#recentlyaddedtitles — Public Fediverse posts

Recently added titles (March 2025)

Marshall in the library, in a prison, in the Common Side Effects episode “Blowfish”, which came out this month.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, and January and February of this year, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. No other entries with libraries (or librarians) to add for this past month, but I did come across some in anime, animation, films, and others in webcomics and manga. There may be spoilers for these episodes, so be aware.

Animated series recently added to this page

• Common Side Effects, “Blowfish” (s1 ep 7)

I’ve been watching this series since it came out, but I never expected there to be a library scene. In this scene, Marshall Cuso is in the library, in prison, drawing a diagram of the foot of fellow prisoner Hector, and writing down how he will try to heal it. He meets a fellow mycologist there, who volunteers at the library, and is praises the power of his magic mushrooms. She asks where the fiber is coming from and she becomes his drug dealer in a sense. Later, she gives him a book, in the library, and tells him he will be getting the drug that night, in a move that seems very cloak-and-dagger. Some time later, he thinks of how the blue-angel magic mushrooms are formed by the poop of his tortoise, Socrates, and he takes a drug given to him by the fellow mycologist so he can fake his own death.

I have written about prison libraries before, noting in March 2023, the unnamed prison librarian (voiced by Tress MacNeille) in The Simpsons episode “Dial “N” for Nerder”, when Lisa imagines herself as an older prisoner, with this librarian passing her jail cell with a trolley of books, asking whether she had Joyce Carol Oates. The librarian said she only had Danielle Steel, causing Lisa to scream in terror. At the time I said that that librarian was “perhaps the only prison librarian that I’ve ever seen in animation. Hopefully I see more in the future.” In another post in May 2023, I gave examples of prison libraries and/or prison librarians in various films, noting that such prison librarians, whether in film or TV, are “a mix of exaggeration and accuracy,” that real-life prisons are unlikely to “provide more than what is legally required” in their services, giving access to inmates, while librarians are torn between duties to the latter and their role as “information gatekeepers.” Since then, I’ve noted that libraries are said to be “key tools” for getting people out of prison, especially when it comes to prison libraries (which are little known of in countries such as Portugal), and the partnership between libraries and police departments.

I further stated, in a post in September 2024, that libraries are:

while…libraries can help those who were released from prison “re-enter” society, they serve an “instrumental role” in the criminal system, which…undoubtedly interlocks with oppressive systems…libraries are posed as something to disrupt pipelines to prison, but what if, sometimes, they support those pathways, and push people into prison? After all, libraries, especially in the U.S. South, upheld racial segregation, and denied opportunities for Black people to become librarians, leading to various protests (including sit-ins)….when books are seen as “longer fit for use at public libraries”, they are often sent to prisons or jails as “an act of charity”…arguably, libraries are within structurally racist systems,

Anime series recently added to this page

• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Cross-dresses” (s1 ep 10)
  
• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Gets into an Elegant Pickle” (s1 ep 11)
• K-On!, “Planning Discussion” (s2 ep 26 [extra])
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “The Time Left” (s2 ep 7) [Updated]
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “Sea of Light” (s2 ep 12) [New!]
• The 100 Girlfriends, “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl” (s2 ep 10)

I updated the entry for “The Time Left” when writing my review for this series and added the other at the same time. In the latter episode, Hanamaru reads a book in the library briefly, a small book, and later tells Chika she wants to win, no matter what.

In the above noted episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, Grace tells Anna about the rule for the student council: it requires cross-gender casting in plays, meaning that men have to play women, and women have to play men, meaning that both genders have to crossdress, hence the title of the episode. Grace says they can’t ignore the mother because her mother made the rule, as they both talk in the Royal Academy Library, and the children of Grace/Kenzaburo, see the scene play out on their TV, and theorize that they are seeing an actual world which happens to resemble the game, not a game world. Grace worries about some of the boys crossdressing as women, while noting that there is appeal. They later talk to one of the princes, Lucas Vierge, who is on the student council, and Virgile’s younger brother, and also found out about the rule. It is decided that Grace/Kenzaburo will crossdress too, as will Anna, who wants to see Grace/Kenzaburo crossdress as a man.

Library scene from the tenth episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, with Anna and Grace pictured.

In another episode of the above series, episode 11, Grace finds Anna in the school library where she was compiling information on plays from library books, so they she can put together the script for the play they are putting on, and she has been there all day. She ends up being hungry and falls over, making Anna worry like no one’s business. She is later brought to the nurse’s room to rest.

Then in The 100 Girlfriends episode “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl,” Rentaro, Hakare, Karane, Kusuri, and Iku go looking in the a well-maintained, by dark, library storage room for Shizuka, as they continue their hide-and-seek game in the school. They find Nano and Shizuka inside a cardboard box and are overcome by the cuteness.

Then there’s an episode of K-On!, which I’m adding as I recently finished watching this series. In one scene of the episode, “Planning Discussion,” specifically in part of a promo video put together for the light music club, a female student blushes, saying she thinks the members of the light music club are “funny people” while she stands in the school library. The library is briefly shown, in this very short scene. However, the library comes up again in the film. Here’s a screenshot of that scene that I took:

Unnamed schoolgirl with glasses shown in the school library in the above mentioned episode of K-On!

Previously, I mentioned K-On! in my posting about the fictional libraries and value of studying, which examines many other animated series, noting the only other episode in the series which features a library scene, specifically in the episode “Finals.” In that episode, Yui studies with her friends in the school library for finals. Later, her friend, Azu-nyan, brings her there so she can further focus on studying. A librarian, presumably a student librarian, is shown sitting at the information desk, during the episode.

Comics recently added to this page

• Demon ‘n’ Luv, “We Eat Fish” (ep. 43)
• Vixen: NYC Vol. 2, p. 34-38

The first comic listed here is from a boy’s love webcomic I recently started reading. In this issue, a demon sits in the great library warehouse, is asked about Norway (where he claimed he is from) from Sam, a skeptical friend of Luv, and he clearly shows he has no idea what he is talking about… not one bit. Luc tries to give him some hints to help him talk to Sam. She later asks Luv if he is okay, and he is about to say that demon is a demon, but he is cut off.

As I noted in my post noting the recently added titles last month, only a select number of issues from Vixen: NYC are available on Webtoon. So, I purchased some of the volumes as a result. Volume 2 of this comic contains issues 10-19, and I previously noted how Episode 11 (can no longer be read on Webtoon), has a library scene. I also updated what I originally wrote about the library scene, from:

Vixen talks to a guy she thinks is stalking her, the same one from episode 4, in the library but its actually Beast Boy, who is a member of the Teen Titans.

This entry has now been updated to:

Vixen, stressed from hearing about the release of Kwesi, and insisting she is fine to her parents, studies in the library. She comes across the same person who was seemingly stalking her in the library. He clarifies that he was asking “weird questions” about animals because he is Beast Boy, a member of the Teen Titans. She doesn’t believe him so he transforms into a cat. Their talk, involving Beast Boy suggesting she talk to Batman, is interrupted when he is called off to deal with “hero business.”

Films recently added to this page

• K-On! the Movie

I was actually expecting to have zero entries for this month, but this film proved me wrong. This film branches from the Japanese animated series, K-On!, which focuses on four young high school girls, Yui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, and Tsumugi Kotobuki who are members of a light music club at their all-girls school, and are later joined by a younger member Azusa Nakano, with all of them hanging out in the club room, either having sweets and tea, or playing music, which they later perform. In the film, the four girls, Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Tsumugi, who are soon to graduate from their school, go on a graduation trip to London, England, hoping to do sightseeing, including visiting musical sights along the way, like Abbey Road, or the homes of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, and play two live gigs, while they think of a special song they want to perform for Azusa as a going away present. Early in the film, the school library of their all-girls school, is briefly shown in passing, but later in the film they visit the King’s Library (now called the Enlightenment Gallery) where they see a replica of the Rosetta Stone (the real stone is at the another part of the British Museum under glass), remembering back to when a replica was used when their school put on a performance of Romeo & Juliet, after the gravestone of Juliet went missing.

One of the library scenes in which the girl wants to see then movie (promoting their band) shows, and this is shown early in the film. The other library scene is in Britain.

Correction to the above: The Rosetta Stone is at the British Museum, not the British library. However, in the movie it is shown in a library setting, i.e. a library room. As I read more, it was clear that a replica is at the King’s Library of the British Museum, which is exactly what is depicted in the film! The latter is confirmed by the British Museum entry which says a replica is in that library, and without a cast, so people can touch it. The King’s Library is now called Enlightenment Gallery, according to the British Museum.

Other entries recently added to this page

• The Art of Amphibia

I received this in the mail this month. On one page (page 65), about the episode “Trip to the Archives,” which was part 2 of a season one episode (#13), it quotes Amphibia background designer Philip Vose, background designer, saying:

“Growing up, I knew I was never going to be a big-brained intellectual or scholar. But, as it turns out, you can just draw and paint things that make it seem like you are, like this decorative library and classy portrait. Fooled myself even. It’s one of the most satisfying episodes I had the privilege to work on, detailing all the bits that make it feel academically smart and historically interesting.”

While they say all this, the episode still confuses archives for libraries, and this quote doesn’t help matters! I have mentioned Amphibia a bunch of times on this blog, like here and here in 2020, and noted the library scene in “All In,” along with another in the episode “Lost in Newtopia,” with Marcy and King Andreas visiting a library in that episode, and they are in biggest and most comprehensive library in the kingdom, as they go through books, trying to find out more about the music box which brought Marcy, Sasha, and Anne to Amphibia, with this library likely having some form of organization and classification of individuals. As for the scene in “All In,” Marcy, while controlled by the Core and as a part of Darcy (Dark Marcy), she is in a memoryscape of sorts, and is guided to this library. There are at least 11 assistants there. She meets Aldrich, who welcomes her to the Core’s inner sanctum. Marcy wonders where she is, and it all disappears, leading her into a fantasy world which supposedly has everything she ever wanted.

However, I’ve never written about the episode “Trip to the Archives” on here. Rather, I have written about it on my sister blog, where I criticized the depiction of archives in the episode in a post I wrote in 2020, which I stand by. Since then, I mentioned it briefly in posts, like those here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, especially noting the confusion of libraries and archives, and that it could be called a repository, with no archivists shown, even though “someone has to go in there and organize the books, the scrolls, and other artifacts inside,” with it implied that this town archives is abandoned. In fact, an archivist character would have helped the protagonists find what they were looking for and would have saved them a lot of time instead of them searching for it themselves. Furthermore, the archives itself is mired in stereotypes, as it is underground and is described by one character as “dustier than Dusty’s dustbin.”

As Arlene Schmuland notes, many fictional archives are located in basements, accounting for the perception that archives are “dirty and ill-lit,” with the basement locations used “to represent a lack of status on the part of the office or activity located there” and dust is the “most pervasive motif associated with archives, even outside of fiction,” as I noted in a post back in November of last year. In fact, in the episode itself, there’s a sunlight timer which almost traps the protagonists inside, even as it filled with books and some artifacts. At the same time, the archives is unmanaged. As I noted in my interview with Susan Tucker, “writers for pop culture media I’ve come across seem to have little knowledge about how archives function in reality, leading some to falsely think they are the same as libraries.” That is surely the case for this town archives.

The book also shows background art for the episode “True Colors” on page 138, with black-and-white coloring by Joseph McCormick, and color by Amy Huang. However, the art shown for the episode “Lost in Newtopia” does not include anything about the library scene on the pages the art is displayed (pages 111-112). Even so, the library shown in the next-to-last episode of the entire series, “All In” is shown on page 197, with black-and-white coloring by Joe Sparrow, and color by Andy Gardner-Flexner.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#Amphibia #BlackPatrons #BlackWomen #BritishLibrary #CommonSideEffects #DemonNLuv #drugDealers #drugs #FromBureaucratToVillainess #illicitDrugs #informationProvider #KOn #KOnTheMovie #lists #mushrooms #oppression #prison #protests #RecentlyAddedTitles #RosettaStone #segregation #shortBlogs #TheSimpsons #VixenNYC

Recently added titles (March 2025)

Marshall in the library, in a prison, in the Common Side Effects episode “Blowfish”, which came out this month.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, and January and February of this year, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. No other entries with libraries (or librarians) to add for this past month, but I did come across some in anime, animation, films, and others in webcomics and manga. There may be spoilers for these episodes, so be aware.

Animated series recently added to this page

• Common Side Effects, “Blowfish” (s1 ep 7)

I’ve been watching this series since it came out, but I never expected there to be a library scene. In this scene, Marshall Cuso is in the library, in prison, drawing a diagram of the foot of fellow prisoner Hector, and writing down how he will try to heal it. He meets a fellow mycologist there, who volunteers at the library, and is praises the power of his magic mushrooms. She asks where the fiber is coming from and she becomes his drug dealer in a sense. Later, she gives him a book, in the library, and tells him he will be getting the drug that night, in a move that seems very cloak-and-dagger. Some time later, he thinks of how the blue-angel magic mushrooms are formed by the poop of his tortoise, Socrates, and he takes a drug given to him by the fellow mycologist so he can fake his own death.

I have written about prison libraries before, noting in March 2023, the unnamed prison librarian (voiced by Tress MacNeille) in The Simpsons episode “Dial “N” for Nerder”, when Lisa imagines herself as an older prisoner, with this librarian passing her jail cell with a trolley of books, asking whether she had Joyce Carol Oates. The librarian said she only had Danielle Steel, causing Lisa to scream in terror. At the time I said that that librarian was “perhaps the only prison librarian that I’ve ever seen in animation. Hopefully I see more in the future.” In another post in May 2023, I gave examples of prison libraries and/or prison librarians in various films, noting that such prison librarians, whether in film or TV, are “a mix of exaggeration and accuracy,” that real-life prisons are unlikely to “provide more than what is legally required” in their services, giving access to inmates, while librarians are torn between duties to the latter and their role as “information gatekeepers.” Since then, I’ve noted that libraries are said to be “key tools” for getting people out of prison, especially when it comes to prison libraries (which are little known of in countries such as Portugal), and the partnership between libraries and police departments.

I further stated, in a post in September 2024, that libraries are:

while…libraries can help those who were released from prison “re-enter” society, they serve an “instrumental role” in the criminal system, which…undoubtedly interlocks with oppressive systems…libraries are posed as something to disrupt pipelines to prison, but what if, sometimes, they support those pathways, and push people into prison? After all, libraries, especially in the U.S. South, upheld racial segregation, and denied opportunities for Black people to become librarians, leading to various protests (including sit-ins)….when books are seen as “longer fit for use at public libraries”, they are often sent to prisons or jails as “an act of charity”…arguably, libraries are within structurally racist systems,

Anime series recently added to this page

• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Cross-dresses” (s1 ep 10)
  
• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Gets into an Elegant Pickle” (s1 ep 11)
• K-On!, “Planning Discussion” (s2 ep 26 [extra])
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “The Time Left” (s2 ep 7) [Updated]
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “Sea of Light” (s2 ep 12) [New!]
• The 100 Girlfriends, “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl” (s2 ep 10)

I updated the entry for “The Time Left” when writing my review for this series and added the other at the same time. In the latter episode, Hanamaru reads a book in the library briefly, a small book, and later tells Chika she wants to win, no matter what.

In the above noted episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, Grace tells Anna about the rule for the student council: it requires cross-gender casting in plays, meaning that men have to play women, and women have to play men, meaning that both genders have to crossdress, hence the title of the episode. Grace says they can’t ignore the mother because her mother made the rule, as they both talk in the Royal Academy Library, and the children of Grace/Kenzaburo, see the scene play out on their TV, and theorize that they are seeing an actual world which happens to resemble the game, not a game world. Grace worries about some of the boys crossdressing as women, while noting that there is appeal. They later talk to one of the princes, Lucas Vierge, who is on the student council, and Virgile’s younger brother, and also found out about the rule. It is decided that Grace/Kenzaburo will crossdress too, as will Anna, who wants to see Grace/Kenzaburo crossdress as a man.

Library scene from the tenth episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, with Anna and Grace pictured.

In another episode of the above series, episode 11, Grace finds Anna in the school library where she was compiling information on plays from library books, so they she can put together the script for the play they are putting on, and she has been there all day. She ends up being hungry and falls over, making Anna worry like no one’s business. She is later brought to the nurse’s room to rest.

Then in The 100 Girlfriends episode “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl,” Rentaro, Hakare, Karane, Kusuri, and Iku go looking in the a well-maintained, by dark, library storage room for Shizuka, as they continue their hide-and-seek game in the school. They find Nano and Shizuka inside a cardboard box and are overcome by the cuteness.

Then there’s an episode of K-On!, which I’m adding as I recently finished watching this series. In one scene of the episode, “Planning Discussion,” specifically in part of a promo video put together for the light music club, a female student blushes, saying she thinks the members of the light music club are “funny people” while she stands in the school library. The library is briefly shown, in this very short scene. However, the library comes up again in the film. Here’s a screenshot of that scene that I took:

Unnamed schoolgirl with glasses shown in the school library in the above mentioned episode of K-On!

Previously, I mentioned K-On! in my posting about the fictional libraries and value of studying, which examines many other animated series, noting the only other episode in the series which features a library scene, specifically in the episode “Finals.” In that episode, Yui studies with her friends in the school library for finals. Later, her friend, Azu-nyan, brings her there so she can further focus on studying. A librarian, presumably a student librarian, is shown sitting at the information desk, during the episode.

Comics recently added to this page

• Demon ‘n’ Luv, “We Eat Fish” (ep. 43)
• Vixen: NYC Vol. 2, p. 34-38

The first comic listed here is from a boy’s love webcomic I recently started reading. In this issue, a demon sits in the great library warehouse, is asked about Norway (where he claimed he is from) from Sam, a skeptical friend of Luv, and he clearly shows he has no idea what he is talking about… not one bit. Luc tries to give him some hints to help him talk to Sam. She later asks Luv if he is okay, and he is about to say that demon is a demon, but he is cut off.

