(no subject)

[skygiants]

For the 17th, bookblather asked about the thing that should have a fandom MOST and inexplicably doesn't have one, which means: IT'S TIME TO TALK ABOUT 7 SEEDS AGAIN. >:D >:D >:D

So for those of you who don't remember when I fell head over heels a year and a half ago, 7 Seeds is a manga about a bunch of teenagers who have just woken up to find themselves in a bizarre and terrifying post-apocalyptic Japan full of things that want to eat them. These kids -- carefully selected for their skills and arranged to wake up in groups of seven, plus one adult helper -- basically represent the last, most stupid, and most implausible plan of a whole bunch of really stupid and implausible plans developed to save humanity from METEORIC DOOM.

Bear in mind that when I say "carefully selected for their skills," I mean most of them are like "THE BEST TEEN BASEBALL PLAYER IN JAPAN" or "THE BEST PIANIST IN JAPAN" or "KNOWS THE MOST LANGUAGES IN JAPAN." Real useful apocalyptic skills here!

Then of course there is Team Failboat, who were selected for being the most socially maladjusted children in Japan, because our genre-savvy sinister mastermind did not want to gamble against the possibility that the only way to save the future would be to bank on a Wacky Band of Misfits.

7 Seeds has everything. It HAS EVERYTHING. A short list of stuff that fandom SHOULD LOVE that 7 Seeds includes:

- hilariously implausible doomsday scenarios!
- teamwork and friendships!
- kickass female characters!
- assholes who turn out to be surprisingly lovable!
- a ZOMBIE PLOT!
- a HUNGER GAMES PLOT!
- a PLOT about EVIL MUSHROOMS THAT GROW ON CROCODILES!
- infinite numbers of attractive teenagers to smush against each other in infinite combinations!
- plus a lot of CUTE PUPPIES!

In addition, a short list of stuff that I love that 7 Seeds includes:

- an incredibly diverse array of female characters who have really important relationships with each other!
- character development! in spades! for everyone!
- really thoughtful and well-done handling of trauma and abuse and cycles of abuse and the recovery process!
- teenagers who have realistic short-term crushes and then move on without having it be the source for endless angst!

There are a lot of things I love that I wouldn't wish a fandom on, because a fandom would probably do terrible things. But -- maybe optimistically -- I don't feel that way about 7 Seeds! There is just so much POTENTIAL. Like, okay, yes, probably if fandom did ever glom onto 7 Seeds, sixty to seventy percent of the resulting fanworks would be variations on dudeslash starring Awful Angry Ango, because that's just how fandom rolls. But I could ignore that and focus on the remaining 30%, which would be TEAM-BUILDING FIC and backstory fic and "today everyone has to face a new and EVEN MORE RIDICULOUS PERIL!"-fic and ridiculous AU fic and, like, silly crossover fic and some hilariously random pairing fics and at least a FEW amoral architect lesbian fics. AND IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL. I would be so happy!

Comments

[skygiants]

YES YES PLEASE

every time I convince someone else to read 7 Seeds an amoral lesbian builds another house

[jinian]

*dead*

[remindmeofthe]

omg

Arashi: MY GIRLFRIEND IS DELICATE AND FRAIL AND NEEDS MY PROTECTION
Hana: *dives off a cliff to escape some cannibals, nbd*

Yes good thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[skygiants]

HAHAHAHA OMG HANA IS THE BEST ACTION HERO.

Later on some people meet Arashi after meeting Hana and are just like ".....Hana is a formidable woman of iron nerves! This dude is running away from bugs. WE DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS RELATIONSHIP."

[remindmeofthe]

SIMON & GARFUNKEL SONGFIC

[skygiants]

THEY MADE HIM AN OCARINA

OUT OF A POTATO

[remindmeofthe]

I have a lot of questions about the dudes (you know they were dudes) who set this whole thing up.

Why not straight-up tell the guides exactly where they would be emerging from?

Who says, "It may be decades or even centuries before they awaken and discover these precious caches of supplies! Yeah, let's throw some canned food in there, that should work out okay."

Why'd they skimp on hiring someone who would have pointed out that actually, yeah, throwing in some novels and some manga would be a good call, because people need entertainment of some kind to keep from losing their goddamn minds?

Who the fuck thought the misogynist who signed up for war so he could deal some violence would be a good leader???

I don't expect any answers to exist, and if they do, I don't want them now. I'm just excited to have someone already available to flail at as I read something new, because I usually don't and the questions collect in my brain until I risk hitting critical mass.

[skygiants]

I have no answers for these questions. But PLEASE KEEP FLINGING QUESTIONS AT ME ANYWAY. >:D

(But yeah, I mean, one thing I kind of love is that it's VERY CLEAR it was dudes who set the whole thing up and the manga is VERY AWARE THAT THAT WAS TERRIBLE.)

