9/11/2025 @ 8:34pm
I'm in the sort of mood where I want to talk about my favorite idol group in Ensemble Stars because why not
and definitely not because I just redownloaded all of their songs on my new phone lollll My favorite group is Ryuseitai, a Super Sentai-inspired idol group (or Power Rangers for Western audiences). I grew up watching only one or two episodes of Power Rangers (specifically Lightspeed Rescue) and Flashman (in Korean dub lol), so theoretically I shouldn't be that interested in this group. The way I was introduced to this group (and the game Ensemble Stars) was that my youngest sister was playing the game and told my other sister about some of the characters in the game. This sister then proceeded to listen to some of the songs in Ensemble Stars and showed me some of them. I forgot which songs we started with (I think
Valentine's Eve Nightmare was one of them; banger song btw), but my general response was "the music is cool I guess." And then my sister said, "Also, there's this Power Ranger group in the game; here's one of their songs", and it was
"Suisei Halation". And it was GLORIOUS. It was MAJESTIC.
I cried from the sheer beauty of the song I fell in love with the song and the group. I tend to go overboard with my fixations (probably due to my depression-riddled brain desperately clinging on to things that brings me joy through tough times) and this is no exception. This group is the reason why I downloaded the game on my old phone. I found other groups and songs that I like in the game (my other favorite songs come from
Undead,
Ra*bits, and
Crazy:B), but Ryuseitai is still my favorite and I still just really love their songs. It's full of life and conviction to help others and to improve themselves, something that I needed to hear during that time when my depression got really bad. Unfortunately, the translation in the game is not that great; part of why I downloaded the game is to learn more about the characters, but it's hard to learn about the characters when the translation is off. I also feel like the pacing is not good either; there would be scenes where I expect action or some sort of transition to the next scene, only for the scene to slow down and start info-dumping on me. Tbh, this is mostly an issue I had with the main story and not the side stories/the individual character stories, which is where most of meat is (the meat being getting to know the characters and seeing how they interact with each other). Despite these issues (and the fact that I didn't get to read all of their events ;-;), I fell more in love with the members of Ryuseitai and with how much they're growing. I love each of the members; they're all so cool and strong, but also genuine and caring for those around them. I love how they unbashedly love their own hobbies/fixations and how they learn to love themselves and are quick to support each other. I like how relatively unproblematic they are (not that there's anything wrong with problematic characters, but sometimes I just want kind characters doing kind things for each other, especially for comfort characters).
Ryusei Hanabi helped me so much during my depression episodes (the song is catchy, the vibe is lively,
their dance is so goofy the lyrics are full of joy and hope). I can't really choose a favorite song from them (I've tried too... I ended up relistening to most of their discography oops), though
Hamutaro Tottokouta, which is a cover song collab with Ra*bits gets a special mention. Also, look at one of their
member's signature (Kanata's lol); it's so cute! Also I love how they put on shows for kids and how they're aware of their growing female fanbase (I would be in that fanbase lol). I would love to go into each character, but I'm actually a little sick and I need to get some sleep. That will be a task for another day. To end, if Ryuseitai has a million fans, I'm one of them. If Ryuseitai has one fan, I'm that one fan. If Ryuseitai has no fans, then that's a lie wdym people don't stan this group???
8/30/2025 @ 12:51am
This post is not as spoiler-ly or as long as the others, but I just want to quickly say how much I love "Medalist"! Such a good manga! I didn't watch the anime yet (and I only got to like chapter 10 but each chapter has like 3-4 chapters worth of content), but I'm so excited to see where the series goes. I love all of the characters, especially Inori and Coach Tsukasa; they're so cute! I'll probably write a longer post about this series once I watch the anime or get to a good point in the manga, so be on a lookout for that! I feel like no one is talking about this manga/anime much, which is a shame (then again, I don't really follow the anime/manga community much, so I might just be missing all the action ^^;;). "Medalist" is probably going to be on my very small list of manga/anime that I can definitely recommend to most people, especially for non-anime watchers (I might make that list available some time soon on here). If you haven't watched or read "Medalist", I highly recommend checking it out! :D
8/11/2025 @ 5:00pm
I rewatched "Space Patrol Luluco" (SPL) yesterday while crocheting. I have a special place in my heart for shows made by Trigger and SPL is no exception.
I still didn't figure out how to add spoilers without rewriting the code (which I might have to but I also want to type about the show first ^^;;), (edit: I figured out a way to add spoilers yippee) so yes, spoilers for SPL below!
Spoilers for SPL!!
