I really dislike how Ichigo's boss Ikumi is written to be yet ANOTHER "adult women throw themselves at this teenager" joke. Because heaven forbid Kubo doesn't just overuse it with characters doing it on purpose, he has to make the unintentional version too.
Hey, I need to speak to HR, please. Kubo thinks we don't know our boobs are always there. They're just numb flesh balloons held on by velcro. As if we weren't all socialized to be hyperaware of them accidentally brushing against other ppl as we grew up.
Wtf business is she running? Odd jobs? She acts like a mob boss over gd odd jobs? She never gets clients, so how is she making a living? Why does she pretend to be someone else to her own kid? How did Ichigo get the job and why won't she fire him? Why does she keep trying to make herself a big sister and say "we're like family" (don't trust a boss who says this)? Even in tybw, there's using her shower and that unneeded pause when she gets in his face before a headbutt, which are only used to suggest something then go jkjk. Repeatedly. Similar jokes with Nel aren't as bad bc she actually formed a big/little sister relationship with Ichigo and glomps onto him in either form, ya know? You can believe Nel forgot her knockers are there, and Ichigo is not uncomfortable about it beyond needing to breathe.
It'd be (maybe) worth the cringe if Ikumi was revealed to be important to the story or to be extended family or something, but nothing is done with her? She's introduced by kidnapping him, acts like a Flanderization of Kukaku, and her creepy kid sets Ichigo up to make a "i'm not interested in older women" line. Kubo doesn't even acknowledge that she likely saw this kid get poofed away in front of her in tybw.
She deserved to be a full character and not another Kubo fetish. But we can say that about a LOT of his characters.
i started reading hrak around the sports fes arc in the manga but later stopped reading around the shie hassaikai arc because my fav bakugo got too little screentime and it just fell off from my radar cause of rl
now that i know that hrak manga is at its climax, i started to catch up with the manga and marathon-watch the anime with my big sis
note that my sis hates bl. she dropped yoi like a hot potato because of the infamous kiss scene. she said she already felt the vibe but thought it's just yaoibait. because she has shojo romance manga brain (and lowkey a homophobe) she knew the vibes if she saw a suspicious relationship between two dudes
also she's a hyprocrite for making a harem for her op mary sue female oc but hates anything harem with a male mc. i seriously had no idea how anyone can like a harem with female mc but hate a harem with male mc. they're practically the same formula, the only difference is that the male-centred one is usually more open with the pervertedness
the only m/m couple she accepts is yukimomo from i7 because they're hilarious and she can't deny how strong their feelings are (and they already has a date for their wedding anniversary, told by the seiyuu and no retcon from the officials). she also thinks that ioriku is also a possible ship because she admits that there's no way iori's feelings for riku are completely platonic lol, n also ruikasa--my sis suspects theres also something more than platonic from rui's side.
back to the topic, during my hrak reread and rewatch, and the infamous kacchan heroine thread series in a jp anon board i had a thought....
bakugo is filling the love interest role in the story more than uraraka
my sis and i like uraraka, she's awesome, she's strong, loves that she learns martial arts so she can be a fighter alongside mina from the girls side, etc. we're happy that uraraka refuses to be in the love interest role because she rejected/keeping her feelings for deku down deep in her heart. although good for her growth, her admiration/love? are distracting her and lowkey detrimental in the battlefield (re: final exam and toga-chan). it's something different from the love interest in old time shonen like naruto and bleach
she also doesn't like iuraraka and deku as a couple because she feels there's not much chemistry between them. like sure they're cute together, but deku is blushing just because she's a girl and she's a close friend of his, nothing romantic. she said that it's the typical otaku trait in a shonen, and deku is definitely one. the romance is also heavily one-sided because it's always from uraraka's side and nothing from deku's side.
my sis and i both like bakugo, so of course we're hyped whenever bakugo gets a scene and we're talking about him during the rewatch. at first, she actively engaged me whenever we talk about bakugo's progress with deku. how their relationship is more complex than a simple bully and the bullied because of bakugo's superiority inferiority complex, and how deku had an idealized image of bakugo in his mind and he won't let anyone tarnish it, even bakugo.
anyway, we agree that they have an interesting dynamic for being childhood friends/rivals, and that deku definitely still wants to be friends with bakugo again and he won't give up even if bakugo pushes him away and bullied him for years because bakugo is just that cool. but then things gradually changed
she's still laughing when i said there's something wrong about deku because he's screaming like his guts just got ripped from his stomach when the guy he's not on friendly terms with got kidnapped. we were both like, dude, chill, but it's still weird.
she's starting to furrow her eyebrows when i told her the mangaka said that letting kirishima be the one to reach out a hand towards bakugo in kamino is a sad event for deku, and he even encouraged deku to be brave and be the one to do it instead in an interview. she said that of course it is, deku didn't feel like his help would be appreciated eventhough he wanted to be friends. yes i agree with her but her expression is kinda telling.
