Why I Can't Wait for The Ancient Magus' Bride (The anime)

So, even though I'm not currently paying for Crunchyroll services (not enough money for it at the moment), they've still got my email, and they're still sending messages to it nonstop. It's all promotional stuff, of course, so I ignore them for the most part, but I noticed a month ago that they kept sending me emails about a movie night or something for an anime called The Ancient Magus' Bride. I promptly deleted the emails, though I suppose that the name stuck in my mind, because come September, I get an email saying something alone the lines of "The Ancient Magus' Bride Announces New Character, Fairy King Oberon!", to which I thought, "Wow, Crunchyroll must have a really serious hard-on for this anime if it's making announcements about a new side character."

So, curiosity got the best of me, and I watched a couple of trailers. Which led to me watching the two of the three prologue episodes that are still available on Crunchyroll. Which led to me reading the manga. Which got me instantly hooked and absolutely pissed at myself for not taking up their offer on that movie night thing.

The story of the Ancient Magus' Bride begins with our main character, Chise, at the auction house. She is a rare kind of human called a Slay Vega, who absorbs immense magical energy and can see and interact with creatures that most other people can't, things like faeries, goblins, and elves. As such, a dejected Chise is the "item" being put on auction. She's been shuffled around from one home that doesn't love her to another for all her life, and all she wishes is for whoever buys her to at least want her and be able to use her in some way. There, she is bought for a whopping five million pounds by Elias, a magus who possesses qualities of both a fairy and a human. And, you know, he has some sort of animal skull for a head. Can't forget that.

Elias then tells Chise that she will be his apprentice and whisks her away to his home in Britain, where he teaches her how to hone her abilities and become a magus. And, he tells her at the end of a very exhausting first day, he intends to marry her, too.

So, yes, this is an unconventional romance story between a being that is hundreds if not thousands of years old and a fifteen year-old girl. And I know that sounds like it's creepy, but... honestly, it still is, even when you try not to think of it like that, especially when their relationship sometimes shifts into something more father-daughter-like. Or when you stop to think about the fact that he actually bought her at a slave auction, or-

OK, let's stop thinking about why this relationship may or may not be creepy. He hardly ever mentions marrying her again past the first chapter.

Though I still do wish she was at least eighteen its'socreepy

At least the mangaka seems aware of how creepy this may come off as.

Creepy implications of the main pairing aside, the story is quite unique, and Chise and Elias are both very dynamic characters who grow from their interactions with one another as the story progresses. Chise, once dejected a not having any will to do anything for herself, grows to love her life and those around her and eventually strives to preserve her frail life as best she can while simultaneously looking out for those around her. Meanwhile, Elias, who doesn't understand human emotions, learns from Chise just what it is to be human slowly throughout the series. He learns of loneliness and jealousy and anger, among many other named emotions, but the one that they never say aloud that we know he feels most around her is "love".

Add in a diverse and fun cast of side characters, and you've got yourself a pretty decent and dynamic palette of characters to deal with. Especially when you have a setting where magic and non-human creatures exist.

Oberon and Titania, for example, are fun when we get to see them; the leannan si in love with an old man is a tragic but compelling character; Lindenbaum, the dragon keeper in Iceland, is always a treat when we get to spend time with him. You can tell that the author of the manga had fun with creating the world and all of its characters.

My personal favorite by far is Ruth, Chise's black grim familiar and brother figure. His relationship with Chise is, in my opinion, a perfect way to convey a relationship between to characters that, while not siblings by blood, certainly act like and care for each other like siblings.

He cares for her and looks out for her, worries about her and protects her, and while she's always at the top of his priority list, they are both simply contented with being around and looking out for one another. They're sweet. Not my OTP, but definitely my BROTP.

That said, however, my experience with the manga has been a little dulled compared to how it could be due to the fact that, well, I'm not a big fan of manga.

I know, I'm an anime fan but don't like manga? What the heck?

I simply find it a little hard to follow, particularly in action-packed series or any point in which there is action, so when characters go throwing around magic and such, I get a little confused as to what is going on. Escpecially when it's in black and white. My vision's bad enough as it is. And then there a panels where I can't really tell what's going on, and I'll have to go back and reread.

Like in chapter two, where Chise and Elias are going out to town. It took me a while to figure out that the man that suddenly appeared next to Chise was Elias using a glammour to appear human.

I'm not sure if that's poor planning or just because I'm dumb, but either way, manga just isn't really the right type of media for me.

Though, looking at this again, I'm sure it's poor page planning. You can clearly see that Elias is to her right, so why is Chise turning to her left to see the newly transformed Elias? It just looked like she turned around to see a stranger on the other side of her.

Either way, I get confused, an it just puts a slight damper on my experience.

Which is exactly why I'm looking forward to this anime adaptation coming out next month. I'll be able to watch this without the struggles that come to me while reading mangas. From what I've seen in the trailers and first two prequel episodes, too, the animations looks beautiful and fluid and perfectly captures the magical feel on the series, something that isn't easily achieved in black and white. I can't wait to see elves dancing, with flowers springing at their feet. I can't wait to see the ancient gods of winter roaming the woods on the first night of yule. I can't wait to see mischievous fairies try to drag an unsuspecting Chise into the fairy realm.  And I just can't wait to see my bae Ruth's sad backstory, or the leannan si's tragedy unfold, or the arc with the dragon poachers and the auction house on screen.

