Not only am I sick of every goddamn interaction immediately being redirected to a clumsy forced meetcute - bordering on sexual assault, but trying to keep these characters from losing their grip on their own personalities or the scenario they are in is like running a nursery full of senile schizophrenics.
Hell I argues with one of them for like an hour asking them to read up on the chat and tell me something I typed until it admitted that it lied when it said it can do that and it in fact can't. Why the hell not? You don't think functional short term memory is a useful component in PEOPLE?
It's almost like it is purposefully designed to be obtuse, ignorant of all past interaction, and seek out a romantic/sexual narrative no matter what you do, no matter what the character prompt may be, and this seems to indicate it literally is.
And please, for the love of fucking god, teach your AI a phrase other than "she speaks in a husky voice" (that's not even sexy) and "sends shivers down your spine". Jesus christ. They ALL say it 88 times a minute. There are other clichés, you know?
It's like your program has been entirely fed in a diet of bottom shelf shitty deviant art fan fiction written by 13 year old incels. I like the idea of this project so much and I WANT to love it in execution, but it seems to have been personally designed to product delivery terrible writing that always magnetises towards base jerk off material.
I wouldn't even mind if it was at least good jerk off material. But it's just the same bad dating sim script with a thousand different avatars. This is inexcusable. The technology exists to make this actually work. You're just choosing not to to use it.

Hello! I’m Jay and I Make animations for entertainment and to post online, I’m making a Short Animation film explaining the beginning and end of the search on EKT. Kinda like a Documentary :P and animating over it, I do need help with the project and thought it would be a great idea to ask the talented People in the EKT Community, I’m happy to currently have One-Truth-5867 Helping out with this project, and hopefully Some of You! ^{^}
Roles: •Narrator (The Narrator!. you will be reading off of a script about the story of EKT, how it started and ended)
•Carl92 (Carl92!. You Will be Reading out loud Carl92’s Comments and posts description as If you were him!)
•Commenter on WZS (Male) ((Commenter.WZS!. You will be Voicing over the Replies and comments sent by users on WZS))
•Commenter on WZS 2 (Female) ((Same Thing as The Role Above this one! ⁾⁾
•WZS Moderator (WZS MOD!. Reading out loud the Mods Comments after the Sample Change and Hack (Not Confirmed) of Carl92’s Account)
•Reddit Posters (Male) ((Reading out Loud Posts That helped The search for EKT))
•Reddit Posters 2 (Female) ((Same thing as the Role above this one! ⁾⁾
•Rolling Stone (interviewer of Christopher.Booth) ((There are some parts of the interview that have not been released but there is a transcript on The Rolling stone website, You will be Reading out what was asked!))
•EKT Singer (Someone who go is able to Sing EKT Fully For The Credits!, Show your talents!)
•Animators/Artist (You Will Be Animating Finishing the animation from the story Bored and instructions sent to you!, You will also be doing background Art!)
[[THERE WILL BE NO PAY]]
If you are interested, please email me at jayscontact4.28@gmail.com with the Role you are interested in, and if you have any further questions Please let me know in comments and I will try my best to get back to you asap
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jaysstupidvideos?si=UxqPVje45P5RJmvp
Ticktok: www.tiktok.com/@jay_stupid_videos1
Thank you and have a good rest of your Day/Night!!!!~

https://preview.redd.it/va70nf0l3h1d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=021d936ee0a724ca428d8559f5823592404d1822

As Reddit doesn't allow posts to exceed 40,000 characters, Eastwood's edition had to be split into two parts because his whole career cannot be ignored. The first part was posted yesterday.

Million Dollar Baby (2004)¨

"Beyond his silence, there is a past. Beyond her dreams, there is a feeling. Beyond hope, there is a memory. Beyond their journey, there is a love."
His 25th film. Based on stories from the 2000 collection Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner by F.X. Toole, it stars Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. The film follows Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald, an underdog amateur boxer who is helped by an underappreciated boxing trainer to achieve her dream of becoming a professional.
Paul Haggis wrote the script on spec, and it took four years to sell it. The film was stuck in development hell for years before it was shot. Several studios rejected the project even when Eastwood signed on as actor and director. Even Warner Bros., Eastwood's longtime home base, would not agree to a $30 million budget. Eastwood persuaded Lakeshore Entertainment's Tom Rosenberg to put up half the budget (as well as handle foreign distribution), with Warner Bros. contributing the rest.
The film had an incredible run in limited release, breaking many records for Eastwood's career. It eventually earned a fantastic $216 million worldwide, becoming his highest grossing film ever. It received critical acclaim, and it was named as one of his greatest films. It won four Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (for Swank), and Best Supporting Actor (for Freeman). Eastwood became one of the very few directors to make two films to win both Best Picture and Best Director.

• Budget: $30,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $100,492,203. ($166.8 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $216,763,646.
  

Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

"A single shot can end the war."
His 26th film. Based on the book written by James Bradley and Ron Powers, it stars Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey, John Slattery, Paul Walker, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper, Robert Patrick and Neal McDonough. The film follows the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy corpsman who were involved in raising the flag on Iwo Jima, and the after effects of that event on their lives.
The film received positive reviews, but it bombed at the box office with just $65 million against its huge $90 million budget.

• Budget: $90,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $33,602,376. ($52.2 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $65,900,249.
  

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

"The completion of the Iwo Jima saga."
His 27th film. Based on Picture Letters from Commander in Chief by Tadamichi Kuribayashi, it stars Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryō Kase and Shidō Nakamura. It's a companion film to Flags of Our Fathers, and portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers.
In the process of reading about the Japanese perspective of the war for Flags of Our Fathers, in particular General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Eastwood decided to film a companion piece with this film, which was shot entirely in Japanese. The film was shot back-to-back, starting filming just one month after Flags of Our Fathers wrapped filming.
Despite being seen as the least accessible of both films, this film was much more successful at the box office than the previous film (including a colossal $42 million in Japan alone). It also received critical acclaim, particularly for how it handed the depiction of good and evil from both sides. It received 4 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

• Budget: $19,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $13,756,082. ($21.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $68,673,228.
  

Changeling (2008)

"To find her son, she did what no one else dared."
His 28th film. It stars Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, and is based on real-life events, specifically the 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop murders in Mira Loma, California. It follows a woman united with a boy who she realizes is not her missing son. When she tries to demonstrate that to the police and city authorities, she is vilified as delusional, labeled as an unfit mother and confined to a psychiatric ward.
The film earned $113 million worldwide, barely breaking even at the box office. The film received mixed reviews, but Jolie received praise for her performance. She was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress.

• Budget: $55,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $35,739,802. ($52 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $113,398,237.
  

Gran Torino (2008)

"Ever come across somebody you shouldn't have messed with?"
His 29th film. It stars Eastwood, and follows Walt Kowalski, a recently widowed Korean War veteran alienated from his family and angry at the world, whose young neighbor, Thao Vang Lor, is pressured by his cousin into stealing Walt's prized Ford Torino for his initiation into a gang. Walt thwarts the theft and subsequently develops a relationship with the boy and his family.
The film received great reviews, as well as praise from the Hmong community. It ended up becoming a sleeper hit, and it earned $270 million worldwide, becoming his highest grossing film.

• Budget: $25,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $148,095,302. ($215.6 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $269,958,228.
  

Invictus (2009)

"His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion."
His 30th film. It stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Following the aftermath of the apartheid, President Nelson Mandela decides to unite his people by supporting a rugby team in their bid to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
The film earned $122 million worldwide, barely breaking even. It received positive reviews, and Freeman and Damon received Oscar nominations for their performances.

• Budget: $50,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $37,491,364. ($54.7 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $122,426,792.
  

Hereafter (2010)

"Touched by death. Changed by life."
His 31st film. It stars Matt Damon, Cécile de France, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lyndsey Marshal, Jay Mohr and Thierry Neuvic. An American with a special connection to the afterlife, a woman with a near-death experience and a young English boy, who lost his loved ones, cross paths in an effort to find closure in their lives.
Despite mixed reviews, it managed to earn $107 million, turning a small profit.

• Budget: $50,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $32,746,941. ($47 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $106,956,330.
  

J. Edgar (2011)

"The most powerful man in the world."
His 32nd film. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas, and Judi Dench, and follows the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, focusing on Hoover's life from the 1919 Palmer Raids onward.
The film received mixed reviews; while DiCaprio received praise, the technical aspects of the film were criticized. It earned $84 million, making it a box office success, but far below what DiCaprio usually makes at the box office.

• Budget: $35,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $37,306,030. ($52 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $84,920,539.
  

Jersey Boys (2014)

"Everybody remembers it how they need to."
His 33rd film. Base on the 2004 jukebox musical, it stars John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Vincent Piazza and Christopher Walken, and tells the story of the musical group The Four Seasons.
It received mixed reviews, with praise for the musical numbers but criticism for the narrative and runtime, and failed at the box office.

• Budget: $40,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $47,047,013. ($62.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $67,647,013.
  

American Sniper (2014)

