Hello.

Sorry for being quite inactive. ^^;;

I was under a lot of stress from last week’s crappy errands, ORZ.

Thinking about it, that high level of stress must have caused the bad cold I had for the entire weekend which led to heavy grogginess. ://

Anyway,

I thought of posting some month old doodles of Atori and Tobi from Noein. I meant to post them last November but I forgot, gah.

Seeing the doodles again after a few weeks made me cringe a bit, haha. They look so off.

I need to get my hand on their settei for referencing their designs because they can be quite inconsistent in the anime. >.<

Nevertheless, they’re my OTP in Noein, lol. They seem to have the same dynamic as deathshipping with Atori (tall blonde) looking so goddamn ugly to me with his crazy facial expressions early in the anime but ended up being so cutesy later on that I got so fond of him, haha. While Tobi is such a precious nerdy creampuff like Ryou.

I can’t believe Tobi’s 21 years old, but knowing the director, Kazuki Akane, he doesn’t think in that kind of way, (thank god)

From what I’ve seen in Noein, (which I finished a week ago) and …

spoiler alert:

—-

I think Tobi was so malnourished as a baby/kid. Hence, he has a very petite size and a skinny frame.

My headcanon is that Atori (whose real name is Al— probably a nickname since his dying friend couldn’t say his full name ) is Iraqi while Tobi’s of Eastern African descent. (Quite vague since they didn’t show Tobi’s flashback but Somalia came to my mind with Tobi)

HINTS:

• Tobi mentions to Karasu (my husbando) that him and Atori came from war torn countries…

• Noein’s setting takes place in 2005.
• And since him and Atori come from a different future dimension which is 15 years from 2005, Tobi would have been 6 years old in 2005 , Atori would have been 7 years old.
• The wars or what I would prefer to call them, US invasion that was still taking place in 2005, or before 2005 like 2003 (the year the Iraq war started) .
• Atori’s flashback reveals a very tragic and violent past, being a small child witnessing his friends getting fatally injured and killed by US military airstrikes.
• The flashback also revealed that Atori is of Middle Eastern heritage. (From the clothing and setting )
• Atori mentions that his little sister, Sarah, died from stepping on a landmine.

• Regarding Tobi’s heritage, as said previously, they didn’t show any flashback of his but I assume from his dark skintone and him mentioning that he came from a war torn country different from Atori , that he might be of Eastern African descent.

• ^the US “ intervention” in Somalia came to my mind (2007) so Tobi might have been 7-8 years old by then and still young af when the US bombed the hell out of his country. And as far as I know, there was widespread famine in that region during that time too.

Anyway, those are some reasons that can justify my headcanons. ^^;;

It’s very depressing thinking about it tbh. I think they were able to bond with each other initially because they can relate to having such a grim and violent childhood brought upon by US imperialism.

But my babies deserve a happy ending!!! 😤

…maybe like a lacryma! Coffee shop au as rin recommended.,

//rubs chin//

Maybe. Heh.

Honestly, Tobi is such a woobie. He belongs to the woobie club with Gie and Ryou, haha.

I have a HUGE weakness for those kinds of characters. Those who act so happy and keep smiling even though they’ve experienced a painful childhood/past and still continue to struggle deep inside.

I mean, Tobi acts so emotionally stable and happy despite his background, gah. He even remarks to Karasu on how he envies the guy for having a normal childhood. 😦

Atori, meanwhile…

Well, it’s quite understandable why he gets crazy and out of control since it’s due to his hatred and bitterness. TT ___ TT

…..

There’s really something in 2000s anime/manga that makes them unique and not just in its diverse art style and use of colour. I noticed that many of them had political themes, often being against Western European and US imperialism. Some are overt like with Blood+, FMA, and some are very subtle and quick passing like in Noein.

Even friggin’ Naruto with the Pain Arc, haha. I always thought Konoha was like a symbol of the US and Japan combined. Just hearing Pain’s famous speech, it still gives me the goosebumps because shit hits too close to home until now.

also oops, I got carried away again.

I ramble too much about my babies, don’t I?

Ugh it’s such a shame Noein is so underrated. It has a lot of techno babble which makes it confusing at first but it’s still such a beautiful and thought-provoking anime. <33333