#nina drango

[kianagita2504]

another Chris & Nina doodle tehe:p

[character-archive-gwa]

Nina Drango

Shingeki no Bahumet

[kianagita2504]

midnight sketch:p

[kianagita2504]

NINANINANINAAAA

doin' anything but my animation school project🥀🥀

y'all... I think I'm really late for joining this fandom *sobsss ;-;)) but nvm that's fine hwhhwhw

grumpy bby uwu

[gensou-no-toshokan]

If the whole point of Nina's trigger of becoming a dragon being handsome guys, was going to be revealed as a deep rooted trauma on her father dying and how that supposedly connected with all the cute guys she transformed over being older than her and about them reminding her to her dad, then her character arc would have been much, MUCH better if the king would have been an older man instead of a romantic interest, who didn't make her transform because he would be the first father figure she had since the death of her dad and wouldn't confuse the feeling for a crush like with other men, and it would be more heartbreaking when she discovered this kind old man was the cruel king who killed and enslaved countless demons, in this essay I will-

[lordbhreanna]

sometimes a man almost meets his death facing a dragon and falls in love 🐉

[lordbhreanna]

a king and his dragon girlfriend ❤️

[lordbhreanna]

Rage of Bahamut ramblings

I said I’d dump my thoughts on Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul (that’s a mouthful) sometime, and though I barely have the mental capacity right now to put two words together, I need to rant. So it’s bullet point time about an obscure 2017 anime series (based on a random mobile game card I think??) to list all the reasons you, like me, might have overlooked this show at first glance but could actually love it if you knew what’s actually about.

AND IT’S A FAIRYTALESQUE LOVE STORY BETWEEN ENEMIES.

— First things first: I know there’s a season 1 called Genesis. Did not watch it, and I’m not particularly interested in doing so because, from what I’ve seen, they’re quite different. Watching Genesis isn’t needed to enjoy Virgin Soul since both seasons are standalone despite sharing characters (and Nina or Charioce are not one of those). I came to Bahasoul for the romance, and that’s where I’m staying. I understood everything that matters from Genesis from what they explain, and Favaro gives me the impression of working best as a mentor character.

— Ok, now, what is the pitch for this? On the outside it looks like a generic fantasy adventure story. But in reality it’s a fairy tale romance with enemies to lovers where a dragon shapeshifter heroine and an evil ruthless king (who deep down has a noble goal and a softer side) fall in love. Also the king has kind of a curse too, and he’s saved by the heroine. Sprinkle some soulmates' vibes as well. It’s never explicitly said, but it’s there between the lines from the first moment they touch hands.

— The romance is NOT a subplot, it’s central to the main story. 

— There’s a variety of characters, and most are quite good and I enjoyed them a lot! But Nina is front and center the main protagonist, she’s the lens through which we experience everything, so her story with Charioce is integral and a main source of internal conflict and events.

— And Nina is an amazing main character, compassionate and kind but also protective and fiery and with a feisty side sometimes. She’s not just a cheerful, carefree heroine. The show goes beyond that and explores her character in detail, her struggles, her pain. She’s extremely relatable and you connect with her a lot.

— Charioce works perfectly as both the charismatic and enigmatic villain with hidden motives, and as Nina’s love interest. The romance works so well because, despite their differences, they’re treated as equals and both find something that was missing inside them through the other.

Now to the more spoilery stuff, though I don’t go into any plot details.

— The whole Nina turning into a violent killer dragon when she gets nervous around handsome men is a hilarious narrative device to explore a common type of teenage girl experience with hormones bursting. But damn it works SO DAMN WELL 😂 Teenage girls are ridiculed for many things, one of them being horny, and in Bahasoul that’s turned into a killer dragon in red that feels dangerous to everyone and Nina herself when she can't control it, but it eventually transforms into a source of good and positive. It’s a coming of age story about her learning to harness her power, too, and she does it through her relationship with Charioce.

— One thing I love is how Charioce reacts to Nina’s power. He’s stunned when she wins him at arm wrestling but I 100% believe that’s the moment he fell in love. Then he looks at her in amazement when she transforms into a dragon.

— Dragon Nina and Charioce have such beautiful interactions. Period.

