I'm breaking my almost 8-year hiatus from this site to ask of where, WHERE is the brief scene where Isamu vents in frustration that Yuko favors the Demi-fiend over him?!
Because I remember coming across it on my first play through of Nocturne (tho I played it infrequently due to studying for the CPA Exam), but for some reason I'm having trouble finding it on my second & (currently) third runs. It most definitely happened after Isamu left the Mantra Headquarters, but I feel like it happened before seeing him again at Kabukicho Prison, as that seemed to serve as the "stepping stone" in his path to Musubi.
Call me crazy, but I'm bringing this up because before that scene, I had NO idea Isamu had feelings for Yuko. I knew Yuko and the Demi-fiend were close, but Isamu's feelings never crossed my mind until that moment. It was the moment that made me realize, "... Oh wow. He was serious about her." 0____0
Can’t believe I’ve been on this website for five years. Sometimes I wonder how I put up with this website for all its insanity; probably I stayed just for the pretty pictures, but even that in the end can’t be enough for me to stay here.
I thought about deactivating this account a couple of times now, but there are some posts that I’ve made throughout my time that I think are too precious to be deleted. So I’ll leave my account hanging around just for anyone to take a look at it.
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen goodbye. I hope I can start to overthink less and be less anxious without this site.
Shizuo Heiwajima and Anri Sonohara: A connection that could have been?
Okay, so if you’ve looked at my blog long enough, you’ve noticed that throughout my time here I’ve made several posts regarding the subtle yet obvious similarities between Shizuo Heiwajima and Anri Sonohara. This post will go into the specifics about their characters and the possible relationship they could’ve had had the author Ryohgo Narita actually took in the time to delve into their similarities and build a bond out of it—instead of leaving that bond in the dust.
Because I have a feeling Narita knew these two had plenty in common, it’s just that he’d rather focus on them bonding with other characters and keep them at a distance—for rather flimsy reasons. (Had a Shizuo-Anri relationship happen, Narita would’ve probably made it platonic, but maybe with some romantic undertones? It’s just a guess.)
To start off, let’s talk about their canon relationship.
Technically, Shizuo and Anri met at the very beginning of the story, aka the famous flying trashcan scene.
As every general fan knows, Izaya is epically decked by a trashcan, Shizuo makes his magnificently fearsome entrance, and everyone else surrounding them is either in state of shock, awe, terror, or all of the above. Including Anri.
Out of context, she just witnessed a violently strong bartender causing chaos, so of course she would cower in fear because of it.
However, when we learn later on that she possesses Saika, aka the blade that loves humanity and mind-controls everyone to slash Shizuo due to his strength, her terror takes on a whole new meaning. Saika most likely erupted after seeing Shizuo in brutal action, distressing Anri not only because of her fear of the bartender, but because she might lose control of the sword and slash him with disastrous consequences. It makes much sense afterwards to keep her distance from him, both in order to protect him from Saika and not having to face his wrath.
The next time they meet again is during the Saika arc, when Shizuo and Celty kicked the ass of a Saika-possessed slasher attempting to kill Anri, and this is where Anri starts to see the seemingly violent bartender in a different light. At the very end of the arc, where Mikado asks a hospitalized Anri who she “admires” (read: crush on to Mikado), the girl gives a dual response—while she focuses her deep admiration on Celty, she also expresses admiration for Shizuo as well, and even thinks about him in the 2nd LN.
It’s quite a change from her initial reaction to him, from being scared and terrified to even thinking of him as a cool guy (but still wary of his violent temper). She also seems to be less concerned about Saika ever controlling Shizuo, either because she somehow finds out that he fought off the Slasher army, or she would know if he’s possessed by summoning her control over him. I also want to quote from Volume 2:
“But I think [Shizuo Heiwajima]’s like me... Someone who can’t actually love other people, Anri thought to herself.”
Keep in mind that at this point, Anri NEVER talked to Shizuo, NEVER had thoughtful conversations with him, unlike of how Shizuo talks to Celty, yet she can ALREADY SENSE that Shizuo has trouble loving people, just like her. Even Celty, who acts as some sort of bridge between the two, can already tell that they have very much in common:
“They were both awkward people who had trouble loving others. But for some reason, these two people, flawed at being human, struck Celty as incredibly human because of that.”
