Incredible Nothing!

I’m back! Oh wait, I’ve not actually gone anywhere, but I just felt like saying that after not posting for almost 2 months now -_-” Excuses this time around include a sudden case of shingles which shut me in my room (away from the internet OTL) for a week even though I didn’t feel the least bit sick, but the doctor didn’t want anyone else catching it… Needed the break to finish my paper/report/thesis thing to graduate anyways, but that took me an extra week anyhow To much manga and the TV in my room. And you wonder how the actual hikkikomoris do it?)

But all that’s over and done, as well as my university interview (First-year in Osaka U starts in April! …And I would be excited about it if not for the fact that I’ve been doing my preparatory course in Osaka U for the past year -_-” Wow, time flying) and finding a room to move out into next month *pats self on back, feels more adult already wants childhood back*. And now that I actually have time to spend online, could this possibly be the resurrection of this blog????

Doubt anyone’s holding their breath. Anywhos, while I possibly muse about what to randomly post when I randomly want to, I’ll be randomly uploading ‘leftovers’ (post material, that is) from last year that never made it on this blog because I was a lazy ass (and still am). First up: Winter Comiket 2008!

(more…)

You know, going off to study in a foreign country can be quite saddening…

(Well, sad for the unhouse-trained members of the family you leave behind perhaps)

Minami-ke: Okawari (which aired last season for anyone who forgot, and yes I realize this post is probably only relevant to myself who took until yesterday to finish the series) is literally a second helping of sorts to last year’s successfully hilarious slice-of-life comedy Minami-ke. On one hand, we got back most of what we already loved in the first series (Mako-chan’s gender confusion, Hosaka’s self delusionsbeing Hosaka, Kana being BOSS, the Bible Black SRS BSNS faces, and have I mentioned Mako-cakes?). On the other, with the studio change came other bits of extras (new hair colours, creepy blacked out faces, Fuyuki… Yea, Fuyuki) and for all the extra toppings Asread added, some may have found that this second helping pales in comparison to its predecessor.

Of course the first series had the advantage of being a sleeper hit of sorts that did admirably well without relying on high expectations which this sequel probably came with. Asread did manage to tap into the key LOL elements of the first season and played them out for more laughs – poor Mako-chan being the most severly unspared , but along with it came their own original additions to the story, probably in the hopes of making the series ‘their own’… Only they didn’t do much in increasing the appeal of the series – Fuyuki’s presence in the story ended up being less apparent than those unseen faces in the background.

Until the episode he left that is.

I was rather surprised that despite the decidedly low impact Fuyuki had on the actual story (oh wait, what story? Fine, maybe I was just disappointed that he was hardly ‘broken’ to begin with/by the end – unlike us readers of Derailed), his eventual exit was handled in such a subtly sombre fashion (underneath all the Sports Festival hijinx going on) that despite some part of my mind going “*yawns* Is he gone yet? Oh, finally”, I was actually impressed that a Minami-ke with comedy as its main forte could pull off something that’s vaguely touching (or was meant to be).

Of course, this kind of ’sap’ in comedy does occur elsewhere (like a a gazillion times in Ranma 1/2 and once or twice in Galaxy Angels where they didn’t really work. In comparison Gintama has managed to pull some of these surprisingly well – damn, I just remembered I missed the conclusion of the current Shinsengumi uproar arc!), but is often very jarring to the comedic aspect of the show. But it’s less of a case with slice-of-life comedies like Minami-ke or Azumanga Daioh.

And what they did in the last episode, having KANA actually thinking of ’sending off’ Haruka with a smile (fine, only Kana would think of that and execute it the way she did – or rather got all her minions to) leading to the eventual true tears segment (to use another season-old joke).

I dunno if it’s me actually being away from home that’s doing this to me *sniffs*, but that usual “ACK, SAP ALERT” gag reflex the cynical me would usually have didn’t come on at all. Yea, you could see from a mile away that Chiaki would break down first, followed by KANA before Haruka reveals that she’s not going anywhere, but there was that genuine aspect of sadness at the prospect of Haruka leaving her sisters to go abroad (actually, it’s a rather horrifying aspect now that I think about it, how Chiaki and Kana would survive I don’t know) coupled with the fact that the show is ending. All in all, despite it being a somewhat cliche slice-of-life type finale, it was again played out well by Asread (the inserted first ED song was a nice touch – again borrowing from the success of the first series).

