Ringophoria 2.0

by dm00

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Ringophoria

by dm00

Click for larger

Show Some Love For Kyubey

By TheBigN (Yarr spoilers yarr)

So I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Puella Magi Madoka Magica so far.  As others who watch know, it’s been a little crazy ride so far, and it casts some nice new looks at the general concept of a “magical girl”, or at least brings up viewpoints that probably haven’t been really stressed in a while. I like the final product of a sort of “dream team” in my eyes (Shinbou, Kajiura and Ume) as it’s been so far. And I very much enjoy how the show just keeps us guessing as to what happens next, with the fact that I don’t mind at all if I’m completely wrong about what I think some of the main concepts are of the show (granted, I doubt it’s productive to do that in the first place).

Of course, with a show with this much notoriety, there’s a lot of comments that are all over the place in terms of praises and complaints about how things are. Some of them come off to me as asinine, like “Madoka should stop being so emo (she’s be pretty damn crazy if she was able to shake off traumatic stuff days after like it was nothing)”, and others are entirely justified, like animosity towards that poker-faced mascot, Kyubey (or Kyuubee, or QB, whatever floats your boat), based on his actions with our “magical girls”. At the same time though, Kyubey’s induces much more laughter than hate from my mind, and he’s (she’s? it’s?) definitely one of my favorite characters in the show. It’s hard not to admire how he tries so hard to get his contracts down.

I think the lesson here is not to trust someone with a face like that to give you a fair deal. By 塩犬 at http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=16111219

Oreimo and A Fan’s Identity

One of the things that I liked from episode 2 of Ore No Imouto Ga Konna Ni Kawaii Wake Ga Nai was the brief conversation that Kirino and her brother Kyousuke had regarding the former’s lack of camaraderie with fellow otaku given her circumstances. What got me was Kirino’s initial refusal to the advice of making friend with fellow fans, saying “They’ll think I’m the same as them.” It was less the fact that she would be the same as them (which she is regardless), but that she’ll be seen as the same as them. Given her background as a middle school student who’s hip with the times and squarely in the “cool clique”, and that being an otaku (as she sees herself) is most totally not cool in Japan, Kirino’s definitely in a bind keeping the two identities together, but not letting them mix. That difference in being a stylish middle school girl who’s also an otaku and an otaku who’s also a stylish middle school girl feels staggering.

A girl with a little internal turmoil?

Hideyoshi Kinoshita and Another “Level” of Trap?

By TheBigN

Granted, this would probably work much better if this post came out while Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu was still on, but I think it still works regardless. 😛

I don’t necessarily think it’s a secret, but I’m not sure if I’ve expressed my interest in “traps”, or wholesome convincing male crossdressers (yeah. :/), here a lot.  You know, how they change “rules and expectations” of what gender is supposed to be. How they help provide examples of the fluidity of attraction and the rationalizations that some people bring up when they want to stay within what’s considered normal. The confusion that they can inflict in others (see: Prunus Girl) as well as sometimes in themselves (see: Hourou Musuko, and if only Minami-ke was a more serious work. Yes, I went there because the possibilities of Mako-chan seem endless. On that note, I’m very tempted to try to get Idolmaster Dearly Stars because of Ryou Akizuki’s situation and how he deals with it). And so on.

One thing that tends to stick in my mind regarding these characters are the comfort levels that they are shown to have regarding their respective situations and status. Disregarding, you know, reality, and all of that, the main struggles if you can call them that seem to be internal rather than external in terms of the acceptance of a trap (some exceptions to this rule are really awesome, like Hourou Musuko). And by that, I mean how comfortable they are with themselves rather than how others see them (how often do we see someone really not take a convincing crossdresser in stride in purposes that aren’t comedic, for example?).  We have plenty of examples about males who are embarrassed about their situation of being put up0n for a variety of reasons (like Combutler Hayate or Ryou), and we have many examples of males who are comfortable with their identity as gender obsfucators, and use it to their advantage (like Aikawa from Prunus Girl or Jun from Happiness!!). But  I haven’t seen a lot of traps take things in stride like Hideyoshi Kinoshita does, and it leads to a different kind of comfort to me, and another interesting look at how to look at these characters as a whole.

And so it begins. If you can find the source, please let me know.

A Little Bit on Yuno and Nazuna

By TheBigN

This was something that I planned to post about a month ago following SDS’s solid post on Nazuna from Hidamari Sketch × ☆☆☆ on his blog, about how her self-doubt,  shyness and passiveness are understandable in her new living situation (suddenly, all alone in a place where everyone else does stuff that she can’t!). In the comment section,  someone made a mention in the comments that you could place Yuno in Nazuna’s shoes from when she started at the apartments, and I’d agree with that. But I think what separates the two, and what makes people harp on Nazuna when comparing her to everyone else in the show, is a matter of initiative.

Modesty is all well and good, but too much of a good thing...

Initial Impressions on Toradora: Well, It Certainly Grabbed Mine

By TheBigN

As a pretty self-conscious person, one of my characteristics is a nagging worry that I’m drawing unwanted notice to myself.  I assume that my appearance is very noticeable, but I tend to overstate things, and it does help that I feel like I put myself out there in the open enough that I’m not too inconspicuous enough that people focus on what I’m doing (If that makes any sense). When extra (I won’t say “unnecessary”) attention comes my way, I don’t really handle it well, wondering what I’ve done to deserve it. So it’s interesting to see how in Toradora, all of our main fivesome are attention-grabbing in some way whether or not they want it.  While I don’t receive it as constantly as any of the characters do, it’s empathetic in a way, as well as interesting to see how they all deal with it. Something has to keep me intrigued by this show. 😛

Ryuuji can be a headrest too!

Impressions So Far on Kamen no Maid Guy: Is Too Much Power “For Awesome” a Bad Thing?

Written by TheBigN

Sometimes, all it takes is that X-factor which makes all the difference. I find that Kamen no Maid Guy‘s namesake, Kogarashi, as someone who’s pretty much epic in nature in almost all ways, and thus as big a wild card as they can come (so expect some nice bias here :P). His qualities aren’t too complicated, but they work for me: The combination of strength (inner and outer) and intellect as a former teacher or MIT (why is it almost always Massachu-chu as a location for American colleges in anime? Why doesn’t anyone go to or come from Cornell in anime? Obviously we need to fix this). The numerous Maid Guy abilities that Kogarashi has, such as Maid Guy Sight, Vibration, Shredder, Voice, Levitation, Dance, Master Spark, and so on (and yes I know the last one doesn’t count, but given Kogarashi, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a move like that). The 37 human and inhuman senses he has at his disposal. The handing out of Maid Guy badges when someone impresses him or happens to be a good citizen in society (how I’d like one of those emblems myself). His determination and inability to be deterred, regardless of societal norms, in order to raise his master into a fine human being. The fact that he suffers no fools gladly, but pities them as well. And so on.