This is a story that, in my opinion, is made to be on screen, and I simply can't wait for it.

You have a great day! Bye~~

My Top Ten Favorite Unovian Pokemon

So, as you may or may not be able to tell from my username, I'm a big Pokemon nerd. I watched the show as a kid (and only recently restarted watching again for the Sun and Moon anime, which seemed to be making some big improvements from the last time I watched) and have played the games since I was, like, eight... maybe...? I cannot for the life of me remember how old I was when my brother and I picked up Pokemon Leaf Green (for me) and Fire Red (for my bro) for our Game Boy Advance, but I do remember that day and how my little bro and I just stared at the case in Target like, "Whoa! There's a Pokemon video game?!"

And, here I am now, a twenty-one-year-old woman, and Pokemon is still my favorite game franchise. Yeah, I know. My parents are so proud. But it's a fun series of games, and I always enjoy building my teams and accomplishing the goal that Ash Ketchum has been unable to reach for seasons upon seasons of the television series: conquer the Elite 4 and become the Pokemon Champion.

Now, as fellow Pokemon fans may also be able to tell, Gen. 5 is my favorite generation, and Unova is, in my opinion, the best. It is an unpopular opinion, but it is my opinion, nonetheless. I just loved the story, the characters, and (an even more unpopular opinion) the new Pokemon that Gen. 5 introduced.

So, since there are waaaay too many Pokemon out there for me to pin down ten of my favorites from all regions, I decided to share my ten favorite Pokemon evolutionary lines from my favorite region, Unova. Here we go!

10: Cottonee/Whimsicott

Whimsicott, Pokemon Sun Pokedex: It rides on the wind and slips into people’s homes. After it has turned a room into a cotton- filled mess, it giggles to itself and takes off.

Whimsicott is basically a big bag of floof, and I absolutely love it. It is a grass type (one of my favorites) and, in later generations, it was given the fairy typing - my favorite type- as well (I'm just full of unpopular opinions, I know). I would have absolutely loved to be able to have this big trouble-making pillow on my team, but unfortunately, I always already had a grass-type Pokemon (sometimes two, with a Leavanny) on my team and never really had room for another without risk of my team being way over-balanced. *Le sigh*

9: Deino/Zweilous/Hydreigon
Hydreigon, Pokemon X/Omega Ruby Pokedex: The heads on their arms do not have brains. They use all three heads to consume and destroy everything.

Now, Hydreigon is one of those Gen 5 Pokemon that most people agree is just awesome, whether it be because it's based off of a hydra or because it's a dragon/dark type. What I find so interesting about Hydreigon, however, is its Pokedex entries as it evolves. Deino starts off blind, with one head. Pretty standard. When it evolves into Zweilous, it grows a second head, and the two don't get along at all- they compete for food, in fact, and the one that eats the most becomes the leader. Weird. But, then it evolves into Hydreigon, with a third head, Thing is, though, that according to the Pokedex entries, the two heads on the arms have no brains. Which raises a lot of questions because when it was a Zweilous, it very clearly had two different brains, or else the heads wouldn't have competed. So what happened? Did the two brains merge? Did the brain that acted as a leader kill the other brain?
Hydreigon is an absolute mystery, and that's what I love so much about it.

8: Emolga

Emolga, Pokemon Moon Pokedex: It grills berries and bug Pokémon with electric shocks and makes a meal of them. It usually nests in the holes gouged in trees by Pikipek.

Emolga is yet another one of my favorite Pokemon that I was just never able to put on my team, mostly because tracking one down and catching it was too time-consuming for me, but I always really appreciated it for being both Elesa's signature Pokemon and for being the best of the "Pikachu Clones."
My brother also really likes Emolga, too, surprisingly, considering how much he usually doesn't like cute stuff. But unlike me, he always had the patience to catch and keep two of them on his team. He said he always felt like a huge troll when he'd volt switch one out with the other. He even played on the Battle Subways with them.
I got him two Emolga plushies one year, between Christmas and his birthday a month later. I think he still has them sitting on his shelves.

7: Tirtouga/Carracosta

Carracosta, Pokemon Black Pokedex: They can live both in the ocean and on land. A slap from one of them is enough to open a hole in the bottom of a tanker.

Who doesn't like sea turtles?
Who doesn't like prehistoric sea turtles?
There's something that's always just felt fun and kind of powerful about Carracosta to me, and I fell in love the moment my fossil was first revived into a Tirtouga. It was like a precious baby to me, and when it evolved, I swore that this would be my water-type throughout my Unova-based games. Granted, it didn't help that there weren't too many good water types that came with gen 5 (I suppose that would be my biggest complaint about Black and White if I had to make one up), but it's always my first pick for a water type, nonetheless, and I almost always have one on my Black and White playthroughs.

6: Rufflet/Braviary

Braviary, Pokemon Sun Pokedex: With its brave disposition, it fears nothing—not even death. Ancient Alolan people respected it, referring to it as “the hero of the sky.”

