Anime Check-in: Cardfight!! Vanguard ep. 10-14
Apr. 10th, 2026 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluapapilio
Episode 10: Why is an adult in a tournament full of kids, anyway? And he has a long blond goatee, what do you mean you can't tell if he's visited outside of costume. He said Aichi's full name who was like 'how do you know me'. I'm sorry but YOUR NAME WAS JUST CALLED OUT WHEN YOU WON YOUR FIGHT of course he knows you! And your name is on the board! It was a clumsy way of showing that the ninja is someone he knows, like...his teacher.
Episode 11: Aichi won against his teacher de gozaru. It's nice to see more girls playing, too bad they had to go against each other. Aichi, Misaki, Kamui and Kai made it through. Misaki can be pretty shy hm.
So it's Aichi vs Kamui and Kai vs Misaki next.
What is that card supposed to be?
I feel a little bad for Misaki, she didn't stand a chance in the end.
Aichi's fight was hard to watch but it was really realistic, Kamui has fought a lot more people than Aichi, Aichi didn't know anything about what the cards in Kamui's deck could do. He was not ready to face Kai even if he did win.
Kai unsurprisingly won against Kamui.
The last four are entered into the biggest Vanguard tournament. I guess we'll be meeting more characters from hereon? :O
Episode 14: Kamui takes Aichi to another shop where last year's regional tournament winners are.
Good lord that Nagisa is annoying. Physical assault is not funny even coming from a child. This whole plot is gross, if Aichi loses against Nagisa's big brother she gets Kamui and Aichi has to fuck off, really? ๐ก
The Granblue deck is cool but I was too irritated about why they were dueling to pay attention. :| In any case Aichi lost... I hope Kamui never goes to that shop again, ew.
Oh, Emi's going to play too!
I'm Not Particularly A Chris/Trevor Person, But Robert's Meltdown Over It Would Be Fun.
Apr. 10th, 2026 10:09 pmrionaleonhartAnonymous: what sort of (modern) music do you think robert and/or chris enjoy? i find them both hard to pin down music taste wise! i agree that robert seems like a classical music type of guy, but does he have any guilty pleasure pop music when nobody is looking?
Interesting question! I think theyโre both classical music fans, but, thinking about the modern side:
Robert: Bombastic songs, lively songs, anything that tells a story; Iโve got Thin Lizzyโs 'Whiskey in the Jar' stuck in my head right now, and I think heโd enjoy it. He doesn't confine himself to a particular genre and likes some songs you might not expect, but he does have certain prejudices, e.g. not thinking of videogame music as 'real music'. I definitely think he listens to some pop, but not guiltily; he'll blast 'Call Me Maybe' or 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' from his dressing room while the other drama society members go '????' at each other. He broadly favours music from the seventies and earlier, but he does still enjoy later releases. Such as, naturally, 'Stacy's Mom'.
Chris: We already know that Chris's favourite Christmas song is 'White Christmas', and from that I'm inclined to extrapolate that he tends to prefer music on the slow and sedate side. Music from the sixties and earlier; unlike Robert, he's unwilling to give more modern music a chance.
The interesting thing about Robert and Trevor's dynamic is the fact that Robert doesn't respect Trevor's work - he considers stage management inherently less worthwhile than acting - while simultaneously trusting and relying on Trevor completely. When Robert catches fire in Peter Pan, he calls for Trevor in a panic; when Robert asks for his line in Haversham Manor, he faithfully repeats Trevor's response without considering for a moment that it might not be the line, and he's shocked and outraged to realise it isn't.
Chris also has a bit of a tendency to take Trevor's work for granted, come to think of it, piling tasks on him that aren't in his job description.
So I think an interesting thing you could do with the Robert/Chris/Trevor dynamic is rip Trevor out from under their feet: if he's injured or otherwise out of action somehow, it could force Chris and Robert to realise how much they rely on him. Chris will feel bad for taking him for granted; Robert will go 'that stupid man, getting injured when he knows we need him', because good luck getting Robert to acknowledge he's in the wrong about anything.
Possibly Chris and Robert team up and attempt to nurse Trevor back to health. The experience is extremely stressful for poor Trevor, who, on top of trying to recover, now has to put up with Chris and Robert constantly arguing over the best way to help.
Finally, some thoughts on how each of them would react if the other two were in a relationship:
- If Chris and Trevor started dating, Robert would be furiously jealous and would quite possibly start trying to steal Chris away.
