A Hobby Long Overdue

The first result when I Google searched 'anime'.

I've always been drawn to anime. Some anime used to scare me, usually the ones that they would play on Adult Swim. But this fear was usually instilled by anything that came out of Japan. I remember I used to get scared by the Mask Guy from Majora's Mask and every time I put on a Deku mask I would shit my pants because of Link's shrieks of pain. However, there was anime that would totally captivate me as a little kid. The youthful adventure, the nobility and spirit that came with a lot of the characters, the explosive, impossibly dramatized and colorful battles. It spoke to me. So much anime is based in fantastical fantasy world where life is about living to the fullest and never turning your nose up at the chance of a new adventure. As a kid I had always and to this day still do pine for a life like that. Where the impossible is just another 24 minute episode away. 

I really miss  the good ol' days watching Pokemon.

I used to watch some DBZ when I was in elementary school, a bit of Sailor Moon- which I think was partly due to my younger sister- and Pokemon which would have been impossible to avoid even if I didn't know what anime was. Yet aside from Pokemon, this never became a trend and I didn't really grow up watching any anime like some other kids I knew. But because of them I was always aware of some of the more popular ones which would just usually be whatever was on Cartoon Network.  My extreme childhood fascination with Pokemon would dwindle down to a distanced appreciation for the franchise and aside from a couple of moments with months of time in-between, anime would have no part in my life. 

Then it must have been about the 7th maybe 8th grade when Cartoon Network was premiering Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. Boom. Just like that a fiery passion for anime was ignited inside of me. I had seen Naruto a few times before but those episodes weren't as grandiose as that movie. I was completely amazed that something that fulfilled my creative desires so perfectly had been around for so long and there I was brushing it off! That day I made a promise to myself that I would watch Naruto from the beginning and surely this would be the start of my official self-introduction in to the world and culture of anime. Nope. Nothing happened. I don't know if it's because I didn't really know how to start or if I just forgot but that was it. I still carried a love for Naruto as I would make sure to let people know my admiration for it whenever I would overhear it in another conversation.

Intricate. Suspenseful. Confusing.

So it would be a couple of years and I would watch Naruto if it was on sometimes. Nothing big. Then there was this moment last year. A friend of mine gave me the first volume of Death Note. While anime and  manga aren't the same they both stem from the same root. I actually followed through with reading the rest of Death Note and thoroughly enjoying it. My next move- remembering my love of Naruto- was to read the Naruto manga from start to finish. I actually started reading it and bought the first 8 volumes. Discovering that I had about a bajillion more to go, I decided this wasn't the most cost-effective decision. Once again, my fervency for Japanimation subsided but this time it would be for a smaller period of time

Just last month I was on Netflix looking for something to watch on Instant Streaming when an impulse came over me. I went to the Anime & Animation category and just went to town on that shit. I immediately started adding everything that was even remotely interesting to me to my Instant Queue. There was so much to choose from!

I started with Ouran High School Host Club.

D'aaaaaaw! 

Adorable characters, hyper-realized school life, youthful love. It was all there and I was freaking loving every moment. I have once again fallen heads-over-heel in love with the world of anime. The art style, the adventure, the obligatory speeches on love and peace. It's tailor made for people like me.

Following Ouran I would start to watch Fruits Basket. I wanted to continue to watch light anime that were mostly just wacky kids getting into trouble. This was... not so hot. It was just so girly. And sure Ouran was pretty girly but it was girly in a mocking way. Fruits Basket is legitimately for tweens who wanted to ogle and giggle at a girl caught in a supernatural with a bunch of hunky and mysterious dudes. Pass.

I immediately jumped into FullMetal Alchemist. I had heard about this series many times from anime fans before. But would the popularity live up to my expectations? Yes. Yes forever. I would spend about a month watching the entire series on Netflix. It was fun, intense and sometimes surprisingly dark. The whole series crosses into philosophical questions of life and death in a wonderfully created universe where Alchemy overcame science and machines. It was gripping from start to finish with a total bomb being dropped at the end that leads up to an equally awesome film finale- FullMetal Alchemist: The Movie: Conquerer of Shamballa. I was ready to continue the adventure with FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood until I found it wasn't a sequel to the first series but rather a recreation that stuck to the manga and told a different story. I was kinda sad. Regardless, I ordered the disc through the mail and I still haven't sent it back. The beginning is so similar to the series that I just finished watching that I can't held but fall asleep. It's also mostly due to the fact that I try to watch it after coming home from school and I'm without energy to even speak. So, yeah. I'll get that done this week.

That brings us to now! There are 3 anime that I am in the midst of viewing.

Darker Than Black

This is pretty meh so far. I haven't decided if I like it enough to even keep watching so not much on that. I like it it's just moving along kinda slow and I've been told it's no good so who knows.

