Month: November 2009

Miscellaneous

Christmas Bells in the Anime Blogosphere

[Ueda Ryou]

Or, my plans to end the year in style. Quickfire points ahead:

The Reverse Thieves are hosting a Secret Santa project, and I’m taking part. The show I selected is Kamichu!, and I’ve heard good things about it. I’m expecting the review to go up on the 24th.

CCY‘s 12 Days of Christmas has made its rounds for a couple years now, and I’ll participate if it happens again this year. I’ll probably do something along the lines of what IcyStorm did last year, highlighting one memorable anime event and one memorable blogosphere or internet event per day.

Somewhere along the line, I plan to rewatch True Tears. I know that I liked it when I first saw it, but the fact that I have no real opinion on it means that I must have missed something. I can’t promise any blog posts – and if I do write one, I’m not sure what kind of post it’ll be – but I fully expect to gain something from the rewatch.

Along the same lines, I’ll start playing the Kanon visual novel as soon as I can. It’d be nice to write a post on it over the holidays, but I have no idea how long it’ll take me to finish. I’m not sure if listening to a Key/Shiori fanboy talk about Kanon is your idea of fun, but suffice to say I’ll be writing something at some point.

And with that, let December begin!

~ ETERNAL
つづく

P.S. Umineko post is coming in a couple days. I’m sure that’s relevant to some of your interests.

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Analysis

Fate/stay night in Review: Symbols and Motifs, Tying the Thematic Threads

If there’s one thing I can comfortably say about Fate/stay night, it’s that it’s been quite a ride. At almost 100 hours, my save file is 100% complete, leaving behind an aftertaste that is surprisingly bittersweet. For a story that initially appeared to be about gender-swapped heroes and awkward mana-charging metaphors, I can only say that I’m utterly impressed at how F/SN grows out of its shell and reaches both the mind and the heart.

Interestingly, there are also some elements of the game that are only obvious – or at least more visible – in hindsight. While it will always be a fantasy story at its core, the supernatural plot devices serve far more purpose than to simply feign depth with Nasuverse jargon. Looking closely (but not too closely), it’s easy to see the multiple levels of symbols and motifs that are scattered across the story, even if the plot doesn’t depend on them. Luckily for us, Nasu’s writing is fairly self-explanatory, and the various soliloquies and interludes, in addition to the surprisingly helpful afterword, help shed light on the “true” meaning of the game.

Sadly, it’s in the nature of posts like these to be purely conjecture, but while I don’t think that there is any black-and-white lens to view Fate/stay night through, I’ll do what I can to piece together the clues of this 800,000 word epic.

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Analysis

Fate/stay night Heavens Feel route – a Broken Dream and a Broken Girl

The grand finale of Type-Moon’s 50+ hour epic is not quite what one would expect. Coming after the dramatic battle of ideals in Unlimited Blade Works and the story of the fallen warrior and the king of heroes in Fate, it’s hard to imagine what kind of climax could do justice to the buildup.

Thankfully, Heavens Feel fills those shoes with ease.

In retrospect, though, there was something more to my enjoyment of the story than the simple fact that it ‘s a well-written conclusion. It touched me emotionally in a way that no Type-Moon work has. It’s hard to define it with a word, but there was something in particular that resonated with me in HF, something that has little to do with filling in the back story and tying in the themes. It’s the one thing that makes visual novels hit or miss, the often deciding factor that draws the line between melodramatic and heart-wrenching. It’s the difference between observing Shirou’s struggle as a fly on the wall and observing it as a participant.

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For Great Justice – A Commentary on the Otaku Revolution

What does it take to change the world?

A now-famous anime character by the name of Light Yagami once asked himself that question when he witnessed the horrors that humans are capable of. If you’ll allow me to take things out of context and talk about a story I haven’t read in 3 years, you’ll see where I’m going with this.

He was just a kid, ultimately. A genius, maybe, but still only human. But even so, did he stop? Did he hold back? He dared to do something that few of us could ever do – and he paid the ultimate price because of it.

Was he a hero? I’m not quite sure. An anti-hero, maybe; or at least that’s the term we use for people like him. But practically speaking, every reader finds a different answer to that question. Some would sympathize with him, understanding his hatred for the scum of society; others would despise him for his self-righteous attitude. Like Hakim and Hachi from Planetes, it would be unfair to paint one as right and the other as wrong.

…Are you tired of reading yet? Wondering why I’m talking about Death Note when I barely even remember the story? Maybe your ears will perk up when I mention the Otaku Elimination Game.

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A Comprehensive Guide to Selecting your Top 5 Anime

[mikeneko ringo]

Ah, the good old favourites list. It’s a tradition as old as anime itself – perhaps older – but it hasn’t lost its significance over the years. Your Top 5 list is the first thing people will notice about you on MAL, aside from your profile picture and your total completions. It’s the first thing that comes up in conversation when you’re meeting up with your fellow otaku at a convention, and a good list might make the difference between a good first impression and an awful one.

However, contrary to popular belief, there is more to creating a Top 5 list than selecting your 5 favourite anime. In order for a list to be effective, you must consider several other factors, which include – but are not limited to – an anime’s critical reception, popular reception, and cultural significance.

Does that sound pointless to you? Are you silently thinking that a favourites list should be nothing more than a favourites list? Skepticism is understandable, but if you’re willing to bear with me for the next thousand words, we just might get to the bottom of this.

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Miscellaneous

Update: a Blog, a Story, and an Eternal Sakura Tree

The eternal sakura tree(s) are pictured above, albeit indirectly. Now for the more important things.

I decided to start a blog. Bet you didn’t see that coming! There’s a bit more detail on the site itself, but basically, it’s a side-blog for me to go off topic and post random pictures. It’s nothing too ambitious; I’d put it in the same category as Tumblr and MAL. That said, it’ll probably be updated frequently, so check it out if you’re interested. I’m excepting to keep each entry under 200 words so as to not detract from my real anime blog here.
Sepia Tears is underway, despite the outdated website. I w0n’t post anything online until I actually have something substantial to post, but rest assured, all of my creative energy is being poured into this one (instead of, say, NaNoWriMo). If you want to do the male characters designs or background designs, contact me. I have a feeling it won’t be easy to find the latter, but hey, it’s worth asking.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say for now. It would be kinda awkward to launch a side blog and not notify anyone of it, even if it’s mostly irrelevant. My posting schedule has been a little funny lately thanks to a multitude of things to do – university applications don’t wander into the most suitable schools by themselves – but I’m still at it. I’ve got a juicy post scheduled for Tuesday that you might find interesting.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to sleep and completely re-arrange my mindset for the English essay I’m working on tomorrow…

~ ETERNAL
つづく

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Memories of Eternity