A discussion took place at the Great Congregation of Love, which involved people mentioning about preferring over some Gundam shows over other, and hating some because their merits seem pale in comparison to others.

Hopefully, my esteemed colleagues are not talking about there being people who actually dislike certain constituents of the Gundam franchise because they fail to live up to expectations imbued into them by their favourite ones.

As always, I shall be reiterating the obvious type of opinion (for I am ignorantly guilty of not knowing about what other people have already discussed): a Gundam show should not be criticized on the basis of being an imitation of a predecessor, or if its discourse is not coherent with the ones of highly appraised counterparts.

Surely even within franchise certain works can deviate in the themes expressed, right? For instance, SDF Macross speaks of a very different theme to Macross Frontier. The former celebrates the dawn of human spirit and sentiments, triumphing great odds, while the later is a lament of human dissonance and the rediscovery of love. SDF Macross and Macross Frontier talk about really different ideas.

Oh dear. To summarize it, I do believe all Gundam shows ought to be evaluated with an isolated approach; references to other shows (unless they are sequels) are not required. Wait, am I promoting close criticism of some sort?

Ah yes. I am sorry for stating the obvious.

Relevant post

P.S. Kyoani loyalist, Kaioshin Sama, writes about the problem of being trapped in the quagmire of comparing shows with bad ones in a bid to reduce the merit of the former.

Not much elaboration is required from me when I assertively say that Hollywood is definitely gonna make really awesome renderings of certain anime show. Dragonball had Goku (as a Gaijin)  going to high school and Zac Efron is gonna be Sousuke in Hollywood’s version of Full Metal Panic.

IT HAS BEEN SAIAD THAT DISNEY IS GOING TO MAKE A HOLLYWOOD VERSON OF GURREN LAGANN! YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!

Sakuracon has succeeded in something that CLANNAD ~After Story~ has failed to do: entertain me.

The unfavourable response from group of commentators on ANN baffles me. Yeah. I think the Sakuracon advertisement, which featured a bunch of Japanese pop-culture fans shouting out a bunch of catchphrases, is satiric in nature. Also, it was pretty fun and effective.

A satire is suppose to exaggerate  reality in order to raise awareness. By doing so, the satire is suppose to succeed in affecting people to REFORM. Would you have felt a pang of guilt after witnessing the overzealous profusion by those actors? The advertisement is imploring greater sensibility and moderation in one’s hobbies. By seeing how ridiculous the lovers of “GAY ROCK” and “GUHROOGAMESH” are, hopefully one would reform by showing more maturity when attending an anime con (for example, do not break trees or spank people with paddles).

Is the advertisement insulting? Does it present an inaccurate depiction of anime fandom in America? I am not sure. But I have heard of funny anecdotes of people in my college acting really weeaboos-ish in first semester Japanese classes. How weeaboo can they get? Well, I was told by a friend of mine that he has a female classmate in his first semester Japanese class who friggin imitates the mannerism of L from Death Note. Now that has to suggest something. Man I really do not know what Sakuracon was thinking when they made that ad. It is so blatant in its mocking. While people like me are able to laugh at it and do some self-reflection, there will be others who are not so graceful.

Putting that aside. Let us talk about the fact that there was a parody of the original advertisement that was requested by Sakuracon to be removed off Youtube.

MAN. WHY WAS I ACTING SO POLITE? THE SAKURACON ADVERTISEMENT HAS DONE NOTHING BUT TO INCREASE MY DESIRE TO VISIT A CON FOR THE LULZ.

SO WHY DID SAKURACON DEMAND THAT THE YU-GI-OH PARODY OF THEIR AD BE REMOVED? IT IS A DESERVING (BUT EVIL) SPIRITUAL SUCCESSOR OF THE ORIGINAL! UNLESS THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ORIGINAL HAD SUCCEEDED IN DOING, THERE WAS NO NEED TO ASK FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE PARODY!