Soul Eater

I'm enjoying this quite a lot. The characters are cool and the universe is interesting but some things are confusing because it's a hybrid of our world and there are demons and humans can become demons and yeah. The plot is fine. Just some things are cheesy and dumb. There's one character whose name is Dr. Franken Stein. Mmhmm. There was some other allusion like that which I found equally upsetting. But there's one thing that really puts me off about the show sometimes and it's the art direction. The academy where the main characters go to train to become demon killers is really gross-looking and they show it off in CGI and it's just so gaudy. Then there's the sun and the moon which have faces on them and it's just annoying as shit to have them lingering behind every scene. I can't take it seriously sometimes. We could have an intense moment happening and the fucking sun is heaving in the background like he's watching people have sex through a window across the street. The moon is just bleeding all the time. Not as bad but still. I find that the show just looks oddly distorted for the most part. I can deal.

Gurren Lagann

Boobs and robots. Anime at its finest.

Now I am really digging this one. It was recommended to me by a friend who was hesitant to let me know about it because they knew I would like it. They feared this would result in me never being able to shut the hell up about therefore ruining it for everyone because the anime would become synonymous with me.(See: Scott Pilgrim) Well they were right on the money and I apologize for nothing!  Gurren Lagann is about a post-apocalyptic world where humans have to fight a horde of enemies in giant mecha in order to survive. Then a couple of bad-asses who were living underground until their home was invaded steal a mecha and use fighting spirit and pure heart and to fight back; ushering in a new reign of human resistance! AWESOME! It's a lot of crazy, nonsensical fights loaded with breasts as a bonus. Reminds me of Gundam, except Gundam wasn't as sexy.

tl;dr 

My relationship with anime has been a strained one with it's ups and downs but we finally seem to have been reunited for good. What will I watch next?! Cast your vote now!

So that's about it. But last night I saw FLCL. Holy shit. This warrants it's own post.

P.S. I would be remiss if I wrote this much about anime and don't bring up what's happened in Japan. For a place where so many of my favorite things are born this takes a heavy toll on me. It's always painful to see something like this happen and feel hopeless at the inability to get in there and help but my heart is with those affected by this and we can hope that everything is being done to move towards a resolution for those in need.

Spring Break: Indoors

Aaaah Spring Break! A time to frolic and soak up some sun as you and your best buds hit up the beach! 

OR

You can stay inside and catch up with all your hobbies that ultimately just require you to look at different screens for hours on end which you would be doing even if you didn't have the time off for it! 


FUCK YEAH WE'RE GOING WITH THE LATTER!  


Now that I have this whole week off I can dedicate my time entirely to watching anime, being able to play my PS3 games once again and reading! I also have some time for my eternally beautiful and compassionate audience- that's right I'm talking about you! I've had some posts I've been wanting to churn out and now I totes can! So let's bring down those blinds, and sever all communications with the outside to make this the best Spring Break ever! 

Oscar Night

The Academy Awards are on tonight! So many celebrities converged in one place pumps me up for a future in the film industry.

This year I have seen 7 of the 10 films that are nominated for the Best Picture category. I really wish I had seen em all but hey 7 out of 10 is a personal best! I missed out on 127 Hours, The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone. I actually just saw The King's Speech last night. I made a promise to myself that I would see it before the show tonight and when I make a promise (to myself) I keep it damn it!

So here are my predictions for tonight's winner:

Actor in a Leading Role- Colin Firth for The King's Speech
Actor in a Supporting Role- Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech
Actress in a Leading Role- Natalie Portman for Black Swan
Actress in a Supporting Role- Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
Animated Feature Film- Toy Story 3
Art Direction- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Cinematography- Inception
Costume Design- True Grit 
Directing- The Social Network
Documentary (Feature)- Exit Through the Gift Shop
Documentary (Short Subject)- Killing in the Name
Film Editing- Black Swan
Foreign Language Film- Biutiful
Makeup- The Wolfman
Music (Original Score)- The Social Network
Music (Original Song)- Coming Home (from Country Strong)
Best Picture- The King's Speech
Short Film (Animated)- Day & Night
Short Film (Live Action)- God of Love
Sound Editing- Tron: Legacy
Sound Mixing- Inception 
Visual Effects- Inception
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)- The Social Network
Writing (Original Screenplay)- The King's Speech


Man, this is a tough one. So many great films and actors! I hope everybody just starts to hold hands and give an award to everyone in America! Take my predictions on these lightly because I'm pretty much torn on every field.  Now, I know I haven't seen everything that is up for nominations tonight so my opinions may not be 100% accurate and not entirely fair but I've seen a hell of a lot! And it's just fun to guess. So let's see how savvy I am in award predictions.

