During a rare one week break that I had, I picked Slam Dunk from my to-watch list to entertain myself throughout the Chinese New Year holidays. I didn’t enjoy the series as much as I thought I would. Basketball is my thing, I love watching the games even though I probably know nothing about it.

See, the reasons I love watching sports anime are the adrenaline rush and the excitement. With Slam Dunk though, instead of getting the doses that I need, I got annoyed. I’m well aware that Slam Dunk is a wildly popular series, even among non-anime fans. Unfortunately though, I don’t think the series is my cup of tea.

Here’s why. (Please don’t throw shoes at me if you’re a Slam Dunk fan).

Noisy

This is probably the first time I describe an anime being noisy. Seriously, if anyone asked my opinion about Slam Dunk, that’s the first word that came to mind. NOISY. And I wasn’t even talking about the cheers in matches. Those, I think I can understand although Rukawa fangirls are a annoying bunch.

I’ll probably forget about the intense cheering after a few weeks, but I’ll never forget the main character Sakuragi Hanamichi’s annoying laughter (this is coming from a person who watches One Piece, which is filled with a variety form of laughters…) and baseless claim of being a basketball genius. Being originally a gangster with quite the reputation, the main character often resorted to violence to resolve nagging issues. Also, it doesn’t help that 3 out of 5 starting members of Shohoku are originally troublemakers to begin with.

Plus, having Ryonan’s Aida Hikoichi around is a pain. His favorite phrases – “Unbelievable ya” and “Yo checku ya” (spelling based on what I heard) were funny at first. After a few more episodes, I wish I see less of him.

Long & “Draggy” Matches

I’m glad I watched Slam Dunk after it’s completed. Otherwise, I think I’ll loose my patience waiting to find out who won a match. I already know I’m the impatient viewer so I put both Kuroko no Basuke Season 2 and Saki: The Nationals on hold until it’s finished before I start watching. I did that with Chihayafuru and enjoyed the two seasons tremendously.

With Slam Dunk, I thought I could get the same adrenaline rush I get from watching Kuroko but boy, instead of feeling excitement I began to get annoyed. Here’s why – the matches are very long! Shohoku vs Ryonan match alone took well over ten episodes to complete. An episode can consists only 45 seconds of a match or a single shot. It’s a bit too long for my taste. Instead of feeling the rush, I got bored. And it’s not like there’s anything really exciting about the matches like Kuroko’s (Slam Dunk’s matches are more realistic in that sense). On top of that, I had to deal with Sakuragi’s constant chant of being a genius.

So yeah, I’m glad I watch it after the series is finished. Otherwise, I’ll probably feel like I’m watching Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu‘s Endless Eight.

Repeated Flashbacks

One of the reasons why the matches are too long is because of repeated flashbacks. They’re the same flashbacks I’ve seen a million times over the course of the 101 episodes. I grew tired of watching Mitsui’s reason for attending Shohoku because it’s played over and over again. And I grew tired of certain part of previous being played repeatedly as part of some player’s flashback. It’s fine if it’s a fresh flashback on a player’s past because that allows me to learn more about them. Repeated flashback though is another story. It ruined my viewing experience.

Again, if I were to watch this on weekly basis, I probably would have gone insane.

Slam Dunk is not without its positive points. As much as I dislike Sakuragi Hanamichi, his perseverance and determination are some of the qualities I enjoy watching. In fact, all of the players carry the “must-win” attitude and I believe this fires up any viewer who has goals they want to achieve in their lives. It took Gori Akagi Takenori three years to make to the National Championship. Slam Dunk carries a message – Nothing comes easy and perseverance will win.

Although these points will never overshadow the irritating issues I dealt with watching the series.

P.S. I was going to say there are no likeable characters in the series, but I do think Sendoh’s a likeable character. He’s calm, collected and quiet…

Last week, followers of Gin no Saji saw Hachiken collapsed from overwork. This, I assume, is the direct result of him not being able to refuse requests from his friends and constantly overthinking, worrying every little detail. Besides Hachiken, Mikage also has problem saying no to her family and insisted on inheriting her family’s business despite being more passionate about horses. In Asian culture particularly, saying “no” is a little hard. Correction. It’s very hard. And saying “yes” to everything, on the other hand, is very easy.

In Hachiken’s case, his mentality behind saying “yes” too eagerly and difficulty in saying “no” is because he is always trying to be nice to others, even though it’s at his expense. Whenever he gets requests for help, he will dutifully accept although he already has a long list of items to attend to. In order to catch up with his list, Hachiken sacrificed sleep.

As a viewer, a bystander, it’s easy for me to ask why? Why did Hachiken keep saying “yes” when he already have a long list of things on his plate. Well, according to the experts, we don’t have a full grasp of the amount of time we have, often over-estimating the time we have, thinking we have more than we actually do. That could explain why Hachiken had hard time refusing his friends. He simply didn’t know he is running out of time.

For Mikage’s situation, however, she didn’t want to to hurt her family’s feelings by refusing to continue her family’s business. And by extension, she didn’t want to create conflict. Also, she didn’t want to be rude to other people by voicing out her true feelings, as in the case of the its-sled.

What Mikage didn’t know is that she’s hurting herself instead by accepting whatever’s thrown her way. Or simply accepting her fate and not do something about what she truly wants and voicing out her opinions. This would eventually become a pressure point in her life if not dealt with. Come on, I’m sure it’s not easy trying to wake up every day doing a job you don’t like, or worse, hate. That makes life sucks.

The reason why Gin No Saji 2′s fifth episode inspired me to write my thoughts about saying “yes” too often and “no” too little is because such behavior is prevalent in my immediate surroundings, especially at work, and also to myself. I did mention earlier that “as a bystander”, “as a viewer” when talking about Hachiken’s case because if I’m in both of their shoes I’d find it hard to say “no” as well.

Last year, I was just like Hachiken. My mentality was saying “no” is bad. Such behavior is due to human not wanting to burn bridges by saying “no” as more often than not people take this as a sign of rejection, which may lead to loss of business opportunities or break relationships. Declining a request can get personal if the receiving party isn’t mature enough to handle it.

This is what I thought, anyway. Good news is all the stuff I said earlier are created and imagined by ourselves and ourselves only. Most people are able to handle rejection if well justified. I’ve started doing that saying “no” more often this year and life’s got a lot better as I spend more time focusing on myself and doing things I love.

What about you? Are you saying “no” enough?

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to watch Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki after almost a year since getting my hands on the anime movie. You see, I dislike the idea of spending two hours watching something, doesn’t matter what, because I think the time is a bit too long to waste. A normal series episode is around 20 minutes, that’s still acceptable to me. It’s psychology so I don’t have a valid reason for thinking this way.

But anyway, I finally motivated myself into watching the movie. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the courtship of Hana, the lead character, and her wolfman partner, I liked the part where she resolved to raise her wolf children on her own.

As you can tell from the title of this post, what strikes me to write this post is the lead character – Hana. I find her quite a rare character, probably doesn’t exist in this world, logically speaking. Her temper is so mild that she hardly loses her cool in all situations. Yes, she freaked out a little when her children were sick but she remained clear headed as not to expose her children’s real identities. On top of that, she constantly prioritise her children’s well-being over her own. Most parents do, by the way. It’s just that her dedication to Yuki and Ame is so strong, so deep that she lives and breathes only for them.

A Patient & Understanding Mother

What is even more astonishing is how she handled her naughty kids. I’m at the age where most of my friends are already parents. So you can imagine most our conversations are about their kids. While they love their kids and often praise them, occasionally though they grumbled, complained and basically got fed up with their children’s bad behaviors. A night out with friends were filled with angry or disappointing comments instead of joyful cheers.

