Wild Police Story is, effectively, a long flashback told from Rei's perspective (more or less), based on his narration in chapter 13. In that short series, we get information on every single one of the boys' families (Date's dad the ex-cop turned janitor and his girlfriend, Matsuda's dad, the former pro-boxer, and Hagi's family, who owned a car repair shop that went under, and, of course Hiro's parents who were murdered and his brother we already know), except Rei. Not a single hint at Rei's family at all.
"Well, maybe he's just not thinking about them," but isn't that weird? He's thinking about all their families, tangentially, and not once does his own cross his mind.
(Or maybe he's thinking about family the whole time, because these guys, and especially Hiro, were his family.)
Aside from Record and Instant, there were other things he could—
‘No.’
He shouldn't use that power.
Wasn't it kept as classified even within the company, practically sealed away?
The moment he used that power, Cale would lose consciousness[…].
‘You, seal that thing away forever.’
Kim Rok Soo had no intention of violating the words that every single one of his team members had spoken in unison.
‘If it were Cale Henituse's body, it would be death.’
That weak body would surely die.
Cale had no single speck of desire to let that happen.
CONFIRMATION CONFIRMATION FINALLY WE HAVE CONFIRMATION
CALE DOES HAVE ANOTHER ABILITY! AND IT'S APPARENTLY SELF DESTRUCTIVE AS F***!!!
You have such an interesting take on Eruhaben! The idea of being aware of your true potential and living up to it willfully (regardless of whether or not society deems it undesirable) is such a poignant take!! Plus Eruhaben fits the theme so well, especially with his dust attribute! Ahhh, I love your fic!!!!
Oh my goodness, you caught the undertones I was going for! This has been a personal headcanon of mine for a long time! Namely that Dragons in TCF are lonely existences not because it's in their nature or like, they're biologically programmed or something—but rather, it's a consequence of rejection!
See, Dragons are arrogant creatures. Not because they're antagonistic or evil, but rather because they own up to the superiority of their race! They don't doubt that they're on top of the metaphorical food chain. It's not solely their mana affinity and control that makes them so great, but rather their confidence.
We've all had moments in our lives where we doubt ourselves. Dragons usually just end up skipping it over (except in a few canonic circumstances which I will explain!!).
We see this in Eruhaben the best. From what I recall, never once does he ever mention being 'ashamed' of his attribute. He considers it weak, yeah (or at least I think he admits that on it's own it was weak) but never once is Eruhaben ashamed of it.
Why?
Because his attribute is a reflection of himself—all Dragons attributes are of what they value, cherish and embody. Quite simply put, even if the world thinks its weak or undesirable, it's still him. And Eruhaben, like the others of his race, believes/is secure in his own existence. He brings out the true potential of his attribute by trusting and believing in it, deliberately honing it over decades!
So even if the other dragons made fun of him, he doesn't care (or maybe he does, because he did beat them up after all) because he trusts himself to be the greatest! And that is insanely cool.
But at the same time, that's not what society often wants. That boundless self-confidence, self-assurance and security in their personhood translates into arrogance for external viewers who are insecure themselves.
So what rejection I'm talking about?
It's that other people (especially humans), who don't nearly live as long lives don't have the time to reach that self-assurance and be that emotionally secure. So I imagine their dilemmas and lack of comprehension might be a little frustrating—if not downright insulting. It's not that they think they're the only ones allowed to be proud of their existence, but rather ALL beings should be, because they're a cherished part of nature. So when people dub them arrogant instead, they'd rather save themselves the irritation of trying to get them to understand where that's stemming from.
Coupling that with short lifespans, grief etc. we have incredibly reclusive creatures that choose isolation not out of genuine social aversion, but rather out of habit.
All the dragons we see in TCF reflect this.
Both Mila and Eruhaben are sociable; the former because of Dodori and the latter because of his experience being 'weak' as a young Dragon. Rasheel is rough around the edges, but he is weak to compliments for a reason. I ain't too sure about Dodori beyond the fact that he's perpetual stuck in eight-grader syndrome, but he's a kid who has a loving mom that isn't a distant memory or missing.
As for Raon, he's grown up surrounded by people all the time. People who love and value him, even if he doesn't necessarily need that external validation. His torment at Venion's hands actually makes him doubt, until Cale swoops in and calls him a great and mighty dragon who should live freely and proudly. And Raon does.
It's not that TCF Dragons are instinctually reclusive, but rather that they DECIDE to be.
