Hi
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Watching anime ("intentionally") since 2011/2012
I also like to write (fiction amongst other things),
When I was under the age of 16, I used to think anime was
too good to ever lose interest in; I quickly got a reality check
+++
Feel free to check out my blog for a compilation
of edgy reviews found on this site. Sometimes I
like reading negative reviews about shows
I've enjoyed, I just appreciate the funny
ones, I dont take anime that seriously.
Its never that deep!
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There is only one reason you like it: "cute girls doing cute things" or in other words, capitalistic Moe caricatures, something you will never relate to. Behind their masks of innocent angels Yui, Ritsu, Mugi, Mio and Azusa are all manipulative tools laughing at you mockingly as you grovel helplessly before the screen with the fantasy of one day touching them. So you go out and buy the plushies, body pillows and figurines to further stimulate the economy when in hopes to stimulate yourself.
Toradora
You self insert into Ryuuji and have a degredation fetish. The sole reason Taiga is allowed to exist in all her "glorious" agressive, physically abusive tsundereness is because she is a cute, anorexic highschool girl who is a below-average height gremlin to make you feel superior and fuel your white-night, saviour complex. Thus inflating your fragile ego as an otaku who watches 20+ anime per season.
The Garden of Words
At a young age, during the peak of puberty, unable to distinguish between true career aspirations and sexual deviancy, you make the conscious decision to pursue your passion for designing women’s footwear motivated by your newly discovered foot fetish. Due to having mommy issues, you develop a crush on a 30 year-old emo milf highschool teacher, a grown woman who displays femcel tendencies. For further inspiration, you meet your crush in an isolated spot at your local park every weekend, specifically on rainy days, since that would make it harder for a passerby to notice any potential grooming she decides to bestow (subject) upon you (you to). You are hoping she would let you massage her feet and acquire measurements to carve life-sized prototypes while she, tired and depressed, fantasizes about the possibility of finally acquiring true love and simultaneously normalizing pedophilic relationships within Japanese culture; killing two birds with one stone.
Latest discord interaction that made me re-think
some aspects of the human condition:
[fyi, this was not related to anything said whatsoever]
MADOKA MAGICA
"People who actually think this show is good are suffering from cognitive dissonance right about now. Trying to argue otherwise is like trying to detect brain activity in a Madoka fan. You cant. You could say Madoka herself is the personification of her fans, brainless and steadfast. Please take a hard look, and see this show for what it really is. That one edgy emo kid you hate for thinking they are big and bad but in reality they are pretty lame."
MUSHISHI
"First off, the story is non-existent. The characters have no motivation [...]. Hell, even the most generic shounen characters have some goal to pursue, be it to save the world, or to find something. [...] Needless to say, no character managed to interest me, because of their monotonous behaviour - yes, almost all characters had the same personalities"
Bottom of the Barrel:
(4/10 or under,
not in any order)
Akame ga Kill
Angel Beats
Chainsaw Man
Glasslip
Nisekoi
Haganai
Re:Zero
Himouto! Umaru-chan
The Garden of Words
A Whisker Away
Higurashi
Vampire Knight
Yesterday wo Utatte
Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
Runway de Waratte
Some thoughts:
A silent voice - After re-watching this film several years later, I realised its essentially just one huge emotionally manipulative sob story for both the protagonists, especially since neither of them are interesting or have any truly defining characteristics, the fl is a damsel in distress resembling a robot, I understand that this is supposed to be a redemption story for a bully, but she could have at least developed a personality in the second half, she only exists to be pitied, it feels like this film reduces deaf/disabled people to their one weakness when in reality they shouldn’t allow that to define them. You could argue this is about the bully and not Nishimiya, but that fact is something he should’ve understood as well, by the end of this film, you won’t really feel like he can empathise with deaf people more. The fact that he felt such an immense amount of guilt (to the point of being suicidal) approximately 10 years later is just kind of unconvincing and a little silly. The fact that this movie has romantic undertones is also kinda disrespectful and makes it worse because the relationship is already shallow, esp when he’s seeking forgiveness, why is she so conveniently infatuated with him?? Why does she try to befriend everyone, even those who pushed her to her limits, she continues to do this till the very end, did she actually develop self-worth in a meaningful sense? when you forgive people who have zero remorse about having wronged you, it’s for your own mental health not for their sake. Moreover, the pacing was bad, so excruciatingly slow, uninteresting & predictable, it was hard to sit through 20mins without pausing because all the drama was just so cringe-worthy and forced.
