Matal Mogamett was using people without magic as living batteries, he didnāt consider them human. He took what Al-Thamen offered him and tortured people in order to turn them into black vessels. He realized he was wrong at the end, but all that time he believed he was doing good. Ā For Magnostadt.
Scheherezade tolerated slavery in Reim for years and used clones of herself with consciences of their own (Titus was just one example), that only lived as long as she needed them. Ā She might have redeemed herself at the end by letting Titus take her place, but that doesnāt change all the shit she did before. She believed she was doing good. For Reim.Ā Mu supported her all the way. Still does. Also for Reim.Ā
Kouen wages wars (which end up killing innocents), erases whole cultures & enslaves people turning them into ādisposable goodsā for five years. He doesnāt hesitate to give away his own sisters into political marriages andĀ knowinglyĀ allows his cousin/adopted brother Hakuryuu to go to the deep end without moving a finger to stop him. All to make āa better unified worldā (that incidentally, he will also rule as emperor). He believes heās doing good. For Kou. Ā
Sinbad uses twisted diplomacy and tries to stablish friendships that can be profitable for him. He lies to people if needed. He lied to Kougyoku Ā and is using her & someone else, (just one, Ā I believe the spy in Sindria is the bird)Ā as unwilling listening devices in order to gather information and better defend himself from a possible attack. He believes heās doing good. For Sindria. Ā
We have all these fantastic morally grey characters in Magi who are/were playing the game the best way they can to protect their people. And all of them have/had reasons to act that way: Scheherezade and Kouen for their convictions, Mogamett and Sinbad because of whatever happened in their pasts.Ā Ā That doesnāt make them āpure evilā, nor transforms every single good action theyāve done so far into a lie. Ā And Iām saying this last part especially in regard to Sinbad, who seems to be the focus of a lot of fandom hate right now. Many people are presenting him as if he had an ulterior shady motive for any single thing heās done or is going to do .If you donāt remember he also has a good side, go back and reread the manga. Because heās still the same man. Ā Ā
Just for the record, I love Sinbad, really like the Kou brothers (I adore Kouha, heās my baby) and think Scheherazade was a sweetheart. But Iām not blind to their flaws nor I see any of them as the āepitome of evilnessā or the āgreater badā. (BTW, that role is already taken in Magi. Ā By Al-Thamen. And that bitch Gyokuen).Ā
I mostly canon ship Dragon ball but I rare pair the hell out of vegeta and 18.
In those timeliness where bulma stays with yamcha or marries goku or whatever I could totally see it.
18 : Breaks arm
Vegeta: frustrated growl
18: raises eyebrow
Vegeta: Narrows gaze and growls more
18: shrugs
Then she leaves him broken and laying there and he can't stop thinking about it only to become obsessed with her and protect her from cell if only so he could get his payback.
If he becomes obsessed with goku after being shown barely beaten by the z fighters and his life spared, then he could definitely get obsession with her.
I feel you could turn it into this very snarky and sarcastic rivals to lovers thing.
Savers is kind of anĀ āawkward middle childā in terms of the Digimon franchise, being Digimonās first attempt at shattering a ton of precedents set by Adventure through Frontier but also not being quiteĀ as unconventional as later entries would be, and being in the unfortunate position where most childhood Digimon fans had outgrown the target age range but werenāt adults yet. Itās also got a lot of factors that make it difficult to market, since itās relatively restrained and not particularly in-your-face with a lot of its elements compared to following entries like Xros Wars or Appmon, meaning that it tends to slip under the radar and not be discussed in that much extensive detail even among the hardcore Digimon fanbase. Because of that, I personally feel like any intimate discussion of its themes and characters tends to be woefully oversimplified ā itās generally understood by most to be somewhat about xenophobia, but beyond that most of it involves memes about Masaru punching things because heās apparently superhuman (which is absolutely notĀ how the series actually portrays him in context), so Iād like to do something about that!
