Her. Aida Riko. Everything about her makes KnB the best sports anime to me.
No, 'cuz the fact that this beloved sports anime made the coach of the main team a woman - a 17 year old girl at that - made a huge difference in the show for me. It's such a pleasure to watch Riko have just as much passion for the game as the team, for her to be such a key character in an otherwise widely male-dominated anime genre.
She makes sure to push the team to improve, doing everything in her power to make make them go past their limits (the roofrop ceremony, breaking Hyuuga's figurines, getting Mitobe to block Kagami etc), she always makes sure to get their spirits up, even if it doesn't always work out (getting them to go eat steaks, the lemon with honey slices), and she does what's best for them, even when they don't like it (pulling Kiyoshi from the Kirisaki Daiichi game, subbing the first year duo out, putting Furihata against Akashi).
Like, she's such a smart and relatable and real character??? The fact that she also gets her romance with Hyuuga, but is done so organically, and they're such good friends?? The fact that they rely on each other as coach and captain?? The fact that they founded the club together?? Plus, she is still able to have a deep friendship with Kiyoshi with no romantic tension or friction between the three of them?? It shouldn't be this refreshing to see a female character like this, but it is, which is what makes Riko so amazing.
And she's not the only one.
Momoi is also such a great female character that you rarely see in these shows. Yes, she's the feminine manager of an enemy team, but she's just as much part of the Generation of Miracles friend group as the others are, despite not being a player. The fact that she gathers information about their opponents and comes up with strategies to highlight her team's strengths and shut down the enemies is incredible. She also has a crush on the main character that is obviously unrequited, yet it's handled so gracefully?? She is who she is despite her feelings for Kuroko, and I love that for her, because instead of following Kuroko to Seirin, she chose to stay with Aomine. Her loyalty to her childhood friend is so strong and so pure that she never gave up hope that Aomine would find his love for basketball again. That he'd smile again– that she'd get her old friends back.
Truly amazing.
And an honorary mention goes to another female character whom I wanted to see more of:
"Kagami was written by a woman," yes, because Alex Garcia made Kagami, bitch. That's her son you're talking about. Alex being the one who taught Kagami basketball is so badass of her. She's Mother.
Let's hear if for the female characters of Kuroko no Basket!!! The rest of the sports anime world could never!!!
the feminine urge to listen to the entire soundtrack of the movie/series you've just finished.
Eliot Spencer, Parker, and Hardison- all skittish children/teenagers that Nate finds on the street.
Nate finding them in an alley in Boston. Eliot protecting Parker and Hardison- the meanest glare on his face. Snarling at Nate and using his body to shield them from this strange man. All three of the children look haggard and starving- Parker and Hardison holding onto each other with one hand- while the other is gripping Eliot's dirty torn shirt. Eliot whose blue eyes are hard as a stone- challenging Nate to come closer.
Nate, who has no qualms about three dirty, grimy, and... is that blood? Children in an alleyway. With placated hands in the air- looking directly at Eliot. Honesty on his face- "Come home with me."
They don't. Nate leaves.
The next day- Nate comes back. Asks the same thing. Same response. He leaves after leaving a bag of food behind.
Their wild animals and to get them to trust him- he needs to be gentle. So he continues to do this every time he passes the alley.
Something changes, when one day the girl- Parker- comes to the opening. She's gnawing on her bottom lip fear in her eyes.
"Please!" She begs, "Their hurt!"
Then she it's like a waterfall of words. Parker is explaining how Hardison tried to get food- but was caught and Eli fought the shopkeeper off- but had gotten shot and it's infected and Hardison tried to go for the gun and- and- and...
Nate follows Parker to the end of the alleyway and Eliot looks sick. Hardison isn't looking any better. Parker is crying. She's begging Nate to help.
He does. He convinces the EMT's that they are his adopted kids that ran away for three days. Somehow they don't question him. They take Hardison and Eliot in. Nate tells the doctors to keep them in the same room. He knows how protective Eliot is.
Somehow- they survive.
...Okay. That's all I got. 🙃
My babies
Lockwood vs. "everyone back home"
LOCKWOOD & CO.
I feel like this is an accurate representation of my current mental state
I've seen a lot of praise for the Netflix Lockwood and co. adaptation. I haven't read the books, enjoyed the show. Lots of people already said a lot of positive things about this series concerning plot, characters, and so on that I largely agree with
You know what hasn't really been talked about?
How BRIGHT and WELL LIT everything is. Like, this show mostly happens at night, with characters running around with torches to see anything, because their job has to be done during the night.
But I can still SEE EVERYTHING.
I noticed that in the graveyard scenes especially. The sky is pitch black, we know it's the middle of the night. But the grass in green and I can SEE IT.
Love them for not going down the path of GOT, DC, and so many more. Of saying "well, it's the middle of the night, so nobody can see anything, and neither can the audience".
Instead they went "we told our audience it's the middle of the night, we're showing it to them, but we're also giving them the opportunity to see what actually happens on screen".
Amazing.
Everytime someone says bring back Nate, I shiver with dread.
And for someone who's a really big fan of Nate, I really would hate having to see him come back to Redemption. I saw on a Facebook group I'm in where someone asked how Nate would react to the Jackal Job, and I remember thinking that Nate, the Catholic man, would either not be a supporter or simply not be able to empathize or participate in the con without prejudice.
Look, OG Leverage has a place in my heart for a reason, but I cannot justify bringing back Nate at all. Nate's story could never fit into Redemption for a variety of reasons.
OG Leverage took the experiences Nate had and made a point in every episode why the man does what he does.
OG Leverage was about revenge first and foremost, then doing the right thing after, then building something more.
You know the reason why the stories never mentioned the disabled, the LGBTQ+, or the plain old voiceless of immigrant communities (this one was touched on but not really)?
It's because it wasn't Nate's story to tell. The original message was, if you are in a position where you have been wronged, then you should have the power to make it right. You deserve a second chance. That's why he always dealt with the scammers, the rich white men, the corporate greed, etc. He always tried to give people a second chance from a dumb or honest mistake, or to right someone's wrong.
That's why the Black Book was so important by the end of OG Leverage. It closed Nate's story with the idea that what has been wronged will be righted even if it meant taking a less than legal approach by others who are willing to bring justice to light.
Redemption is not that story. I mean it is, but it isn't. Redemption is the story where those less fortunate, those who are inherently going to lose no matter what they do, get a voice. They deserve a say in how they are treated, and they, as much as the impoverish and the naive, can have the power given back to them.
It's shown with victims like the elderly, the disabled, the people of color, the young who don't quite fit the social norm, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Through Harry Wilson, Redemption also shows us that those with power, need to take responsibility for their actions. It is not enough to fight those in power, but that people like Harry - who do have power, are vitally needed to change the system.
Redemption does not need to see Nate to accomplish this story, but the fact remains that the message Nate started is still here, if not more refined and nuanced than ever before.
Nate should not come back to Redemption because his story was told in OG, and now, a new story can begin where the crew can be expanded and fight for what's right as well as give every victim of an injustice, an opportunity to tell their story as well.
#Something something about Annabeth expecting help from her mother because she was always the perfect kid but getting sent to her own death and Percy expecting nothing because he doesn't believe in his dad and despite everything being saved from death by him
Random stuff I love. Currently obsessed with Lockwood and co. Pls go stream it on Netflix we need season 2!!
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