- If Chris and Robert started dating, Trevor's reaction would very much be 'oh, Christ, I'm going to have to clean up the mess when this whole thing explodes, aren't I?'
- If Trevor and Robert started dating, Chris would be confused and upset and wouldn't understand why. He might start trying to argue that it's inappropriate to have romantic relationships within the society.
- If all three of them start dating, God help us all.
April Manga TBR 4
Apr. 10th, 2026 02:22 pmbluapapilioI read 9/11 on my last board. I dropped one and wasn't in the mood for the other.
Avatar:
Gon
Skill: Choose your own prompt once
Roll #1:
A 3, dystopia/apocalypse. I'm using a list so I'll have to trust that Magical Knight Rayearth counts. This series was a blindspot for me, I was reading/watching CCS at the time I think.
Roll #2:
A 3, prompt: longest titled. Longest on CR is Touken Ranbu Online: Anthology Comic - Squeni no Jin.
Roll #3:
A 6, prompt: enemies to lovers - Basara.
Roll #4:
A 4, prompt: Mood. See this is why I use a game board, I can't choose for shit on my own. Let's do Wind Breaker.
Roll #5:
A 2, prompt: romance element Chou Shinuchuu yori Ai wo Komete.
Roll #6:
A 3, generate from TBR tile/ #1779 which is Umi no Juunin to wa Koi wa Shinai.
Roll #7:
A 5, prompt: witch/etc - Witch Hat Atelier.
Roll #8:
A 2, prompt: weapon on the cover - Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Roll #9:
A 3, prompt: delinquents - Dog Style.
Roll #10:
A 5 and using skill to pick office setting as a prompt - Amanojaku ni Koishite!.
Roll #11:
A 1, generate from CR tile. #87 is already on the list. #35 now which is Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun.
Roll #12:
A 3 and the end. Reward is Yugioh.
~Manga TBR List~
[Fantasy/Adventure] Magic Knight Rayearth โ๏ธ
[Fantasy] Touken Ranbu Online: Anthology Comic - Squeni no Jin
[Fantasy/Adventure] Basara
[Slice of Life/Action] Wind Breaker
[GL] Chou Shinuchuu yori Ai wo Komete
[BL/Romance] Umi no Juunin to wa Koi wa Shinai
[Fantasy] Witch Hat Atelier
[Fantasy/Action] Kimetsu no Yaiba
[BL/Romance] Dog Style
[BL/SPN] Amanojaku ni Koishite! โ๏ธ
[SPN/School Life] Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun
[Card Game] Yugioh
x2 shoujoi/josei, x5 shounen/seinen, x3 BL, x1 GL x1 other
April Manga Wrap-Up 3
Apr. 10th, 2026 01:36 pmbluapapilio
I read Aiteru Door kara Shitsurei Shimasu yo and rated it 7/10. 
(Re)read ep. 1-8 of The Gamer! (Re)read volume 1 of Witch Hat Atelier! Read 45 Seconds and rated it 7/10. Read Ijimetai hodo Aishiteru and rated it 6.8/10. Read Ace no Kyuujitsu, rated it 7.5/10. Read. ch. 224-227 of Dr. Stone!. Finished volume 3 of Junjou Romantica. Read ep. 16-18 of Men of the Harem. Manga Check-in: "Men of the Harem" ep. 16-18
Apr. 10th, 2026 12:45 pmbluapapilio
Episode 14: While Thula was in control, he used the royal seal to make a control with a foreign empire and they don't know who or what it was.
Latil goes over her soon-to-be consorts applications - Guesta, Tasir and Carlein. Guesta is two-faced, Tasir is cunning and Carlein is otherworldy. Ranamun and Klein also met and Klein told Ranamun Latil was 'infatuated with him'. ๐ญ Ranamun plans to kick him out as soon as he becomes Royal Consort.
Episode 15: Sonnaught's father bringing up how he loves Latil and wondering how he'll deal with her new harem.
"I believe that there are many forms love can take. Rather than a man that can provide Her Majesty with entertainment or pleasure...I'd like to be a man that can be a source of comfort and strength. While her consorts await her, stuck in the harem all day...I have the privilege of being able to stand beside her and protect her."
Sonnaught showed a lot of his personal feelings this episode, even in front of Latil, it's sad she didn't pick up on it.