OH WAIT. I KNOW IT. SAKURACON IS JEALOUS OF THE PARODY BECAUSE THE PARODY EXCEEDS THE ORIGINAL IN ITS AFFEECTIVE ABILITY!!!!

Man… I wanna go to my first con.

Sojourner’s Summary of ID SOJOURNER’s stupidity

1. The Sakuracon advertisement is a sad case of exaggerated and insulting truth.
2. ID SOJOURNER does not hate the ad like the Chicks on Anime because he likes mockery, justified or not.
3. Even if the Sakuracon ad is not 100% accurate, it ought to be grimly taken as a reminder of childish fan behaviour.
4. There is no point in being offended by the “inaccurate depiction.” If you are not like that, good for you. The ad deserves none of your anger and attention.
5. Sakuracon’s request for the removal of the Yu-Gi-Oh ad parody is an oxymoron because the parody has the same message as the ad. Thus, Sakuracon’s actions contradicts the purpose of broadcasting their ad.
6. GUHROOGAMESH!
   

]]> http://bluefoxalley.com/2009/03/29/id-sojourner-on-guhroogamesh-and-weeaboos/feed/ 1 The Sojourner http://bluefoxalley.com/2009/02/21/it-seems-as-if-maria-holic-is-another-strike-witche/ http://bluefoxalley.com/2009/02/21/it-seems-as-if-maria-holic-is-another-strike-witche/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:01:16 +0000 The Sojourner http://bluefoxalley.com/?p=2320 ]]>

Good lord. Good lord. Good lord. Good lord…

In order to start, there is a need for me to illustrate a specific “thing” that defined the nature of the anime, Strike Witches. Just like Strike Witches, Maria Holic, as it appears to be the case for me for now, share a common meta approach: to present a show that has its original intention to pander to a certain fetish and deliberately constructs an element of hindrance that impedes the audience’s ability to derive pleasure in viewing show, in a mischievous way of course.

Such a ploy is seen in Strike Witches in the form of the absence of clothing that is supposed to cover the lower part of the body. Thus, viewers with a fetish for zettai ryouki and fans of fanservice (OMG. I cracked a pun) are robbed of the thrill of watching panties being flashed. Maria Holic’s setting gives a very prominent impression to those who are familiar with yuri: the story is set in an all-girls school, females of pleasant countenance interact with each other and EVERYONE is soooo pretty! Also, the presence of males is almost non-existent. But then, we are given a lesbian protagonist who shamelessly grovels at her situation, and her audacious fantasies do not conform to the usual norm of an elegant yuri story. To add on, there is a cross-dressing boy who is present to poke fun at Kanako the lesbian. Just like how Surly is to Mammon in The Alchemist, Mariya the cross-dresser is an agent of heteroglossia who ruins Kanako’s fun by mocking her inclinations.

There you go. I am inclined to say that Maria Holic is more comedy and less yuri. lol. Actually, since it can be seen as making fun of fans of yuri who are watching this show, then I guess it can be some form of “satire?” *shrugs*

]]> http://bluefoxalley.com/2009/02/21/it-seems-as-if-maria-holic-is-another-strike-witche/feed/ 2 The Sojourner http://bluefoxalley.com/2009/01/26/dear-soul-eater/ http://bluefoxalley.com/2009/01/26/dear-soul-eater/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:16:20 +0000 The Sojourner http://bluefoxalley.com/?p=2391 ]]>

I am…. speechless….

The plot is awfully simple yet enjoyable; its humour was never unwarranted, surprisingly.

No, it is not the second coming of Jesus but it is deserving of my praise, which is something that I am very stingy in giving.

But now, I weep. I marathon-ed it, forsaking precious time to read E.M Forster.

P.S. Move aside Kaaya. Fatina ftw.