Throughout the whole movie, Hana rarely raised her voice to her children. Instead, she patiently explained to them their unique situations and cleverly let them choose their own paths. Whenever Yuki misbehaved, she would patiently explained to her her wrongdoings without getting angry. Perhaps the only one time (which I can remember) that she ever raised her voice so slightly is when Ame was beginning to show his rebellious side.

Yuki and Ame are quite the difficult pair to handle, in my opinion. Yuki, especially, when she was little. She would do all sorts of crazy things that if I’m Hana, I’ll go crazy. Instead, Hana let Yuki does whatever she pleases. As if, she’s confident Yuki will someday figure things out and not make her life hard. There are few occasions where Yuki and Ame would mess up a clean house with their wolf nature, but Hana never once asked them to clean up after themselves and scolded them.

Ha, I was thinking at those times, if such things happen to me and my friends, our parents would make sure we get our deserved punishment.

A Determined Mother

Besides her super soft and caring attitude towards Yuki and Ame, her determination to raise them in utmost secrecy was something I find hard not to be in awe of. Because of the increasing difficult situation to deal with outsiders such as neighbors and social workers, she fled into the countryside and single-handedly fix her new house and feed her children. She left her familiar, comfortable life to raise her children in an unfamiliar and difficult surrounding. With very little money life and through pure determination, she learned the ropes of gardening in order to feed her children. It’s assuring to see she never once give up after failing so many attempts in trying to grow her crops.

A Smart Woman

Hana’s incredibly smart. For those who saw the movie might say, if she’s smart she wouldn’t have landed in the situation she was in. Let’s put that thought aside and see what she did afterwards. She’s able to learn ways of living by just reading relevant books. There are many occasions she resorted to reading variety of books to learn how to raise her children and feed them. And guess what? She successfully raised her children without letting them go hungry once. Also, she’s quite the handy person too. Fixing the rotten house like that. Pretty cool.

I believe my post here pretty much sums up why her deserved Mom of the Century award. She’s simply too nice, too patient and very determined to the point I find it scary >.<.

P.S. Everytime I see Ame (the little boy on the picture below), I was like “Oh, that’s mini L (Death Note)”. Haha. Don’t you think?

Except up until this point, Ei-chan still hasn’t win a game. Or has he? I’m on episode 7 during the time of writing this post.

I didn’t think I’d like Baby Steps. Firstly, the anime title doesn’t sound like something I’d watch. I mean, Baby Steps. What does it mean exactly? There’s no telling unless a person really sits down and watches the show. Or alternatively, read the summary. In my case, I find it odd, at first, to have a tennis anime titled as such.

Did I mention that Ei-chan is such a lame nickname? It’s like trying to make up for him being a straight-A student or something. A = Ei. Besides, whether one admits it or not, he’s a boring character. He eats, sleeps and makes notes of anything and everything. I still remember when I saw his notes on tennis. It’s super detail. His notes should be referred to as textbooks, not notes really.

Alright, alright. I’m not being fair here. I’m putting out lame excuses for not liking a show like this. But I love the series, although I’m might be saying this too soon. It really only has 7 episodes thus far.

Practice Makes Perfect

I love that Ei-chan (Maruo Eiichirō) took a huge amount of effort to be good in tennis. He’s not some random guy bumped into the tennis world and magically be good at it because he’s talented. Sure, there’s this thing about his keen observation skills, but it’s not an inborn quality. At least, I don’t think it is. He picked up the skills when he was little.

Like most main characters out there, Ei-chan wants to win. He wants to be good at tennis. The dream instilled on him by the cunning coach made him works even harder. And boy, did the guy trained hard. His repetitive training against a wall. His willingness to train longer hours. His addictiveness to wanting to be good at tennis. All these drove Ei-chan to keep practicing his basic strokes and be better.

What I love the most is we get to see him working hard and that all of his hard work is slowly paying off.

Visible Growth

Like Chihayafuru, Baby Steps brings audience along for a growth journey with the main character. Hence, Baby Steps. Ei-chan started off as someone who lacks physical fitness and has zero experience in tennis. He joined STC, the tennis club, to improve his stamina. Well, a gradual liking to tennis and Natsu plays some role in his decision. But for the most part, he wanted to improve his physical state.

From thereon, we saw Ei-chan slowly growing from a person who fainted due to lack of stamina in his first visit to someone who played one of the longest matches in his first competition. That said a lot about growth right?

Also, he started as someone who doesn’t even know how to hold a tennis racket to someone who’s able to control the return of a ball. I personally think this is amazing stuff. This is unlike watching series like Kuroko no Basuke in which the characters are only building on top of what they already know about basketball.

It’s Simple

It’s a very straightforward anime. No need to mess around and play the guessing game. Sure, we have someone like Egawa Takuma to deal with. But hey, his past was quickly revealed anyway. What I’m trying to say is that Baby Steps allows us to watch Ei-chan grow from the get-go rather than trying to guess what happened in his past. At the time of writing this, it remains as simple as possible. No wondering around what’s up with a senpai’s desperate need for a tournament cup or what happened to a team’s previous tournaments, and there’s no playing tennis for other people, so to speak.

Baby Steps isn’t about adrenaline rush as it is with most sports anime. It doesn’t really make you get excited about each match as with other sports anime. Heck, I couldn’t care less if Ei-chan wins or loses. All it matters is this: how far can Ei-chan go?

P.S Actually, I’m very impressed that when I google Baby Steps, most of the links in the top hits are relevant. I thought it may be the same case as Another.

I don’t think anyone would be surprised that the two main characters in Nisekoi who were initially forced to date will eventually date towards the end of the series. But at this point, we don’t know that yet for sure. From the 20 episodes we’ve seen, however, many events have suggested that the ending we all know too well will happen.

Nevertheless, that is all my guesswork based on the anime. I’m not sure how things have progressed thus far in the manga and I’m not about to find out.

Why?

All Too Familiar Plot

In case you haven’t notice although I’m pretty sure you did, the plot used in Nisekoi is well used in a lot of anime in its genre – harem. Personally, I’m not a fan of this genre because male lead is always some sort of a loser. And then, we’ll see a bunch of girl characters introduced as the story progress and they all will fall in love with the male lead. The male lead will then share some special moments with each of the female characters.

Nisekoi shares similar traits except Icihijou Raku is bearable, which is why I continue watching the series. He’s not a helpless guy whom magically attracts girls. Raku is someone who’s helpful, dependable, genuine cares for those around him and is actually a good cook. He knows which girl he likes. At least, for the most part…

No Surprises

Is anyone surprised that Tachibana Marika popped up in the middle of nowhere halfway through the series? I bet no. Is anyone surprised that there are a bunch of transfer students in Raku’s class and are one way or another, linked to him? Again, I bet no. Is anyone surprised that Raku and Chitoge had a temporary fallout? No.

The reason is simple – it uses the same plot lines as mentioned in point above and didn’t bother to add flavors of its own. There’s nothing out of the ordinary and everything goes by the book. It gets boring.

Lost Promise

The worst part is that finding the girl Raku promised was kind of forgotten towards the end of the series. Once Raku’s pendant is sent for repair, it remains at the shop until the end. We didn’t get to see the pendant again. We don’t know if anyone cared anymore because everyone’s preoccupied with the present events such as Chitoge struggling with her growing affections towards Raku, Raku struggling to understand Chitoge, Onodera mustering up her courage to confess, etc.