Your Lie in April - (also after rewatching) In the case of Tsubaki, I would rather view her attachment to Kousei as platonic than romantic (even if there is evidence for the counter opinion), she is not "jealous" of Kaori because she happens to be a girl, she is feeling distant from her childhood friend as he shares a deep bond with another musician on a very specific passion that she cannot relate to in the slightest, and as a result she feels left out not only because she cant understand that passion, but also because she cannot (and has not been able to) help get Kousei back into piano, something Kaori has proven to have excelled in, and a source of great anguish for him, that Tsubaki has been powerless in regards to, despite being his long-term childhood friend, she could not remedy his trauma in relation to his biggest & only passion. As her friend enters a new phase in his life rekindling his his love for the piano, she notices new sides to him which she failed to previously. She was having a hard time letting go of the fact that kousei no longer needed her to support him as he has overcome his childhood tragedies and challenges ready to take new steps and make definitive decisions in regards to his future, it was difficult to move on from their childhood dynamics when their relationship had clearly changed, it wasnt easy for her to comprehend and accept that fact, and therefore she began to question her role within the current relationship. I just like appreciating platonic bonds in fiction (whether same sex or not) and I think there should be more of a focus on them, in my opinion they're underrated and overlooked far too often.
Favourite Quotes/
Dialogues:
[if you know, you know]
“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”
***
"This spring I came home heart-sore and soul-withered, and I met a gentle stranger whose society revives me. With her I feel I could live again, in a higher, purer way. Tell me, am I justified in overleaping an obstacle of custom to attain her?"
"There is an obstacle?" - Jane
"A mere conventional impediment"
"But what can it be? If you cherish an affection sir then fortune alone cannot impede you"
"Yes"
"And if the lady is of noble stock and has indicated that she may reciprocate..."
"Jane, of whom do you think I speak?"
"I've a strange feeling with regard to you, as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly knotted to a similar string in you, and if you were to leave I'm afraid that cord of communion would snap, and I've a notion that I'd take to bleeding inwardly. As for you, you'd forget me"
***
"I grew up quite poor, we lived in the hills. In a place my brothers built from things they found, metal sheeting, plywood, when it rained it smelled like hay. We were always hungry, but there was a lucuma tree, scrawny, barely alive, my family had given up on it years before, never bore fruit. When I was seven, I became fixated on it, I watered it, tended to it, it took a long time, but the buds grew into green fruit. I was so proud, I didn't tell anyone, I plucked one and hid behind our shack, I ate the whole thing, I'd never tasted something so sweet, it was like, caramel. At first, we ate the fruit ourselves, and then I began taking it to the village to sell. One day, much of the fruit was gone from my tree, pieces were scattered on the ground, half eaten. I thought, it was probably a coati, have you ever seen one? about the size of a large house cat; opportunists. I built a snare, using branches and wire, it didn't take long for the animal to set it off, but the coati thrashed so hard...it broke out of the snare, broke its leg as well, I tried to grab it, but it slipped away, it ran under the house, I knew it would show itself sooner or later. So I waited, for hours, into the night, when my brothers called for me, I did not answer, I didn't make a sound, I was so still, finally it came out, it knew I was there, but it was hungry. This time I was ready, I caught it, it fought me, but I was stronger. The merciful thing would've been to kill it...I kept it, it lived for quite some time...I believe you will wake Hector."
***
"I looked you up in the phone book. I couldn't believe you were just, right there" [short pause] "I'm sorry if that's not the right thing to do" - Angela
"Well, what a waste of a saturday" - substitute teacher
"Um...I heard you left your family. Abandoned them"
"I see"
"So are you saying you didn't? I mean whats the truth"
"Well, there are a couple of truths. One truth is I left my family. The other truth is my wife...is far better off without me" [laughs softly] "yes, I got out, I escaped. I broke out of a prison of my own making and many, many people wanna punish me for that. Maybe, including you"
"I dont wanna punish anyone, I'm just...I'm trying to..."
"To what? to understand? Look, my struggle for freedom is mine. Get your own. Get out before its too late Amanda"
"Get out? Get out of what?"
"That mind control factory. That warehouse they store you in. Because they dont know what else to do with you"
"You're telling me to...drop out of high school?"
