A Happy, Happy New Year to all you lovely people! So, we’re alive and well, ushering in the new year of (googling…I can never remember what’s the Chinese zodiac) snake. New Year has arrived so that means Chinese New Year is around the corner. Don’t I just love the beginning and the end of a year where holidays are abundant?!

It’s been a fulfilling 2012 for me. Probably not in terms of blog, but life’s good, who’s to complain right? But I should be talking in terms of this blog eh? Which also means what I’ve been doing last year in terms of anime.

I planned to look into completed series last year and I did! I managed to finish Honey & Clover, Gunslinger Girl, The Place Promised in Our Early Days (movie), Paradise Kiss, Welcome to the NHK and Arakawa Under the Bridge. The last three series I had to publicly announce my goals just to motivate myself. It worked, so hooray! Besides that, I was going to write monthly afterthoughts on each Kimi ni Todoke manga volume but the more I write the more I sounded like a broken recorder so I stopped. I think I’ve already said a billion times what I thought on each phase the characters’ lives so writing them again doesn’t feel as fresh.

In terms of this blog, I got to participate in a few projects with other anibloggers. That was fun. Thanks for the invitations and lovely ideas, guys. This blog also participated in Aniblog Tourney last year. Didn’t get far and didn’t expect to get far so that’s okay.

For this year, I was going to give myself a mission to watch all Studio Ghibli movies since I haven’t watched a single one of them. Yes, including My Neighbor Totoro, a film which my non-anime fan friends even raved about. However, due to work commitments, it might be a bit difficult to accomplish. You don’t want to see my work schedule from now till July. It’s crazy and it involves a lot of traveling too. I will still try though, but no promises.

Anyways, I want to take this opportunity to thank all my readers (you know who you are) and those who take the time to comment. You’re all so sweet. I know this blog is a bit neglected last year and I wasn’t very active in the aniblogosphere too. So, Thank You! I really appreciate it. =)

Happy New Year!

Sure, I’ve talked about the top 5 anime I’ll rewatch countless times because I just adore it so much. Or maybe how I’d choose which anime to watch and I tend to stick my favorite genres. I won’t hesitate to give other genres a go, of course. Otherwise, I won’t be watching Haganai or Mayo Chiki. They’re not that bad. I have a habit of ranking my favorite anime of the year too.

But what make an anime memorable? Memorable, as in easily remembered. What makes it stands out more than the rest? An anime season consists of a lot of series so it needs that extra special something to stand out from the rest. After thinking for a while, I decided I have a list if a few criteria that makes an anime memorable for me.

Too Scary or Weird

Anyone watching Psycho-pass this season? What do you think of it? Personally, I find it disturbing – whether it’s the gruesome nature of a crime or the reasoning behind an action. Thank goodness I’ve gotten passed all episodes without having a single nightmare. Despite being realistically scary, Psycho-pass has a way of keeping its audience’s attention. That’s what a good story do, I suppose.

Chaos;Head is another example. I don’t think of it as a good anime; it could’ve better. However, the impact it made with the equally scary scenes during the first half of the series made it memorable.

By the way, I say scary, I really meant scary, and it’s not in Another kind of way. It isn’t really that scary. Another reminded me of Final Destination, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be reminded of Another at the mere mention of Final Destination.

Amazing Music

I’m a lover of music, so it makes it easier for me to recall anime with good music. Or rather, anime that focuses on music. Nodame Cantabile, Sakamichi no Apollon, and even K-ON! are memorable because they are all music-centric. It doesn’t really matter what genre the music is, so long there’s good music.

Occasionally though, an anime can be memorable without good music. It goes without saying that when there are unforgettable tunes, I’m bound to be able to recall the related anime. That’s how my brain works anyway.

Resonated with Me

There’s this aha! moment or I-did-that-too moment in an anime. And there were a ton in Lucky Star. For example, Konata was complaining about her dilemma about when to pick up her phone ever since she set a new ring tone (back then I didn’t know how to extract only the chorus from a song before setting it as my ring tone). Or how she hated cleaning right after she started. It’s little things like things that made me remember the series.

Utterly Confusing or Mind-boggling

I bet whoever saw Mawaru Penguindrum will remember it, although it could be for different reasons. For some, the series is filled with fascinating puzzles that were open for interpretations. On the other hand, there are some who find the series completely confusing and thus, hated it. The bottom point is, whether one hate it or love it, he/she remembers the series.

Simply Being Different

In an era in which anime series are dominated by (at least four) high school girls, being the opposite can make it memorable. I remember series like Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou and Kimi to Boku because they’re simply different. Both series’ main characters are high school boys and it’s not harem. I must say thought, I like neither series.

Having a boldly different character design also makes a series memorable for me. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt anyone? I tried watching the series, but I just couldn’t finish it. Still, I’ll remember it.

These five points round my list of what makes an anime memorable for me personally. It’s something that popped up in my head when I was trying to list out my favorites of 2012. What makes an anime memorable for you?

Be warned. A little spoilers ahead.

Itazura Na Kiss started with Aihara Kotoko being optimistic and brave, might I add, when she wrote her first love letter to the male protagonist, Irie Naoki. In a shocking encounter, Irie rejected her outright without even attempting to read her heartfelt words. Before her love story begins, it has already ended. Poor Kotoko-chan. Sniff.

Itazura na Kiss is perhaps the first romantic comedy in which I get to follow the characters through the different stages of their relationships. It all began with Kotoko’s high school crush to having a wonderful family with Naoki many, many, many years later. I honestly can’t remember when was the last time I saw an anime with such complete cycle. That was nice. Having the anime aired long after the manga is completed may have something to do with it? This 25-episodes anime was aired in 2008.

It’s refreshing to see Kotoko as a confident female protagonist for a change. I’ve been bombarded with female protagonists in romantic comedy feeling inferior, unexpressive and socially challenged these past anime seasons. Kotoko is nothing like those. She’s cheerful, friendly, speaks her mind and a hard worker. What I love about Kotoko is her never-to-give-up attitude. She’s not the brightest girl, and she knows it. However, once she puts her mind into it, she can do anything. Even if it means to burn midnight oil to ace an exam.

On contrary, what I hate about Naoki is his stuck up and ignorant attitude towards not only Kotoko, but every other living creatures. His “I Hate Stupid Girls” chant is annoying. He’s smart, but cold-hearted and cruel and possessive…well, let’s just stop here, shall we? I don’t want to delve into a list of things I hate about this guy. I gotta give Naoki some credit though, because over the years he has become more attentive and caring, especially in all matters involving his family.

Throughout their relationship, I can see that Naoki has deep trust in Kotoko. A little words of encouragement from Kotoko, a little push from her, Naoki moves forward in his life. He relies on Kotoko for emotionally support without him realizing it until much later. With Kotoko’s sudden existence in his life, he learned a lot more than he ever did. Particularly, life searching related matters. Whether he acknowledges it or not, Kotoko helped him find and realize his dreams.

I’m surprised that Kotoko and Naoki got hitched midway through the series. Since the series time-skipped a number times, I should’ve expected it. What I like about Itazura na Kiss is that even though Naoki eventually fall for Kotoko and married her, their relationship isn’t all pink and flowery. It took Kotoko five years to finally win Naoki over, but it takes another few more years before she can truly melt Naoki cold demeanor. It goes without saying, to make a relationship work, two must work hard to overcome the challenges along the way.

