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Eripyo and Maina

Last night I finished watching “If my favorite pop idol made it to the Budokan, I would die”. It wasn’t a great anime.  I didn’t feel like I didn’t want to leave the world it created, like I did with some anime.  It was actually just fair to middling, I even rated it 6 on MyAnimeList. But I didn’t regret watching it, because it’s one of those anime that made me think. Parasocial idol relationships are something that’s interesting to me.  Creepy, yes, but interesting as well.  There’s a lot of… Read More »Eripyo and Maina

Anime, Otaku, and Lost Childhood

I didn’t get a childhood. I’m not really exaggerating in that statement, though as with every statement like that, there are nuances.  It’s generally correct. I did not get a childhood.  Every opportunity I had for “normal” development was stunted – either inadvertently or deliberately.  The end result is the same.  I didn’t get a childhood. The thing about our society is that (and this is understandable) you only really get one chance at a childhood.  I mean, after all, you’re a child, and then you’re not, right?  If you… Read More »Anime, Otaku, and Lost Childhood

I’m a Failure

I always fail. If there’s one thing that is consistent in my life and has been ever since I was a child, this would be it.  I’m a failure.  Everything I have tried to do in my life has, in one way or other, ended in failure.  Even the most successful things I’ve done are, in a very real way, a failure. I’ve been spending the past three years working on a serial fiction story, and even now it gets maybe two viewers a day, if I’m lucky – and… Read More »I’m a Failure

The Customer is Always Right

“The Customer is Always Right” is one of the most misunderstood adages, mostly because people forget or are conveniently unaware of the second half:  “When it comes to matters of taste”. Practically, what this means, or what it’s supposed to mean, is that if there is a widget that is shiny, chrome with black highlights, and is beautiful and refined, and I want it neon orange with purple polka-dots, your job is not to criticize me for my choices.  Your job (assuming you offer customizations, of course) is to say… Read More »The Customer is Always Right

I am an Artist

All my life, I have never really understood myself. I mean, of course, I’m me.  I know what is inside my head in a way no one else does – not even me, sometimes.  I have a very complex inner world, and it’s so real and vibrant inside of me that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to get what is inside my head out for other people to see. But, I’ve come to realize, that’s pretty much what an artist is. The thing that has lead to a great deal… Read More »I am an Artist

Why I Hate Anime Dubs

I hate anime dubs.  I mean I really can’t stand them.  I’ve tried to watch one or two, and I always end up dropping it after a few episodes.  Subtitles are far better in my opinion. Is this because I’m an elitist who thinks that the anime is only good in its native language? Well… that’s true, but that’s not why I hate anime dubs.  It’s close, but not really. Is it because I’m upset at the localizers for fucking up the dubs? Well, I am, but that’s not why… Read More »Why I Hate Anime Dubs

Should I Continue Watching Anime?

There’s a “rule” that whenever you see a question in a headline, the answer is “no”.  It’s not quite so simple in this case. The question maybe should be posited a little broader:  Should I continue studying anything about Japan, including Japanese? I’ve asked this before, but the reasons for my question are different now. My recent foray into the world of “Love Live”, and my subsequent flaming withdrawal from said world, made me think.  Oh yes, you might say, that never happens, Gaijin!  You never think about anything! Sarcastic… Read More »Should I Continue Watching Anime?

Liminal Anime

So it’s taken me a while, but I think I’ve finally processed my feelings on “Love Live” and similar anime, and now I will inflict it on you, who may even read this. Anyone who’s watched anime for any length of time knows that there are a few different broad classes of anime.  There’s “Slice of Life” anime, there’s “Cute Girls doing Cute Things” anime, there’s “High School Rom-Com”, there are the action “Shounen” anime which involve a lot of fighting and girls with unrealistic bodies, Shoujo anime which involve… Read More »Liminal Anime

Happiness

This will be another of those posts where I intend to take full advantage of the fact that no one reads this. As you might have gathered from the last few posts, “Love Live” hit me hard.  The thing about that is, there’s no obvious reason why that should be the case.  I’m a middle-aged guy from Texas who has about as little to do with the lives of even an ordinary Japanese schoolgirl, much less a group of them that are involved in a “school idol project”, as a… Read More »Happiness

What I Hate about Love Live

I really like Love Live. But it’s not perfect. I mean, it’s really not perfect.  Some things about it are bad.  In fact, they’re so bad that they pull me out of my suspension of disbelief and it takes a bit to pull me back in. What bothers me is not the girls.  In all of the series, they are characterized really well and realistically.  There is just the right amount of comedy and drama, and they have believable personalities and backstories. What bothers me isn’t even the premise of… Read More »What I Hate about Love Live