Savers is probably the most overtly political of all the Digimon series released to date ā while itās hardly unusual for a Digimon series to have social commentary elements, theyāre usually more aimed at more personal social issues and especially those that impact children, whereas Savers just goes ahead and rips into the problems with political systems and power structures, how they enable conflict at the expense of ordinary people, howĀ āpreconceived notionsā come from those power structures instead of being based off actual truth, and how ā most importantly āĀ people willing to understand each other through their differences leads to greater things.
Given that, what are the main points brought up in Savers from a theme perspective?
Say it with me now, I don't like to post DB stuff on this account too often. but this is a special occasion, cause I drew like 5 fucking pics for this one. Told myself I wouldn't do something like that again, but like. Fuckit y'know?
I always really liked Naruto and sasukes signature Jutsus
With the Chidori , or at least some versions of it, all the lightning crackling around it is like it shocks anyone who tries to get close
Rasengan is stable and contained, inviting you to get closer and take a look in a way. Like I can imagine, if I was next to somebody using it and they held it up, I'd be fascinated by the low hum and the spiralling and not hesitate much to get my face close to it.
Kinda like sasuke and naruto attitudes towards bonds
Part 2 of An Entire Presentation about Bakugo Katsuki for your Discoursing Pleasure
Link to Part 1!
This is Part 2!
Gettinā right back into it. Iāve written a lot about Bakugoās visual presentation and obvious genre cues, so now we can start digging into the boy himself.
Part 1 of An Entire Presentation about Bakugo Katsuki for your Discoursing Pleasure
I made a presentation because I love Blorbo from my shows and want to share him with the world! If you feel you can use it in your life, please do. In fact, contact me and I can give you the PDF. If you want me to present it myself, howeverā¦ letās talk. Donāt think I wonāt be absolutely thrilled to talk about Bakugo at a con or in your living room or to your mom.
This presentation was updated to version 2.0!
Link to The Bakugo Presentation 2.0!
This is part 1 of the original! Link to part 2!
Link to the Kirishima presentation
Link to the Todoroki presentation
Link to the Deku presentation
Be on the lookout for a supplemental Part 3 coming soon!
What you see here is a combination of self-guided research (particularly runoff from other shonen I like or I-need-to-know-stuff-about-Japan-in-a-general-sense writing research Iāve done) and absorption from fan discussions and other fans who have taught me so much. @rironomindā @pikahluaā @greenhappyseedā @the-nyshā and so many others, thanks so much!
I am gonna warn you right now that this is 112 slides long and spread across multiple posts. Iāve put the rest under the cut because I love you all dearly and wish to spare you. Beware of BNHA manga spoilers and BNHA Vigilantes spoilers! Iām current and dangerous.
One of the reasons I appreciate Team Takaās dynamics is the presence of free will in their bond, at least to a certain extent. Sasuke didnāt force any of the members to join him or stay with him. He freed Suigetsu, then he asked both Juugo and Karin in a way that involved no coercion or manipulation on either side. And the membersā decisions to follow Sasuke in the end were all voluntary, which already sets their group apart in a series where most alliances are shaped by duty, ideology, or control.
Now, I donāt think their bond is especially deep or intensely emotional or anything, mostly because they were constantly on the move so there was barely any space, if any, for genuine heart-to-heart conversations; and also because Sasukeās mental state was rapidly deteriorating at the time. His instability, combined with the ever-changing circumstances around them, likely prevented him from forming any deep, emotionally invested relationships during that period.
But thereās one thing about fighting alongside others in life-and-death situations: it can forge trust quickly since you have to watch each otherās backs and quite literally place your life in someone elseās hands. And as shown in the manga, during the time theyāre together, Team Taka had great synergy in combat. They all saved each other when possible, knew when to jump in or step back, and followed Sasukeās lead in dire situations without resisting his decisions, showing a certain level of trust in each otherās abilities and, by extent, assessments and judgements.