Best Mind Fart Show of 2008

Kimikiss Pure Rouge

A mind fart, according Urban Dictionary, happens when you think something is brewing but nothing comes out. A mind fart show has to be something that was promising initially but turned out to be a letdown. At the beginning, this show had a simple formula that was capable of capturing my attention: good chemistry that effused from the characters. But the magic faded away when Mao decided to have a go with Kooooouichi, rather than choosing saxo-boy. Moral of the story: the osananajimi bond is a powerful force that defies all odds, second only to the power of siscon/wincest.

Best LOL-Invoking  Despite The Fact That It Was Not Really Our Intention To Do So In The First Place Anime of 2008

Code Geass R2

Code Geass was very interesting to me because  it had featured an anti-hero like protagonist whose ideals were those that I could somehow relate to. I was initially excited by the first season because it had so much potential in becoming a compelling story about idealism and deep sh*t stuff but my hopes were dashed by its convoluted plot. Putting my disappointment aside, it was still an interesting watch to follow because of all the laughter it had brought. Do not get me started about how many memes and crazy shopped pictures it had spawned. So what if some people said it was a horrible show? They were just tsundere for it. After the show had ended, most anime fans suffered from withdrawal symptoms because of a lack of Code Geass. Code Geass, a personal disappointment and an unexpected surprise for me.

Also, notto disu shitto agen.

Most Spectacular Anime of 2008

Macross Frontier

I believe a spectacular “thing” is something that just simply succeeds at the task of awing the crowd. I, personally, found the first 15 episodes of Macross Frontier to be an overwhelming experience. Knowing how popular this show is, there is no need for me to reiterate its formula for success. Uh. Nevermind; I shall. Addictive music. Dogfights. POP SINGERS. Space battles that embodify the idea of “AWESOMENESS.” This show was one big romantic opera. I call it a romantic piece because it was brimming with an epic sense as I am constantly reminded that it is a tale of mankind expanding deeper into space.

Best Show That I Might Have Liked If I Had Watched It for 2008

Michiko To Hatchin

Lol. I do not even have a screen cap of it. This is just a hunch since the art is attractive to me.

Best Action Anime of 2008

SOUL EATER

People love to look down upon shounen shows because they are just about fighting. Well, it is an action genre so what can you expect? Hate bad shounen and not good shounen is my policy. This year’s best action anime for the Blue Fox Alley happens to be a shounen. Nothing can go wrong if you have Excalibur.

Best Drama of 2008

Gundam OO Season 1

Gundam OO had an ending that could have been more riveting if it had gone easy on the emo. But after overlooking that issue, which is always an irk as I am allergic to emo, you would fine a decently conducted conclusion. No one had expected the almighty Gundam meisters to suffer any casualties so the deaths of Lockon and other Celestial Being members brought a shock. Suffice to say, you have to watch the ending of the first season in order to understand why it has the best drama for the year 2008 in my opinion.

Best I Really Do Not Know Why Am I Watching Disu Shitto Anime of 2008

Junjou Romantica

I strongly believe that there are some aspects in life that simply cannot be explained. Defying logic and rationality, I found myself exploring the treacherous domain of butsecks and unrealistic homosexual romance. Fine. I was just watching this for the lulz. It was really entertaining. It was either this or Kanokon.

It Is Bad But I Am Just Gonna Keep Watching It Anime of 2008

Akane Iro Ni Somaru Saka

As someone has said, Akasaka might not impress but you are still going to watch it for a few reasons.

1. Tsukasa’s boobs of wonder
2. Tsundere Yuuhi
3. Trite story so trite that you cannot help but watch
4. “WINCEST”

Animeblogging Personality Of The Year 2008

Kaioshin-Sama

I belong to neither the “Kaioshin is nothing but a Sunrise fanboy” faction nor the “WTF IS WITH THE GUNDAM HATE! WE NEED CHANGE ON THE INTERNETS” faction, but the magnitude of the controversy that this one brave man has stirred is worthy of remembering as we are close to the end of this year. Nevertheless, this lovely piece of epic drama has shown the tendency for people to stir up reactions of extreme polarities when it comes to interacting on the Internet. But I believe just like how we view Code Geass, we are all tsundere for Kaioshin-sama. We love you!