she actually doesn't have that much commentary about deku vs kacchan 2, because she said that everything is said pretty clearly. altough she was like "hmmm" when i pointed out to her that bakugo and deku are clearly meant to fight together as one, embodying the 'save to win and win to save'. yo, where's the hype? bakugo is now starting to look like the deuteragonist y'know? they're repairing their friendship y'know??
at first, she was like, nooo they won't work together, friends maybe, but kinda distant, at least no animosity between them anymore when i said that i want the two to be hero partners. so i told her about the tokyo ad, when deku asked bakugo about starting a hero agency in roppongi, and their reactions to todoroki's question about them starting it together is lowkey hinting they naturally thought they'll start it together. her response to that is yeah, i can see todoroki, mineta, and aoyama would most likely work there, but i can't see kirishima and uraraka working there.
at first, she thought that deku's feeling of wanting to be friends with bakugo is one-sided, but she's slowly warming up to the idea that maybe bakugo wants to be friends with deku too. that is up until the joint training arc.
i pointed out to her that the reason why deku was so angry is because he knew how much it hurt bakugo for ending all might, and that his anger was the trigger to black whip. she was in denial, saying that it's probably the timing and coincidence, she didn't admit that banjo said that it's deku's rage that fuel black whip and that he needs to control it.
i also pointed out to her that uraraka hugging deku scene was a shoutout to many shonen manga scenes where the female mc stops the male mc's rampage by hugging him, only that it didn't work this time. and that deku is hiding the reason why black whip manifested. she's like, yeah, maybe he forgot about it. so i told her come on, there's no way he conveniently forgot about it. i told her a possibility, deku could say that it's because monoma said something that made him angry, but maybe he's worried for bakugo's reaction. maybe deku just didn't want bakugo to feel shitty about ending all might again, or maybe he didn't want bakugo to tell him off for getting angry over bakugo's feelings. there are non-romantic reasons why deku didn't want to share crucial info, but she's still insisting that deku forgets about what he heard in ofa realm. Shes in complete denial there's prob a reason why deku didn't say anothing
after that, she became non-reactive whenever i say that it's good that their friendship is slowly mending and they both work for it. they clearly want to be friends with each other now.
but when deku was furious and lost his shit to the point of almost having ofa stolen after bakugo was stabbed protecting him, my sister was dead silent. no reaction. she's not even sad bakugo was heavily injured. she only say ooh i like this manga cover, nice to see it animated, when the special ed plays, but nothing about the fact that bakugo regretted not taking deku's hand.
i told her that it's clear bakugo and deku care for each other now that they're repairing their relationship for months, to the point bakugo would risk opening his injuries to check on deku, but she didn't even say that of course they are, they're friends now.
when i pointed out the "daisukina hitotachi wo kizutsukete" in the manga is changed into "daisuki na hito wo kizutsukete" in the anime, something that i think is a neat small change that foreshadows the thing that happened in the final arc (and why it's important to narrow it down into only a single person), she finally said something about their relationship:
"fuck, they really push the bakugo and deku ship"
.............sis, i was talking about foreshadowing.
she didn't say anything about bakugo wanting to make amends to deku, or bowing his head to apologize to deku in front of their classmates, in the rain, even though he hates rain, even though it's a moment where you can see how much bakugo has grown from the egoistic, self-centered asshole in the first ep to become a dependable hero who realizes the importance of teamwork. she didn't care about the irony that bakugo who was the lone wolf of the class before was the one to remind deku to let everyone fight alongside him. She didn't care that bakugo who kept pushing deku away ran so he could catch deku when he fell. Nope. Nada. Even though it was such a poetic scene and you can see how far their relationship has grown fron their animosity even bwfore deku vs kacchan 2
when uraraka's scene came, she said, "finally, now it's her time to shine as the love interest."
"this isn't uraraka as a love interest, this is her as a hero. there's nothing indicating of a personal moment between the two. don't undermine her heroic moment when it's clearly not about romance."
"yeah, uraraka is deku's hero." she has nothing to say about bakugo's role in bringing deku back. even the title card "friends" when it appears alongside bakugo didn't let her think of them as friends. she's already suspicious.
and then we finally caught up with the anime. the op and ed? a definite red flag for her. i pointed out bakugo pushing deku's back, deku glancing back towards bakugo, and the parallel of bakugo and deku in the op and ed where they look at each other's hand, looking so alone.
