stardust_rifle

DioPucci is probably, at least on even-numbered days, my absolute favorite Jojo's Bizarre Adventure ship. Despite the fact that Dio and Pucci are only shown interacting in flashbacks, their relationship is infinitely compelling and interesting (not to mention just being a delicious combination of a lot of shippy tropes that I love) If it’s possible for a ship to haunt a narrative, then they do, without question. I have written this in an attempt to compile their history, appeal, and maybe possibly convert some of my readers into shippers themselves! Without further ado, on with the manifesto!

(Note: I won’t be addressing the age gap because A: Dio’s a 120-year-old vampire, he’d have an age gap with everyone, B: I just don’t see it as being foundational to their relationship dynamic or appeal.)

Introducing Dio



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If you’re into weebshit, you’ve probably heard of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (henceforth JJBA) before, mostly in terms of out-of-context references to the ridiculous shit that happens in it, or through the incalculable references and influences it’s had on other pieces of media, both in Japan and abroad. However, you may not have watched/read it. Maybe you’ve been put off by its reputation, or the behavior of its fans. Or perhaps you’ve never even watched an anime or manga before, and are wondering if JJBA is a good place to start.

In this post, I am going to explain why one should consider watching/reading JJBA, give multiple possible starting points for people who want to jump on, and provide information on how to access the series. I intend for this post to be accessible both for habitual anime/manga consumers and those who are not, though my intended audience with this post is the Ao3 slash transformative works crowd.

BUT WHAT IS JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE ANYWAYS?

JJBA is a shounen/seinen battle manga written by Hirohiko Araki that has been running since 1987. It follows the adventures of the Joestar family as they battle evil through multiple time periods and locations with unique supernatural powers. One thing that sets JJBA apart is its unique structure. The manga is divided into Parts, with each part taking place in a different time and place, featuring its own (mostly) unique cast of heroes and villains and serving as a complete story unto itself. The manga is currently on Part 9, while the anime adaptation has completed adapting Part 6.

OKAY, BUT WHY SHOULD I WATCH/READ IT?

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mildly complainy post about how a lot of people write diadop

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CW: CSA (the biggie), victim blaming (both internal and external), underage sexuality, fucked up kinks, absurd amounts of self-loathing

So this is basically my headcanon backstory for Mayoi, this might all get jossed by canon someday but *cracks knuckles* let’s get to it.

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Here's a list of anime that I think are underrated. This list is based around my own tastes and preferences. I might add to this list at any time.

(The Weeb Ass Shit scale ranks anime on three criteria. A high W, or "Weeb" score means that the show incorporates a lot of anime tropes or elements of Japanese culture that might be confusing to someone not familiar with them. A high A, or "Ass" score means that the show is high in fanservice or other sexual content. And a high S, or "Shit" means that I think that the show is high quality.)


Title: Shiki
Genre: Horror/Suspense/Supernatural
Episode Count: 22
W/A/S Score: W4, A3, S9.5
Elevator Pitch: In a small Japanese town, a mysterious plague starts sweeping the village, killing its inhabitants at alarming rates not long after a mysterious new family moves into the Western castle up on the mountain.

Unsurprisingly, it’s vampires.

This anime uses its large cast of characters and isolated setting to the fullest, showing us a variety of reactions to the supernatural menace, which really creates a sense of horror, showing how every possible response one could think of having is for naught, as the horror builds and builds before a crescendo of violence at the end where no one is innocent and no one is safe.

This is my current favorite anime.