Yup. He burned me too. :p

FINALLY

BLOG POST OF THE YEAR 2008

Kuro’s Single Awareness Day Post

Forget all those thought provoking posts. Forget about those troll posts. In fact, forget about everything that was blogged about! You just need to know that Kurogane ruptured the tubes with one single picture.

]]> http://bluefoxalley.com/2008/12/27/the-2008-bfa-award-ceremony/feed/ 19 The Sojourner http://bluefoxalley.com/2008/11/11/id-sojourner-the-anime-blogosphere-is-evil/ http://bluefoxalley.com/2008/11/11/id-sojourner-the-anime-blogosphere-is-evil/#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:24:58 +0000 The Sojourner http://bluefoxalley.wordpress.com/?p=1725 ]]>

OMG!!!! GUESS WHAT? THE BLOGOSPHERE IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF EVIL!

Allow me to reiterate: THE BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL!!! Name any negative element and you shall find it contributing to the stifling air in the blogosphere. THE BLOGSPHERE IS EVIL!!!! We should have been contended with just watching anime by ourselves without having to talk about it online; yet, shit happens and the blogosphere is born! THE BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL!!!! The vile stench of snobbishness and hate penetrates my laptop screen and pollutes my room! THE BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL!!!! AND IF YOU ASK ME, I THINK THE BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL!!!!

I shall not point fingers at any specific group of denizens because everyone is a victim of this big evil machine known as the BLOGOSPHERE and it is this BLOGOSPHERE that confuses us into perform acts of EVIL!!!! Why does elitism exist? Why are there flame wars? Why are there trolls? Hate is rampant! Mockery is rampant! People look down on others! Some believe that their milkshake taste in anime is better than yours! ZOMG INEQUALITY IN MY BLOGOSPHERE? YEAH! The BLOGOSPHERE is saturated and most denizens lack the awareness to note the evil that is spewing from it. Hence, there is a DIRE NEED to reflect on how the BLOGOSPHERE was born in order to comprehend the origins of this evil. Oh yeah… Did I say that THE BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL? THE BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL!!!!

Things used to be simple! All you need to do is to watch your weekly dose of Bleach or Naruto and your life is complete. This is what we were all like at a certain point of time. So pristine and innocent we were back then! In fact, it is not comprehendable how we could have evolved from our peaceful state of mind to the current chaotic blend of spite that has been caused by the congregation with the rest of our species! Let us go back to the idea of every individual isolated from the others, and still capable of pursuing the interest in watching animu. Both the birth of the blogosphere and the act of integrating into the blogosphere are two very baffling acts because there is no existing need for people to come together since they are pretty much satisfied by just watching animu. Appreciating animu is mainly about watching animu and I wonder who could possibly stand up and argue about it. So I dare you to challenge my belief that everyone of us is incapable of performing EVIL alone not only because there is no one to receive the consequences of your EVIL act but there is absolutely no way an anime fan who does nothing but watch anime could possibly compromise the happiness of another anime fan.

WHICH MEANS THAT: NO ONE’S TRUE NATURE IS EVIL BECAUSE THERE IS NO NEED FOR US TO PERFORM EVIL IN THE FIRST PLACE. It is like the irony of accusing an impotent man of r-r-grape!

BUT SOMEHOW! S**T HAPPENS! I DO NOT KNOW HOW WE WERE MADE TO SHIFT OUT OF OUR EQUILIBRIUM. Somehow, we stumbled across each other on the Internet. Back then, it was just a few fan-made shrines made to express love for certain anime shows. Fans who came across such websites shall the benefit of viewing them as they saw those websites as an extra source of happiness in their little life revolving around anime. This was the first step towards individuals to start depending on others for their wants but it was relatively harmless back then as the frequency of interaction was low as compared to the current EVIL BLOGOSPHERE! THE BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL!!!!