**Actually it’s my second time this far away from home pursuing that ‘necessary’ yet incredibly tiresome asset called an education, so for my family and friends back home as well as myself, there’s not so much to be as sappy about this second time around -_-”

Final verdict? Okawari did offer a good amount of laughs to balance out whatever else Asread put in that you might want to complain about – so it neither falls into the category of sequels that suck nor those which greatly surpass their originals. Yet another ’solid’ comedy series overall, for the lack of a more interesting description.

Now if you excuse me, I’ve got to go book a ticket to San Fransisco, I here there’s this new place that’s just opened that serves the best pasta…

P.S. Happy 21st to Shin over at atalude (And a Happy Birthday too to everyone else who seems to have been born on this same day) Get your cake before Kana does =P

So it’s been 2 months into this anime blogging foray of mine. Whoopee. I’m only a day away from boarding a plane for Osaka, and in between being nervous as hell about it and finalizing packing, I’m still GIVING IT ALL I’VE GOT trying to catch up with the Winter Season finales before Spring comes in full force. Unfortunately, that hasn’t amount to much when I’m still waiting for subs and being a naturally slow watcher, so this isn’t the Final Winter Season Impression post I thought of doing before I leave. Instead, I thought I’d just share what I’ve learnt about myself as an anime blogger over the past two months.

And in a rather shoddy attempt to make this look more like an organized post than a spur of the moment one, I’ve decided to number them. Oh, what do you know, it’s now a Top 10 post! Well, in no particular order:

1) I take too much time on posts. Some of these take actual hours to do and it’s often I actually spend more time here than actually watching anything in a day. Even something like this will probably take me a good hour. Or three. *sigh* I’ll probably have to adopt a less is more stance later when things like studies come back into play.

2) Ever constructed a decently intelligent post in your head only to have it completely wiped out of your memory once you sit down and start staring at a ‘Create New Post’ screen? This is actually an everyday affair for me, and most of the hours spent on ‘blogging’ that I take is mostly used up trying to pick up the fragments of ideas “I could’ve sworn I had a minute ago…”. The end result? Half baked ideas being presented in a half baked fashion for the critical masses to see. Or ignore. Thankfully there are commenters who fill in the blanks where my one-sided rants often fail to touch upon.

2.5) Note to self: Start scribbling thought on paper

3) Wait a minute, this blog’s actually has readers and the occasional comment now??? *pinches self* A Big Thanks goes to AnimeNano (and again hung for listing Tondemo Nothing on the site) for this (I’m guessing I’m not the only one who doesn’t actually subscribe to specific blogs and just read posts from any blog that has an eye-catching enough title )! Oh, and also to the random people who Google for random things like ‘manly Japanese‘ (trying not to think what the actual context is) who end up here as well. Well, I suppose I should also apologize to this blog’s irrelevance to most of those searches. It happens =P

4) There are times I let my somewhat pessimistic outlook on life affect my blogging. Trying to be funny in posts (and failing) doesn’t quite make up for that.

5) I need to be reeducated on the proper use of emoticons and memes. ORZ (Assuming there’s a ‘proper’ way? )

6) I have a tendency to reference too many other anime and seiyuu in posts, especially when I run dry on content. Wish I could be as ’subtle’ about it as that SHAFT show with Nonaka Ai or that one with the butler that’s getting another season…

7) I seem to reference other blogs a whole lot too. Not as much as Author of course.

Not only am I slow to the point that I may conveniently ‘lose track’ of what I’m watching at times, the same happens with what I blog about. Oh and btw, Haruhi won March Madness on Derailed by Darry after all. Surprised?

9) I fail at episodic blogging. Takes too much time for me anyways.

10) Finally, I can’t believe I’ve not done a single actual post on Animal Yokocho itself!!! For a start, I’ll just lead you to hung’s post and this one from Yuribou. And Matthew seems to be far far ahead than where the subs have stalled early last year… (Animal Yokocho concluded in what? 2004/5 ?)

