Meanwhile, reactions to comics that are NOT Soul Eater.

[nenena]

-----Shingeki no Kyojin-----

oh my god

oh my god

OH MY GOD

Also: I KNEW IT (in terms of [spoiler name]'s sexuality AND in terms of so THAT'S what happened to Connie's village) and WHOA I DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING but it's pretty goddamn refreshing to see it being so casually mentioned in a shounen series anyway and for a non-bishie male character to boot (in terms of Reiner's sexuality).

-----Homestuck-----

So The Worst Thing That I Have Ever Shipped has officially become canon.

And it became canon in the most beautifully perfect horrible way, too.

(I love seeing how much Tavros has changed and I love seeing how terrible his relationship with Vriska is because there is no way - NO WAY - that their redrom should EVER be portrayed as a sparkly happy funtimes schmoopy hugglefest, and thank skateboarding Jesus Christ that it's not that way at all now that it's canon, no, it is EXACTLY as twisted and terrible as a redrom between Vriska and Tavros SHOULD BE and yet at the same time it is so gloriously perfect for the both of them in all of its twisted terribleness.)

I don't think I've ever been this happy about a set of updates since... Well, since Roxy was first revealed, I think? Anywhoo, fun times. Fun times all around.

-----AvX-----

Welp.

That was a steaming pile of fucking terrible.

If you need me I'll be over here in the reduced-my-Marvel-pull-list-to-exactly-one-title-for-the-time-being corner, reading Astonishing X-Men. Which is pretty much the only consistently great X-Men monthly now. And it accomplishes this greatness largely by completely ignoring the rest of the Marvel universe and whatever shitty crossover shit Marvel is pulling out of their asses this season. And also by consistently focusing on great yet under-rated characters like Karma.

I suppose I should be excited about the new Young Avengers series, but honestly, I'm having a hard time working up any enthusiasm for a Young Avengers series without Eli in it.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I FLIPPED OUT HAPPILY when Reiner mentioned his sexuality I was not expecting that. Also yeah not surprised about Freckles but its nice to have it out in the open. So awesome to get some representation.

[nenena]

Agreed 100%. And I love how with Freckles it's not just "yes I'm in love with Christa" (which we already knew) but rather "yes, I am, in fact, a lesbian." Which is a step that a LOT of shounen manga aren't willing to take, even the shounen manga that relentlessly tease potential yuri romance. With most shounen manga, when a female character is attracted to another female character, it never goes beyond the bounds of being attracted to THIS SPECIFIC female character. Which allows for otaku-pandering yuri fanservice without ever destroying the fantasy that said female characters *might* still be bisexual and *might* someday be willing to make some shy male manga-reading nerd's fantasies come true. (Soul Eater Not!, I am side-eyeing you SO HARD right now.) It's very rare to see a female character in a shounen manga actually identify as a lesbian and go as far as to agree with another character's statement that she's not attracted to men. And yet. Freckles did JUST THAT in this month's chapter. And that is AWESOME.

I also love that entire scene between Freckles and Reiner because it reveals so much about Reiner's character but in a very, very subtle way. (Which Isayama is very good at doing with a lot of his character interactions, actually.) We know that Reiner suspects Freckles of SOMETHING, but instead of confronting her or accusing her of anything, he instead tries to establish rapport with her and earn her trust. Which is probably the only reason that he even mentions his sexuality to her in the first place. And also the reason why he provides her with an excuse for her behavior with Connie - oh hey, it's okay, you were just trying to get his mind off the subject - and even tells her to keep it up, even though it's pretty clear that she and he both know that's not what's really going on at all. It's a really great character moment that speaks volumes about Reiner's personality, even though he's gotten so little character development compared to some of the other rookies so far.

Have I mentioned that I really, really love this manga yet?

[(Anonymous)]

Casual Reiner and Freckles are casual about their orientation. It's treated as, dare I say, normal. There's no patronization involved.

That makes me happy :D

(Then I read the end of the chapter. Then I think about THAT one spread from a volume before. And then I GET VERY WORRIED AGAIN THIS TIME FOR CONNIE.

D: )

PS Ishiyama, you should've made it salmon, not that other fish