Jul 8, 2025
Woe be upon ye, all my current fashion hunter creations
seen from Uzbekistan
seen from China
seen from Japan
seen from Peru
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from India
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from Norway
seen from Argentina
seen from China
seen from France
seen from Netherlands
Woe be upon ye, all my current fashion hunter creations
Dov's VTMB NPCs in BG3 Guide, part 8 (final)
Note: This build guide is a suggestion, I picked things purely based on vibes. Completely vanilla game.
Gary Golden
Half-Orc Bard, violin, body type 2, voice 3
Vicious mockery, minor illusion
Speak with animals, disguise self, Tasha’s hideous laughter, longstrider
Charlatan background
Mitnick
Githyanki rogue, body type 2, voice 1
Guild artisan background
Imalia
Zariel Tiefling warlock, body type 1, voice 2
Bone chill, minor illusion
The Great Old One
Dissonant Whispers, Hex
Noble background
Ming Xiao
Human druid, body type 1, voice 2
Resistance, thorn whip
Produce water, entangle, ice knife, thunderwave
Acolyte background
So, a new anime series (an adaptation of a manga series) was just announced called, "Sakamoto Days." Let's take a look at its promo art:
Basically, we see someone who was a mafia/hitman/yakuza type of guy - who used to be very hot and fit, etc. that then settled down and got out of shape. Okay, cool. It's nice to see the MC being older and without the more stereotypical "hot bod" found in anime. A dude with a dad bod, nice. Cute, I love it. It's an action-comedy, but I can already tell from this promo, the premise, and the trailer I saw that the male character is a character first and foremost, with the character's weight gain being a part of the larger concept of having settled down and what not.
I wish female characters could get this treatment. There are some fat and overweight female characters in anime that are written well, but those usually tend to be secondary or minor characters:
Agnes from Tiger & Bunny 2
Miss Anna from Buddy Daddies
Chieko from Kuragehime/Princess Jellyfish
All of these characters exist as characters first, with their own interests and personalities, and their weight is a secondary aspect to their characterization as a whole. So, we have a number of secondary and minor female characters that can exist like this, but when I think about female main characters who are fat, overweight, etc. within the anime sphere...all I got is this:
A series that is a comedy like Sakamoto Days, but it also happens to be an ecchi series and that changes everything. From this promo alone, we can tell that the focus is being placed on the female eating and on her weight gain first and foremost. The ecchi tag also indicates, to me anyway, that a fetishistic lens is the one that is primarily going to be used for the series.
I know issues like these ones with male characters being allowed to exist as characters who are fat, rather than as fat characters who are then not taken as seriously or who are fetishized (female characters) is a problem in all media around the world...and I know that Japanese media like anime (especially) even acknowledging characters of different weights and shapes is still very new in and of itself...but it is also just tiring. In many other medias around the world there has been some shifts and some improvements in these areas, so it's just kinda sigh worthy to see that anime is still only just reaching this stage/level of representation.
It's an interesting experience for me, a reminder of how my taste and wants in media have changed so much from when I was a pre-teen and teen who actively sought out anime back then, because it was so different and unique and filled a gap in what I was looking for media-wise, that American media at that time wasn't filling. But, now it almost feels like the roles have reversed and the stagnation and inability to fill the gaps with difference and uniqueness is anime for me, while American and other Western forms of media seem to be more unique, different, and progressive/forward moving/changing.
There are always exceptions to the above though, and I absolutely LOVE when a good anime comes out that reminds me of why I used to love the medium so much when I was younger. That's always so refreshing and nice, but becoming increasingly harder and harder to find.
Undead Murder Farce - First Impression - SPOILERS!
Just got some time to watch Undead Murder Farce, Episode 1, and I LOVED it!
Looking into it, the series was originally a three volume long novel series that was then turned into a manga, which also had three volumes, and is finished. It also didn’t run in a Jump Shonen magazine, which means there is a higher chance I will like it (I tend to like Shonen in non-Jump magazines like Pandora Hearts, Nabari no Ou, both of which were Monthly G-Fantasy series).
I think you can feel the novel source material influence in this first episode. I love how they did the exposition. There was a bit of an info dump at the very beginning of the episode, with text on the screen, but they had the text come across as someone speaking to you and the way they incorporated the text appearing with the animation and visuals of the opening scene was just really nicely done.
