The Simp Life

Anime/manga headcanons, ships, hot takes. Spoilers here, there, and everywhere

[takosan]

Loooook at these adorable babiesssss!!!!!

This show isn’t exactly known for subtlety (giving Liko a Charcadet really?) but fine I’ll take it. Now someone please give Amethio a hug. He’s isolating and grieving

[takosan]

How can Pokemon Horizons give us these gorgeous character designs

And then we get this… Murdock’s hair is an affront… And Friede looks like he picked his outfit out of the Halloween bargain bin “adventurer” starter pack. WHY

[danieyells]

Presumably because Pokémon Horizons didn't give you the first four designs--they're from the game. Murdock and Friede are original to Pokémon Horizons.

[takosan]

Oooooh didn’t know this!

[takosan]

How can Pokemon Horizons give us these gorgeous character designs

And then we get this… Murdock’s hair is an affront… And Friede looks like he picked his outfit out of the Halloween bargain bin “adventurer” starter pack. WHY

[takosan]

As a Hunter x Hunter fan, I was already traumatized by board games iykyk,

But damn Apothecary Diaries… just finished blubbering through the last three episodes of season 1 again.

Lakan’s face when he is reunited with Fengxian... There’s love and joy at being with her again because he had believed her dead. And then that furrowed brow which speaks of the state she is in. His expression here is just so raw.

Maomao setting the stage for Lakan and Fengxian to meet... When she says that her father is Loumen, I fully believe her. But despite her vexed feelings for Fengxian and Lakan and her own statements about lacking any filial feelings for them, she pushes events in a way so that they meet. The withered blue rose she leaves Lakan is not just a clue (that Fengxian is alive and he must buy out the right courtesan). It’s also a most gentle nudge, a warning, to prepare Lakan for the state she is in. (Of course Lakan misses all this subtle symbolism until MeiMei all but shows him the way *facepalm*) And then she dances on the rooftop, honoring the tradition to celebrate a courtesan being bought out. Though she won’t say it aloud to Jinshi, she knows exactly who she is dancing for. Her feelings for Fengxian and Lakan are complicated, to say the least.

I did wonder why she finally agrees to meet Lakan and what compels her to set up things in this way… And of course it has to do with the fact that Lakan helped her stop the purification ceremony and she feels like she owes him. But I also think she is acknowledging in some way how important Jinshi has become to her. Lakan helps her save someone she has come to care for, and in coming to care for Jinshi, Maomao has come to understand something of the pain and heartbreak that Lakan feels. She still doesn’t want to bond with him but I think she relates to his feelings differently now. There’s character development from that jumpscare face a few episodes ago.

[takosan]

I thought this part of the anime was really well done. When Maomao uncovers the plot involving the purification ceremony, she is denied entry by the guards. Lakan steps up and vouches for her and thus she is able to go inside the building.

In the scene, Lakan stays behind her the whole time. She never turns to look at him. The framing is perfect.

So far in the anime, Lakan has made attempts to see Maomao through the Verdigris House and Jinshi. He sends her gifts (items such as the alcohol but also the mysteries which I think he sends her way because she will find them interesting and they might bring her to him in some way). He makes it known that he wants to see her and talk to her.

But he has not once appeared in front of her. It’s hard to believe that Lakan couldn’t have orchestrated some way to cross paths with her if he so wanted. But perhaps out of guilt and grief and fear that he might push her away, he doesn’t force her to interact with him. He respects the distance she keeps from him. And that’s exactly what he does in this scene too. He backs her because it was likely the only way she would get inside the building. But he respects her boundaries still and he stays behind her. He’s protective and angry (that she has been hurt) but he’s also saying to her “I’ll clear the path for you so you can do what you want.” He’s saying “I’ll be here when you need me.” I think he wants so desperately to be acknowledged by her but he will wait for her to do it on her own terms.

The manga does this scene differently as Lakan steps in front of her and Maomao turns to look at him. Subtle differences but I really much prefer the anime’s take on this.