While Itazura na Kiss centers around the lovely couple, it is not without tiny, little moments from side characters that I consider as priceless. There are many examples and I’ll start with Irie mama. I adore Naoki’s mom, who is super energetic and delightful to watch. I have never seen a mom so dedicated in matching his son with her preferred choice of a daughter-in-law. Her “secret missions” and love for disguise are moments to be highlighted. I suppose the young couple has her to thank for. She did document their journey comprehensively. Her camera equipment matches that of Izumi Soujirou (Lucky Star). The other side character I adore is Christine Robbins, a British who eventually spotted with a Kansai accent!! Cute!

An odd thing about this series to note is – maybe because the main characters work in hospitals, their families and friends tend to get sick a lot. >.<

Of course this series isn’t perfect, in my opinion. My pet peeve about this anime series is its characters tendency to change without a proper transitioning. For example, I have no idea why Matsumoto Yuuko, Kotoko’s supposed love rival in college, has a sudden change of heart and decided to help Kotoko when Naoki attended a marital interview. She just showed up and challenged Kotoko to do something about it. And from thereon, they sort of became frenemies. Huh. Or how did Kotoko manage make Keita to fall in love with her. One day he was criticizing about her shallow dream and the very next day he was blushing all over in her presence. I couldn’t quite make the connection.

Those are just my little pet peeves.

In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, if you’re looking for a sweet romantic comedy, I recommend you to watch Itazura na Kiss. You won’t regret it. It has a bit of Lovely Complex feel to it, but with more fun characters to watch.

If anyone asks me two years ago about my opinion of JDrama or Japanese live action movies, I tell you my answer would not be a positive one. Watching Kimi ni Todoke live action movie left such a bad taste in my mouth that I find it hard to watch another series. Although I won’t go as far as to say that I hate it completely, they just weren’t my cup of tea.

That was until I was asked to watch Nodame Cantabile live action drama on YouTube.

To my surprise, I enjoyed the series very much. I didn’t feel like it’s stiff, which is one of the main reasons I shunned the category for as long as I did. Sure, there were what I call exaggerated actions or movements (something I’m not quite fond of in live action stuff), but coming from having watched the anime and read the manga, I can relate (it’s an excuse! >.<). In the end, I managed to watch the whole series plus the specials and movies. Pretty good stuff.

Remember the friend who asked me for anime recommendations a while ago? She ended up watching a few JDrama series and introduced me to them. I was a little more open to giving those series a shot after having a wonderful experience with Nodame Cantabile series. I took my sweet time though, lol. She gave four series and I only managed to complete two. And she gave me those series early last year! I managed to slot in those two series while on the move. Internet at the places I traveled to on work commitments isn’t friendly to me so I spent my late nights watching the dramas at the hotels.

I started with Attention Please, a series based on manga of the same name, and then quickly followed by 1 Litre of Tears, a touching true story of a girl’s battle with spinocerebellar degeneration. Both drama are very different in terms of genre and material. One was a super fun comedy while the other made me wanna cry.

What I noticed was I wasn’t annoyed or irritated by the flow of the series or awkwardness/stiffness of the actors I sometimes sensed. Both series managed to pull off a decent presentation of the materials. Each of the series triggered the rightful emotions/response from the audience. This I can tell because after discussing the series my friend (who doesn’t, right?), I found that we shared the same opinion regarding both series. I think the most important point is that both Attention Please and 1 Litre of Tears managed to win over two people who previously never really liked the idea of watching JDrama series. That’s some kind of accomplishment, don’t you think?

Oh, Paradise Kiss live action movie ain’t bad too. It even prompted me to watch the anime, which was super fun and a unique experience.

It’s either I had terrible runs with JDrama/J-movies before seeing the aforementioned titles or my taste has changed and that I’m a little less picky. Hey, you know sometimes people changed with age! Or maybe now I understand that certain titles have weirdly dressed casts and exaggerated movements because they’re adapting according to source (it still feels weird though).

You know what. After that little experiments, maybe now I’m more willing to embrace the idea of watching live action series of the anime titles I’m following. Or maybe vice versa.

Blood. More blood. And even more blood. There’s an air of eeriness surrounding Psycho-Pass. It was shockingly violent and unkind to gentle hearts. The very first episode literally shocked me into silence. I remember staring at my computer screen, trying to absorb what just happened, what kind of series had I just watched. Besides Chaos;Head, I cannot recall a series with such dark vibes.

Psycho-Pass shows us a community in a time not too far ahead from now, governed by Sibyl System, an application. It’s crazy right? As a developer by profession, one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind is the reliability of such a system. We developers were all, or at least I, was taught that there is no 100% bug-free, loophole-free software. Also, relying on a logical system to run a legal system that are subjected to multiple elements including empathy is absurd. It’s not the kind of place I’d wanna be in.

The series spent a good amount of time showing us how the society is controlled by non-living things, incapable of direct discernment. It’s a great insight to how a highly computerized, highly connected society operates. There’s clearly a radically redefined criminal justice – a person is being judged or sentenced not so much because of an action executed but thoughts drown in darkness. He or she can be held not because a crime committed. Personal freedom is being robbed due to these pre-emptive interventions for the greater good.

If such a system is implemented in hope to create a safe haven for the citizens, they need to think again. Crimes are still happening and the state of its citizens’ mental healths are questionable. It’s as if they’re living in constant fear. Fear of the justice system, not fear of violent criminals. Fear of themselves, instead of fear of others. There’s something very wrong with this picture.

Psycho-Pass feels a bit too real for comfort because of the events that had transpired. In our world, technology is advancing at lightning speed. Computers’ processing power is ever increasing and communication between networks is rarely an issue these days. It subtly reflects what the connected world we live in can affect our safety and mindset. A quick upload of a video, a mindless but violent tweet, whatever convenience Internet brings, can be exploited to something dangerous and potentially life-threatening. The society we live in relies heavily on social media. We’ve seen social, political and culture impact of the power of communication through such channels.

Thank goodness it’s not too long before the weaknesses of Sibyl system is brought to light. The flaws that highlight the unaccounted variables in the program and the blind trust the society has for hardcoded justice. Just as a human-operated legal system, a computer-governed version has weak points for others to take advantage of as well. It’s not surprising. We’ve seen technology enthusiasts consecutively trying to deter the efforts of IT companies in providing a secure digital ecosystem in our real world. Just as much as corruptions and injustice are prevalent in certain legal systems.

So in the end, neither system is superior over the other. However, I rather be judged by human beings capable of weighing decisions based on circumstances than machines that has no brains of their own. Hey, human beings are the one who wrote those thousands of codes to make them work remember?

But of course, for those who are watching Psycho-pass, we all know what Sibyl System really is, don’t we?

Gosh, I am super late with this post. Sigh. Anyway, Kai from Deluscar has recently asked us to write about our reasons for watching anime. We may all be like-minded, loving anime but are we reasons the same?

I admit. Even though I have watch anime for almost a decade, I never really question why I watch anime. Seriously. I sorta just went with it the moment I discovered it. Okay, while I didn’t directly ask myself the question, somehow deep down inside I have a few reasons why I favor anime over other form of visual entertainment.