Thereās also an instance when Sasuke awoke his second Mangekyou Sharinganās ability to save Karin when the black flame caught her. And as we all know, the evolutions and/ or developments of the Sharingan are tied to strong emotions (love, protectiveness, hatred, grief, fearāany feeling thatās intense enough can trigger the transformation, not just hatred only as the anti-Uchiha crowd would like to scream about the so-called Curse of Hatred propaganda.) Sasuke even includes Team Taka, along with Team 7, in the list of people he wants to protect, which is also a good indication that they hold a meaningful place in his heart.
From the membersā side, they could have left at any time they wanted to. It wasnāt like Sasuke held his sword to their throat then dragged them along with him by a forced loyalty, like, ever. They remained by his side on their own volition, which means they chose to stay for reasons that mattered to each of them (which Iād like to dive deeper into in another post when I have time to re-review the manga.) Their bond might not be the deepest or most profound connection in the series, but itās certainly real. And honestly, it doesnāt matter what we, the readers, choose to label itāfriends, comrades, found family, teammates with benefits, assortment of Orochimaruās experiments gone rogue, whatever.
Sasuke did have a goal in mind when choosing Team Hebi/Taka, but he didnāt manipulate them into following him out of obligation for being freed. They knew they had a choice. And while Iād objectively categorise their relationship as āgood comradesā at best and āmutually beneficial alliesā at worst, the key thing here is that no oneās autonomy was denied. And to me, thatās a rare and valuable dynamic, an aspect that should be highlighted and held in higher regard, especially when you consider:
Every member of Taka had previously been subjected to varying degrees of captivity, experimentation, or psychological manipulation, often without genuine consent (even in cases where it seemed like they had agreed, itās hard to ignore how both Orochimaru and Kabuto relied on coercion, deceit, and power imbalances to secure that compliance.)
How many people in Sasukeās life approached him with an agenda or ulterior motive, with their own vision of what he āshould beā or āshould act likeā, rather than seeing him as a person with his own desires and trauma. Very few ever truly cared about his feelings, wants, thoughts, or even his autonomy. Almost no one, even those closest to Sasuke, genuinely saw or treated him as a person instead of a tool to use, a pawn to control, or a prize to gain.
Yes, including the two people who supposedly loved him most: Itachi and Naruto. Not at first or always, at least. While I can give Naruto some benefit of the doubt since he eventually made an effort to understand Sasukeās perspective as the story progressed (though how successful he truly was is still debatable in my opinion), Itachi, on the other handā¦ his love for Sasuke is deeply complicated. I want to believe it was genuine, that he truly loved Sasuke from the bottom of his heart, but the way he showed it was so explicitly entangled in manipulation, lies, deception, and gaslighting; a love so complex and twisted that it felt like a āgreat in theory, terrible in executionā case.
Thereās one panel where Killer Bee asked Itachi why he didnāt use Shisuiās eye to brainwash Sasuke earlier, to which Itachi replied that he couldnāt at that time because the ability has a 10+ years cooldown. That choice of wordāācouldnātā, not āwouldnātāāis horrifying in its implication. And he still planned on doing it in the future by giving Naruto that eye! (Though, in his defense, he did say that he hoped Narutoād never need to use its power, but still, the intention here is clear enough to suggest that Itachi was willing to go as far as completely erasing his brotherās autonomy if he deemed the act necessary.)
Naruto, on the other hand, was very adamant and insistent about taking Sasuke back to the village without trying to truly understand the logic behind his actions for more than half of the story. Most of the time, Naruto prioritised Sasukeās survival and reintegration into Konoha over respecting his free will. While his intentions may stem from care, his actions still reflect a disturbing willingness to sacrifice Sasukeās agency for a greater ideological goal.
Soā¦ to both of them (at least at the points of the story Iāve listed), as long as Sasukeās alive and potentially moldable, even as a docile puppet without free will to serve Konoha, then itās alright? His own feelings and thoughts might as well be ignored and discarded since they didnāt benefitāand even actively went againstātheir pro-Konoha view? Iām sorry, but what the actual fuck?