The conversation that then occurs between our main characters was very nicely done and handled too. It was essentially a consultation, so it makes sense that they would discuss their individual situations, determine what each can get out of the deal they are making, and make a deal with each other. I’ll get to the deal part of this episode in a second.
First, I want to just briefly mention that the music was great, I loved the vibrancy in colors, and the animation was very nice too. There were some interesting shots as well, such as this one:
The way they have the more colorful part of town, where they are walking to and end up, floating in the background, with the poor and desolate part of the town that they are walking through in the forefront was quite cool.
There was a lot of excellent visual direction in this series, like the scene where Tsugaru talks about why he joined the “circus” / “freak show” / “sideshow attraction” like gig that we see him performing at.
A spotlight is placed over him, like he is on stage. This is something anime have used before. More often though, it is solely for some kind of comedic purpose (or the characters are actually on stage, like for a school play or something). But the way it’s used here reminds me more of Princess Tutu’s usage, where the series itself is based on ballets and the characters are essentially having their lives being written and controlled by another character in the series. There is less a comedic element, and more a thematic element.
Also, a very 4th wall breaking element without, once again, going into a purely comedic direction. Some of his movements may seem comedic, like here:
But neither Shizuku nor Aya are shown to be amused by this. No sweatdrops or anything like that either, the tone is kept consistent with them just listening intently to what he is saying. Since this is him basically letting them in on his revenge fantasy toward the people who give him the money to live, while at the same time dehumanizing him and viewing him as nothing but entertainment.
Also, god awful people that wanted him to harm a cat (and later his boss, that then goes on to have him fight a cat (under the guise that it’s a bakeneko, a type of cat yokai). I’ll talk about this some more when I get into themes and narratives that the series looks like it’s going to explore.
The way Tsugaru takes “the camera” and moves it around and very agilely moves around the room as he is explaining adds a dynamic element and keeps our, the audiences’, interest, at the same time that he, in-series, is keeping the interest of Shizuku and Aya - his potential new employers.
He is putting on a show for them, but in a very aloof way, which gets into some interesting characterization elements, that I’ll talk about in a bit. The placement of small shots of terror and gore, makes for a different experience (for the audience) with this “spotlight exposition” type scene than the usual as well.
I think the visual direction of the episode is what makes it so engaging and what causes the time to go by so quickly (the episode literally flew by for me) despite the viewers being given so much information to digest in this first episode.
Now, let’s move on to the character designs. The character designs are fun and engaging, as are the personalities we’ve seen so far. They definitely are based around established tropes on some level, but I can already tell that they are being used and engaged in ways we don’t commonly see.
For example, the maid (Shizuku) is kuudere, she doesn’t speak much, only speaking and engaging in things when commanded. She also states that her feelings don’t matter. This doesn’t anger the male MC, Tsugaru. He facepalms, but that’s it. He also just casually mentions to her that that makes her more like a puppet than a human.
The same with Aya, she has a traditional Japanese beauty appearance, and her way of speaking is very direct, straightforward, and demanding. She has an aspect about her that feels very himedere like, but she doesn’t necessarily act like she is a princess herself. She has lived too long for that and is just a more “business first” type of individual. Once again, we don’t see Tsugaru getting annoyed by this, there is no tonal breakage to have characters swat at each other or anything like that.
One moment did imply that that was something that may have occurred if Aya wasn’t just a head. But, well, she is just a head right now, so that takes away such tired tropes from the writing and from the original author’s repertoire of tropes to use.
Finally, Tsugaru himself. He has an aloof-ness and cynical outlook on life (philosophical too) with a bit of a joking side to things that reminds me a great deal of Xerxes Break from Pandora Hearts (being dedicated to a lady is also another aspect, like with Break to Sharon, I’m hoping Tsugaru’s dedication to Aya remains non-romantic).
But he delivers it all in a more deadpan voice, not the more eccentric and teasing way like Break. That makes sense, since Break is a character based off of The Mad Hatter. What we see of Tsugaru’s character feels more like the Break that we get in the latter half of Pandora Hearts.
The thing that makes Tsugaru’s character really stand out though is that his type of character isn’t one that we usually see in a Main Character role. This more quirky male character type is usually reserved for side, secondary, or minor character roles. So I find that fascinating and am intrigued to see how this will play out.
