Violet Eyes

"Shadow of Kaiba's Past!"

Today starts the Noah event in Duel Links! 🌐🤩

Noah Kaiba: me

The comic, and then some full pics of the slides. Also a little Atem/afterlife reference on the last pic!

We miss you Kazuki. You were a legend in our childhood. 💛

Happy Birthday to my sweet little summer child Mokuba💙⭐️

I should not I'm not caught up on all these properties, but from what I've seen:

Itachi psychologically, emotionally, and physically abuses his brother, and this was revealed to be because Itachi hated himself for ending their clan and hoped that Sasuke would grow strong enough to kill him (which he didn't, so either way it's dissatisfying). The angle of Itachi being a good big brother is something I've heard from some fans, who focus more on Itachi sparing Sasuke during the Uchiha massacre, as if that negates the fact that he tortured Sasuke into becoming an embodiment of hate and revenge for as long as he was alive.

Todoroki's mom poured boiling water on him. I don't recall the series exactly, but I think Endeavor was stressing her out and she did this in a fit of rage, and Todoroki says that his father is solely responsible for her actions and forgave her. I...don't like that at all.

Noelle's family abuses her for her lack of control over her magic and the fact that her birth killed their mom; it's later revealed that Nozel actually KNEW her birth didn't cause their mom's death, but emotionally and verbally abused her to break her spirit and keep her out of harms way. Vanessa and Langris also have poorly-handled abusive relationships with their families, and I covered the trio in another post.

On the contrary Tabata shows many different situations and relations, while giving them deeper meaning and motivations. He is able to show the bad, but also the grey areas, while allowing his characters to grow and change.

I recommend you to catch up with manga, because they are being handled really well.

Let’s talk about Black Clover. All three of the relationships you’ve mentioned are toxic, but I would argue only one of them is handled poorly. For the most part, it’s only handled poorly because of pacing issues, but I’ll come out and say that the younger Silvas specifically are one of the best abusive sibling redemption arcs I’ve ever seen.

So, what are the hallmarks of poor writing when it comes to abusive relationships?

1. Making the abuse victim forgive the abuser even when it isn’t in character

Vanessa is not made to forgive her mother. In fact, Vanessa disowns her mother on the spot as soon as she has the upper hand. There’s no “oh, but we’re family” and no “oh, she’s your mother.” She beats her mom, ditches her, and then when her mom offers her a position of power away from her real family later on, Vanessa refuses to take it.

Finral is a wet paper bag and also lying to himself, but I’ve covered that before. And even though I think that out of all three this is the worst one, Langris still has an ego death. He doesn’t get off scot free, EVEN THOUGH Finral is fully prepared to justify his own terrible actions to him. Do I think he should have had more consequences? Yeah. But it’s still not as bad as I’ve seen it done before. He loses his title, exiles himself, and comes back later a marginally less garbage person, not only to Finral but to everyone else. I would argue that his redemption is more unfinished than bad, and leaving it unfinished is admittedly a hallmark of bad writing. there’s a reason i like it least out of these three.

I’ll cover Noelle down below, but writing a character who desires recognition from her siblings more than anything else in the world means that she… desires recognition from her siblings more than anything else in the world. Whether this is a healthy way to think can be debated (it’s not), but characters who aren’t flawed or complicated are generally fucking boring. There’s something to be said for a timeline where Noelle realizes that she doesn’t need their approval, but that leaves a lot less room for nuance, and it doesn’t work with the structure of her character. None of the characters you’ve mentioned are perfect victims — and that’s a good thing!

2. The abuse is justified

The only people I’ve seen whinging about how Langris or the Silvas didn’t mean it or only meant the best so you should forgive them are the fandom. STOP WRITING THE SILVAS AS BAD SIBLINGS AAAAAAAAAA THEY WERE JUST KIDS ass takes are fucking gross.

There are undertones of justification with Nozel in the narrative. I agree that it’s stupid, but at the same time they’re only undertones — what he did is NEVER framed as okay. The problem is that those undertones have been taken and blown up by the fandom to the point that a complicated character gets flattened, which I hate. Nozel is a bad person, but he’s also a tragic character. His tragedy is him being a piece of shit and then realizing after his apology that while Noelle has forgiven him, she has also moved on to some extent. At the end of the story the Silvas are finally redeemed, yes, but they’ve become Noelle’s secondary family when they could have been her primary family. I think that’s a very realistic portrayal of redemption.

