Ensemble Stars Resource!

I do believe the Ansta I love is gone or exists only within my heart and through old stories. It's an experience similar to what ! era fans felt, I'm sure. I didn't like everything about !! ...it definitely felt more generic, and a bit lost at times, and I have qualms with the way many things were handled. A true cesspool of lost potential. But I did like it more than most, and can't say I wish it never existed. Meanwhile, the way things are now...

I missed Wish (an event with a story that I only grow more resentful towards as time passes) and didn't get Tmg's card then, so I felt like I failed him and don't want to go back anymore even when I get a desire to⁓ I mean, it's nice to see them sing and dance. If you're not spending money, I don't think it's the end of the world to play it still. But I just can't be bothered to keep up with it anymore. Cards have been pretty hit or miss during this artistic evolution it's been having too. It's an awkward time in that regard, I guess. Ehe. I think they've been doing pretty cool stuff too as of late in that department, though.

Also... since Akira has been noticeably absent as of late, obvious by his signature writing quirks vanishing entirely, characters doing things he would never make them do, etc etc, it feels like the corpses of my favourite characters are being puppeteered around in some sort of heartless and morbid display. That's really harsh, right? And subwriters have always been a thing. But I can't help feeling that way, especially when we aren't offered any clarity about what's going on in that respect after the author names were hidden. I'm also not an Akira totalitarian as some people I know are, but I see the substories as canon but less important over-all.

I have to clarify that I don't think he's an amazing guy. He's a major liberal (derogatory) and many of his characters share similarly flimsy political views. He made many mistakes as humans do, and is often terribly uninformed and partook in various forms of racism of his own out of what I hope is ignorance. But I could feel love, care, and an affinity for certain subjects that really resonate with me, and he is the source of ansta's uniqueness. It's what makes it stand out from other mobage. I adore his writing. I really do. I think there's nuance to this. It doesn't have to be pure idolatry or dismissal of his influence. Ansta is his baby. I guess you don't have to love its father. But it makes me wonder why one would ever consider themselves a fan to ignore the ways in which he shaped it. I'm someone who cares a lot about the story, you see. He's the blueprint, you know? And it'd be super fair if he was taking a break, but the fact they're doing a MAINSTO without him seriously throws me off. I'd just love any sort of clarification to get some closure😭

Of course, there's the worse aspects of the game being used to blatantly promote imperialism. It threw me off, made me sick to my stomach. And I think it's more horrific if you consider the fact that it had actually been building up for years. But at least then, there wasn't this certainty to it. There's no other way to take HE's obviously informed actions. It's premeditated and cruel. What happened was sickening, malicious, and (on a lesser note) also so disrespectful to long-time Akatsuki fans because of the way the characters (particularly Keito) needed to be twisted in order to pull that stunt off, as if nothing is sacred. I love Ibuki, I hate that his existence is used for evil. I hate that many pin what happened on him as a character. He didn't choose for any of that to happen! You're just using him as a scapegoat and ignoring the more important matter of racism from the Yamato Japanese towards Ryukyuans! I've already talked about this, though.

I still think about my favourite characters and pairings often. 0ver all, my feelings are weird, strained. For a while, I felt all of the love sucked out of me (but it wasn't just for ansta, I was suffering from a general sense of apathy).

I don't follow canon 1:1, I would advise not to, but... I... don't wanna just, OC-ify it as many people have been saying because I care so much about the world that was created already! Wah! I can't do it! Because then it'd have no point to me, you know? It's not the same, and also makes no sense to me if you're keeping the designs, names, ETC, all exactly the same X-P but that's just my opinion.

I don't like the hypocritical and fake way people have been acting about it ever since. Anyway, I still vaguely keep up with it, mostly the things I get on my twitter feed. I can't keep my eye away completely because my love doesn't seem to ever truly end, and I'm scared of the day it will, somehow.