Random Ramblings V

By TheBigN

Sooooooo… To start, my main (laptop) computer’s fan crapped out, and while I can still use it with the help of a powerful cooling board, it’s functionality has been seriously affected and slowed down to the point of inefficiency to do many things, including watch anime  with it. As such, I’ve been using a Kindle Fire to watch anime for the past couple of weeks. It’s been an interesting experience; partly in that most of the shows that I want to watch this season with outliers (e.g. Smile Precure!, AKB0048, Natsuiro Kiseki) are able to be watched through legal streaming means which greatly helps things IMO, and partly that the Fire has various apps (hulu + and Crunchyroll are what I’ve been using – let me know if there are other good ones) which help “keep me in the loop”, as it were.  As for shows I’m watching this season that make me feel like I can write about them in the small amount of free time I do  have, even though there’s a lot of good stuff this season, typing on a tablet is kinda…

Yayoi in her element. Picture by Haruyama Kazunori. http://diary.fc2.com/user/kazuharoom/img/2012_5/25.jpg

Doing this for five years with something to show for it?

By TheBigN

This post is a little late, though given my posting frequency for the past year, it’s something.

It’s been an interesting year for me in general, and large parts of interesting stuff kept me from writing lengthy posts here on DMAB (if any posts at all – 16 here in the past 12 months :v) while making several tiny comments elsewhere. I’m very much grateful for dm00 picking up the slack and then some in this regard.

I wish this was how I look when I have free time to do things like this. Picture by rorerurirarirurero: http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=23524523

Moving To It’s Own Beat: A Sort-Of Manabi Straight Retrospection

Thinking about it, it’s been 5 years since one of my all-time favorite anime first broadcasted, and I’d like to think that I have taken Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! for granted more than I should be. As time has passed, more shows have come out of the works, ufotable has become more of a household name compared to at that time (at least, to TYPE-MOON fans if no-one else), and the industry is in a state of flux, but few shows and works since have managed to grab me like that. And I don’t think any show I’ve seen made after this has had quite as much “heart” as Manabi Straight had (the fact that I’m still having a hard time defining this intangible quality now says a fair bit). For lack of a better word, it was a sincere work. I’m hoping for ufotable to do something with it the future with the property, since it seems like they haven’t forgotten about the work either But I’m actually hear to talk about something more tangential to the show, as thinking about the show also made me remember it’s music, and that what stood out for me wasn’t even played in the show.

The Seiou Seitokai. Picture by ぴかおΦωΦ: http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=15890741

A “Quick” Question

It feels like I talk about this sort of thing way too frequently, but there’s always something that keeps pulling me back to thinking about the adoption of the term “slice of life anime” (to the point of where I’m getting sick of seeing that to the point where he’s probably already at). In this case an article from a CNN blog focused on geek culture about anime that’s decently written, but glosses over some things and pokes my nerves again with using the term and defining it in a way that bothers me:

“slice of life anime”, in which characters didn’t really do anything, but spent a lot of time talking about nonsensical subjects and looking pretty. “Moe” characters – young, adorable girls on the cusp between puberty and adulthood – were a pervasive signature of these anime shows.

“Slice of life anime” marked a stark shift between darker themes and comedic themes, affecting the climate of anime on a major level.

In an article that uses various “turning points” to explain how anime has changed over time, this is one of those examples, and with my bias showing, I don’t feel like it’s used in a positive light.

I’m still at a loss as to why this definition (variations on “stuff not happening” tied into “moe” characters and whatnot) has become acceptable and mainstream enough that it gets thrown around frequently. And that’s because this usage often evokes a negative connotation in my head (as in “this is what’s wrong with anime today” doomsday-type of connotation) to the point where it feels like it’s becoming the new scapegoat in anime, incorporating the old scapegoat (moe) into something that’s more definable. A genre that shifts anime into places “we” don’t like.