[remindmeofthe]

Whoops, next time I'll hit refresh before I comment.

But that's awesome, I love reading stuff that's self-aware like that. :D

[remindmeofthe]

yessss do I get to critique fictional portrayal of baseball I can't wait

[skygiants]

so much baseball

SO MUCH BASEBALL

[remindmeofthe]

YAY

[remindmeofthe]

BOO I forgot I wouldn't know whether things were stupid or just a cultural difference, so I don't know what to make fun of. :(

I may have to read up on Japanese baseball culture. For now I'll settle happily on side-eyeing the translation, just like I've been doing off and on anyway. :D

[remindmeofthe]

Actually, I've decided that chasing a dogwolf away with the power of baseball renders any mangaka immune to critique. It's a rule now.

Still wanna look up Japanese baseball culture, tho.

[remindmeofthe]

HEY TRANSLATORS IT IS OKAY TO SAY THAT THE BASES WERE LOADED AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD THEY ARE NOT CALLED POINTS THIS ISN'T FUCKING BASKETBALL

*gets distracted for the next ten minutes from both ranting and crucial juncture in 7S narrative by looking up Japanese baseball terminology* I don't know why fandom thinks sports fans are so different, we're all equally obsessive.

SO YEAH can't find any indication that the idea of a run should be translated as "run" OR "point" so I guess I have a lot of feelings about defaulting to the most recognizable terminology in a translation when there's nothing more specifically accurate?

But then we are talking about people who apparently couldn't look up the spellings of "Clemens" or "Rodriguez," SO WHATEVER oh my god I will try not to spend too many comments going on about baseball minutiae SEE WHAT I MEAN about a fan being a fan regardless of the media type???

the bases were "FILLED" fucking fill this

[remindmeofthe]

noooo i want the stupid baseball words back

i wont complain about them anymore i swear

[remindmeofthe]

OH SURE NOW THEY GET IT RIGHT

[skygiants]

I KNEW THIS COMMENT WAS COMING. ;___;

The thing is I don't even HAVE any particular feelings about baseball. Or DIDN'T HAVE. And now suddenly I CAN'T NOT BECAUSE IT'S SYMBOLIC OF FEELINGS ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE

[remindmeofthe]

AUGH.

And then just when you think you've escaped that particular story without crying yourself into severe hydration, BAM. Names and pictures of the kids who never even woke up.

Now I'm in the last few chapters of Battle Royale On Steroids, and I have SO MANY questions, but they pretty much all boil down to me being sure that traumatizing the kids who are the hope for humanity's future so badly that the happiest among them turns into a vengeful would-be murderer should work out JUST FINE, I see no problems there.

[skygiants]

Look, Team Failboat was one contingency plan, and TEAM TRAUMATIZED MURDERBOTS is another contingency plan! GOTTA PREPARE FOR EVERYTHING er. Koruri will learn to appreciate her good luck in making it to the future ... someday ...

(Koruri :( :( :( MAYU :( :( :()

[remindmeofthe]

Ugh, Mayu has the additional sad factor for me of having the same name of another horribly-killed character from another canon (Corpse Party, which is more corpses than parties) who has become one of my favorites. I was instantly attached to this Mayu because of the name and I knew it was a bad idea but I couldn't help myself.

[remindmeofthe]

Ugh.

"Gengoro just had to painfully put down his beloved pet, but how do I make this all about me?"

taking a bullet to the face would be an acceptable start

Guess who my new favorite character isn't. I was on the fence for awhile because I didn't want to be biased by the comments I read here, but this chapter decided me quite nicely.

[remindmeofthe]

Oh, good, Hana's cut off all her hair. Because there weren't enough blond(e) characters with short, fluffy hair for me and my hideous memory for faces to keep track of.

(No, really, here's how bad I am at faces: When I first started watching Friends, I couldn't tell Joey and Chandler apart. It's even worse with black and white drawings.)

(Also on the subject of people getting shot in the face: well, it was the wrong dude, and he got shot basically everywhere except the face, but I'll take it. And I can't express how much I loved the stark drawings of all the "winners" as they were being congratulated. I am deeply satisfied with how that arc concluded exactly how it should have.)

[skygiants]

Fortunately you can always tell when it's Hana because she's the one being a BIG DAMN HERO at all times!

(yessss omg that image. That one, and the one of Nijiko with the tea and the skeletons in the background, are I think basically the two best panels artistically speaking in the manga.)

[skygiants]

OH ANGO. I mean the ways in which you are awful are thoroughly understandable, but . . . ANGO. >:(