megane-kun

A source close to the Pope told CNN that the phrase could also be understood as there is a “gay climate” in the seminaries.

I wonder why… Surely it isn’t because a seminary is a good place for a confused, self-hating homosexual to be in, right? Surely it isn’t because being gay was seen as so anathema in Catholic-dominant societies that the seminary seems to be a sanctuary, right?

Indeed. Translating from Japanese is hard, even more so Japanese that involve figurative expressions and idioms (that are already usually hard to translate to and from any language to begin with).

Hate is such a strong word. But yes. The real world can get really tiring sometimes.

With that out of the way, off to my tangent. There’s probably two parts to explaining why there’s a lot of isekai works out there.

It is easy to write. It’s easy for the writer to basically insert themselves into their works. That way, they would have a far easier time working through the main character’s motivations, actions and reactions. Isekai also makes it easier for the writer to worldbuild. They can just do an anything goes setting with a god who specifically made the world in whatever way that’s most convenient to the writer. That is, lazy writing. That is not to say this means all isekai is bad, but rather, since it’s easy to write, there’s bound to be a lot of people who’d give it a go.

It’s easy to read. A lot of the isekai works I’ve read so far has been the type where I can just check out my brain at the entrance and dive in. A lot of this has to do with the kind of isekai I read, but with a setting that’s anything goes, and an MC‌ that I can relate to, I can easily snuggle into the work and pretend. Yes, it’s escapism, and I don’t think the genre as a whole has any pretentions otherwise.

As far as I’m concerned, isekai as a genre is like potato chips. It’s unhealthy, even not that interesting culinarily, but it’s also something I would love to indulge in from time-to-time. Add to that a tub of vanilla ice cream as a dip (probably a hot take) and I’m set for a relaxing night watching isekai. (Of course, the next morning, I’m back to the real world and all its shit).

“Going into Happyland” sounds like a great euphemism. I’m going to steal it if you don’t mind.

And that’s perhaps the most peaceful peace. A‌ peace only nothingness can bring.

There are other options other than this one that requires permission. The article mentions her reasons to choose this method.

From the article:

She had thought about taking her own life but the violent death by suicide of a schoolfriend and its impact on the girl’s family deterred her.

Whether we agree with her or not, it’s her decision.

And while I don’t think that’s exactly what you meant, it’s how it comes across. Almost all of your points are some variation of who’s gonna pay for their treatment and take care of their physical needs.

Indeed, that’s not what exactly what I meant. Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt.

My main point can be summarized in that second to the last paragraph, which I doubt has communicated things adequately.

To reiterate: it won’t be initiated by the medical professionals. They’re simply there to ensure that someone applying for this procedure are indeed “proceeding of their own accord and have made sure options have been considered”. The waiting period is there to make sure that not only they’ve arrived at this decision after careful deliberation, but also to force them to consider and try out the options available to them. The process can be terminated at any point by the patient, and the final step will not proceed without their permission.

My point is that mental illness is much less understood than physical illness, and I wouldn’t trust any diagnosis that said the condition could never be resolved.

I accept this point. This is why I‌ put the emphasis on the decision of the patient. And this is where I think our positions fundamentally differ. Promising treatments may or may not be there, may or may not be there in the immediate or far future, but it’s on the patient to consider. The medical professionals are there to ensure that the patient has considered available options, and have exerted reasonable effort to improve their situation. Whether or not the patient has made “the correct decision” isn’t the point—but rather whether or not the patient has made an informed and well-thought-out decision.

I share your opinion that in an ideal world, this shouldn’t even be needed. That even though the option would be there for anyone to take, no one will take it in an ideal world. But we are not in such an ideal world. We can strengthen our social safety nets to help people suffering from the debilitating effects of mental illness (among other sources of suffering), and that will do a lot of good, but until we arrive at a society which no longer needs a dignified exit because no one ever wants to exit, I am of the opinion of giving them that option.

Ah, thanks for that clarification. That much I can agree with in general.

This might be a hot take for an anime enjoyer, but what immunity are they talking about here? Immunity against nudity? Fanservice?

I’m leaning more towards “people losing immunity towards nudity (in shows)” but that’s one extreme. If every show on Earth has people fully-clothed, covered from hair to toe, and porn is relegated to an extreme taboo that one would go to great lengths and at great risk to access (kinda like Shimoneta, I‌ guess?) then maybe? But even then, sex is such a human need that people will find ways.