In conclusion, I’m obviously still at a learning stage (and will likely be stunted at this stage for as long as I continue doing this) when it comes to blogging and there’s certainly much to copy learn from other more established anime bloggers out there, blah blah blah. I seriously doubt I’ll ever be as witty or funny or intelligent or scathing or bitchy (in a fun way ) or influential as some of them are, nor will I ever be involved in dorama like the whole ABC fiasco (god forbid anyways). But you know what, it really doesn’t matter as long as there’s fun to be had on this side of the trapdoor, and as long as I’m still watching anime and reading people’s views on them, I might as well be tossing in my two cent’s worth.

(At least Noe’s ‘flight’ was intentional, though much too emotionally driven. I was actually going “NOOOO NOEEE DON’T DO IT!!” while watching this scene, whereas when Ayu fell in Kanon I was actually close to laughing – it felt so incredibly surreal and came out of nowhere (in the 2002 version. In 2006 they included the wind) and the first thoughts in my mind were: “What th- So this is why they call her squirrel girl???”)

I’ve got to hand it to true tears. Not only has it split the viewers into two camps (Noe VS Hiromi. Oh, and Jason), the story has snaked itself from one direction to the other and the art has been consistently gorgeous in the snow – I mean show =P I’ve always been a Noe supporter myself but I had my money on a Hiromi end from the start (Chinese New Year should have taught me that this isn’t my best year in gambling -_-”), but now I’ve (finally) joined the giddifying wait for what should be the most anticipated end of a series this season.

Small points of interest:
Though we’ve seen the Mugiha festival in the OP for the past 12 episodes, it was still a treat for the eyes to see it finally unfold. P.A. Works certainly did a good job conjuring up the atmosphere for the event, which gave the unfolding drama the right backdrop. And of course, anime this may be, but the practice the dancers had throughout the series made their synchronity in their dancing a bit more believable than say Motekke Sailor Fuku.

As for Jun, I dunno whether to give him kudos or raise an eyebrow to his own realization and actions towards his ‘affections’ *coughs* towards Noe. It’s probably the first time I’ve seen a character in anime acknowledge that he’s a siscon and act against it. In fact I didn’t really expect the script to tie up this section of the story at all, but now that it has, will we be getting a Noe end in the end?

gg Hiromi?

I’d like to think that’s true, but that judgment will be reserved till later. Hiromi’s early ‘win’ a few episodes before should have raised alarms since there was about of a quarter of the series left (The same goes for Kimikiss *sigh*), and now that she’s really feeling the threat of Noe, things don’t look too good for her camp. Her confrontation with Noe this episode is of particular note, and though her standing her ground may make her look like the bitch of the show , Kurogane has conveniently dispelled that notion. Personally, I felt pretty bad for her when Shinichiro snubbed her in the end to go after Noe. Though my gut now tells me Noe will win, we’ll just have to wait and see.

In Japan, it is illegal for a full grown man to bring a loli walking around in public.

So much for posting every 3 episodes… Now I’m posting 3 times a day?? (Well it’s to make up for me disappearing for the next 4 days…)

But I couldn’t resist posting about this episode of Shigofumi, it’s just made of so much unexpected lulz. And it further proves that this series relies a lot on blatant use of shock factor – which really is it’s strength. Like the bunch of housewives gossiping in the presence of an impressionable minor in this episode (the look on her face when they revealed the yaoi husband twist was priceless XD), Shigofumi wastes little of its storytelling with subtleties – and yet the subtleties are still there, just that the inevitably ’shocking’ revelation takes precedence in the end.

Ninja cafe (de gozaru?) I’d so visit one =P

There’re 2 major characters in this episode. The first one is a young Fumika. No, not, that Fumika with the talking staff, nor that Fumika who’s lying in the bed waiting to get up the next episode… Urgh, this is getting confusing, can I just call them 1, 2 and The Third?

Then there’s Takehiko, full grown self-proclaimed otaku who until recently was employed in a game company (as far as we know, he’s not involved in making those kind of games), is still single at 32, and reeks enough of otaku to be arrested for loli-knapping while taking a relative’s child out for a walk. After finding out that he’s dying of cancer, he quits the company and resigns himself to whithering away at his mom’s place and waiting for that epiphany on the greater meaning of his otaku life.