"damn, they're really shipping them, huh."
and after we're done watching the latest ep, i caught her up with the manga.
a few days later, we got to talk about the ships in naruto and bleach, and how naruhina is alright (though the execution could be better, at least their romance started isn't shoehorned in the epilogue), how sakura should look for a better man because sasuke sucks (my sis wants her to be with gaara), ironically talk that narusasu would be canon if only one of them was a girl, and how ichihime makes sense because their feelings already felt lowkey mutual from the start.
so i finally told her that bakugo actually fulfilled the traditional love interest in shonen manga. deku told bakugo his secret because he didn't want bakugo to think he deceived him (practically ignoring all might's words). bakugo got kidnapped and deku was devastated because of it. deku was angry enough to trigger a new quirk because someone insulted bakugo, and it reminded him of bakugo's tears. he went batshit crazy when bakugo was stabbed in front of him (the staple love interest scene). he fell into bakugo's arms due to exhaustion. bakugo just wanted to hold hands with deku. and that's not talking about everything that's depicted in the manga now.
she knew i was right, so she had nothing to say.
as for me, i think it's interesting how bakugo being in the love interest role is not detrimental to his character, but actually elevating it. here you got a self-centered asshole who's good at anything and everything. he's talented, yet he works hard. his shitty personality is backed by his determination to win and strong ideals. he's good and he knows it. so what do the mangaka do? put him in the most vulnerable position all the time, which is the love interest position.
the love interest role is the most vulnerable position because it's usually made to make the mc grows closer to the love interest. The mc would be the one who always save the love interest in the end through his physical strength. the love interest was usually the source of the mc's mental strength, so she's usually in tune with their emotions. to highlight the emotional aspect and the physical aspect of their relationship, the love interest usually got kidnapped and targeted by the enemies, got hurt in front of the mc, be put in dangerous situations, jumped in to save the mc in exchange for her life, or even killed to deal an emotional blow to the mc.
it's been established that bakugo is the one who deku thinks of whenever he thinks of victory--his symbol of victory. so yes, anything bad happening to bakugo is a direct emotional blow to deku, especially because bakugo is his symbol of victory--bakugo could not be defeated. but what about bakugo himself? he knows he's strong, but why does he always find himself in positions where he needs others' help?
it's to let him realize how weak he's actually is. to make him grow from being a self-centered asshole, he needs to be broken emotionally. bakugo doesn't need strength upgrade like many male shonen characters in general. what he needs is an upgrade in emotions, and for that he needs to know vulnerability. and what other position that will help him the best to learn how there's nothing wrong with vulnerability other than the love interest position? i think the best friend position that comes close to the depiction of a love interest position in a shonen is furuichi, but even then it's a gag manga so oga's and furuichi's friendship is more casual (even though there's just sprinkled drama) and not the main point of the manga (and hilda also torally qualifies as the love interest, aoi lowkey as well) while bakugo's and deku's relationship is more complex and one of the major plot points in hrak.
the twist between the mc and the love interest positions between bakugo and deku is that deku was never the one to save bakugo in the end. sludge villain, they got saved by all might. in usj, deku was saved by bakugo, but bakugo was saved by all might again. they saved each other in the final exam, but deku was in a better shape than bakugo at the end. bakugo got gravely injured from saving deku in jaku. bakugo's apology is one of the things that saved deku's heart when he went rogue. and it's not even counting the many saves bakugo had in anime original scenes and the current manga and that one fatal failure deku had.
you know, for someone who says her fav chara in hrak is bakugo, she's completely silent when i showed her the giga jump cover. IT'S A SMILING KACCHAN!! NEXT TO DEKU!! IT'S NAMED IZUKU AND KACCHAN AND THEY WERE SMILING NEXT TO EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEIR HERO ALL MIGHT PRAISED THEM!! WHY AREN'T YOU HAPPY?!?! I THOUGHT YOU WANT THEM TO BE AT LEAST FRIENDS!!
it's because she's starting to see the shojo and bl vibes between them.
so when i told her that jump has a love triangle romance manga that ends with the m/m couple so it's not like same-sex pairing is forbidden in jump now unlike the naruto era she immediately snapped:
"hell no, if bakugo and deku ends up together, i'll drop mha. bakugo's a member of my oc's harem, fuck bakugo and deku."
(that oc is op, a mary sue, a manic pixie girl, has two/three brocon big bros (one is an idol), and already shipped with shinso. the disrespect my sis gave bakugo is astounding. dear older sister, bakugo's personality won't allow him to be in a harem (he won't be number one!) he has to concede a lot of things for a business course hatsume mei ripoff who has mob's powers, if you want to make bakugo a member of that girl's harem you need to change the good things about him. better make a new male oc geez
and like, how she's like i'll make bakugo like my oc so uraraka can have deku is like??? Bitch wtf. That's not how relationship work. Poor uraraka got shoved into a role EVENTHOUGH URARAKA HAD SAID SHE DOESN'T WANT TO PURSUE DEKU ANYMORE?!?! And god, I'd hate if if uraraka got stuck as below kacchan. SHE KNEW DEKU WOULD PRIORITIZE KACCHAN!!! DON'T MAKE URARAKA BE WITH A BOY WHO WON'T MAKE HER HIS SPECIAL PERSON FUCK YOUUUUU URARAKA DESERVE BETTER THAN THAAAAT!!!!!