Now, this might be a wild shot in the dark, but if they’re talking about lack of fanservice leading to people not having sex, uh… Japan has a lot of problems with young people not having enough children, but I don’t think lack of fanservice has anything to do with it, and more about the pressures and bleak prospects.

IDK, I‌ just don’t get it and maybe someone who has access to the original interview quoted here can clarify things?

I share a lot of your questions about this, but the following parts made me uncomfortable agreeing with you:

People who are seeking death are rarely in the kind of headspace where I think they are able to meaningfully consent to that?

And this feels meaningfully different than the case of a 90yo who’s body is slowly failing them. This is an otherwise healthy young person.

She has the following to say about that: “People think that when you’re mentally ill, you can’t think straight, which is insulting.”

Mental illness is an illness, and can be chronic and progressive. They can cause someone to be unable to carry on living, maintaining a livelihood, afford their own medication, psychiatric visits and therapy that they would need to even want to live in the first place. That’s not even to go into the absolute hell people in such situations can go through everyday.

We can debate on what constitutes “a well-thought-out decision that takes into consideration every available option” and I would actually say that one should give those options a try, but to deny that a mentally ill person can make their own EOL decisions makes me terribly uncomfortable.

In my opinion, sure, there should be a waiting period, to filter out those chronic episodes that lead to spur-of-the moment impulses, or decisions that are strongly linked to temporary conditions. This waiting period can be used to think things through, prove that they’ve tried means available to them, or even give them the chance to try the means they wouldn’t have had access to otherwise (like specialized help, therapy that wouldn’t have been available to them, etc). Now, I think what happens next is up to these medical professionals: do they deem one’s condition to be intractable and no amount of medication and therapy and counseling can make a difference? If they deem the situation to be hopeless, and the patient agrees, then yeah, the patient can make their exit. Otherwise, the medication, therapy, counseling or whatever it is that they’ve been trying should continue. If funds are needed for this to continue, then so be it. Those people who want to be no exits can be counted upon to fund this, right? Those people denying exit should put their money where their mouths are.

If signing up to an EOL waiting list could be the way for people to consider their situation and try out things that might help them, then so be it.

Oh, sorry, I’ve been rambling. My point is, yeah, there should be a waiting period that would double as a chance for people to get the help they need (but don’t have access to or maybe the motivation to). And more importantly, that anyone, and I mean anyone (okay, there’d be a triage system in place, but just allow everyone in, and sort them out once they’re in) can sign up.

The way I imagine things would go is I can just walk into some office, inform the person in the counter that I want to have a passport to neverwhere, and they’d ask me to file some paperwork and after a few days, I’d be in a clinic where someone would perform a psychological check-up on me, and do some interviews. Then after a few more days, some doctor will be informing me of my diagnosis and options—or perhaps just flat out saying I’m completely mentally healthy and my petition is denied (if I’m lucky maybe given a list of people to contact to help with my problems). If I’m continuing the process, then I’d choose which option I want, go with the treatment or other, and like, hopefully continue until I can manage my situation with minimal help!

Do we really need people to sign up for a passport to the great beyond just to get the help they need? No, in an ideal world, there shouldn’t even be a need for this. But in this kind of world we live in, I think allowing people to safely cross the streams with dignity and peace of mind (after giving it a good try, and concluding that it really can’t be helped) is a small kindness society can give to the suffering.

EDIT: Some proofreading.

Rule of thirds, framing, and leading lines are the ones taught to me when I first took interest in photography. It’s been really helpful to me, but it’s really the rule of thirds really that stuck to me.

I guess cameras having those rule of thirds (or fifths) guide lines helped a lot too.

That was a clean ending, most loose ends tied up (Ivy’s starless status and Ciel’s existence being made known being made known to trusted people, as well as Sora’s origins), but with just enough leeway for another season.

I am not sure how far the source material has gone and whether or not it is enough for another season or two, but I fear they made the ending this way because they aren’t sure there might be another season after all.