I brought up Tsugaru and Aya’s relationship here because I am a bit side eyeing that aspect (I’m not sure on ages, but since Tsugaru is depicted as drinking, I think it is safe to assume that he is over the age of 20, usually underage drinking isn’t really depicted much in Japanese media). So far, I feel like it isn’t going to be the usual kind of adult-minor or “she looks like a child but is really 1000 years old” type of stuff that pops up in anime and manga far too often. She is 14 physically, that was the age she was killed, and therefor the age she stopped aging, but they really do have her act and sound and feel more like an adult. That doesn’t necessarily mean much though, I find it more telling how they decided to present and depict the contractual kiss that the two have.
They discuss the kiss in a very matter of fact way, this is another aspect of their business contract to them. The series makes sure to focus on the saliva, since that is what Tsugaru needs to extend his life.
Then they make it clear that the two seal their contract with this kiss and exchange, but they don’t linger on the kiss in any way. They don’t sexualize it, in fact, the way they have Tsugaru apologize to Shizuku before he enacts the kiss with Aya is quite interesting as well. It is a contract to the both of them, but the act itself is still seen as intimate, and he behaves in a generally respectful way towards the both of them. We see this earlier when he bent down and kissed Aya’s hair.
There is no focus placed on their lips touching or on romanticizing that aspect. We get a quick shot of them with their lips locked to show that they made the contract. But the lingering focus is instead placed on Aya’s hair. The length of it, highlighting just how long she has been stuck like this.
I hope that there isn’t a huge focus on romance in general, not just for these two, but just between any characters. I don’t mind if there is a bit here and there, I do generally like that, but I think a lack of romantic focus would probably work best for this series. If they do go in that direction though, I do have some faith that some interesting themes might be explored along with it (rather than just otaku bait stuff).
This series has a lot of potential for me. The fact that Aya feels like she has a lot of autonomy, despite the fact that she has no body, and the fact that they aren’t doing anything weird or objectifying with her body or Shizuku’s (so far, at least) is a good sign for me. I also like, once again, that there really wasn’t anything sexual or romantic depicted in the kiss contract betwee Tsugaru and Aya. I can already tell that they will have a sort of “princess and knight” or “employer and employee/master and servant” type of dynamic, and I prefer when those remain platonic, tbh. It’s more interesting and refreshing that way (especially if it involves opposite sex characters and any kind of age gap sort of thing).
The themes of: dehumanization, exploitation, and the fallacies of immortality/having superhuman powers (or being something superhuman) are all ones I like to see explored. The unwanted experimentation aspect is quite fascinating too, and I hope we get some more interesting themes explored further into the series. Both the novel and manga are completed works, so that also gives me hope that the anime will be a full adaptation and have a satisfying ending.
The only real them that I’m a bit side-eye about is the whole “Westernization” aspect. I get it within the time period of the series itself, but this is a modern series being written for modern audiences as well, so I’m keeping an eye out for any Nihonjin-ron type stuff (essentially, Japanese nationalism views, similar to stuff like the USA’s tea party ideas of how the USA is the best country ever, never does anything wrong, and shouldn’t allow foreigners in - that sort of nationalist ideology, just with Japanese towards Japan). We are dealing with outcast characters that exist in a very dangerous situation, so I’m thinking that won’t likely happen, but you never know.
Especially since we have this framework of “Westernization has led to this Purge of demons/yokai” and “the man that appears to have murdered one of the MCs and experimented on the other MC is a Westerner as well” just...hmm. I want to see how they explore things once our gang gets to Europe though. And, I want to make it clear, I’m totally not against being critical of the West and things like colonization (or other similar aspects, which I can see may be a narrative that could be explored here through things like The Purge), I’m just hoping it won’t come with Orientalism and Nihonjin-ron ideologies attached to it. Considering that many of the Japanese portrayed in this first episode weren’t shown in a great light either though, does reassure me some that this likely won’t be the case.
Anyway, I’m really excited for this series, because it is giving me big Pandora Hearts like vibes (one of my favorite manga series), and just has a lot of potential in so many ways. Can’t wait to see where this all goes! :D
Shows to Watch/Get Caught Up On:
There aren’t any anime in the Spring 2023 season that appeal to me, so I’m going to use this time to catch up on some (mostly) Western TV shows and animation series.