As I noted in my post noting the recently added titles last month, only a select number of issues from Vixen: NYC are available on Webtoon. So, I purchased some of the volumes as a result. Volume 2 of this comic contains issues 10-19, and I previously noted how Episode 11 (can no longer be read on Webtoon), has a library scene. I also updated what I originally wrote about the library scene, from:

Vixen talks to a guy she thinks is stalking her, the same one from episode 4, in the library but its actually Beast Boy, who is a member of the Teen Titans.

This entry has now been updated to:

Vixen, stressed from hearing about the release of Kwesi, and insisting she is fine to her parents, studies in the library. She comes across the same person who was seemingly stalking her in the library. He clarifies that he was asking “weird questions” about animals because he is Beast Boy, a member of the Teen Titans. She doesn’t believe him so he transforms into a cat. Their talk, involving Beast Boy suggesting she talk to Batman, is interrupted when he is called off to deal with “hero business.”

Films recently added to this page

• K-On! the Movie

I was actually expecting to have zero entries for this month, but this film proved me wrong. This film branches from the Japanese animated series, K-On!, which focuses on four young high school girls, Yui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, and Tsumugi Kotobuki who are members of a light music club at their all-girls school, and are later joined by a younger member Azusa Nakano, with all of them hanging out in the club room, either having sweets and tea, or playing music, which they later perform. In the film, the four girls, Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Tsumugi, who are soon to graduate from their school, go on a graduation trip to London, England, hoping to do sightseeing, including visiting musical sights along the way, like Abbey Road, or the homes of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, and play two live gigs, while they think of a special song they want to perform for Azusa as a going away present. Early in the film, the school library of their all-girls school, is briefly shown in passing, but later in the film they visit the King’s Library (now called the Enlightenment Gallery) where they see a replica of the Rosetta Stone (the real stone is at the another part of the British Museum under glass), remembering back to when a replica was used when their school put on a performance of Romeo & Juliet, after the gravestone of Juliet went missing.

One of the library scenes in which the girl wants to see then movie (promoting their band) shows, and this is shown early in the film. The other library scene is in Britain.

Correction to the above: The Rosetta Stone is at the British Museum, not the British library. However, in the movie it is shown in a library setting, i.e. a library room. As I read more, it was clear that a replica is at the King’s Library of the British Museum, which is exactly what is depicted in the film! The latter is confirmed by the British Museum entry which says a replica is in that library, and without a cast, so people can touch it. The King’s Library is now called Enlightenment Gallery, according to the British Museum.

Other entries recently added to this page

• The Art of Amphibia

I received this in the mail this month. On one page (page 65), about the episode “Trip to the Archives,” which was part 2 of a season one episode (#13), it quotes Amphibia background designer Philip Vose, background designer, saying:

“Growing up, I knew I was never going to be a big-brained intellectual or scholar. But, as it turns out, you can just draw and paint things that make it seem like you are, like this decorative library and classy portrait. Fooled myself even. It’s one of the most satisfying episodes I had the privilege to work on, detailing all the bits that make it feel academically smart and historically interesting.”

While they say all this, the episode still confuses archives for libraries, and this quote doesn’t help matters! I have mentioned Amphibia a bunch of times on this blog, like here and here in 2020, and noted the library scene in “All In,” along with another in the episode “Lost in Newtopia,” with Marcy and King Andreas visiting a library in that episode, and they are in biggest and most comprehensive library in the kingdom, as they go through books, trying to find out more about the music box which brought Marcy, Sasha, and Anne to Amphibia, with this library likely having some form of organization and classification of individuals. As for the scene in “All In,” Marcy, while controlled by the Core and as a part of Darcy (Dark Marcy), she is in a memoryscape of sorts, and is guided to this library. There are at least 11 assistants there. She meets Aldrich, who welcomes her to the Core’s inner sanctum. Marcy wonders where she is, and it all disappears, leading her into a fantasy world which supposedly has everything she ever wanted.

However, I’ve never written about the episode “Trip to the Archives” on here. Rather, I have written about it on my sister blog, where I criticized the depiction of archives in the episode in a post I wrote in 2020, which I stand by. Since then, I mentioned it briefly in posts, like those here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, especially noting the confusion of libraries and archives, and that it could be called a repository, with no archivists shown, even though “someone has to go in there and organize the books, the scrolls, and other artifacts inside,” with it implied that this town archives is abandoned. In fact, an archivist character would have helped the protagonists find what they were looking for and would have saved them a lot of time instead of them searching for it themselves. Furthermore, the archives itself is mired in stereotypes, as it is underground and is described by one character as “dustier than Dusty’s dustbin.”

As Arlene Schmuland notes, many fictional archives are located in basements, accounting for the perception that archives are “dirty and ill-lit,” with the basement locations used “to represent a lack of status on the part of the office or activity located there” and dust is the “most pervasive motif associated with archives, even outside of fiction,” as I noted in a post back in November of last year. In fact, in the episode itself, there’s a sunlight timer which almost traps the protagonists inside, even as it filled with books and some artifacts. At the same time, the archives is unmanaged. As I noted in my interview with Susan Tucker, “writers for pop culture media I’ve come across seem to have little knowledge about how archives function in reality, leading some to falsely think they are the same as libraries.” That is surely the case for this town archives.

The book also shows background art for the episode “True Colors” on page 138, with black-and-white coloring by Joseph McCormick, and color by Amy Huang. However, the art shown for the episode “Lost in Newtopia” does not include anything about the library scene on the pages the art is displayed (pages 111-112). Even so, the library shown in the next-to-last episode of the entire series, “All In” is shown on page 197, with black-and-white coloring by Joe Sparrow, and color by Andy Gardner-Flexner.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#Amphibia #BlackPatrons #BlackWomen #BritishLibrary #CommonSideEffects #DemonNLuv #drugDealers #drugs #FromBureaucratToVillainess #illicitDrugs #informationProvider #KOn #KOnTheMovie #lists #mushrooms #oppression #prison #protests #RecentlyAddedTitles #RosettaStone #segregation #shortBlogs #TheSimpsons #VixenNYC

Recently added titles (March 2025)

Marshall in the library, in a prison, in the Common Side Effects episode “Blowfish”, which came out this month.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, and January and February of this year, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. No other entries with libraries (or librarians) to add for this past month, but I did come across some in anime, animation, films, and others in webcomics and manga. There may be spoilers for these episodes, so be aware.

Animated series recently added to this page

• Common Side Effects, “Blowfish” (s1 ep 7)

I’ve been watching this series since it came out, but I never expected there to be a library scene. In this scene, Marshall Cuso is in the library, in prison, drawing a diagram of the foot of fellow prisoner Hector, and writing down how he will try to heal it. He meets a fellow mycologist there, who volunteers at the library, and is praises the power of his magic mushrooms. She asks where the fiber is coming from and she becomes his drug dealer in a sense. Later, she gives him a book, in the library, and tells him he will be getting the drug that night, in a move that seems very cloak-and-dagger. Some time later, he thinks of how the blue-angel magic mushrooms are formed by the poop of his tortoise, Socrates, and he takes a drug given to him by the fellow mycologist so he can fake his own death.

I have written about prison libraries before, noting in March 2023, the unnamed prison librarian (voiced by Tress MacNeille) in The Simpsons episode “Dial “N” for Nerder”, when Lisa imagines herself as an older prisoner, with this librarian passing her jail cell with a trolley of books, asking whether she had Joyce Carol Oates. The librarian said she only had Danielle Steel, causing Lisa to scream in terror. At the time I said that that librarian was “perhaps the only prison librarian that I’ve ever seen in animation. Hopefully I see more in the future.” In another post in May 2023, I gave examples of prison libraries and/or prison librarians in various films, noting that such prison librarians, whether in film or TV, are “a mix of exaggeration and accuracy,” that real-life prisons are unlikely to “provide more than what is legally required” in their services, giving access to inmates, while librarians are torn between duties to the latter and their role as “information gatekeepers.” Since then, I’ve noted that libraries are said to be “key tools” for getting people out of prison, especially when it comes to prison libraries (which are little known of in countries such as Portugal), and the partnership between libraries and police departments.

I further stated, in a post in September 2024, that libraries are:

while…libraries can help those who were released from prison “re-enter” society, they serve an “instrumental role” in the criminal system, which…undoubtedly interlocks with oppressive systems…libraries are posed as something to disrupt pipelines to prison, but what if, sometimes, they support those pathways, and push people into prison? After all, libraries, especially in the U.S. South, upheld racial segregation, and denied opportunities for Black people to become librarians, leading to various protests (including sit-ins)….when books are seen as “longer fit for use at public libraries”, they are often sent to prisons or jails as “an act of charity”…arguably, libraries are within structurally racist systems,

Anime series recently added to this page

• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Cross-dresses” (s1 ep 10)
  
• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Gets into an Elegant Pickle” (s1 ep 11)
• K-On!, “Planning Discussion” (s2 ep 26 [extra])
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “The Time Left” (s2 ep 7) [Updated]
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “Sea of Light” (s2 ep 12) [New!]
• The 100 Girlfriends, “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl” (s2 ep 10)

I updated the entry for “The Time Left” when writing my review for this series and added the other at the same time. In the latter episode, Hanamaru reads a book in the library briefly, a small book, and later tells Chika she wants to win, no matter what.

In the above noted episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, Grace tells Anna about the rule for the student council: it requires cross-gender casting in plays, meaning that men have to play women, and women have to play men, meaning that both genders have to crossdress, hence the title of the episode. Grace says they can’t ignore the mother because her mother made the rule, as they both talk in the Royal Academy Library, and the children of Grace/Kenzaburo, see the scene play out on their TV, and theorize that they are seeing an actual world which happens to resemble the game, not a game world. Grace worries about some of the boys crossdressing as women, while noting that there is appeal. They later talk to one of the princes, Lucas Vierge, who is on the student council, and Virgile’s younger brother, and also found out about the rule. It is decided that Grace/Kenzaburo will crossdress too, as will Anna, who wants to see Grace/Kenzaburo crossdress as a man.

Library scene from the tenth episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, with Anna and Grace pictured.

In another episode of the above series, episode 11, Grace finds Anna in the school library where she was compiling information on plays from library books, so they she can put together the script for the play they are putting on, and she has been there all day. She ends up being hungry and falls over, making Anna worry like no one’s business. She is later brought to the nurse’s room to rest.

Then in The 100 Girlfriends episode “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl,” Rentaro, Hakare, Karane, Kusuri, and Iku go looking in the a well-maintained, by dark, library storage room for Shizuka, as they continue their hide-and-seek game in the school. They find Nano and Shizuka inside a cardboard box and are overcome by the cuteness.

Then there’s an episode of K-On!, which I’m adding as I recently finished watching this series. In one scene of the episode, “Planning Discussion,” specifically in part of a promo video put together for the light music club, a female student blushes, saying she thinks the members of the light music club are “funny people” while she stands in the school library. The library is briefly shown, in this very short scene. However, the library comes up again in the film. Here’s a screenshot of that scene that I took:

Unnamed schoolgirl with glasses shown in the school library in the above mentioned episode of K-On!

Previously, I mentioned K-On! in my posting about the fictional libraries and value of studying, which examines many other animated series, noting the only other episode in the series which features a library scene, specifically in the episode “Finals.” In that episode, Yui studies with her friends in the school library for finals. Later, her friend, Azu-nyan, brings her there so she can further focus on studying. A librarian, presumably a student librarian, is shown sitting at the information desk, during the episode.

Comics recently added to this page

• Demon ‘n’ Luv, “We Eat Fish” (ep. 43)
• Vixen: NYC Vol. 2, p. 34-38

The first comic listed here is from a boy’s love webcomic I recently started reading. In this issue, a demon sits in the great library warehouse, is asked about Norway (where he claimed he is from) from Sam, a skeptical friend of Luv, and he clearly shows he has no idea what he is talking about… not one bit. Luc tries to give him some hints to help him talk to Sam. She later asks Luv if he is okay, and he is about to say that demon is a demon, but he is cut off.

As I noted in my post noting the recently added titles last month, only a select number of issues from Vixen: NYC are available on Webtoon. So, I purchased some of the volumes as a result. Volume 2 of this comic contains issues 10-19, and I previously noted how Episode 11 (can no longer be read on Webtoon), has a library scene. I also updated what I originally wrote about the library scene, from:

Vixen talks to a guy she thinks is stalking her, the same one from episode 4, in the library but its actually Beast Boy, who is a member of the Teen Titans.

This entry has now been updated to:

Vixen, stressed from hearing about the release of Kwesi, and insisting she is fine to her parents, studies in the library. She comes across the same person who was seemingly stalking her in the library. He clarifies that he was asking “weird questions” about animals because he is Beast Boy, a member of the Teen Titans. She doesn’t believe him so he transforms into a cat. Their talk, involving Beast Boy suggesting she talk to Batman, is interrupted when he is called off to deal with “hero business.”

Films recently added to this page

• K-On! the Movie

I was actually expecting to have zero entries for this month, but this film proved me wrong. This film branches from the Japanese animated series, K-On!, which focuses on four young high school girls, Yui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, and Tsumugi Kotobuki who are members of a light music club at their all-girls school, and are later joined by a younger member Azusa Nakano, with all of them hanging out in the club room, either having sweets and tea, or playing music, which they later perform. In the film, the four girls, Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Tsumugi, who are soon to graduate from their school, go on a graduation trip to London, England, hoping to do sightseeing, including visiting musical sights along the way, like Abbey Road, or the homes of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, and play two live gigs, while they think of a special song they want to perform for Azusa as a going away present. Early in the film, the school library of their all-girls school, is briefly shown in passing, but later in the film they visit the King’s Library (now called the Enlightenment Gallery) where they see a replica of the Rosetta Stone (the real stone is at the another part of the British Museum under glass), remembering back to when a replica was used when their school put on a performance of Romeo & Juliet, after the gravestone of Juliet went missing.

One of the library scenes in which the girl wants to see then movie (promoting their band) shows, and this is shown early in the film. The other library scene is in Britain.

Correction to the above: The Rosetta Stone is at the British Museum, not the British library. However, in the movie it is shown in a library setting, i.e. a library room. As I read more, it was clear that a replica is at the King’s Library of the British Museum, which is exactly what is depicted in the film! The latter is confirmed by the British Museum entry which says a replica is in that library, and without a cast, so people can touch it. The King’s Library is now called Enlightenment Gallery, according to the British Museum.

Other entries recently added to this page

• The Art of Amphibia

I received this in the mail this month. On one page (page 65), about the episode “Trip to the Archives,” which was part 2 of a season one episode (#13), it quotes Amphibia background designer Philip Vose, background designer, saying:

“Growing up, I knew I was never going to be a big-brained intellectual or scholar. But, as it turns out, you can just draw and paint things that make it seem like you are, like this decorative library and classy portrait. Fooled myself even. It’s one of the most satisfying episodes I had the privilege to work on, detailing all the bits that make it feel academically smart and historically interesting.”

While they say all this, the episode still confuses archives for libraries, and this quote doesn’t help matters! I have mentioned Amphibia a bunch of times on this blog, like here and here in 2020, and noted the library scene in “All In,” along with another in the episode “Lost in Newtopia,” with Marcy and King Andreas visiting a library in that episode, and they are in biggest and most comprehensive library in the kingdom, as they go through books, trying to find out more about the music box which brought Marcy, Sasha, and Anne to Amphibia, with this library likely having some form of organization and classification of individuals. As for the scene in “All In,” Marcy, while controlled by the Core and as a part of Darcy (Dark Marcy), she is in a memoryscape of sorts, and is guided to this library. There are at least 11 assistants there. She meets Aldrich, who welcomes her to the Core’s inner sanctum. Marcy wonders where she is, and it all disappears, leading her into a fantasy world which supposedly has everything she ever wanted.

However, I’ve never written about the episode “Trip to the Archives” on here. Rather, I have written about it on my sister blog, where I criticized the depiction of archives in the episode in a post I wrote in 2020, which I stand by. Since then, I mentioned it briefly in posts, like those here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, especially noting the confusion of libraries and archives, and that it could be called a repository, with no archivists shown, even though “someone has to go in there and organize the books, the scrolls, and other artifacts inside,” with it implied that this town archives is abandoned. In fact, an archivist character would have helped the protagonists find what they were looking for and would have saved them a lot of time instead of them searching for it themselves. Furthermore, the archives itself is mired in stereotypes, as it is underground and is described by one character as “dustier than Dusty’s dustbin.”

As Arlene Schmuland notes, many fictional archives are located in basements, accounting for the perception that archives are “dirty and ill-lit,” with the basement locations used “to represent a lack of status on the part of the office or activity located there” and dust is the “most pervasive motif associated with archives, even outside of fiction,” as I noted in a post back in November of last year. In fact, in the episode itself, there’s a sunlight timer which almost traps the protagonists inside, even as it filled with books and some artifacts. At the same time, the archives is unmanaged. As I noted in my interview with Susan Tucker, “writers for pop culture media I’ve come across seem to have little knowledge about how archives function in reality, leading some to falsely think they are the same as libraries.” That is surely the case for this town archives.

The book also shows background art for the episode “True Colors” on page 138, with black-and-white coloring by Joseph McCormick, and color by Amy Huang. However, the art shown for the episode “Lost in Newtopia” does not include anything about the library scene on the pages the art is displayed (pages 111-112). Even so, the library shown in the next-to-last episode of the entire series, “All In” is shown on page 197, with black-and-white coloring by Joe Sparrow, and color by Andy Gardner-Flexner.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#Amphibia #BlackPatrons #BlackWomen #BritishLibrary #CommonSideEffects #DemonNLuv #drugDealers #drugs #FromBureaucratToVillainess #illicitDrugs #informationProvider #KOn #KOnTheMovie #lists #mushrooms #oppression #prison #protests #RecentlyAddedTitles #RosettaStone #segregation #shortBlogs #TheSimpsons #VixenNYC

Recently added titles (March 2025)

Marshall in the library, in a prison, in the Common Side Effects episode “Blowfish”, which came out this month.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, and January and February of this year, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. No other entries with libraries (or librarians) to add for this past month, but I did come across some in anime, animation, films, and others in webcomics and manga. There may be spoilers for these episodes, so be aware.