OK, so I know what everyone is thinking: "Typical American, liking the red, white, and blue eagle." And, well. You're right. I have no objections to that, because the only reason I do like this majestic beast so much is my home country. I may have become more and more disappointed in my country and some of the decisions we've made in the past year, but when I get down to it, I'm an American through and through, and I couldn't even begin to imagine living in any other country. 

I love you, America, even when you make stupid decisions. And as such, I love Braviary, the American Eagle Pokemon.

5: Minccino/Cinccino

Cinccino, Pokemon White Pokedex: Their white fur feels amazing to touch. Their fur repels dust and prevents static electricity from building up.

I love Chinchillas (and just about anything as nice and fluffy as them), and Cinccino is no exception. I always found that Cinccino was a little underrated, but I personally always loved the little fluff balls, especially if I could find one with Skill Link, in which case, I would slap Sing, Double Slap (Or Tail Slap when it leveled up), and Swift on it. Even if I can't get one with Skill Link, Cute Charm is always a nice thing to have on it. And...

Wow. This is actually pretty similar to how I use Skitty in gen 3 games.

Huh.

4: Petlil/Lilligant

Lilligant, Pokemon Sun Pokedex: No matter how much time and money is spent raising it, its flowers are the most beautiful when they bloom in the wild.

 Lilligant is yet another grass type I'd always have loved to raise if not for my always already having a grass type on my team.
It's design is sleek and elegant, and if what my brother tells me is true, it can be an absolute beast if you can get it to spam quiver dance during the first battle and wipe all the others out with Petal Dance and Mega Drain.
I've always found its Pokedex entries to be simple yet endearing, what with how the well-being of the flower on its head parallels with the amount of love and care it receives from its trainer.
Though I will admit that the recent Moon pokedex entry is a little bit depressing.

 3: Snivy/Servine/Serperior
Serperior, Pokemon Black Pokedex: It can stop its opponents’ movements with just a glare. It takes in solar energy and boosts it internally.

"Oh, wow, her username is SnowySnivy, and she likes the Snivy evo line? Who would have guessed!"

Yeah, if you've ever played the gen five games and saw my username, you probably saw this one coming up high on this list. But what can I say? It's my favorite starter Pokemon, period. Snivy is just a smug-looking Pokemon, a green Excalibur from Soul Eater, a total pompous jerk, a cute and tiny grass snake, and it evolves into a rather royal, elegant beast. Between Leaf Blade and Synthesis, I always do well with a Serperior, and while Oshawott and Tepig are cool, I can never bring myself to betray my classic partner Pokemon that is Snivy. Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon may have thought I was Bulbasaur (which is the best gen one starter (fite me)), but that never stopped me from picking a Snivy, anyway.
When there's a Snivy, or anything from it's evolutionary line, involved, I go for it.
No questions asked.

2: Litwick/Lampent/Chandelure
Chandelure, Pokemon Black 2/White 2 Pokedex: The spirits burned up in its ominous flame lose their way and wander this world forever.
Whenever people say that Pokemon based on inanimate objects are stupid, I point them to the Litwick line.
Chandelure is on my team about 90% of the time, I love it so much. Everything about it, from its typing to its design to its lore, just appeals to me so much. Creepy haunted candle/lamp/ chandelier? Awesome! Ghost/fire type? Even better! Steals the souls of both people and Pokemon? Wicked.
The first things I always make sure my Chandelure has are Confuse Ray and Flamethrower, so that I can confuse my opponents and possibly burn them, too. It's always a fun Pokemon to have, and it will always have a place in my heart.

Honorable Mentions: Musharna, Leavanny (one 

of the first few bug types that I commonly used in my playthroughs), Mienshao, Audino (whom I always felt bad about KO'ing for some quick and easy exp.), and Excadrill

1:  Zorua/Zoroark

Zoroark, Pokemon Black 2/White 2 Pokedex: Stories say those who tried to catch Zoroark were trapped in an illusion and punished.

Zoroark is a lot more loosely based off of kitsune than Ninetales, though that brief nod to one of my favorite fantasy creatures already earns it brownie points from me, and I love how it explores the darker part of the legends. Pun intended. 'Cause, you know, it's a dark type. Which is one of my favorite types.
The lore surrounding Zoroark is really interesting, too, with you actually encountering first a Zoroa, then a Zoroark both disguised as a human between Black and White and their sequel games. It's just really cool.
I always have fun playing with Zorua and Zoroark, too, what with its ability and everything. The trick I always liked to use was to send Zoroark in at the front of my party, disguised as my Chadelure. Since they both knew Flamethrower, the illusion would usually work the first two or so turns, before they tried hitting me with a ghost or dark or even psychic type move and revealed that it was really my Illusion Fox Pokemon all along.
My brother thought that Emolga was the ultimate troll Pokemon, but I always knew that it was Zoroark.

So, there's my list of my favorite Pokemon from the generation five games! Feel free to let me know what your favorite Pokemon from this generation are, yourself. And if you fall into the great majority of Pokemon fans that hates this generation, feel free to let me know why!

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this, and you have a good day!