And no, it’s not because there are plenty of cute 2D girls. I started with shounen series. Let’s face it, there aren’t many cute 2D girls or even guys to look at.

Not Too Much Drama

I don’t know about you, but I’m not too fond of drama. Drama, as in, Gossip Girl kind of drama. Lots of plotting, backstabbing, breaking up, making up, frenemies stuff. I got tired of those. You won’t see anything else except for sitcom or crime series in my storage. That’s how much I dislike the sort of drama. This is also the main reason why my genre of choice is slice-of-life – the sort of series I can spend a good 2o minutes having some laugh with, then, forget about it. The really good ones will leave lasting impressions though.

Action Visuals

As I mentioned earlier, I started with shounen series. And yes, I started my anime watching hobby with the oh so famous titles – Naruto, Bleach and One Piece. In that order, if I’m not mistaken. Of course, the action visuals of these series are nothing compared to Redline or even Infinite Stratos, which I watch solely to feed my cravings for an action-oriented series. It’s eye-feasting, so to speak. And I like it. I don’t remember any other medium giving me as much thrills as anime does in this respect.

Wonder Worlds

While different mediums offer imaginations beyond limit, anime offers the best. I’ve previously discussed this in my post on the different settings in anime world such as the fictional world of One Piece as well as the many different futuristic settings in recent line-ups of anime. I believe anime offers the best of imaginations there are.

Bring Back The Child In Me

I’ve gotta admit this. There are many times, the innocent, naive child in me, the one who believes everything is possible, re-emerges whilst watching anime. Why? I believe each and everyone of us still have that young little kid hidden deep inside. It’s just that as we grow up, we face many harshness of realities to the point the big dreams we once had as children are forgotten. Watching anime (at least the ones I tend to pick) sort of reminds me to stay young enough to know everything and try anything.

There you have it, these are the reasons why I watch anime. Wonder why it took me this long to come up with this post…I blame work pressure. Hah.

In my opinion, Steins;Gate was great fun. The interactions among all the characters and the mystery behind gooey banana, I like. Heck, Chaos;Head was interesting even though it was only during the first half. It could’ve been a lot better. It had potential. So needless to say, I had high hopes for Robotics;Notes. I was eager to know what’s the mystery this time around.

Maybe I was a little too hopeful, a little too eager.

Robotics;Notes started off decently. It slowly build its story around Akiho, the series female lead, and her passion for robots along with her desire to reconnect with her elder sister, Misaki. Kaito, her childhood friend, was tasked with the responsibility to look after Akiho when Misaki left. And I thought he only did what he was ordered to do.

Throughout the series, there’s no doubt who Akiho and Kaito are – what their characters are like, their dreams and their roles in Robotics;Notes. I can’t say the same for the remaining casts. More than half the cast was useless. I’d imagined the story would do just fine with them. Say, Jun. Who is she and what’s her role again? She was recruited to join the dying robot club to capture motions and that’s really all she ever did! Or is her presence in the series really to help her grandfather, Doc, a robot expert, to rekindle his passion? What about Mizuka-san? I tell you, the list can go on.

Maybe I spent a little too much time than necessary wondering why do some of the characters exist. Or maybe I’m just slow. Introducing too many characters and sad stories of yesteryears made it hard for me to piece things together. Because at the end of the day, the whole phenomena surrounding robots and the lost reports boils down to one simple thing – Kimijima Kou.

Of course I’m intrigued with the whole Kimijima Kou thing in which a dead person is still able to “live” through systems. Heck, I love how the series apply modern technology in its story which made it relatable. To me, at least. I’m a technology geek so I like how they’re incorporating social networks and mobile systems to compliment the story.

I can’t help but to think there can be more to this than what was delivered. I would be more satisfied if the series didn’t only start to take off at the end. When the whole situation (the main point of the story?) was finally revealed, there’s only little time left to resolve it. It’s as if it was rushed.  Or maybe if Robotics;Notes take a different turn, I’d be more satisfied. Like Misaki, portrayed as a cold-hearted sister is really the cold-hearted villain or anything else along that line.

Look at this piece. Loads of complaints about Robotics;Notes! It’s my two-cents though. For those who have seen the series, what’s your thoughts on it? Are you disappointed or are you completely satisfied?

Come to think of it, I never really wrote anything about Fairy Tail. I might not be fully invested in the series, but still I have follow the anime until the end. That’s right – 175 episodes. All watched. It’s pure leisure.

Fairy Tail isn’t any different from other shounen titles. In my opinion, that’s a good thing and a bad thing. It’s a good thing because it feels familiar and I know it won’t go too far off the formulae. At the same time, it’s a bad thing because of the good thing (am I confusing you here?) and that makes it some sort of a clone. It makes it easy for skeptics to say “Oh, that’s just another shounen series. Good guys will win at the end.”

I was introduced to Fairy Tail by a Twitter friend who’s a huge fan of One Piece. No, he (I think he’s a he) didn’t introduce to me directly but was tweeting about the similarities when the series started airing about five years ago. I’m a fan of One Piece and Fairy Tail seems to be my cup of tea. And it is. Like One Piece or most shounen titles of similar set up, there’s a male protagonist seeking something. In the midst of his journey of attaining that something, he has a fun, great adventure with friends. Laughter always ensues.

In Fairy Tail, the character’s name is Natsu and his friends are members of a guild called Fairy Tail. He’s finding his “father”, a dragon who vanished into thin year many years ago. During his journey, he encountered and fought many wizards from other guilds alongside his close friends, Lucy, Gray, Erza and a blue cat named Happy. Along the way, he made a few new friends and some enemies.

What attracted me to Fairy Tail is first and foremost, the fun, the laughters. It wouldn’t be complete without it. I like the fact that it maintains its comedic flare even in the serious, life-threatening, future-determining battles. Having a “mascot” in Happy the blue cat helps in that area. Throw in a maiden in distress Lucy and an almost-lacking-common-sense Erza, the already chaotic world in which Natsu lives in gets turned upside down every single day.

As mentioned before, Fairy Tail isn’t unlike other popular shounen titles. The main characters in it always fight for what they believe is right and just. Perhaps it’s because of this, series like Fairy Tail fare very well among fans. Even for me, it can be very encouraging to see Natsu staying very positive and determined until a match is decided. “I’m fired up!”, a phrase Natsu often says is becoming my chant when facing obstacles at work. >.<

Fairy Tail can be very random at times. What’s even weirder is that meaningless things can take up a good chunk of time per episode. Also, it’s probably the first shounen title I watch that’s not shy on the fanservice department. C’mon, with a designated pinup girl called Mirajane, do you really think there would be no fanservice? It’s mild though so don’t keep your hopes too high (if you’re all in for fanservice).

I think the main reason I’m able to enjoy Fairy Tail anime as much as I did is because I never read the manga. I might have glanced through a few chapters but never did end up following. Now that I don’t know what’s filler and what’s original, I can just enjoy the anime as it is. Nothing to dislike about. Although I must say, I find the rubber-wearing three stooges who call themselves Jiggle Butt Gang the most irritating. Do they appear in manga too?

