Anime and Manga Spoilers. Consider Yourself Warned.

It's way to early to be creating a blog for anime and manga, considering I've only ever finished one of each. But oh well.

I have a habit of getting hyperfixated on something for weeks or months or even years, analyzing and scrutinizing it down to an almost microscopic level, and then never talking about it again. So don't be surprised to find clumps of posts about one series and then never see it get mentioned again. Also, my header and avatar will likely reflect whatever series I'm currently fixated on.

I am an evangelical Christian and my beliefs color everything I say and do. You may not like everything I have to say. You may even get extremely mad about some things I say. You've been warned.

If I tag something as "liveblogging," then I've posted it or stuck it in my queue before I know the full story. Don't @ me.

I want to keep a running list of which ones I've finished as I finish them. So, here it is.

Anime

Finished:

Seen some of:

Manga

Well, come to think of it, Manta Comics are like manga, aren't they? Well, anyway, they're comics in the manga type style.

Finished:

Read some of:

I don't really post so much about Manta because they don't allow screencaps ;.;

And btw, yeah, I know, Ueno had a thing for Shoya. That's probably why she started badmouthing Shouko. And hitting her later. Either out of jealousy, or following Shoya's lead, or some mix of the two. And my opinion is, that's a really rotten reason to treat a person like dirt.

Chronicle of the faces Tomori makes during Yuu's confession:

Kumagami was the one privy to Shun's entire story about the alternate timeline, about why he came back to save his family. Kumagami knew when he walked into the council room that day to announce "collapse" that he was talking about Ayumi.

Nao placing Yuu in the same category as his brother is about the highest praise that anyone anywhere could ever pay Yuu.

As the saying goes, "...I'd have 2 nickels..."

And then, Ueno. Again.

The little brat cares about NO ONE but herself. Shouko tried to kill herself BECAUSE of the abuse she suffered from people like Shoya (in the past) and Ueno (very recently). But Ueno proceeds to beat the hell out of Shouko because "oh, someone got hurt because you were selfish, and I hate you for it."

In other words, Ueno. You hate yourself most of all. Because the person you just described is YOU. And THAT'S the core of all your problems. Grow up and admit it. Brat.

Shouko and Ueno actually have a lot in common. They both hate themselves. They're both focused entirely on their own flaws and their own pain. But while Shouko internalizes her self-hatred and believes that she will be the only one hurt by it, Ueno doesn't acknowledge that she hates herself. She turns that hatred outward so she doesn't have to see it, and she deliberately hurts others with it.

Neither one is right. Both are selfish. Both hurt other people.

But I think the reason I sympathize with Shouko and regard Ueno with disgust is because Ueno is the frightening kind. Ueno is the kind who would hurt me. Shouko is the kind who would be nice to me. And I'm selfish, too. I don't want to be around people who would hurt me. I do want to be around people who are nice to me.

In the end, I'm no better than either of them. Funny, isn't it.

Hmm. Nowhere near as strict a punishment as they deserve, IMO.

I wonder why Kaya received a strict sentence and not the parents? Or was it intended to be a corrective sentence? It seems strict, they said it was strict, but it's really just to teach her some life skills because she's a spoiled rotten brat?

If that's the case, then yes, it is fair and just, and frankly, very considerate. Even if she decides to stew in hatred and jealousy all her life, at least she'll have learned some skills besides making tea and arranging flowers.

Aww, he's being so cute!

Also:

asdfghjkl!!!

And, I feel like, maybe Shoya knew something was wrong with Shouko when no one else did, not even her mother or sister. Because HE WAS GONNA DO THE SAME THING.

But his mom was smarter than the Nishimiyas. She saw the signs and she scared him into not giving up his own life.

And he knew something was up when she just up and left the fireworks show for no reason. But I think he didn't fully understand. Because, like... he's doing so much to try to make her feel better. He's bringing all her friends back. They talk and laugh. He got her sister to go back to school and get serious about photography. Why would Shouko want to kill herself after all that?

So I think he saw it, but it didn't click, because it didn't make sense. He knows something's wrong with her, but he doesn't know what or why.

So when he, fortuitously, had an excuse to go back to her house, and he saw her there. He knew why she was standing there. Even when he saw her climbing on the wall, he hesitated a bit.

Because WHY?! WHY would she do this NOW???

I think maybe it's because Shoko felt bad about herself, even beyond Shoya and what he did. Because a lot of other people have hurt her, too. And it all ran so deep that she truly does hate herself. And having someone care so much about her just made her hate herself more. And when Shoya got into an argument with all their friends at once and told off everyone (some justifiably deserving it, some not), that made Shouko feel worse, because her being bullied was the core of that fight.

I think he knew what she was going to do, but it didn't make sense, and his brain was conflicted. And he was right there, but still almost too late.

He tried to kill himself because of what he did to her. She tried to kill herself because she couldn't accept the love he was surrounding her with (not necessarily romantically, just bringing her friends back to her, etc.). He tried to save her because he once wanted to do the same thing. She was willing to try to climb back up because HE was the one rescuing her. He almost died, not as a selfish coward that couldn't face himself anymore, but as a selfless friend who couldn't face a world where he let his friend die.

Everything cycles back around to the beginning, doesn't it?

Finally! He manned up enough to come clean to Kaya, and to actually do something selfless for Miyo.

And isn't it funny how he didn't gain courage to do the right thing until he finally broke out from under his daddy's thumb?

I don't know if this realization is why he starts using an authoritative big brother voice on Yusa a minute later...

...but she kind of reacts the way Ayumi probably would.

This was so funny to me. And the reason why I think Kumagami was the stablest character in the show. He just does what he has to do, even if it means a little humiliation for the sake of other power-users.