I do also end to dig into older anime at some point or another, but those are a lot harder to locate (most of the time) so require some more energy in finding them. Something which I don’t really have right now. Anyway, I’m just making this list to ensure that I’ll actually watch these shows. More potential for actual initiative.
Also, if you notice that there might be some series that I might like, based on these shows, feel free to drop recommendations in the comments!
The Fire Hunter: I need to rewatch this from Episode 1. It’s the only anime here. It’s based on a Japanese novel and had some really excellent world building in the first two episodes.
Bee and Puppycat: I remember watching episodes of this series when it was still a Youtube series. I love, love, love the colors in this series and just the soft style of it.
Proud Family: Louder and Prouder : I remember this show when I was a kid. I didn’t watch all that much of it, since it aired around the time I was really starting to get into anime (2001, I was 11). But, I remember enjoying it when I did watch it. I also love everything I’ve heard about this reboot.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: I hadn’t realized that this was based on a Marvel comic, but I LOVE the visuals and it just looks so interesting and cool!
Dead End: Paranormal Park: The lead character for this series is trans and I’ve heard great things about it. I’m also partial to paranormal, supernatural, light horror stuff, so this seems like it will itch that scratch.
Willow: I need to rewatch the movie first, I haven’t watched that movie since I was a kid, but I remember liking it a lot. I also just remember Warwick Davis as being a part of my childhood through Willow, the Leprechaun movies, and even in HP.
The Mandalorian (S3) : To the surprise of probably no one, I find Grogu precious and adorable and am a sucker for cold hardass gets given kid that then softens them up. It’s just way too cute a combo, so I’ll be checking this season out too.
The Owl House: My friend knows Dana Terrace (they had some class together, iirc), she’s also from my home state, so I feel I need to watch it not only because of that, but also because I have enjoyed a lot of what I’ve seen in the show. So, I want to finish watching this one. I know it is well beloved and that is likely for a reason.
Infinity Train: I watched the first season of this show when it first came out and I LOVED it. But, it wasn’t easy for me to watch, and that ended up being what made watching the rest of the seasons a lot harder for me. I want to watch the other seasons that came out for it though. It was such a wonderfully creative show that explored some great themes.
Amphibia: This one has interested me for a while and supposedly is quite good. So I want to give it a watch (especially now that it is finished, iirc, it’s easier to binge watch that way).
Hilda and the Mountain King (TV Movie): I watched the first and second season and I really enjoyed this series. It’s very character focused and I love the fantasy elements of this series. It’s all very magical and also kinda has a Welcome to Night Vale vibe about it, but child friendly. Since this is just a movie, I should be able to watch it quickly.
Cumulative Views from Ameba & NicoNico - Winter 2023 Anime
The above is a ranking list that was made by a Twitter user (tweet linked below). It’s ranked based on the overall number of views a series got on both Ameba Video and NicoNico.
Those are just two out of a few different streaming services, and this is insight into viewership numbers for these two services specifically - not any others and not taking into account any broadcast viewership numbers, BD/DVD sales, or international streaming viewership/popularity/etc.
In recent years, streaming numbers are becoming more relevant for renewal, both domestically and abroad, and viewership and popularity overseas is becoming more relevant as well. BD/DVD sales are becoming less so, but are still extra indicators and more so highlight how big the hardcore fanbase of a series is. Merchandise can play a role in deciding on a series success and continuance.
There are a lot of varying factors that can decide whether a series will get some form of continuation or not (a second season, movies, OVA/ONA, etc.) and they usually overlap and intersect with each other. For example. the anime series Sugar Apple Fairytale already announced its second season, despite not seeming overwhelmingly popular, based off of this chart alone. It should be noted that it is an adaptation though and based on a preexisting series.
This list also isn’t the most definitive version, since some series still have one final episode to air (ex. Buddy Daddies),so there would be some difference with a ranking made completely at the end of a season, once all shows have finished airing. But likely not by any large amount. These numbers are largely going to stay about the same.
But, anyway, it is always interesting to see information like this and how it compares to things like Weekly Anime Rankings within the international anime fanbase, since there usually are some major differences between the two. Example, Buddy Daddies being more popular with the international anime fanbase than back in Japan, but sometimes there is some overlap as well, such as Revenger, which didn’t gain much traction with Japanese or international fans.