How I Accepted Myself as an Otaku Through Lucky Star [OWLS Blog Tour August 2019: Believe]

Kyoto Animation. We all have that one anime we enjoyed from Kyoto Animation. Whether it is pain or joy, Kyoto Animation has brought to life stories that can touch our emotions. For the month of August, we will be honoring Kyoto Animation and all it has done for art, storytelling, and popular culture by discussing some of our favorite Kyoto Animation series. We will discuss what we love about these series and what they taught us. 

The fire that happened at the studio is indeed a tragedy. We pray for the lives that were lost in this tragedy and the families that are suffering at this time. Fires may be dangerous, but there are flames that burn within us that spark passion, hope, and belief in ourselves.

Lucky Star has a very special place in my heart. Not only is it one of the first anime that I watched from KyoAni (apart from Haruhi), it is also the show that helped me accept myself as an Otaku and in this OWLS tour I want to talk about the effect Lucky Star has had on my anime journey. For those of you who have never watched or heard about Lucky Star, basically it is a slice-of-life anime about four high school girls: Konata, an otaku, Kagami and Tsukasa, who are twins, and Miyuki, a well-mannered and responsible girl. The show explores the daily lives of these girls and the various oddities they experience along the way.

In Defence of the Term “Waifu”

So usually I am not one to write these types of posts on my blog, but unfortunately this is a topic that has frustrated me and a few others for the past few days.

A Lesson in Revenge: Itachi as the Anti-Mentor in Naruto [OWLS Blog Tour July 2018 – “Mentor”]

Throughout our lives, we might have encountered someone that we admired as a role model or has guided us in some life dilemma. This mentor could be a teacher at school, a coach, a boss or team leader at work, or a family friend. Whoever it is that person impacted your life in a positive manner. For this month’s OWLS topic, we will be writing about mentors or mentorships in anime and other pop culture media. Some topics we will be exploring include how a mentorship impacted a main character’s life, the types of mentor relationships a person could have, and/or personal stories about mentors or mentorships.

Whenever we think of a mentor, we think of someone who has had a positive influence on our lives or who has made us a better person in one capacity or another; be it physically, academically or even emotionally and psychologically. But what about someone who negatively affects us, yet still makes us stronger in the process? Can we still consider them a “mentor” in the traditional sense? For this blog tour, I would like to explore this idea of what I call the “anti-mentor” by using Itachi and his influence on Sasuke in the Naruto series as a case study.

Ecchi Then VS Now: What Has Changed?

NOTE: This article contains sexually explicit images. Viewer’s discretion is advised

When one talks about ecchi anime what are the first things that pop into your head? Panty shots? Sexual innuendo? Women in skimpy clothing? Male characters in precarious situations? These are just a few of the many elements that classify an anime as ecchi. While these elements have been mainstays in most ecchi anime, the way they are used today seems to be a bit different compared to late 20th and early 21st Century anime.

Dragonball Super: Farewell Goku and Friends…For Now

The Tournament of Power has finally come to its exciting conclusion, which also means the end of another Saga. But what does the future hold for Goku and his friends following these events?

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, there is currently a new Dragonball Z movie in the works that details the origins of the Saiyan race. What this means, however, is that Dragonball Super will be on hiatus until then (people originally thought that the series was coming to a complete end, but the latest episode puts those worries to rest). You can find the teaser trailer to the new film below:

My overall impressions with Super were very positive (despite having a shaky start with its shoddy animation). Although the first half of the series were essentially rehashes of the Battle of Gods and Resurrection ‘F’ movies, the series got much better when it went in its own direction. I also appreciated the various callbacks to the older Dragonball series, such as Master Roshi performing Mafuba from the original Dragonball series and Goku and Vegeta using Potara fusion to turn into Vegito. These all help to remind viewers that Super is canon to the rest of the series (essentially cutting out GT from the mix).

So, for now, goodbye Goku and friends and thank you for continuing to play an important part in my life.

Anime Review: Chuunibyou

KonoSuba Season 2: First Impressions

I loved season 1 of KonoSuba when it came out last year. The plot never took itself seriously, the characters were funny and it was just fun to watch. It was a great parody on the Virtual Game genre made famous by Sword Art Online, amongst others. Well, season 2 is here and Kazuma and his merry band of companions are back for a new adventure, this time with Kazuma being deemed a criminal.

What is the Appeal of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure?

My first blog post for Suitably Bored, a blog I recently became a contributing writer for. Hope you enjoy it 🙂

It’s a (Wo)man’s World: Looking at Higurashi From a Feminist Perspective

The fictional town of Hinamizawa is not new to those familiar with the Higurashi series. Fans will know that this town is filled with many mysteries: from its storied past to the mysterious deaths and disappearances that happen during the Watanagashi Festival. What makes Higurashi an intriguing series is that it raises more questions than answers. As the title suggests, I will look at how Higurashi can be read as a feminist text through its use of strong female characters and subversion from society’s expectations of women. For the purpose of this article I will refer to each arc in the series using their original name. For example, Chapter 1 will be referred to as Onikakushi, Chapter 2 will be referred to as Watanagashi and so forth. Note that this article will also contain spoilers so please read at your own discretion.

One Lovely Blog Award

Thank you very much to Krystallina from Daiyamanga for nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award!