Aku no Hana is Good.*

I like Aku no Hana. I think it’s good*.

That asterisk is what you’ve come here to read about, isn’t it?

Old Souls: Constructions of Erotic Realities and Hot And Steamy vol. 1 (NSFW)

Note: This post discusses explicit sex in an explicitly sexual work, and includes images which are not safe for work.

It ought be fairly clear that most pornography is not an accurate reflection of reality. But perhaps more interestingly, different pornographic works inhabit realities which are vastly different from each other. When they divorce themselves from real-world sexual mores, erotic texts are often freed to reinvent sexual morality from scratch.

This is true to all fictional works up to a point, but the dissonance between how strongly sexuality is highlighted in pornography and how often guarded or shameful it is in reality makes the departure consistently, explicitly more noticeable. That said, so long as the author inhabits the real world and real sexual mores, their departure from those mores is clearly marked as a departure.

Secret Santa: Fireball & gdgd Fairies

The Secret Santa Project is run by the good folks over at Reverse Thieves, and this year, I was faced with the task of watching and reviewing at least one of the following: AKB0048, Fireball & Fireball Charming, and gdgd Fairies. I chose the latter two, which are both short shows.

Fireball & Fireball Charming

“I shall cease to be human, Jojo!”

Colloquium: Usagi Drop

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vucubcaquix: I’ve heard rumblings that the ending to the anime of Usagi Drop came off as weak, however, I don’t think that it was. With its focus on loose teeth and where an adult’s free time goes to once they become a parent, Usagi Drop ends with the same light touch that was characteristic of the adaptation as a whole. With this light touch and its subtle characterizations, the show lent itself to long discussions late into the night over various forums about the actions, decisions, and attitudes of its various characters. I will have to note here, that we may touch upon the manga that Usagi Drop is based on, which means addressing the controversial ending. Here’s a spoiler warning for those who don’t wish to be affected by the manga’s ending.

Apprivoise! You are forever responsible for what you have tamed: The Little Prince and Star Driver. (via We Remember Love)

Ghostlightning runs a fantastic blog: “We Remember Love” and was kind enough to allow me to post my analysis of Star Driver through the eyes of The Little Prince. For the article in its entirety, click on the link! Thank you!

Allow me to introduce to you a guest writer: the lovelier half of The Untold Story of and Vega anime blog, AJtheFourth. Along with her real-life partner and fellow anime fan vucub caquix, she’s written involved essays on the currently ongoing Mawaru Penguindrum and is a fellow fan of Revolutionary Girl Utena. The discourse on Mawaru Penguindrum cannot escape that of RGU, given Ikuhara Kunihiko’s direct involvement in both works. Not too long ago, … Read More

via We Remember Love