Also, daiking and ayaneru actually doesn't think they'd be together??? Like, deku n uraraka's vas said that the feelings they shared is not romance (ren'ai) but shared will/mindset. They said that the cliff scene is the best distance they have now and in the future---side by side, a little distant, but they can see each other a little bit in front of them from the corner of their eyes. Toga's va said that deku n uraraka is like old married couple in the cliff side but both vas denied it??? They can actually play up a shiptease but they didn't??? I think it's really important that the va who had voiced them since...2016?? said that there's no romance between the two, you know.
so like, the only thing i can do to salvage canon deku and bakugo relationship is putting them as: bakugo = idol and deku = gachifan. Thats it. Any other reciprocal emotion from bakugo is a no go. She hates it. Even though bakugo's chara dev is revolving around his feelings for deku n be a better person, to be someone that deku admires. Like, why??? She really doesn't want bakugo to think of deku in any other way except regret. Even though now it's not only regret. They care about each other dammit)
i told her that bakugo actually has no stated canon romantic interest at all, not even towards deku, but she said she didn't care. she's even scared of progressing bakugo's and deku's friendship in her fic just like in canon because of the high chance they'll be the endgame in the series. god, it pissed me off because what do you mean you're undermining their importance for each other just because you can't see it as anything other than romantic and your homophobe ass denied the progress they've made for each other? that's pathetic.
do i ship deku with bakugo? i'll say i ship them platonically. i want them to start a hero agency together. i want them to be hero partners. i lowkey want them to share an apartment together. i want them to be each other's closest and most important person. i want them to hold hands already for god's sake, or a hug maybe.
do i want them to kiss or do any coupley stuffs? i can say nope. probably because i think romantic/sexual relationship is not the end all and be all of relationships, but if that's what'll happen in canon, it's fine by me. but i don't really care, i just want them to be happy together after all those years of broken friendship and damaged relationship.
my sister and i agree that an open ending where everyone is single and happy (except kamijiro, my sister said they have chemistry, and she also said lowkey kirimina) is the most likely outcome, an ending of platonic ships sailing ala haikyuu. i also think it'll be like that, but somehow i made her overthink bakugo and deku so much so now she has one fear that it'll be canon so... sorry about that, sis lol. you're overthinking things too much.
okay so let me preface this by saying: all ships are welcome in the harbour. i don't hate ships, per se, but there are some i absolutely will not join ever.
i'll list a few of my most likely to never float my boat:
Tamlin with literally anyone but especially Feyre (ACOTAR)- he's a manipulative, abusive, bourgeois cry baby who doesn't know how to handle his own emotions because he had everything handed to him on a silver platter. he was probably the only sperm to go a'swimmin at his conception. he swam unapposed. he won by default. he's come to expect consolation prizes for his mere existence and is all too reticent to admit his own faults. probably doesn't like giving head either.
The Darkling x Alina (The Grisha Trilogy)- i know this is a suuuupperrr controversial topic in the fandom so i'll keep it snappy. the darkling, in the way bardugo has chosen to write him, is abusive as fuck. as long as you recognise this, we're good. imo: fantastic villain. terrible boyfriend.
Chaol x Yrene (Throne of Glass)- yes Chaol grew a bit in ToD, but Yrene was still mostly a consolation prize. she healed his spine (twice!!) and he gave her absolutely nothing in return. KaLe WeStFuCk likes to string women along, tell himself he's a bastard for it, but not fucking DO anything about it. i'm tired of lazy men expecting women to fall into their laps when they're lonely, and fall out of their laps at a time that is most convenient for them.
Azriel with literally anyone (ACOTAR)- he's asexual you cowards.
I usually don’t do this kind of comment / summary, but after today’s episode let me chime in with a few things….
Behind a cut, for reasons.
Ross & Elizabeth 3.0: Oh finally, those two get to talk in private, and like adults. Yay! Now everything will be rectified…right? Right?
Ooooh far from it! They talk and talk and…. never come to the actual point?? Elizabeth hints at Valentine’s parentage, Ross asks if he’s his, Elizabeth says she doesn’t know - cue a brief hysterical fit where Ross accuses her of not wanting to tell (to what point and purpose should she?? Also Ross, mate, if you have any basic knowledge of how reproduction works, you’d know that this is not an exact science, at least not in your times), Elizabeth once again defending herself for something that is not her fault, Ross wanting to know what exactly George suspects…and the conversation starts all over again. Hello?? Get to the fucking POINT, people!
OK Ross basically apologizing for what he did was VERY relieving, as was seeing that they still have some sort of fondness for each other, albeit a sad one; but what was that bullshit about “never injure the woman I loved” - remember you kicked in her door and broke into her bedroom? Also, I’m not a fan of his borderline aggression when he says “You WON’T tell!”…too many bad memories of that one night™ .
