Contact information/Availability

I'm nearly always on IRC (exceptions being for power/internet failure). If I'm on as one of my characters (Momoko, Nagi, Yousuke), I'm at the computer and can hear pings. If I have an away nick up that says something like "Momo|(animetitlegoeshere)", I'm at the computer and can hear your pings. If I have "MomoSleepie" or "MomoNap" up, I'm asleep and cannot be reached at the moment. If I have "MomoPizza" or "MomoThaHD" up, I'm at one of my jobs and won't be reachable for a few hours. Since I only work one job a day, whenever I get back from that job, I'm free.

If I disappear from IRC for several days, you can reach my boyfriend either at asakura_akio or on http://www.violetandgold.com/psu. I can always be reached at sailorN1@aol.com as long as I'm in posession of a computer, and am pretty prompt at replying to e-mails. I am generally online between 4pm and 10pm, depending on when I get off work. If I have MomoPizza as my away nick in IRC, I'll be on at 9pm. And then I'm generally on all night. :3

Weekly List

People I intend to have Yousuke talk to weekly:

- Momoko (duh |D)
- Francescu
- Usagi
- Ami
- Gohan
- Kyou
- Mika
- Nakatsu

Monthly List

People I intend to have Yousuke talk to on a bi-weekly/monthly basis:

- Shuichi
- Hiroshi
- Yuusuke
- Trunks
- Nanba
- Jr
If I forgot you and you wanna be on here (because I am forgetful like a forgetful thing), PLEASE poke me and remind me? I promise it's not 'cause I don't value you, it's just 'cause I suck at remembering things. |D

I promised I'd do this as soon as I got in... and then got buried by four big event posts almost immediately. O-Oops?

Anyway, this post is about Anime vs Manga! But Momousuke, you say, why not just say one is clearly superior and just play strictly from that canon? Well, that's a very invovled question and I'm glad you asked, mysterious voice in my head! :Db

Basically, the manga and anime are practically identical (except for stylistic changes, like Daisy Blizzard actually FREEZING THINGS in the anime) up until a certain point. While the anime works better to provide you with well-spaced personality tidbits and various quirks of the characters, the manga will give you a much clearer voice for them (unless you're reading that scanlation, in which Yousuke sounds vaguely Yugoslavian, and that's all you get for a voice). The point that the anime and manga diverge, however, really only affects three characters very deeply - LET'S DISCUSS THIS!

Uragano

Uragano is at the heart of the difference. The entire root of the divergent canons is actually all about Uragano - in the anime, he stays a goody two-shoes after discovering the power of love, and refuses to go fight for Reiney when she calls him back. Pissed that her strongest demon would rather fuck his wife and play pattycake with his kid than go out and kill some fucking angels, Reiney has her 'children' send him to sleep with some fishies. In the manga, however, Uragano never loses his ability to be FUCKING BADASSED, and goes back when Reiney tells him to. SMILING, EVEN~ :Db Manga!Uragano loves killing him some angels, yes he does~

Sure, this doesn't sound like much, but it brings us to...

Yousuke

Yousuke's motivation regarding his Dad is the main difference between the manga and anime for him. Both manifest in the same way - being argumentive and badly adjusted - but coming from opposite ends. In the manga, Yousuke resents his father for abandoning him and his mother (almost to the point of a mild Oedipus complex l-lol), going so far as to try to kill him to protect his mother from seeing the kind of person he really is. In the anime, he seems much less close to his mom, instead idolizing his absent father and cherishing the tiny bell he left him as a child. In fact, as it turns out, the entire anime winds up being about redeeming the honor of Yousuke's tribe (okay, not really, BUT VERY VERY CLOSE TO IT).

Potamos

Potamos' fate is another notable difference. While in the anime she leaves before Viento is even revelaed, in the manga, she works closely with him and his father. She also learns how to let something you love go, instead going on to become a relatively normal, boy-and-money chasing teenage girl. In the manga, however, she throws herself between Uragano and Yousuke, sacrificing herself for his sake. The same sort of sentiment is present in the anime, the timing is just wrong. Honestly, I believe the mangaka just ran out of room to write Potamos out of the script (much like she admitted to with Reiney) and decided to kill her off instead. :/

Other than these things, there's not much difference between anime and manga. One fits well inside of the other, and story concepts are often interchangable, with only a few details being swapped (like whether Scarlett is a full angel, or just a reincarnated one). And really, the only chars who'd have to declare out of the gate whether they were manga or animeverse would be Yousuke and Scarlett - everyone else could functionally be from either version.

Time to expound a bit on demons and the origins of their powers! Ready? AWESOME!

Basically, Viento and Potamos use their powers with the aid of something called a Wave of Hatred (if you think in terms of radiation waves, it'll hurt a little less, trust me). What this means, in layman's terms, is that their super-special-awesome-chocolatey-fudge-coated powers of AWESOME are drawn from the power of hatred. How does that even work?

Viento, like other demons, generates and uses his own wave - basically, you could refer back to Domon Kashuu and take all of his pain, anger, etc, for a demonic version of a Shining Finger. SERIOUSLY, THOUGH, one of two things generally triggers Yousuke's transformation into Viento in both the anime and manga - either he gets angry enough to produce his wave (ala The Hulk) or another demon stops by and donates/drops some wave on him.

Unlike angels, demons can not only use their own wave, they can transfer it to and from humans and one another. Early in the series, Jama-P is seen spreading a wave among the attendants at a wedding hall and Aquelda hands out hate-possessing tickets. Later in the series, we see familiars that can transform love waves into hate (although I'm assuming this isn't a power they all possess, since no one else really does this) and that can suck the hatred out of humans, once generated. Lastly, there's Katushya, who is sent to revive Viento - it's basically her job to give Yousuke Evil!Steroids until he turns into Viento.

While the absence of an innate Love Wave will weaken and eventually drain an angel (aforementioned love-wave-transforming demon hits Momoko with his vaccum ray - yeah, I know - and she goes down in an ep), the same is not true of a demon and their Hate Wave. A demon can go without their hatred entirely for years - as evidenced by both Uragano and Yousuke living normal human lives (no one ever said they wouldn't be dysfunctional). Jama-P and Potamos are also purified - instead of disappearing into the Wild Blue Yonder, they give up their evil ways and live as a... yellow... puffball... thing and a normal girl, respectively (anime only l-lol).

The downside to this is that, you guessed it, the demon will not have the same level of power. Which is not to say they're powerless entirely - Yousuke forms barriers in times of great distress and for no other reason than to protect Momoko at certain points throughout the series (in the manga, it seems they're formed more out of anger, less so in the anime). In the next-to-last episode of the anime, he even pulls that neat "I'ma generate enormous power with MAH LOVE" trick you just saw Friday! No, I can't really explain it either, except that all devils likely possess SOME inherent power, which is magnified greatly by their negative emotions.

Finally, Uragano's speech in the anime seems to hint at that possibility as well, stating that before Reine Devilla came along, the Demon World was composed of several different tribes, each leaving the others alone, and that power was the ultimate means of authority. The Rafaal, Yousuke's folks, were pretty much the top o' the heap l-lol. From this, it seems like the demons were more likely just indigenous Japanese-style water, rock, fire, and wind spirits (fun fact: each demon belongs to one of those four elements. Yes, even the ones shaped like alarm clocks and soccer balls) that were inundated with Reine Devilla's abundant Wave of Hatred.

Which just goes to show that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. L-LOL CLICHES.