In short: fandom derangement syndrome. I love it when people aren’t fucking stupid or bioessentialist because that sure would be cringe <3 (actually, Lola (who reblogged you before me) is one of maybe two or three Silva fans that I know who actually does it right. But whooooo have I seen some bad takes from the fandom at large)

3. The abusive character doesn’t have to put in the work to be redeemed

Vanessa’s mom just straight up flops, so we’ll leave her out of this lmao. But Nozel’s development, while kind of rushed, is present. Langris’ development, while rushed, is present, perhaps even more so than Nozel’s. And the two other Silva siblings have one of the best apology scenes I’ve ever seen in fiction, period. People who have suffered injustices in their lives DREAM of getting That Apology — a demonstration of a new ability to do better and an actual apology that recognizes everything they’ve done. The characters who don’t put in the work do not get rewarded in this show.

I think one reason that these redemptions can come off as poorly done is that Tabata’s pacing is admittedly kind of fucked. More so, he REALLY makes his dialogue do the legwork. You have to read really, really carefully to catch some of these character aspects, especially Langris’. The writing of these “redemptions” is complicated and sometimes imperfect, but for the most part it’s realistic and very well done.

Those moments with mokuba that you dismiss so quickly is literally what shows us that he till a human being with people he cares about, he brings mokuba with him everywhere, he doesn't let anyone badmouth him, and mokuba is the only other person Kaiba trusts with the company

That's without mentioning exactly what he does to save mokuba:

He jumped out of an helicopter, he ran through an exploding island, , fought people armed with guns with his hands, he invaded a private owned island and later a castle in the same island

He was willing to sacrifice his soul to save his brother

"Noah's life was so tragic, it's so sad he died that way. Let's take a moment to process this and mourn his loss."

my sweet heart 💗

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sick and tired of seeing “Top ___ Best Anime of All Time” lists that are nothing but shounen. So, with "My Happy Marriage" getting a little attention from the anime community, I wanted to put together a list of some romance anime that I consider good “starters” for the genre. Because if I were just now becoming an anime fan, I’d think all there was to offer was shounen action series.

And by “starters” I mean basic stuff that’s not too…out there, and actually involves the characters getting together instead of just harems or using romance as a side plot (sorry Ouran High School Host Club and My Next Life as a Villainess). 

So if you’re new to anime and want stuff that’s not just guys beating the shit out of each other (which is also fun, don’t get me wrong), here are some basics.

Taisho Maiden Fairy Tale- When the pessimistic Tamahiko Shima loses all function in his right arm, his family sends him away to live in the mountains with the cheerful, hard working Yuzuki Tachibana…who was purchased by the Shima family to pay off her family’s debts and basically act as a caretaker/future bride for Tamahiko so they’d never have to deal with him again. It’s a more cheerful version of My Happy Marriage (without the supernatural stuff), except in this one, the guy is the one who has massive self-esteem issues and an abusive family. There are still very serious themes, but ultimately it’s not meant to make you cry every episode. I swear it’s so good, but nobody watched it!

Horimiya- A slice of life in which pretty and popular high school queen bee Hori, finds out her quiet, unassuming classmate Miyamura is hiding piercings and tattoos that could get him expelled. The two gradually find out more about each other and get together in the most realistic way I’ve seen depicted in an anime. It’s also fucking hysterical and genuinely emotional.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie- Another slice of life that focuses on two adults who meet in an MMO game without realizing they also know each other in real life. I don’t want to say much more than that. It’s adorable, and the main character is so relatable it hurts.

Love with Yamada-kun at Level 999- Speaking of MMOs, this is a newer series about Akane Kinoshita, a college first year who’s reeling from a bad break up. In an attempt to get back at her ex, she winds up meeting Akito Yamada, a popular gamer who happens to be in her guild in the MMO they both play at an IRL meetup. The two go from acquaintances to something more as they keep running into each other. Even more relatable main characters and just wholesome relationships all around.

Snow White With The Red Hair- A fantasy in which an apothecary named Shirayuki (meaning, you guessed it, “snow white”) runs away from her home in order to escape becoming the concubine of her town’s prince. While fleeing, she is rescued by Zen, the prince of a neighboring country, and she ends up becoming an herbalist to repay him. It's super cute with some genuinely swoon worthy moments and a couple that just works so well together. I have a habit of comparing this to Akatsuki no Yona, even though the two aren’t really that alike. This is more romance driven while Akatsuki no Yona is more of a serious historical fantasy with romance elements (Yona manga is amazing, but the anime barely scratches the surface, so that’s why I didn’t include it).

