A fresh new start

As I have talked about in my last post, I would be moving to a new blog when I actually have found and and do have some time to update it:

So now, all that is possible.

So, for the few people that is still following me, please now redirect your attention to:

http://fnsna.net/

Thank you.

Pausing on blogging

While this seems obvious for the few readers that read this blog, I’m going to take sometime off blogging in the coming months. (Not that I have been taking too much time in blogging anyways).

Reasons?

• I need to do some leveling up in real life.
• My schedule should be quite busy this term, based on my courses and my workload this early in the term
• Find a web hosting, it gives more freedom to do stuff other than just posting on a blog.
• Improve my writing skills?…..
• I actually don’t watch that much anime recently: I’m just watching Kimi ni Todoke and Hidamari Sketch×☆☆☆ this season so far. [So I should think if I really want to blog about anime when I don't watch that much of them.]
• etc…

I do have several topics that I want to blog about, but never got the plan to research and write about them….

>_<. So for now, thank you for reading and hope to see you soon

At the mean time, you can check my twitter, as I tend to tweet random stuff here and there: http://twitter.com/FNSNA

See you later,

CCY, kevo, moritheil, blkmage, eternal.

PS: Not going to be following ISML that much, but if I have support, I would still support Yagami Hayate.

Now…back to OS

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW DECADE

Hope to an even better year and decade to each of you

Now that it is new years even in Toronto, I just want to say:

My last post was a disaster. OTL

Few days before going back to Canada: Might make a post about the loot that I got during my stay in HK.

Now, more thinking and planning for future posts. （ ´,_ゝ`)

Twelve Tweets in Anime

Merry Christmas

CCY’s Twelve Moments in Anime event have always been on my mind through out the Christmas vacation. Yet, because I knew that I was too busy this Christmas (as I went back to Hong Kong for various reasons), I wouldn’t have time to have the time to write a post everyday. So I decided to not join.

Yet, by coincidence, I was sitting in front of the family computer 30 minutes before the arrival of the new year in Hong Kong (FYI, it is 13 hours faster than Toronto). With nothing but to spam twitter before the new years, I decided to do what other bloggers did in days in 30 minutes before the new years, to talk about 12 things related to anime in 2009. In order to do that, I didn’t make posts, but just thought of topics right on site and just tweeted about them.

I have to say, it was a bit messy:

The controversy around the word otaku

Then what is this? Are they just a bunch of anime fans too?

In the recent few months, a rather controversial (within the anime blogging circle) appeared. Calling themselves The Otaku Elimination Game, they call themselves to correct the mass error in the usage of the word ‘otaku’ in the western anime blogging circle. Within the other few anime blogs that I have glanced through when I was follow the OEG, that quite a lot of the bloggers in the community had voiced supported (while, obviously some, mainly more famous bloggers, have either ignored or strongly voiced opposition to them) for the OEG. The reason is out there and true: out commercialism is just there to capitalize our anime fandom, by using a word that we are supposed to be called upon, when in history, that same word have been used negatively in the country that it originated from. That word I’m talking about it otaku.

According to Otaku Elimination Game, otaku is:

a psuedo-offensive word used to describe someone who has such an obsessive interest in a particular subject that they don’t leave their house because they are too engrossed in it

From: http://otakuelimination.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/the-word-otaku/

Upon reading this, I was immediately shocked on how closely this definition framed an otaku to a Hikikomori. This compared to the other definition of otaku shared by some anime bloggers:

“having an  interest in anime, manga and stuff related to them”

Which tends to frame the word otaku to the meaning of an anime fanboy. The former places the word in a negative light by placing it close to a social problem in Japan, while the latter places in a more neutral, or even in a positive light, making is as if otaku is just one of the many kinds of fanboys out there (like Apple fanboys etc…). While I do understand the logic behind the latter definition, I find myself supporting OEG’s definition more, if not completely.

Shout-outs (Nov 30 – Dec 08 2009)

I donno what to put, so here is a picuture of Kaorin from Azumanga Daioh

Because y lack of research and my current preoccupation with a new visual novel, I decided that I’m going to postpone some blogging ideas that have been on my mind and just talk about some stuff that have been happening in the past week and something that is going to happen. Well, it is also because that this past week been more interesting compared to the several weeks before, so it is a good chance for me to write and think over about it.