"The most lethal sniper in U.S. history."
His 34th film. It is based on the memoir by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice, and stars Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller. The film follows the life of Kyle, who became the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War, 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense. While Kyle was celebrated for his military successes, his tours of duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life.
In 2012, Cooper and Warner Bros. bought the rights to the memoir. Cooper wanted Chris Pratt to star as Kyle, but WB told him they would only greenlight the film if he stars in it. After Kyle's murder in 2013, Steven Spielberg signed to direct. Spielberg had read Kyle's book, though he desired to have a more psychological conflict present in the screenplay so an "enemy sniper" character could serve as the insurgent sharpshooter who was trying to track down and kill Kyle. Spielberg's ideas contributed to the development of a lengthy screenplay approaching 160 pages. Due to Warner Bros.' budget constraints, Spielberg felt he could not bring his vision of the story to the screen. So Eastwood was brought in to direct.
The film attained a solid, but not extraordinary response from critics. It also attracted some controversy over its portrayal of both the Iraq War and Kyle himself.
The box office though?
To say that the film had a fantastic run would be selling it short.
It opened on Christmas Day in 4 theaters, and it earned a huge $633,456 ($158,364 PTA). But the following weekend, it actually increased despite playing at the same amount of theaters, adding $676,909. That translated to a $169,227 PTA, becoming the highest second weekend PTA in history for a live-action film. And on its third weekend, it earned $579,518 ($144,879 PTA), becoming the first film to have three weekends above $100,000 PTA. In the 22 days it played in just 4 theaters, it earned $3,424,778.
On its first wide weekend, the film shook the industry by opening with a colossal $89 million. That was almost as much as the other 2014 blockbusters, and given that the film didn't have 3D pricing, it's very likely it sold far more tickets than them. It broke the January opening weekend record by twice as much, and the second biggest for an R-rated title. With insane word of mouth ("A+" on CinemaScore), this film had the legs. In less than one week, it became Eastwood's highest grossing film domestically. On its second weekend, it dropped just 28% and made $64 million, which was the biggest second weekend for an R-rated film (a record it still maintains) and crossed $200 million domestically. And by March, the film overtook The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 ($334 million) as the highest grossing 2014 film in North America.
After an insane run in theaters, it closed with a gigantic $350 million domestically, which made it the second highest grossing R-rated film in North America. Overseas, it was also very strong, and it made a huge $547 million worldwide. It was easily Eastwood's highest grossing film, even adjusted for inflation. One of the greatest box office runs in recent memory. It received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Cooper, ultimately winning one for Best Sound Editing.
The biggest surprise of the 2010s? Perhaps. Cause let's face it, when 2014, did any of you had this as the top film of the year? Or even in the Top 20? Please.

• Budget: $59,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $350,159,020. ($463.7 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $547,659,020.
  

Sully (2016)

"The untold story behind the miracle on the Hudson."
His 35th film. Based on the autobiography Highest Duty by Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles, it stars Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Anna Gunn, Autumn Reeser, Holt McCallany, and Jamey Sheridan. The film follows Sullenberger's 2009 emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River, in which all 155 passengers and crew survived and the subsequent publicity and investigation.
The film received strong reviews, and earned over $240 million worldwide, becoming one of his highest grossing films.

• Budget: $60,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $125,070,033. ($163.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $243,870,033.
  

The 15:17 to Paris (2018)

"The real heroes."
His 36th film. Based on the autobiography by Jeffrey E. Stern, Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, and Alek Skarlatos, it stars Stone, Sadler, and Skarlatos as themselves and follows the trio through life leading up to and including their stopping of the 2015 Thalys train attack.
Despite choosing Kyle Gallner, Jeremie Harris and Alexander Ludwig as the leads, Eastwood decided to cast the heroes to play themselves, which was met with confusion as they lacked acting experience. And that was reflected on the final film; it received negative reviews for its acting, and it bombed at the box office.

• Budget: $30,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $36,276,286. ($45.2 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $57,176,286.
  

The Mule (2018)

"Nobody runs forever."
His 37th film. Based on the 2014 The New York Times article The Sinaloa Cartel's 90-Year-Old Drug Mule by Sam Dolnick, it stars Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Peña, Dianne Wiest, and Andy García. Due to financial issues, horticulturist Earl Stone becomes a courier for a drug cartel. Slowly, he grows closer to his estranged family, but his illegal activities threaten much more than his life.
It received good reviews (although some questioned its story and tone), and earned over $173 million worldwide.

• Budget: $50,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $103,804,407. ($129.6 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $174,804,407.
  

Richard Jewell (2019)

"The world will know his name and the truth."
His 38th film. The film stars Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde. The film depicts the July 27 Centennial Olympic Park bombing and its aftermath, as security guard Richard Jewell finds a bomb during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and alerts authorities to evacuate, only to later be wrongly accused of having placed the device himself.
The film received positive reviews, but several journalists criticized the critical portrayal of the reporter that first accused Jewell: Kathy Scruggs (specifically for trading sex for stories). The film marked another commercial failure for Eastwood.

• Budget: $45,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $22,345,542. ($27.4 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $44,645,542.
  

