to get married!, and KENTA'S REACTION. His HAAAAHHH and THE LOOK ON HIS FACE. Beautiful. I cannot tell you how hard I LOLed. Then everyone thinking they're dating! MORE LOLLING FOREVER.
I love the way they continue to play with the meta aspect and episode 05 was the best yet for how they've clearly been doing it on purpose. The mention of "Ohno" (how both Kenta and his father have similar-sounding names) was the most blatant yet, but I love every time Kenta bitches that they're not idols. The ENTIRE SCENE at the beginning of episode 04 with Manabe lecturing them, Ohno and Maru's FACES and Ohno's little Tch noises and the RULES, it was all so beautiful.
Same for Ohno getting just totally owned by those little Macaron-whatever girls. Tiny little girls! Just totally OWNING him with having boatloads more experience than him!
Or the entire sub-plot with Sakura thinking about marrying the rich son, while Kacchan is like NOOOOOO KEN-CHAN HELP ME WOULDN'T I BE A BETTER BROTHER FOR YOOOOUUU? I ship them so hard and this was just. Shipper paradise for them.
I really love that they gave Urara some depth but tied it into the main storyline that was happening with Kenta. I loved her conversation with Kenta's father, it was surprisingly touching and genuine, really revealing for both their characters, not a match up I would have expected, but so awesome nonetheless. And, oh, god, Ohno in the background in the crow's outfit? Skulking around the corner so his dad wouldn't see him? Just. a s;dlfkja;sljk the physical comedy aspect of this series is SO MUCH FUN.
Also, I really want to know who Manabe has fallen for. Is it a love kind of fallen for? Is it that she's fascinated with Kenta as a star for her show? I'm sort of torn between who it is that she's fallen for--she wouldn't say and then the show switched to Kenta walking down the street at night, which seemed signifigant. But I suspect that was just to throw the audience off, I think she's fallen for creepy manager guy, which is too bad, because I think I might dislike him. :/
asl;dkfja;lksjlskj new episode soon, right?