I have… quite a lot of manga. When at the shops I’m always scared about doubling up so I recently started up an Excel sheet to keep track of my manga.
And it’s been working well! It’s helpful especially to see what I may have already ordered and am waiting on, and my boyfriend can easily tell me which ones I should avoid buying (due to someone getting them as a present for me).
The manga that I’m reading as I collect the volumes as they come out include:
Black Torch – which I really like so far! I love the main character and his dynamic with the mononoke he’s tied with. They’re funny, prettyily drawn and I love a good action and fantasy story!
Jujutsu Kaisen – obviously.
Fire Punch – honestly I started this manga just because the covers are really pretty.
The Witch and the Beast – I randomly found this one and it’s a hidden gem! The art is beautiful and the story world and characters are super interesting. My only wish was that it got to be longer.
Blue Period – I started this manga around the same time the anime started which works well to keep myself engaged.
My Hero Academia – again, obviously.
The Way of the Househusband – the best ex-yakuza househusband and wife combo.
I’ve talked on my blog before about how I think tattoos are super cool, but I’m terrified to get any. Recently though, there have been many tattoos added to my list of ones I like and I thought I’d share them!
Manga Tattoo Ideas
I really like the above Nishinoya and Maki panels! They’re such powerful moments from the two of them and the poses and art is beautiful.
Small Tattoo Ideas
I’ve seen a few people with Aizawa’s goggles as tattoos, and they’re a nice small tattoo! I also just like Organisation XIII from Kingdom Hearts and think these two designs would be cute small designs.
Sword Tattoo Ideas
Having swords surrounded by flowers going down them is so pretty! It makes for good customisation options too.
Anime series have some very exciting and creative weapons.
I particularly like the 3D Maneuver Gear from Attack on Titan. It’s a very effective tool to use against titans and is so fun to watch the Scouts fly from tree to tree, do spins and more!
Death Scythes from Soul Eater are also such as interesting concept already with how someone is a ‘weapon.’ I also just like the shape of scythes and they swing around nicely when used.
Another weapon I like is Aizawa’s capture weapon because it’s innovative and complements his fighting style with his Erasure Quirk well. It’s fun to watch and interesting to see how versatile it is.
I also like Maki’s Cursed Tools. She’s so impressive to watch because she’s so talented with them. It’s fun to watch her make Panda carrying some too or use Megumi’s Shadow Storing Technique to store more weapons for her to effortless swap between.
Is there any weapons you’ve seen in an anime that’s your favourite?
Tetsuya Number 2 from KNB is the cutest dog! He always steals the show, and is so expressive. Everyone (aside from Kagami) is in love with him and for good reason. His little jersey is the cutest thing I’ve seen and he deserves the world.
Jiji from Kiki’s Delivery Service in the English dub is the snarkiest cat and I find him hilarious. Look at him pointing out this mug that looks like him! He’s the best friend/sidekick a witch could have.
Megumi’s Demon Dogs are powerful and super reliable! They’re so cute too when they’re being pat and mimicking everyone calling out ‘Maki nice pitch’ when the Tokyo and Kyoto students played baseball .
Who’s your favourite animal sidekick you’ve seen in anime?
1. Akutami is inspired by many mangaka. Akutami has said they look up to mangaka such as Yusuke Murata (One-Punch Man), Kubo Tite (Bleach) and Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto).
2. The author Gege Akutami has revealed that Gojo Satoru was inspired by Tobitake Tonbo, a character from Naruto.
3. The magic system in Jujutsu Kaisen was inspired by Hunter X Hunter and World Trigger’s.
4. The ending of Jujutsu Kaisen is already planned.
5. Jujutsu Kaisen already has two light novels called Soaring Summer and Returning Autumn (2019) and The Path of Roses at Dawn (2020).
Nendoroids are so cute, but so expensive. Because of this I currently don’t own any. I did pre-order the winter costume Bakugou nendoroid though because I adore his design! I’m so excited about him arriving next year.
I named this post ‘My Nendoroid Wishlist’ but it’s more of a collection of some of my favourites that I’ve seen.
With this in mind, let’s start!
The Sabito figure looks so good. The details are beautiful and his mask and shirt looks amazing. Shinobu’s butterfly cloak flowing is so beautiful! Giyu with his crow is so cute and his outfit is so good – it contrasts against his hair colour and style well.
