People who dont have much control over their daytime life refuse to sleep early in order to regain some sense of freedom during latenight hours Thats litteraly me right now. Im disappointed with my unproductivity of today so to cope Im purposely staying up late. Somehow it makes me feel like I havent wasted my day and it gives me a sense of control... Anyways I thought I could try and practice drawing a little to make me feel better but theres only a very restricted amount of things that terrify or hurt me more than failing at drawing so I picked something a little more comfy. Review writting It combines what I hate: working. What I love: animanga. And my passion: content creation. spoilers ig but well since the plot twist of the story is in the title...yeah Reading Sasakikun Has Stopped the Bullet was WEIRD. It was intensly weird partly because this being one of the first one shot of the author it was weird to see an unrefined and less experienced Fujimoto at work lets call that version of him Baby Fujimoto. But it was primarly weird because the whole story is an ode to the ideology Im obsessed with: the nekketsu shounen FRIENDSHIP HARDWORK AND GOALS ACCOMPLISHMENT values. Yes the infamous never give up or power of friendship tropes everyone is fed up with. Fujimotos works being the perfect example of subversion and all it was quite shocking to read something so naive and innocent from him. I guess he really is a boy at heart... So about the story: Sasaki is a middleschooler whos madly in love with his teacher Mrs Kawaguchi. You could already see the patterns in Baby Fujimotos works... 500https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/711862997638971486/1204609157471150080/image.png?ex=65d55ab3is=65c2e5b3hm=1ae4ea3deb03cde7a542d3c6586fb14d7ebac07f4239ed52ad42490ccf800cfb While hes attending her class something happens. A stalker shows up with a gun to get revenge on the teacher. Then she accepts to let him do anything he wants to her as long as he lets the kids alive. Sasaki having no intention to let his poor maiden gets assaulted takes action and stand up between the gun and Mrs Kawaguchi. Inevitably the armed weirdo fires his gun at Sasaki BUT after a random flashback about his father chilling on the moon and talking about dreams with his teacher or whatever the student manages to do the unthinkable: he stops the bullet with his bare right hand right before the impact. This feat ends up being such a flex that he manages to talk his way out of the situation and everything concludes peacefully. This is the most shounen a shounen has ever shounened before. The scenarios believability completely is thrown away in order to let the message shine. Which makes sense though. And Ill show you why. 33https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/711862997638971486/1204600836769189898/image.png?ex=65d552f3is=65c2ddf3hm=08e0eb9dfa047f49d25be1b8a59e6e94b0991f9bd492396597f43c142bdcc253 66https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/711862997638971486/1204600026412884038/image.png?ex=65d55232is=65c2dd32hm=4a911bdc676a73ebe29cee01c74d68ba299bb42950b35ecad186df94aa3b71ec Its more comfortable to qualify hard things to achieve as impossible. Whenever Sasaki brings up his dream about meeting his father on the moon people mock him and say its unfeasible. Solely because one thing is more likely to happen than the other people pretend there can only be one issue. Using maturity and common sense to condition and crucify the dreams of a boy. For sure his dream is bullsht and his father is probably dead somewhere but does that mean he shouldnt try? Should he abandon every of his aspirations whenever they get too crazy or out of the norm? Is he to docilely obey what others tell him to do without ever listening to his own dreams because its more rational this way? 49https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/711862997638971486/1204607968159731812/24o.png?ex=65d55998is=65c2e498hm=78ae861177aeebc19ebca3720451838aa69c85f94acf99273cb7e166973f8a5a= 49https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/711862997638971486/1204607944537145414/23o.png?ex=65d55992is=65c2e492hm=a31c23f1d427944a67a0821f13d9fcfa8182633b3366902852600fb00f437641 Well this is what he does to your stupid rationality. Seriously how powerful is this page spread? Makes no sense its stupid and corny but it just works for me. Baby Fujimoto pushed the believe in yourself ideology to the degree where Sasaki managed to stop a whole rotating bullet just like that. The paneling here is interesting because if youre reading this on a physical volume your eyes will directly see Sasaki first. But since you know thats not how youre supposed to read it youll pretend you havent seen anything and your eyes will go from the first case of the right page to the first case of the left