And then, the weirdest and wildest thing ever: So the only way to save her marriage to George is by “giving him another child” and make it look like it’s premature as well. “When there’s some confusion about the date…” Yes Ross, really, are you happy to help out again?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME, DEBBIE H.?? What’s this bumfuckery?? Why is Ross suggesting such a thing to her?? I can’t believe it…I was literally yelling at the TV like: “Ross…..Roooooss…..no, you didn’t..ROSSSSS ROOOOSSS NOO ROSS!!” What in fuck’s name did I just witness???? This can’t be serious. I’m still speechless.
Also, Ross, your many “all in good friendship” kisses to Elizabeth’s face are cute, but did you check if she really wants that? No? Ah, I’m smelling a pattern here.
And, what’s all that guesswork about who told George of their night together?
R: Have you never hinted to him….?
E: How could I?? But maybe you said something to him….?
R: Asjsalmnkbjamff!!!
E: Oh, but who could have told him? Hmmmmm. Who else was in the house…..
…………
………..
………..
Both, looking ominously out to the graveyard: ………………..could it be? Agatha….?
I mean, how stupid is that? Agatha basically told Elizabeth on her dying bed (stool) that she had spilled the beans to George, so…..dafuq?
I liked what they did with Ross “confessing” his feelings to Demelza, it explains a lot about his later actions and why he’s trying to hard to stick to his promise. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t say it in the end - of course he should, but for his character development it’s not important whether he says it out loud or just in his head; the main thing is that he has reached that conclusion and is coming to terms with his own feelings that were so unclear to him not too long ago. I really like season 3 Ross so far with the exception of the above examples, so yeah…there’s still hope.
Insert obligatory timeline glitch: “And for the first time in years, we talked. ” - Ross meaning Elizabeth. Ummm. Years? Valentine is like what, 2 years old? And there was that incident with the horses at the cliffs, he spoke to Elizabeth there, albeit briefly, but he did speak to her. “For the first time in years” makes it sound like they haven’t talked for a decade. Meanwhile, Jeremy Poldark has aged one day.
So, back to the talk. So the plan is to seduce poor George every day so that no one can tell exactly when a possible new baby was conceived? Very clever. Good luck with that.
Speaking of George….and ok yeah I’m biased here, but still….my poor precious darling boy! :’( The small victory of the election is tarnished by his family affairs. He so wants to believe little Valentine is his, but he just can’t get over old Agatha’s cruel words. Played to perfection by Jack, the internal struggles of a man who doesn’t know if he’s being lied to by the woman he loves, or has just been led on by an old woman’s spite. I liked to see that his nervous little habits increase, and it’s also quite telling in this context that it’s George who first loses his nerve in the dispute with Ross, not the other way round as usual (note to self: I do love when George results to cursing, shouting, or a threatening purr ^^). And that image of him sitting alone in his carriage almost broke my heart :-(
What was stupid though was that they put the confrontation in after Ross spoke to Elizabeth. He knows that George is suspicious of her and of Valentine’s parentage, and still he says something stupid like “…and so is her son!” - meaning Geoffrey Charles, of course, but it’s just such a cheap and obvious way of creating suspense. George very obviously and understandably thinks Ross is - in anger - referring to Valentine, and how can he not think that? Ross of course doesn’t say it with that intention, but it’s just stupid because he usually either says “Francis’ son” (because that’s what makes GC a Poldark in the first place), or simply “Geoffrey Charles”, not “Elizabeth’s son”. It would have made A LOT more sense to put this BEFORE the conversation with Elizabeth, so that Ross actually realizes that he has said something incredibly stupid to George and put Elizabeth under even more suspicion. The way it is, it’s just another cheap “Poldark vs. Warleggan” moment.
Then, Demelza. I almost felt sorry for her when yet another man tells her “You’re not perfect, but I’m not looking for perfection anyway…” - like seriously? Is Hugh actually getting her with the same superficial crap that Ross told her? Ugh. Don’t get me wrong, Hugh is cute and I like him, but I’m not sure I like / understand the way his attraction to her is portrayed. It’s all a bit too obvious and too much and…well, yeah. I don’t really care enough to delve deeper into it.
Morwenna’s storyline is finally getting a bit interesting, after endless hours of her looking at Drake like a moon calf and swooning over some flowers and standing at the window looking longingly out to…whatever. Worse that what they did to Elizabeth in s2, imho. She still doesn’t do much but sit there and suffer, but this time I’ve actually shed a tear for her because I’m finally beginning to feel a bit more for this character than just “ugh…!”.
Also, I get that Osborne is a horrible man that we shouldn’t come to like, but I’ve got to admit that he does have some comical moments, and especially perfect timing, so kudos to Christian Brassington for this portrayal.
Also, I kind of like Rowella. I wasn’t too into any of the “young generation” and I still don’t care a damn for Sam Carne and his what’s-her-face, and neither for Drake for that matter, but the way Rowella plays the fat vicar’s vices is kind of entertaining (and makes one wonder why her sister never thought of similar tricks, but she was possibly too busy looking out the window…).