The “postman arc” in the manga (though I think it’s multiple arcs under a bigger arc–but they’re unrelated, at least it seems at the start) really felt like a huge drag. Every town they passed by had a little arc of its own, some entertaining, some just felt meh. A hypothetical S2 might take some of those little arcs, perhaps two or three towns as they make their way. S3 could probably feature the rest of the way to their destination, but idk, at the rate the manga is being published, there might be just enough for an 2-cour S2, but not by much.

Definitely! The only reason I‌ put it on hold is that it got so raw and close to home that I had to stop watching for a while. Kinda embarrassing, but in a way, a statement to how good it is.

There’s already quite a lot of good recommendations here. I’ll just add another voice recommending Kino’s Journey and To Your Eternity.

Also, I’d say don’t expect Frieren levels of polish and awesomeness with the recommendations given, as Frieren is just a different level altogether (with lots of deserved hype).

As for my own recommendations? Let’s see:

• Aria the Animation, Natural, and Origination — this is but one anime series with three seasons of varying length. Every episode is more or less self-contained, but the characters develop slowly over the span of a lot of episodes (I counted 72 for all three seasons, could be wrong though). In a way, the character growth and exploration here is more comparable to real life. The pacing might be a bit too slow for a lot of people though. and the overall tone might be a bit too sweet for some. There’s some world-building here, but it’s really subtle at times—with the episodes focusing instead on the everyday and sometimes, the supernatural goings-on around the city the characters live in.

• Natsume Yuujinchou [Nastume’s Book of Friends] — six seasons of varying lengths. This is also mostly episodic with some character growth happening but the kind that you’d easily miss just watching the episodes. This one, however, has more supernatural themes, but also touches on how the youkai (non-human entities–to put things simply) differ from humans not only in mindset, but also in their perception of time.

• Mushishi — I haven’t yet watched this one in its entirety, but this is favorably compared to Natsume Yuujinchou, and so it might hit the same notes as that one.

Thanks! I had to do something to make the titles stand out since it’s just a huge wall of text otherwise. I also can’t be sure how it’d be rendered in other Lemmy frontends so, yeah! glad it turned out okay.

My warning backfired then. It’s actually just a cutesy animal thing with a lot of unfortunate implications baked in (and totally unintended at that).

I watched the show precisely because it looked like a cutesy animal thing, but yeah~ that certainly colored my opinion of it.

but when there’s a hidden boss you goddamn better grind a lot and level up to even have a remote chance, damn your skills and all that

HAHA! That pretty much sums up my own personal experience in fighting hidden bosses in FF7, FF8 and FF9. Not sure if there’s still such a tradition in more modern FF games tho. But man, I remember having to grind card games in FF8 just to gather enough cards to turn into consumable items just to give me a chance of lasting so many turns in the Omega Weapon fight. In FF9, I had to play that stupid Chocobo minigame for hours on end just to gather the materials. Ahem. I’m rambling. But yeah, I agree. Grinding is but the start with such hidden bosses. You grind for levels, you grind for equipment, you grind for materials and consumables all for a chance of defeating the hidden boss.

Going back on topic though, thinking about it from the author’s POV, it might be more helpful if they don’t give specific numbers or even a narrow range of figures to keep their options open (the LN is still ongoing, right).

My takeaway here is that Game Yumiella is pretty much possible to beat given enough patience, lol!

Just grind way past level 70, outfit your party with the best gear in the game, and you’re good to go! But then again, everyone making a big deal about how Our Yumiella has reached level 99 may perhaps mean that gaining levels above a certain point (let’s just assume level 60) the exp needed to gain one level is so insane, and mobs don’t give enough exp.

I’m just spitballing here though, but I’m glad that my quick guess from what we’re given in the anime (and some basic assumptions) doesn’t seem that far off.

EDIT: Fixed misleading punctuation.

Ahh, I see~

If I am remembering the first episode correctly, it was only after the MC realized that they isekaied into Yumiella that they started to grinding to level 99. If I am going by my earlier estimate of level 75 for the demon lord, Yumiella should be a few handful of levels above that, but perhaps not at the level cap.

But then again, from my experience of JRPGs, hidden bosses are way harder than end-of-story content. For example, Omega Weapon is way harder than Ultimecia in Final Fantasy 8. If we’re taking that into account, Yumiella might as well be at the level cap and then her stats artificially pumped up to increase the difficulty. She’d then spam the hell out of her abilities just to keep the players on their toes or something.