— Also when he removes his gauntlet before touching her in dragon form??? I love it even more because it’s when she IS a dragon. Such a contrast between the fearsome nature of the creature and the gentleness of the gesture. I love that they put the effort of animating it. Chef kisses.

— Dance is established as a way of communication between the two from the first time, and it feels so fitting given their situation at the ending :___ *clutches heart*

— In general, I’d say it’s a very “tangible” romance (don’t know if that even makes sense in English), because it starts with them touching hands, and they have physical contact constantly. Again, given the ending with him blind and she being mute, it gives wings to the idea of touch being how they communicate.

— I was also very happy the show took its time with Nina being conflicted about her feelings when she discovers the truth about who Chris is. But she’s never punished by it, not even when she speaks with Jeanne or Favaro.

— It’s not just that she doesn’t get punished for it… She goes out there to save the king, lifts the curse (aka the bracelet turning into dust means him not dying like the Onyx soldiers) and takes her prize at the end!! He’s her prize! She deserves it and she fought for it!! Was it that difficult, Lucasfilm?

— Love me the angst too, like when the Onyx captain guy keeps threatening the red dragon and Charioce’s eye twitches and he has to go along, and of course then he resorts to “no I was lying I didn’t care about you that much and we’re not seeing each other even again” at the ball scene, to keep Nina away.

— THE BALL SCENE. First I love the whole idea undercover infiltration at parties. But you also have all these girls waiting for the king to invite them to dance, and Nina fucking Drango says “bitch I’m gonna make him drag his ass off that throne” and goes there and extends her hand for him like a boss, not waiting to be invited but taking matters into her own hands. I love her.

— First dance is like the one in Titanic (they even have similar shots!!) and it’s vibrant and lively, then the second one is more Disney and/or regal (and Charioce never smiles here, because it’s right before bad stuff happens), and the last dance is so full of intimacy and love and the music goes full romantic fairy tale ending :____

— Charioce riding dragon Nina as she flies them over the city, and he’s crying happy tears while doing it 🥺

— When Nina is being judged and she yells at him (not knowing still that he’s Chris) that everyone might be afraid of him, BUT SHE’S NOT. God I love those scenes. Same when she’s hellbent on stopping him, even if face to face she can’t harm him. It also speaks volumes that Charioce never tries to hurt her there - and she could have ended all his plans. Everything he’s worked for.

— Also the cave scene where he’s like “I HAD A PLAN AND I WAS COMMITTED TO IT AND NOW YOU CAME ALONG AND MAKE ME DOUBT”. More more delicious chef kisses. Love one asshole man who goes soft for 1 person and gets ANGRY about it. 

— Did I mention it has a fairy tale vibe in so many of their scenes, and they are full of romantic undertones everywhere? The animation in the dances, the body language, the music.

— Also this scene:

From gremlin

To soft:

— Overall it’s a nice fantasy anime and the plot works for what it is, serviceable in a good way, because the meat is in the characters. Not just Nina or Charioce. I liked most of them, especially Jeanne, Rita, and Azazel, or Sofiel too. But what truly hooked me was Nina and Charioce, and their romance (which is what I came for after someone recced it over twitter as “actual enemies to lovers”, thank you from the bottom of my heart).

— I was just gonna mention that the show actually has many different kinds of female characters and I'd say they all pretty well-written. Good time to point out that I found out the screenwriter for the whole show was a woman 💅

— The first OP has stunning artstyle.

And I love the Cinderella AU from the second ED, because Nina transforms into a dragon and you can see her being super shy but Charioce loves her dragon girlfriend ❤️ The second OP is also full of Nina/Chris. I feel so well fed by this show.

— The only thing I disliked was the post-credit scene in the last episode. I know it’s there because this is part of a franchise so they wanted to make sure there was something left for a hypothetical S3 (I don’t even know if there’s one?) and they threw that as a hook, but it kind of lessens Charioce’s actions and Nina’s too. The good thing is that it’s easily ignored and separate from the whole show. So you can do like me and pretend it's not even there.

— And now I’m off to read the scarce 16 or so fics on AO3 (because getting into rareships and/or minor or mostly dead fandoms is my super power) and drawing some fanart 😌