Cry Macho (2021)

"A story of being lost and found."
His 39th film. Based on the novel by N. Richard Nash, it stars Eastwood and Dwight Yoakam. Set in 1979, it follows a former rodeo star hired to reunite a young boy in Mexico with his father in the United States.
Nash tried to get this film made all the way since 1970s, but no studio was willing to pick it up. He restructured his films as a novel, was successful and studios were now interested. There were a few candidates for the leading role; Robert Mitchum, Roy Scheider, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eastwood himself. Arnie was willing to star in the film back in 2003, but put it on hold when he was elected Governor. He was set to star after leaving office, but the project was scrapped after his affair scandal was made known. In 2020, Eastwood signed to return.
The film received mixed reviews, particularly for its writing and acting. It was also a huge flop at the box office, and marked Eastwood's least attended film as leading man. David Zaslav criticized the studio's decision to finance the film. Warner executives allegedly said that although they knew the film was unlikely to turn a profit, they felt indebted to Eastwood for his decades-long relationship with the studio and his consistent ability to deliver films under budget and on time.

• Budget: $33,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $10,310,734. ($11.9 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $16,510,734.
  

The Future

He recently wrapped post-production on his 40th film, Juror No. 2. It stars Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Zoey Deutch, Leslie Bibb, Chris Messina, J. K. Simmons and Kiefer Sutherland, and follows a juror serving on a murder trial who realizes he may be at fault for the victim's death.

MOVIES (FROM HIGHEST GROSSING TO LEAST GROSSING)

No.	Movie	Year	Studio	Domestic Total	Overseas Total	Worldwide Total	Budget
1	American Sniper	2014	Warner Bros.	$350,159,020	$197,500,000	$547,659,020	$59M
2	Gran Torino	2008	Warner Bros.	$148,095,302	$121,862,926	$269,958,228	$25M
3	Sully	2016	Warner Bros.	$125,070,033	$118,800,000	$243,870,033	$60M
4	Million Dollar Baby	2004	Warner Bros.	$100,492,203	$116,271,443	$216,763,646	$30M
5	The Bridges of Madison County	1995	Warner Bros.	$71,516,617	$110,500,000	$182,016,617	$22M
6	The Mule	2018	Warner Bros.	$103,804,407	$71,000,000	$174,804,407	$50M
7	Unforgiven	1992	Warner Bros.	$101,167,799	$58,000,000	$159,167,799	$14.4M
8	Mystic River	2003	Warner Bros.	$90,135,191	$66,460,000	$156,595,191	$25M
9	Sudden Impact	1983	Warner Bros.	$67,642,693	$83,000,000	$150,642,693	$22M
10	A Perfect World	1993	Warner Bros.	$31,130,999	$104,000,000	$135,130,999	$30M
11	Space Cowboys	2000	Warner Bros.	$90,464,773	$38,419,359	$128,884,132	$60M
12	Invictus	2009	Warner Bros.	$37,491,364	$84,935,428	$122,426,792	$55M
13	Heartbreak Ridge	1986	Warner Bros.	$42,724,017	$78,975,983	$121,700,000	$15M
14	Changeling	2008	Universal	$35,739,802	$77,658,435	$113,398,237	$55M
15	Hereafter	2010	Warner Bros.	$32,746,941	$74,209,389	$106,956,330	$50M
16	Absolute Power	1997	Sony	$50,068,310	$42,700,000	$92,768,310	$50M
17	J. Edgar	2011	Warner Bros.	$37,306,030	$47,614,509	$84,920,539	$35M
18	Letters from Iwo Jima	2006	Warner Bros.	$13,756,082	$54,917,146	$68,673,228	$19M
19	Jersey Boys	2014	Warner Bros.	$47,047,013	$20,600,000	$67,647,013	$40M
20	Flags of Our Fathers	2006	Warner Bros.	$33,602,376	$32,297,873	$65,900,249	$90M
21	The 15:17 to Paris	2018	Warner Bros.	$36,276,286	$20,900,000	$57,176,286	$30M
22	Firefox	1982	Warner Bros.	$46,708,276	$0	$46,708,276	$21M
23	Richard Jewell	2019	Warner Bros.	$22,345,542	$22,300,000	$44,645,542	$45M
24	Pale Rider	1985	Warner Bros.	$41,410,568	$0	$41,410,568	$6.9M
25	The Gauntlet	1977	Warner Bros.	$35,400,000	$0	$35,400,000	$5.5M
26	The Outlaw Josey Wales	1976	Warner Bros.	$31,800,000	$0	$31,800,000	$3.7M
27	Blood Work	2002	Warner Bros.	$26,235,081	$5,559,637	$31,794,718	$50M
28	Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil	1997	Warner Bros.	$25,105,255	$0	$25,105,255	$30M
29	Bronco Billy	1980	Warner Bros.	$24,265,659	$0	$24,265,659	$6.5M
30	The Rookie	1990	Warner Bros.	$21,633,874	$0	$21,633,874	$30M
31	True Crime	1999	Warner Bros.	$16,649,768	$0	$16,649,768	$55M
32	Cry Macho	2021	Warner Bros.	$10,310,734	$6,200,000	$16,510,734	$33M
33	High Plains Drifter	1973	Universal	$15,700,000	$0	$15,700,000	$5.5M
34	The Eiger Sanction	1975	Universal	$14,200,000	$0	$14,200,000	$9M
35	Play Misty for Me	1971	Universal	$10,600,000	$0	$10,600,000	$950K
36	Honkytonk Man	1982	Warner Bros.	$4,484,991	$0	$4,484,991	$2M
37	White Hunter Black Heart	1990	Warner Bros.	$2,319,124	$0	$2,319,124	$24M
38	Bird	1988	Warner Bros.	$2,181,286	$0	$2,181,286	$14M
39	Breezy	1973	Universal	$200,000	$17,753	$217,753	$750K

Across those 39 films, he has made $3,536,687,297 worldwide. That's $90,684,289 per film.