And this is coming from the two individuals who weāve been told repeatedly that they love Sasuke the most. Thatās without even delving into the broader, deeply unsettling pattern of how the people around Sasuke have treated him: projecting their own ideals onto him without considering him as an individual with a mind of his own (as seen with Kakashi), idolising him superficially without making any real effort to understand him (as many), or reducing him to a tool for their own purposes (as Orochimaru, Kabuto, Obito, and probably more but you got my point with those three already.)
Sasukeās autonomy is repeatedly undermined, ignored, or outright stripped and taken away from him throughout the manga. He is used, manipulated, and burdened with expectations that werenāt his own, and then vilified when he constantly attempts to break free and reclaim the ability to make his own choices, independent of othersā influence or control.
How is that in any way fair?
All in all, thatās why I think Team Takaās relationship with Sasuke is such a breath of fresh air. While it might not be that deeply sentimental, thereās trust, thereās respect, and no emotional blackmail or narrative of control disguised as love. Each of them had their own reasons for joining, and none of those reasons involved denying Sasuke his agency. Thatās more than I can say for most of the people in his life.
By no means do I think their relationship is perfect: itās messy, pragmatic, occasionally dysfunctional, and sometimes strained by Sasukeās deteriorating psyche, but itās real, authentic, and valid. They trust each other in battle, respect each otherās individuality, and operate without the manipulation that defines so many of Sasukeās other connections. Iād go even further to argue that this dynamic offers a counterpoint to the seriesā broader themes of control and sacrifice, showing that bonds can be meaningful without requiring someone to surrender their free will.
So, in my opinion, Kishimoto really missed the opportunity to explore the richness of Team Takaās relationship further. The groundwork for a found family built on mutual respect and autonomy was right there, but it was sorely underutilised. They could have become a symbol of true partnership, where each person is respected not as a tool, but as an individual. Instead, they were sidelined far too early, with their bond relegated to a secondary narrative that didnāt get the development it deserved.
In the end, it was such a waste, and thatās what I truly lament. Their relationship to me was one of the few in the series that felt genuine and not overshadowed by political agendas, manipulation, or power dynamics. I wish that theyād have gone on the journey with Sasuke after the war ended.
(Which is why Iām writing post-war canon divergence fictions to see the vision I dream of for them, but well, thatās another story entirely. And while Iād love to see them as a found family, theyāre by every means still very dysfunctional and chaotic at times, but thatās my cup of tea so you wonāt hear me complain LOL)
Don't necessarily agree with all of this since team 7 are my GOATS but we are in dire need of more taka/hebi representation. They and team 8 are my favorites outside of team 7
What did Itachi meant when he said Sasuke could have changed his father and the uchiha clan?
Sasuke had a certain influence on Fugaku that only Mikoto had noticed at the time. Now with hindsight, Itachi realised this too, and acknowledged that rather than keeping it all hidden from Sasuke, he should have told him the truth, because Sasuke was the only one who may have swayed his fatherās heart, and in turn influenced him to lead the rest of the Uchiha down a different path.
During his youth, Mikoto informed Sasuke that despite Fugakuās outward focus on Itachi and his duties, it was in fact only Sasuke that Fugaku talked about to her behind closed doors. It was just his demeanour on the surface which was giving Sasuke the wrong impression:
Itachi noticed that, and subsequently came to realise how much influence Sasuke could have potentially had on their father. If Sasuke had voiced his disapproval of the Coup, Fugaku and Mikoto may very well have been swayed:
I mean, Fugakuās very last wish was for Itachi to take care of Sasuke, which demonstrated for the final time just how important Sasuke was to Fugaku:Ā
So yeah Itachi said that Sasuke could have changed their parents and the rest of the Uchiha due to the influence that Sasuke could have exerted over their parents, had he been given the opportunity to do so. It was because of how both Mikoto and Itachi noticed how much Fugaku thought of Sasuke, and Itachi subsequently realised that maybe Sasuke could have prevented their downfall.
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