Once Tachibana appeared and everyone realized they are kinda like childhood friends, the story with the promise and the keys are no longer driver of the series. One can argue that it’s because the manga is still on-going and the story with the pendant and the fitting keys are eventually revisited. As an anime viewer, this doesn’t matter. As far as I’m concerned, with how the story is going, whether or not Raku finds out which of the girls’ keys can unlock his pendant is no longer important. Hence, lacking the motivation to find out what happens next.

I watch Nisekoi because it made me laugh. I continue watching the series because it’s a comedy. I’m able to complete the series in a day because it’s easy to absorb.

Having said all that, I don’t think Nisekoi is necessarily a bad series. It lacks storyline that would’ve helped it stands out more. If Nisekoi has a second season, I wouldn’t mind watching. However, I won’t go out of the way to follow the manga just to find out what happens to Raku and Chitoge.

It’s not worth the time.

P.S. I’ve read quite a number of chapters before Nisekoi was made into an anime. Even then, I stopped reading way before.

It started off really sweet, in my opinion. I thought Hase Yuuki was very kind and persevered in his quest to befriend the girl who no one talks to in his class: Fujimiya Kaori. I suppose in the real world, there is very little people who is willing to put up the effort to maintain a friendship, let alone a romantic relationship, with a person who will forget you when Monday arrives. So yes, I thought Hase was doing a good job trying to get inside Fujimiya’s closed, mysterious world.

Although it’s been very clear from the start (to us, anyway), Hase’s intention is more than just being friends with Fujimiya. He probably didn’t realize, or rather didn’t want to acknowledge, his actual feelings for Fujimiya. Despite having the knowledge, it still didn’t make it any easier for me to watch Hase’s constant jealous fit whenever she tried to make new friends. It’s way worse than watching Kazehaya trying to keep Sawako to himself in Kimi ni Todoke.

While I applaud him for making the effort initially to get to know Fujimiya, it’s not long before I started to distaste watching him around her. Perhaps distaste is too much of a strong word to use. I’ll take note to update this post with a better description that fits what I feel about Hase.

In some ways, Hase is very possessive of Fujimiya. He wanted to be the special person who gets to learn her secrets and see the sides no one else in his school has ever seen. Heck, he even said so himself. Despite not willing to share his new friend with others, weirdly, he started asking Fujimiya to step out of her shell and share her secrets. Talk about contradictions! He sulked, got jealous, used his friend Kiryuu whenever he felt convenient, etc.

He’s indecisive and is plain annoying to watch. Unlike good friend Kiryuu, whose actions are a little more direct, Hase tends to not know what to do when it comes to his friendship with Fujimiya. He only knows he wants her to be his friend, but he doesn’t know how to be her friend. Like all kinds of relationships, friendship also takes two to tango.

Hase turned from being the role model friend to an undesirable friend. And sadly, that’s pretty much what I’ll remember Isshuukan Friends for.

P.S. Despite my last statement of the post, to give credit, at least Isshuukan Friends has a different take on normal high school series with the female lead being an outcast. It’s interesting to see how a girl with memory problem struggles in her high school life. And more importantly, the male lead isn’t some kind of a high school superstar. Please, he can’t possibly be one.

Since the beginning of human-eating bug crisis, it’s interesting to see how much Gon and Killua had grown, in terms of raw strength, emotional strength and their friendship. I remember saying (tweeted?) that I couldn’t imagine Gon and Killua apart. And much had happened since then.

For starters, since Chimera Ant arc started, I’ve almost forgotten about Hisoka and Phantom Troupe. And then, since the latest arc started for the anime 2011 version, my impression of Hunter X Hunter has changed quite dramatically. If you ask me now, I’ll say the show is giving me nightmares (not literally) with its gruesome, highly evolved ants that hardly look likes the ants I frequently stamp.

But we’re not here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about Gon and Killua.

Gon Freecss

Back when I first wrote about Hunter X Hunter here, Gon was a cheerful, overly positive young kid with a single-minded determination to seek his dad. He set out on an adventure, overcoming all sorts of mental and physical hurdles, all for the sake of his one goal. Even when he encountered all the difficulties and adversities, Gon pretty much maintained a cheerful demeanor and remained mostly harmless.

Because he wanted to find his dad so bad, he was glad to have found Kite, someone who may or may not lead him to finally meet his dad. During their brief time together, Kite has been a great mentor and friend. As I said, their time together was short, his newfound friend was taken by the ants. During this period, Gon vowed to be stronger so that he could rescue Kite. His personality pretty much remained the same – he grew stronger, thanks to his immense talent and perseverance. Guess what, Gon even managed to sneak in some romantic time with Palm.

However, it’s as if something suddenly snapped, Gon turned into someone who is dark with vengeance. When they set out on their final mission, he still is the Gon I knew. The moment he tracked down Pitou, Gon changed. He turned into another person, a character I thought I barely knew. He was angry, merciless and demanding. His kind heart vanished and was replaced with murderous intention.

What I imagined would be a long and tough fight for Gon vs. Pitou turned out to be pretty one-sided. The way Gon charged forward was un-Gon like. He didn’t just want to win a match, he wanted to kill his opponent.

To me, that’s a really big change in Gon, a boy I’m so used to seeing being more of a person who’s fond of winning but not killing. I’m pretty sure in future, I’ll always be more weary of him as who knew, Gon has a dark side too.

Killua Zoldyck

On contrary, Killua has always been dark with a few emotional battles of his own. He never truly opened to anyone until he met Gon. In terms of skill set, Killua surpassed Gon in more ways than one. The only thing perhaps Gon does better is his ability to communicate with animals. From the very beginning, Killua is surrounded by dark aura. He has a dark side; everyone can see that. If he was the person in the battle with Pitou, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

Over the course of the series thus far, Killua is slowly shedding his inner darkness and overcoming emotional distress just so he could be called fit to be Gon’s partner. That’s how much his friend meant to him.

As opposed to the darkness that had shrouded Gon in recent episodes, Killua pretty much has none of it. Perhaps this isn’t his battle, as Gon has mentioned. Perhaps he wasn’t as affected because he wasn’t as attached to Kite as Gon was. In fact, he’s gradually becoming Gon, in a good way, learning to lean on friends. When the series first started, it’s a little hard to imagine Killua uttering word like “Friend”, much less depending on them. While he treasures Gon very much, Killua rarely verbally expressed it. So for him to verbally appreciate Palm and Ikalgo is something rather new.

Final Words

Personally, I think it’s a huge contrast on what has happened to Gon and Killua recently. It’s like they’ve momentarily switched characters, in the process giving their characters more dimensions. It’s also a stark reminder that everyone has their good sides and their dark sides. While it seems they’re mostly fighting battles on their own, in a way linked by unforeseen forces, they are also fighting side by side.

For the most part, I still can’t imagine Gon and Killua apart because they are the essence of the show. Without these two characters as best buddies, Hunter X Hunter is nothing. The show cannot exist with only Gon or only Killua. They balance each other. That’s how I see it. What about you?

As I found myself following quite a number of sports anime this season, I can’t help but to take a step back and wonder why I like sports and competitive game anime. Over the seven years of me watching anime, I’ve watched many sports anime such as Bamboo Blade, Slam Dunk, Chihayafuru, Kuroko no Basuke, Free! etc.

So why do I like sports anime that much? Here’s why.

Fighting Spirit

It’s motivating for me personally to see the characters getting in what I call the “match-mode”. Once they’re in the game, their focus and determination to win is something quite fun to watch.