My initial complaints about the series is the lack of growth in the characters. After many arcs, I still see the same old patterns from the main characters. Erza seems to be using the same outfit repetitively. Natsu is using the same skills over and over again. Gray isn’t doing anything differently. Lucy always get into troubles and almost always ended up in compromising situation. It gets boring.

Thank goodness I’m seeing some major improvement in terms of skills in the recent battles of Fairy Tail members. For one, I’m enjoying the fact that Lucy, one of the weaker members, is becoming more powerful and playing a crucial role in whatever fate that lies ahead for Fairy Tail. Also, I was delighted to see Elfman overcoming a strong opponent in the recent arc on game tournament. Seeing what used to be weak characters becoming so strong, I couldn’t hold my excitement of what would become of the already strong members – Erza, Natsu and Gray.

Unfortunately, I don’t know the end of Fairy Tail so I can’t say for sure if the good guys will win at the end but I have a rough idea. My question now is: Can I continue from where the anime left off? If yes, from which chapter? Or should I just wait for the anime to be continued, whenever that may be…

I’ve written before about how motivating and inspiring the pair Shuujin and Saikou it is for me and their dynamic relationship with fellow mangakas. While those two elements are still present throughout the third installment of Bakuman, the vibe I’ve been getting the most can be described in one word – Positivity.

I don’t think anyone of the characters in this series could have accomplished what they did if they did not have a positive mindset, the positive attitude, and with positive criticism. This is especially true when it comes to Ashirogi Muto. And when I say this name, I meant the three characters whose name were used in the pen name formulation.

Azuki Miho

The first time Azuki Miho appeared on the series, I didn’t really think much of her. There isn’t anything to think about, really. At the time, she just seems like a plot device that bring together Shuujin and Saikou. She’s the reason why the formidable pair was formed. However, as the series progress, it became clear that she’s not just some girl one half of Ashirogi Muto falls in love with. Azuki Miho is quite the remarkable character.

She was very firm in her decisions. Once she made up her mind on something, no one can stop her. She doesn’t even listen to Mashiro and follows what she thinks it best for herself, her happiness.

I especially like her honesty and bravery when it comes to her career and private life. I’m sure it’s easy to falter, coming under pressure from hardcore fans and her management. Any mistakes can jeopardize her career. Despite that, Azuki Miho has been consistently marching to the beat of her own drum in a good way. What matters the most isn’t what other people think, what matters the most is the dream she shares with the one she loves.

Nothing changes that.

Mashiro Moritaka & Takagi Akito

Initially I wanted to write independent scenarios to best describe their positive characters since they are both very different person. However, since they are practically glued together and share similar aspirations when it comes to their work, I might as well group them as one.

They sure came a long way since the first two seasons. From amateurs fighting for a spot in a weekly comic magazine to respected mangaka whose presence can no longer be ignored. These two have set a positive example of how hard work and persistence pay off. Ever since their debut and first serialization, Shuujin and Saikou had certainly matured and are less impulsive. I like how they took their time to figure out what their next manga would be and what’s the best setting for it.

When they found out their current work, Perfect Crime Party (PCP), wouldn’t be able to realize their dreams, they didn’t rush off to start another new series. At this point, I find that they have absolute confidence in their skills and understand their strengths and weaknesses. Their discernment of their own situation has increased as well. It shows a positive attitude towards a greater success.

Shuuji and Saikou often throw ideas back and forth at each other and is never shy about voicing out their opinions, especially Saikou. His professionalism, or rather, perfectionist self, wouldn’t let Shuujin does anything less than is expected of. In addition, having an archrival in the highly respected and widely popular mangaka Niizuma Eiji to provide criticisms throughout their career has boost their confidence and determination. This sort of constructive criticisms often will only produce highly desired results.

Sure, these three characters had shown doubt and anxiety throughout their journey to realize their dreams. But who wouldn’t? As positive as we can be, there are times it’s necessary to take a step back and look at the things as they were and as they are, to figure out our next best step.

The third season wasn’t as intense as the first two mainly because most of the characters, the mangakas, has established themselves in the manga world. So there’s isn’t some kind of intense, good competition among rivals as seen in previous two seasons. They’re still there, just not as much. However, I’d say what’s intense this season is the highlight of the works of the characters. An instant draw away from Bakuman’s world. It’s as if Ooba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi are telling us they’re capable of writing many high class series just as intense.

Let me end this by saying, I’d highly recommend Bakuman to anyone who’s looking for something exciting and intense! 75 episodes, but totally worth the time.

It might sound silly to some people, but I’ve seen friends and strangers alike being overly attached to fictional characters. In the context of this blog, being too attached to 2D characters from anime or manga. Maybe even games! But I seldom read or hear people complain about characters in games. I wonder why…

This thought crossed my mind every time I read or hear fans complaining about a certain tragedy that has fallen on their favorite characters. Most recently, a friend told me she was scared to read the then latest chapter (probably two weeks ago?) of Naruto because she was scared to find out what’d happened Kakashi. Apparently, our mutual friend had told her that something bad might happened to the character. I didn’t know what to say when she explained her reason. I simply kept quiet.

On the bright side, at least she wasn’t cursing or anything about bad things (might be) happening to her favorite character. I remember when Itachi (of Naruto) and Ace (of One Piece) were killed off in their respective series a long time ago, friends expressed emotions I couldn’t quite understand. Anger towards the author, disappointments towards the series, etc. Some even stop reading/watching a series. I may be shocked or sad when certain characters were killed off, but the feelings lingered only for a short while. I’ll be lying if I say I don’t feel anything at all, but I don’t harbor negative emotions.

And then, I remember hanging out with a bunch of people a long time ago. They’re friends of friends. I sat through a heated discussion in which they were debating which character is the best. I can’t remember which series they were talking about. But the whole point is, watching them comparing their favorite characters are akin to watching parents insisting that their kids are smarter. It’s pointless because we are all entitled to our own opinions, biased to things/people we like.

If I really try, I suppose it’s understandable to a certain extent why some people gets a little emotional than necessary when bad things happen to their favorite characters. After all, it’s a character they’ve been following closely for a loooong time.

On the extreme side though, in my opinion, are diehard fans celebrating birthdays of fictional characters. I’m not saying it’s wrong or even saying that it’s weird (I’m too used to seeing things like that at this point). I just don’t understand why.

It’s just a fictional character. Is there a need to get all worked up? Or am I being heartless?

I managed to watch the whole series, Sakurasou no Petto na Kanojo, in a couple of days on my iPad. I brought it along with me when I was on a business trip in April. My first time watching the entire series on such tiny screen. Sakurasou, as most anime fans called it, was an easy series to watch – it has its share of happy moments and then it has its share of sad moments. Typical.

The reason why I decided to write about this series is because of the two categories of characters found in the series. One category being the super talented students and the other category being the not-so-talented-but-very-hardworking students.

If I am to categorize myself within these two groups of people, I’m in the latter group. I by no stretch of imagination am a talented kid. All my life I had to work hard to be where I am. If I don’t put in the effort, I’m average. Or worse, below average. However, if I put forth all my might into something, sometimes I get the results I desire. Of course, there are times I’d be very disappointed.