BUT AS I HAVE SAID: S**T HAPPENS! AND A SERIES OF EVENTS TOOK PLACE, WHICH LED TO THE WEAVING OF THE COMPLEXITY OF THE BLOGOSPHERE AND THE SHAPING OF EVIL!!!

• So now that anime fans are aware of the existence of other fans out there in the Internet, there is no way they can ignore such a fact.
• People derive pleasure from sharing their happiness on online shrines and forums, they shall never return to their state of isolation.
• Anime fans see others as their own kind as they relate to certain similar characteristics, like the fact that they all love anime. lol
• Just like how the weak would imitate the strong, newly-hooked up anime fans mimic the incumbent online shrines by creating new shrines.
• Some dude had to start a blog and declare it an anime blog.
• PROFIT
• The birth of the first anime blog leads to the eventual birth of many more to come because of copycats.
• At this point, people were not satisfied with just watching their anime. THEY HAD TO BLOG ABOUT IT AND THEY WANT PEOPLE TO READ WHAT THEY HAVE POSTED. THEY WANTED TO BE NOTICED
• Concurrently, anime bloggers, in all their free time, begin to notice the differences in all fans: some have ‘better taste’, some have seen MORE anime than others, some can WATCH RAWS WHILE OTHERS HAVE RESORT TO FANSUBS LOL, and there are those who can write THOUGHT-PROVOKING posts!
• Because of these differences which used to be REDUNDANT in isolation, anime bloggers and other online denizens had a ‘worth’ in this big online community because comparison took place!
• Online denizens covet the qualities of those who have it and it forms a bond of dependence in which the worshippers derive a joy of relating to the qualities that they desire through the association with those who have them.
• SO PEOPLE WANT TO BE NOTICED AND AS A RESULT, THEY COVET QUALITIES THAT ARE DESIRED.
• WE ALL DESIRE TO HAVE OR APPEAR TO HAVE SUCH QUALITIES SO THAT OTHERS MAY GIVE US RECOGNITION.

THIS IS WHERE THINGS GET NASTY!

YES!

You, a member of the blogosphere, are guilty of having a thing known as SELF-ESTEEM! Self-esteem is what you create in you when you guage your own worth in the blogosphere, and the more qualities you have, the bigger your self-esteem is. Need me to rephrase that word? E-penis. Sounds familiar? lol.

WRATH AND REVENGE! OMG!

When someone hurts you, you inflict an equivalent degree of damage onto your assailant. When you have a really bloated self-esteem or e-penis, you overestimate the favour based on the evaluation of the volume of your worth. So as a result, your retaliation would be much harsher than necessary.

A simple man would have just exerted sufficient force to deter his assailant from attacking him any further but an arrogant man would deem the attack to be very insulting to his own existence, hence compelling the arrogant man to incapacitate his assailant and he would then proceed to punching and kicking the former assailant out of anger.

As long as something, which you have derived part of your self-esteem from, is under attack by others, it is hard for you to not develop an urge to fight back. For example, if you pride yourself as the expert of the Gundam franchise (I HAVE SEEN ALL THE GUNDAM SHOWS STARTING FROM THE FIRST!) and there are some whipper-snappers bashing Gundam 00 senselessly, you would see to it that the ‘heretics’ would feel the wrath of your reason-filled, intellectual, logical, justifiable retortment.

<spinzaku124> OMG. Gundam 00 sucks.

<G-Guardian> OMG. -Insert reason-filled, intellectual, logical, justifiable retortment-

<spinzaku124> Huh?

<G-Guardian> Such is the limit of your ability to comprehend things! I win!

<G-Guardian to himself/herself> I hope no one is able to rebuke me.

And sometimes…. Bile is created for no reason.

<HoGunHoGun> OMG. Kaiba is so DEEP. It is like so totally awesome!

<kjChuck> Hmmm…. I see your point but I have an irk in certain aspects o the show and they are….

<HoGunHoGun> OMG. I DO NOT LIKE YOU. F**K OFF! YOU PHAIL TO APPRECIATE GOOD ANIME!