[takosan]

Looking up the manga has sent me down a rabbit hole. Can we just talk for a second about this scene. Jinshi confronts Lakan about having used a dirty trick to lower a courtesan’s value and Lakan is so shook by the accusation (which he totally set himself up for!) that he puts his monocle on the wrong eye lolololol There are a lot of tells in the anime and the manga that he is not the sketchy person he appears as.

[takosan]

The Verdigris House madam constantly asking Maomao to become a courtesan didn’t quite make sense to me because Maomao is so clearly against it and the old woman clearly cares for her. I thought it was just a running gag. HOWEVER the manga actually clarifies the situation a bit more? Lakan had raised the full sum to buy her out should Maomao ever choose to become a courtesan. The old madam asks Maomao to become a courtesan not to sell her body but so Lakan can buy her freedom and she can finally leave the pleasure district.

In that harsh world for women, the madam knows that Lakan has the power and money to protect Maomao. There’s such a delicate balance between pragmatism and respect for choice in how the Verdigris House women operate.

Anyway, maybe I just missed Lakan saying this part in the anime:

[takosan]

Lakan sending Maomao on the case of the deceased metalworker’s will was such a setup lol This is the episode titled Lead. As the case is setup, the man’s three sons don’t understand the will he left behind and resent his seemingly unclear intentions. As it turns out in the end, the father loved his sons and just wanted them to be a family. In solving the case, Lakan wants Maomao to have a sense of his own feelings.

Poor Jinshi knowing the whole episode there’s some game afoot but not knowing the rules, the setting, the pieces, let alone what game they are playing…lololol Lakan’s comments about people “finding their right place” though…. I know Jinshi’s alarm bells were ringing…must protect wifey.

In the meantime there’s Lakan acting like a sketchy manipulative asshole when we know he’s going to be a total fool for his daughter. He probably set the whole thing up just so he could have Jinshi pass on his gift to the “servant girl.” Knowing Maomao the alcohol is probably the second best gift she could get after poisonous plants and of course Lakan knows that.

[takosan]

Having neither watched nor read the Infinity Castle arc, I’d like to propose the following rooms must surely exist in the infinity castle for QOL (Quality of Life) purposes:

Starbucks but called moonbucks (because demons don’t do copyright infringement) I mean have you seen how tweaked Douma is all the time?? Man surely orders a venti frappuchino, extra whipped cream, extra caramel, and mocha drizzle inside the cup before his night shift

A room with string instruments (from when biwa lady tried out instruments other than the biwa. Imagine biwa lady in her death metal era)

Several rooms full of construction and plumbing supplies (Inosuke dramatically slams open doors to battle a demon, and what do we have here bidets? pipes? broken shojis that Kokushibo is going to repair? House budget was way overblown after that last battle can’t be buying new stuff all the time)

A full service laundromat (Akaza flips his shit when he gets sent Douma’s pants by mistake. For the third time.)

A wardrobe for Muzan’s Michael Jackson hats (all in shades of white and only Muzan knows the difference between pearl white and egg shell white)

A tanning station for demons who miss sun bathing (BUT you have to sign liability waiver first …in case it turns you into a crispy bit. Occupational hazard, ya know? We take legal matters seriously in the infinity castle)

[takosan]

Bungo Stray Dogs has such a good pilot episode. Our cinnamon roll Atsushi is running in mortal fear from a man eating tiger (which is really himself). He is fleeing from the recognition that he actually has a special ability, or power.

Odd as that might sound, this is true in real life too though. Learning that you have a talent for something doesn’t naturally mean that you will be happy about it. Because now you have to work at honing that talent, you have to be ready to fail many times before you succeed, you have to commit time and energy and resources and that might not be possible depending on your circumstances. And as many creatives know, sometimes your talent will not make a living income right away or may never do so. So we can set ourselves up to fail in so many ways - by lowering our expectations of ourselves, or by not putting ourselves and our work out there, by not applying for jobs or opportunities that we think we are not qualified for. Sound familiar?