The main character, Kanda Sorata, had his shares of disappointments. After finally found his goal in life, he was hit by failures upon failures. The worst moment was probably when he was rejected while Shiina Mashiro got an offer even though she didn’t try. Mashiro was on the opposite side of the spectrum. She’s super talented. I suspect she’s the sort who doesn’t need to work hard to achieve ground-breaking results. She worked hard because she loved to. Sorata worked hard because he had to. There’s a huge difference in that.

Similarly, Mitaka Jin suffered inferiority complex when around Kamiigusa Misaki because of the very same difference. Although the romantic feelings between these two characters are mutual, Jin was determined to make a name for himself first before pursuing a relationship with Misaki.

Aoyama Nanami, an aspiring voice actress, sacrificed a lot for her dream. Devoid of parental support, Nanami had to work part-time jobs after school while attending voice acting classes other days. While I don’t have similar experience, I’m sure it’s very taxing to be always on-the-go and hardly ever be able to attend social functions with friends.

What hit home with me is when Sorata was shocked into realization – “you can play catch-up all your life but never even get close (to the talented group)”. The fact that he and Nanami worked so hard but it was for nothing. And that hard work doesn’t pay off.

Growing up, I’m always hanging out with the smart kids. It’s not like I planned it; it just so happened. These friends of mine would score straight As without having to study. They’re natural. Being with them, I didn’t study either. While they passed with flying colors, I merely passed. Back then, I didn’t care too much but there came a point when I’d question myself the huge difference in ability between me and them. Upon realization, it was frustrating.

Having said that, I think I could resonate with Sorata when he became depressed and angry at Mashiro. I’m not saying I agree with his actions. At the same time, I won’t say that’s it’s a pity he feels sorry for himself because being in that position isn’t something easy. Seeing someone close having grand goals and score every single time while he failed repeatedly is hard to take in. I’d say cruel, even. It takes a lot of courage to keep one’s head held high after going through what Nanami and Sorata went through. They worked hard. Really hard. They didn’t just sit and wait for miracles to happen. That’s something I find admiring – the persistence.

Whether hard work pays off, it’s not for me to say. It has too many variables to have an absolute answer. I’d like to believe though that hard work does pay off. What about you?

As some of you may know or noticed, I’m a huge fan of slice-of-life series. Nothing makes me happier than to unwind with some lighthearted, fun series that usually are slice-of-life. Slice-of-life in anime refers to series with little plot and character development. More often than not, the series are filled with comedic moments.

You probably already know that, don’t you?

Anyway, the list below is my favorite slice-of-life series, not arranged in any particular order.

Hyakko

Hyakko introduced me to slice-of-life. It showed me that anime doesn’t have to long and whiny (okay, maybe not whiny) like One Piece and Naruto. And that I have the option for some short, pointless but fun series. Fine, I’m exaggerating but I think you know how I felt about the discovery. It’s super fun! I remember thinking that “hey, this anime is fun & so easy to watch”.

That really is the beginning of my “obsession” with slice-of-life.

Lucky Star

Are you guys even surprised I listed this? With most of my random posts filled with images of Konata and with Lucky Star being constantly mentioned, my guess is that you’re not surprised. It’s hard not to like Lucky Star. There were a lot of aha! moments, the “yes, I feel the same way” moments, the “I did that too” moments. It did bring back some childhood memories like how Konata and Tsukasa went “ahhhh” in front of the fan during hot summer. I got scolded by adults back then. The most memorable scene is perhaps when Kuroi-sensei got the “This page cannot be displayed” error messages when she finally had some downtime and decided to go online. Don’t we get that a lot? Or is it really only me?

School Rumble

I first watched School Rumble on national television channel irregularly. If I remember correctly, it was dubbed in Malay. I’m not a fan of anything dubbed, but I remember finding this series to be exceptionally interesting compared to the other magical girls-related series that were also on TV. Before I know it, I was watching two seasons of School Rumble subbed.

The funniest thing about School Rumble is the antics of Harima & Sawachika. Their interactions often result in extreme circumstances, bringing many laughters. The good news is – they aren’t the only ones who are funny! Even the side characters never fail to make audience laugh. It’s really a great series to laugh with. Never let you down on that one.

Hidamari Sketch

I remember reading good reviews about Hidamari Sketch on various anime blogs before I finally gave in and watched. At first, I wasn’t quite sure how I feel about the arrangement of the episode sequence. It took me a while to get used to it. I marathon-ed the first two seasons over a week-long holiday (Hari Raya I think?) and fell in love with the serenity of the series. I mean, the noisiest of the bunch is genki-girl Miyako and really, it’s considered mild compared to the likes of Ritsu from K-ON!, in my opinion.

What sets Hidamari Sketch apart from other slice-of-life series mentioned here is that the girls work towards a common goal. It’s like there’s something at the end of the tunnel. A goal waiting to be achieved by the characters. In recent seasons, it showed that the seniors, Hiro and Sae, were struggling with the decisions regarding their future. I don’t know if I’ll feel the same way about Hidamari Sketch should Hiro and Sae no longer be a regular part of the series upon graduating. I hope that doesn’t happen…

Tamayura

Having an astounding artwork is one of the many things I like about Tamayura. But the most important factor is its healing effect. Out of the five titles listed, Tamayura has the best healing/soothing effect. It’s not that I’m escaping anything from my daily worries/obligations/responsibilities, but Tamayura does bring the calming effect. It could be the tranquil sceneries, the places Potte would go to or do, the appreciation the girls show for almost anything their doing, etc. I don’t really know for sure, but it makes me a tad relaxed watching this series. I’m so looking forward to the new season when it airs this coming July! Erm…it’s still happening right? I’m kinda out of touch with anime news (for the time being >.<)

Sooo…that’s my five favorite slice-of-life series. What’s yours?

I won’t exactly call myself a fan of Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (OreImo for short). I watch the anime series only because it’s something easy to pass time with. It doesn’t require anything from my part except a good 20 minutes or less. My brain probably stops functioning actively once I play OreImo. That’s besides the point. The point is, because I don’t qualified as a fan, I almost never search any news/articles/etc regarding the series. There are a lot of things I don’t know about. Maybe that’s why I find the second season of OreImo a bit confusing.

Before I tell you what are the things that confuse me, let me be clear though – my confusion could be resulted from not refreshing my memory on the series before diving into the second season. Usually, I’ll try to refresh my memory via different methods but with OreImo? Nada. What more to say the first season was quite a while ago.

Spoilers Alert!

Now, I find the second season confusing because the characters aren’t really how I remember them. The few characters who seem to be consistent are Kousaka Kirino and Tamura Manami. One remained tsundere and one remained mild-charactered. As for others, they seem to grow exponentially without me realizing it until it happened! I’m slow maybe?

For starters, I’ll talk about Kyousuke, Kirino’s brother. He seemed to be a lot more perverted in the second season. In the previous season, he was just the protective brother, whom at the same time couldn’t wait to get out from his “life-counselling” duties. This season, however, he has transformed into a harassing older guy who would search his younger sister’s friend on the web as a way to pass time. Very surprising, although I know I shouldn’t be since I could’ve guessed how this series would end. Still, this wasn’t how I remember the character.