Animated series recently added to this page

• Common Side Effects, “Blowfish” (s1 ep 7)

I’ve been watching this series since it came out, but I never expected there to be a library scene. In this scene, Marshall Cuso is in the library, in prison, drawing a diagram of the foot of fellow prisoner Hector, and writing down how he will try to heal it. He meets a fellow mycologist there, who volunteers at the library, and is praises the power of his magic mushrooms. She asks where the fiber is coming from and she becomes his drug dealer in a sense. Later, she gives him a book, in the library, and tells him he will be getting the drug that night, in a move that seems very cloak-and-dagger. Some time later, he thinks of how the blue-angel magic mushrooms are formed by the poop of his tortoise, Socrates, and he takes a drug given to him by the fellow mycologist so he can fake his own death.

I have written about prison libraries before, noting in March 2023, the unnamed prison librarian (voiced by Tress MacNeille) in The Simpsons episode “Dial “N” for Nerder”, when Lisa imagines herself as an older prisoner, with this librarian passing her jail cell with a trolley of books, asking whether she had Joyce Carol Oates. The librarian said she only had Danielle Steel, causing Lisa to scream in terror. At the time I said that that librarian was “perhaps the only prison librarian that I’ve ever seen in animation. Hopefully I see more in the future.” In another post in May 2023, I gave examples of prison libraries and/or prison librarians in various films, noting that such prison librarians, whether in film or TV, are “a mix of exaggeration and accuracy,” that real-life prisons are unlikely to “provide more than what is legally required” in their services, giving access to inmates, while librarians are torn between duties to the latter and their role as “information gatekeepers.” Since then, I’ve noted that libraries are said to be “key tools” for getting people out of prison, especially when it comes to prison libraries (which are little known of in countries such as Portugal), and the partnership between libraries and police departments.

I further stated, in a post in September 2024, that libraries are:

while…libraries can help those who were released from prison “re-enter” society, they serve an “instrumental role” in the criminal system, which…undoubtedly interlocks with oppressive systems…libraries are posed as something to disrupt pipelines to prison, but what if, sometimes, they support those pathways, and push people into prison? After all, libraries, especially in the U.S. South, upheld racial segregation, and denied opportunities for Black people to become librarians, leading to various protests (including sit-ins)….when books are seen as “longer fit for use at public libraries”, they are often sent to prisons or jails as “an act of charity”…arguably, libraries are within structurally racist systems,

Anime series recently added to this page

• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Cross-dresses” (s1 ep 10)
  
• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Gets into an Elegant Pickle” (s1 ep 11)
• K-On!, “Planning Discussion” (s2 ep 26 [extra])
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “The Time Left” (s2 ep 7) [Updated]
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “Sea of Light” (s2 ep 12) [New!]
• The 100 Girlfriends, “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl” (s2 ep 10)

I updated the entry for “The Time Left” when writing my review for this series and added the other at the same time. In the latter episode, Hanamaru reads a book in the library briefly, a small book, and later tells Chika she wants to win, no matter what.

In the above noted episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, Grace tells Anna about the rule for the student council: it requires cross-gender casting in plays, meaning that men have to play women, and women have to play men, meaning that both genders have to crossdress, hence the title of the episode. Grace says they can’t ignore the mother because her mother made the rule, as they both talk in the Royal Academy Library, and the children of Grace/Kenzaburo, see the scene play out on their TV, and theorize that they are seeing an actual world which happens to resemble the game, not a game world. Grace worries about some of the boys crossdressing as women, while noting that there is appeal. They later talk to one of the princes, Lucas Vierge, who is on the student council, and Virgile’s younger brother, and also found out about the rule. It is decided that Grace/Kenzaburo will crossdress too, as will Anna, who wants to see Grace/Kenzaburo crossdress as a man.

Library scene from the tenth episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, with Anna and Grace pictured.

In another episode of the above series, episode 11, Grace finds Anna in the school library where she was compiling information on plays from library books, so they she can put together the script for the play they are putting on, and she has been there all day. She ends up being hungry and falls over, making Anna worry like no one’s business. She is later brought to the nurse’s room to rest.

Then in The 100 Girlfriends episode “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl,” Rentaro, Hakare, Karane, Kusuri, and Iku go looking in the a well-maintained, by dark, library storage room for Shizuka, as they continue their hide-and-seek game in the school. They find Nano and Shizuka inside a cardboard box and are overcome by the cuteness.

Then there’s an episode of K-On!, which I’m adding as I recently finished watching this series. In one scene of the episode, “Planning Discussion,” specifically in part of a promo video put together for the light music club, a female student blushes, saying she thinks the members of the light music club are “funny people” while she stands in the school library. The library is briefly shown, in this very short scene. However, the library comes up again in the film. Here’s a screenshot of that scene that I took:

Unnamed schoolgirl with glasses shown in the school library in the above mentioned episode of K-On!

Previously, I mentioned K-On! in my posting about the fictional libraries and value of studying, which examines many other animated series, noting the only other episode in the series which features a library scene, specifically in the episode “Finals.” In that episode, Yui studies with her friends in the school library for finals. Later, her friend, Azu-nyan, brings her there so she can further focus on studying. A librarian, presumably a student librarian, is shown sitting at the information desk, during the episode.

Comics recently added to this page

• Demon ‘n’ Luv, “We Eat Fish” (ep. 43)
• Vixen: NYC Vol. 2, p. 34-38

The first comic listed here is from a boy’s love webcomic I recently started reading. In this issue, a demon sits in the great library warehouse, is asked about Norway (where he claimed he is from) from Sam, a skeptical friend of Luv, and he clearly shows he has no idea what he is talking about… not one bit. Luc tries to give him some hints to help him talk to Sam. She later asks Luv if he is okay, and he is about to say that demon is a demon, but he is cut off.

As I noted in my post noting the recently added titles last month, only a select number of issues from Vixen: NYC are available on Webtoon. So, I purchased some of the volumes as a result. Volume 2 of this comic contains issues 10-19, and I previously noted how Episode 11 (can no longer be read on Webtoon), has a library scene. I also updated what I originally wrote about the library scene, from:

Vixen talks to a guy she thinks is stalking her, the same one from episode 4, in the library but its actually Beast Boy, who is a member of the Teen Titans.

This entry has now been updated to:

Vixen, stressed from hearing about the release of Kwesi, and insisting she is fine to her parents, studies in the library. She comes across the same person who was seemingly stalking her in the library. He clarifies that he was asking “weird questions” about animals because he is Beast Boy, a member of the Teen Titans. She doesn’t believe him so he transforms into a cat. Their talk, involving Beast Boy suggesting she talk to Batman, is interrupted when he is called off to deal with “hero business.”

Films recently added to this page

• K-On! the Movie

I was actually expecting to have zero entries for this month, but this film proved me wrong. This film branches from the Japanese animated series, K-On!, which focuses on four young high school girls, Yui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, and Tsumugi Kotobuki who are members of a light music club at their all-girls school, and are later joined by a younger member Azusa Nakano, with all of them hanging out in the club room, either having sweets and tea, or playing music, which they later perform. In the film, the four girls, Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Tsumugi, who are soon to graduate from their school, go on a graduation trip to London, England, hoping to do sightseeing, including visiting musical sights along the way, like Abbey Road, or the homes of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, and play two live gigs, while they think of a special song they want to perform for Azusa as a going away present. Early in the film, the school library of their all-girls school, is briefly shown in passing, but later in the film they visit the King’s Library (now called the Enlightenment Gallery) where they see a replica of the Rosetta Stone (the real stone is at the another part of the British Museum under glass), remembering back to when a replica was used when their school put on a performance of Romeo & Juliet, after the gravestone of Juliet went missing.

One of the library scenes in which the girl wants to see then movie (promoting their band) shows, and this is shown early in the film. The other library scene is in Britain.

Correction to the above: The Rosetta Stone is at the British Museum, not the British library. However, in the movie it is shown in a library setting, i.e. a library room. As I read more, it was clear that a replica is at the King’s Library of the British Museum, which is exactly what is depicted in the film! The latter is confirmed by the British Museum entry which says a replica is in that library, and without a cast, so people can touch it. The King’s Library is now called Enlightenment Gallery, according to the British Museum.

Other entries recently added to this page

• The Art of Amphibia

I received this in the mail this month. On one page (page 65), about the episode “Trip to the Archives,” which was part 2 of a season one episode (#13), it quotes Amphibia background designer Philip Vose, background designer, saying:

“Growing up, I knew I was never going to be a big-brained intellectual or scholar. But, as it turns out, you can just draw and paint things that make it seem like you are, like this decorative library and classy portrait. Fooled myself even. It’s one of the most satisfying episodes I had the privilege to work on, detailing all the bits that make it feel academically smart and historically interesting.”

While they say all this, the episode still confuses archives for libraries, and this quote doesn’t help matters! I have mentioned Amphibia a bunch of times on this blog, like here and here in 2020, and noted the library scene in “All In,” along with another in the episode “Lost in Newtopia,” with Marcy and King Andreas visiting a library in that episode, and they are in biggest and most comprehensive library in the kingdom, as they go through books, trying to find out more about the music box which brought Marcy, Sasha, and Anne to Amphibia, with this library likely having some form of organization and classification of individuals. As for the scene in “All In,” Marcy, while controlled by the Core and as a part of Darcy (Dark Marcy), she is in a memoryscape of sorts, and is guided to this library. There are at least 11 assistants there. She meets Aldrich, who welcomes her to the Core’s inner sanctum. Marcy wonders where she is, and it all disappears, leading her into a fantasy world which supposedly has everything she ever wanted.

However, I’ve never written about the episode “Trip to the Archives” on here. Rather, I have written about it on my sister blog, where I criticized the depiction of archives in the episode in a post I wrote in 2020, which I stand by. Since then, I mentioned it briefly in posts, like those here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, especially noting the confusion of libraries and archives, and that it could be called a repository, with no archivists shown, even though “someone has to go in there and organize the books, the scrolls, and other artifacts inside,” with it implied that this town archives is abandoned. In fact, an archivist character would have helped the protagonists find what they were looking for and would have saved them a lot of time instead of them searching for it themselves. Furthermore, the archives itself is mired in stereotypes, as it is underground and is described by one character as “dustier than Dusty’s dustbin.”

As Arlene Schmuland notes, many fictional archives are located in basements, accounting for the perception that archives are “dirty and ill-lit,” with the basement locations used “to represent a lack of status on the part of the office or activity located there” and dust is the “most pervasive motif associated with archives, even outside of fiction,” as I noted in a post back in November of last year. In fact, in the episode itself, there’s a sunlight timer which almost traps the protagonists inside, even as it filled with books and some artifacts. At the same time, the archives is unmanaged. As I noted in my interview with Susan Tucker, “writers for pop culture media I’ve come across seem to have little knowledge about how archives function in reality, leading some to falsely think they are the same as libraries.” That is surely the case for this town archives.

The book also shows background art for the episode “True Colors” on page 138, with black-and-white coloring by Joseph McCormick, and color by Amy Huang. However, the art shown for the episode “Lost in Newtopia” does not include anything about the library scene on the pages the art is displayed (pages 111-112). Even so, the library shown in the next-to-last episode of the entire series, “All In” is shown on page 197, with black-and-white coloring by Joe Sparrow, and color by Andy Gardner-Flexner.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#Amphibia #BlackPatrons #BlackWomen #BritishLibrary #CommonSideEffects #DemonNLuv #drugDealers #drugs #FromBureaucratToVillainess #illicitDrugs #informationProvider #KOn #KOnTheMovie #lists #mushrooms #oppression #prison #protests #RecentlyAddedTitles #RosettaStone #segregation #shortBlogs #TheSimpsons #VixenNYC

Recently added titles (March 2025)

Marshall in the library, in a prison, in the Common Side Effects episode “Blowfish”, which came out this month.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, and January and February of this year, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. No other entries with libraries (or librarians) to add for this past month, but I did come across some in anime, animation, films, and others in webcomics and manga. There may be spoilers for these episodes, so be aware.

Animated series recently added to this page

• Common Side Effects, “Blowfish” (s1 ep 7)

I’ve been watching this series since it came out, but I never expected there to be a library scene. In this scene, Marshall Cuso is in the library, in prison, drawing a diagram of the foot of fellow prisoner Hector, and writing down how he will try to heal it. He meets a fellow mycologist there, who volunteers at the library, and is praises the power of his magic mushrooms. She asks where the fiber is coming from and she becomes his drug dealer in a sense. Later, she gives him a book, in the library, and tells him he will be getting the drug that night, in a move that seems very cloak-and-dagger. Some time later, he thinks of how the blue-angel magic mushrooms are formed by the poop of his tortoise, Socrates, and he takes a drug given to him by the fellow mycologist so he can fake his own death.

I have written about prison libraries before, noting in March 2023, the unnamed prison librarian (voiced by Tress MacNeille) in The Simpsons episode “Dial “N” for Nerder”, when Lisa imagines herself as an older prisoner, with this librarian passing her jail cell with a trolley of books, asking whether she had Joyce Carol Oates. The librarian said she only had Danielle Steel, causing Lisa to scream in terror. At the time I said that that librarian was “perhaps the only prison librarian that I’ve ever seen in animation. Hopefully I see more in the future.” In another post in May 2023, I gave examples of prison libraries and/or prison librarians in various films, noting that such prison librarians, whether in film or TV, are “a mix of exaggeration and accuracy,” that real-life prisons are unlikely to “provide more than what is legally required” in their services, giving access to inmates, while librarians are torn between duties to the latter and their role as “information gatekeepers.” Since then, I’ve noted that libraries are said to be “key tools” for getting people out of prison, especially when it comes to prison libraries (which are little known of in countries such as Portugal), and the partnership between libraries and police departments.

I further stated, in a post in September 2024, that libraries are:

while…libraries can help those who were released from prison “re-enter” society, they serve an “instrumental role” in the criminal system, which…undoubtedly interlocks with oppressive systems…libraries are posed as something to disrupt pipelines to prison, but what if, sometimes, they support those pathways, and push people into prison? After all, libraries, especially in the U.S. South, upheld racial segregation, and denied opportunities for Black people to become librarians, leading to various protests (including sit-ins)….when books are seen as “longer fit for use at public libraries”, they are often sent to prisons or jails as “an act of charity”…arguably, libraries are within structurally racist systems,

Anime series recently added to this page

• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Cross-dresses” (s1 ep 10)
  
• From Bureaucrat to Villainess, “Dad Gets into an Elegant Pickle” (s1 ep 11)
• K-On!, “Planning Discussion” (s2 ep 26 [extra])
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “The Time Left” (s2 ep 7) [Updated]
• Love Live! Sunshine!!, “Sea of Light” (s2 ep 12) [New!]
• The 100 Girlfriends, “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl” (s2 ep 10)

I updated the entry for “The Time Left” when writing my review for this series and added the other at the same time. In the latter episode, Hanamaru reads a book in the library briefly, a small book, and later tells Chika she wants to win, no matter what.

In the above noted episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, Grace tells Anna about the rule for the student council: it requires cross-gender casting in plays, meaning that men have to play women, and women have to play men, meaning that both genders have to crossdress, hence the title of the episode. Grace says they can’t ignore the mother because her mother made the rule, as they both talk in the Royal Academy Library, and the children of Grace/Kenzaburo, see the scene play out on their TV, and theorize that they are seeing an actual world which happens to resemble the game, not a game world. Grace worries about some of the boys crossdressing as women, while noting that there is appeal. They later talk to one of the princes, Lucas Vierge, who is on the student council, and Virgile’s younger brother, and also found out about the rule. It is decided that Grace/Kenzaburo will crossdress too, as will Anna, who wants to see Grace/Kenzaburo crossdress as a man.

Library scene from the tenth episode of From Bureaucrat to Villainess, with Anna and Grace pictured.

In another episode of the above series, episode 11, Grace finds Anna in the school library where she was compiling information on plays from library books, so they she can put together the script for the play they are putting on, and she has been there all day. She ends up being hungry and falls over, making Anna worry like no one’s business. She is later brought to the nurse’s room to rest.

Then in The 100 Girlfriends episode “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl,” Rentaro, Hakare, Karane, Kusuri, and Iku go looking in the a well-maintained, by dark, library storage room for Shizuka, as they continue their hide-and-seek game in the school. They find Nano and Shizuka inside a cardboard box and are overcome by the cuteness.

Then there’s an episode of K-On!, which I’m adding as I recently finished watching this series. In one scene of the episode, “Planning Discussion,” specifically in part of a promo video put together for the light music club, a female student blushes, saying she thinks the members of the light music club are “funny people” while she stands in the school library. The library is briefly shown, in this very short scene. However, the library comes up again in the film. Here’s a screenshot of that scene that I took:

Unnamed schoolgirl with glasses shown in the school library in the above mentioned episode of K-On!

Previously, I mentioned K-On! in my posting about the fictional libraries and value of studying, which examines many other animated series, noting the only other episode in the series which features a library scene, specifically in the episode “Finals.” In that episode, Yui studies with her friends in the school library for finals. Later, her friend, Azu-nyan, brings her there so she can further focus on studying. A librarian, presumably a student librarian, is shown sitting at the information desk, during the episode.

Comics recently added to this page

• Demon ‘n’ Luv, “We Eat Fish” (ep. 43)
• Vixen: NYC Vol. 2, p. 34-38

The first comic listed here is from a boy’s love webcomic I recently started reading. In this issue, a demon sits in the great library warehouse, is asked about Norway (where he claimed he is from) from Sam, a skeptical friend of Luv, and he clearly shows he has no idea what he is talking about… not one bit. Luc tries to give him some hints to help him talk to Sam. She later asks Luv if he is okay, and he is about to say that demon is a demon, but he is cut off.