Look! The Itadori figure has his Cursed Energy/Black First! Megumi has his black dog shikigami! How cute! Nobara has her hammer! She looks great!
This Dabi figure does his piercings very well (this is something a lot of other figures I see lack). His hair looks so good too, and the blue fire’s structure is quite cool!
There are some characters that just grow on you throughout a series. You start off either disliking them, a bit apathetic to them or liking them to rooting for them 110%.
It makes me wonder: what makes us start to love these type of characters?
Perhaps it’s because they are not particularly likeable characters, but rather relatable characters.
Likeability is the quality of being easily liked. It covers the perceptions of warmth, friendliness, attractiveness, approachability and similarity. Characters that I think of that are likeable include Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen, Mob from Mob Psycho 100 and Sasha from Attack on Titan. These are characters you like and root for from the start.
However, relatable characters are characters you can bond with, empathise with and identity with. They are characters you usually watch develop and bond with as the story progresses. Characters that are think are relatable include Akaashi from Haikyuu!!, Yuri from Yuri On Ice!!!, and Saiki from The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. I’m not saying that these characters aren’t likeable – but they are known to be very relatable.
With this in mind some characters that definitely I found grew on me as a series progressed – and ended up being some of my favourites – including Bakugou from My Hero Academia, Nanami from Jujutsu Kaisen and Jean from Attack on Titan.
Something that I found to link Bakugou and Jean is that they didn’t have the most impactful introduction on people – but became fan favourites the more they were shown.
Bakugou was kind of hated by fans when he was first introduced – he was a bully, arrogant and mean. But as he develops thorughout the series he’s become number 1 in the most popular character polls. Now, people understand that he’s trying to be better, cares for his classmates, is emotional and is still so driven after facing a lot of bad things. By revealing more about Bakugou’s view points and understanding beliefs his character became more relatable to others.
Jean had mixed reception by fans I feel when he was first introduced – he was kind of rude and arrogant. But he had the best development by far in Attack on Titan – his leadership, caring nature, struggle with keeping his morals, ability to perform well under pressure and courage are well loved now. As Jean grew in his teen years and experienced more in the Scouts he really matured and fans appreciated that he was the most ‘human’ character in the series.
Nanami was well-loved from the start because of his comedic introduction with his relatable, ‘Work is shit!’ Nanami doesn’t emanate ‘warmth’ because he’s blunt and serious, but he’s relatable from the start and fans love his more realistic and mature mentality than other adult sorcerers we’d seen so far. He’s the one just trying to make money in a career he’s suited to and acknowledges that children are children and should be treated as such.
It’s as we’re shown more about these characters I’ve mentioned that we come to appreciate and bond with them. We learn to understand their motives, ambitions and struggles and so – we root for them because we understand them.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you think characters that grow on you in series are relatable? Or is there another common thread?
Anime series are known to have some very engaging, well-animated and well-choreographed fight scenes.
One of my favourite fight scenes in anime that I’ve seen is Bakugou vs Uraraka. I love in this scene how it shows off their quirks and how well they can be used, but more importantly it showcases characters’ personalities. In this scene Uraraka is given the respect she deserves by Bakugou and Aizawa. Bakugou doesn’t view her as a ‘poor girl’ but gives her a real fight and doesn’t underestimate her at all – he’s shown to be excited to fight her because of his respect for her as a fighter. The audience also sees how Bakugou respects Uraraka, which is very important to start to show his character as his development is gradual in the series. I also respected Aizawa so much after this scene for how well he understands his students, how well he reads situations and how much he respects his students also.
I love the season 1 Hanami vs Tokyo and Kyoto students because we get to see so many different techniques in one fight. I like how originally in the Exchange Event the Kyoto students are against the Tokyo students because of their principal’s instructions that they have to follow – and now they come together. It shows how they’re all students and they come together because they actually have good relationships with each other. Watching Inumaki, Kamo and Fushiguro fight first against Hanami is so interesting to see the Crused Speech Technique, more of Fushiguro’s shikigami and Kamo’s Blood Manipulation Technique. Then swapping out to Maki getting to show off her physical prowess and skills with Cursed Tools and Megumi also showing how well he’s progressed with his Cursed Tools practise and his new technique was awesome. Then in the moment were they swap out with Itadori and Todo, it shows great teamwork how Maki comments that their work is ‘done’ and they can fall back to get their injuries healed.
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