Secondly, Aragaki Ayase. I remembered her as a yandere who likes Kirino. Likes, as in romantically interested in her best friend. That was the impression she gave me. I really believed that she hated Kyousuke, thinking he’s the reason why Kirino picked up playing eroge as a hobby (turns out to be quite true!). So when she became very agitated upon learning the news that Kyousuke is dating Kuroneko, it was so funny that I laughed. It doesn’t seem like her, that’s all. That not the scenes were particularly funny…Anyway, in the end, I guess she’s not interested in Kirino like that. >.<

Lastly, Kuroneko. To be fair, she retained most of the characteristics I remember her having except during the part when she confessed to Kyousuke and while dating him. I guess girls in love sometimes exhibit different personalities? She was exceptionally shy yet demanding, taking lead in all situations. I’m impressed, actually. From how Kuroneko dealt with her friendship with Kirino – often seen arguing together but at the same time, often seen spending most time together, secretly enjoying each other’s company, it’s easy to think that Kuroneko will behave like Kirino when it comes to Kyousuke. But then again, having two girls masking their feelings for the same guy are a bit too much in a show perhaps?

Characters do grow and change in anime series, but more often than that, they’re gradual and with reasons. Somehow, with OreImo2, it doesn’t seem like the case.

Anyway, these are just some ramblings from me, writing my thoughts now that OreImo2 just ended.

I admit. It wasn’t easy for me to adapt into this “watching style”. It takes a while for me to settle in into my current pacing. Compared to when I started blogging, the way I watch anime and the amount of time I spent watching anime have changed. Not too drastically, but the effects didn’t go unnoticed.

Since last year, most of my time has been filled with work-related projects and constant traveling. Going away from a few days to a week to another place has a few disadvantages, most notably bad Internet connection. If I’m having bad Internet connection, how am I suppose to get my dose of anime? I remember last year when I traveled to a less developed city in my country, I struggled even to get my cellphone’s signal working, let alone Internet access.

Even if I have stable Internet connection, there’s no guarantee I have free time to watch. I’m on a business trip. To reduce such trips, I should get as many done as possible while I’m at whatever place I’m supposed to be at. That means working through the night.

So what’s this new “watching style” I’m saying? No fixed schedule.

During my early years of anime fandom, I’d watch an episode the moment it aired. Hence, I was more or less on a fix schedule. The main reason was I didn’t want to miss out. I didn’t want not to know what others are talking on tweeter. I didn’t want spoilers. I wanted to stay in the loop. Also during that time, I was doing episodic blogging for selected series, so timely posts are important.

But now, I might have to wait (not by choice) until 2-3 weeks later before I’m able to catch up with the airing series. I usually do my catching-up on weekends, but if my weekends are filled with social activities, it’ll take a month or so later before I finally caught up with others.

At first, I felt I’m missing out. I’m sure there are tons of fun anime out there, but I just don’t have time. Moreover, I felt like I don’t know what people were talking about half the time. Are what they’re saying suppose to be funny? Are they not suppose to? I don’t get it.

After getting over that feeling, I’ve settled into a passive way of watching anime. When I say passive, I just meant anime’s taking the back seat. Getting the latest anime isn’t a priority anymore. Heck, I’m not even sampling series these days. I solely rely on recommendations and tweets on my timeline that caught my attention.

There are also other ways to stay current with latest release like what I did with Sakurasou, which I watched on my iPad, in the hotel and while on plane. Instead of wasting time people-watching at the airport or flipping through pointless magazines on the plane, fitting an episode or two while flying not only makes the trip seems shorter and mood lightened too (depending on what you’re watching).

The point is, it doesn’t really many how frequent I watch anime per week. It isn’t about how much time I spent on anime per week. The more time I spent on anime doesn’t make me a better fan. A hobby is meant to be enjoyed in a relaxed manner. I’m doing just that.

If you’re given a chance to wipe out your memory, would you do it? If the technology exists, would you jump on the chance to start anew by forgetting the life you’ve build thus far?

The male lead in Eden of the East, Takizawa Akira, chose to erase his memory to forget about unhappy encounters he had. He didn’t only do it once but twice. He’s in such a despair that he doesn’t want to remember anything even though he has friends like Morimi Saki, the female lead, who will be there for him.

Memory is such a funny thing, really. It’s not something that we can see or touch and yet it’s a huge part of our lives. Memory plays a role in our academic lives, social lives…actually, in all aspects of our lives. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn’t work the way we want it to work. It makes us remember the things we want to forget, and makes us forget the things we want to remember! Frustrating.

So, to see the character Akira has the choice to completely wipe out his memory without putting much effort is tempting. I’m not saying I have things I desperately try to forget. Let’s put it this way – should the option of completely wiping out memory is available, I’m sure the option of completely remembering everything will be available. Then, we have the choice to forget and remember certain parts of us.

Parts of us…While memory isn’t a tangible thing, it’s an integrate part of who we are. It’s something we hold dear without even realizing it, especially the happy memories. Look at Akira, for instance. He is such an odd character. He chose to forget who he was and yet, he eagerly pursued his forgotten memories.

Now, it’s interesting that while some other Seleção had experienced much worse than Akira, they never choose to forget what happened to them. Why?

Here’s what I believe – I believe that what we experienced so far in life is what makes us who we are. It’s important to remember the happy moments as well as the sad days because when all these experiences combined, they make a unique you.

Once again, I’ll leave you with the question I asked earlier in this post – if you’re given a chance to wipe out your memory, would you do it?

My last update was in August! That’s how time flies! In between August and October, loads of stuff had happened. I’m away from home most days of the week for work and some of my family members are facing health scares so much time was spent taking care/paying attention to them when I’m home. It’s like I totally understand how sometimes people – even huge anime fans – would slipped behind a few months because there are so much things going on.

Sometimes, just sometimes, other things take precedence over hobbies.

What has happened to me in terms of anime? This blog is about anime, so obviously we’re talking about that. Right? In case you’re wondering, I’m still watching anime. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve found a certain rhythm I’m okay with in terms of watching anime.

Lets talk about last season, shall we? To be honest, I’m not following too many titles this season. In fact, I think I only have Kuroko’s Basketball on my list. I like Golden Time and Ace of Diamond, but not enough to follow the series this season. In return for only adding one series to my plate, I stay quite updated on long-running shows such as One Piece, Naruto and Hunter X Hunter.

Okay, main point – last season. My favorite series from last season is Gin no Saji, for its simplicity and thoughtful direction, especially touching on personal issues some of us struggle with on daily basis or from time to time. It’s relate-able, it’s easy understand and to see from Hachiken’s perspective.

In terms of memorable though, as in series I’m most likely to recall easily in the future, is Shingeki no Kyojin. I like the action, the setting…well, I think I just like to see how they’re jumping and running on rooftops. >.< Did I mention about the OP songs? I clearly remembered how I was hooked on the series – the OP song at the first episode. The energy and urgency of the song sort of brought up the flavors of the series. Get what I mean? Too bad the series ended just when things got a little more interesting. It’s a shame, but no worries for they surely will be back soon. C’mon, the series is immensely popular…how can it not have a second season?

Tamayura: More Aggresive was soothing as expected. While it centered around Potte trying to start and manage a photography club, it still did not go far from the main essence of the series – which is for Potte to learn more about her late father through connections he had left behind and photography.

