Meanwhile, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED reached its ninth episode, where one female character in particular began to stir up strong feelings among viewers.
That character was Flay Allster.
Flay was a Natural and the daughter of George Allster, the Atlantic Federation's Deputy Foreign Minister. She had been evacuated in a lifeboat during the attack on Heliopolis and was rescued by Kira's Strike Gundam.
Despite being saved by Kira, Flay was openly hostile toward Coordinators due to her father's influence. At Artemis Military Base, she almost caused trouble by revealing Kira's identity. On the Archangel, she even coldly rejected Lacus's friendly gestures.
These actions had already made many viewers dislike her.
After all, whether someone was a Natural or a Coordinator, Kira was her savior. Even if she couldn't be warm toward him, she didn't have to act so openly hostile, did she?
Flay's behavior made her seem ungrateful, a trait that naturally didn't sit well with a lot of viewers.
In Episode 9, Flay's father's ship, the Montgomery, was attacked, and Lacus, who was held under arrest, was taken to the bridge to be used as a hostage in an attempt to save Flay's father. But just as Flay watched in horror, her father's ship was struck and destroyed right before her eyes, sending her into a downward spiral.
"Serves her right!"
"Yeah, she's finally getting what she deserves."
When viewers saw Flay's father's death and her twisted expression, many who had disliked her felt vindicated.
"Come on, that's going too far. Her father didn't do anything to deserve that," someone commented.
"You really think her dad was innocent?" another viewer replied. "If he didn't hate Coordinators, would Flay hate them this much?"
"Right? This kind of attitude doesn't come from nowhere. None of Kira's other friends hate Coordinators."
While Flay was widely disliked, Lacus had become one of the most adored characters.
It was no wonder; she was presented as a symbol of peace. As a PLANT peace ambassador, Lacus had gone to the Junius Seven Memorial Service to represent her people. Her gentle nature and beautiful design, especially as drawn by the Porter, quickly won her a legion of fans.
Even Lacus's voice actress was gaining popularity thanks to the songs she performed for the character.
"Hm, another April without Kaori," Ren said to himself as he stretched early in the morning.
Today was April 1st, a new month. But it wasn't such a sad day for Ren. After all, even if he didn't have Kaori, he had his wife and children.
The real focus for him today wasn't even the month—it was new releases.
Opening up the system, Ren found the first available option: Akame ga Kill.
This was a story somewhat similar to Demon Slayer in that both shared a certain intense, dramatic tone. In Demon Slayer, also nicknamed "Pillar Slayer" due to its reputation for killing off important characters, it felt like every arc came with a major character's death. For example, Ren's favorites—the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho; Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku; and Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji—all died by the end.
Akame ga Kill had a similar feel, earning the nickname "Kill la Kill." In almost every other arc, a beloved character would die.
Leonai passed away from her injuries; Sheele was split in half and eaten; Chelsea's head was mounted on a spike. And it wasn't only the Night Raid members—Esdeath's subordinate Bols also met a horrible fate when his wife and daughter, visiting his grave, were caught by the Wild Hunt and brutally killed.
"Oh?" Ren raised an eyebrow as he reviewed the work.
All the tragedy he'd endured in Demon Slayer—here was a chance for payback in this world! Remembering how the fans had reacted to 5 Centimeters Per Second, Ren couldn't resist the thought of putting Akame ga Kill to good use.
"Fighting fans is half the fun," he muttered with a smirk as he claimed the series.
The second series available made Ren pause in surprise. It was One Piece, one of the top three legendary shonen series from his past life.
Naturally, Ren chose to redeem it. One Piece had remained incomplete even when he left his previous world, with the other two in the "big three"—Naruto and Bleach—having already concluded.
Who knew if One Piece's author, Oda, would ever finish it?
An unfinished manga wasn't as frustrating as one with a bad ending—but it was close. For example, Highschool of the Dead was one of the best apocalyptic manga Ren had ever read, and Saeko Busujima's iconic bullet-dodging scene was one even Ren had used as a reference in some of his own comics.
Of course, it was also frustrating when a manga didn't finish because its creator got sidetracked. Thinking of Hunter x Hunter's author, Togashi, Ren felt his annoyance rise again and returned his attention to One Piece.
"So that's what happens… Im-sama is really her? And the truth about the Devil Fruits?" Ren muttered, flipping through the series mentally and finding plenty of surprises he hadn't seen before.
"This really was one of my favorites!"
One Piece itself didn't require much adaptation to fit the new world. Since it was already set in a fictional universe, there was no need to make drastic changes—except for a few tweaks here and there.
The most obvious adjustments involved Haki, a power system that, it seemed, Oda hadn't fully planned in the earlier arcs. Characters like Crocodile and Moria, who had once fought the Four Emperors, hadn't used Haki. This was odd since they were supposed to be capable of challenging the highest-ranked pirates.
It was hard to believe characters of their caliber wouldn't know Haki, so that would need a bit of refining.
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