I remember watching this YouTube video after watching the show and most of what I want to talk about comes from that video (it's a good watch! Highly recommended for SPL fans!). The idea of a person's feelings for someone or something being valuable to that person despite being not worth much in the grand scheme of things is always fascinating to me and is a theme I love to see explored in fiction (besides SPL I see that in "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean" but that's another topic for another day). I personally find it interesting that Blackholeian is a snobby guy who looks down on Luluco, a middle school-aged girl, and her love for Nova; it's as if the writers of the show are aware of the fact that there are men (and sometimes women too but mostly men) out there who would trash on adolescent girls and their interests (example: the Twilight saga). And it's not like this was the last time Trigger made that point; they made a similar scenario in "Little Witch Academia" (minor spoilers for Little Witch Academia!!)
through the character Lotte.
It is also unfair to myself to be close-minded and pursue normalcy at the cost of losing other experiences, just like Luluco in the beginning. While normalcy by itself isn't bad, pushing your idea of normalcy onto other people (like Luluco onto her mother Lalaco) and rejecting new experiences for the sake of staying in that bubble is not right. Being normal vs being abnormal is another theme in SPL that I like exploring. I recently talked to a friend about traveling and how beneficial it is to the traveler in opening their worldview. I jokingly said that it should be mandantory to travel at least once to a different country, but even talking with someone who is different from you within the same country is worth a lot in opening your mind. Likewise, seeing Luluco learning to embrace abnormalcy is really cool for me. Also, I feel that Trigger uses that theme to tell us that yes, they do view themselves as abnormal (they literally named Luluco at the end "Trigger-chan"; it can't get any more on the nose than that). To wrap it up, I love SPL and I love Trigger for their stories and themes as well as their abnormal styles, and nothing can take those feelings away from me.
7/30/2025 @ 1:25am
I watched "The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity" episode 4 and "Anne Shirley" episode 17 today, as well as reading "Chainsaw Man" chapter 210.
Spoilers ahead in the order above!!
(I'll learn how to add hidden spoilers but that will be a lesson for another day) (edit: I added the spoilers! :D)
Spoilers for "TFFBWD" episode 4!!
I love the way they animated Subaru in this episode! I could feel her love and care for Kaoruko and also the conflict within herself about betraying Kaoruko/her own conscience vs what others would say or do to hurt Kaoruko. Cloverworks animated a certain scene pretty faithfully to the manga, so this is mostly credit to the manga, but even in animated form I love how Rintaro's thought process for his decision is shown rather than told to us. I love how I can understand and feel through the doubts and potential problems through the flashbacks of their schools hating each other before Kaoruko appears saying that she wants to get closer to Rintaro despite their schools. I can feel the atmosphere change from uncertainty and darkness to literal light (Kaoruko appears against a white, glowing backdrop) and clarity. I don't really follow any anime/manga communities much so I don't know exactly what anime watchers are thinking, but hopefully they can see that Subaru is someone who cares a lot for her friends, despite the mistakes she makes while doing so. Also Rintaro x Kaoruko for life; the restaurant/studying scenes are so cute!!!Spoilers for "Anne Shirley" episode 17!!
I don't really hear much about the new anime adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (and its sequels) on the internet, but I really like it! I think they do cut a lot out, but the parts they left in are done well. I read Anne of Green Gables as well as Anne of Avonlea (though it has been a long time! I need to reread them again!), but I've never read Anne of the Island yet, so this episode is new for me in Anne's story. It seems that the author (and by extension the anime studio) is focusing more on Anne's love life while she is in college, more specifically her relationship with Gilbert Blythe. I have a funny story to go with Gilbert, but it's spoilers for the ending of Anne of the Island so I'll refrain until after that episode drops. I like the part where Anne is describing her home to her friends and she says how love is the thing that transforms it (it being the description of the house and its inhabitants). Not only does Anne (and the author Lucy Maud Montgomery) has a way with words, but it just shows the love she receives and gives to her family; as an onlooker, I can't help but feel happy for Anne that she is able to find a place where she belongs and is free to love and is loved by those around her. Found family is my favorite trope lol and this series is just a chef's kiss when it comes to that.Spoilers for "Chainsaw Man" chapter 210!!
I have so many thoughts about Chainsaw Man and its latest chapter, but I'll try my best to be clear. Yoru being a Americanophile is wild lol. But it does make sense though, given America's track record especially recently in Iran. The way Fujimoto juxtapose America's national anthem lyrics with panels of bombed places and burned up corpses is beautiful in a tragic way. And the way that the Americans are cheering for the nuclear bombs on the USSR is crazy, but I could see that happening today. Also, Yoru using her powers on Falling Devil is interesting. Lowkey it reminds me of Kill la Kill (another series I wanted to talk about hopefully on this website!) when they're transforming their school uniforms into battle mode or something lol. Especially when the ribbony parts coming together in Chainsaw Man. Also Yoru is making a peace sign at Falling Devil; while there's the obvious interpretation of the concepts of war and peace and the different relationships between the two (war is opposite of peace, in certain idealogies war is peace, etc.), I feel like it means another thing in regards to the whole series, especially since there's numerous peace signs in the series. I'll have to reread the series again and analyze it more teehee. Also, "Little D" translation is diabolical and that's all I'm going to say about it.