A recent prime example is Maruo Eiichirou from Baby Steps. He pushes himself further each time he needs to get pass a hurdle. In his first tennis tournament match, Maruo, or better known as Ei-chan, refused to give up. He kept on pushing forward, and although he didn’t win the game in the end, he kept on working hard on his art of tennis. All this just so he could win someday.

This kind of deep focus and determination is something I find really admiring, even if it’s only from an anime.

Team Spirit

So far, of all the sports anime I watched, Haikyuu!! has the best team spirit. From the very beginning of his high school volleyball career, the lead character Hinata Shōyō was pampered with care from his seniors. Sure, he has his squabbles with his peers, but generally, the mindset of the team is all about being a team. It doesn’t rely on just one ace. Don’t get me wrong, there’s an ace just like any other team sports. However, they know the importance of sharing the burden equally of a match with everyone else within the team.

In other words, team spirit in sports remind you that you’re not alone. You’re not in this on your own. Or better yet, as Liverpool’s anthem says it: You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Adrenaline Rush

A simple card game (not exactly sports) in Chihayafuru offered me plenty of adrenaline rush, what more to say more complicated games like basketball in Kuroko no Basuke. The accelerated heartbeat and suspense in the air: sometimes, it’s a little too much to bear as I marathon-ed the episodes. It’s exhilarating.

The constant questions of “Who will win?” or “What’s going to happen?” often fill my head whenever I watch competitive sports anime. I can always feel my heartbeat pounding. I remember thinking as I watch Bamboo Blade: will Tama-chan lose?. She was competing against one of her strongest opponent yet, and I really hoped that she would win. The funny thing is I can’t remember if she won but I remember my exact feeling when watching the match.

I surprised myself sometimes with my own discipline of not jumping to the later episodes to see how would a match unfold. I avoided news at all cost too. All this for the sake to preserving the rush I crave so much.

Crash Course

In one of the recent Baby Steps episode, one of the side characters offered some sort of a crash course on tennis. It works something like this: some characters explaining a game while a match is playing.

This allows audience to have a basic understanding of the sports they’re watching. I’ve learned new things about new sports all the time such as tennis with Baby Steps, kendo with Bamboo Blade, basketball with Slam Dunk, etc.

The only one game I would never understand is mahjong. Maybe cuz Saki never bothered to explain properly? All I ever remember from the first season of Saki is Koromo’s signature move “Hai-Di-Lao-Yue“, and I still don’t get how it works.

Talent Isn’t Everything

Who doesn’t love to cheer for the underdog? Sometimes, we love nothing more to be told that as long as we work hard, we will succeed one day. It’s important that we have the mindset of never give up, work hard and good things will eventually come. Sports anime is one of the media content that chants this mantra. In order to win, it boils down to focus and determination.

Basically, that sums up why I like sports anime. Do you watch sports anime? Why do you like watching them?

The rebirth of ten-tailed beast brought a catastrophic disaster upon the five great shinobi countries. Within minutes of its re-existence, the alien creature (alien, even by Naruto’s standard) has took many lives, including characters we’re so used to seeing after following Naruto series for so long. As Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito counter attack in the seemingly one-sided war, it’s as if all hopes are lost for Naruto and his alliances.

Despair. Hope. Death. Living. Silence….yes, silence is the most appropriate response in these times.

(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)

When the ten-tailed was finally able to target accurately at Madara’s desired destination – the HQ, there was a moment of silence. I love that the scene had no audio. There was no dramatic music, no screams. Just shocked expressions of the many ninjas and a faint sound of explosion when the target was hit. Silence can say a lot in such moments, I believe.

The heaviness of the moment, when Shikamaru and Ino knew their fathers have just died, were deeply felt even if ever so briefly. There was no need to wail, as I’d imagined it would be for Ino’s case, because the pain of their loss was already established in that few moments of silence. Silence is the most powerful scream. It’s as if in one episode, the death of great minds are not enough, fans’ beloved Neji had bravely sacrificed himself for the sake of peace and brighter future of the nations.

There’s a lot to take in just one episode. For Naruto anime fans who never follow the series through other media were in for a shock. So many deaths. And yet so many still live.

Uzumaki Naruto, the central force of this war, had his moment of confusion. Confusion and despair. I can’t say he was angry. He was at loss and didn’t know how to respond. After all, the ones who just died in front of him aren’t just anyone. They were his comrades. Naruto had suffered the loss of many dear ones. His parents. Jiraiya. However, I bet the death of Neji hit him the hardest. It isn’t because he was closest to Neji, but rather the nature of his death.

Once again, Naruto was silent. Obito delivered his “speech”, but Naruto remained quiet. This is the guy who is always loud and restless. This is the guy who just a few moments ago was declaring bold statements against his enemy. And yet, he did not utter a single word. Because he was silent, we the audience were able to relate to his emotions better. His shock expression was enough.

I’d like to think that the use of silence throughout this episode strengthened the message it’s trying to deliver, which is the pain to lose people we care about. Yes, we all know that wars are always about life and death. Someone dies every other minute while some other person gets a second living chance.

And in these times, it’s important to stay silent for a few moments, to reflect and then move on.

Anime or manga? It seems like this question never escaped being asked in the life of a person who enjoys a certain Japanese subculture: he or she who watches anime or reads manga or does both. I’ve been asked, or rather dragged into the debate, many times: which is better? I don’t have an answer and I don’t think I ever will.

It’s a personal choice.

People would argue: manga is better because it’s the true source. It’s the original story. It’s how the story would have been if the anime has adapted accordingly. I’m sure followers of super long shounen series know exactly what I meant. The long, unnecessary, whiny fillers that manga readers loathe. Plus, you get to know what happens next a lot faster than watching the anime. Worst case scenario, anime-only fans will get the story at the earliest two years later.

While I find it amusing and fascinating that people would compare chapter to chapter between manga and anime, I personally couldn’t bring myself to do it. Partly because I wouldn’t remember anything I read clearly from few months ago, lest giving out the wrong information. And partly because it takes a lot of energy to do that.

I Prefer Anime Because…

It’s true that I’m usually not a fan of fillers. However, I’d say I’m more inclined to watch an anime than to read a manga. Perhaps because I’m enjoying these media for what it’s for: enjoyment. I’m not here to compare works or have some kind of intellectual awakening from watching anime or reading manga. So, I think at the end of day, the fundamental difference between the two media is the added dimensions in anime.

Anime breathes life into the characters we read about in manga. With anime comes voice, deeper emotional connections and movements. Battles, for example, are more interesting when animated. The clashes of weapons, the stomping of foot on the ground and of course, the often energetic background music.

Personally, these are added values to my enjoyment of a content. There are many things manga can’t do what anime can. I think the same can be said about what manga can do that anime can’t do too. For starters, manga offers limitless imagination and more insightful thoughts.

I Prefer Manga Because…

I found out that I put my imagination into pretty good use when I read manga. That’s one thing I hardly do when watching anime (I mean, what is there to imagine, really?). I personally give voice (inside my head) to the characters. I would imagined how the characters would sound. Believe it or not, as it turns out, Kirisaki Chitoge from Nisekoi is exactly how I pictured she would sound.

Also, certain manga, especially in shoujo manga, have a lot of characters that do monologues. Some of this maybe important in seeing from a character’s perspective and understanding why a character does what he or she does. But sometimes, that may got lost in translation due to many factors.

As far as I’m concerned, anime and manga both have their own qualities I appreciate. Do you prefer one over the other? If yes, why?