Ahh, I love this novel so much oof! Every time I reread it, I end up finding even more easter eggs!
The events of The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (異世界の沙汰は社畜次第) and A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation (穏やか貴族の休暇のすすめ) occur in the same city. Indolark and Gil are childhood friends who as semi estranged due to differences over whether joining the royal military was worthwhile. They run into each other on a date with their respective disaster boyfriends.
Thoughts on the anime adaptation of 穏やか貴族の休暇のすすめ。 | A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, Episode 4: Arriving in Marcade (it was quite enjoyable :D):
The art this episode was generally better (at least where Lizel, Gil, Judge, and Shadow were concerned; a lot of the extras, other than the blonde cop, were, well... mmm. And why are the horse's eyes like that T-T)! So that was nice.
He's very hard to wake up indeed, Gil. And you know because <.< (well yes they work together but this series is so shippy alkdjlaj)
Yes, at least you acknowledge you have a preference for tall husbands, Lizel lol
So fond. So in love. Probably wants to be squished between them.
I also love Lizel giving Gil a book to read :3 He cares so much :3 And Gil taking it, because Lizel inspired him to read more :3 Friends encourage friends to read!
Tired waking up Judge is so cute XD
Alas, no touching Lizel's skin while he's sleeping :(
When your husband needs a leash:
Sad we miss out on Lizel using Gil to cut through crowds because Gil is tall and intimidating :(
I'm a manga-first reader, so the altercation in the street never really made a ton of sense to me given the lack of facts and the arbitrary nature of the attacker going after Lizel (if you assume he's going after Shadow, who is alleged to wander the streets, sure, it's just... weird, though the novel explains that part), and while the anime is generally more heavily adapting the novel, for some reason they also left out the novel explanation for why the man's store was shut down: it's not that he couldn't say the reason, it's that he opened it in a location without applying for it. Hence where Lizel gets the "You can only earn trust... if you're abiding by the rules." line in the manga (Volume 2). The anime seemingly garbled even the manga's modified version of the scene.
Though I do think a guy waving a sword in a market square in daylight and saying, "Don't look at me! No, no, no!" is quite funny. You're waving a sword around buddy, what do you think is going to happen?
"Keeping your word is the same as earning trust" is sort of a tautology? Like yes... if you don't keep your word... I don't know. In volume 2 of the manga, Tokyopop translated it as, "You can only earn trust... if you're abiding by the rules." Which sounds less silly. But here at least the anime is sort of closely adapting the novel, which also sounds dumb. This is such a Frankenstein's version of the novel and manga scenes...
This was a nice shot, even if, while it is somewhat mimicking the manga's comparable panel, it is clearly shot in part to avoid animating Gil's mouth:
They really kept Shadow handsome, and I love it.
This was cute:
The restaurant reminds me of one I went to ages ago. This actually looks a lot nicer, though.
Don't you hate when your husband in another city sent a vaguely noble person to bother you? Shadow's life of wealth and power is suffering, truly. (I love his relationship with Ray lol)
I love Gil following Lizel like a duckling. Husbands stay together! (After scheming to charge their rude benefactor out the wazoo for a meal because the guy unintentionally led a weirdo to attack Lizel)
Shadow is so handsome...
Ray is so lucky :3
Another cute shot of the husbands walking together at night:
This looks funnier than in the manga:
Gil needs to keep Husband #2 in line while Lizel does his business telling the cops off for harassing people. Lizel said ACAB.
This was so cute alkdlaj and I think added for the anime (Gil with his hand on Judge's shoulder alkdjlaj
Lizel proud his husbands are close.
Cop one struggling to control his Gil stan co-cop :( The struggle is real! Though Lizel seemingly knows this by... psychic powers in the manga and anime. In the novel, the cop admits to being Gil's fan.
aldkjalkdjlajd This is amazing alkdjlajdalj
In the novel and manga, all Gil does is pat Judge's head aldkjalj I love this alkdjlajd Picking up Judge like a toy aldjlaj Poor Judge lakdjlaj
Judge reminding the cops that he can also do some murder (via economics) :D Lizel's tastes are "men who are deadly" and you love to see it XD
I also generally appreciate the honorifics being used: Lizel calls Judge "Judge-kun", which is cute and very Lizel, and Judge calls Lizel "Lizel-san", which makes sense given his deference to Lizel. Lizel doesn't use honorifics with Gil, though, because they're close :3
And the series' twitter posted the end episode art by Tsukasa Satsuki:
Sando-sensei also posted some art of Shadow to celebrate the episode's release (and on twitter):
#穏やか貴族
アニメ第4話ご視聴ありがとうございました！
※非公式FAです
Overall, a pretty good episode :3 Looking forward to meeting Judge's grandfather next episode.