"Good question. Yes. Run for your life. Save your life. Let the walls of your gingerbread house come crashing down. Or not"
[semi-long pause] "It's Angela. And I have to say...I dont think leaving high school is the answer. I dont think leaving anything is. The thing is...is I kind of admired you"
Just answering your question here since I don't care to revive the thread you quoted me on.
so are you vegan/vegetarian then? is that why you dont want to own carnivore pets?
Yep, I'm a vegan. For clarification, I don't believe humans are herbivores. I believe humans are omnivores. I just think it's possible for humans to do well on a properly planned vegan diet, but non-vegan diets are also obviously healthy.
Ahh, I'm afraid I didn't ask for the details. I assume it's similar to hollow earth theory where there is another civilization underneath and volcanoes functioning as some sort of entrances to the underworld.
Or at least that's what I assume they might have meant. You should ask someone more familiar with alien theories. :D
I'm living in Europe, currently, but a lot of the conspiracy theories come from or are inspired by the US.
Hi, good to hear from you. Yes it's been a while, not too active on here anymore but happy to chat. How are you?
As for the Koe no Katachi blog, I go back and forth on the matter which is why I explored it from opposing perspectives. Each position isn't mutually exclusive, neither inherently proves or disproves whether the film is worthwhile because its appeal is subjective.
this character archetype has been over-represnted and over-used in media already, esp because its a very easy way to garder sympathy.
Koe no Katachi sympathy-maxxes in every possible way, no disputing that. As for the point about the nefarious creator's intentions, every creator wants to maximize profit, but few are willing to deliberately withhold the opportunity to make their characters as marketable as possible out of artistic integrity. That especially applies to anime/manga creators, who can tailor every detail of a character to be as appealing as possible.
In that sense, Shouko is less of a character and more an abstraction of what she represents, which is the ultimate case of a deaf girl to feel sympathy for. Whether you think that's a problem is subjective, personally I don't think every film needs characters to be well rounded or unique if they serve their role within the film.
For example, I love 5cm per Second, despite its characters being mere canvases for the viewer to project onto, because that's all they need to serve the film's appeal. In a similar way, what I like about Koe no Katachi is specific and probably not what was intended by the creators, but it doesn't require Shouko (or any character for that matter) to be well rounded.
A deaf person's opinion isnt inherently more valid just based on those grounds
This was a response to the viewpoint that the film is somehow offensive to deaf people, albeit as you mention not the best argument. What I found interesting from reading the deaf people's responses is how they picked up on small details that non-deaf audiences wouldn't notice, which goes to show the attention to detail in the film and that there was at least a minimal amount of consultancy or research into its production.
You could argue Ishida realises shes more than that but at the end of the day she IS just that
I don't like the film's climax, it's rushed and as you note, doesn't represent any growth for Ishida. Shouko doesn't meaningfully change throughout, and neither character really imparts any growth upon each other.
You didnt adress why having romantic undertones is necessary
The question is whether they served a purpose, and I think they did, but they weren't necessary. Shouko is a teenager full of hormones who meets someone she's attracted to and who brings her bread, it's reasonable to believe she'd have a brief crush (same goes for Ishida). By the end, I get the sense they're important to each other but there's no explicit romantic affection.
As for the last paragraph, I won't defend that scene because I agree it's not well written.
I'm mostly just here to hopefully make a few people laugh. I'm not at all about being taken seriously. lol.
I've actually been able to visit Scotland twice in 2018 and 2022. The first time I stayed in Aberdeenshire near the Cairngorms and saw Aberdeen, Nairn, Inverness, Stirling, Perth, Dundee, and Edinburgh. The second time my family stayed in Dornie near the Isle of Skye and mostly just hung around that area like Plockton, Ullapool, Applecross. We also spent the first night in Falkirk. I was excited to see the Kelpies but my aunt is a history fanatic and only cared about seeing the ruins of the Antonine wall. Antoninus Pius is her favorite Roman Emperor, so of course we had to stop by.
Sorry for the late reply! This week has just been kind of chaotic. I was sick last week, got behind on work, then my fiance got sick this week!
I work in the field of applied behavior analysis. I work with children with autism and/or intellectual disability who have struggles communicating their needs and engage in harmful behaviors to try get those needs met. I teach functional communication, techniques to reduce rates of self-injury and other harmful behaviors and teach functional living skills to increase independent living.
Kind of odd for a guy who likes edgy anime and writes silly reviews on bad ancient hentai, but I have a wholesome job IRL.