And why wouldn’t she? Shizuo and Anri are human beings gifted with supernatural powers—yet they consider them curses. Both see themselves as monsters trying to live ordinary lives, yet are thwarted by the inner turmoil they face every day: Shizuo trying to control his temper, and Anri trying to repress her positive emotions to keep control over a demonic blade. By the end of their character arcs, they decide to further rein control of their powers to help the people, not to harm them any further. And I think that’s something they could understand each other so well on. (Well, only if Anri has to awkwardly explain to Shizuo about her identity, because she probably knows he doesn’t think fondly of Saika, heh heh ^___^;)
The Saika arc is also my personal favorite part of the series, not only because of Shizuo and Anri being the core characters, but because of their situation—Shizuo is the one desired by the Saika-possessed slashers, whose ultimate “mother” is Anri. (Personally, I find it to be a kind of indirect ship-tease, but that’s just my inner fangirl rambling.)
From then on afterwards, their interactions become as limited as bread crumbs on a plate. In the mostly anime-only S1EP22, Shizuo unintentionally saves Anri from Yellow Scarves gangsters, only to bluntly ask her who she is after she thanks him for doing so.
No “You’re welcome,” not even a confused “You’re welcome...?”, nothing. Granted, Shizuo’s pretty terrible at social skills, so not remembering people’s names is okay for the first time—but this happens again the very next episode, where he repeats himself after she expresses concern over his gunshot wounds from the same gangsters earlier.
(Thank you Shinra for at least remedying this absolutely cringeworthy moment.)
Afterwards, he basically ignores her as he focuses his conversation with Shinra, essentially turning his potential connection with the girl into a slight running gag. *Sigh*
From then on, Shizuo and Anri’s “interactions” are limited to being in each other’s space whenever they’re part of a group event. There’s the hotpot party in Volume 4/ShoEP4/OVA.
There’s them residing in Celty and Shinra’s apartment after being attacked by Akane and Vorona in Volume 5/ShoEP8.
There’s Shizuo interrupting Chikage’s interruption of the Anri and Vorona fight in Volume 6/ShoEP12.
(By the way, in the light novel, Shizuo mistakes Chikage’s intervening the two women as a love triangle gone wrong. Kinda funny, because later on he gets involved in similar triangle with Vorona—but not with Anri, but a little girl who looks like she can pass off as Anri’s younger sister. WHICH has been commented on by other characters, btw.)
The very last time they interact is in Volume 8/TenEP6, where they sit while the cat named Dokusonmaru jumps off of Shizuo’s head and climbs onto Anri’s chest. And that’s it.
From what I can tell based off these scenes, it seems that despite the potential for a friendship, neither Shizuo nor Anri seem interested in trying to talk to each other, to get to know each other better. Shizuo probably knows that Anri is a good friend of Celty, and knows that she isn’t the type who could pester him to the point of snapping a cigarette & stomping it on the ground before catapulting a vending machine; Anri also knows that Shizuo isn’t as violent as he appears, and senses that he has issues with loving people just like her. So, despite the non-obstacles to a relationship, nothing happens. Why is that?
There’s no given answer, unfortunately. I wish I could ask Narita on Twitter why he never makes them interact, but I don’t know Japanese well, nor do I believe he’s fluent in English.
But the reasons that I sense from Narita seem to be incredibly flimsy: “He can’t remember her name!” or “Saika makes it impossible for her to talk to him!” And that irks me to no end. I want to go over both points.
1) Shizuo not remembering Anri’s name.
I get it, both of them aren’t great with social skills; Shizuo arguably has it worse though. I don’t blame him for essentially having a lonely childhood and forming a circle of a few friends and a brother. However, as the novels progress, the more he bonds with other characters (sans Anri), the more sociable he becomes. He gets along fine-and-dandy with Mairu and Kururi despite them being Izaya’s sisters. He treats Vorona with utmost respect as his junior and holds no grudges when he finds out her true identity. He develops a protective attitude towards little Akane (who, I repeat, looks like a younger Anri) even when she initially tries to kill him with a taser. What solidifies his relationships with them is how he’s able to remember their names. But if Anri’s involved, he only asks, “Who are you, again?” Nothing more, everything less.
I’m sorry, it’s just... *sigh*... how difficult is it to remember “Anri” anyways?! “Sonohara” might make some sense if we go by a last-name basis, but “Anri” shouldn’t be hard to pronounce! It’s just as short as “Celty” or “Tom”! Her name only has four letters for crying out loud! (Two if we go by kanji.) Plus it’s of Japanese origin, he didn’t have trouble remembering the obviously foreign name of “Vorona”!