Chapter 16: Flashback to what their family was like before everything happened. Thula and Latil not getting along, Latil's mother sad.
I feel sorry for the part of Anaktcha that lost her son but you reap what you sow. :/ But being around her isn't good for Latil, I wish she could close that chapter of her life.
I'm guessing it wasn't just seeing her husband with another man that hurt Latil's mother, she must have been bullied by Anaktcha.
Anaktcha says one day Latil will be betrayed by one closest to her, but that would be Sonnaught and he would never. Or maybe her brother? Unless it's talking about a consort she gets to know more.
Chapter 17: Latil is too funny, she talks about going undercover in such a badass way then acts all silly while actually undercover and she's not great at it either (Sonnaught, you're too obvious). X'D
I love Tasir.๐คญ๐ฟ
Chapter 18: Latil worrying about Guesta...
The consorts have arrived and contracts have been signed.
None of these men truly love me. I'm not doing this because I love any of them either. My hope is that they will compete with each other, draw attention, and distract the people. They will help me secure my throne, and in return, they will receive money, fame, or whatever they desire.I'm happy for the country but I really want her to find loyal love. ๐ซ
There is nothing for me to feel sorry about. After all, I've learned that even the truest of love can be abandoned for political advantage. As long as I remain the owner of this throne, they will not dare betray me.
New Post At Lady Business: Graphic Novel Rec list
Apr. 10th, 2026 09:56 amforestofgloryI think I've talked about most of these in my Media Roundup posts but you can think of this as the highlights version.
April Anime PTW 2
Apr. 10th, 2026 10:47 ambluapapilioI watched 6/6 for my last challenge.
Avatar:
Senku
Skill: Beat the trap tile once
Roll #1:
An 8, generate from PTW list. We have #235 which iss Kaitou Queen wa Circus ga Osuki.
Roll #2:
A 6, prompt: martial arts - Ninja to Gokudou.
Roll #3:
A 6, prompt: fantasy element - Akatsuki no Yona.
Roll #4:
A 7, classic anime - Slayers.
Roll #5:
A 6, prompt: transmigrated into another world - HameFura.
Roll #6:
An 11 and the end, reward is Cardfight!! Vanguard.
~Anime PTW List~
[Adventure/Fantasy] Kaitou Queen wa Circus ga Osuki
[Action] Ninja to Gokudou
[Adventure/Fantasy] Akatsuki no Yona
[Adventure/Fantasy] Slayers
[Fantasy/Comedy] HameFura
[Card Game] Cardfight!! Vanguard โ๏ธ
April Anime Wrap-Up 1
Apr. 10th, 2026 10:25 ambluapapilio Watched ep. 8-9 of Uta no Prince-sama. Watched ep. 2 of HameFura X...sorta. Watched ep. 11-12 of Babanba Banban Vampire! Watched ep. 30 of Digimon Adventure 02. Watched ep. 11 of Delico's Nursery. (Re)watched ep. 7 of Fairy Ranmaru and I should be all caught up now.
Audio Drama Check-in: ๐ค Paradox Live -Road to Legend- Opening Show {VISTY}
Apr. 10th, 2026 08:29 ambluapapilio
I forgot how hard it is when you're first getting to know a new character, especially a whole bunch at once. It's like 'who are these peopleee'.
Huh, I like it, it was mostly pop with some rapping.
Shogo (black/blue): 'VISTY's big brother'
Aoi (purple): Seems like the only non-spastic one lol
Kantaro (blond/pink): Social media expert, especially spastic
Toma (blond): Cares about looks
It's nice how supportive they are of each other.
So Shogo's trauma is about his dad? No one sees him for himself because his dad was so famous.
Okay I'm starting to care about these guys, cutesy and hyper chars aren't usually my thing but you can really see behind the scenes their struggles and awareness of the situation.
So Kei from 1nm8 used to be in VISTY, he was their center.
Poor Shogo getting all messed up. ๐ซ
I'm definitely feeling the underdog power from this group which I was not expecting. I want them to win over cozmez, though it depends on whether cozmez can makje a song I like this time or not, it's a 50/50 chance.