Where do you live in Scotland? It's one of my favorite places that I've ever visited. Such a wonderful country!
Nah, my comment is genuine. That's genuinely what I felt after I read SingleH's reviews. It may be cringy, but it came from heart. That dude did take their anime reviews overly seriously, and I understand that it directly opposes your views on both the medium and reviewing it, but to me it's about context. It's dramatic, but that person's real, and their "drama" has (likely) come from real suffering, and we can only do so much to cope with pain. Sublimation comes in many forms — for some people, it's in expressive thoughts. Maybe reflecting that through a comment was my way of "coping" with their reviews, too (it's sad to see someone in a state like that). Still, I find sublimation amazing. For example, even you, while "not taking anime that seriously", still find time and energy to write some reviews and poke fun at other people engaging with the medium. Which is great, because it's never bad to get reality checked, especially for anime folks (myself included)!
Hey, that's the comment I wrote under a certain MAL user's profile! Why have you reposted it here as if it's you talking about me like I'm the serious reviewer in question? I don't write that many texts, and thankfully, I'm neither cynical, nor anything worse.
All Comments (572) Comments
Yep, I'm a vegan. For clarification, I don't believe humans are herbivores. I believe humans are omnivores. I just think it's possible for humans to do well on a properly planned vegan diet, but non-vegan diets are also obviously healthy.
Or at least that's what I assume they might have meant. You should ask someone more familiar with alien theories. :D
I'm living in Europe, currently, but a lot of the conspiracy theories come from or are inspired by the US.
As for the Koe no Katachi blog, I go back and forth on the matter which is why I explored it from opposing perspectives. Each position isn't mutually exclusive, neither inherently proves or disproves whether the film is worthwhile because its appeal is subjective.
Koe no Katachi sympathy-maxxes in every possible way, no disputing that. As for the point about the nefarious creator's intentions, every creator wants to maximize profit, but few are willing to deliberately withhold the opportunity to make their characters as marketable as possible out of artistic integrity. That especially applies to anime/manga creators, who can tailor every detail of a character to be as appealing as possible.
In that sense, Shouko is less of a character and more an abstraction of what she represents, which is the ultimate case of a deaf girl to feel sympathy for. Whether you think that's a problem is subjective, personally I don't think every film needs characters to be well rounded or unique if they serve their role within the film.
For example, I love 5cm per Second, despite its characters being mere canvases for the viewer to project onto, because that's all they need to serve the film's appeal. In a similar way, what I like about Koe no Katachi is specific and probably not what was intended by the creators, but it doesn't require Shouko (or any character for that matter) to be well rounded.
This was a response to the viewpoint that the film is somehow offensive to deaf people, albeit as you mention not the best argument. What I found interesting from reading the deaf people's responses is how they picked up on small details that non-deaf audiences wouldn't notice, which goes to show the attention to detail in the film and that there was at least a minimal amount of consultancy or research into its production.
I don't like the film's climax, it's rushed and as you note, doesn't represent any growth for Ishida. Shouko doesn't meaningfully change throughout, and neither character really imparts any growth upon each other.
The question is whether they served a purpose, and I think they did, but they weren't necessary. Shouko is a teenager full of hormones who meets someone she's attracted to and who brings her bread, it's reasonable to believe she'd have a brief crush (same goes for Ishida). By the end, I get the sense they're important to each other but there's no explicit romantic affection.
As for the last paragraph, I won't defend that scene because I agree it's not well written.
I've actually been able to visit Scotland twice in 2018 and 2022. The first time I stayed in Aberdeenshire near the Cairngorms and saw Aberdeen, Nairn, Inverness, Stirling, Perth, Dundee, and Edinburgh. The second time my family stayed in Dornie near the Isle of Skye and mostly just hung around that area like Plockton, Ullapool, Applecross. We also spent the first night in Falkirk. I was excited to see the Kelpies but my aunt is a history fanatic and only cared about seeing the ruins of the Antonine wall. Antoninus Pius is her favorite Roman Emperor, so of course we had to stop by.
Sorry for the late reply! This week has just been kind of chaotic. I was sick last week, got behind on work, then my fiance got sick this week!
Kind of odd for a guy who likes edgy anime and writes silly reviews on bad ancient hentai, but I have a wholesome job IRL.
Where do you live in Scotland? It's one of my favorite places that I've ever visited. Such a wonderful country!