I have yet to complete Monogatari series, but I intend to by the end of the year. I did manage to complete Danganronpa, which I’m a bit disappointed with. I like the whole guess-who’s-the-villain thing, but somehow, each case left me wanting a little bit more. A little bit more mystery, a little bit more challenge, a little bit more complexity. It’s still okay, just thought it could’ve been better.

The only series I have mixed feelings about is Free!. I don’t think I like it, but at the same time I don’t think I hate it. It’s meh. However, if there’s a second season, I might actually pick it up. See, it’s not bad because it’s not very heavy to consume and it can be really fun to watch. It’s not good because it’s not the kind of sports anime I had hoped for (is this even a valid reason?). So there you have it, not sure where I’m standing with this title, really.

Hmmm…I think that’s all from me for now. I do have a draft I’m working on, but it was abandoned when other stuff creep in. Who knows I might just finish that post…soon. Until then, see ya!

Given that I didn’t watch anything from Fall 2013, I’m a bit hesitant to write this post because I feel that it’s a little unfair. It wasn’t because I didn’t like anything from Fall 2013, but I didn’t watch any of them so I can’t rate them now can I? But then again, I remember my annual best anime post is always about the anime I watched. I don’t watch a whole lot of anime to begin with >.<.

Here it comes, my best anime 2013 list! The list only includes series that ends in 2013, regardless of when it started airing so that means anime that aired in Fall 2012 is considered.

*drum rolls*

Gin no Saji

I placed this first because I genuinely enjoyed watching the series. It’s one of those series I most look forward to after a long work week. Perhaps the unusual (I think?) setting of a farming school has something to do with it. Or perhaps it’s a bit of a lot of things – a club anime, a high school anime, a (fill in your choice of word) anime. There’s a sense of familiarity and at the same time it feels different.

It’s different because it doesn’t dwell too much of friendships, boy-girl relationships and club activities. It has these, but aren’t heavy. Instead, it solely focused on Hachiken’s desire to find himself or at least, to discover what he wants to do with his life. Honestly, it was fun to watch him grow. His character development was pretty solid, in my opinion. He’s like a totally different person by the end of the season.

Shingeki no Kyojin

Need I say more? I reckon it’s one of the most popular series in 2013. Saw loads of cosplays too. I mentioned this before – what caught my attention with this series is the first OP song. So really, sometimes choosing the right song for an anime can make wonders. In this case, it depicts the right amount of energy that the whole series is about – urgency, vengeance, despair, etc.

What I like most about Shingeki no Kyojin is the action! I love how they jump around with their 3D Maneuver Gear. The people don’t really fight each other and it’s unlike other action-oriented series with superpowers (I’m not counting Jaegar’s ability as superpower. It’s not.), which is kind of nice.

The other thing is, I like how well the series captures emotions, especially despair. It’s heartbreaking to watch as the family learns the fate of their loved ones. The other well-captured emotions is anger. I’m sure other anime captures these emotions well too but for audience to truly feel what the characters feel, I think Shingeki no Kyojin did a fine job.

Of course, having characters like Mikasa is a plus too. Is she the next Senjougahara?

Bakuman

I’m so psyched when I learned that Bakuman 3 is going to be the last season of the series. This means I get to finally see Ashirogi get their deserved ending. Okay, I know how it’s going to end because of well, Google. But, since I never read the manga before (purposely avoid it to maximize my watching enjoyment), I still don’t know how things unfold. I knew the ending but I didn’t know the journey. And I tell you, the journey is the part worth watching.

Ashirogi (Azuki, Mashiro & Takagi) have worked so hard for so long. These guys faced failures, heartaches, disappointments, self-doubt for years before finally achieving their dreams. Watching Bakuman reminded me that nothing comes for free, nothing is an easy ride. You can say it’s just a show, but hey, I think all of us know it speaks real close to home.

Besides watching the trio fighting for their happy ending, Niizuma Eiji was also very entertaining to watch. Still couldn’t believe this guy is once a guy I disliked so much.

Tamayura: More Aggressive

I have a soft spot for Tamayura so you can call me bias. Seriously though, I realize there aren’t a lot of people watching this series and to certain extent, I can understand why. But for me, Tamayura has the sort of “magic” that settles me. It’s the to-go series to unwind after working hard for the day. There are already many Tamayura titles out there and each of them captures the serenity I crave for. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to be able to enjoy an anime with beautiful scenery right?

Tamayura: More Aggressive happens to be very touching this time as well, especially when we follow Fu around trying to learn more about her late father. I’d imagined it must been hard for her to not have her dad around so soon when she still has bits and pieces of memories of him.

GJ-bu

Dare I? I dare. GJ-bu will make this list because I truly love watching this series.

I haven’t make my rounds of visits to the blogs I frequented so I have no idea if anyone put this on their list. But to me, GJ-bu is super fun. It’s already a good sign when I find myself always laughing on how the club members enjoy the company of each other. Unlike club-centric anime such as K-ON, we really mostly just see the members in their club room. GJ-bu is one of those slice-of-life series done right, I think.

So with GJ-bu, that rounds up my top 5 choice of 2013. What’s yours? Now I’m already starting my Winter 2014 sampling. Here’s to 2014 to be a year of good anime shows! =)

There’s one thing in common about Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei and Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) – they’re both about human survival. Both anime have different settings, different set of character types and yet, human survival instincts that present within these two anime are very similar. Human fear deaths. Their will to fight is a direct result of desperation to stay alive or in some cases, making sure their loved ones get to see another day.

In Dangranronpa, we see 16 talented high students thrown into a tightly closed building that is Hope’s Peak Academy. Their only way to get out from the academy is to kill someone and get away with it. On the other hand, in Shingeki no Kyojin, we see residents living behind high walls attacked by giants, sparking chaos across the land. Young children lost their parents to unknown mutants and adults stood helplessly, not knowing how to defeat the enemy they know very little about.

These two anime series showed an array of emotions associating with human survival. In my opinion, both series captured very well the sense of helplessness as well as determination, but especially in Shingeki no Kyojin. Hannes was helpless and chose to run when he knew he couldn’t beat the giant in front of him. After losing his mother in front his eyes, Eren felt helpless and then was determined to take down the enemies who stripped away everything he once held dear to.

Now, watching these two series, it makes one wonder – in the moment of desperation, what would one do in order to live? Will the person forgo all his/her reasoning and ethics just so he/she could live?

In both series, when human survival instincts kick in, the characters would do anything to stay alive. Even if that means to kill. For example, in Danganronpa, Maizono Sayaka was ready to kill in order get out of the creepy school she unknowingly enrolled into. Similarly in Shigeki no Kyojin, Mikasa and Eren killed the robbers at only nine years of age because they wanted to live. Mikasa, who initially was trembling with fear, took a step of courage, plunged into a living being and took the life out of him. All of these because she wanted to live and she never looked back since.

So back to my original questions, what does it say about us? We live our lives everyday like any other day. I’d like to think we are peaceful people who have no ill intentions. And yet, if we’re in their situations, what are we capable of? Are we willing take lives of others in our own defense? It’s not something we ponder on everyday because it isn’t a place we want to go. But watching these two series, how they turned from ordinary, good citizens to the people they are now, it’s a question worth thinking no?