As I noted in my post noting the recently added titles last month, only a select number of issues from Vixen: NYC are available on Webtoon. So, I purchased some of the volumes as a result. Volume 2 of this comic contains issues 10-19, and I previously noted how Episode 11 (can no longer be read on Webtoon), has a library scene. I also updated what I originally wrote about the library scene, from:

Vixen talks to a guy she thinks is stalking her, the same one from episode 4, in the library but its actually Beast Boy, who is a member of the Teen Titans.

This entry has now been updated to:

Vixen, stressed from hearing about the release of Kwesi, and insisting she is fine to her parents, studies in the library. She comes across the same person who was seemingly stalking her in the library. He clarifies that he was asking “weird questions” about animals because he is Beast Boy, a member of the Teen Titans. She doesn’t believe him so he transforms into a cat. Their talk, involving Beast Boy suggesting she talk to Batman, is interrupted when he is called off to deal with “hero business.”

Films recently added to this page

• K-On! the Movie

I was actually expecting to have zero entries for this month, but this film proved me wrong. This film branches from the Japanese animated series, K-On!, which focuses on four young high school girls, Yui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, and Tsumugi Kotobuki who are members of a light music club at their all-girls school, and are later joined by a younger member Azusa Nakano, with all of them hanging out in the club room, either having sweets and tea, or playing music, which they later perform. In the film, the four girls, Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Tsumugi, who are soon to graduate from their school, go on a graduation trip to London, England, hoping to do sightseeing, including visiting musical sights along the way, like Abbey Road, or the homes of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, and play two live gigs, while they think of a special song they want to perform for Azusa as a going away present. Early in the film, the school library of their all-girls school, is briefly shown in passing, but later in the film they visit the King’s Library (now called the Enlightenment Gallery) where they see a replica of the Rosetta Stone (the real stone is at the another part of the British Museum under glass), remembering back to when a replica was used when their school put on a performance of Romeo & Juliet, after the gravestone of Juliet went missing.

One of the library scenes in which the girl wants to see then movie (promoting their band) shows, and this is shown early in the film. The other library scene is in Britain.

Correction to the above: The Rosetta Stone is at the British Museum, not the British library. However, in the movie it is shown in a library setting, i.e. a library room. As I read more, it was clear that a replica is at the King’s Library of the British Museum, which is exactly what is depicted in the film! The latter is confirmed by the British Museum entry which says a replica is in that library, and without a cast, so people can touch it. The King’s Library is now called Enlightenment Gallery, according to the British Museum.

Other entries recently added to this page

• The Art of Amphibia

I received this in the mail this month. On one page (page 65), about the episode “Trip to the Archives,” which was part 2 of a season one episode (#13), it quotes Amphibia background designer Philip Vose, background designer, saying:

“Growing up, I knew I was never going to be a big-brained intellectual or scholar. But, as it turns out, you can just draw and paint things that make it seem like you are, like this decorative library and classy portrait. Fooled myself even. It’s one of the most satisfying episodes I had the privilege to work on, detailing all the bits that make it feel academically smart and historically interesting.”

While they say all this, the episode still confuses archives for libraries, and this quote doesn’t help matters! I have mentioned Amphibia a bunch of times on this blog, like here and here in 2020, and noted the library scene in “All In,” along with another in the episode “Lost in Newtopia,” with Marcy and King Andreas visiting a library in that episode, and they are in biggest and most comprehensive library in the kingdom, as they go through books, trying to find out more about the music box which brought Marcy, Sasha, and Anne to Amphibia, with this library likely having some form of organization and classification of individuals. As for the scene in “All In,” Marcy, while controlled by the Core and as a part of Darcy (Dark Marcy), she is in a memoryscape of sorts, and is guided to this library. There are at least 11 assistants there. She meets Aldrich, who welcomes her to the Core’s inner sanctum. Marcy wonders where she is, and it all disappears, leading her into a fantasy world which supposedly has everything she ever wanted.

However, I’ve never written about the episode “Trip to the Archives” on here. Rather, I have written about it on my sister blog, where I criticized the depiction of archives in the episode in a post I wrote in 2020, which I stand by. Since then, I mentioned it briefly in posts, like those here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, especially noting the confusion of libraries and archives, and that it could be called a repository, with no archivists shown, even though “someone has to go in there and organize the books, the scrolls, and other artifacts inside,” with it implied that this town archives is abandoned. In fact, an archivist character would have helped the protagonists find what they were looking for and would have saved them a lot of time instead of them searching for it themselves. Furthermore, the archives itself is mired in stereotypes, as it is underground and is described by one character as “dustier than Dusty’s dustbin.”

As Arlene Schmuland notes, many fictional archives are located in basements, accounting for the perception that archives are “dirty and ill-lit,” with the basement locations used “to represent a lack of status on the part of the office or activity located there” and dust is the “most pervasive motif associated with archives, even outside of fiction,” as I noted in a post back in November of last year. In fact, in the episode itself, there’s a sunlight timer which almost traps the protagonists inside, even as it filled with books and some artifacts. At the same time, the archives is unmanaged. As I noted in my interview with Susan Tucker, “writers for pop culture media I’ve come across seem to have little knowledge about how archives function in reality, leading some to falsely think they are the same as libraries.” That is surely the case for this town archives.

The book also shows background art for the episode “True Colors” on page 138, with black-and-white coloring by Joseph McCormick, and color by Amy Huang. However, the art shown for the episode “Lost in Newtopia” does not include anything about the library scene on the pages the art is displayed (pages 111-112). Even so, the library shown in the next-to-last episode of the entire series, “All In” is shown on page 197, with black-and-white coloring by Joe Sparrow, and color by Andy Gardner-Flexner.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#Amphibia #BlackPatrons #BlackWomen #BritishLibrary #CommonSideEffects #DemonNLuv #drugDealers #drugs #FromBureaucratToVillainess #illicitDrugs #informationProvider #KOn #KOnTheMovie #lists #mushrooms #oppression #prison #protests #RecentlyAddedTitles #RosettaStone #segregation #shortBlogs #TheSimpsons #VixenNYC

Recently added titles (January 2025)

Panels from the first/only issue (“A Difficult Start”) of Unleashed: Holly’s Story [left] and first/only issue (“Love Letter“) of Literary Link, both of which are playable stories/movable comics.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. There may be spoilers for these series, so be aware, apart from other news to share.

Animated series recently added to this page

None for this month.

No updates, but just the news that series like Teen Titans Go!, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Static Shock, were removed from Max, along with We Bare Bears, Steven Universe, and Regular Show, in October. Furthermore, Paramount+ cruelly removed various Nickelodeon titles, like My Life As a Teenage Robot last year. All of these series had library scenes. Specifically the following episodes with library scenes can no longer be streamed on Max (note: Steven Universe, Regular Show, Teen Titans Go!, and We Bare Bears can be streamed on Hulu/Disney+, as can Adventure Time, Thundercats, and some others, which originally aired on Cartoon Network, while My Life As a Teenage Robot, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Static Shock can be streamed, by paying, on Prime Video):

• Teen Titans Go! episode “Magic Man” (s6 ep 14); Raven and Beast Boy travel to the “Azarath Public Library” to get a new spellbook for Raven, as she presses a special code and fly to even get in the library.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “The Boy Who Cried Robot” (s1 ep 7b); Jenny gets a book about the “boy who cried wolf” story from Tuck, who picks up the book from a traveling bookmobile which comes to their neighborhood. An elderly White female librarian is shown working inside the bookmobile and is giving out books.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “Shell Game” (s1 ep 10b); Jenny works in a library, shelving books. In one scene, an elderly White female librarian is shown.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode “Duck!” (s5 ep 5); Mandy is trying to study in the library, but the duck keeps making fart sounds. The librarian yells at Mandy, asking her if this is how she behaves, and Mandy responds that walking up to someone, while they are trying to work, and yelling “does seem kind rude.” The librarian says she doesn’t tolerate “such behavior” in “her” library. Mandy says that is the librarian’s problem, not her problem. The librarian persists, saying she will not stand for this, steam starts coming out of her nostrils, and Mandy tells her to have her meltdown somewhere else, saying she has a report due the next day about the history of corn, and saying the librarian is distracting. She is brought to the principal’s office, Principal Good Vibes, but he can’t say anything because of the duck. Later, the duck does a farting sound over the intercom, and she talks down the duck, causing it to disappear.
• We Bare Bears episode “Our Stuff” (s1 ep 1); The protagonists go to the library to find if their stuff is there and they use a computer to look up a phone’s location. A Black librarian at the desk shushes them.
• We Bare Bears episode “Shush Ninjas” (s1 ep 11); The protagonists are in the library enjoying their quiet, with a theater worker pleading for their help. They agree to help him.
• We Bare Bears episode “The Library” (s2 ep 21); Grizz, Ice Bear, and Panda all go to the library, where they learn they have a number of overdue books, from a librarian. They find their friend Chloe there, who is cramming for a chemistry test. In the resulting episode, there are hi-jinks, like Chloe eating too much candy and zooming across the library. There are also jokes about old technology at the library and the library shown as a community space which people use to study. The presumably Thai librarian is likely voiced by Ashly Burch, when looking at the episode credits. Interestingly, the Black librarian shown in episode 1 is sitting at a table with two other presumed librarians (a Black man with glasses and a White man), at one point, and then a second time, in another scene.
• Steven Universe episode “Buddy’s Book” (s4 ep 3); Steven and Connie visit the local public library and the library book shown in this episode is later featured in “Steven’s Dream.”
• Regular Show episode “Skips vs. Technology” (s3 ep 15); Skips reads books in the library about how to fix computers and tries to help solve the problem his friends are having with a computer, and they say he needs to recognize that are some problems he just doesn’t know how to fix. It turns out his friends, Mordo and Rigs, were just trying to print out a thank you message to him all along.
• Regular Show episode “The Last Laserdisc Player” (s4 ep 30); Two store assistants tell them that a library is where “all junky stuff goes”; Mordo, Rigs, and their friend go to the local library to search for a laserdisc player, talking to two older guys who try to say that a VHS is better than a laserdisc; Archie the Archivist (voiced by John Cygan) takes them down to the basement where there are thousands of formats in storage, with the librarian thinking they are the ones who will end the “format wars,” and tells how VHS took over from laserdisc, with a goon squad which destroyed all the players in society, so VHS could be dominant; the laserdisc opens a secret chamber in the library, where they find the last laserdisc player. They have to fight off the “ancient order of the VHS” so they can watch their film, with the library getting destroyed in the process. The librarian turns into the laserdisc guardian and they later watch the movie together, which is an absurdly long film.
• Regular Show episode “Party Horse” (s6 ep 21); They go to the library to try and help Party Horse, but the library is too distracting for him, somehow. As such, the scene in the library is very short.

Anime series recently added to this page

• Honey Lemon Soda, “Because I Met You” [s1 ep 1]
• Hug! Pretty Cure, “Everyone’s Angel! Hooray Hooray! Cure Ange!” [s1 ep 2]
• Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, “In Love with Him” [s1 ep 2]

In Honey Lemon Soda, Uka Ishimori laments her life after hearing students from her previous school bully her, writing in a notebook, while sitting in the school library, that she wants to change, and Kai Miura confronts her, embarrassing her, and it seems like she is going to say something to him. However, this does not happen after she (Ishimori) hears bullies saying they will trash her shoes and their bullying gets to her, yet again, and her self-confidence is plummeting.

Then in the second episode of Hug! Pretty Cure, Hana Nono meets Saaya Yakushiji in the school library, catching her off guard, while she is working on the school newspaper. She laments that no one wants to read it. Hana helps her write an article about the Pretty Cure (herself) and even does an illustration.

Also, in the second episode of Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, Mona Kawai sees Medaka Kuroiwa in the library and grabs the same book as her. He rejects her sexual advance, and this annoys her. In actuality, he does find her cute, but he is trying to resist his desires so he can become a monk and not fall in love. She sees Tsubomi Haruno, who is watching her, and is confused. Later Mona suspects that Tsubomi is a love rival and begins to tease/flirt with him even more, which gets a rise out of him.

No new episode, but it was sadly announced that HIDIVE will be took down a series I have listed on here before, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, describing it as “a romantic high school story that sees high schooler Junta progressively dared to do wilder things to gain attention thanks to Kubo’s influence.” I wrote about the series exclusively back in March of last year:

Another library which a very similar role is the one in the romantic comedy series Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible. In the sixth episode of that series, entitled “Nurse’s Office and Main Character”, in which Junta Shiraishi tries to study for a class in the library but doesn’t understand the content and is nervous because his video games will be confiscated by his mom if he does badly on his tests. Nagisa Kubo finds him in the library and they study together. She even borrows glasses from the student librarian who she is friends with so she can look like a teacher. He agrees to let her help him with questions that he doesn’t know. She says she won’t tease those trying to learn something. [3] It may be one of the better examples of studying in the library, apart from scenes in episodes of Teasing Master Takagi-san, another romantic comedy.

…

[3] They agree to study the next day and Kubo gives the unnamed student librarian her glasses back, glasses which are fake anyway. However, they never end up having the study session the next day because Junta is sick or the day after because Kubo is sick.

I also mentioned the series in posts in May (here and here) and September of last year. The series will also be mentioned in a post next year, with a section about the (Student) librarian in the above-mentioned episode of the series. Luckily the series can still be purchased on the Sentai Filmworks store, Robert’s Anime Corner Store, and elsewhere! I purchased a copy of my own and I recommend that other people do the same.

Comics recently added to this page

• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 29“
• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 30” [season 1 finale]
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 11“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 21“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 22“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 23“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 24“

In these two episodes of Do You Like Tomboys, Shaye, while wearing a suit, brings Charlie into a library room, claiming they have serious business. She asks her if she is a “top or bottom” (referring to sexual positions) and Charlie says both (she still doesn’t totally get it). I hope there are more library scenes in this yuri/girl’s love series going forward. I think it is possible, but its up to the author.

As for the young adult series, The Dark Mermaid, in episode 11, Seulbi Yu and Hae-on Kim are working side-by-side in the library, as student librarians, and Seulbi tries to check out books, but she messes up badly and causes the books to be damaged by mistake. And Hae-on tells the patron she’ll get another book for her, and tells Seulbi to take a break. Some episodes later, in episode 21, Seulbi is informed about a mandatory field trip to another library, specifically the Barley Library in Seoul, to get another perspective on school library work. She doesn’t want to go and says she shouldn’t have joined the club. Another student librarian is also shown as well.

Later in that same episode, Hae-on, Seulbi, and others go inside the library, watched by a suspicious woman. This is followed up in episode 22 when they continue their visit to this private library, noting the books available, and events for patrons (storytime for kids), including a story about a mermaid (The Little Mermaid story). One girl speaks up and says that the story is wrong, wanting a happy ending instead. The mysterious woman talks to the girl later, who points to Hae-on and calls her a “mermaid girl.” This all continues episode 23, when Hae-on catches up with everyone, enlists Seulbi in finding the girl and her bracelet, which makes it easier for her to change form (from mermaid into human). The girl demands to play with Hae-on, she gave her bracelet, and the girl ran away. The time in the library ends in episode 24, with Hae-on getting her bracelet back, and Seulbi still remains relatively cold to Hae-on, based on a misunderstanding about their friendship (this is later cleared up in a later episode, in episodes 26 and 27 after Hae-on saves her from a guy who bullied her in the past, who is creepy and unhinged). They later conclude, in episode 27, that the woman could have been a siren just like Hae-on, although it isn’t confirmed.

Films recently added to this page

None for this month.

Other entries recently added to this page

• Literary Link, Story 1 [“Love Letter”]
• Rebel Princess Guide
• Unleashed: Holly’s Story, Story 1 [“A Difficult Start”]

As this year began, I wasn’t sure what series to add since there weren’t many with library scenes. Even wonderful comics on the Glow platform (i.e. playable stories), like Susuhara Is A Demon! Asinine Adventures, Pick Me, Don’t Look At The Sky, In My Heart, Diamond Dive – Running Latte, Office Talk, Solar Eclipse, and Warm Spring Rain, have no library scenes. [1]

However, the Diamond Dive playable story features Bailey noting a book club is moving to Cafe Diamond because the librarian is strict with the club for being too loud. In comic that this playable story is based on, there’s library scenes in the third issue (“Girl Crush“) where one protagonists, Karta Kloss (also known as “Pinky”), heads to the library at the Montgomery University, and she first meets a librarian who helps her with telling her where to get school books. Then, in the “Winter Special – Part 2” issue, a crossover with Our Days in Lumain, it ends with Pinky and Bailey arriving at the school library, Pinky telling Bailey that it was cute how starstruck she was around Lady Cassidy, causing her to blush in response. Finally, in “Issue 37“, they go to a library-like setting so they an schedule a duel, with Ms. Davies, between Karta Kloss and Bailey Montgomery.

On the other hand, some playable stories have library scenes. Unleashed: Holly’s Story [based on the webtoon Unleashed], shows Holly relaxing in the library in the first story, as she reflects on being better to her coworkers and reading a story about two older women falling in love, she meets Blaze there, an attractive woman. She gives her a card with her number on it [she meets her again in the next story, as Blaze is the new author her firm is taking on]. In the comic this is playable story is based on, originally entitled My Masochistic Boss, there’s two library scenes, from episodes 49 to 50. In the first, Blaze Clarke remembers when she went to the library because of a hostile home environment, and found a “completely different world” and a helpful elderly librarian. In the second, Blaze notes how books were an important part of her childhood, with all the information and knowledge, with all “sorts of different stories and worlds”, and that she almost gave up on a love for literature until she met Holly, and Holly accepted her as a girlfriend.