This is exactly what Atsushi is doing. Plus he is a reluctant protagonist - this is not a character seeking power. The so-called man eating tiger was literally eating daikon in the fields outside the orphanage. Such wickedness! But of course rejecting your talent (as Atsushi does) is not right. It causes him to be manipulated by people who know about it (he is evicted from the orphanage), makes him lonelier, and leads to him feeling like he has no place in the world. Because he has denied something crucial to who he is.

Atsushi Nakajima’s story “The Moon Over the Mountain” (the Japanese writer after whom the manga/anime character is named) adds more context. In the story, a man who aspires to be a poet is forced to become a government official to feed his family. He turns into a tiger because he gives up his creative ambitions. Though the man wanted to be a poet, he didn’t seek a teacher or the companionship of poets because he was afraid he wouldn’t amount to much. It’s a self-fulfilling, defeatist prophecy. He gives up on honing his talent and then becomes a beast which will never have the capacity to hone that talent. The tiger is a manifestation of his shame and loss of self-esteem. Though it seems a majestic, powerful beast, the tiger symbolizes cowardice. At the end of the story, as a tiger, his human consciousness is fading and animal instinct is slowly taking its place. He resigns himself (again!) to merely howling at the moon. It’s a simple moral after all - we have to work on our talents, even at the risk of pain and failure, because otherwise we are nothing more than mindless beasts. In fact, the pursuit of our dreams is what makes us fundamentally human.

In the original story, it is too late for the man. He recites his last poems to his audience and then disappears into the wilderness. But here, I prefer the manga/anime holding out hope for Atsushi to find his companions and teachers (Dazai pls be good to our baby) and pursue his dreams.

[takosan]

Oh wow was this inspiration for Made in Abyss?

A far-flung volcanic island 358km south of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean, Aogashima is the most remote and topographically interesting island in the Izu archipelago. The entire island is a volcanic crater, within which there is another, smaller volcano.

The current shape of the island dates back to a big eruption in 1785, after which Aogashima was uninhabited for 50 years. Today there is a population of some 170 people…

The surrounding sea is often impossibly rough due to strong wind all year round, and the island is completely exposed…

The humid jungle and steamy ground inside the volcano crater create thick fog with rain, resulting in poor visibility…

[wiskiemonk]

showing this to anyone who asks me what Gintama is about

[takosan]

The Shogun, Gintoki/Hijikata, and Katsura/Elizabeth episodes are comedic gold. Though I will say… I laugh at the shogun episodes and then realize the story is basically narrating the shogun’s lack of power after the amanto takeover when we see the shit that Gintoki and his gang put him through. We basically laugh at his denigration? ☠️

[takosan]

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun (S2) was a struggle to get through. Too many ideas, so much violence. It was gut wrenching. I started and stopped so many times. One of the things this storyline gets right is the depiction of trauma and how it affects people.

1. Nanachi meeting Mitty’s copy and Vueko seeing the protector of the village (Juroimoh who takes after the man who abused her) both show how traumatic moments recur and manifest. This is a fundamental aspect of trauma, that the incident(s) which caused the trauma will return to the person’s mind against their will and force them to relive their trauma again and again. (Think about vets and fireworks for example). Seeing Mitty again felt like a physical blow - after everything Nanachi went through with her, and the incredibly difficult decision to ask Reg to use his incinerator….here is Mitty again. It was a gut blow.