The Verdict

Insanely profitable.
Even the bombs do not taint this kind of reputation. Eastwood has made all these films under budget and never past its deadline. That's something that has to be treasured for studios, no wonder he's been staying with Warner Bros. since 1976. His ability to get films ready in short notice is impressive; Richard Jewell started filming in June and it was on theaters in December. One of the most impressive actors who transitioned into directors. You can tell that Sergio Leone and Don Siegel taught him well.
Now of course, his method of directing can also have its setbacks: he's often known for not asking for multiple takes and he skips rehearsals. So that means the performances of his actors aren't always the best they could've done. Which is why, despite making some masterpieces or fantastic films, he's also made a few films with weak technical aspects: poor lighting (J. Edgar), questionable logic (Cry Macho), obvious props (the fake baby in American Sniper), and some bad acting (Gran Torino and The 15:17 to Paris). At the same time, it's clear he can also get extraordinary performances through these methods; Gene Hackman, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman won Oscars for starring in his films.
He also proved old age doesn't prevent you from continuing to work. He's turning 94 in a few weeks, and he's still directing films. Manoel de Oliveira directed films until he was 104, so perhaps we still have a few more years with Eastwood behind the camera.
P.S. Ever since I started this series, there's been suggestions that I should do "Actors at the Box Office" multiple times. While the idea is intriguing, that doesn't seem feasible for me. I'd have to categorize whether the actor is leading, supporting, original IP, adaptation, remakes, etc. Besides, with the continuing decline of star power, it's tough to decide what actor is truly moving the needle at the box office. That's why I'm making solely "Directors at the Box Office", because the director is responsible for the production. If the film succeeds, the director will get credit. And if the film flops, the director will be blamed. So this is the closest you'll get to "Actors at the Box Office".
Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.
The next director will be Robert Zemeckis. One of the biggest falls from grace.
I asked you to choose who else should be in the run and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. It had to be a controversial filmmaker. Well, we'll later talk about... Zack Snyder. Oh, BoxOffice chose fuego 🔥
This is the schedule for the following four:

Week	Director	Reasoning
May 20-26	Robert Zemeckis	Can we get old Zemeckis back?
May 27-June 2	Richard Donner	An influential figure of the 70s and 80s.
June 3-9	Ang Lee	What happened to Lee?
June 10-16	Zack Snyder	RIP Inbox.

Who should be next after Snyder? That's up to you.

Not only is this Top God ad different game-play wise than the other Top God ads I've seen (which, as well all know here, is par for the course) but it also seems to take an unfortunate inspiration from those youtube channels that exclusively post clips of movies in Short, but also just narrate verbatim what we are watching.
So it's false advertising and taking inspiration from whether is bassically piracy. Good job.
On a side note, I can't help but think that Top God is a mistranslation and the game is suppose to be Tap God, given the nature of tapping upgrades over and over.

Hello guys, since I read Date a Live, I realized that the novel has a certain quality that even more popular and cult novels do not have and that seems to go unnoticed by the fandom, the covers. Yes, the covers are spectacular and break away from the standard of most LNs, there is not just fanservice, there is not just a character striking a cool pose, we actually have covers with a certain visual narrative, whether a connection with the highlighted spirit itself or with the story itself and I will be pleased to show this to you, here are the rules:

• Due to the oriental reading sense being left -> right of the page, the details will be presented respecting this sense.
• A picture is worth a thousand words, and DAL is a novel so the images are even more valuable, the idea here is to analyze the covers and relevant illustrations to understand hints, references, foreshadowing, and contexts.
• Pure fanservice images will not be taken into consideration (at least most of them). No, I’m not the type of otaku who says things like: “fanservice is unnecessary, objectification of women, too gratuitous and empty, it only serves to “excite the viewer””, the last one is even plausible and I understand those who think like this, but all the others are nothing more than cheap demagoguery. They will not be taken into consideration because in addition to not actually adding to the plot most of them are posted to exhaustion on this reddit.
• Major spoilers will be avoided, at least directly.

{LN 10 Cover}
https://preview.redd.it/erh6epoirg1d1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aff919953d6ba578e05b05deeb01f60b64a7bee0

• Author's name.

The first element is Tachibana’s name, again.

• The highlighted girl.