one. Put together it almost look like a continuity of the flow of the movement. But then youll naturally correct yourself by looking down on the first page then your eyes will be attracted once again by the second case of the left page then youll automatically correct yourself to read from top to bottom. And as your eyes shifts from the bullet to the hand it will truly give the impression that he grabbed it right before your eyes. It creates a weird slowed time state where everything is unitied by the drawing of him catching the bullet his fist coming out of the panel. Another example of good storytelling would be this. 500https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/711862997638971486/1204615823482945546/image.png?ex=65d560e8is=65c2ebe8hm=b713147b034687b9659d1c7e60c9ace8d1f4e1dde15250052c6df090b37e8049 This case that seemingly isnt really all that useful at first glance but its actually revelant. Beyond just accentuating on the fact that shes scared it serves as a transition and a way of characterization. We know that Mrs Kawaguchi is very nice charming and devoted but whats not said is that shes very courageous. Her always giving her 100 to be nice and upbeat requires a lot of mental strenght. This case is right before when she announces shell accept the stalkers conditions. It shows how despite her resolve she hesitated a little and she still needeed a physical act to inflate herself before taking that decision. Its also a direct way to introduce her sudden decision and it gives context as to why she gets mad when Sasaki tries to save her later on. Its ruining the efforts she made and the courage she built up. Its also the start of the experimental signature of Fujimoto in which he tries to mimic movies frames by adding multiples panels of an action that would normally require only one panel. Its his style its very pelicular and you can find this a LOT in Chainsaw Man and Goodbye Eri Goodbye Eri takes it to an unholy extent 500https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/711862997638971486/1204624607726800937/image.png?ex=65d56917is=65c2f417hm=1821ca22516bedf6c2d01b8c5485c3d3f5715ee4fe2b7703cab42734cd0c8462 Getting back to the plot its interesting how the antagonist blames all his failures on the teacher. Because he didnt manage to get into his dream school he thinks his life is over. His lack of self confidence conditions him into thinking he cant get back on his feet. Because it is easier to dwell on himself and fetishisize his own misfortune hed rather tell himself hes doomed anyways Thats why our protagonist decides to gaslight the stalker into thinking he was able to stop the bullet because hes from the future. He also says that the stalkers future self will go to prison but hell study hard there until hes freed and one day hell eventually find a job a house and a wife. Because of this lie we can imagine the guy will actually put in the work and act as his future self until it becomes reality. His life might be saved simply because he believed in it. This is Baby Fujimotos way to emphazise the importance of believing in yourself and Im here for it. We have the power to change our fate and stop bullets as long as we believe in it and work hard for it. I needeed that. Im not as hopeful as I was as kid but deep down an important part of me wants me to go out there and just BALL. To work hard towards a goal and to never give up. Alas By deciding not to draw I chose the easier choice. I had a sense of certainty with this review while the possibility of me having to go to bed after messing up multiple drawings sent shivers down my spine. Im doing the contrary of what Im preaching. But now I have the choice to use that as a demoralizing tool or as a propelllant. Im the only deciding if this piece of fiction will serve as mere escapism or fuel to make me try harder. All I know for now is that when I see this panel... 500https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/711862997638971486/1204607785598320660/image.png?ex=65d5596cis=65c2e46chm=f9315267cfbeaba5bc1dbe7e7fe46529ad92a0d4e2872aa2cecc07388159eb9a HELL YEAH KICK LOGIC TO THE CURB DO THE UNTHINKABLE BELIEVE IN YOURSELF BELIEVE IN YOUR DREAMS PIERCE THROUGH THE HEAVENS EAT BULLETS THERES NO TOMORROW ... But I think Im going to sleep now Im like half asleep and I have class not even tomorrow but in some hours now???? So yeah anyways I purposely ignored some elements so go read the one shot NOW. My rating process: the scenario is inexistant the paneling goes hard the drawings gets the job done + 100 BONUS POINTS FOR THE NEVER GIVE UP IDEOLOGY LMAOO nah fr who cares about ratings 500https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/711862997638971486/1204640138286600252/image.png?ex=65d5778eis=65c3028ehm=830c849da3d5a6b6d16cda8f741dca1e70ad336d18f3431f86531ee8f07fdf0b