P.S. Age-Old Questions is supposed to be a regular series bringing up popular debates when I first started out but things don’t always go as planned. This post has sit in my Draft list for over a year now. Ah, life.

Barakamon is an anime series currently still airing. It’s slice of life, funny and enjoyable. But I like most about Barakamon is how Handa Seishū tend to learn life lessons from the antics of a child called Kotoishi Naru.

Whenever I see kids doing their thing in real life, I often remember how simple things were when I was a kid. It’s easy to be satisfied with whatever that’s been given, be it material goods or opportunities such as role on stage play etc. But as I grow older, I’m became more picky with the things I want and always wanted something better than what I already have. Again, it’s not just limited to material goods. I believe as we grow older, we tend to complicate things when they’re really very simple.

So with that, here are a few lessons I think it’s worth pondering on:-

1. View Things With A Simple Mind.

When Handa was criticized for being blatant in his calligraphy art, he took it personally because he has that much pride. He thinks himself as a accomplished and successful calligrapher until a certain old man came forward to say the obvious. It was a huge blow to Handa’s ego that it affected him psychologically when he went retreated into the village.

So when Naru, a little kid with no knowledge about calligraphy, said the same things the old man said, he snapped. The reason why Handa felt hurt is because he’s calculating the effort, time, pride into his art pieces. On the other hand, Naru is seeing for what the art piece is exactly. She’s comparing and commenting based on what she knows. Eventually, Handa realized that.

Also, when Handa and the headmaster were arguing about what warning message should they be posting to prevent people from littering on the river, they went ahead and said a bunch a far-fetched stuff. Naru went ahead and wrote something most obvious – If you litter, all the crayfish will go away. Now, I don’t know how true is that, but don’t you think if the person wants to eat crayfish, he or she is less likely to litter?

As mentioned before, the thing with us adults are we like to complicate things. I like to complicate things. I like to think things beyond what is there. We tend to think unnecessarily because we want to look clever. Besides, our minds tend to go into foretelling mode, weighing the pros and cons of everything we do. This leads very well to the second point below.

2. Stop Worrying. Just Do It.

Handa was worried how his calligraphy would turn out on Miwa’s dad’s new boat. He’s worried about upsetting a gangster-like man and was careful the entire process.

Naru, like most kids, doesn’t sweat on stuff like these. When was the last time a kid tell you how they’re worried how they’re actions may affect you? Instead, she laid her palm prints on the new boat, leading other kids to do the same. This made Handa extremely nervous because now all of his hard planning amounted to nothing. He quickly, following his instincts, wrote over the prints. Within seconds, he has completed his task. And Miwa’s dad loved it.

Do you have that side project you’ve been wanting to do for ages? Do you plan to only pursue your dreams when you have all the good plans laid out? Have you been wanting to quit your day job and travel the world? Life is short, really. There isn’t time to worry too much about what may happen for it may not happen. We’ll deal with it when it happens. For now, we’re just going to live our lives the we want. That’s how we should roll.

3. Failures Is Not The End Of The World.

Handa came in second in a competition and was sulking about it. He was so affected by his so-called failure that he lost his cool with just about anyone who stepped onto his path. Instead Naru brought Handa out for a day of fun. Along the way, Handa learned some life lessons about competitions. But the main point is, we don’t have to stay in our defeated mode at all times.

I believe kids are just as competitive as adults, speaking from experience. But, kids are less likely to dwell on failures. They want to win just as much as adults do. But if they lose, the failures do not affect their self-confidence as much as adults. Perhaps it’s our pride, our ego. We take failures and rejections very hard and personal. Perhaps it’s the accumulation of all the failures in our lives that we feel so beat up. But hey, it’s not the end of the world. Pick yourself up and try again.

4. Just Have Fun.

I’m not sure if this is really a good lesson, but I’m really pleased with how Naru just jumped off from a great height to the ocean when she doesn’t know how to swim. Normally, we’ll be weary about drowning, just like Handa was. From adult’s point of view, it’s a reckless act. Why would we put ourselves in danger? But from a kid’s point of view, it’s an adventure they’re dying to experience. Kids are less likely to worry about what kind of dangers lie ahead and are fixated on just having good old fun. Sometimes, I think we need to have unplanned, random fun to spice up life a little.

Bonus: Learn To Float…With Your T-Shirt.

I absolutely love this one. In the first episode, Handa was dragged into the sea by Naru after he pushed her in by reflex. He was complaining how heavy his clothes are. After all, he had jeans on. Then, Naru taught him something even I thought is magical. See above screencap. That’s how to float. Does this really work?

Anyway, that’s all the lessons I extracted from the first five episodes of Barakamon. If you’re not already watching, start watching now!

For those of you who doesn’t know, Glasslip is a currently airing anime revolves around Fukami Touko and her friends. It’s a bit of drama, a bit of romance, a bit of this and that. One of the underlying themes of the series is foreseeing the future. Apparently, Touko and the new boy in town, Okikura Kakeru share the ability to see/hear tiny fragments of the future.

As I’m following the series, the thought crossed my mind a few times: do I want to be able to see the future? It’s just a wishful thought, a wishful what-if. Because let’s face it, is there really a person here on earth that can see the future?

Now, back to my question: do I want to be able to see the future? While watching episode 6, Touko’s mother said something quite interesting about being able to know what happen next: You can enjoy it twice. Her mother is a very positive person to be able to come out with such an interesting perspective. Normally, people will have mixed emotions about it. Like I do.

If I’m really to be honest with myself, the answer to my own question is yes, I’d like to see the future. No, it’s not because so that I can enjoy the experience twice. Here are my two big reasons why:-

Decisions Made Easy

How many times did we ask ourselves the what-ifs questions? Now, if we have the ability to see the future, won’t we make the correct choices based on what were revealed to us? The revelation of the future, that is. It’s like a straightforward if-else route. If I take route A, what sort of consequences ensue. If I take route B, what could happen. That way, I don’t have to worry about making the wrong choice.

Think about it:  no more hard choices!

At the same time, we get affirmation that we’ve made the correct decisions. There are times we wonder if we’ve made the correct call, did we do the right thing. Being able to tell the future affirms our decisions. I’ll be able to rest well knowing that I chose the correct course. If I didn’t, I still have time to change. Crisis averted!

Skip The Anxiety

In episode 5, Touko’s friend Takayama Yanagi wanted to know what the future holds so her step brother Imi Yukinari doesn’t have to worry about his track and field career. I call it career, but he’s just running at school races.

I bet everyone has that moment too, that we shared Yana’s wishful thought. This is especially true when we’re waiting for results! Be it exam results or interview results or whatever its. The kind of stuff we’re most anxious about but can’t get a immediate reply. Then, we’ll lose of few nights of good sleep getting really worried about it. If we’re able to see the future, we’ll save those worries, don’t we?

As much as I’d like the benefits of being able to see the future, there are downsides too like I mentioned earlier. Touko briefly mentioned about it being boring, which I agree. To live is to get excited about unexpected events and navigate through life challenges with undiscovered sheer willpower. That’s a life well live, in my opinion. Also, remember this: With great power comes great responsibility. I think the famous quote from Uncle Ben speaks for itself >.<. It can be an inconvenience when it starts interfering our daily lives and becomes a burden.

So let’s say, hypothetically, such power exists, do you want to be able to see the future? Why?