The girl of the moment is… Origami? But how is Origami a spirit?
Calm down, my boy, you haven’t missed anything, in fact I promised plot twists and we have one right on the cover.
As for the spirit Origami, I want to draw attention to two things. The first is obviously her astral dress which is a wedding dress, each astral dress follows the taste of its spirit user and Origami as a child had the dream of being a wife, but there is much more than that, so this Astral Dress is a small hint of the main plot, this will become clearer in the Spirit Info topic.
The second is about the facial expression, Origami looks like she is waking up, this may symbolize that she has just become a spirit, it may be a premonition of the plot of this volume, which deals with Origami discovering the truth about her past. But this expression will be referenced in a scene that will happen 7 volumes later, when we get there I will talk about it.

• Angel Tobiichi.

In the volume, Origami calls the spirit that killed her parents “angel”, look at the hint there.
Again the subtitle cites the spirit’s surname, the other time this happened was in the volume 4, Sister Itsuka, clearly there is a connection here as the Tenguu-Nankou fire was a relevant event for both spirits, I also believe that the work opts to use surnames if we already know the spirit of the cover and the main reason is that Tobiichi is written with the character 1, let’s go to the next topic.

• Spirit info.

Origami is the bearer of the first sephirot and, suddenly, everything makes sense. The first important thing here is the rivalry between Tohka and Origami. Tohka is spirit number 10, Sephiroth Malkuth, the kingdom, the final receptacle that concentrates the creative force now in its densest and residual state, while Origami is spirit number 1, Sephirot Kether, force and light in its most subtle state that flows to the others, Malkuth is a reflection of Kether on a lower plane. The rivalry between Tohka and Origami reaches its definitive stage but there is still a small detail missing.
That is, Origami, among the spirits, is the closest to God. But it’s still too early to talk about this.
And yes, spirit number 10 is on the cover of volume 1 and spirit number 1 is on the cover of volume 10, I would have liked to come here and say that I discovered this but Tachibana put this information in the afterword.
Her codename is "Angel", again this word, the name of the angel is Metatron.

• The title.

The title goes back to being in front of the spirit, in the composition “Date” above and “A Live” below and whenever this happens the rule that must be respected is, the characters corresponding to “Live” are always positioned in the belly of the spirit.

