I Finished Sabaody Archipelago & Amazon Lily!

I had fun drawing Ed as a cookie

truth is, I used to dream about boys like you

jjk atla!au with @philosophiums

dungeon meshi at the gay bar

i feel so passionate everytime i see any form of media that captures tobio's story so well. there's so much more to him than what meets the eye, and when i see an editor/artist/writer understand him so well it makes me so happy!!! kageyama tobio is an incredibly talented AND hardworking character that never gave up on his dreams. even when he felt like an outsider in middle school, lost his grandpa who showed him the world of volleyball, and was terrified to be excluded from a team again, tobio never ONCE gave up on volleyball. tobio knew what he wanted to do with his life and nothing was ever going to change that. he worked hard, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. he became someone thousands could look up to. he grew to be such a fantastic person loved and supported by so many people in haikyuu. he's just such an amazing character that i love dearly <33

skip and loafer has done it again. i am a WRECK. shima has become one of my favorite characters EVER written and this chapter just made my love for him so much stronger. his growth has been highlighted for so many chapters and getting to this moment where the truth of the incident is revealed was incredible. he had buried his true feelings all these years, all for his mother’s sake. younger shima had so much pressure with no way to let it all out for so long. however, because of the new path he has created, he finally had the courage to face his past. he has grown to the point where he can confidently say that he isn’t miserable anymore. that he’s finally okay. he performs for his past self now, to show younger shima that it does get better, that there are happier days to come. stl 68 was so moving, you can read it over and over again and never stop. shima has come such a long way from the beginning and i can’t wait to see what else is in store for him.

robin’s backstory is incredibly heartbreaking but so well written. learning the reason WHY ohara was obliterated while also seeing why robin is the way she is. for 20 years she had been hunted by people and the government without anyone to lean on. she lost the library full of knowledge, the archeologists who supported her, and her mother who she had JUST reunited with. she was only 8 years old when she had the entire world chasing after her.

the scholars of ohara had the ability to read poneglyphs that could explain what happened during the blank history. simply wanting to learn more about history is what caused ohara’s destruction. now robin is the only one in the entire world who can learn about what happened during that time. all because one single person is ABLE to learn about what really happened, the world government put an enormous bounty on her so she could be caught one day.

i have always liked robin’s character because of the small moments where it was clear she wasn’t TRULY evil. all she wanted was to get closer to what her loved ones devoted their lives researching. her life has been far from easy, having to run around finding ways to live. hearing people call her a “devil”, saying she couldn’t be trusted when it was all a way for her to live without getting turned in.

the scene where she finally speaks from the heart, shouting “i want to live” is one of the most beautiful moments in media i have ever seen. although it hasn’t been long, but robin has learned what it means to find people who love her. she has a crew full of people who not only care for her, but who would willingly declare war on the world government just to have her back with them.

all those years of suffering, her childhood of loneliness, having to deal with her trauma, have all led to this one moment. now robin can be true to herself. she can say what she truly wants because she isn’t alone anymore. robin now has friends who are willing to protect her.

so funny how tiny and cute ed is and how he hates that HAHA

they're the same picture

i don’t think i will ever be able to move on from skip and loafer. it’s become such a large part of my life. i am so emotionally invested in the characters and all the storylines. especially shima and mitsumi. these two make me so incredibly emotional every chapter it’s almost embarrassing to admit. i’m so grateful to live at the same time as shimamitsu and skip & loafer!! <3

i’m so glad people are finding this & enjoying it!!! i plan on writing more posts like this for other characters in haikyuu and other mangas :)

kita shinsuke: the modern-day philosopher

one of my favorite things about haikyuu is how realistic the story is and how the messages can be applied to everyone. kita was one of the characters i felt impacted by. of course, many of the characters before kita's introduction impacted me, but kita's philosophy deeply affected me.

kita is a character who played the sport diligently but wasn't in it for the glory. although he was raised by his grandma's words, "someone's always watching," he isn't concerned about being praised by others. being able to do stuff the right way is enough for him. before kita, we've been introduced to many characters who are willing to do anything to win and continue playing volleyball in the future. kita isn't concerned about any of that. playing to the best of his abilities and doing it correctly is more than enough.

the importance of daily maintenance is something i will always think of when i see kita. he takes care of his body, cleans up, respects his traditions, and practices volleyball daily. it's a routine he follows every day without fail. to many, this seems tedious. doing the same thing everyday without a break? without fail? without anything to gain from it? most people wouldn't bother to use as much time and effort as kita does for no desired result. i'm one of the many that find it hard to keep up a routine, especially if it requires so much consistency and effort. but kita does it without complaint, without fail, and finds genuine joy in it.

but even though kita didn't care about people's approval, the moment he was offered the captain's jersey brought him to tears. whether he cared or not, his efforts to improve himself did not go unnoticed. all that time he spent cleaning, taking care of his body, honoring tradition, and practicing volleyball led to this moment. but kita never had a goal in mind. being chosen as captain is a high achievement, but kita didn't join the team to eventually have this honor. he did what he believed was the best thing to do, and being chosen as captain was simply the result of his effort.

this panel changed everything for me. i even used this as my college graduation quote because i have such a heavy attachment to this scene.

kita didn't do all his daily practices to gain anything. he did them because it felt right, doing his best no matter what was more important to him.

i have a habit of always determining my worth based on the results. if i don't get a good enough grade, i see my effort as useless; if i'm not praised for something, then i feel i'm not doing my best; if all my efforts don't give me the results i want, i see my time spent as wasted but reading this scene changed everything for me.

the time you spend bettering yourself is more valuable than a result. after all, the only reason you get a good result in the first place is because of your time and dedication to your work. even though kita was emotional about his hard work being seen and rewarded, his goal wasn't to become captain. at the end of the day, he spent all this time doing things for himself.

the little things I do every day might not be valuable in the grand scheme of things; the time I spend dedicating myself to anything makes me who I am. the small, everyday things make us who we are. we care for our bodies, study or work, unwind, and prepare meals for ourselves. It doesn't lead to anything extraordinary, but it does matter. it matters because it's who we are. every little thing we do is a part of us, and the good or bad things that come with it are simply the results of what we decide to do.

kita's philosophy of doing things right because it's the right thing to do is simple, yet it's one of the lessons of haikyuu that has stuck with me the longest. we, as people, believe we need to produce results that have meaning to us, but devoting ourselves to daily tasks is essential to who we are as people and how we live our lives. we do the things we do because they are necessary, and the outcomes that follow are just byproducts.

kita is such an important character to me, and I wish this rant could do him some justice. all in all, kita shinsuke, you are the greatest philosopher of our time.