Then in the story for Literary Link on the same platform, it begins when Atlas finds a love letter, while shelving books in the library. Of course, Faye, whose also working at the library, is completely embarrassed, while Vega remains confident. Following this, Faye and Vega work efficiently to shelve the books, while Vega teases Faye about who sent the love letter to Atlas. He continues teasing her about her crush on Atlas, saying she should write her own love letter, and implies that Atlas may be gay to increase Faye’s chances. Even so, Atlas continues thinking about the letter, but puts it aside, until he leaves temporarily, and the crush between them is clear. It turns out, at the end, that the love letter is for someone entirely different! Similar to Diamond Dive, this also has library scenes. In fact, the entire series is based around library interactions. In the comic itself, Faye begins working at a local library after being obliged to do so as a form of community service, and meets Atlas, who she develops a crush on. She also helps out with events at the library.

Lastly, there’s a book I got recently which was released on September 3, 2019, after the third season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out (on August 2nd). There are some mentions of the library/archive run by Bow’s family in this book, which is broadly from Adora’s perspective. This includes describing the library as a key spot in the Whispering Woods which is “packed with First Ones books and artifacts” (page 113) and description of Bow’s family on page 19:

Bow’s dads take care of the library in the Whispering Woods. They are fascinated with First Ones tech, which is probably why Bow is so good at figuring it out. He has twelve older siblings who are all historians.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] The first is based on the webtoon Susuhara Is A Demon, the second is based on the webtoon Pick Me!!, the third is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fourth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fifth is based on the webtoon Diamond Dive, the sixth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the seventh is based on the webtoon of the same name, and the eighth is based on the webtoon of the same name.

#AdventureTime #BillyMandy #BlackLibrarians #BlackMen #bullying #DiamondDive #DoYouLikeTomboys #DonTLookAtTheSky #gayLibrarians #HoneyLemonSoda #HugPrettyCure #InMyHeart #KuboWonTLetMeBeInvisible #LesbianLibrarians #LGBTQ #librarianStereotypes #LibrariansOfColor #lists #LiteraryLink #MedakaKuroiwaIsImperviousToMyCharms #MyLifeAsATeenageRobot #MyMasochisticBoss #OfficeTalk #OurDaysInLumain #PickMe #quiet #RebelPrincessGuide #RecentlyAddedTitles #RegularShow #SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower #shortBlogs #SolarEclipse #StevenUniverse #students #SusuharaIsADemon #TeasingMasterTakagiSan #TeenTitansGo #Thundercats #WarmSpringRain #WeBareBears #yuri

Recently added titles (January 2025)

Panels from the first/only issue (“A Difficult Start”) of Unleashed: Holly’s Story [left] and first/only issue (“Love Letter“) of Literary Link, both of which are playable stories/movable comics.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. There may be spoilers for these series, so be aware, apart from other news to share.

Animated series recently added to this page

None for this month.

No updates, but just the news that series like Teen Titans Go!, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Static Shock, were removed from Max, along with We Bare Bears, Steven Universe, and Regular Show, in October. Furthermore, Paramount+ cruelly removed various Nickelodeon titles, like My Life As a Teenage Robot last year. All of these series had library scenes. Specifically the following episodes with library scenes can no longer be streamed on Max (note: Steven Universe, Regular Show, Teen Titans Go!, and We Bare Bears can be streamed on Hulu/Disney+, as can Adventure Time, Thundercats, and some others, which originally aired on Cartoon Network, while My Life As a Teenage Robot, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Static Shock can be streamed, by paying, on Prime Video):

• Teen Titans Go! episode “Magic Man” (s6 ep 14); Raven and Beast Boy travel to the “Azarath Public Library” to get a new spellbook for Raven, as she presses a special code and fly to even get in the library.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “The Boy Who Cried Robot” (s1 ep 7b); Jenny gets a book about the “boy who cried wolf” story from Tuck, who picks up the book from a traveling bookmobile which comes to their neighborhood. An elderly White female librarian is shown working inside the bookmobile and is giving out books.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “Shell Game” (s1 ep 10b); Jenny works in a library, shelving books. In one scene, an elderly White female librarian is shown.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode “Duck!” (s5 ep 5); Mandy is trying to study in the library, but the duck keeps making fart sounds. The librarian yells at Mandy, asking her if this is how she behaves, and Mandy responds that walking up to someone, while they are trying to work, and yelling “does seem kind rude.” The librarian says she doesn’t tolerate “such behavior” in “her” library. Mandy says that is the librarian’s problem, not her problem. The librarian persists, saying she will not stand for this, steam starts coming out of her nostrils, and Mandy tells her to have her meltdown somewhere else, saying she has a report due the next day about the history of corn, and saying the librarian is distracting. She is brought to the principal’s office, Principal Good Vibes, but he can’t say anything because of the duck. Later, the duck does a farting sound over the intercom, and she talks down the duck, causing it to disappear.
• We Bare Bears episode “Our Stuff” (s1 ep 1); The protagonists go to the library to find if their stuff is there and they use a computer to look up a phone’s location. A Black librarian at the desk shushes them.
• We Bare Bears episode “Shush Ninjas” (s1 ep 11); The protagonists are in the library enjoying their quiet, with a theater worker pleading for their help. They agree to help him.
• We Bare Bears episode “The Library” (s2 ep 21); Grizz, Ice Bear, and Panda all go to the library, where they learn they have a number of overdue books, from a librarian. They find their friend Chloe there, who is cramming for a chemistry test. In the resulting episode, there are hi-jinks, like Chloe eating too much candy and zooming across the library. There are also jokes about old technology at the library and the library shown as a community space which people use to study. The presumably Thai librarian is likely voiced by Ashly Burch, when looking at the episode credits. Interestingly, the Black librarian shown in episode 1 is sitting at a table with two other presumed librarians (a Black man with glasses and a White man), at one point, and then a second time, in another scene.
• Steven Universe episode “Buddy’s Book” (s4 ep 3); Steven and Connie visit the local public library and the library book shown in this episode is later featured in “Steven’s Dream.”
• Regular Show episode “Skips vs. Technology” (s3 ep 15); Skips reads books in the library about how to fix computers and tries to help solve the problem his friends are having with a computer, and they say he needs to recognize that are some problems he just doesn’t know how to fix. It turns out his friends, Mordo and Rigs, were just trying to print out a thank you message to him all along.
• Regular Show episode “The Last Laserdisc Player” (s4 ep 30); Two store assistants tell them that a library is where “all junky stuff goes”; Mordo, Rigs, and their friend go to the local library to search for a laserdisc player, talking to two older guys who try to say that a VHS is better than a laserdisc; Archie the Archivist (voiced by John Cygan) takes them down to the basement where there are thousands of formats in storage, with the librarian thinking they are the ones who will end the “format wars,” and tells how VHS took over from laserdisc, with a goon squad which destroyed all the players in society, so VHS could be dominant; the laserdisc opens a secret chamber in the library, where they find the last laserdisc player. They have to fight off the “ancient order of the VHS” so they can watch their film, with the library getting destroyed in the process. The librarian turns into the laserdisc guardian and they later watch the movie together, which is an absurdly long film.
• Regular Show episode “Party Horse” (s6 ep 21); They go to the library to try and help Party Horse, but the library is too distracting for him, somehow. As such, the scene in the library is very short.

Anime series recently added to this page

• Honey Lemon Soda, “Because I Met You” [s1 ep 1]
• Hug! Pretty Cure, “Everyone’s Angel! Hooray Hooray! Cure Ange!” [s1 ep 2]
• Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, “In Love with Him” [s1 ep 2]

In Honey Lemon Soda, Uka Ishimori laments her life after hearing students from her previous school bully her, writing in a notebook, while sitting in the school library, that she wants to change, and Kai Miura confronts her, embarrassing her, and it seems like she is going to say something to him. However, this does not happen after she (Ishimori) hears bullies saying they will trash her shoes and their bullying gets to her, yet again, and her self-confidence is plummeting.

Then in the second episode of Hug! Pretty Cure, Hana Nono meets Saaya Yakushiji in the school library, catching her off guard, while she is working on the school newspaper. She laments that no one wants to read it. Hana helps her write an article about the Pretty Cure (herself) and even does an illustration.

Also, in the second episode of Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, Mona Kawai sees Medaka Kuroiwa in the library and grabs the same book as her. He rejects her sexual advance, and this annoys her. In actuality, he does find her cute, but he is trying to resist his desires so he can become a monk and not fall in love. She sees Tsubomi Haruno, who is watching her, and is confused. Later Mona suspects that Tsubomi is a love rival and begins to tease/flirt with him even more, which gets a rise out of him.

No new episode, but it was sadly announced that HIDIVE will be took down a series I have listed on here before, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, describing it as “a romantic high school story that sees high schooler Junta progressively dared to do wilder things to gain attention thanks to Kubo’s influence.” I wrote about the series exclusively back in March of last year:

Another library which a very similar role is the one in the romantic comedy series Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible. In the sixth episode of that series, entitled “Nurse’s Office and Main Character”, in which Junta Shiraishi tries to study for a class in the library but doesn’t understand the content and is nervous because his video games will be confiscated by his mom if he does badly on his tests. Nagisa Kubo finds him in the library and they study together. She even borrows glasses from the student librarian who she is friends with so she can look like a teacher. He agrees to let her help him with questions that he doesn’t know. She says she won’t tease those trying to learn something. [3] It may be one of the better examples of studying in the library, apart from scenes in episodes of Teasing Master Takagi-san, another romantic comedy.

…

[3] They agree to study the next day and Kubo gives the unnamed student librarian her glasses back, glasses which are fake anyway. However, they never end up having the study session the next day because Junta is sick or the day after because Kubo is sick.

I also mentioned the series in posts in May (here and here) and September of last year. The series will also be mentioned in a post next year, with a section about the (Student) librarian in the above-mentioned episode of the series. Luckily the series can still be purchased on the Sentai Filmworks store, Robert’s Anime Corner Store, and elsewhere! I purchased a copy of my own and I recommend that other people do the same.

Comics recently added to this page

• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 29“
• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 30” [season 1 finale]
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 11“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 21“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 22“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 23“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 24“

In these two episodes of Do You Like Tomboys, Shaye, while wearing a suit, brings Charlie into a library room, claiming they have serious business. She asks her if she is a “top or bottom” (referring to sexual positions) and Charlie says both (she still doesn’t totally get it). I hope there are more library scenes in this yuri/girl’s love series going forward. I think it is possible, but its up to the author.

As for the young adult series, The Dark Mermaid, in episode 11, Seulbi Yu and Hae-on Kim are working side-by-side in the library, as student librarians, and Seulbi tries to check out books, but she messes up badly and causes the books to be damaged by mistake. And Hae-on tells the patron she’ll get another book for her, and tells Seulbi to take a break. Some episodes later, in episode 21, Seulbi is informed about a mandatory field trip to another library, specifically the Barley Library in Seoul, to get another perspective on school library work. She doesn’t want to go and says she shouldn’t have joined the club. Another student librarian is also shown as well.

Later in that same episode, Hae-on, Seulbi, and others go inside the library, watched by a suspicious woman. This is followed up in episode 22 when they continue their visit to this private library, noting the books available, and events for patrons (storytime for kids), including a story about a mermaid (The Little Mermaid story). One girl speaks up and says that the story is wrong, wanting a happy ending instead. The mysterious woman talks to the girl later, who points to Hae-on and calls her a “mermaid girl.” This all continues episode 23, when Hae-on catches up with everyone, enlists Seulbi in finding the girl and her bracelet, which makes it easier for her to change form (from mermaid into human). The girl demands to play with Hae-on, she gave her bracelet, and the girl ran away. The time in the library ends in episode 24, with Hae-on getting her bracelet back, and Seulbi still remains relatively cold to Hae-on, based on a misunderstanding about their friendship (this is later cleared up in a later episode, in episodes 26 and 27 after Hae-on saves her from a guy who bullied her in the past, who is creepy and unhinged). They later conclude, in episode 27, that the woman could have been a siren just like Hae-on, although it isn’t confirmed.

Films recently added to this page

None for this month.

Other entries recently added to this page

• Literary Link, Story 1 [“Love Letter”]
• Rebel Princess Guide
• Unleashed: Holly’s Story, Story 1 [“A Difficult Start”]

As this year began, I wasn’t sure what series to add since there weren’t many with library scenes. Even wonderful comics on the Glow platform (i.e. playable stories), like Susuhara Is A Demon! Asinine Adventures, Pick Me, Don’t Look At The Sky, In My Heart, Diamond Dive – Running Latte, Office Talk, Solar Eclipse, and Warm Spring Rain, have no library scenes. [1]

However, the Diamond Dive playable story features Bailey noting a book club is moving to Cafe Diamond because the librarian is strict with the club for being too loud. In comic that this playable story is based on, there’s library scenes in the third issue (“Girl Crush“) where one protagonists, Karta Kloss (also known as “Pinky”), heads to the library at the Montgomery University, and she first meets a librarian who helps her with telling her where to get school books. Then, in the “Winter Special – Part 2” issue, a crossover with Our Days in Lumain, it ends with Pinky and Bailey arriving at the school library, Pinky telling Bailey that it was cute how starstruck she was around Lady Cassidy, causing her to blush in response. Finally, in “Issue 37“, they go to a library-like setting so they an schedule a duel, with Ms. Davies, between Karta Kloss and Bailey Montgomery.

On the other hand, some playable stories have library scenes. Unleashed: Holly’s Story [based on the webtoon Unleashed], shows Holly relaxing in the library in the first story, as she reflects on being better to her coworkers and reading a story about two older women falling in love, she meets Blaze there, an attractive woman. She gives her a card with her number on it [she meets her again in the next story, as Blaze is the new author her firm is taking on]. In the comic this is playable story is based on, originally entitled My Masochistic Boss, there’s two library scenes, from episodes 49 to 50. In the first, Blaze Clarke remembers when she went to the library because of a hostile home environment, and found a “completely different world” and a helpful elderly librarian. In the second, Blaze notes how books were an important part of her childhood, with all the information and knowledge, with all “sorts of different stories and worlds”, and that she almost gave up on a love for literature until she met Holly, and Holly accepted her as a girlfriend.

Then in the story for Literary Link on the same platform, it begins when Atlas finds a love letter, while shelving books in the library. Of course, Faye, whose also working at the library, is completely embarrassed, while Vega remains confident. Following this, Faye and Vega work efficiently to shelve the books, while Vega teases Faye about who sent the love letter to Atlas. He continues teasing her about her crush on Atlas, saying she should write her own love letter, and implies that Atlas may be gay to increase Faye’s chances. Even so, Atlas continues thinking about the letter, but puts it aside, until he leaves temporarily, and the crush between them is clear. It turns out, at the end, that the love letter is for someone entirely different! Similar to Diamond Dive, this also has library scenes. In fact, the entire series is based around library interactions. In the comic itself, Faye begins working at a local library after being obliged to do so as a form of community service, and meets Atlas, who she develops a crush on. She also helps out with events at the library.

Lastly, there’s a book I got recently which was released on September 3, 2019, after the third season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out (on August 2nd). There are some mentions of the library/archive run by Bow’s family in this book, which is broadly from Adora’s perspective. This includes describing the library as a key spot in the Whispering Woods which is “packed with First Ones books and artifacts” (page 113) and description of Bow’s family on page 19:

Bow’s dads take care of the library in the Whispering Woods. They are fascinated with First Ones tech, which is probably why Bow is so good at figuring it out. He has twelve older siblings who are all historians.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] The first is based on the webtoon Susuhara Is A Demon, the second is based on the webtoon Pick Me!!, the third is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fourth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fifth is based on the webtoon Diamond Dive, the sixth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the seventh is based on the webtoon of the same name, and the eighth is based on the webtoon of the same name.

#AdventureTime #BillyMandy #BlackLibrarians #BlackMen #bullying #DiamondDive #DoYouLikeTomboys #DonTLookAtTheSky #gayLibrarians #HoneyLemonSoda #HugPrettyCure #InMyHeart #KuboWonTLetMeBeInvisible #LesbianLibrarians #LGBTQ #librarianStereotypes #LibrariansOfColor #lists #LiteraryLink #MedakaKuroiwaIsImperviousToMyCharms #MyLifeAsATeenageRobot #MyMasochisticBoss #OfficeTalk #OurDaysInLumain #PickMe #quiet #RebelPrincessGuide #RecentlyAddedTitles #RegularShow #SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower #shortBlogs #SolarEclipse #StevenUniverse #students #SusuharaIsADemon #TeasingMasterTakagiSan #TeenTitansGo #Thundercats #WarmSpringRain #WeBareBears #yuri

Recently added titles (January 2025)

Panels from the first/only issue (“A Difficult Start”) of Unleashed: Holly’s Story [left] and first/only issue (“Love Letter“) of Literary Link, both of which are playable stories/movable comics.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. There may be spoilers for these series, so be aware, apart from other news to share.

Animated series recently added to this page

None for this month.

