Blog Archives
Blog Carnival: The impact they had on us (Or: Why I still love OreImo)
About two months ago, Foxy Lady Ayame and Neko-kun started a blog carnival to talk about anime which influenced their lives. I thought it was a great idea – you should definitely check out their post as well as the list of other bloggers who have participated in the event. But personally, I found it really hard to come up with something to say about this topic. I feel like I’ve already written quite enough already about the anime titles which have influenced me personally. (Examples: 1, 2, 3)
Then it hit me. It’s not just well-written anime that has an impact on you. In fact, there are plenty of (what I would consider) relatively poor anime that have a special place in my heart. In the end, it honestly doesn’t matter how clever you are or how refined your taste is – the most important thing is what you make of what you watch.
One particular anime has had such an enormous impact on my outlook as an anime fan that I still think about it almost constantly to this day, even when so many others have deemed it trash and moved on with their lives.
This anime is called My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute!
How To Watch Anime Correctly: The Sacred Blacksmith
A couple of weeks ago, I watched this super cool show called The Sacred Blacksmith. Then I looked at its MAL score and at the critic reviews and it appears that the general consensus is that it’s a sack of shit.
In my humble opinion, you’re all doing it wrong. So this post is going to teach you how to watch anime correctly for 45.683934% more effectiveness (numbers are exact, by the way). While my example for this post is The Sacred Blacksmith, you won’t need to have actually watched the anime to understand this. Just mentally swap it out for that show you really like, I dunno, Boku no Pico or something.
Anyway, onto my demonstrative example:
Shipping: Arata x Chihaya x Taichi (Chihayafuru)
If Arata, Chihaya and Taichi do not get down and have a hot, dirty threesome on the tatami mat at the end of this series, suffice it to say I will not be pleased. It’s too hard to pair them off. I want the three of them to be together forever.
Between Life and Death: Lelouch Lamperouge
I know it’s pretty late, but let me join the bandwagon and answer the million dollar question.
Note: Spoilers for Code Geass in this post.
Shipping: Sorata x Nanami (Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo)
In my heart of hearts, I’ll always support Sorata x Nanami, even though I know I shouldn’t.
Ao no Exorcist: Brotherhood
Yes, they should totally make an Ao no Exorcist: Brotherhood and actually follow the damn manga, but that’s not the point of this post. Ao no Exorcist was a series that was about many things – an experience that was distinctly less than the sum of its parts – but it centered around the single most believable and relatable idea known to humankind: family.
In fact, the more I squinted at this show, the more I got the distinct impression that my brother should have been born a shonen protagonist and the son of Satan.
Basically, what I’m saying is that he’s Rin and I’m Yukio.
Character Study: Kuroko Tetsuya
Kuroko no Basuke is the rising sports anime of today, after Prince of Tennis. It would be a mistake, however, to compare it with its predecessor because of the huge differences in their narratives. While TeniPuri used Echizen Ryoma as a starting point and later branched out to other players and teams, KuroBasu is practically anchored on Kuroko Tetsuya’s development as a character.
In other words, TeniPuri is the grand narrative of middle school tennis, whereas KuroBasu is all about its protagonist, which is the focus of this post.
Note: Spoilers for Kuroko no Basuke in this post.