Yes, let’s! (If Takehiko could get arrested while walking around with little Fumika out in public, just imagine what the police’s reaction would be if they caught him taking her in nekomimi mode into a Ninja cafe…)

The story this episode is on the milder side, and doesn’t hinge as much as the Shigofumi that comes with it (it comes in the end for closure’s sake). Basically it’s Takehiko hanging out with Fumika (III), doing reckless things as only someone who’s dying soon thinks they’re able to do. The ‘underlying issue’ if there was one would be how the Japanese society sees otaku or people who work in the otaku-related industry as inferior to the ‘regular’ office drones.

Honestly, the guy had a paying job that made him happy doing what he loved, but society being the narrow-minded housewife gossip-mongering fiend that it is seems to think that if it’s not a ‘regular’ office job, he is therefore scum to the community? Geez… If the guy didn’t have cancer and my drawing doesn’t suck that bad, I’d absolutely love to be where he was at before he quit. It’s absolutely a blessing to be able to do something you love for a decent living as a career, especially when it’s something that’s usually more hobby-related like anime and games. You may not be saving the world or making big bucks, but you’re making yourself and a whole bunch of other people happy and as far from emo and suicidal as you can through your work, so be glad and screw what society thinks! Otakus 4TW!!!

Was I the only one thinking: “Sensei… Ninomiya-kun!!” ?

The way Takehiko’s situation ‘resolves’ itself wasn’t totally unexpected, and was rather blatantly cliche (What do these people need? Signs by the road telling them NOT to stand in the middle of the road??), but it’s just Shigofumi’s way of exercising its point as usual. And it works. No subtlety involved again as the guy realizes in his final moment of glory that he has made people happy with his work, and he does save Fumika from the killer truck so at least he gets to die a hero instead of a cancer-crippled bed patient. It fits well with the less nasty-emo turn of these past few episodes. As usual it fits well with the story, makes its point, still perfectly acceptable if not at all believable, and that’s that.

How typical… Otaku scum of society when alive… ‘Kind-hearted person’ when dead. (Bloody hypocrites) Death really becomes some people…

A nice touch to the end during the funeral is Fumika (the postal worker) delivering Takehiko’s Shigofumi to Fumika (young girl). It’s not so much the content of the letter, but how Fumika 1 didn’t use her usual “A Fumi from the world of the Shigo” to explain what a Shigofumi was to Fumika 3, instead relating it as a parting gift of sorts. It’s a small sign that Fumika 1’s been lightening up ever since the whole fiasco with her loopy dad got settled. Now, what will be in store for the Fumikas when Fumika 2 wakes up? Will I still need to refer to them by numbers then??

Anyways, to people who are pursuing lives or careers involving your likes and hobbies, whether they are otaku-related or not, remember to GIVE IT ALL YOU’VE GOT and ignore any snooty comments housewives or society has for you (unless of course, what you do involves killing or loli-knapping ). As long as you’ve got something to occupy you and keep you from contributing to the world’s suicide rate, isn’t that meaning enough for life as it is? =P

It’s the obligatory beach episode of Shigofumi! *blinks* Is this for real?

No no no… It’s really the onsen ep… Wait that can’t be right either…

Sharp objects? Now that’s more like it!

It’s become sort of a ‘tradition’ for me now to blog every 3rd episode of Shigofumi, so I made sure I was paying attention in this episode. I was expecting another episode of emo school kids and grisly shock twists… So I was rather ill-prepared for what was in store for me… A fun beach episode??? Wow. Nice one there. Shame on me really for not taking note of the fact that Shigofumi had the ability to pull a fun episode once in a while (The cat one. Lol) I suppose after the ‘tension’ of the previous two episodes which explored Fumika’s past with her eccentric (to say the least) father and exposed the truth behind her and the girl in the hospital (split personalities) it was the perfect time for a ‘break’ of sorts, which leads to Fumika and co to go on vacation… (It just feels funny typing that) The situation really seemed rather absurd at first, especially with Fumika’s ‘new-found’ human friends tagging along, it suddenly feels like a typical high school romance set-up. Am I watching the right show here?