No updates, but just the news that series like Teen Titans Go!, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Static Shock, were removed from Max, along with We Bare Bears, Steven Universe, and Regular Show, in October. Furthermore, Paramount+ cruelly removed various Nickelodeon titles, like My Life As a Teenage Robot last year. All of these series had library scenes. Specifically the following episodes with library scenes can no longer be streamed on Max (note: Steven Universe, Regular Show, Teen Titans Go!, and We Bare Bears can be streamed on Hulu/Disney+, as can Adventure Time, Thundercats, and some others, which originally aired on Cartoon Network, while My Life As a Teenage Robot, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Static Shock can be streamed, by paying, on Prime Video):

• Teen Titans Go! episode “Magic Man” (s6 ep 14); Raven and Beast Boy travel to the “Azarath Public Library” to get a new spellbook for Raven, as she presses a special code and fly to even get in the library.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “The Boy Who Cried Robot” (s1 ep 7b); Jenny gets a book about the “boy who cried wolf” story from Tuck, who picks up the book from a traveling bookmobile which comes to their neighborhood. An elderly White female librarian is shown working inside the bookmobile and is giving out books.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “Shell Game” (s1 ep 10b); Jenny works in a library, shelving books. In one scene, an elderly White female librarian is shown.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode “Duck!” (s5 ep 5); Mandy is trying to study in the library, but the duck keeps making fart sounds. The librarian yells at Mandy, asking her if this is how she behaves, and Mandy responds that walking up to someone, while they are trying to work, and yelling “does seem kind rude.” The librarian says she doesn’t tolerate “such behavior” in “her” library. Mandy says that is the librarian’s problem, not her problem. The librarian persists, saying she will not stand for this, steam starts coming out of her nostrils, and Mandy tells her to have her meltdown somewhere else, saying she has a report due the next day about the history of corn, and saying the librarian is distracting. She is brought to the principal’s office, Principal Good Vibes, but he can’t say anything because of the duck. Later, the duck does a farting sound over the intercom, and she talks down the duck, causing it to disappear.
• We Bare Bears episode “Our Stuff” (s1 ep 1); The protagonists go to the library to find if their stuff is there and they use a computer to look up a phone’s location. A Black librarian at the desk shushes them.
• We Bare Bears episode “Shush Ninjas” (s1 ep 11); The protagonists are in the library enjoying their quiet, with a theater worker pleading for their help. They agree to help him.
• We Bare Bears episode “The Library” (s2 ep 21); Grizz, Ice Bear, and Panda all go to the library, where they learn they have a number of overdue books, from a librarian. They find their friend Chloe there, who is cramming for a chemistry test. In the resulting episode, there are hi-jinks, like Chloe eating too much candy and zooming across the library. There are also jokes about old technology at the library and the library shown as a community space which people use to study. The presumably Thai librarian is likely voiced by Ashly Burch, when looking at the episode credits. Interestingly, the Black librarian shown in episode 1 is sitting at a table with two other presumed librarians (a Black man with glasses and a White man), at one point, and then a second time, in another scene.
• Steven Universe episode “Buddy’s Book” (s4 ep 3); Steven and Connie visit the local public library and the library book shown in this episode is later featured in “Steven’s Dream.”
• Regular Show episode “Skips vs. Technology” (s3 ep 15); Skips reads books in the library about how to fix computers and tries to help solve the problem his friends are having with a computer, and they say he needs to recognize that are some problems he just doesn’t know how to fix. It turns out his friends, Mordo and Rigs, were just trying to print out a thank you message to him all along.
• Regular Show episode “The Last Laserdisc Player” (s4 ep 30); Two store assistants tell them that a library is where “all junky stuff goes”; Mordo, Rigs, and their friend go to the local library to search for a laserdisc player, talking to two older guys who try to say that a VHS is better than a laserdisc; Archie the Archivist (voiced by John Cygan) takes them down to the basement where there are thousands of formats in storage, with the librarian thinking they are the ones who will end the “format wars,” and tells how VHS took over from laserdisc, with a goon squad which destroyed all the players in society, so VHS could be dominant; the laserdisc opens a secret chamber in the library, where they find the last laserdisc player. They have to fight off the “ancient order of the VHS” so they can watch their film, with the library getting destroyed in the process. The librarian turns into the laserdisc guardian and they later watch the movie together, which is an absurdly long film.
• Regular Show episode “Party Horse” (s6 ep 21); They go to the library to try and help Party Horse, but the library is too distracting for him, somehow. As such, the scene in the library is very short.

Anime series recently added to this page

• Honey Lemon Soda, “Because I Met You” [s1 ep 1]
• Hug! Pretty Cure, “Everyone’s Angel! Hooray Hooray! Cure Ange!” [s1 ep 2]
• Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, “In Love with Him” [s1 ep 2]

In Honey Lemon Soda, Uka Ishimori laments her life after hearing students from her previous school bully her, writing in a notebook, while sitting in the school library, that she wants to change, and Kai Miura confronts her, embarrassing her, and it seems like she is going to say something to him. However, this does not happen after she (Ishimori) hears bullies saying they will trash her shoes and their bullying gets to her, yet again, and her self-confidence is plummeting.

Then in the second episode of Hug! Pretty Cure, Hana Nono meets Saaya Yakushiji in the school library, catching her off guard, while she is working on the school newspaper. She laments that no one wants to read it. Hana helps her write an article about the Pretty Cure (herself) and even does an illustration.

Also, in the second episode of Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, Mona Kawai sees Medaka Kuroiwa in the library and grabs the same book as her. He rejects her sexual advance, and this annoys her. In actuality, he does find her cute, but he is trying to resist his desires so he can become a monk and not fall in love. She sees Tsubomi Haruno, who is watching her, and is confused. Later Mona suspects that Tsubomi is a love rival and begins to tease/flirt with him even more, which gets a rise out of him.

No new episode, but it was sadly announced that HIDIVE will be took down a series I have listed on here before, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, describing it as “a romantic high school story that sees high schooler Junta progressively dared to do wilder things to gain attention thanks to Kubo’s influence.” I wrote about the series exclusively back in March of last year:

Another library which a very similar role is the one in the romantic comedy series Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible. In the sixth episode of that series, entitled “Nurse’s Office and Main Character”, in which Junta Shiraishi tries to study for a class in the library but doesn’t understand the content and is nervous because his video games will be confiscated by his mom if he does badly on his tests. Nagisa Kubo finds him in the library and they study together. She even borrows glasses from the student librarian who she is friends with so she can look like a teacher. He agrees to let her help him with questions that he doesn’t know. She says she won’t tease those trying to learn something. [3] It may be one of the better examples of studying in the library, apart from scenes in episodes of Teasing Master Takagi-san, another romantic comedy.

…

[3] They agree to study the next day and Kubo gives the unnamed student librarian her glasses back, glasses which are fake anyway. However, they never end up having the study session the next day because Junta is sick or the day after because Kubo is sick.

I also mentioned the series in posts in May (here and here) and September of last year. The series will also be mentioned in a post next year, with a section about the (Student) librarian in the above-mentioned episode of the series. Luckily the series can still be purchased on the Sentai Filmworks store, Robert’s Anime Corner Store, and elsewhere! I purchased a copy of my own and I recommend that other people do the same.

Comics recently added to this page

• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 29“
• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 30” [season 1 finale]
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 11“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 21“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 22“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 23“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 24“

In these two episodes of Do You Like Tomboys, Shaye, while wearing a suit, brings Charlie into a library room, claiming they have serious business. She asks her if she is a “top or bottom” (referring to sexual positions) and Charlie says both (she still doesn’t totally get it). I hope there are more library scenes in this yuri/girl’s love series going forward. I think it is possible, but its up to the author.

As for the young adult series, The Dark Mermaid, in episode 11, Seulbi Yu and Hae-on Kim are working side-by-side in the library, as student librarians, and Seulbi tries to check out books, but she messes up badly and causes the books to be damaged by mistake. And Hae-on tells the patron she’ll get another book for her, and tells Seulbi to take a break. Some episodes later, in episode 21, Seulbi is informed about a mandatory field trip to another library, specifically the Barley Library in Seoul, to get another perspective on school library work. She doesn’t want to go and says she shouldn’t have joined the club. Another student librarian is also shown as well.

Later in that same episode, Hae-on, Seulbi, and others go inside the library, watched by a suspicious woman. This is followed up in episode 22 when they continue their visit to this private library, noting the books available, and events for patrons (storytime for kids), including a story about a mermaid (The Little Mermaid story). One girl speaks up and says that the story is wrong, wanting a happy ending instead. The mysterious woman talks to the girl later, who points to Hae-on and calls her a “mermaid girl.” This all continues episode 23, when Hae-on catches up with everyone, enlists Seulbi in finding the girl and her bracelet, which makes it easier for her to change form (from mermaid into human). The girl demands to play with Hae-on, she gave her bracelet, and the girl ran away. The time in the library ends in episode 24, with Hae-on getting her bracelet back, and Seulbi still remains relatively cold to Hae-on, based on a misunderstanding about their friendship (this is later cleared up in a later episode, in episodes 26 and 27 after Hae-on saves her from a guy who bullied her in the past, who is creepy and unhinged). They later conclude, in episode 27, that the woman could have been a siren just like Hae-on, although it isn’t confirmed.

Films recently added to this page

None for this month.

Other entries recently added to this page

• Literary Link, Story 1 [“Love Letter”]
• Rebel Princess Guide
• Unleashed: Holly’s Story, Story 1 [“A Difficult Start”]

As this year began, I wasn’t sure what series to add since there weren’t many with library scenes. Even wonderful comics on the Glow platform (i.e. playable stories), like Susuhara Is A Demon! Asinine Adventures, Pick Me, Don’t Look At The Sky, In My Heart, Diamond Dive – Running Latte, Office Talk, Solar Eclipse, and Warm Spring Rain, have no library scenes. [1]

However, the Diamond Dive playable story features Bailey noting a book club is moving to Cafe Diamond because the librarian is strict with the club for being too loud. In comic that this playable story is based on, there’s library scenes in the third issue (“Girl Crush“) where one protagonists, Karta Kloss (also known as “Pinky”), heads to the library at the Montgomery University, and she first meets a librarian who helps her with telling her where to get school books. Then, in the “Winter Special – Part 2” issue, a crossover with Our Days in Lumain, it ends with Pinky and Bailey arriving at the school library, Pinky telling Bailey that it was cute how starstruck she was around Lady Cassidy, causing her to blush in response. Finally, in “Issue 37“, they go to a library-like setting so they an schedule a duel, with Ms. Davies, between Karta Kloss and Bailey Montgomery.

On the other hand, some playable stories have library scenes. Unleashed: Holly’s Story [based on the webtoon Unleashed], shows Holly relaxing in the library in the first story, as she reflects on being better to her coworkers and reading a story about two older women falling in love, she meets Blaze there, an attractive woman. She gives her a card with her number on it [she meets her again in the next story, as Blaze is the new author her firm is taking on]. In the comic this is playable story is based on, originally entitled My Masochistic Boss, there’s two library scenes, from episodes 49 to 50. In the first, Blaze Clarke remembers when she went to the library because of a hostile home environment, and found a “completely different world” and a helpful elderly librarian. In the second, Blaze notes how books were an important part of her childhood, with all the information and knowledge, with all “sorts of different stories and worlds”, and that she almost gave up on a love for literature until she met Holly, and Holly accepted her as a girlfriend.

Then in the story for Literary Link on the same platform, it begins when Atlas finds a love letter, while shelving books in the library. Of course, Faye, whose also working at the library, is completely embarrassed, while Vega remains confident. Following this, Faye and Vega work efficiently to shelve the books, while Vega teases Faye about who sent the love letter to Atlas. He continues teasing her about her crush on Atlas, saying she should write her own love letter, and implies that Atlas may be gay to increase Faye’s chances. Even so, Atlas continues thinking about the letter, but puts it aside, until he leaves temporarily, and the crush between them is clear. It turns out, at the end, that the love letter is for someone entirely different! Similar to Diamond Dive, this also has library scenes. In fact, the entire series is based around library interactions. In the comic itself, Faye begins working at a local library after being obliged to do so as a form of community service, and meets Atlas, who she develops a crush on. She also helps out with events at the library.

Lastly, there’s a book I got recently which was released on September 3, 2019, after the third season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out (on August 2nd). There are some mentions of the library/archive run by Bow’s family in this book, which is broadly from Adora’s perspective. This includes describing the library as a key spot in the Whispering Woods which is “packed with First Ones books and artifacts” (page 113) and description of Bow’s family on page 19:

Bow’s dads take care of the library in the Whispering Woods. They are fascinated with First Ones tech, which is probably why Bow is so good at figuring it out. He has twelve older siblings who are all historians.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] The first is based on the webtoon Susuhara Is A Demon, the second is based on the webtoon Pick Me!!, the third is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fourth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fifth is based on the webtoon Diamond Dive, the sixth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the seventh is based on the webtoon of the same name, and the eighth is based on the webtoon of the same name.

#AdventureTime #BillyMandy #BlackLibrarians #BlackMen #bullying #DiamondDive #DoYouLikeTomboys #DonTLookAtTheSky #gayLibrarians #HoneyLemonSoda #HugPrettyCure #InMyHeart #KuboWonTLetMeBeInvisible #LesbianLibrarians #LGBTQ #librarianStereotypes #LibrariansOfColor #lists #LiteraryLink #MedakaKuroiwaIsImperviousToMyCharms #MyLifeAsATeenageRobot #MyMasochisticBoss #OfficeTalk #OurDaysInLumain #PickMe #quiet #RebelPrincessGuide #RecentlyAddedTitles #RegularShow #SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower #shortBlogs #SolarEclipse #StevenUniverse #students #SusuharaIsADemon #TeasingMasterTakagiSan #TeenTitansGo #Thundercats #WarmSpringRain #WeBareBears #yuri

Recently added titles (January 2025)

Panels from the first/only issue (“A Difficult Start”) of Unleashed: Holly’s Story [left] and first/only issue (“Love Letter“) of Literary Link, both of which are playable stories/movable comics.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. There may be spoilers for these series, so be aware, apart from other news to share.

Animated series recently added to this page

None for this month.

No updates, but just the news that series like Teen Titans Go!, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Static Shock, were removed from Max, along with We Bare Bears, Steven Universe, and Regular Show, in October. Furthermore, Paramount+ cruelly removed various Nickelodeon titles, like My Life As a Teenage Robot last year. All of these series had library scenes. Specifically the following episodes with library scenes can no longer be streamed on Max (note: Steven Universe, Regular Show, Teen Titans Go!, and We Bare Bears can be streamed on Hulu/Disney+, as can Adventure Time, Thundercats, and some others, which originally aired on Cartoon Network, while My Life As a Teenage Robot, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Static Shock can be streamed, by paying, on Prime Video):

• Teen Titans Go! episode “Magic Man” (s6 ep 14); Raven and Beast Boy travel to the “Azarath Public Library” to get a new spellbook for Raven, as she presses a special code and fly to even get in the library.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “The Boy Who Cried Robot” (s1 ep 7b); Jenny gets a book about the “boy who cried wolf” story from Tuck, who picks up the book from a traveling bookmobile which comes to their neighborhood. An elderly White female librarian is shown working inside the bookmobile and is giving out books.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “Shell Game” (s1 ep 10b); Jenny works in a library, shelving books. In one scene, an elderly White female librarian is shown.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode “Duck!” (s5 ep 5); Mandy is trying to study in the library, but the duck keeps making fart sounds. The librarian yells at Mandy, asking her if this is how she behaves, and Mandy responds that walking up to someone, while they are trying to work, and yelling “does seem kind rude.” The librarian says she doesn’t tolerate “such behavior” in “her” library. Mandy says that is the librarian’s problem, not her problem. The librarian persists, saying she will not stand for this, steam starts coming out of her nostrils, and Mandy tells her to have her meltdown somewhere else, saying she has a report due the next day about the history of corn, and saying the librarian is distracting. She is brought to the principal’s office, Principal Good Vibes, but he can’t say anything because of the duck. Later, the duck does a farting sound over the intercom, and she talks down the duck, causing it to disappear.
• We Bare Bears episode “Our Stuff” (s1 ep 1); The protagonists go to the library to find if their stuff is there and they use a computer to look up a phone’s location. A Black librarian at the desk shushes them.
• We Bare Bears episode “Shush Ninjas” (s1 ep 11); The protagonists are in the library enjoying their quiet, with a theater worker pleading for their help. They agree to help him.
• We Bare Bears episode “The Library” (s2 ep 21); Grizz, Ice Bear, and Panda all go to the library, where they learn they have a number of overdue books, from a librarian. They find their friend Chloe there, who is cramming for a chemistry test. In the resulting episode, there are hi-jinks, like Chloe eating too much candy and zooming across the library. There are also jokes about old technology at the library and the library shown as a community space which people use to study. The presumably Thai librarian is likely voiced by Ashly Burch, when looking at the episode credits. Interestingly, the Black librarian shown in episode 1 is sitting at a table with two other presumed librarians (a Black man with glasses and a White man), at one point, and then a second time, in another scene.
• Steven Universe episode “Buddy’s Book” (s4 ep 3); Steven and Connie visit the local public library and the library book shown in this episode is later featured in “Steven’s Dream.”
• Regular Show episode “Skips vs. Technology” (s3 ep 15); Skips reads books in the library about how to fix computers and tries to help solve the problem his friends are having with a computer, and they say he needs to recognize that are some problems he just doesn’t know how to fix. It turns out his friends, Mordo and Rigs, were just trying to print out a thank you message to him all along.
• Regular Show episode “The Last Laserdisc Player” (s4 ep 30); Two store assistants tell them that a library is where “all junky stuff goes”; Mordo, Rigs, and their friend go to the local library to search for a laserdisc player, talking to two older guys who try to say that a VHS is better than a laserdisc; Archie the Archivist (voiced by John Cygan) takes them down to the basement where there are thousands of formats in storage, with the librarian thinking they are the ones who will end the “format wars,” and tells how VHS took over from laserdisc, with a goon squad which destroyed all the players in society, so VHS could be dominant; the laserdisc opens a secret chamber in the library, where they find the last laserdisc player. They have to fight off the “ancient order of the VHS” so they can watch their film, with the library getting destroyed in the process. The librarian turns into the laserdisc guardian and they later watch the movie together, which is an absurdly long film.
• Regular Show episode “Party Horse” (s6 ep 21); They go to the library to try and help Party Horse, but the library is too distracting for him, somehow. As such, the scene in the library is very short.

Anime series recently added to this page

• Honey Lemon Soda, “Because I Met You” [s1 ep 1]
• Hug! Pretty Cure, “Everyone’s Angel! Hooray Hooray! Cure Ange!” [s1 ep 2]
• Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, “In Love with Him” [s1 ep 2]

In Honey Lemon Soda, Uka Ishimori laments her life after hearing students from her previous school bully her, writing in a notebook, while sitting in the school library, that she wants to change, and Kai Miura confronts her, embarrassing her, and it seems like she is going to say something to him. However, this does not happen after she (Ishimori) hears bullies saying they will trash her shoes and their bullying gets to her, yet again, and her self-confidence is plummeting.