As with issues of this nature, there’s few clear-cut examples where people actually say this sort of thing and mean it, so that what I’ve said with many grains of salt. That being said, what I want to know is how this definition has developed over the years to become a catch-all, as well as why people (in the west) are using it as an explanation of what anime has currently become. Does anyone have any suggestions or clues?

Another badass reason to wear a long white coat, and other things…

Soooooooo…

It’s been a while.

I’m a doctor in name now, and I’m currently plunging into the strenuous world of residency. So much so that it’s a little hard to do things like watch anime (which I do in spurts), or write about it. But I’m starting to get into the pace of hospital work better, so hopefully there shouldn’t be a three-month writing layoff again as there has been here.  After getting a long white coat, you sort of get an idea of what it takes to keep one, which I hope Hakase and Hououin Okabe Rintarou learn throughout their goals as scientists.

The dynamic duo. Picture by shinako (laeseperanza): http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=18866656

ARIA Volume 6 Chapter Log

By TheBigN

I figured that for the Manga Moveable Feast (if it accepts this article), which focuses on AQUA/ARIA this month of March, rather than write a general impression on the volume, I would do a quick impression for each of the chapters in this volume, and try not to spoil in the process. Granted, if you don’t know of the world of Neo Venezia in the first place, this would probably be of no help to you. But some of the articles in the main MMF link will do a good job of filling in that blank. And this blog might also have some pieces lying around that can also help. The general theme is that AQUA/ARIA is relaxing, mysterious, and enjoyable if you sit back, read the story, and just experience it all.

DMAB is Four Years Old. Hey.

By TheBigN

It’s helped that articles like this one pop up every now and then that both help me take stock of how long DMAB has gone (and is still going) as a blog, and provide some sort of subjective measure of our influence (which isn’t much \o). That being said, this blog wasn’t created to be inspiring, and it’s a nice surprise to see that it’s still going strong with the writings of dm00, Link, nomadotto (he’s still alive, don’t you know), and I continually bringing things out of the woodwork. And that definitely includes the extra hand or two that jumps in, to my eternal gratitude, to keep things running, if not interesting. I only hope that it can continue for years to come, and it helps that they still keep making anime at that.

As always, I hope that whoever normally reads, subscribes, comments, lurks, or just so happens to find this blog randomly searching for something like, say, “Hideyoshi Kinoshita”, has gotten something positive from it (:P). If it’s something that somehow makes you smile, even better, and it’s totally awesome if the blog makes you think or inspires you to do something that you enjoy.  Goodness knows that if I didn’t enjoy putting my words out onto this little tiny area of the Internet, regardless of how many people see them or not, I wouldn’t still be doing this. Especially considering how my life is only going to get more consumed by factors outside of anime and manga. And I believe that everyone else on DMAB has sentiments along those lines.

I never feel like I express myself well in these types of posts when I write them given their relative importance, but I think saying thank you for reading Drastic My Anime Blog is best as always. And please keep stopping by if you have the time to do so.  :)

 

Like a breath of fresh air. By 六羽田共. Website at http://heart.sabax.jp/.

 

 

Almost forgot to mention…

…that I (TheBigN) will be at Otakon 2010 this weekend. At first, I had assumed that there wouldn’t be much running around this con compared to most, since the guest list for the most part doesn’t have anyone that really grabs my interest (save for those people who worked on those things some years ago – which as a side note also I guess really shows where my sad interests lie), and there wouldn’t be wall-to-wall industry panels (but then, are there ever). But based on the schedule, there will be enough panels that sound interesting that I’m a little worried that I won’t have enough time to meet and hang out with people, or join in on helping omo and co. sing the Working!! OP if he can’t find enough people to do it with. And I think that’s a good thing.

I really lucked out this year in terms of timing, since this year’s convention fell in the small bit of break time (thurs-sun this weekend yay) between my third and fourth years of medical school, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to enjoy everything to the fullest. I’m not sure if I’ll have many opportunities to visit conventions fully again, so I’m hoping to try and make the most of what I have now. Or at least have fun winging it this year like I did last year. As for the future? We’ll see.