Final conclusion: Almost every marriage in Cornwall is beyond botched.
One ray of light though, Dwight. Dwight is always right. Hahaha, I loved how he stuck it to fat Ossie ^^ But in general, he and Caroline don’t get nearly enough screen time in this season.
Elizabeth was again reduced to little else but holding Valentine and looking ominous, but I did love how in two scenes she got to actually decide something for herself, and how she takes on responsibility, not only of Morwenna, but in general. She seems more like the lady of the house now and issues commands, and she’s not afraid to use the differences in their rank to put Osborne into his place. Well done, lovely lady! *applauds* Also, I like how her feelings for George seem to have developed into something more than convenience.
Finally though, Ross and Demelza. Oh my. What a clusterfuck of bullshit. It all boils down to:
“My heart will always and forever belong to you…but, actually, trying out another man for a day would be kinda cool, and once I did that I’ll happily return to you and go on as if nothing happened, also btw you cheated on me so you are morally obliged to grant me this favour."
Wow. Kudos to Ross for his self-control and his patience with her. I’m not getting into the discussion whether cheating out of revenge is okay or not, and neither into any other for that matter, and while I admit that Ross has some horrible flaws and did abysmal things in the past, he’s trying so hard this season, especially with Demelza. That he makes a few remarks the like of “Not every man in Cornwall is in love with you” doesn’t really come as a surprise after the Fucky McMustache episode, but all in all and given that it’s Ross we’re speaking of, he’s basically snuggly as a kitten. Whereas my understanding for Demelza shrinks with every episode since season 2 tbh. OK so he doesn’t write her poems, so what? He doesn’t care what dress colour she wears, so what? She could be stuck in a FAR worse marriage with a far worse man (think Osborne), and also some of her antics are really rather pointless and just feel like random bitching because she doesn’t get what she wants (a large part of which seems to be the “ploughing” of a certain “field” if I’m reading this correctly; at least that seems to be what the script is hinting at).
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that they’re working through a difficult time in their marriage, and both of them are not easy persons, but - citing the books - all of this is about eventually understanding that there’s more to love and marriage than what convention teaches us and that in order to understand a partner and truly love them, you need to let go of them sometimes. And there would have been so many more ways to bring that across in film, instead of having Demelza be randomly angry with Ross and paying him back by cheating with the next best man who babbles romantic nonsense at her.
This was one of the more powerful episodes in s3, and still the overall feeling I’m left with is one of being sorry for all the persons who’d deserve more happiness than what they’re currently getting: Elizabeth & George, Morwenna & Drake, and Ross….
Oohooo and edit: No Ross, Elizabeth is actually not "the only person" who can do something about this spiderweb of lies you're both entangled in (especially not by telling another lie!). YOU could walk up to George and tell him face to face that Elizabeth is innocent, that you slept with his fiancée against her will and that you're sorry for what you did, and if Valentine should turn out to come after you, that you'll help support the child (even though George and Elizabeth surely don't need the money). That would come very close to a suicide mission, but it would be honest for once and you'd not be using Elizabeth to cover up your own mistakes.
I'm struggling so much with opinion of Kara right now yall. Like I know I can't judge her for her choices and I know this is just the male-fantasy wish fulfillment of the writers but I still find myself judging Kara for wanting Man-hell. Like fuck girly, he's an entitled male, whose first response is violence, he objectifies women, kept slaves on his own planet, has made you cry, called you full of yourself, doesn't believe in your strength, thinks he's better than you, has jealousy issues, considers you a damsel, doesn't respect you, is never consistent, and can't make a damn club soda. But apparently Kara finds this attractive. She wants this in a partner. Then again Kara always does try to fix things and she's been 'fixing' Man-hell since they met so maybe that's the reason she finds him attractive. But honestly, yall I'd never thought I'd doubt Kara Danvers and representation for young girls but I can't help think of the young girls watching this and thinking they want a guy like Man-hell. And this is fucking with my head so much.
Taking a break from brainstorming and writing my WxS + ensemble fic by thinking rezero thoughts and how much I love SubaEmi & SubaRem both in and outside of romantic context because their relationship is so much more than that.
I remember back when the first season aired there's an 'I love Emilia' meme going around before I even knew rezero (I watched it in 2017 iirc). And when I finally watched it, I didn't really get why people at that time is mad at Subaru for not saying 'I love Rem' lol.
First of all, Rem is the one who rejected Subaru's proposal first. She knows that Subaru doesn't love her that way, and that something scared him so much that he chose to run away other than fight. She confessed not to get Subaru saying 'I love you' to her (although she kinda wished he would), but it's more about showing Subaru that there's someone that would love him and always be by her side no matter what--her.