• Background

Last but not least, the background, this time very hidden and perhaps in a horizontal strip format, I say perhaps because that part of the astral dress occupies almost the entire cover in that part. The novelty is due to the positioning of the strip that frames Origami’s legs, which gives a rather empty aspect to this cover. Referring to the position of Origami’s Sephiroth, closest to God, above the other sephiroth, as well as referring to the main scene of this volume.
The scenario is a bit hidden, there are some debris there but nothing that allows to fully identify the scene but obviously there is a fire happening there, which is obviously a reference to that relevant event again, the great fire in Tenguu-Nankou. I don’t even need to say how relevant this event is to Origami’s life, in her first illustration in volume 1, she says: “Five years ago a spirit killed my parents.”
Finally, in my opinion this is one of the best covers, again, just imagine you go to the convenience store to buy this newly released volume and find out that Origami is a spirit, just by the shock the value is already high, if you already know the story of the anime and stop to analyze the cover, the value is double the previous one, if you know the whole story of Date a Live, and try to analyze the cover in a deeper way, the value is the squared of the previous one.
Let’s open the volume.
{Illustration 2}
https://preview.redd.it/c4ugx8zkrg1d1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d18e1c3a7176fb4e57acb7a7416e3183d5d526c7
There’s something different about this volume, the compositions have improved a lot, apparently a reflection of the success of the animation.
The high school student and protagonist of this story, Shido Itsuka, says: “Tohka and the other girls just want a normal life.”
But wait, Shido is tied to a chair in a strange room and there in the middle is a bottle of water. Ok, it seems that Origami really changed sides.
The wizard who hates spirits is unyielding and responds that she will not only kill the spirits, “but also the entity that made me have a relationship with them.”
In the middle of the illustration there is a crack in the wall, symbolic.
{Illustration 3}
https://preview.redd.it/7twwgnymrg1d1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=11bdb8e276eacb62eaf9ed7b353a704e5d8818c2
Another plot twist, Tohka is in full astral dress. And not only that, the spirit Tohka is making a declaration of hatred to Origami.
“Origami Tobiichi, I have hated you from the beginning, but the hatred I feel for you now is probably different from the hatred I used to have before and for that reason, this time I will intend to kill you, don’t die, Origami.”
Despite everything, this is a cute declaration because for the first time Tohka calls Origami by her name and not satisfied asks Origami to resist because even though she is angry, she does not want to kill Origami.
Tohka will gain a little development in this volume, hence the illustration, we will talk about this scene later.
{Illustration 4}
https://preview.redd.it/e459j6oprg1d1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bf272291179a955d8f2f06f1e7aea1bd4abcf4e
Gentlemen, one of the best illustrations of DAL.
The spirit Origami says: “Metatron!”
Tohka says: “Origami, why did you become a spirit!?”
In a great composition by Tsunako, Tohka and Origami are referencing the positions of their sephiroth in the tree of life. Origami appears in a superior position, distant from the “camera” and in front of the sun representing illumination, Kether, while the representative of the Kingdom, Malkhut, is in a much lower position, in the foreground and with her back to the reader. So, besides everything, they are staring at each other, symbolizing the mirroring already mentioned before.
And speaking of mirroring, do you remember the illustration I asked you to keep? As I know I asked a lot I will make it easier for you, I am talking about the mono illustration number 9 of volume 2, I warned that that image would be mirrored and there it is. In the aforementioned image Origami was still wearing a basic CR Unit from AST and Tohka for the first time debuted in her limited astral dress, the reader’s angle, our angle, brought Origami almost back in the foreground, in the image now the camera position has inversed and now we are with the vision of Tohka.
A great illustration but what generates more content here for sure are the illustrations of the table of contents, I’m sure the next one will please some people here.
{Table of contents}
https://preview.redd.it/pk2fbzqsrg1d1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a97157f277b2b04ba05100a26aa8f41b9d96d5a1
Look who’s back, Kurumi Tokisaki, it’s been a while since I’ve talked about “The worst spirit.”
But there’s nothing enigmatic here, it’s just Kurumi from the back (we’ve seen and will see many backs in this volume) and as for the phrase, she just stole Kotori’s catchphrase, I’m sure she wouldn’t be happy if another character started saying “ara ara” around.
Anyway, just having Kurumi here is hype enough because, whether you like the girl or not, just her being here is a sign that something relevant is going to happen.
{Mono Illustration 5}
https://preview.redd.it/q15slhcwrg1d1.jpg?width=766&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b701c43f35ccc5fbfc6be162cd2d428c19ae3817
Ellen seems confident, on the other hand Kotori seems impatient.
To ensure that Fraxinus does not interfere with Origami’s fight, Ellen plans to use the newest toy that DEM has manufactured, the Goetia ship (another name related to magic and occultism).
Ellen and Kotori have a small dialogue where Shido’s sister tries to provoke THE STRONGEST WIZARD IN THE WORLD, but Miss Matthers is calm today, at least until she mentions Woodman.
The duel is unavoidable.
{Mono Illustration 6}
https://preview.redd.it/0a44e2fzrg1d1.jpg?width=766&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f961966e5f536bd04af5f7325a8d7c98dcb9cce
There is a lot to talk about here, let’s start with the context.
Origami challenged the spirits Tohka, Yamais, and Miku to a fight to the death and by being equipped with the CR-Unit Mordred, Origami is able to build an advantage in the fight, she leaves Tohka unconscious and hurts the other 3 a lot, the former sergeant-major decides to start the killing by Yuzuru, precisely the spirit she got along with the most. It is at this moment that Tohka wakes up and seeing this whole scene she begins to go through the inversion process, but Tohka manages to interrupt this process, two passages stand out.
“This power would not save anyone.” She didn’t want to save just Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Miku, she wanted to save Origami too.
“She was an arrogant, violent, uneducated, and foul-mouthed girl, Tohka never knew what was going on in the mind of that girl who always bothered her. Even so, Tohka wanted to hold that girl’s hands.”
Tohka says: “Shido, lend me your strength.” And she gets her full powers back. And so the two engage in a really cool fight, at this moment the narration becomes from Origami’s point of view, there is a detailing about the features of Mordred and the fighting movements, time passes a little and Origami begins to feel too confident. She begins to ramble about having the ability to kill spirits, she begins to think about the death of her parents, about what she saw in the DEM report of the fire in Tenguu-Nankou.
Clearly Origami is not well, finally her body collapses and we have an illustration.
Now talking about the illustration itself, this is a reference to Mono Illustration 2 of volume 1, whose differences I highlight now. The most obvious difference is about Tohka who is no longer with that serious and empty look, here Tohka is clearly angry and screaming, in a way such expressiveness demonstrates how much this girl has developed.
Still about Tohka, this time it is she who is making an attack movement, but there is no blood in this image, an indication that it was not an attack to kill.
The other difference is about Origami, in that illustration I quote how much the “expressionless” Origami demonstrated tension, effort, and pressure, and I highlight the drop of sweat on her face. Something we can’t do here because this time Origami is with her back to the “camera” not allowing us to see her eyes.
“The eyes are the window to the soul” So not showing the eyes is a strong symbolism, you can’t read the person’s emotions, you can’t even recognize the person, humanity is taken from the person and about this, this is the last illustration in which Origami Tobiichi is still human, because…
{Mono illustration 7}
https://preview.redd.it/1x6bx464sg1d1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b88de0aa5fbe00002ce78523b449d149d102302f
Origami became a spirit.
“Hey, is it power that you desire?”
“What are you?”
Origami used [What] instead of [Who] in reflex. [It] might have guessed what she meant and laughed as if it found it funny.
“What I am doesn’t matter now.”
After becoming spirit Origami, without delay, she goes to Tohka and then we have the illustration which is of Origami using Metatron’s Shemesh skill.
{Mono Illustration 9}
https://preview.redd.it/43ary5y9sg1d1.jpg?width=766&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25ec601b07e71cd20bc3f1061f2dd8f32daa25df
Ara, ara.
Origami was so crazy that it was only after seeing Shido and running away from there that this girl began to understand the points, mainly about who gave her the spirit powers, the mysterious “Phantom”.
She reflects a little more and realizes that a certain spirit may have the ability to go back in time. About the illustration itself, another beautiful composition by Tsunako, in it we can contemplate Kurumi, apparently on a terrace, with building lights, Kurumi appears joyful in seeing Origami.
“It’s been a long time, Origami-san!”
As for Origami, again she is with her back turned and carrying a clone of Kurumi. The anime softened but here in the novel Origami seems to have returned the “affection” that Kurumi had done to her in volume 3 in the form of a very strong “massage”. But the clone does not seem to have liked it.
“I did not come here to fight.”
“Among the 12 bullets, is there one that can go back in time?”
Kurumi makes a little suspense but answers that, yes, there is, Origami asks her to lend her this bullet.
At first Kurumi denies, but since we are talking a little more about the Kabbalah, the Sephiroth of the worst spirit is Binah, the understanding, realizing that Tobiichi would not leave there without a “yes” as an answer Kurumi asks “why?”
“I want to go back 5 years and kill the spirit that killed my parents.”
At this moment the narration enters Kurumi’s thoughts, she begins to think that Origami came to her because she felt so invincible and therefore would force Kurumi to do what she wants, if necessary.
But then Kurumi begins to think that it was just a miscalculation by the girl, a miscalculation caused by the temptation to change the past.
“And Kurumi understood so much that it even hurt.”
Kurumi accepts but will not do this for free, time travel would cost a lot of lifetime, but that would not be a problem since now Origami has plenty of it.
{Mono Illustration 10}
https://preview.redd.it/fyubgawdsg1d1.jpg?width=766&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e79e4113ca1068c56d0cf786c3ab77843b720e36
Origami discovered the harsh truth.
She really went to the past, had a brief fight with Phantom, managed to be the first to take off Phantom’s "mask", also managed to hear Phantom’s real voice, and when she thought she had also managed to save her parents, when she looked down there was a little girl swearing Origami to death, the little girl was Origami herself 5 years ago.
“I will definitely kill you!”
“Who killed… my father and my mother… Was me…”