<kjChuck> But…

<HoGunHoGun> -Insert angry insult-

WHICH MEANS THAT: People compare in the blogosphere. Everyone now has a ‘value’. An ‘attack’, intentional or not, causes excessive retaliation, also known as REVENGE based on the overrated ‘value’ of the ‘victim’. Revenge is evil. The BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL!!!!

THE PURSUIT OF MOAR E-PENIS

What happened to the simple satisfaction in watching anime as a form of entertainment? That flew right out of the window with people chaining themselves to the fetters of the blogosphere. Simply watching anime is no longer enough, and WE ALL WANT MOAR!

One of the biggest desires that is generated from the blogosphere… wait… ALLOW ME TO SAY THAT THE BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL!!!! Okay. One of the biggest desires that is generated from the blogosphere… wait…. lol… jokin…. is the need to be noticed as I have mentioned. Why is that so? Because to be noticed is to receive acknowledgement of your ‘worth’ in the blogosphere. You can imagine the pursuit of recognition deteriotes to simply attenton seeking. Anything is fine. Even a cat is fine. Also, there will are those, still considerably innocent or bear no ill-will in their actions, who are subjected to jealousy by those who feel inferior to the former.

WHICH MEANS THAT: DUE TO A MISGUIDED ATTEMPT TO SEEK RECOGNITION, YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING TO SEEK ATTENTION WHICH DOES NOT NECESSARILY EQUATE TO POSITIVE ACKNOWLEDGMENT. If there are those who succeed in where you have failed, you would feel jealous.

YOU ARE ROBBING MY FREEDOM TO WATCH NARUTO WITHOUT HAVING ANY FORM OF GUILT!

We humans are awesome because a special gift that is called free will has been bequeathed upon us all, and it is something that is instilled in us all. Simply to say, we have the ability to defy rationality and make autonomous choices that might not make sense. Okay. Fine. It means we do as we like.

Yet the shackles of the blogosphere forces us to perform acts that we do wish to do. Remember, we desire to be looked upon so would it be a good idea for someone to make a statement that his favourite anime is one which is being looked down upon as a cliched and unimpressive piece of work? Poor fella, there is no one who is able to make him shun his own preferences yet he is compelled to behave differently in the blogosphere.

WHICH MEANS THAT: Cutting straight to the point, everyone has the right to choice what they want but those who are too deep an investment in the blogosphere are unable to act freely because of fear of what others might think.

THE CONCLUSION: BLOGOSPHERE! YOU SUCK! YOU ARE EVIL!!!!!

So my friends! Free yourself of that veil that has been blinding you for too long! Pride is overrated! Qualities are overrated! The blogosphere is overrated! At its current state, it generates as much negativity as anything that can be considered pleasant! BREAK FREE! BREAK FREEEEE!!!!! UPON ENLIGHTENMENT, NOTHING MATTERS. BE LIKE ME! I AM LIBERATED BECAUSE I KNOW THE BLOGOSPHERE IS EVIL!!!!!

P.S. ID SOJOURNER: HAHA! MISAKICHII HAS TEH DIAMOND PASS FOR MAY’N'S CONCERT! HE IS GONNA GET ME AN AUTOGRAPH! I WIN!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! FEELING JEALOUS? YOU OUGHT TO! HAHA!

The Sojourner: I hope you are jokin. I hope I am right.

Toradora: I have never seen Zero No Tsukaima and I gave up on Shana after the first season; hence, I am not exactly sick of tsundere characters. The flow of the story is not stiff so it is decent to watch, Taiga is unrealistically violent but we enjoy to watch the protagonist being subjected to physical abuse. Also, I love that parrot bird whatever.

Oh and, it is nice to see that the side characters, like Minori, are reasonably integrated and active in the progression of the story; and that, is a plus point.