I would’ve find it hilarious if he has trouble remembering the name of the van driver from Kadota’s gang (Togusa), but Anri? Come on. That’s like being neglectful of an adorable bunny. She deserves far better treatment than that.
(As if Narita wants to make me salty even further, there was a moment in SH where Anri calls Togusa by his name, and he gets overwhelmed because nobody outside of the Van Gang really bothers to remember him besides being “the driver.” They never talked to each other beforehand. Just look at this post.)
But, but—maybe it’s just me—I think there’s a subtle reason to this. Remember the milklady from Shizuo’s past in S1EP7?
If you observe this picture just long enough, you can already tell that she bears some physical resemblance to Anri. The round glasses, the short black hair, the kind demeanor... just look at the comparison.
As a bonus, the milklady owned a bakery. Anri’s family also owns an antique store, so to find out that they have a connection to a (legal) business only strengthens my theory. But that’s not the main point.
Shizuo was never able to remember the milklady’s name, because he was too stricken with grief for hurting her while trying to save her from thugs. He thought that she probably saw him as a monster, and from then on he was too guilty to ever show his face around her.
I think that, subconsciously, Shizuo associates Anri with the milklady, and does his damnedest to suppress that memory, because all it does is bring him anguish and misery. So that’s a possible reason why he acts so distant to the girl, why he always struggles to remember her name.
2) Saika preventing Anri form talking to Shizuo due to its excitement.
This is true to some extent. It’s been stated in the novels that whenever Shizuo is in Anri’s presence, Saika reacts so wildly that Anri begins to form obsessive thoughts and physical sensations, so she has to concentrate on pushing them down. That makes sense and all, but we have to remember that Shizuo is practically immune to Saika, thanks to his superhuman pain tolerance. So if Anri goes crazy one day and slashes him with all her might, he’ll probably be unfazed and try to restrain her without hurting her much.
The same can’t be said for Mikado, Anri’s closest friend. In later volumes, Saika begins to act in a similar manner whenever he’s around, due to Anri developing feelings for Mikado; this distresses her greatly, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to reach out to him when he gets progressively more unhinged, nor does it prevent them from *SPOILERS* becoming a couple in SH, or having Mikado stabbed by a Saika-possessed Nasujima beforehand in Volume 13. So as of SH, Mikado is officially part of the Saika army, something that Anri greatly feared from the start. Nice. Real fucking nice. A+ planning, Narita.
(Sometimes I think the only reason why Anri is together with Mikado is because she feels guilty for him getting infected with Saika.)
I’ve addressed these two points, they are basically bullshit reasons, but I also want to add another one:
3) Almost every other character has some sort of relationship with Shizuo and Anri in some form.
This is absolutely true. Saika, Celty, Shinra, Akane, Vorona, Kida, Chikage. Ruri, the Van Gang, Kasane, hell, even Professor Nasujima have interacted with them in some shape or form! In a series where a diverse cast of characters is split into “assigned” groups - Raira Trio, Celty & Shinra, Van Gang, etc. - plenty of overlap occurs when characters interact with others who are outside their normal zone, which fits the “everyone is connected” atmosphere the series has. All the folks that I’ve listed above are bridges for potential interaction, but neither Shizuo nor Anri seem to be willing to cross it. And that’s a damn shame.
So, Narita, the next time you come back to SH... can you just write a scene where Shizuo apologizes to Anri after 2+ years of not remembering her name? And they become friends? Please? Is that too much to ask for?
rewatching dbz kai and caught this gem. its only there for half a second so if you blink you miss it. look at vegeta peering behind the screen lol hes like a cat!!
So uh, I did some Google searching using Durarara’s Japanese names and I came across this image. Apparently, it’s from the DRRR!! the Underside smartphone game, with this being one of its SR cards.
... WHY HAVEN’T I COME ACROSS THIS PICTURE SOONER?!
Fictional characters might not be real, but our relationships with them are. Studies show it’s difficult for our brains to distinguish between our familiarity with characters on TV and our personal relationships with real people. The effect is so strong that just thinking about watching your favorite TV show can make you feel less lonely. Source Source 2
Some things I wanna vent after remembering Gundam IBO
Mika and Orga have a toxic relationship. Their bond is as strong as it is incredibly toxic. Mika pushes Orga to ruthlessly follow their mission even in times where Orga is emotionally vulnerable, while Orga uses Mika as a weapon and is too goal-driven to voice his concerns over Mika’s well-being, even when the boy becomes paraplegic later on. Orga also feels that he always has to keep his composure around Mika, because if he breaks then he doesn’t want Mika to see it, who always watches him like a hawk. I honestly don’t like how outside materials tease these two for yaoi-bait despite it being incredibly unhealthy.