It’s not easy to watch Tokyo Ghoul, in my opinion. No, I’m not talking about the splattered blood and man-eating scenes. If you’re thinking of picking up the series, don’t worry, it’s not as horrifying as I make it sounds. I said the new series is not easy to watch is all because of the ongoing conflict between human and ghouls. The prejudice against each other and the lack of equality drove them to reckless attacks and murders.

In the most recent episode, to be more precise, episode 8, it shown the internal struggles and feelings of what I call representatives of the two species.

Let’s start with the ghouls: Touka and Hinami. At the very last few seconds of her brush with death, Touka cried out her will to live. The fact ghouls are conditioned to only can taste human is not by choice. They’re born this way. In order to survive, they have to eat. But to eat healthily, they should be served human. Hinami, the poor the little girl who lost her parents to human, was crying out her loneliness. She is prime example that she chose not to be a killer. That’s a choice. She could’ve been a powerful killer, but only wanted no one to be hurt.

Now, move onto the human: Amon and Mado. Amon also suffered the lost of a fellow officer. Like Hinami, he was hurting. To have someone they know taken away from them is harsh. It’s a void in their heart they have to live with it for as long as they live. Amon complained about the innocent death of his friend and colleague and that he was in grief. More importantly, he blamed it on the ghouls. Mado, driven to madness by the death of his beloved wife, is also a victim of circumstances.

The reality is that Amon’s friend’s death could have been avoided if he had not hunt down Hinami’s mother with Mado. Hinami’s mother’s death could have been avoided if Mado and Amon would just stop at where they found Hinami’s father. They didn’t have to go all the way to track down the family. In fact, all the unnecessary deaths could’ve been avoided if they take on Hinami’s lead and not to seek revenge.

It’s not as if human are not capable of crimes and in context of the series, killing and cannibalism. It wasn’t highlighted in the series because it’s ultimately a series about ghouls vs humans.

Both species are breathing. Both creatures are co-living in a same space. Both has feelings too. One is blaming another for their grief. And yet, each of them shares the same right to live. The liberty to do things while living shouldn’t be taken away just because they’re different. To humans, ghouls are different because they’re on a different diet. To ghouls, human are different too. The never ending loop of senseless killing will forever continue until they strike a common understanding.

Does this sound familiar?

I decided to write this piece, drawing inspiration from each of the cries to live, be it Touka’s or Amon’s. Because in this world we’re living in right now also suffers from the same prejudice. Not against ghouls, you silly, but many, many other issues…

In recent episodes (11 episodes at the time of writing) of Free! Eternal Summer, we saw avid swimmer Nanase Haruka struggles to deal with the expectations from people around him. As a talented freestyler, Haruka was well sought after by universities but he wanted nothing of it. As he tries to find his place in the swimming arena, Haruka repeatedly told his friends all he wanted to be is “free”.

As a person who never had such high expectations rested on his shoulders, Haruka found it extremely difficult to manage. After all, we’re talking about a guy who has been swimming casually. Since day one, we viewers have been told that he swims because he enjoys swimming. He swims to have fun experiences with his friends. Haruka is competitive, but at the end of the day, he always swims for his own reasons.

The pressure mounted as expectations heat up during the Nationals qualifying rounds. We saw Haruka stopped dead on his swim lane, unable to swim. He felt bound by unnecessary high hopes of strangers. He, as a self-declared free spirit, felt chained.

Now, I don’t think Haruka doesn’t want to pursue a career in swimming. We know he loves swimming and would want to continue swimming for as long as he can. Being hesitant is often a reaction that comes after there’s a sudden change of pace in one’s life. In Haruka’s case, he was discovered, so to speak. With such immense talent, comes high expectations.

And I think most of us can relate to Haruka’s current dilemma. Sometimes teachers, parents and even friends expect us to do something. And we’re expected to do that something well and make them proud. It doesn’t have to be grand stuff like what’s happening to Haruka. It can be a very simple thing. More often than not, we feel pressured to meet those expectations.

Haruka’s at a place which I call the worst case scenario. Scouts and friends unknowingly set a par for him to achieve. Someone else is hoping him to achieve something he didn’t ask for. Others dream for him a dream he never dreamed. And if he fails to meet their expectations, he’ll be automatically seen as a disappointment. A failure, even. Look at Rin, Haruka’s friend and rival. He pulled Haruka aside in episode 9 and questioned him in anger when Haruka gave up his race. Why does one have go through so much emotional pain for something he didn’t ask for?

To be fair, what is expected of Haruka isn’t unrealistic. He is a good swimmer. He swims fast. And more importantly, he is passionate about swimming. But not everyone dreams big. Some stays content with what they have. It’s a lifestyle choice. Maybe that’s Haruka’s meaning of being “free”.

Among the sports anime aired this year, Baby Steps and Haikyuu!! really stood out for me. While both are sports anime, their premises couldn’t be any more different. Haikyuu!! focuses on volleyball, a team sports while Baby Steps focuses on tennis, mostly known as a single player sports. I think that in itself laid out the major differences between the two anime in terms of atmosphere, excitement and player dynamics.

Baby Steps

Baby Steps follows the journey of an obsessive note-taker called Maruo Eiichiro. In the beginning, he’s known to taking very detailed notes for all the subjects at his school. Ei-chan, as his friends called him, even organizes his time to make sure he stays alert and healthy. When he accidentally discovers the world of tennis, Ei-chan makes good use of his note-taking skill to collect various data on his and opponents’ game plays for good use.

He ventured into the tennis world as an unfit teenager, panting just after a few shorts runs and even passed out in his first club tryout. Through sheer determination, he managed to gain fitness and slowly working his way up the ranks in the club as a serious tennis contender.

Based on what I’ve just written, Baby Steps sounds a lot like the typical anime with a main character working very hard to realize a big dream. In many ways, it’s true. But what sets it apart is the frequent monologues going around inside Ei-chan’s head every single time he plays a match. It shows his determination, hunger for victory as well as self-doubt and vulnerability. More importantly, it shows his analytical skills. He’s well aware of his standards and his position. This shows us the viewers that sometimes, we need to accept our flaws to better ourselves. We need to constantly examine what we have right now in order to take further steps ahead.

Also, what I like about Baby Steps is how the series focused on incremental building of Ei-chan’s tennis career, as opposed to a quick dash to fame. Besides his note-taking skill, the only other skill he managed to develop while waiting for his dad to return from work as a kid, is keen eye observation. These two skills aren’t really extraordinary, but it works for him and his way of tennis. Trust me, his way of tennis is nothing sparkly at all. Nonetheless, it’s still entertaining.

What’s inspiring is Ei-chan’s willingness to make reckless decisions, something that’s out of character for a super organized and rational guy like him. He makes risky decisions on court and in life. While he’s well on course to a seemingly bright future with his good grades, Ei-chan’s willing to wash it all away with a strong desire to become a tennis pro. I’m not saying it’s okay to be reckless. We need to brave sometimes to make changes in our lives. Let go of what we’ve achieved and start from scratch.

Haikyuu!!

To be honest, my favorite of the two is Haikyuu!!. It showcases much more energetic casts with roaring enthusiasm in their matches. Karasuno team is especially rowdy with hyperenergetic character lead Hinata Shouyou alongside Nishinoya and Tanaka. Be it an official match or a practice match, the Karasuno team never let viewers down with its intensity and willpower. It’s important to note though, besides Taneshima, all of the members get along well. Even though I singled out Taneshima, he’s still a team player despite lacking the enthusiasm on the front.

