Sredni Vashtar
@srednivashtar
Sweetmart, anarch, gallus, plural system; she/her, it/its, they/them, e/em/eir. Generalised hack of all trades. Loud sound artist as Subaltern, Silence and Secrecy, etc. Sometime writer for THEM Anime Reviews.
You ever think about the Golden Man of the Issyk kurgan? I think I will always be thinking about them.
To those who would rather not check back over on What Once Was Twitter: Cravagli chapter movie next year? Cravagli chapter movie next year.
I didn't intend this to be seen by a whole lot of people and this doesn't fit the gravity of the situation but it hit the funny sex number when I logged in and that made me happy.
@princessalice.moe and I were reminiscing about obscure early '10s anime and this weird SHAFT show came up, the official title was in Latin or something?
And this why I was recently told I was Cool Older Sister-coded and not MILF-coded. Because look at this, really.
I drew on dark and terrible knowledge and spoke the secret tongues, to be rewarded with… moderate accuracy I guess.
Not me and the boys burning down your house for disrespecting the forest gods.
Saw @danacorn.bsky.social doing this, and hey, the character thing went well, and I'm even deeper in the special interest hole about music than anime or books, so, have at me! ^w^
Shakugan, from Sengoku Youko. Obligatory shoutout to probably unintentional plural representation which actually gets it right. Shakuyaku and Kagan are also just intensely likeable characters in their own rights. Any further discussion would be spoilers, but… MIZUKAMI, I WILL FIGHT YOU AAAAAAA— ;_;
Haru and Legosi, from Beastars. Two leads of the "pair, do not separate" variety who I adore mostly for very different reasons, although what they share both in terms of their specific dynamic and in the delicate touch with which each is portrayed is equally important.
Satsuki, from My Neighbour Totoro. A character with whom I identified strongly as a child and perhaps the first to make me question my gender identity. Sometimes it's that simple, by which I mean it really isn't simple at all.
Hobbes, from Calvin and Hobbes. Dramatic tonal swerve: One of my favourite comics as a child right here. While Hobbes is typically the straight man in his and Calvin’s little manzai routine, he is rarely entirely in the right, being very much his own tiger with his own foibles.
Yoshii, from Texhnolyze. Speaking of alarming antagonists: I love when a character’s motivations initially seem cryptic if not completely arbitrary only to come into focus later as something you feel deeply uncomfortable admitting that you entirely understand.
Legato Bluesummers, from Trigun. Specifically from the ’98 adaptation. I liked Stampede fine, but some of its changes worked better than others, and I think this is one place they whiffed. Because this motherfucker right here? Terrifying.
Nano, from Nichijou. This one is very simple: I adore this poor, somewhat put-upon robot girl. I wish her nothing but the best in all things and I would protect her with my life. That's it, send tweet.
Cosmo, from Chainsaw Man. As with many of these (particularly Evan Dahm and Cate Wurtz's work), a synecdoche for an excellent cast more generally, but Cosmo in particular gets one of the single best moments in Part One, a true scene-stealer of monstrous potency. HALLOWEEN! 0w0
Kaiba, from… Kaiba. Getting into all of the complex identity-related shenanigans and weird memory stuff in Kaiba would spoil a great deal of the "fun" (fascination, pain, etc.) of the series, but even early on, Kaiba is pretty dynamic for an amnesiac blank slate, and later on… hoooo boy.
Alden Weer, the narrator of Gene Wolfe's novel Peace. Another quietly sinister unreliable narrator, yet a regretful one, burying himself in layers on layers of denial and self-deception. It is not simply that Peace is about Alden, but that in some sense, these stories *are* him, and what stories!
Hotori, from And Yet the Town Moves. People often confuse differences in skills or motivation for a lack of intellect or general laziness. Hotori is a space cadet, but when properly motivated, she absolutely shines. Excellent comedic lead with substantial yet never overstated pathos.
The titular dragon from Michael Swanwick's novella "King Dragon". Intentionally or not, a masterfully and horrifically rendered depiction of a deeply abusive person and the systems which enable such people through the metaphor of something not remotely human.
Yasuko and Okachimachi, from Akiba Maid War. A twofer: The Steve Buscemi of Scrunkly Anime Women, all lumpy charisma and wet-cat charm; and the cryptic, absurd mascot who, when she finally speaks, is one of Aya Hirano's most devastating tragicomic roles. The duality of Akiba Maid War, folks!