Now, is this worth it?
I seek to constantly improve myself. My mantra in life is that I should go to be every night being a better person than I was when I woke up. This mantra of self-improvement has impacted almost every aspect of my life— even my otaku life.
You know who's an elitist? This bitch.
Thank you all for your interesting and insightful responses (except for you, Scamp.) It’s fascinating the huge range of responses I’ve received, from sympathy to mockery to pity. One of my very insightful commenters brought up the issue of condescension when talking about anime, and that’s where I would like to go next.
THIS. This is what I picture myself to look like when I'm watching anime.
My 12 Years of Anime series seemed to go over pretty well with readers, and since this season’s been a bit slow for me, I’m going to write this second set of personal essays about life as an Otaku. I’m naming it the Emotions Cycle, and it’s an exploration into how I feel about being an anime fan. The first thing I’m going to talk about is shame.
I mean, REALLY now, tell me that's not a dakimakura cover.
Nisemonogatari is quite the spectacular failure, in my book. It panders excessively to fans of its predecessor while maintaining little of its wit. Fundamentally, the most compelling aspect of Bakemonogatari is missing from Nisemonogatari. I’m speaking, of course, about Araragi’s romantic relationship with Senjogahara.
You see, Ichika, you've opened the floodgates. Now your relationship with Kaito will never be the same.
Ano Natsu de Matteru (aka Natsumachi) is slowly getting better. After three uninspired episodes, Episode 4 finally gets the ball rolling. Watching the episode got me to thinking about the phenomenon of confession and how a confession works in the real world.
Here's a graphic of animes by prefecture. You couldn't even tell, since they're all set in Generic Suburban City.
Akihabara is an integral part of Steins;Gate. That show couldn’t have been set anywhere else— it’s married to the ethos of Akihabara. Maid cafes, moe, the frequent use of memes, 2ch and cellphones all play a central role in the story. It’s too bad, then, that so few shows even attempt to channel the spirit of its setting.
Legendary anime blog 2D Teleidoscope closes doors after 2.5 years
Readers of 2D Teleidoscope are greeted by images of Amano Ai, the main love interest of Video Girl Ai, a series from the late 80s. Ironic, then, that the blog itself was so young. But then again, 2DT, the master of 2D Teleidoscope, was always a man who carefully cultivated his image.
He was a romantic, a psychiatrist and a wordsmith. Nothing fascinated him more than the mind of the lonely masturbator, gargoyled over his computer, wiping his sweaty palms on old Kleenexes. His world was always a little different from our own— a world where ink on a page became passionate lovers, where love transcended not only time and space, but dimension. Through his mastery of the human psyche, he made us understood the passions and fears of imaginary characters. To him, what we saw as representation of reality was reality itself.
Though he opened our eyes to a completely different world, he was always careful to make his brilliantly concise analyses relevant. We were charmed by his neat prose and insightful analysis, but we stayed because we felt his human touch. He was always careful to not let his thoughts become too rarefied, too academic, too masturbatory. His first and foremost concern was always with being accessible.
Towards the tail end of his blog’s life, 2DT was even more keen to explore the human connections that defined the world of anime. His lovingly-crafted podcasts explored the world of otaku. His interviewees spoke frankly about their fantasies and their vices. Through them, he was able to construct a picture of otakudom and its remarkable ability to bind people together.
For him, the anime world was always about connections. He believed in the power of collaboration. His experimental writings exhibited a distinctively community-driven touch. He playfully paired together the girls from The iDOLM@STER with his friends and colleagues. How fitting it is, then, that his final post was one authored by other people. In the end, 2D Teleidoscope was interested not in his own words, but the words of his peers. He enabled, facilitated and inspired— and when his work was done, he faded into the distance, content to let his friends and successors continue the conversation.
Dear readers:
I will be going on hiatus until the 1st of February. I am currently applying to management consulting jobs and I believe that familiarizing myself and fully understanding the case interview process should absolutely take priority over rambling about THE iDOLM@STER (and Kill Me Baby, which is clearly the best show this season.)
In the meantime, please continue to enjoy anime to its fullest. Whether you like to philosophize about Mawaru-Penguindrum, or joff to Niku from Haganai, just enjoy yourself when doing it. See and appreciate the relevance of anime in your real life.
With any luck, I’ll be back with a job. Until then, you stay classy, Internet.
With that hairstyle, Senjogahara, you better be back on the track team.
Good morning, everyone, and Happy New Year. The end of 2011 also heralds the end of the fall season. Let’s take a look at Winter 2012— and attempt to pick some winners. It looks pretty dire, though.
I remember when I thought this was going to be awesome.
There are way too many fucking posts about good shit. People are literally jizzing themselves dry about Madoka and Penguindrum, so I’m not going to talk about them here. Let’s talk about some of the smaller heroes of 2011. I’ve got a bunch of awards here, without agenda or purpose, arranged in no specific order. Here we are, in true hipster fashion: the oh-so-generically-named Akira’s End of the Year Awards. Warning! I take zero responsibility for any and all spoilers. All opinions are mine only and may not be rationally justifiable.