What makes Haikyuu!! so enjoyable is the well executed storyline. It seamlessly shows the team’s progress from one phase to another. Karasuno started out as the forgotten heroes, being constantly looked down by opponents after years of failing to yield good tournament results. The seniors on the team expressed doubts on their skills, but are willing to step up to the game when called for. On the other hand, the freshmen were eager to play and contribute. Slowly, the team transforms.

The matches are highlights of Haikyuu!!. Viewers will be constantly left on the edges of their seats with episode cliffhangers and whatnot. Some matches are more exciting than others. However, they’re all enjoyable. It’s really nice to see all teams are united and rarely have clashes of individuality as seen in sports anime like Kuroko no Basuke in which the Generation of Miracles received special treatments and are egoistic. During games, they know they can count on each other to strengthen their weaknesses too. I’m sure anyone who has seen Haikyuu!! would immediately think about Kageyama Tobio as a self-centered player. But he’s changed, hasn’t he? It doesn’t take long to see Kageyama’s changes, which is a good thing because it makes watching Karasuno playing all the more fun!

More importantly, in Haikyuu!!, it clearly shows for each team and player that the biggest wall to overcome isn’t the long arms extended on the other side of the net, but themselves. They worked hard to make sure they are not only physically fit, but also mentally.

As opposed to Baby Steps’ quiet and calm Maruo Eiichiro, Hinata is super loud and energetic. While Ei-chan expressed his thoughts internally, Hinata loves to openly speak about his thoughts. He’s not shy to express awe, disappointment and tears. In fact, his excitement is contagious. I’d like to believe that whoever’s watching Haikyuu!! is also affected by his fun-loving personality. He doesn’t sweat too much on details. In Hinata’s simple mind, he only has one goal – to win.

Both anime have their highlights unique to themselves and are titles I’ll recommend to anime fans who loves to watch anime sports. Haikyuu!! may appeal to those who only watch anime occasionally too. These two titles are also the first two sports anime I watch on weekly basis and I tell you, it’s a torture!!

Anyway, these are my thoughts of what I think could be the best sports anime in 2014. Have you watch these titles? If yes, what do you think?

I came across Hunter X Hunter a few years back when my friend introduced me to the first anime series. At the time, I was a strictly shounen genre kind of anime viewer. Since it has a familiar feel to it as it shares the generic shounen format, I immediately love watching the series. I didn’t finish the series so when the 2011 version was announced, I knew I had to watch it.

Fast forward today, it’s been roughly three years since its first episode aired. Throughout the 148 episodes, I was thoroughly entertained by the adventures of Gon and Killua. It’s safe to say that each arc has its own uniqueness, different, but at the same time, equally entertaining.

Story Arcs

To date, my favorite arc Heavens Arena. One of the reasons why I like this arc the most is because it’s the time how skills in Hunter X Hunter world work is explained. And also because there are some interesting battles going on. But all in all, the series itself have pretty solid arcs. Each arc picks up where the other arcs left off very smoothly. Before the audience knew it, they’re already moving into another exciting adventure ahead.

Each arc is capable of holding my interest. I don’t remember experiencing the confusing what-did-i-just-watch moments. If anything, every episode in this anime version of Hunter X Hunter pieces together puzzles of the series in a linear manner. The transition from one story to another was good.

Story & Dark Side

One of the things I find as the most striking difference between Hunter X Hunter and the rest of action shounen anime (Naruto, One Piece, Fairy Tail, etc) I followed is how dark and frightening it can become. Arcs like Chimera Ant Arc could’ve easily give anyone with a faint heart nightmares. Also, Killua’s abandoned sister, Alluka is one scary kid. Cute, but scary.

Despite its tendency of being extremely dark, the 2011 version of Hunter X Hunter was, in my opinion, well executed. It’s deeply engaging and well thought out.

Characters Growth

Besides, its shows significant character growth in a short amount of time. The phases that Gon and Killua went through, it showed us exactly what these two kids had gone through and the person they became out of the experiences. I’m especially fascinated to watch Killua changed from being a snobby kid to be a kind one. I enjoyed watching how he overcame his struggles as he tried to get rid some of his trained mentalities. His changes were more apparent than that of Gon’s. It’s not to say Gon didn’t change at all. It’s, however, safe to say without the devastating “death” of Kite, he probably would still be the Gon we saw the first time. Except for a few new tricks up his sleeves.

As Killua slowly moves forward, away from his past as a skilled assassin, it affects the Zoldyck family too. I’d love to know if the Zoldyck assassins will one day turn good, or at least be less of a heartless assassin. Particularly, Killua’s parents, who seem to have gone softer since Killua met Gon.

Side Characters

Did I mention how interesting some of the “enemies” are? I call them enemies because they’re the bad guys of Hunter X Hunter. Yes, I’m talking about the antagonists. The characters such as the beloved Hisoka, ant king Meruem and a few more. They’re interesting not because they’re super powerful. They’re interesting because there are depths to their characters. They’re not just one facet, which is to be bad like antagonists in shounen series should be. Characters like Hisoka and Meruem constantly made viewers, such as myself, to question their motives and behaviors. Followers of the series know very well that Hisoka is insanely, for the lack of better word, insane. He acts according to self-interest. No one can really predicts what he thinks. And I believe that’s what make the series all the more interesting.

Hunter X Hunter’s Future

Given that the manga has been plagued with hiatuses and is currently on indefinite hiatus, it’s hard to predict if there’s a continuation of its anime. Fairy Tail anime stopped airing temporarily at one point, but had since return to regular schedule this year. While I think the anime has ended on a good note, I don’t mind it returning on screen again. There’s certainly more to tell.

Final Words

I believe just this 2011 version of Hunter X Hunter anime alone is worth the time to watch. Forget about the first anime series. And forget about the manga. This anime series alone, 148 episodes, is enough to make one a fan of Hunter X Hunter.

Note: I keep saying 2011 version because I can’t really compare between the two anime series. I wasn’t very into the first one as I did the second.

It’s hard to believe this blog has already been around for 4 years. It’s true that my blogging frequency has reduced over the past two years, but that doesn’t mean that I no longer enjoy writing. Or anime. With increased responsibility at work and in my personal life, it’s inevitable that this blog has taken a back seat. Stats aren’t doing great. Activities on this blog has drastically reduced too.

However, whenever I have the time, I’ll always spend a few hours hitting away on my keyboard and create some content. I find joy in writing. That’s the simplest reason I can give for keeping this blog around for as long as it did.

Anyway, I want to thank all the readers, old & new, who continue reading this blog. You know who you are and here’s my big hearty Thank You! =)

I’m a long-time follower of Naruto series. So it’s a special moment to see validation of how the characters have grown over the years. Trust me, it’s been a looooong time.

What I like most in episodes 373 & 374 is how they welcome the new era. The latest war that’s been going since forever and those two episodes welcome a new phase. It’s time for the younger generation to shine. I mean, they are comparing the new Three-Way Deadlock Summoning with the old. The students of The Legendary Sannin and the three top ninjas themselves. I suppose, it’s a proud moment for fans of Team 7 and their peers.

 Below is some of the most exciting moments (a.k.a screenshots) in Naruto Shippuuden episodes 373 & 374.

Team Kakashi or Team 7, which consists of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura started off on the wrong foot. Things improved a little before they turned sour again until this very day. Putting the idea of fans disliking Sasuke and Sakura aside, it’s great to see them back together, fighting alongside each other.

Sakura, especially, has finally caught up with her team mates. She’s no longer the girl to be protected as seen in above screencap. When they were on their first mission together, Sakura couldn’t do much. But today, she’s fighting on equal ground. I don’t think she’s as strong as Naruto and Sasuke, but she’s proven herself as a disciple of the Fifth Hokage. So much control, highly skilled.