And Subaru answered Rem's genuine love confession with the genuine truth--that he still loves Emilia. Because he knew that saying anything else but the truth will dishonor Rem's feelings. Rem falls in love with the Subaru who tries so hard for everyone and everything, including for Emilia's love. Actually, I like this scene because it shows how loyal Subaru is?? Even in his weakest moment, even when there's a girl that's so passionate about her love to him, his feelings for Emilia is still going strong. And I hate that a lot of viewers don't appreciate that dedication. Like damn, where can I find a guy as loyal as Subaru??
And not all anime-only knows this, but Subaru actually, truly, loves with Emilia because of the lap pillow in Arc 2. Sure, he fell in love at first sight when she saved him in the beginning of Arc 1 (also because she's physically his type), but it's only a bud--a crush. There's even a whole paragraph that's basically about Subaru realizing 'oh, I love her' at the end of the pillow scene in the light novel (ps. the ln is great btw). Just think about it, at that time, Subaru was terrified of being hated and betrayed again by everyone, everything he did ended in mistakes and he couldn't even tell anyone about his trauma---and then there's Emilia, who doesn't know or even able to understand, and yet she lent him her lap and a willing pair of ears to listen to his cries---showing Subaru that he's not alone in that world. For Subaru, he knew Emilia for more or less two weeks, but for Emilia, she only knew Subaru for more or less a day. Like, who wouldn't fall for her gentleness??
(And Rem did kill Subaru in cold blood and tortured him so I think it's weirder that Subaru forgave Rem, but that's Subaru for you ig. His super low self-esteem makes him has the mentality of 'as long as I know you have a shred of kindness in you, I can forgive you, even if you betray my trust, torture me, and kill me without remorse lol'
Btw, iirc in arc 7 he had a monologue where he said he still got shivers every time he heard the sound of chains--his trauma from Rem's torture will probably never go away).
So yeah, anime-onlies argument about 'Subaru's love to Emilia doesn't make sense' becomes moot if they actually have the context from the ln. But I didn't even have the context from the ln when I watched Ep. 18 the first time and I still understood why Subaru said 'I love Emilia' just fine, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Funny thing is that there's a scene in ln where Subaru admitted to both Rem (in Arc 3 before the White Whale battle) and Emilia (in Arc 4 on the carriage to Sanctuary) where he said that he also loves Rem. Again, understandable, because who wouldn't fall for Rem after her heartfelt confession?? And I appreciate how Subaru think that he's such a scum for liking two girls at the same time and thought that Emilia and Rem should know of his two-timing feelings. Rem is... well, she's kinda obsessed so she said that she's okay being the 2nd wife (but by the way Arc 7 goes I think she wouldn't be in the future), and the kind and gentle Emilia basically saying 'yeah, you suck' but she also said that she understood that Subaru and Rem had a history that she didn't know of so she couldn't fully judge Subaru for that.
Of course, then in Arc 6 Emilia said that she knew Subaru would be occupied with Rem when she woke up, so Emilia needed to work harder to make Subaru look her way... And then in Arc 7 Rem lost all her memories (which I think will tie in to Rem's own character development so she could live for herself, not for Ram or Subaru).
And also, why didn't anyone mention how strict Rem is to Subaru? In Arc 3 she basically said 'don't you dare run away from your trouble because I'm here', and in Arc 6 she's basically pissed at Subaru for giving up and not being able to stand up lol. Heck, in Arc 4 Subaru said to the witches that Rem is the strictest person ever to him because she wouldn't let him give up... and somehow it turned into a hero complex which is also addressed in Arc 7... although I think Arc 7 just made his hero complex worse... On the other hand, Emilia is gentle towards Subaru. In the Arc 4 light novel, when she realized how distressed Subaru was she put Subaru's ears against her chest so Subaru could hear her steady heartbeat to calm him down. In Arc 6, Emilia's (almost-)confession to Subaru was so soft even though all the chaos, and then when they fell she embraced him in such a way so she would fall to the ground first??? Even though there's no way they would survive that fall??? I'm so sorry, I'm so soft for that scene. Not to say that Rem wasn't gentle, but where Emilia would say 'it's okay for Subaru to rest', Rem wouldn't let him.
And and his narration in Arc 4 of his feelings for Rem and Emilia when he talked to his dad---Emilia is his light, and Rem is his sky--and how he couldn't live without both... that passage is so *chef's kiss*
And I haven't say anything about how their love for each other (and other people, in Subaru's case) is also a catalyst for them to love themselves...
Rezero is about love, and there are many forms of love. Romantic, platonic, familial, self-love, etc. ... The writer isn't wrong by calling it a heartwarming story.
Before I begin, I want to say that people are allowed to have their own interpretations and how they see a story. First of all, it's fiction, not hard facts. So no matter how hard they try to be unbiased as posible, the way people interpret a story will be influenced by their life experiences, social norms, personal preferences, and other media they consume. So are the analysis I've posted all this time, they're just one way to interpret WxS stories and Tsukasa. Others may have different perspectives than me and there's nothing wrong with that. The shitstorm in pjsekai twt made me realize yet again that sometimes people have difficulty accepting those with different views than them...
