blue exorcist
Caught up! I took a long break from the series after the Big Twist because Kato made me SERIOUSLY detest a certain character and it was a little hard to take.
Pretty good timing, I think, because the arc just ended.
1. Oh, Izumo. Izumo has long been one of my favorite characters of the series and I love her development arc so, so much. I love too that she's motivated by her mother and sister. And her really solid relationships with Paku and Shiemi. <3 Not enough female relationships in shounen action manga! Never enough!
but bwahhhh. :(
2. Man.... Mephisto and Shura remind me big time of Urahara and Yoruichi from Bleach. Except more antagonistic with each other. And Mephisto is more obviously shady, whereas who knows what Kubo wants to do with Urahara in the long run. I quite like the friction between them but it's probably only because of their shallow resemblance to one of my nostalgic OTPs~~
3. I never said, but I adooooored Juzo/Mamushi, they're slapslapkiss childhood friends which I'm usually not into that much except they're adoooooorable. Mostly because both are usually the "mature"/leader figures of the younger generation of their respective families, so it's super cute when they let loose with each other.
4. If Izumo ends up with Shima at this point I'm going to scream. I detest Shima. It's great writing, because dammit I did actually have a soft spot for him up until the betrayal (and was totally expecting a completely different character arc, dammit Kato got me there, and I can't even deny that this route is way more interesting and makes more sense for the character)... but now I just thoroughly detest him even though I know he's probably going to be redeemed at some point (especially since it turns out he didn't really kill Izumo's foxes). It's bewildering because I usually LOVE the sneaky characters who are more cunning than they seem (it's pretty clear now that he IS really intelligent, despite the front he puts up).
But I can't stand the bastard. Every time he shows up I want to punch him in his smug face. Let it be known. If Kato manages not just to redeem him somewhere down the line, but actually make me like the turd again, hats off to her.
(Actually, I'm pretty sure I know why, and it's because his apparent motivations are HORRIBLE, that fucking twerp. I bet we're going to find out that there's more to it but ugh either way. I don't even WANT to like him at this point. I get the feeling he sees himself as a martyr, a white knight in the shadows, and just BLEGH)
(Even if he's redeemed, I will fucking HATE IT if he ends up with Izumo, who clearly has never cared for him much beyond "part of my social circle". His words were poison to her, and the overall vibe between them has just... always been kind of nasty, even before the reveal [and now we know WHY].)
(I love Shima's brothers though, if it isn't obvious.)
5. I actually really hardcore ship Izumo/Bon, on the other hand. Eheh. *squishes them* They'd be good for each other, and I really enjoyed their interactions with each other prior to this arc (heck, even with the Shima anvils these two are STILL getting pretty sweet-but-subtle moments -- especially that indirect moment at the hospital awwww /shameless shipper). I feel like they'd understand each other pretty damn well -- they're a really good match personality-wise, and their backgrounds are similar and yet different in a way that complements very nicely.
I'm biased though because Bon and Izumo are probably my favorites of the kids by faaaaaaaaar. (Though I <3 them all to be honest.)
6. Konekomaru is a cute little badass. He's the kind of character who's almost always guaranteed to be super-unpopular, and yet~~~ he gets such lovely moments. I hope he's the one to redeem Shima when it inevitably happens (of course Bon will have to be part of it too, but I just hope Konekomaru is the main catalyst).
- - -
Aaaaaand I wrote all the above before reading the latest chapter. Which is shorter than usual. And explains a couple things but still doesn't make me like the bastard. It lessens my frothing hatred of him, but actually increases my dislike of him in other ways. (And it's a testament to the writing that I feel this way -- and there are a lot of people who liked him, some who still do like him!)
- - -
I have to say, I really like the direction the manga took (it did not make the obvious choices at all, unlike apparently the anime... which I never did finish).
... time to catch up on Historie now I guess, and see if the take on Alexander really was as annoying as I remember. who needs sleep?
comments at the original Dreamwidth post
Pretty good timing, I think, because the arc just ended.
1. Oh, Izumo. Izumo has long been one of my favorite characters of the series and I love her development arc so, so much. I love too that she's motivated by her mother and sister. And her really solid relationships with Paku and Shiemi. <3 Not enough female relationships in shounen action manga! Never enough!
but bwahhhh. :(
2. Man.... Mephisto and Shura remind me big time of Urahara and Yoruichi from Bleach. Except more antagonistic with each other. And Mephisto is more obviously shady, whereas who knows what Kubo wants to do with Urahara in the long run. I quite like the friction between them but it's probably only because of their shallow resemblance to one of my nostalgic OTPs~~
3. I never said, but I adooooored Juzo/Mamushi, they're slapslapkiss childhood friends which I'm usually not into that much except they're adoooooorable. Mostly because both are usually the "mature"/leader figures of the younger generation of their respective families, so it's super cute when they let loose with each other.
4. If Izumo ends up with Shima at this point I'm going to scream. I detest Shima. It's great writing, because dammit I did actually have a soft spot for him up until the betrayal (and was totally expecting a completely different character arc, dammit Kato got me there, and I can't even deny that this route is way more interesting and makes more sense for the character)... but now I just thoroughly detest him even though I know he's probably going to be redeemed at some point (especially since it turns out he didn't really kill Izumo's foxes). It's bewildering because I usually LOVE the sneaky characters who are more cunning than they seem (it's pretty clear now that he IS really intelligent, despite the front he puts up).
But I can't stand the bastard. Every time he shows up I want to punch him in his smug face. Let it be known. If Kato manages not just to redeem him somewhere down the line, but actually make me like the turd again, hats off to her.
(Actually, I'm pretty sure I know why, and it's because his apparent motivations are HORRIBLE, that fucking twerp. I bet we're going to find out that there's more to it but ugh either way. I don't even WANT to like him at this point. I get the feeling he sees himself as a martyr, a white knight in the shadows, and just BLEGH)
(Even if he's redeemed, I will fucking HATE IT if he ends up with Izumo, who clearly has never cared for him much beyond "part of my social circle". His words were poison to her, and the overall vibe between them has just... always been kind of nasty, even before the reveal [and now we know WHY].)
(I love Shima's brothers though, if it isn't obvious.)
5. I actually really hardcore ship Izumo/Bon, on the other hand. Eheh. *squishes them* They'd be good for each other, and I really enjoyed their interactions with each other prior to this arc (heck, even with the Shima anvils these two are STILL getting pretty sweet-but-subtle moments -- especially that indirect moment at the hospital awwww /shameless shipper). I feel like they'd understand each other pretty damn well -- they're a really good match personality-wise, and their backgrounds are similar and yet different in a way that complements very nicely.
I'm biased though because Bon and Izumo are probably my favorites of the kids by faaaaaaaaar. (Though I <3 them all to be honest.)
6. Konekomaru is a cute little badass. He's the kind of character who's almost always guaranteed to be super-unpopular, and yet~~~ he gets such lovely moments. I hope he's the one to redeem Shima when it inevitably happens (of course Bon will have to be part of it too, but I just hope Konekomaru is the main catalyst).
- - -
Aaaaaand I wrote all the above before reading the latest chapter. Which is shorter than usual. And explains a couple things but still doesn't make me like the bastard. It lessens my frothing hatred of him, but actually increases my dislike of him in other ways. (And it's a testament to the writing that I feel this way -- and there are a lot of people who liked him, some who still do like him!)
- - -
I have to say, I really like the direction the manga took (it did not make the obvious choices at all, unlike apparently the anime... which I never did finish).
... time to catch up on Historie now I guess, and see if the take on Alexander really was as annoying as I remember. who needs sleep?
comments at the original Dreamwidth post