• I’m going back to Hong Kong for Christmas
• Yesterday is the first time I saw snow this year
• There were changes in my portable audio/video equipment
• I’m starting Cross Channel, and thats why I’m too lazy to blog about Maria-sama

I’m blogging this in the kitchen so that I won’t forget what I want to talk about later, but this is not helping, as [goes to check] some of the pasta is stuck to the pot now T_T.

Gokigenyou

This will happen to you if you watch too much Maria-sama ga Miteru

After having a nice kraft dinner, I proceeded to finish the last few episodes of Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th Season (I don’t even know how to pronounce it). Hence, bring my marathon of the whole Maria-sama (excluding the Specials from the 4th season) to and end. In conclusion, despite the fact that this anime is shoujo anime, I found myself enjoying the series (maybe it is because this anime is shoujo anime, that everyone have a bit more character depth and that they don’t provide as much fanservice as other anime *cough*Saki*cough).

Even though this series have a huge yuri overtune, it wasn’t as bad as Saki, mostly because it is both backed by character depth, has a reason for their dependence for each other, and it is elegant. Obviously I would not fall for yuri that easily, but…they are so elegant. ヽ(´▽`)/

I remembered reading that this anime is very similar to ARIA (one of my favorite anime of all time, OF ALL TIME!), and in some degree it is true. Like ARIA, the pacing of this anime is quite slow, and that it will develop one problem and takes either the whole episode or two to, well, get over the issue, which usually is handled in a anti-climax way. But different from ARIA, Maria-sama seem to take every small issue, and exaggerate it, only to, again, end it with something simple. Though I did say that they like to exaggerate really small issues, the did it in an elegant way, keeping in tone of the anime, making it seems is if it was natural and not forced. In short, its another slow paced slice-of-life kind of anime, but just at lot more elegant.

The main focus of the whole series is around Yumi-chan (voiced by Ueda Kana ヽ(´▽`)/ ). She started off as a normal girl that had a hidden crush on her going-to-be onee-sama, Sachiko, then continued till her second year, where she was lifted to a high position from the student body. Of all the characters in the series, Yumi had the most character development, both her inner personality and the other’s view of her. Without watching development of Yumi, I think I would be quite surprised on how much Yumi actually changed by the end of the 4th season. And this reflects on one of the strengths of this series, the strong character depth and character development.

Talent and Family Prestige (Part 1)

Talent and family prestige are two of the many things that you acquire when you are born. Even though we are all born humans, some are born into rich and/or family that have importance in the society and some are born with excellent talents that makes them excel in their studies and work when they grow up. No matter how much we complain, those things cannot be easily changed, as we were just not giving such luxuries when we are born. Yet, for those who actually was able such advantage since birth, they shoulder a even a heavier responsibility to use their advantage accordingly.

The fallacy of marks excellence

I had been told by some of my fellow brothers and sisters, that I’m smart. Yet, this is so far from what I feel of myself. It is true that I tend to get higher points in my courses (either by easy course, extreme shifting of marks etc…), I find myself lacking in a lot of other area of life. I have brothers around me that have already started to strive for things that are not just academic related, but really work related, like starting to put lots of time into joining clubs and participate in events that would add to their resume. Yet, here I am, just trying to study and get high marks, when the truly intelligent are not focusing on it, but on things that will not only be more related to their future work, but is impressing everyone with it.

Yuri Overload [Victim: Saki]

I watched Saki because I needed some push for me to start learning Japanese Mahjong. While I did get that push by the end of the anime, I also got too much of something else: suggestive yuri.

I’m all for deepening of character relationship between the characters and of character background of the character, which they included seemed enough seeing how the anime had to balance the amount of gameplay and the amount of character background and development of them. Having those two in the anime would be good enough, and I would have finished the anime quite satisfied; yet, to attract and keep the audiences watching, they had to add ecchi and yuri overtone to almost all of the character interaction outside the game.