Then in the second episode of Hug! Pretty Cure, Hana Nono meets Saaya Yakushiji in the school library, catching her off guard, while she is working on the school newspaper. She laments that no one wants to read it. Hana helps her write an article about the Pretty Cure (herself) and even does an illustration.

Also, in the second episode of Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, Mona Kawai sees Medaka Kuroiwa in the library and grabs the same book as her. He rejects her sexual advance, and this annoys her. In actuality, he does find her cute, but he is trying to resist his desires so he can become a monk and not fall in love. She sees Tsubomi Haruno, who is watching her, and is confused. Later Mona suspects that Tsubomi is a love rival and begins to tease/flirt with him even more, which gets a rise out of him.

No new episode, but it was sadly announced that HIDIVE will be took down a series I have listed on here before, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, describing it as “a romantic high school story that sees high schooler Junta progressively dared to do wilder things to gain attention thanks to Kubo’s influence.” I wrote about the series exclusively back in March of last year:

Another library which a very similar role is the one in the romantic comedy series Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible. In the sixth episode of that series, entitled “Nurse’s Office and Main Character”, in which Junta Shiraishi tries to study for a class in the library but doesn’t understand the content and is nervous because his video games will be confiscated by his mom if he does badly on his tests. Nagisa Kubo finds him in the library and they study together. She even borrows glasses from the student librarian who she is friends with so she can look like a teacher. He agrees to let her help him with questions that he doesn’t know. She says she won’t tease those trying to learn something. [3] It may be one of the better examples of studying in the library, apart from scenes in episodes of Teasing Master Takagi-san, another romantic comedy.

…

[3] They agree to study the next day and Kubo gives the unnamed student librarian her glasses back, glasses which are fake anyway. However, they never end up having the study session the next day because Junta is sick or the day after because Kubo is sick.

I also mentioned the series in posts in May (here and here) and September of last year. The series will also be mentioned in a post next year, with a section about the (Student) librarian in the above-mentioned episode of the series. Luckily the series can still be purchased on the Sentai Filmworks store, Robert’s Anime Corner Store, and elsewhere! I purchased a copy of my own and I recommend that other people do the same.

Comics recently added to this page

• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 29“
• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 30” [season 1 finale]
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 11“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 21“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 22“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 23“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 24“

In these two episodes of Do You Like Tomboys, Shaye, while wearing a suit, brings Charlie into a library room, claiming they have serious business. She asks her if she is a “top or bottom” (referring to sexual positions) and Charlie says both (she still doesn’t totally get it). I hope there are more library scenes in this yuri/girl’s love series going forward. I think it is possible, but its up to the author.

As for the young adult series, The Dark Mermaid, in episode 11, Seulbi Yu and Hae-on Kim are working side-by-side in the library, as student librarians, and Seulbi tries to check out books, but she messes up badly and causes the books to be damaged by mistake. And Hae-on tells the patron she’ll get another book for her, and tells Seulbi to take a break. Some episodes later, in episode 21, Seulbi is informed about a mandatory field trip to another library, specifically the Barley Library in Seoul, to get another perspective on school library work. She doesn’t want to go and says she shouldn’t have joined the club. Another student librarian is also shown as well.

Later in that same episode, Hae-on, Seulbi, and others go inside the library, watched by a suspicious woman. This is followed up in episode 22 when they continue their visit to this private library, noting the books available, and events for patrons (storytime for kids), including a story about a mermaid (The Little Mermaid story). One girl speaks up and says that the story is wrong, wanting a happy ending instead. The mysterious woman talks to the girl later, who points to Hae-on and calls her a “mermaid girl.” This all continues episode 23, when Hae-on catches up with everyone, enlists Seulbi in finding the girl and her bracelet, which makes it easier for her to change form (from mermaid into human). The girl demands to play with Hae-on, she gave her bracelet, and the girl ran away. The time in the library ends in episode 24, with Hae-on getting her bracelet back, and Seulbi still remains relatively cold to Hae-on, based on a misunderstanding about their friendship (this is later cleared up in a later episode, in episodes 26 and 27 after Hae-on saves her from a guy who bullied her in the past, who is creepy and unhinged). They later conclude, in episode 27, that the woman could have been a siren just like Hae-on, although it isn’t confirmed.

Films recently added to this page

None for this month.

Other entries recently added to this page

• Literary Link, Story 1 [“Love Letter”]
• Rebel Princess Guide
• Unleashed: Holly’s Story, Story 1 [“A Difficult Start”]

As this year began, I wasn’t sure what series to add since there weren’t many with library scenes. Even wonderful comics on the Glow platform (i.e. playable stories), like Susuhara Is A Demon! Asinine Adventures, Pick Me, Don’t Look At The Sky, In My Heart, Diamond Dive – Running Latte, Office Talk, Solar Eclipse, and Warm Spring Rain, have no library scenes. [1]

However, the Diamond Dive playable story features Bailey noting a book club is moving to Cafe Diamond because the librarian is strict with the club for being too loud. In comic that this playable story is based on, there’s library scenes in the third issue (“Girl Crush“) where one protagonists, Karta Kloss (also known as “Pinky”), heads to the library at the Montgomery University, and she first meets a librarian who helps her with telling her where to get school books. Then, in the “Winter Special – Part 2” issue, a crossover with Our Days in Lumain, it ends with Pinky and Bailey arriving at the school library, Pinky telling Bailey that it was cute how starstruck she was around Lady Cassidy, causing her to blush in response. Finally, in “Issue 37“, they go to a library-like setting so they an schedule a duel, with Ms. Davies, between Karta Kloss and Bailey Montgomery.

On the other hand, some playable stories have library scenes. Unleashed: Holly’s Story [based on the webtoon Unleashed], shows Holly relaxing in the library in the first story, as she reflects on being better to her coworkers and reading a story about two older women falling in love, she meets Blaze there, an attractive woman. She gives her a card with her number on it [she meets her again in the next story, as Blaze is the new author her firm is taking on]. In the comic this is playable story is based on, originally entitled My Masochistic Boss, there’s two library scenes, from episodes 49 to 50. In the first, Blaze Clarke remembers when she went to the library because of a hostile home environment, and found a “completely different world” and a helpful elderly librarian. In the second, Blaze notes how books were an important part of her childhood, with all the information and knowledge, with all “sorts of different stories and worlds”, and that she almost gave up on a love for literature until she met Holly, and Holly accepted her as a girlfriend.

Then in the story for Literary Link on the same platform, it begins when Atlas finds a love letter, while shelving books in the library. Of course, Faye, whose also working at the library, is completely embarrassed, while Vega remains confident. Following this, Faye and Vega work efficiently to shelve the books, while Vega teases Faye about who sent the love letter to Atlas. He continues teasing her about her crush on Atlas, saying she should write her own love letter, and implies that Atlas may be gay to increase Faye’s chances. Even so, Atlas continues thinking about the letter, but puts it aside, until he leaves temporarily, and the crush between them is clear. It turns out, at the end, that the love letter is for someone entirely different! Similar to Diamond Dive, this also has library scenes. In fact, the entire series is based around library interactions. In the comic itself, Faye begins working at a local library after being obliged to do so as a form of community service, and meets Atlas, who she develops a crush on. She also helps out with events at the library.

Lastly, there’s a book I got recently which was released on September 3, 2019, after the third season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out (on August 2nd). There are some mentions of the library/archive run by Bow’s family in this book, which is broadly from Adora’s perspective. This includes describing the library as a key spot in the Whispering Woods which is “packed with First Ones books and artifacts” (page 113) and description of Bow’s family on page 19:

Bow’s dads take care of the library in the Whispering Woods. They are fascinated with First Ones tech, which is probably why Bow is so good at figuring it out. He has twelve older siblings who are all historians.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] The first is based on the webtoon Susuhara Is A Demon, the second is based on the webtoon Pick Me!!, the third is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fourth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fifth is based on the webtoon Diamond Dive, the sixth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the seventh is based on the webtoon of the same name, and the eighth is based on the webtoon of the same name.

#AdventureTime #BillyMandy #BlackLibrarians #BlackMen #bullying #DiamondDive #DoYouLikeTomboys #DonTLookAtTheSky #gayLibrarians #HoneyLemonSoda #HugPrettyCure #InMyHeart #KuboWonTLetMeBeInvisible #LesbianLibrarians #LGBTQ #librarianStereotypes #LibrariansOfColor #lists #LiteraryLink #MedakaKuroiwaIsImperviousToMyCharms #MyLifeAsATeenageRobot #MyMasochisticBoss #OfficeTalk #OurDaysInLumain #PickMe #quiet #RebelPrincessGuide #RecentlyAddedTitles #RegularShow #SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower #shortBlogs #SolarEclipse #StevenUniverse #students #SusuharaIsADemon #TeasingMasterTakagiSan #TeenTitansGo #Thundercats #WarmSpringRain #WeBareBears #yuri

Recently added titles (January 2025)

Panels from the first/only issue (“A Difficult Start”) of Unleashed: Holly’s Story [left] and first/only issue (“Love Letter“) of Literary Link, both of which are playable stories/movable comics.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. There may be spoilers for these series, so be aware, apart from other news to share.

Animated series recently added to this page

None for this month.

No updates, but just the news that series like Teen Titans Go!, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Static Shock, were removed from Max, along with We Bare Bears, Steven Universe, and Regular Show, in October. Furthermore, Paramount+ cruelly removed various Nickelodeon titles, like My Life As a Teenage Robot last year. All of these series had library scenes. Specifically the following episodes with library scenes can no longer be streamed on Max (note: Steven Universe, Regular Show, Teen Titans Go!, and We Bare Bears can be streamed on Hulu/Disney+, as can Adventure Time, Thundercats, and some others, which originally aired on Cartoon Network, while My Life As a Teenage Robot, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Static Shock can be streamed, by paying, on Prime Video):

• Teen Titans Go! episode “Magic Man” (s6 ep 14); Raven and Beast Boy travel to the “Azarath Public Library” to get a new spellbook for Raven, as she presses a special code and fly to even get in the library.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “The Boy Who Cried Robot” (s1 ep 7b); Jenny gets a book about the “boy who cried wolf” story from Tuck, who picks up the book from a traveling bookmobile which comes to their neighborhood. An elderly White female librarian is shown working inside the bookmobile and is giving out books.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot episode “Shell Game” (s1 ep 10b); Jenny works in a library, shelving books. In one scene, an elderly White female librarian is shown.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode “Duck!” (s5 ep 5); Mandy is trying to study in the library, but the duck keeps making fart sounds. The librarian yells at Mandy, asking her if this is how she behaves, and Mandy responds that walking up to someone, while they are trying to work, and yelling “does seem kind rude.” The librarian says she doesn’t tolerate “such behavior” in “her” library. Mandy says that is the librarian’s problem, not her problem. The librarian persists, saying she will not stand for this, steam starts coming out of her nostrils, and Mandy tells her to have her meltdown somewhere else, saying she has a report due the next day about the history of corn, and saying the librarian is distracting. She is brought to the principal’s office, Principal Good Vibes, but he can’t say anything because of the duck. Later, the duck does a farting sound over the intercom, and she talks down the duck, causing it to disappear.
• We Bare Bears episode “Our Stuff” (s1 ep 1); The protagonists go to the library to find if their stuff is there and they use a computer to look up a phone’s location. A Black librarian at the desk shushes them.
• We Bare Bears episode “Shush Ninjas” (s1 ep 11); The protagonists are in the library enjoying their quiet, with a theater worker pleading for their help. They agree to help him.
• We Bare Bears episode “The Library” (s2 ep 21); Grizz, Ice Bear, and Panda all go to the library, where they learn they have a number of overdue books, from a librarian. They find their friend Chloe there, who is cramming for a chemistry test. In the resulting episode, there are hi-jinks, like Chloe eating too much candy and zooming across the library. There are also jokes about old technology at the library and the library shown as a community space which people use to study. The presumably Thai librarian is likely voiced by Ashly Burch, when looking at the episode credits. Interestingly, the Black librarian shown in episode 1 is sitting at a table with two other presumed librarians (a Black man with glasses and a White man), at one point, and then a second time, in another scene.
• Steven Universe episode “Buddy’s Book” (s4 ep 3); Steven and Connie visit the local public library and the library book shown in this episode is later featured in “Steven’s Dream.”
• Regular Show episode “Skips vs. Technology” (s3 ep 15); Skips reads books in the library about how to fix computers and tries to help solve the problem his friends are having with a computer, and they say he needs to recognize that are some problems he just doesn’t know how to fix. It turns out his friends, Mordo and Rigs, were just trying to print out a thank you message to him all along.
• Regular Show episode “The Last Laserdisc Player” (s4 ep 30); Two store assistants tell them that a library is where “all junky stuff goes”; Mordo, Rigs, and their friend go to the local library to search for a laserdisc player, talking to two older guys who try to say that a VHS is better than a laserdisc; Archie the Archivist (voiced by John Cygan) takes them down to the basement where there are thousands of formats in storage, with the librarian thinking they are the ones who will end the “format wars,” and tells how VHS took over from laserdisc, with a goon squad which destroyed all the players in society, so VHS could be dominant; the laserdisc opens a secret chamber in the library, where they find the last laserdisc player. They have to fight off the “ancient order of the VHS” so they can watch their film, with the library getting destroyed in the process. The librarian turns into the laserdisc guardian and they later watch the movie together, which is an absurdly long film.
• Regular Show episode “Party Horse” (s6 ep 21); They go to the library to try and help Party Horse, but the library is too distracting for him, somehow. As such, the scene in the library is very short.

Anime series recently added to this page

• Honey Lemon Soda, “Because I Met You” [s1 ep 1]
• Hug! Pretty Cure, “Everyone’s Angel! Hooray Hooray! Cure Ange!” [s1 ep 2]
• Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, “In Love with Him” [s1 ep 2]

In Honey Lemon Soda, Uka Ishimori laments her life after hearing students from her previous school bully her, writing in a notebook, while sitting in the school library, that she wants to change, and Kai Miura confronts her, embarrassing her, and it seems like she is going to say something to him. However, this does not happen after she (Ishimori) hears bullies saying they will trash her shoes and their bullying gets to her, yet again, and her self-confidence is plummeting.

Then in the second episode of Hug! Pretty Cure, Hana Nono meets Saaya Yakushiji in the school library, catching her off guard, while she is working on the school newspaper. She laments that no one wants to read it. Hana helps her write an article about the Pretty Cure (herself) and even does an illustration.

Also, in the second episode of Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, Mona Kawai sees Medaka Kuroiwa in the library and grabs the same book as her. He rejects her sexual advance, and this annoys her. In actuality, he does find her cute, but he is trying to resist his desires so he can become a monk and not fall in love. She sees Tsubomi Haruno, who is watching her, and is confused. Later Mona suspects that Tsubomi is a love rival and begins to tease/flirt with him even more, which gets a rise out of him.

No new episode, but it was sadly announced that HIDIVE will be took down a series I have listed on here before, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, describing it as “a romantic high school story that sees high schooler Junta progressively dared to do wilder things to gain attention thanks to Kubo’s influence.” I wrote about the series exclusively back in March of last year:

Another library which a very similar role is the one in the romantic comedy series Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible. In the sixth episode of that series, entitled “Nurse’s Office and Main Character”, in which Junta Shiraishi tries to study for a class in the library but doesn’t understand the content and is nervous because his video games will be confiscated by his mom if he does badly on his tests. Nagisa Kubo finds him in the library and they study together. She even borrows glasses from the student librarian who she is friends with so she can look like a teacher. He agrees to let her help him with questions that he doesn’t know. She says she won’t tease those trying to learn something. [3] It may be one of the better examples of studying in the library, apart from scenes in episodes of Teasing Master Takagi-san, another romantic comedy.

…

[3] They agree to study the next day and Kubo gives the unnamed student librarian her glasses back, glasses which are fake anyway. However, they never end up having the study session the next day because Junta is sick or the day after because Kubo is sick.

I also mentioned the series in posts in May (here and here) and September of last year. The series will also be mentioned in a post next year, with a section about the (Student) librarian in the above-mentioned episode of the series. Luckily the series can still be purchased on the Sentai Filmworks store, Robert’s Anime Corner Store, and elsewhere! I purchased a copy of my own and I recommend that other people do the same.

Comics recently added to this page

• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 29“
• Do You Like Tomboys, “Episode 30” [season 1 finale]
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 11“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 21“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 22“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 23“
• The Dark Mermaid, “Episode 24“

In these two episodes of Do You Like Tomboys, Shaye, while wearing a suit, brings Charlie into a library room, claiming they have serious business. She asks her if she is a “top or bottom” (referring to sexual positions) and Charlie says both (she still doesn’t totally get it). I hope there are more library scenes in this yuri/girl’s love series going forward. I think it is possible, but its up to the author.

As for the young adult series, The Dark Mermaid, in episode 11, Seulbi Yu and Hae-on Kim are working side-by-side in the library, as student librarians, and Seulbi tries to check out books, but she messes up badly and causes the books to be damaged by mistake. And Hae-on tells the patron she’ll get another book for her, and tells Seulbi to take a break. Some episodes later, in episode 21, Seulbi is informed about a mandatory field trip to another library, specifically the Barley Library in Seoul, to get another perspective on school library work. She doesn’t want to go and says she shouldn’t have joined the club. Another student librarian is also shown as well.

Later in that same episode, Hae-on, Seulbi, and others go inside the library, watched by a suspicious woman. This is followed up in episode 22 when they continue their visit to this private library, noting the books available, and events for patrons (storytime for kids), including a story about a mermaid (The Little Mermaid story). One girl speaks up and says that the story is wrong, wanting a happy ending instead. The mysterious woman talks to the girl later, who points to Hae-on and calls her a “mermaid girl.” This all continues episode 23, when Hae-on catches up with everyone, enlists Seulbi in finding the girl and her bracelet, which makes it easier for her to change form (from mermaid into human). The girl demands to play with Hae-on, she gave her bracelet, and the girl ran away. The time in the library ends in episode 24, with Hae-on getting her bracelet back, and Seulbi still remains relatively cold to Hae-on, based on a misunderstanding about their friendship (this is later cleared up in a later episode, in episodes 26 and 27 after Hae-on saves her from a guy who bullied her in the past, who is creepy and unhinged). They later conclude, in episode 27, that the woman could have been a siren just like Hae-on, although it isn’t confirmed.

