Shangri-la: not the Green Robin Hoods you think

by dm00

Image from http://forums.megatokyo.com/index.php?showtopic=1733198&view=findpost&p=4890805

TJ writes in defense of Shangri-la (pay close attention, especially, to Trapmind’s comments on reading Science Fiction).

Ani-nouto replies, but seems to think the show’s environmental and political message is trite and straightforward, and seems to shrug the series off as a result.

I think the politics has the potential of being one of the best parts of the series, and currently poses one of its more interesting puzzles.

The show may turn your expectations on their head.

What a Captivating ef Up We Have Here

More random ef fun in other places.

Written by TheBigN

I don’t really know what to label shows like ef ~ a tale of memories~ as, but I do know that I don’t usually watch series like it: “Guy meets girl” works based on visual novels set in high school (usually) or some realistic where romance seems to be the name of the game. I’m very inexperienced with this type of thing. From my limited, simple/close-minded thoughts, those types of series consist of a series of random luck, coincidences, the supernatural (sometimes), variations on the same character archtypes and situations that quickly cause a destined couple to have a love that is better than all while spurning other character’s feelings in the process. It tends to be “wish fulfillment” where a guy who’s often a blank avatar we can use as an extension of ours in terms of getting the girls that we want, so I can’t connect with any of the characters there. And the relationship itself seems so forced and out there by the creators that it’s too unrealistic and superficial for me to understand and like. Or so I say without any good reason to do so. With this rationale, you can see why I feel like I need to try and see things in a different light. I figure ef is a good place to start with that.

Gender in Anime: A Double Take of Sorts

Written by TheBigN

Let’s do this again. Other perspectives are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

In real life, gender is more or less definitive: a person is either one gender or the other. As far as many are concerned, that’s about it, and so help you if someone happens to be somewhere in the middle or somewhere else entirely in the gender spectrum. As with any sort of boundaries set in this world, this tends to be very constraining with regards as to the status quo (which is why we need more Shrine Maidens/Gap Demons in the world today). We as humans judge others by appearance, and gender tends to be one of the first things we make a quick assumption on. At first glance, we can mostly tell which people are female and which are male, immediately fitting that into how our social interactions and relationships go. Of course, the inevitable double standards occur concerning the roles that each gender plays and so on, and it seems very hard to change that initial mindset once its, well, set. It’s why sexual orientation and sexual/gender identification has become a big deal nowadays (or rather, still is). Yet one can say that one of the stronger aspects of anime is the medium’s ability to blur the lines of gender in many ways, shapes and forms. To me one of the more interesting forms consists of the idea of the trap/reverse trap.

Is anime deep? What are you doing with your lemons?

Written By TheBigN

More on variations of this topic can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here. Amazing what one can do with just talking about things. 😛

I’m sure that many of us tend to realize that there are delineations regarding anime fans as a whole. But actually defining those distinctions tends to be difficult. I would assume that in order to be a fan, one must like what they’re watching, but other than that, things tend to diverge. What shows someone will watch, what paraphernalia someone will obtain, how one expressed their love, if at all (why am I writing this blog, for example? :P), etc. tend to cover many bases, and are also limited to what means people have for doing these things. I lament the summer break because of my inability to obtain, let alone watch much anime during the time, for example, and many of us have moments where we would get that series if only we had the pecuniary support for it (some still obtain it at great cost physically, but psychologically? Who knows? ). How one looks at anime is just another one of those indefinable examples.