Despite the many lulz in this episode (The web of crushes akin to School Rumble, Fumika professing her ‘love’… to her other self), it was actually ’serious business’ as usual for our not-so-undead-after-all postal worker (I’ve already accepted that no one in this show seems particularly perturbed to see uniformed girls walking about with staves that talk. They probably assume it’s cosplay or something. And I assume whatever organization they work for isn’t very concerned about discretion after all. Do they get salaries too like in Yami no Matsuei? Oh wait, Fumika had to rob some hooligans a couple of episodes back so I’m guessing not… Okay, back to the main point). Fumika arranged the trip so that she can deliver the latest Shigofumi to a deserted island – which happens to be a gravestone for Chiaki from her late husband to be had he not crashed the car and gotten her killed years back. It’s all rather sweet and touching and somewhat farfetched, but by this point I’ve learnt that this isn’t a series where you’d want to nitpick the believability of the stories and just enjoy it for what it’s worth. And be it emo schoolkids, psycho papas or fun in the sun, Shigofumi has entertained and I have enjoyed. So if all goes well, next post will be in 3 episodes. Out.

Nothing wittier to add to this one.

Hiromi in true tears seemed to be receiving quite some controversy lately, certainly a bit more than what I’d expect from a character like her. Now before I say any more and conclusions are jumped to, this will neither be a Hiromi-bashing post nor (god forbid) a Chris Crocker style LEAVE HIROMI ALONE rant either.

Before I actually get to the Hiromi part of this post, I’ll just clear away the other things from this episode first. After the hullabaloo of the previous episode, which was flashback-ed upon by Shinichiro at the start of the episode, Ai-chan is rather unceremoniously dropped from the running (a pity really, since with the focus now fully on the 2 remaining girls, Ai’s role really does seem pretty extraneous to the overall story… Chances are she’ll probably be brought back later merely as an adviser to Shinichiro when the inevitable conflicts start building up). Shinichiro then starts building the foundation of his newfound relationship with Noe – using his picture book.

Like many other viewers, of the 3 girls in the show, I’m more partial towards chicken-loving Noe myself. Her character definitely brings the bright spark in the otherwise melodramatic serious setting of the show. It’s interesting, now that Shinichiro is taking relationship with Noe more seriously, to find that they do have a chemistry that goes beyond chicken and master, lol (She Is His Noble Master). Noe also seems to be acting as a muse to Shinichiro’s drawing efforts, and this artistic nature of their coupling is similar to Chihiro and Renji in ef, speaking of which…

A bit more length, and you would get…

A b*tch? Who? Me?

Now, to Hiromi. I suppose in most shows like true tears where the guy actually has to choose between a number of girls vying for his attention at the same time there’s going to be at least one of the characters who will be typically and crudely cast as ‘the bitch‘. It’s usually the girl who gets the shorter end of the stick when the choice is finally made – and it isn’t her. Okay, perhaps bitch is rather strong a word to use (and certainly you won’t find it on Animal Yokocho! Well at any rate, you shouldn’t…), but for the purposes of this post, it should convey my point – The Bitch in a show is the (usually female) character that showcases the less desirable traits such as open jealousy and cattiness and as a result garners the dislike/hate of a significant proportion of the viewers. ‘Realistically’ speaking, a good drama should have a bitch character in its cast. In the case of true tears, none of the girls have actually achieved a level of despicability associated with the term, but the closest so far (Ai came close with her desperate attempt last episode, too bad it turned out for naught) would probably be Hiromi.

Now I’m not trying to degrade Hiromi’s character further than what’s already been done, but from the flack she’s gotten recently it does seem like she is carrying the burden of the bitch in the show. Due to her feelings for Shinichiro being repressed by her concerns about their blood relation, she gets the stereotypical chore of ’sending mixed signals’ and envying Noe and Shinichiro’s growing relationship to the point of actually being slightly catty towards Noe (to be fair, it was honest Noe that initiated the lol catfight last episode). Ironically though, from the way things are moving, it looks set that Hiromi will eventually be the winner at the end which if true basically means she cannot be the bitch for long. Perhaps Noe worshippers who foresee this end feel the dissatisfaction and hence the ‘hate’ for Hiromi?

Did somebody say (half-)siscon?

Of course the true bitch in this series has been rearing her head this entire time. If Hiromi actually goes yandere on someone in the series, here’s hoping it’s the cause of her misery right here… Shinichiro’s mom is really the one in my opinion who deserves the title of DA BITCH in this show.

And with that out of my system, we will now return to our scheduled crass-free AniYoko worthy posts for the rest of the week =P (unless I decide to start posting about Kimikiss…)