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as much as i whine and complain about idolish7's status as the holy cow of a certain segment of weebdom it's not like i don't understand why this is.

when it comes to female idol series that are like. actually competent as far as storytelling goes you've got a lot of options. zombieland saga, most of the love lives, wake up girls, revue starlight, symphogear and akb0048 if you're willing to get more sci-fi/fighty, the pretty series and aikatsu if you're willing to watch stuff for little girls, you get the picture.

but with male idol stuff...like WHEN IT COMES TO ANIME...maaaaayyyyybbbbeeee utapri (i have my issues with utapri but i understand that people like it) and the king of prism* are the only male idol-adjacent anime besides idolish7 that i'd be willing to call "is basically competent when it comes to basic storytelling and characterization and animation"**

so i do understand on some level why people are so insanely defensive over it because it's sort of serving as a symbol that it's possible for this kind of series to be good and have value, but i think the excessive protectiveness and refusal to acknowledge that there are valid reasons for people to prefer other series over it or god forbid not like it very much is actually doing it a disservice.

personally, i was so turned off by the behavior of certain idolish7 fans on twitter that i did not touch the series for a very long time, only after seeing a post from another idolish7 fan who was upset at some of the ways the series was being pitched and gave an actually interesting pitch did i develop any interest in actually watching the series.


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The Phrase: Basilisk (n)

Meaning: A thing that, once brought to your attention or learned about, has the effect of forcing your way into your mind and making you unable to think about anything else. Usually, thinking about a basilisk is highly unpleasant.

Etymology: The rationalist thought experiment of Roko’s Basilisk, which itself served as a basilisk for M.

Origin: M probably made it up.


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I wound up stumbling across this one Old Internet Article about soulbonding and soulpuppeting; you can read it here.

And I sort of got to thinking about (note; i will be using the term "soulbonder" in a pretty weird way here, so if that bothers you, feel free to peace out) the difference between authors who's characters talk to them, and authors who's characters...don't. (Or, for the purposes of this discussion, "soulbonders", and "soulpuppeters", respectively.)

Because I've seen discussion from the latter, of them sort of assuming the "my character did X" was just an elaborate metaphor, or people being cutesy, and getting horribly shocked when they get it explained to them that no, for some authors, their characters do literally have their own opinions on things and make decisions on their own that their authors have no control over. (And then some of those soulpuppeters accuse soulbonders of lying or being mistaken or trying to seem special.)

And I think it's a really interesting neurotype difference! It's weird as fuck!

Inviting comments on the topics below the cut:

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remembering that one video about mlp fandom where the video essayist mentioned that she thinks that there's something about cis male psychology that makes them unable to like or feel affection for female characters without thinking about what it would be like to have sex with them

and my brain was like "wait that's. the thing. the thing that my brain does. (except it's mostly dude characters, and it's usually not me having sex with them, just thinking about them in sexual situations in general), and i'm probably not a cis dude, so..."*

a while back i was talking with one of my cis guy friends and he said that he can't look at porn about characters that he likes or knows, because to him it feels like he's tainting them. i said the above, that i can't truly love a character until i've thought about them in sexual situations, and he thought that was interesting.

i think this might be like, an axis of human brain thought, where both me and the aforementioned cis guy friend are on extreme ends of each spectrum, and most people who are in fandom are on the extreme "i can't like a character until i think about them in a sexual way" side, regardless of gender.

two requests: stop thinking about this as a gender thing (it might be more likely that men are on the FUCK THIS CHARACTER NOW end and women are on the more "i can't taint them" end, but idk i've known a lot of pervy women) and also stop thinking about this as a bad horrible disgusting thing that needs to be stamped out.

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My intellectual issue with the whole "misandry is a Bad Word and you shouldn't say it because it shares a root word with misogyny and that means that when you're using the word you're implying that there's some kind of structural anti-male bigotry, which is misogynistic" is like. So does the word "misanthropy" and I've never heard someone say "you can't describe so-and-so as misanthropic because that implies that there's some sort of structural anti-person bigotry.

My actual issue with that whole thing is a selfish "i would like to have words to describe my own experiences, even if they do not fit into Social Justice Orthodoxy" reason, because I am at negative one billion patience with people jumping down my throat to tell me that I am Using Words Wrong when i'm talking about my own experiences.