Sasaki to Miyano- When the shy, easily flustered Miyano meets Sasaki, a cool “delinquent” upperclassmen, the two end up bonding over manga…specifically BL manga. That’s right, Miyano is a fudanshi, but due to his small stature and somewhat feminine appearance, he’s constantly trying to convince others that he’s not interested in having his own love story where he’d be reduced to a stereotypical doe-eyed uke. But as Sasaki and Miyano spend more time together, they realize that what they have is more than friendship, and they have to come to terms with their own perception of gay relationships. This is my favorite romance of all time. It’s a slow burn, but boy is it worth it. Their relationship is so natural and realistic, just like Horimiya. Just two people hanging out and bonding over things the way people do in real life!

Given: The story of some boys in a band with trauma. Enough said. It's great. Go watch it.

Bloom Into You- Yuu Koito is a high school girl who’s been waiting her whole life for her own perfect romance to start…but when she receives a confession, she realizes she doesn’t know how to respond when she’s just not into the guy. And then she gets another confession…this time from the cool student council president Touko Nanami, who basically jumpstarts her lesbian awakening. Very cute story about how we perceive the concept of love vs actually feeling it. Also has a canonically aro/ace side character, so that’s a win for me. Another show like this is Adachi to Shimamura (but I honestly don’t remember much about it. It just didn’t stick with me as much).

Ore Monogatari- Takeo Gouda is a tall, bulky high school first year with a sensitive heart of gold. He wants nothing more than to find his own true love, but most girls are intimidated by his enormous stature, and they end up falling for his conventionally attractive friend instead. That is, until he meets the tiny, adorable Rinko Yamato. He falls in love instantly, but he’s sure she’s interested in his best friend like everyone else, so he vows to help get them together, even though his heart is breaking. Peak himbo behavior. Pure of heart, dumb of ass.

Yuri on Ice- Yes it’s the gay figure skating anime everyone knows. And yes it’s a fucking romance, okay? I will die on this hill. The romance between Viktor and Yuri is just as important as the plot!

Kaguya-sama Love Is War- Two insanely smart high school students both have a crush on the other, but since they’re…you know…high schoolers, neither of them wants to admit it first. So they come up with increasingly convoluted plans to get the other to confess first. This will go down as one of the best of all time. It’s a hilarious yet poignant modern classic.

Fruits Basket- I’ve talked about it before and I’ll talk about it again. A romance “comedy” that slowly morphs into a drama about a girl named Tohru who finds herself living with the mysterious Sohma family after her mother dies. Little does she know, the Sohmas are the victims of a  (somewhat silly, but ultimately tragic) curse that she must fight to break. Even though I’m more into it for the family drama, the romance is still top tier and plays an important role in the story. This is my second favorite anime of all time, and it’s a classic for a reason. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet, GO WATCH IT! IT WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!

Blue Box- A sports romance about an aspiring badminton player named Taiki Inomata who has a massive crush on the girls basketball team's star player Chinatsu Kano. Through a twist of fate, the two end up living together and having to hide it from the rest of their classmates, all while Taiki tries to work up the courage to ask Chinatsu out. It's so sweet and wholesome, and it's a great blend of sports anime and romance that can appeal to anyone who is more hesitant to get into the romance genre. The animation is also so freaking gorgeous!!!!

365 Days To The Wedding- A workplace romance between the two most awkward people you could possibly imagine! The story takes place at a travel company that is about to open a new branch in Alaska, but because our two main characters are...like I said...very awkward, they come up with a plan to avoid being sent to work at the new branch...by telling their boss they're getting married. Because they wouldn't want to split up a married couple by making one move away, right? As ridiculous as the premise sounds, hilarious shenanigans ensue, but there's also a surprising amount of serious discussions about romance and marriage. The main characters also have major autism coding, so if you're looking for a neurodivergent romance, this is it. (There's also an episode that involves a princess wanting to give up the throne to pursue a life with her girlfriend!)

And now for some honorable mentions that didn't quite fit into the regular list:

Ride Your Wave- A movie about a surfer who falls in love with a firefighter……and I’m not going to say any more than that. Go into it blind. If you like stuff like Your Name, this is a good one to watch.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun- A comedy about a high school girl who finds out the upperclassman she has a crush on is actually a shoujo manga artist, and no matter how she tries to confess to him, he just never gets it.

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague- A slow burn slice of life that focuses on a guy with ice powers who has a crush on his coworker. That’s it. That’s the show. When I say slow, I mean SLOW. It’s perfectly cute and fluffy, but my god does it take forever to get anywhere with these two.

Skip to Loafer- A high strung, small town girl decides to go to high school in Tokyo, where she meets a variety of classmates, including the laid back Sousuke Shima. The unlikely pair become friends, and soon enough, she starts to feel something more than friendship. The only reason I didn’t include it in the main list is because they don’t get together by the end of the first season, but it’s still really cute (also canonically trans character for the win!?)

Parallels

Tokyo Mew Mew - Episode 36