2. Irumyuui’s trauma (her exile from her village and implied mistreatment because she is infertile) shapes her wishes when she is given the cradle of desire. Her first wish (to have children) deforms her body and reduces her entire being to a birthing vessel. This is unresolved trauma corrupting her wishes. Trauma will consume you if you don’t have a productive way of coping with it. You can’t live a full life when your life is oriented around trauma. Irumyuui also shows us that sometimes love, family, and friends are not enough for healing. This is such a painful truth (as I am sure many of us have experienced in our lives). Despite the wonderful relationship she builds with Vueko (and Belaf too I think), her life’s desires remain oriented around what she was told she was lacking… Or perhaps it is that healing does not happen fast and Wazukyan’s actions to save all his people take away the chance for Irumyuui to heal in her own time…

3. We know that trauma is inherited, and generational trauma is real. Irumyuui’s trauma is literally inherited and internalized by her child, Faputa, and nearly consumes Faputa too. (Faputa’s one burning wish is to destroy the village and its inhabitants...)

4. Traumatized/oppressed people can be both victims and perpetrators. Wazukyan and the Ganja squad are an example. A group of misfits/abandoned people, searching for their home and a place to belong, who end up committing/condoning horrific acts against Irumyuui in order to survive. Sometimes homes are built on violence. Victims can/do use trauma or their own survival as justification to oppress others. Even though some of them feel guilt, Vueko is the only one who attempts to remove herself from the situation - unfortunately by trying to commit suicide. (Wazukyan feels like Christopher Columbus sometimes, and the indigenous people living near the abyss as parallels to the indigenous peoples in the Americas… Wazukyan is an important reminder that power dynamics are not static. I’m not sure if he is traumatized/someone who has experienced violence like other members of his squad but even if he has, he is the leader now. He exploits a child, imprisons Vueko, and uses their relationship against them.)

Yes Wazukyan please explain how trapping Irumyuui in her own body and Veuko inside her adopted child’s body is ‘crushing injustice.’ The abyss may have enabled what took place but the choice and decision was firmly Wazukyan’s.

5. And in an opposite case, Vueko’s trauma actually leads her to be more empathetic to Irumyuui. Vueko is running from her trauma (she says so plainly in the first episode when she says she is looking for a place where she will no longer hear her abuser’s voice in her head). And her nurturing connection with Irumyuui is one which seems to be healing her. The very first line of the episode has Vueko saying this to Irumyuui about the compass: “Until I met you, there was something I was looking for…” I think she means that the compass led the ganja squad to the abyss but it led Vueko specifically to Irumyuui - as it was meant to. When she hands the compass over to the elder, the panning shot immediately shows us Irumyuui appearing in the dark behind her. Wazukyan and the others needed to descend into the abyss to find their ‘home’ but Vueko has already found what she was looking for in Irumyuui. Relationships can be an important part of healing from trauma but unfortunately, Wazukyan’s actions and the power of the Abyss combine to turn their relationship into a co-dependent one and utterly infused with guilt on Vueko’s part.

[takosan]

what I am thinking when smut writers say “gummy walls” 🫠

[takosan]

Not me realizing months (months!) after watching Made in Abyss that Wazukyan eating bugs and rats in episode 1 were Easter eggs, …Chekhov loading his damn gun, ….Foreshadowing with a big F slapped on it

[takosan]

The diversity of grandma representation in Dandadan is truly something.

Imagine playing ‘is it chocolate’ or ‘is it cake’ but with grandmas from dandadan. Is it grandma or is it a crab? Is it grandma or a lucky cat statue? No one would win this game. They are all grandmas. Or not depending on where turbo baba is at the moment. Who knows. I might be grandma too. Please let me be Seiko.

[takosan]

Basically if Dandadan episodes 5-7 were an AO3 fiction, they would be tagged “crack treated seriously”

To recap, our occult loving shy boy (Okarun) now has his balls stolen by a granny yokai (Turbo Baba) while his gyaru girlfriend (Momo) was exorcising said yokai. One of the balls, now transformed into kintama (literally, and thankfully), hits the local pink haired delulu atop the head (literally, and unfortunately) and gives her spiritual powers.

Yes, for real.

She then proceeds to use the ball to attempt an exorcism on the aforementioned gyaru girlfriend believing it to be a blessed object bestowed on her as the chosen one.

What did I miss?

Oh and then we weep in episode 7 because this is crack treated seriously and that backstory was heartbreaking