In the end, human is made up of complex emotions that it’s hard to tell which will be the more prominent in time of crisis. I’d love to think I’m still able to think rationally and react based on correct deductions. But I won’t know for sure until the day arrives. What do you think? I’d love to know.

P.S. This is such a late post especially when considering how long these two series had ended. But…it’s better late than never!

“On-the-go” because it’s the list of anime I’ll bring around whenever I’m on the move. I’m pretty sure viewing experience is extremely important for all of us as anime viewers. Some of us love big screens, awesome sound system to enhance the experience while some chooses to be simpler, okay with any size of screens and time of the day.

I used to be very particular about how and when I watch an anime. The weather can’t be too hot, the monitor has to have the perfect brightness, etc. It’s a bunch of stuff I made up to enhance my viewing experience. And to a certain extent, I still held on to those beliefs. However, ever since I’m constantly on the move due to my work, which by the way, explains my absence from blogging, I’m a little more flexible these days.

Because I’m on the move and often faced with dodgy, spotty Internet connection, the only way to get my dose of anime is re-watching old series. Of course, I wrote a list of anime I’ll re-watch before, but again taking consideration of viewing experience, I decided to make a list of criteria for my choice of anime on-the-go. Hence, this post. Although maybe it’s an excuse for me to make another list?

1) Favorite Anime

This is no rocket science and it’s common sense. Of course, whenever I choose an anime to bring along with me, I’ll consider whether or not I like the series. More often than not, I’ll load Lucky Star into my iPad. Actually, I’ve done that 6 out of 10 times.

As always, I’ll randomly select the episodes to watch since well, it’s episodic. Depending on my mood of the day and what number I like, I’ll pick the episode to watch. I’ve re-watched Lucky Star many times and I can probably memorize what they’re going to say (in English and non-verbatim) but I still don’t know what’s in each episode until I play it. I know there are few scenes I like because they’re super funny, but I don’t know the episode number. Too bad.

2) Anime Genre

If you haven’t already noticed, I only mentioned Lucky Star in the above point when my favorite anime list suggests I have a few more favorites. Why didn’t I bring Nodame Cantabile with me? Or Skip Beat!? The answer is simple. Since I’m on the move, watching anime is one of the ways I kill time during ideal times like on the plane, at the hotel, etc. Having said that, I don’t want to watch a series with plots or better put, requiring mental focus. During times like this, slice-of-life series are the best to go with.

Watching Lucky Star too much may not be a good idea so the next slice-of-life I watch a lot is Hidamari Sketch.

3) File Size

I have a 16gb iPad I bring along on my trips. With loads of apps and whatnot, there’s little space left to fit a good number of series into the tablet. So, I consider the file size of all the episodes. Depending on the format & video quality, an anime episode can easily be well over 300mb. If it’s a 24 episodes series, that can eat up quite a lot of space.

Therefore, on rare occasions, I’ll bring A-Channel with me because I downloaded the smallest size I could get my hands on at the time of airing. You know, with crappy Internet speed back home, small file size is heaven. Besides, the video quality isn’t so bad.

4) Favorite Scenes

There’s one time I brought Kuroko no Basuke with me. This seems a bit of an odd choice comparing to the titles mentioned above. I brought the first season with me once, and I only watched the matches, especially the match with Aomine. For those who have seen the first season, don’t you think that match is the most interesting one? Aomine’s street style’s cool.

There you have it. My short list of criteria. It’s probably good to note too that some of the titles, unless I’m traveling I might not even consider re-watching. Odd eh? While I try to figure out what’s going on inside my head, what will you bring to watch while on the move? Say, one month stay abroad? Do tell!

I suppose it’s not easy to be watching a series for 5 years. One has to be a huge fan or the series has to be real good for anyone to keep following a series after so long. A lot can change in 5 years. In my case though, I’ve been faithfully following One Piece because the series never ceased to amaze me. I never grow tired of it. Sure, there are short periods (a few months in between) in which I watch or read nothing One Piece related, but I’ll always come back to the series, loving every moment of it.

Why I like One Piece? It is a question I never ask or be asked until a few weeks back when I was catching up with series and thought, hey I really like One Piece and this is why. So instead of letting the thoughts come and go, I’ll write them down in this post.

Funny, little moments

Over the past few weeks, I might have tweeted two or more One Piece moments that I absolutely like. It’s not something extravagant. In fact, it probably only happened a few seconds in an episode, but I love it. One Piece is weird like that. Or I’m weird like that.

These moments don’t add much to the plot or entirely irrelevant at times, but they are what makes One Piece so special. Its part of the package – the flair for comedy is something much appreciated. Otherwise, I don’t think I can last this long watching the series. I started following One Piece when it was airing the Thriller Bark arc. That’s like 300++th episode. So to be able to catch up in the span of few weeks, One Piece has to be pretty damn hilarious for me to keep going.

Creativity

I mentioned in this post about virtual wonder worlds before about how much I enjoy One Piece’s world. Places like Water 7 and Fishmen Island have touches of magic. It’s beyond my imagination.

Furthermore, the creator Oda loves to include funny characters into the series, serving as something or objects we think could work if that creature has the capability. I don’t really know how to explain this in words so I’ll give an example instead. For instance, like the penguin above. It’s fitting and clever to view penguins as possible transporter of medicine in icy weather so Oda used the animal as the vehicle to drive around medicine. He used something in real world that could possibly do the job required because it has the suitable characteristics, but not necessarily is capable of doing it.

These clever moments made me appreciate the limitless boundary of imagination.

Interactions & Dynamics Among Main Casts

People usually stick around a show, not just anime, because of the cast. One Piece is no exception for me. Perhaps, if this show is solely about Luffy, I wouldn’t like it as much. But this show isn’t just about Luffy. It’s also about his crew – Chopper, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Nami, Nico Robin, Brook & Franky.

Drawing comparison between the main cast of One Piece and Naruto, another series I’ve been following for even longer period of time, it’s pretty clear to me One Piece has the better casts. Sanji’s eternal drooling over women, Usopp’s hilarious self-proclaimed diseases, Zoro’s horrible sense of direction are some of the things that I actually never get bored of. You could say because they always have the right timing so it doesn’t feel overused.

Followers of the series will know the close relationships between Usopp, Luffy and Nami. How they poke fun at and tease each other, just having fun, enjoying the day, is something I love to watch. The best part is, they’re not explicitly highlighted most times. They’re things happening at the background while the focus is supposed to be on some other characters. For me, this make the characters very likeable.

This point is somewhat related to the first point, actually.

Value

Hmm…put it this way, Luffy is the typical shounen main character. But, and it’s a very big but, he holds value that I resonate with. Like Naruto, the main character in Naruto series, he puts his friends first. Like Naruto, there are times he feels completely helpless and acknowledges his weakness. But most times, Luffy projects positivity, optimism and carefreeness (is there such a word?). And this is something I truly value.

In other words, most scenes in One Piece are not very gloomy.  Even pessimist like Usopp doesn’t bring down the spirit much. Get what I mean? This is not to say One Piece is full of comedy. It’s not. The war that took Ace’s life is a great example to prove this. However, these dark moments don’t overshadow the overall positivity I feel One Piece tends to represent.

If you’re watching the anime or reading the manga or doing both, what is it about One Piece that keeps your attention?