This is, ultimately, my personal opinion and feeling about Saki's event, and while I know the shitstorm of No Seek No Find brings in twt, I just really need to write down my emotions (but I hope no one pick a fight with me here lol).
Okay, I think I've said it before, but I like angst when it's done in a bittersweet and hopeful way (for instance Dazzling Stage, Remembrance, Otori family's conflict in WMS, Haruki's death and Nanase twins' resolution in ainana, Bossun's past arc in SKET DANCE, almost the entirety of Natsume Yujincho, etc.). But the tone of Saki's 3rd focus event story is so muddy that even the bits of hope in it still feels kinda distant for me.
Objectively speaking, the story is good, really good even. Saki was portrayed as the always positive girl like Emu, but as we all know the two of them aren't just sunshine and rainbows. No Seek No Find finally shows the ugly ugly emotions that Saki harbored when she was hospitalized--the pain, loneliness, jealousy, bitterness, frustration, helplessness, despair, anger, and fear of being left behind. Being sick and hospitalized like her sucks, and her negative emotions are portrayed very well in the story. We've been told several times in event and card stories that Saki always hid her sadness with a smile to not worry others, but we also know her family and Ichika could see through her fake smiles but never said anything about it. So, this story is important. It needs to happen anyway, for Saki to bea able to pour out those emotions into songs.
Also, the bit where Ichika sent her a picture of the sky and then did the same thing more than a year later was really sweet. Leo/Need being supportive group of friends is always nice to see, and ngl I'm kinda glad that Saki spoke up a little about how lonely she was when she was hospitalized and iirc only Ichika visited her during that time. While Honami and Shiho had their own problems at the time, I think they needed to hear how it felt in Saki's postion at that time. Unfortunately, it damaged Saki more than it did them lol. I haven't read the card stories yet, but apparently Saki's suggestions for lyrics after the event were about how much pain and life generally sucks(?). While it's good that Saki could release her pent up frustration with her music, I really wish she let herself be honest with her friends. It may be painful for everyone, but the main story proved that they could handle it.
However, personally speaking, in the end it just left a bitter aftertaste for me. The story spent a long time in Saki's negative headspace, and even when she was with Leo/Need the murkiness was very much present. The muddy feeling was super strong. Like, Saki was so gung-ho about diving into the most painful parts of her life, how was I supposed to react?? Support her, I guess? But unlike the characters, I saw how much she cried about the unfairness of everything. I didn't want Saki to delve deep into those emotions by herself. Leo/Need supported her from afar, sure, but what if Saki spiraled into those well of negative emotions by herself?? It didn't happen thankfully, but the fact that it was possible was worrying. No, I think the simple reason is that Saki is one of those characters that I don't want to see sad.
"IT'S UNREASONABLE, SHE HAS A PAINFUL PAST OF COURSE SHE CAN GET SAD!!" said many people, most likely
I KNOW BUT THAT'S WHY I DON'T WANT HER TO RELIVE THOSE EMOTIONS ANYMORE!! DAMMIT, I CAN DISLIKE THE TONE OF THE EVENT STORY HOWEVER GOOD IT IS!! PERSONAL PREFERENCE AND ALL THAT!!
Maybe the darker tone compared to other Leo/Need event stories is intentional--to drive home how dark Saki's negative emotions due to her illness can be.
And you know what, I respect that decision, it's a good decision objectively. But being able to see the positive aspects doesn't mean I personally like it. I like the gentle, warm, and sometimes bittersweet tone of most of Leo/Need event stories. But this event story went too far to the bitter part for what I like about Leo/Need stories so I can't say I can enjoy the story that much.
It's like how my sister admits that rezero has a good story but refuse to watch it because she didn't like the suffering. And this is the same feeling like when I read Shotabaru being brutally murdered more than a hundred times.
And damn it, when Shotabaru cried and wailed because he finally managed to break through that hell loop was so damn satisfying. But I didn't get the same satisfaction at the end of this event story because this is a mobile game. That means I need to wait months to see the payoff for Saki's effort, and even then it would be preceded with other event stories with varying degrees of tone. I'm not satisfied with the ending for this event, and unlike Mafuyu's 3rd event story where the cliffhanger hinted of a change in status quo, the cliffhanger in No Seek No Find isn't that high stake. If they made the reception to Saki's new song to be lukewarm, it would mean they slapped Saki's hard work in her face so I didn't think the writing team would be that cruel... but who knows about that. Because the probability of her song being warmly accepted should be high, the conflict would be about the scout Saku(?) talked with. Which, while it might be interesting, would kinda sidelined Saki's conflict in No Seek No Find.
tl;dr No Seek No Find is objectively good and important for Saki, but personally the tone is too heavy compared to other Leo/Need stories for my liking, not enough warm-fuzzy feelings
