hello and welcome to Random Card Appreciation Time, where we randomly appreciate a card! I suppose!

this episode's feature: Mermaid Sayo!

yeah it's yet another Sayo card, but I figured to start the year out right I just had to talk about this one.

this card is my absolute favourite in the game. I love a lot of other cards as well (which I will surely mention in these posts eventually), but this one? this one takes the cake. I love everything about this card. I couldn't even pick between trained and untrained because they're both just gorgeous

first, the untrained - HHHHHHHHHHHH THE COLOURS. THE COLOURS. all the purple & pink combined with the blue & green on Sayo herself IT ALL WORKS SO WELL TOGETHER it's so ATMOSPHERIC and BEAUTIFUL and I could stare it this for hours, the palette in this card is so incredibly aesthetic and we haven't even gotten to the actual art yet

her expression!!!!!!! SOFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we don't see her this soft a lot, so every time she smiles like this a puppy is born. she looks genuinely happy and at ease and have I mentioned I love her?? her pose, too, it's simple but so elegant and all the flow in this card is positively gorgeous, I love her jacket in particular and I love!! the pin in her hair. so cute. bless. the background is simple but beautiful (the shadows!!!!) and I love how the drops of water look on her. and the light circle thingies! bless.

and the trained - oh my god would you look at that it's the most beautiful thing I have ever had the luxury of laying my eyes upon. the underwater aesthetic & the lighting that comes with it are [clutches chest] AAAAA SO PRETTY. the pastel colours are so fitting and a nice contrast to the Yukina (who's still rather pastel-y but framed by the dark background)

I love the outfits in this set, they're so detailed and exactly how I want a mermaid set to look like - instead of just transforming the tail into a dress, they work with flowy fabric and lots of transparent layers and of course those ear piece thingies!! and HECK I LOVE THOSE SHORTS. mermaid sets in gacha are usually pretty but BanDori nails it, honestly. it's much more "fantasy mermaid" than just "mermaid" if that makes sense (I know mermaids are already a fantasy creature but SHH)

and once again, hER EXPRESSION BanDori is amazing at expressions always but this is one of my favourite examples. it's a ;D but it's not just a ;D it's a calm yet determined ;D and so very Sayo. she looks so mature but also playful, however the heck she's playing the guitar underwater she's doing a great job and I'm proud of her. her pose & movement are amazing hhh I love her legs in particular?? idk?? it just looks good

also fishies.

in conclusion: sometimes I open BanDori just to stare at Mermaid Sayo. honestly I still can't believe I have this card and she means a lot to me (in many ways, when she came out I was going through a pretty terrible time and she cheered me up immensely - and this was the first event I ever tiered for!). BanDori has a heckton of amazing cards but I don't think anyone's gonna beat this one for me in a while. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Sayooooooooooooooooooooooooo.