Mika and Kudelia have conflicting ideologies. Kudelia wants a world where everyone is in peace and there is no fighting, while Mika is too used to the bloodshed and war to even consider imagining it. (He even outright says to Orga that he doesn’t understand her thinking by the end of S2EP13.) Kudelia is in a higher position of power and has to emotionally grow up fast, while Mika is stuck in a lower position and is emotionally-stunted throughout the whole show. Never once does Kudelia openly question or even reject her attraction to Mika despite knowing that he’s illiterate, has no will of his own, and could throw away his life under Orga’s whim without any objections. And that is disturbing.
Mika and Atra are acceptable together. Despite Atra’s short-sighted mentality over Mika, he doesn’t push her to commit reckless actions nor do they conflict so much in ideology. They both grew up in the slums, Atra grew up working at a brothel (worker, not prostitute), so she’s probably aware that the world is a shitty place right from the start, and yet tries to look on the bright side and bring in the best of everyone. Still, they do have some flaws; Atra essentially keeps Mika in the dark (not intentionally, but solely on assumptions) about the harem with Kudelia, wants to be pregnant with his child in order to “clamp him down” in parenting and snap him out of his self-destructive tendencies, despite A) she’s a small teenager, and B) lots of teen daddies (and adult ones) don’t bother supporting their girlfriends and their kids, because they don’t want to bear responsibility.
Orga and Kudelia could’ve had the potential to work out together. Both of them share plenty of common ground: being young leaders of organizations, having desires to build a better life for the people of Mars, losing loved ones (Biscuit and Fumitan) and changing from those experiences, and tend to be very emotional in heavy situations, unlike a certain someone who never sheds a tear once. They probably would have gotten more conflict in S2 however, with their conflicting methods in achieving their goals, as well as Mika’s deteriorating condition, but that could’ve only happened if the show had given them the chance to interact more and build a closer relationship.
Atra and Kudelia is a pair that requires someone to warm up to. I know that happened to me when I first reacted to the ending. Didn’t like them together, thought that Atra got too much of a happy ending without any consequences, thought that Atra was too emotionally immature for Kudelia—but then I realized that they have a much more supportive relationship when they’re not revolving around Mika. Could’ve liked it far more from the start if IBO had restructured the poly-love triangle with Atra in the middle, or changed it to a poly-love square with Orga involved. (Like Mika/Atra/Kudelia/Orga, or Atra/Mika/Kudelia/Orga, in that order. Mika is not the sole one getting all the love.)
In an nutshell: Gundam IBO glorifies Mika and his problematic relationships with other characters. While I don’t hate Mika on an individual level, the way the characters react to him despite his staggering flaws makes me feel so uneasy about him. The characters deserved better.
I remember watching this episode back when it first aired. At the time, I didn't understand the whole point of Stan & Token's racial conflict. Looking back, I now completely understand why Token got so upset at Stan.
1. The relationship should be natural, easy and uncomplicated: The truth is that all relationships take time, effort, commitment and energy. You need to make time for each other, to do fun things together, to work on communication, and to learn to negotiate and compromise.
2. The relationship should be conflict free: Because we are each individual and unique we all disagree with others at times, so conflict is natural, and not to be feared. In fact, conflict can force us to confront our differences, and to grow as individuals, and as couples too.
3. Soul mates are romantic: Real life is not the movies, and love can be expressed in countless different ways, and still be genuine. Look out for all the signs that show your partner cares, and don’t be disappointed if they’re not “the stereotype”. Don’t force them to be something that is maybe nor their style.
4. You should always see things the same way and have the same opinions, outlooks and beliefs: You both have different backgrounds and have individual brains so you’re going to sometimes differ in the way you look at life. That needn’t be a problem – you don’t want to be clones.
5. My soul mate will always like and love me: Consideration, respect and a concern for your partner are symptoms of a loving relationship. But being rude and disrespectful or irresponsible are not endearing qualities that build relationships. Instead, we need to give to get – as it’s not “all about me”.
Ok guys sorry, canonical ages confirmed. Shiro is 23, Lance is 17, Allura is in her altean 1000 years teens, Pidge is 5, Keith ages as cats do, so he is technically 2, and Hunk is an ethereal non-organic being that has no begining nor end. That’s it. There’s no safe ship, everything is unshippable, we all are problematic and need to stop and also kill ourselves, all hail Zoran, the only safe ship.