Takebayashi Fumiko (1888-1966)
Apr. 10th, 2026 07:57 pmnnozomi posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
senzenwomenAfter studying acting with Tsubouchi Shoyo for a few months, she was hired as a reporter, writing under the pen name Nadeshiko; her first article was an interview with the actress Shirai Sumiyo. In 1915 she began a series of โundercover reports,โ working as a waitress in various inns and full-service restaurants and writing about her experiences there. The series ran to over fifty articles and drew great attention, but Fumiko was fired at the end of 1915 because of her relationship with an executive of the newspaper (married, with at least one other mistress), which became a major scandal, the more so as Fumiko defended herself in print. She took refuge in a Zen temple and considered becoming a nun, until she met the politician Hayashi Kamobei, who became her second husband. They lived on the royalties from collections of her articles; finding that Hayashi was both violent and jealous as well as unproductive, Fumiko fled to Shanghai where she got a new job as a reporter. She did not return to Japan until the police intervened to ensure that they were safely divorced.
After her return home, she was introduced to the flamboyant writer Takebayashi Musoan (by the romance novelist and mountain climber Naito Chiyoko). Musoan invited her to Paris and she went; they were married first, in 1920, with a crowd of literary luminaries at the reception. Fumiko found herself unexpectedly pregnant; her daughter Yvonne (or Ioko) was born in Paris, and Fumiko adored her so much she started making all Yvonneโs clothes herself. This led to a job running the childrenโs clothes department at the fashion and cosmetics house Shiseido after they returned to Japan, at a high salary; after a year Fumiko left the company and set up on her own as a high-class milliner.
Upon losing home and business in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 (where Fumiko was buried under rubble in the street, though unhurt), the family returned to Paris. Having tried and failed to manage a Japanese restaurant (during its brief period of success, the customers included Sessue Hayakawa), Fumiko began performing as a Japanese classical dancer, achieving great popularity and making friends with Isadora Duncan. In January 1926, however, her business partner shot her in the face during an argument. She survived without serious injury, but this โMonte Carlo Scandalโ blackened her name considerably. In 1932, when Musoan ran out of money, Fumiko returned on her own to Japan; she drove a new General Motors Chevrolet from Osaka to Tokyo, and played the lead in a movie directed by Murata Minoru, returning in triumph to Paris the following year.
In 1934, amid a plan to interview the Prince of Ethiopia upon his marriage, Fumiko met the Japanese merchant Miyata Kozo (six years younger than she) in Antwerp, and they fell in love; they were married in Japan in 1936, once she had divorced Musoan. She and Miyata spent World War II on the outskirts of Brussels and Berlin, before being deported to Harbin via the Siberian Railway. Arriving finally in Osaka, she bought two used buses and turned one into their home and the other into a restaurant/cafรฉ/beer hall which she called Mistinguett. For the rest of her life, she made a living from restaurant management and sewing while traveling as far as Africa (including a trip back to Europe with the writer Uno Chiyo) and continuing to write. She died in 1966 at the age of seventy-seven; her published work included, among other books, three volumes of autobiography, published over a fifty-year span under the names of Nakahira Fumiko, Takebayashi Fumiko, and Miyata Fumiko respectively (they were recently given snazzy new reprints).
Fumikoโs daughter Yvonne, incidentally, married Tsuji Makoto, the oldest son of Ito Noe; her older daughter, adopted by Takehisa Yumejiโs son, became the Japanese-Colombian painter Nobu Takehisa, while Nobuโs sister Eve joined the Takarazuka Revue.
Sources
Mori 2008 Mori Mayumi has written a lot of interesting and useful books and my list for this site also draws heavily upon her work, but wow, the more I reread her, the more I find her mean-spirited and more interested in the men around the women she's supposedly writing about, oh dear. This one takes the cake, drawing on every source she can find to complain about how Fumiko was the next thing to a whore and only interested in the money she could get out of her men. The Wikipedia article seems a whole lot more even-handed.
https://www.oit.ac.jp/news/news/pressrelease10718.html (Japanese) Two volumes of Fumikoโs reprinted autobiography, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman and Just Look At Her
All my reads of February and March!
Apr. 9th, 2026 12:06 pmmozaikmageOnly read six books each month due to uh. STILL struggling through the Brothers Karamazov lol
Flesh by David Szalay
Started in Jan, finished Feb 1st. Everyone hyping this up was fucking right. Killer last line.
Strange Houses by Uketsu
Worse than Strange Pictures, so probably a good decision to publish that one first in English. I didn’t like how it was all just people explaining things to each other instead of… things happening. But it was still a kind of interesting puzzle thing.