Films recently added to this page

None for this month.

Other entries recently added to this page

• Literary Link, Story 1 [“Love Letter”]
• Rebel Princess Guide
• Unleashed: Holly’s Story, Story 1 [“A Difficult Start”]

As this year began, I wasn’t sure what series to add since there weren’t many with library scenes. Even wonderful comics on the Glow platform (i.e. playable stories), like Susuhara Is A Demon! Asinine Adventures, Pick Me, Don’t Look At The Sky, In My Heart, Diamond Dive – Running Latte, Office Talk, Solar Eclipse, and Warm Spring Rain, have no library scenes. [1]

However, the Diamond Dive playable story features Bailey noting a book club is moving to Cafe Diamond because the librarian is strict with the club for being too loud. In comic that this playable story is based on, there’s library scenes in the third issue (“Girl Crush“) where one protagonists, Karta Kloss (also known as “Pinky”), heads to the library at the Montgomery University, and she first meets a librarian who helps her with telling her where to get school books. Then, in the “Winter Special – Part 2” issue, a crossover with Our Days in Lumain, it ends with Pinky and Bailey arriving at the school library, Pinky telling Bailey that it was cute how starstruck she was around Lady Cassidy, causing her to blush in response. Finally, in “Issue 37“, they go to a library-like setting so they an schedule a duel, with Ms. Davies, between Karta Kloss and Bailey Montgomery.

On the other hand, some playable stories have library scenes. Unleashed: Holly’s Story [based on the webtoon Unleashed], shows Holly relaxing in the library in the first story, as she reflects on being better to her coworkers and reading a story about two older women falling in love, she meets Blaze there, an attractive woman. She gives her a card with her number on it [she meets her again in the next story, as Blaze is the new author her firm is taking on]. In the comic this is playable story is based on, originally entitled My Masochistic Boss, there’s two library scenes, from episodes 49 to 50. In the first, Blaze Clarke remembers when she went to the library because of a hostile home environment, and found a “completely different world” and a helpful elderly librarian. In the second, Blaze notes how books were an important part of her childhood, with all the information and knowledge, with all “sorts of different stories and worlds”, and that she almost gave up on a love for literature until she met Holly, and Holly accepted her as a girlfriend.

Then in the story for Literary Link on the same platform, it begins when Atlas finds a love letter, while shelving books in the library. Of course, Faye, whose also working at the library, is completely embarrassed, while Vega remains confident. Following this, Faye and Vega work efficiently to shelve the books, while Vega teases Faye about who sent the love letter to Atlas. He continues teasing her about her crush on Atlas, saying she should write her own love letter, and implies that Atlas may be gay to increase Faye’s chances. Even so, Atlas continues thinking about the letter, but puts it aside, until he leaves temporarily, and the crush between them is clear. It turns out, at the end, that the love letter is for someone entirely different! Similar to Diamond Dive, this also has library scenes. In fact, the entire series is based around library interactions. In the comic itself, Faye begins working at a local library after being obliged to do so as a form of community service, and meets Atlas, who she develops a crush on. She also helps out with events at the library.

Lastly, there’s a book I got recently which was released on September 3, 2019, after the third season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out (on August 2nd). There are some mentions of the library/archive run by Bow’s family in this book, which is broadly from Adora’s perspective. This includes describing the library as a key spot in the Whispering Woods which is “packed with First Ones books and artifacts” (page 113) and description of Bow’s family on page 19:

Bow’s dads take care of the library in the Whispering Woods. They are fascinated with First Ones tech, which is probably why Bow is so good at figuring it out. He has twelve older siblings who are all historians.

© 2024-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] The first is based on the webtoon Susuhara Is A Demon, the second is based on the webtoon Pick Me!!, the third is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fourth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the fifth is based on the webtoon Diamond Dive, the sixth is based on the webtoon of the same name, the seventh is based on the webtoon of the same name, and the eighth is based on the webtoon of the same name.

#AdventureTime #BillyMandy #BlackLibrarians #BlackMen #bullying #DiamondDive #DoYouLikeTomboys #DonTLookAtTheSky #gayLibrarians #HoneyLemonSoda #HugPrettyCure #InMyHeart #KuboWonTLetMeBeInvisible #LesbianLibrarians #LGBTQ #librarianStereotypes #LibrariansOfColor #lists #LiteraryLink #MedakaKuroiwaIsImperviousToMyCharms #MyLifeAsATeenageRobot #MyMasochisticBoss #OfficeTalk #OurDaysInLumain #PickMe #quiet #RebelPrincessGuide #RecentlyAddedTitles #RegularShow #SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower #shortBlogs #SolarEclipse #StevenUniverse #students #SusuharaIsADemon #TeasingMasterTakagiSan #TeenTitansGo #Thundercats #WarmSpringRain #WeBareBears #yuri

Recently added titles (October 2024)

Local public library as shown in Encouragement of Climb episode The Homework’s Unending!

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September of this year, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. Note: There will be spoilers for the series I am discussing here.

Animated series recently added to this page

• Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, “Whanaungatanga” (s1 ep 5)

In this episode, in one scene, a messy library is shown, said to be the “best in the world.” While the location of this library is not stated, it is messy and somewhere within the mansion of Lara Croft’s family (possibly in Australia maybe? It’s definitely not in the UK), with her friend Zip being tired after reading the text of some dry history books on the Zulus. She tells him that this place is important to her, pointing to where her mother taught her French, and other life events that happened there, saying the place is full of “too many memories” and there’s no room for her there. She learns that her friend Jonah remembers Charles Devereaux, the series villain, heard him talking about the Battle of Zhuolu, not Zulu, which was one of the founding battles of China she heard about as a kid.

Anime series recently added to this page

• Encouragement of Climb, “The Homework’s Unending!” (s2 ep 19)
• Encouragement of Climb, “Kokona’s Big Hanno Adventure” (s2 ep 20)
• I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History (s1 ep 1)
• I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History (s1 ep 2)
• I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History (s1 ep 3)
• I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History (s1 ep 4)
• No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! aka WataMote, “Since I’m Not Popular, I’ll Go See the Fireworks” (s1 ep 6)
• No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! aka WataMote, “Since I’m Not Popular, I’ll Put on Airs” (s1 ep 8)

In the first episode mentioned here, Aoi Takimura studies with her friends at the local public library during the summer to get her homework done before she hikes on a nearby mountain, which is starting to make her exhausted. The fact she has any summer homework is a crime. She shouldn’t have any!

In the second episode mentioned here, Kokona goes to a local park (Akebano Children’s Forest Park) to try out her new shoes her mother gave her to celebrate her birthday, where she goes into a library room, in a building that almost looks like it came out of a fairytale, and happily reads a book, in one scene. Later she tells her mom that she “read an old book” there.

I mentioned it before, but in the first episode of Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit, which is a sort of reboot/revival of Encouragement of Climb, Aoi visits a local library and reads about mountain climbing. One of the librarians, a student at the same high school she goes to, recognizes her. The protagonist later describes the library as a place she likes to go since she is nice and quiet.

As for WataMote, in the sixth episode, noted above, the socially anxious protagonist Tomoko Kuroki, goes to the library in hopes of asking a nerd to the fireworks during the summer break from school, but decides to ask a cute girl in the library to go to the fireworks. However, before she can say anything, she realizes the girl has friends, and stops herself. After the girl leaves with her friends, she says her only option is a huge nerd reading in the library. She sets a timer, hoping he will ask her to go the fireworks, then takes a fake call with someone saying they can’t go to the fireworks, and says something hoping to entice him, and sits back in her seat, declaring the stage is set. Instead, he leaves and never says a word to her. There’s also a brief library scene in the eighth episode involving the cousin of Tomoko, Ki-tan, who comes to visit during the summer. The latter only involves the library as a brief setting, but Ki-tan is shown reading in the library and Tomoko walks through it.

I mentioned library scenes in the manga, from which this animated series was based, specifically in chapters 46, 47, 48, 50, and 84 back in August. I came across another scene in chapter, specifically chapter 101, in which Akari Iguchi (who has a crush on Tomoko’s brother, Tomoki) goes to the library where she sees Koriyama Kotomi, who is serving as the librarian, and Tomoko gets Arkari o admit she likes Tomoki, while Koriyama admits she likes Tomoki and his sexual organs. Akari claims she only likes Tomoki for his personality, something that confuses Tomoko because he has a terrible personality (not saying hers is great though).

I began watching I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History (fully known as this, plus the colon “It Seems Turning into a High-Born Baddie Makes the Prince All the More Lovestruck” or Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo: Akuyaku Reijō ni Naru hodo Ōji no Dekiai wa Kasoku suru yō desu! in Japanese) on a whim, and in the first episode, shown above, the protagonist Alicia goes through the library to learn more about magic. She walks through the stacks so she can begin to master magic, to find the right book so she can begin self-training, but no book in the entire library is about magic, annoying her, so she decides to read a book on plants instead. She later is proud of herself for reading many books (probably 20-30) in one day. She goes to the library the next day so she can continue her reading. Her mother is even impressed. After a week, she has gained more energy. The next day she goes to the library again, and then leaves so she can do sword training.

In the next episode she goes to the library again and looks at a map, deciding to go to a far-off village, Lorea, so she can help. She decides to sneak out, knowing she won’t be able to go there with permission. She is shown reading in the library later on (set two years later), still learning more from the library’s collections. Some time later, she declares she will dedicate herself more to her studies to become the best villainess possible, so she returns to the library, hoping to find a grimoire this time. Her magical powers reveal hidden shelves of the library that she couldn’t see before, amazing her.

In the third episode, Alice goes to the reference room in the magic academy, which, of course, includes a library. Similarly, there is a library scene in the fourth episode as well, when the protagonist begins going to the magic academy, and is brought into the library by the prince in a transport spell without her permission, catching her completely off guard. She later says her conduct there is “completely unbecoming of a villainess” (whether that is true is up to the viewer).

Comics recently added to this page

• Diamond Dive, Issue 37
  
• Hilda and the Black Hound, page 41
• Humanoido, “Ep. 6 – I’ll Talk to You as a Friend“
• Kiniro Mosaic vol. 2 (p. 79-80)
• No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Chapter 101
• The Engagement of the Disgraced Witch and the Cross-Dressing Princess, Chapter 9, “Green Convictions”
• The Oracle, Issue 2

I have already have mentioned Hilda animated series many times and I decided to check out the original graphic novels by Luke Pearson. Internet Archive has the first five. This is the only one that has a scene in a library, and while a librarian is shown, it is very brief. I also read the other graphic novel, Hilda and the Mountain King, and it has no scenes in libraries.

As for Diamond Dive, you can’t read this unless you have logged in, as you can’t view mature content on the site otherwise. Anyway, in this issue, they go to a library-like setting so they an schedule a duel with Ms. Davies, between Karta Kloss and Bailey Montgomery.

As for The Oracle, Niko goes to the school library, reading a book on Grimoire half-truths, being interested in what it said. Then for chapter 9, entitled “The Convictions”, in The Engagement of the Disgraced Witch and the Cross-Dressing Princess, the protagonist, the cross-dressing princess, Ciel, is shown reading in the central library of the capital, about traditions and fairy tales about witches, along with a scholar from the city and woman she loves, according to the 20th to 27th pages of the comic scan I read.

Then there’s Humanoido. In this sixth issue, Ido Noh and another girl, Jisu, are studying in the library together, but she is pulled away because “something exciting” is going on. In this flashback, Jisu wonders whether Ido wants to hang out with her at all, because she is very silent, and says it is like she is “talking to a machine.” It is observations like that which get her branded as a robot (even though she is human) and cause a misunderstanding: an actual robotic boy, Se-i Ryu, thinks that Ido is like him, serving as the crux of the story.

Lastly, I received the second volume of the Kiniro Mosaic [also known as Kin-iro Mosaic and Kinmoza] manga and the first volume of the Lycoris Recoil manga this month in the mail this month. Unsurprisingly, the latter didn’t have any library scenes (it did have some archivy themes which I’ll post about later on Wading Through the Cultural Stacks at some point). However, the Kiniro Mosaic manga volume did have library scenes, without librarians. In the past, I’ve noted the anime adaptation (which I was familiar with first and even wrote about in a review of the series Blu-ray for Pop Culture Maniacs, and even noted that it “depicts British-ness more positively than R.O.D. the TV which depicts the British Library as the series antagonists as they try to seize all the world’s knowledge for themselves”) on this blog, firstly noting library scenes in the episodes “Present For You” and “The Girl on My Mind”, with the latter featuring an unnamed and uncredited librarian who doesn’t have her hair in a hair bun, but in a pony tail. Otherwise, I mentioned the anime briefly on this blog in April 2023, April of this year, and September of this year, and then in July of this year I noted that the series had various episodes (“Aya Nervous in the Rain”, “Present For You”, “The Girl on My Mind”) which “feature characters studying in the library”, described said episodes, and the role of the library to the show’s characters during those episodes.

This volume has two panels of a scene in the library with Alice helping Karen study English, since Alice is very good at it, with Shino pointing this out. Karen and Shino end up bonding as their scores on the tests are the same. Later, Alice can’t reach the dictionary and Karen offers to help her. Following this, Aya tries to do the same, declares she can “do it herself,” to which Youko offers a stool, but Aya is embarrassed nonetheless. She really brings the yuri to this manga.

Films recently added to this page

• The Truman Show (1998) [updated]

I’ve had this entry for a while and have mentioned this series multiple times, first in August 2020, then in December 2020 (small mention), June 2024 (I noted that those who created Truman Burbank’s reality had “enough foresight to have the school library stocked with books. The idea was to create an illusion that the world he was in was “real,” and that there was no reason to ever leave”), and September 2024 (short description). My current entry for the series is as follows:

Truman Burbank and the woman he loves, Sylvia, meet in a library, in a pivotal scene of the film. At the urging of Sylvia, they escape it and are able to have a romantic time together, before she gets turned over to those trying to ensure that Truman doesn’t learn the truth about his world.

I wrote much more in my August 2020 post, my longest treatment of this scene to date, saying the following:

…I thought back and I remembered the library scene in The Truman Show, so I recently re-watched it and was pleased. The scene in this film only gets a short mention in Martin Raish’s bibliography of movies about librarians, who describes it simply as having a scene where “Truman and the lovely dark haired young woman meet in the campus library.” He adds that this was “filmed in the Fort Walton Beach Campus Library, a facility shared by the Okaloosa-Walton College and The University of West Florida” adding that a real librarian served as a consultant and as an extra, portraying the librarian, but “her scene was cut from the final version of the film.” But there is much more than this. In the film itself, this library setting is a key part of Truman’s life. While he is studying for finals, he sees Sylvia, who had been taken away from him, so they could set him up with Meryl, recognizing her bracelet. They only spend a brief time in the library, but they don’t employ any stereotypes here, which is promising to say the least.

 

From there, they run away to the beach, kiss, and “they” find Sylvia and take her away, with the “father” saying they are going to Fiji. So, he keeps the memory, keeping her sweater, although he doesn’t realize yet that his whole life is staged, and continues to have a sense of adventure. So, this isn’t exactly “love in the library” but it still is a relatively positive scene of libraries, having all the signs and notices that a usual library would have!

I have tentative plans to write a longer post on this subject in the future. We will see what happens.

Other entries recently added to this page

• Hilda and the Great Parade
• Hilda and the Nowhere Space
• Hilda and the Ghost Ship
• Hilda’s World: A guide to Trolberg, the wilderness, and beyond
• I’m in Love with the Villainess Vol. 2 (2021) [updated]

Recently I bought the first five novels of the tie-in novel series to the Hilda animate series, with novels by Stephen Davies. I foolishly thought that that these were graphic novels, but they are actually just children’s media. Of the five novels, only three of them, the ones listed above, feature the librarian, Kaisa, while the other two (Hilda and the Hidden People and Hilda and the Time Worm), do not.

The three novels I have listed above have scenes with Kaisa. I have written about her extensively on this blog for over sixty posts, including her brief role in season 3, Kaisa Day (on December 14), in connection to reference librarianship, the defense Kaisa made in favor of not returning a book, her role in season 2, how she is experiencing burnout, and other posts about her in January 2021 and September 2020. The latter post was her first mention on this blog. I plan to write a post about these novels in an upcoming post on this blog, which will appear at some point.

As for Hilda’s World: A guide to Trolberg, the wilderness, and beyond, it mentions the library on multiple pages, but especially pages 40-43, with even a profile of the librarian, Kaisa!

Then there’s I’m in Love with the Villainess Vol. 2 (2021). I had previously noted this in some posts before, but I hadn’t added it properly to this list, so its finally being added. Otherwise, there were also library scenes in volume 7 of the I’m in Love with the Villainess manga, and I updated the term I had for that “I’m in Love with the Villainess aka Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijō aka Wataoshi (2020-Present) [Manga]” to “I’m in Love with the Villainess Vol. 7 (2024) [Manga]” to be more accurate.

© 2023-2024 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#BluRays #books #China #EncouragementOfClimb #EncouragementOfClimbNextSummit #Hilda #HildaAndTheGhostShip #HildaAndTheGreatParade #HildaAndTheNowhereSpace #HildaSWorld #homework #ILlBecomeAVillainessWhoGoesDownInHistory #IMInLoveWithTheVillainess #ItSYouGuysFaultIMNotPopular #Kaisa #KinIroMosaic #LibrariansInTheMoviesAnAnnotatedFilmography #lists #NoMatterHowILookAtIt #RODTheTV #RecentlyAddedTitles #shortBlogs #studying #TheEngagementOfTheDisgracedWitchAndTheCrossDressingPrincess #TheTrumanShow #TombRaiderTheLegendOfLaraCroft #WataMote