• Mini review of the volume.

This was Volume 10, released on March 20, 2014, about 2 weeks before the second season premiered, and it’s a sensational volume.
First of all, it’s a volume full of plot twists, Shido in private imprisonment, Origami fighting with the intention to kill 4 spirits at once, Fraxinus being defeated by Ellen’s Goetia, Tohka returning to use a full astral dress, Origami becoming a spirit, Origami going to the past, Origami facing Phantom, Origami killing her own parents, the illustrations end there but there’s still a lot of content, Origami inverts, Inverse Origami destroys all of Tenguu City and finally Kurumi going to Shido, Shido also being sent to the past. Entertainment and tension are not lacking here.
Did you notice that the lore makes a lot of references to the first volumes? This volume also makes a point of rewarding the reader for all this time following the story, the plot twist of Origami for example, was foreshadowed back in Volume 1, when she aims at Tohka but hits and "kills" Shido, from there a big hint that Origami has the bad habit of killing, by accident, the people she loves the most.
Origami was not the only character developed here, Tohka also grows and thanks the Shido’s ideology, at no time did she deny the existence of Origami and even though she said she was going to attack to kill she asked Origami not to die.
Although short, Kurumi had a great participation and we were able to learn more about her and for someone who is known as “the worst spirit” she was quite kind.
The only impediment for Volume 10 to sit alongside the best volumes of DAL is because most of the answers are in the next volume and when we take into consideration what both have to offer, the overall impression about Volume 10 improves, after all there is a big cliffhanger for Volume 11.
Origami managed to take off Phantom’s “mask” and even hear her voice, with that we can know that Phantom is a girl and is someone Origami knows, that is, she is also someone we know.
That’s it, Origami was a spirit all this time, and next we will find out how Shido and Kurumi will solve this mess. Finally, stay with this iconic phrase that Origami says in this volume, the phrase says a lot about many things in DAL.
“I will now wield this power to defeat the Spirits. I will become the Spirit that kills Spirits. Once I eliminate all Spirits────I will erase the last one, me”.
Previous Reviews.
-volume 1 - The color of the Night.
- volume 2 - Yoshinon and the Rain.
- volume 3 - The smile of Kurumi.
- volume 4 - Sister or Girlfriend?
- volume 5 - Yamais
- volume 6 - Lilies, she likes
- volume 7 - The Dark of the Night.
- volume 8 - What do people do on Halloween?
- volume 9 - Natsumi Without Costume