Gundam 00 Season 2: Feldt is legal now, right? So is Soma Peries. The first season was initially intriuging but it sort of degenerated into an emo fest upon reaching the end, however, it was still a fun watch. Now that we are familiar with the returning characters, I believe there is potential for the second season to surpass the first in telling a tale of war, love, death and all that serious business stuff. Or you could just watch it to bash Sunrise in a senseless way.

ef, a tale of melodies: The sequel of “a tale of melodies” has arrived and it is guaranteed that we will be treated to a display of ‘artistic’ animation. I was not bothered by the execution of the first show because it did offer what is the most fundamental aspect in a story, which is a story lol. If the story is not impressive to me, then I would be offended by the attempt to be ‘arty fartsy’.

Time for me to practice on my piano because classical music attracts chicks, especially white ones.

Chaos; Head: I friggin hate the male protagonist. lol.

Ga Rei Zero: Having seen the first three episodes. I have to say that this show has the potential to be visually AWESOME.

CLANNAD AFTER STORY: It’s back! Moetakus rejoice! Meh. I have a heart that is so cold that even Byousoku 5cm failed to make me cry, needless to say Clannad! So why am I still watching Clannad if I am not buying the theme of family love? As compared to many recent shows, Clannad is one of the better executed works so nothing pleases me more than to simply relax and watch a show with decent storytelling.

ID SOJOURNER: BUT THEN, THAT IS BECAUSE MOST SHOWS HAVE BEEN SHITTY, SO THAT MAKES CLANNAD LOOK GOOD!

Yeah. Yukarin’s voice acting has inducted Mei-chan into the Pantheon of Moe-ness after the third episode of After Story. Even someone who has high resistance to moe, like me, could not help but break out into cold sweat after finishing the third episode. But I still dislike moe.

DMC: Black humour at its best. If you do not like it, then you are a geisha. For his greatness,  Krauser II deserves a place in the hallowed hall of Valhalla. R-r-r-rape!!!

Nodame Cantabile, Paris Hen: Episode 3 managed to appease a slight portion of my annoyance. But still, sad to say, the show is not as enjoyable as the others at the moment.

Tytania: As much as I would like to say that Tytania is going to be excellent, the show has just begun so there is a lot of space for screw-ups. The beginning suceeded in capturing my attention with an impressive blend of drama, and a haunting narration of background information. And now that the show has attained my attention, we shall now see how the characters are developed.

Personally, Tytania is the show that I look forward to the most. Maybe it is due to the thrill that I derive from watching the Tytania lords engage in the asphyxiating game of politics which comes along with the current story of people rebelling against Tytania.

Seeing how the Tytania lords behave and interact with each other, I could help but notice them role-playing a scene out of a classic Qing Dynasty film. I was forced to watch quite a few shows about Chinese politics while growing up, and while I did not give a hoot about it back then, the impression of those shows are lasting in my memory. The Chinese films and shows that I saw often depicted the Forbidden City as a treacherous domain plagued by cloak-and-dagger politics as the various princes of the Emperor would conspire and plot their strategy to win the favour of the Emperor so as to claim the throne. While Tytania is not as tense as the asphyxiating drama of those shows, for now that is, I noticed the similarity especially in the scene where the lords gathered to discuss about Aryabart’s defeat. By observing the opinions voiced by various lords, the Clan Lord is able to use their actions as a source of reference in his difficult decision in choosing the next leader of the Tytania clan. And Clan Lord Ajman’s act of consulting his attendant about the calibres of the four lords is a perceived parallel to the Qing emperors (yeah all of the emperors do that! it’s a cliche!) discussing about the strengths of his princes with his close aides and eunuchs. lol. Personally I find the scene where Ajman had his conversation with his attendant very much a soliloquy and a very effective one in bringing out Ajman’s thoughts.

At the rate the story is going, and if there are no screw-ups, you can be assured that Tytania will promise a riveting tale of war and politics. Yeah Srz Bzness.

Junjou Romantica 2: lol

Dennou Coil: I am slow. VERY SLOW. I should have picked up Dennou Coil a long time ago. And this show is wicked.