Although Gentle isn't BL, since I've seen folks in the tag who want BL isekai (which is quite popular, especially in China and South Korea), here's a post of recommendations with some actual BL and m/m isekai if you'd like some. Though if you'd specifically like more non-BL like Gentle, I highly recommend Natsume's Book of Friends. The manga and anime are quite good.
Feel like I'm probably fighting a losing battle at this point, but morally grey ≠ no morals. There has to be morals there in the first place for them to be grey.
So let's take a tally:
DETECTIVE BOYS VS ROBBERS CASE: Saved Conan (a kid he's never even spoken to before) from getting shot in the head by a robber.
RED SHIRTS BOMBING CASE: Attempted to save a department store full of shoppers from a bombing incident (his deduction didn't end up mattering because Conan solved the case first, but the point is he tried).
Those first two are notable because he was in disguise at the time and either being seen firing a gun with his right hand or overheard talking to the guy whose phone he stole by someone who knows Akai Shuuichi's voice would've blown his cover in an instant. He did those things anyway.
PRE-WEDDING PARTY CASE: Drops cake on a guy's pants to keep him from cheating on his fiancee the night before their wedding. This one I guess is debatable whether it was his idea to stop the guy from cheating, or the fiancee's, but the way he words it, he was only supposed to investigate him. Not prevent anything.
DETECTIVE'S NOCTURNE CASE: Intentionally wrecks his beloved car in order to rescue Conan (who he still only barely knows by this point) from the kidnapper.
ICE TRUCK DELIVERY MURDER CASE: Went out of his way to save the kids, and then lied to them about it being intentional.
BLACK BUNNY'S CLUB CASE: Actually calls out Kogorou's sexual harassment of the waitress, which is ridiculously rare to come from someone other than Ran in this series.
NAGANO SNOWY MOUNTAINS CASE: Attempts to keep Rum off Conan's case (playing off his intelligence as just mimicking Kogorou, says he and Conan only really know each other because of Kogorou). I won't allow the "Vermouth ordered him to protect Conan" argument anymore by this point because it's very clear Rei has grown fond of him. He's protecting him because he wants to keep him safe.
DATE WATARU'S NOTEBOOK: helping to rescue two kidnapped children. (This one has some room for argument, because they needed him, at least for the first half, and how do you look two cops in the face and say you won't help in the second half?)
And those are just the ones that I remember off the top of my head, going through the manga list. I could be forgetting some.
And, yes, he's done some bad shit. He tried to run over a teacher just to get more information about Akai's faked death, among other things.
But, again, you have to have morals in order for them to be grey.
they are important sensory organs that help him maintain balance
note that this amuro's whiskers cannot be clearly identified--they are almost certainly malformed or missing. this amuro displays clear signs of distress and misery, likely due to his lack of functional whiskers
Been a fan of detco ever since i was a kiddo but had a period where I stopped watching due to how long the episodes became lol. So! Im rewatching everything from the start. Will genderbendify the whole cast if possible
I kind of want her to wear a skirt, but with how reckless that child is, letting her wear a skirt is super dangerous lmao. At the same time, her wearing shorts just feels more conan-ish.
But shorts aren't that cute without anything at the top like original conan's blazer, but giving her a blazer feels too masc, so I opted for a jumpsuit, isnt it cute??
And i'll definitely be alternating between ponytail and half-up hair because im indecisive
Choi Han really does have that animated puppy filter whenever he notices Cale-nim looking at him.
Which makes me wish for more moments where someone is with Choi Han while he's fighting like a demon devoid of any mercy, thinking about how incredibly terrifying he is, and then they encounter Cale and Choi Han does a complete 180, basically becoming an animated puppy that would be wagging its tail furiously if it had one, with his eyes shining as he calls out to Cale-nim and waits for his praise for a job well done. The people who saw him melt his enemies with his aura ten minutes ago are incredulous at the complete change and are even more incredulous that Cale completely buys into Choi Han's puppy personality as something normal and even expected.
At least until Eleven debut from the trailer, but will it ended when Eleven joined the party?
Honestly, I wish at least it ended when we get to the part where's His Majesty finally able to contact Lizel in the other world and saw those beautiful bond between them... But I guess it's too far?