I think it’s very easy to write off Sakura as useless. A lot of people said that. She might not have added any significant value thus far, but she’s been helping as a medicine ninja relentlessly. She deserves a little credit.

I love the above moment so, so much. Perhaps it’s because they’re finally working as a team. Three of them are capable ninjas in their own rights. This is when their summoning jutsu were regarded as the new Three-Way Deadlock Summoning. Back in the days, only Naruto was capable of performing a summoning jutsu. Look at them now, all three, Sakura included, are able to perform this jutsu.

And the other worldly creatures are summoned! Poof!

Of course, to only highlight the growth of Team 7 would not be right. Other teams have grown as well.

Particularly, Hyuuga Hinata of Team 10. When she was first introduced in the series, she’s shy, soft-spoken and weak. She would then slowly morphed into a brave and skillful ninja she is now. Who can forget that she was the one who shielded Naruto from Pain? She sacrificed her life! And in episode 373, she’s fighting alongside with her peers, improving her skills along the way. In fact, she’s more outspoken these days and was seen openly encouraging others.

She surprised me far more than Sakura did, to be honest.

Team Asuma is easily my favorite team. Their skills are unique to their own clans and the three clans have been working together as a team for generations. Maybe this explains why the three has exceptional teamwork. They’re always in sync. In episode 373, it showcased yet again another one of their excellent teamwork.

The two episodes were very exciting to watch. Blame the background music too for adding the extra excitement. They did a job well done on highlighting the new generation in Naruto. Not only just the representative of the new era, but also how promising they are and how much they’ve changed for the better.

Very good episodes!!

Here’s the thing for me about Ao Haru Ride: I like it. I like it a lot. It’s oozing shoujou-ness. Whatever that means. The typical shoujo series that I’ve seen often has a female lead who has no friends either because she’s misunderstood and therefore hard to make friends or preferred to be on her own. And then, there’ll be the eventual boyfriend male lead who comes to the rescue.

Ao Haru Ride doesn’t run too far away from the popular plot. The female lead, Yoshiaka Futaba, has problems making friends, but most of the 12 episodes are dedicated to her trying to get inside Mabuchi Kou’s head.

Characters

Ao Haru Ride revolves primarily around Futaba, Kou and their classmates, Marita Yuuri, Murao Shuuko and Kominato Aya. I wouldn’t go as far as to say the characters are well fleshed out or interesting, but they’re likeable. The focus on Futaba and Kou also meant that there aren’t a lot of back-story painted for the side characters.

Nonetheless, here’s a very quick description of the characters: Futaba is a persistent girl who often times acts impulsively to satisfy her curiosity. On the other hand, Kou is calm and rational. Yuuri is shy, sweet and cute. Shuuko is the typical lone wolf who slowly warms up to her (unwanted) girl friends. Kominato is the moderately loud comedian of the bunch.

Personally, I find it interesting to watch Kou, who pretends to be indifferent but actually has a kind heart. He puts up a wall around him as struggles to come to terms with his mother’s death.

Struggles of Characters

Emotions play a significant role in shoujo anime. Here, there’s a good blend of doubt, uncertainties, pain, rejection, love, hope and joy.

As a young man bearing on the weight of heavy feelings on his shoulder, Kou deals with a lot of pain of his own. While trying to appear normal and try just enough to fit in his class, Kou kept a lot to himself. His painful past caused him to be afraid to love again. Or his unspoken guilt for failing to recognize signs that ultimately led to his mother’s death. Or his shamefulness for not living up to his promise to his older brother, Tanaka-sensei. These feelings caused him to shut away everyone around him. These pain were well conveyed in the anime.

Futaba’s confused with what true friendship means as well as her own feelings for Kou. She struggles to find her place and trying to make sense of her mixed feelings about her middle school crush. Once she made a decision she wants to change her current situation, Futaba gradually understands her own feelings and is able to find friends who actually cares about her. And that’s happiness.

Yuuri, Shuuko and Kominato all have their shares of rejection, whether it’s unrequited love or as part of the society (read: high school life). Each dealt with the emotions in their own ways. They either persist or gave in. They hope or they forget.

Meaning of Friendships

Ultimately, the first season (not sure if there’s a second season, but it’s easier to categorize the time frame this way) of Ao Haru Ride focuses on finding real friends. During the earlier part of the series, Kou pointed out to Futaba on the current friends she’s hanging out with. Being desperate to be accepted after spending her middle school years as an outcast, Futaba chose to hang out with two girls because they’re around her. It’s out of convenience and very easy to fall apart. And it did fall apart.

Yuuri also has hard time finding friends because all the girls hate her for being the guys’ object of admiration. On the other hand, Shuuko prefers to be on her own for reasons unexplained. She refuses to hang out with her classmates too.

And in true shoujo fashion, all three girls managed to form a friendship that could be a highlight of their high school memories. Initially, they’re forced to spend time together as part of the class representative committee. However, they learn to truly care for and trust each other as they share their happy times, sad times and deepest secrets together.

Final Words

I really enjoy watching Ao Haru Ride for all the drama and roller-coaster that has been in each of the character’s life, particularly Futaba’s. As a result of her decision to want to make a change, we’re invited to see and experience her journey to find friends to call her own. It’s recommended to fans who enjoy shoujo anime/manga.

Let’s do something light and fun this week! I’ve seen plenty of anime in which characters don uniforms for the most part of the show. Since I’ve done a lot of “favorite” posts like favorite slice-of-life series and favorite mascots before, I thought I’ll give uniforms a shot too. The term uniform here refers to distinctive clothing worn by members of same organization, team or school. So my list doesn’t only consider school uniforms.

The criteria that determine my choices are combination of colors as well as styling. These are all about personal preferences, of course. Anyway, without further ado, here’s my favorite uniforms from 5 anime series.

1. Haikyuu!!

I’ve watched a lot of sports anime but Haikyuu‘s orange and black made it stood out. The contrast of colors appears at all the right places, making the uniform pleasing to the eye. I like the fact that the shorts have the same contrast of color on both sides in line with the ones on the jersey.

2. Vampire Knight

If I have to choose, I’ll say Night Class uniform stands out a bit more. However, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the Day Class uniform or Night Class uniform, Vampire Knight‘s school uniform works for me. Because in the two uniforms, they share the same combination of colors: white, black and red. I like how the lines highlight the curves for the girl uniforms too.

3. Mashiro Iro Symphony

To think that I remember its name even though I only watched two episodes three years ago says a lot about the first impression Mashiro Iro Symphony‘s school uniform gave me. What I like about the uniform is its cutting, the slight shoulder puffs and laces on the skirt. The combination of white, black and red (ribbon) works for me as well, just like Vampire Knight’s.

4. Shingeki no Kyojin

What I like best about Shingeki no Kyojin‘s military uniform is that it’s made of midriff light brown jacket with its organization’s emblem displayed proudly on its back. With dark brown high-knee leather boots covering half of the tight white pants, the members perhaps have one of the most fashionable military wear.

5. Persona 4: The Animation

I like the guy version of Persona 4‘s uniform better than the girl’s, especially how Narukami wears it. My favorite part of the uniform is how the collar pops up, covering the whole neck and some of the face. The white dotted line accentuates the cuttings too. These combinations make the uniform looks cool and casual as opposed to being a very school uniform-like.

There you go, my five favorite uniforms from anime I’ve seen before. Care to share what’s your favorite uniforms? I love to hear from you.