Good Luck, Babe! by Erin Baldwin
The Netgalley arc went kinda viral so I grabbed one. It was okay, but the relationship didn’t work for me: the reason for their rift felt too contrived and poorly resolved.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
Read it for friend group book club lol. Also lived up to the hype! I liked reading it. Saved more detailed thoughts for book club.
Heart the Lover by Lily King
I read it half-wondering how it tied into Writers and Lovers and then I got to the reveal and was like Ohhhhhh. Really good, good follow-up/companion/sequel book and good on its own. King is so good at setting up multiple love interests that feel believable as characters the protagonist would be interested in.
Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin
Short book that took me forever to read, for some reason. I think I found Lazi’s head difficult to inhabit. Interesting, but I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it? The crocodile sections were funny, but the dialogue felt kind of stiff (translation casualty?)
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
I checked this out because I wanted to learn what the Ali Hazelwood fuss was about but refused to read reskinned Reylo and you know what maybe I should’ve taken my chances on the Reylo. The narrative voice was actually fine. I thought it’d be cringe/overly twee from what I’ve heard about her writing, but I thought it sounded very standard-issue het romance novel.
But oh my god. It’s an age gap romance where instead of the two central characters having character flaws they develop past over the course of the narrative, the two central characters are just perfect for each other and the only, THE ONLY point of conflict is that one of them is older. Not even that he has different values because he’s older. Age in this book is pretty much literally just a number. All their arguments are just “I’m too old 4 u” “no ur not” and it’s so repetitive and so POINTLESS because the age gap has NO CONSEQUENCES. He’s her older brother’s best friend and the older brother doesn’t even object to the relationship!
I did like the Sicily setting and there’s some fun set pieces and comic misfortunes that occur. The side characters are fine. Honestly even the main characters are fine in isolation, I just feel like the whole concept of an age gap romance was fumbled here. The book probably would’ve been better if they were the same age just because that way the author would’ve had to find a more interesting conflict for them. The rest of it mostly worked though!
Season’s Change by Cait Nary
I really liked this book mostly because it reminded me of Crossfire, my favorite fanfiction, except if Miyuki was more traumatized and Sawamura was into yoga and therapy. I also liked Nary’s writing style, much less detailed than AO3 user Kittebasu’s but still very evocative. I think the author and I might have a mutual acquaintance? There was a familiar name in the acknowledgements section. Pretty good friends-to-lovers hockey romance novel, would recommend!
Us by Sara Soler
This was on hold from the QLL on Libby for at least a year and I don’t think it was worth it. Very “Trans 101”, interesting for the Barcelona-specific angle mostly, but I checked it out because I really liked Soler’s art style in the sample pages and I think she has a good graphic-memoir picture-voice. I would read more memoir from her. I like looking at her pictures. Worth maybe a month or two on Libby hold but not nearly a year of Libby hold lol.
Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyแป n
Honestly was not expecting to like this one as much as I did. This is a satire about two Asian American trans girls playing men’s indoor volleyball and being internet influencers, while also being in a relationship with each other and dealing with so many levels of rivalry and jealousy. The no-quotation-marks style really works here, even if it was a little confusing sometimes, because it flattens the social media dialogue, internal dialogue, and spoken dialogue all into one thing, making them all seem equally important. The internet bits felt realistic and believable. It’s trying to do a lot and I think it mostly succeeds. I enjoyed it, actually! Even though there were somehow zero Haikyuu references. Minus half a point for not mentioning Haikyuu</3
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Read this for friend group book club and am thus saving all my best takes for the besties sorry. Reminded me of Sorokin’s work a little, but slightly less gross.
Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary
Finished reading this and then went to Nary’s website to be surprised that this was published after Season’s Change, because it feels like a step down from her earlier book. I liked how colorfully and specifically she described Philly (a town I feel an affinity with because I live near-ish to it lol) but there’s not a whole lot of… plot. I kept waiting for something to happen, like character development for either protagonist, maybe their secret relationship getting discovered or the kid’s mom coming back or something, but nope. Straightforward relationship progression with maybe half a conversation’s worth of friction between sex scenes. It wasn’t an unpleasant reading experience by any means, but it was much less memorable than Season’s Change. The overall story structure reminded me more of fanfiction than anything else I’ve read recently, including the former Reylo BNF.
