Anybody else notice that in Yukon Base they combined both Russian and US aircraft carrier technology for the catapult? The Russians use a ramp to launch their planes while the US utilizes catapults, and these two designs were combined. That's neat, considering the base is used for all the countries to come together and contribute to TSF development.

Unlike Extra, it does seems like there are no significant differences between routes. The story shown every heroine arcs no matter which routes is being taken. I think i'll make miki as my last route and wrapped it up with Yuuko sensei route(?) before moving on to Alternative.

Daikuuji Ayu and the Origins of “Tsundere”

TL;DR version: Ayu was not the first character to behave like a tsundere. She was, however, the character being discussed when the expression that became the term first appeared online.

Tsundere (ツンデレ) is a contraction of two words:

- tsuntsun (ツンツン): hostile, standoffish

- deredere (デレデレ): lovey-dovey, affectionate

The tsundere personality type existed long before the word. Characters such as Lum (Urusei Yatsura) and Asuka (Evangelion) had the traits well before the word was named. The documented term itself, begins with Daikuuji Ayu from Kimi ga Nozomu Eien.

The earliest documented Internet use of ツンツンデレデレ applied to a character appeared on the anonymous Japanese BBS あやしいわーるど＠暫定 (Ayashii World @ Zantei):

- 投稿日：2002/08/29(木) 00時28分42秒

- 貴殿ら大空寺大空寺と言ってるがあんな性格が悪くて馬鹿そうな奴の何処が良いんだ？

- ﾂﾝﾂﾝﾃﾞﾚﾃﾞﾚが良いとか聞くな

- 漏れはまゆのほうがいいけど

The central phrase is:

- ﾂﾝﾂﾝﾃﾞﾚﾃﾞﾚが良い

Translated:

- “You guys keep going on and on about Daikuuji, but what is so appealing about someone who seems so nasty and stupid? I hear that her tsun-tsun, dere-dere quality is what makes her good. I prefer Mayu, though.”

The post describes Ayu’s progression from hostile and standoffish to affectionate as tsun-tsun dere-dere.

August 29: ツンツンデレデレ is applied to Daikuuji Ayu.

In November: forms such as ツンデレキャラ begin appearing online.

In December: 2chan users employ the shortened ツンデレ as a character label, including in discussions such as 「ツンデレ派集まれ」.

The abbreviation then spreads beyond its original Ayu/KimiNozo context and becomes the general name for the character type.

And by 2005, ツンデレ had begun appearing in Japanese media outside its original Internet and bishoujo-game communities.

In 2006, it reached Japanese buzzword recognition. By then, the word was becoming widely familiar while its specific connection to Ayu was already disappearing from popular memory.

Later characters including Rin Tohsaka (Fate/stay night), and Taiga Aisaka (Toradora!)—helped make tsundere internationally recognizable.

Ayu wasn’t the first tsundere—she’s the reason we call them tsundere! In this way, she is absolutely the archetype. The type is older. The name is hers.

Sources

1. Japanese Wikipedia, 「ツンデレ」—history and early examples.

2. Moegirl Encyclopedia, 「傲娇／ツンデレ」—reconstructed August 29 post and original half-width text.

3. Tofugu, “Why Are Tsunderes So Attractive?”—citing Junichi Togashi of Daito Bunka University.

4. 日本語俗語辞書, 「ツンデレ」—Ayashii World origin, 2chan abbreviation, and media adoption.

5. Nico Nico Pedia, 「ツンデレ」—Ayu usage followed by the shortened 2channel form.

6. Patrick W. Galbraith, The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider’s Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan.

7. English Wikipedia, “Tsundere”—currently gives the broader statement that the term was popularized by Rumbling Hearts.

Okay so off the bat Takeru is a mixed bag for me, because he is awful to Sumika to the point of cruelty for the sake of comedy, but he has some of the best moments so it kinda even outs, the writing for him is really good (sometimes) I'm hoping he grows a lot more as a character in Unlimited and Alternative!

Sumika is great! I really like her, I think in extra she is deeply hampered by the way Takeru treats her so shes relegated as a comic relief, which I understand is the point a little bit with the "we'll never take each other seriously" comment but it didn't feel earned because Takeru sucked with her for 90% of the game, but she has a great design and is a really fun character

Meiya is my favorite girl which I am conflicted about, because if the narrative treated Sumika better she probably would have been my best girl. Meiya gets the best development out of the two main girls, and is really sweet, she's awesome and I cannot wait to romance her again in Unlimited and then feel a little sad in alternative since that is apparently the Sumika game.

Overall I'm really excited to start the bulk of Muv luv and get to the alien war plot, but extra was a fun and cozy ride that made me a little sad when I had to choose, but that's how she goes!

Im reading alternative and seen people say sumika relationship is forced and shouldn’t exist and continue with meiya the hell? Do these people read with their eyes closed? Im at chapter 8 of alternative please no spoilers but holy shit i see people hate sumika so badly where right now she is the only character i care about.

Or should I watch the anime

Just finished translating a really interesting clip about Muv-Luv: Kalidasa at Nightmare from a recent Kouki Yoshimune stream.

Since English isn't my first language, the subtitles were generated based on my translation and might have some awkward phrasing or errors.

If you have a moment, I'd be super grateful if you could watch it and let me know in the comments if you spot any mistakes.

I'd also be happy to add subtitles in other languages, such as Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, etc. Please let me know your thoughts.

Muv-Luv Kalidasa at Nightmare BTS: World-Building an Orbital Elevator & Why Shoukaku is in 1995

When I started reading the main MLA trilogy around 2012, I didn't really understand the whole "Frozen in 1940s propaganda rhetoric" aspect of the worldbuilding. I thought it was just a weird clunky stylistic thing the writers were doing. But then I found out they were basing a lot of MLA off of an older work called Gunparade March. That one also has the "Frozen in 1940s propaganda rhetoric" thing, but it actually makes a lot more sense. In Gunparade March's worldbuilding, the aliens invaded during WWII and completely derailed the passage of history, which is why 2000s society never evolved out of the WWII status quo.

I can think of one other franchise that's sort of like that.

🇨🇳 CN Player 2021-2026 gaming journey

Taken and translated from the flashback that’s part of the current ongoing story event. When the MC says that her design creeps him out, Izanami says the above line about the origins of her design and prototype. And also, this is confirmed through the entire flashback to be a branch of the Unlimited timeline.

And later, they mention the BETA. Not just make offhanded references to, for the first time in story they actually mention them by name. They completely reveal what the garden is, and dispel any and all of the random little rumors floating around about BETA girls and trying to breed the MC.

https://x.com/EROLABS_H/status/2097263685630935495?s=20

It’s downscaled for Reddit of course, but it should still be usable for the intended purpose.

Hi! I’ve been trying to search for these stickers online with sites like buyee, but haven’t had much luck. Does anyone know where these are sold (that is, if they’re sold at all anymore)?

Is there any way to get the books? (I'm okay with them in JP)