Congratulations to all the people that worked on these films and thank you for being so incredible!

Better

Things have gotten better since my last post. The initial shock and sadness has worn down a lot and we have now taken extra security measures to protect our house. I have now replaced my computer so I can get back to my routine activities.

Things have been pretty crazy this past week but I'm gonna get back to posting soon. I've been watching a lot of anime lately.

So if you remember, I recently mentioned a short story that I had to write for my AP English class. Well, here it is. It's called "The Negotiation" and I'm quite proud with how it turned out. Except for the ending. We were supposed to write like 2-3 pages and I was going on 6 so I had to cut it short and I couldn't flesh it out as much as I wanted to. So it may seem a bit more pretentious than how I would've liked. I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.mediafire.com/?o2z433k1garvm3f

Update: I just remembered that there was a consistency error with the 2 times mentioned in the story. The first time is correct. It was late and I didn't notice the mistake. 

Fuck.

My house was robbed today.

They completely raided the place. I have no idea how to go about this. We're going to try and recooperate our stuff over the coming weeks.

This is completely fucking devastating. I'm not bothered so much by the fact that our things were taken, which I am still hurt by since I had sentimetnal value in them but they are still just things, but the idea that we could invest so much time and money into acquring these things and someone could just come into the place you feel the safest, your own freaking house, and take it all away from you.

My room and my mom's room was juct completely turned over. To know that someone was in there just pulling shit out of the wall and without regard just tearing through every piece of furniture. It hurts. Every moment since I got home to find it all gone hurts. There is nothing that can be done. This shit happens but you never think it will happen to you.

This is the second time my house is robbed. Last time I was like 12 and I wasn't told about the robbery until like years after. This time they took thousands of dollars in jewelry from my mom and it was just disgusting to see the state that they left her room in. They took my mom and sister's laptops. They took mine and my stepdad's iPads. They took my desktop computer and my game consoles. They took the spare key's to my stepdad's car. They even took the DVR for the cameras. These people knew what they were doing.

When I first got home I was mostly in shock so I didn't really do anything but then I noticed that they took one of my pillow cases to throw stuff into and carry it out and that fucking hit me hard.

Fortunately, due to circumstances with my sister's laptop harddrive she bought an external drive which I then used to back up my harddrive a few weeks ago. Something I never do. So now whenever I get a computer I have all my data.

Things will be back to normal eventually. That much I know but it doesn't change the fact that they took more than just things. They took our things. And no matter what people say, that hurts.

But I'm physically okay. My family is ok and my dogs weren't hurt. So that's good. I'll be fine.

Celebration

I think it is worth noting that two days ago the earth celebrated the birth of two it's finest historical characters: Charles Dickens and Ashton Kutcher.

Let us take a look at some of their accomplishments and see how they stack up.

Charles Dickens

• He wrote a bunch of great shit. Like Great Expectations. That was good, right?
• His stuff is like 180 years old and people are still loving that stuff. So he's immortal. That's awesome.

Ashton Kutcher

• He had that one show on MTV. Lot's of famous people were on it. But I don't think anybody liked him.
• He married Demi Moore. This is more of a personal achievement but it's worth something I guess.
• He was nominated for 3 Kid's Choice Awards and won once! Wow! Never saw Dickens get any awards.

Seems like Ashton Kutcher takes the cake here. Look at that. He had 3 whole bullet points. That is worth some commending. Congratulations, Mr. Kutcher on a successful career!

But it wasn't only their births the world was rejoicing that day. Yes, that's right. It was my birthday too. 17 years of hard labor and determination has resulted in the young man that sits opposites of these words as they are being typed this very moment. This age has brought with it many luxuries that society once made sure to keep away from me until the day that I was ready to earn them. I can now attend my local theatre and watch films that are explicit in nature without having to work the system or have my mom present. The same goes for video games. I will also be receiving my license in a matter of days by which I will attend such films and acquire said games. It is all quite splendid.

I'm quite proud. Now, in honor of myself let us take a quick look at some of my greatest accomplishments.

A serious dilemma.

I knew this day was coming. That it was inevitable. That it would just be a matter of time before I presented with a problem I knew I just wasn't ready to face. And yet I sat by and waited for it to happen. I should have prepared. How could I be so naive?

The day has come and now I pay the price...

I've begun to run out of space for video-games.

I've been managing to put this off for quite some time now by selling games that I no longer really cared for. But it could only last for so long. I am now facing a spacial issue and being the anol and organized person that I am this is a huge deal for me.

Next to my desk I have a a shelf piece that looks like an L that has been flipped vertically and then horizontally. Here's a picture.

As you can see, the shelf is divided up into different units of storage which I then fill up with games/books depending on the categories they fall into.

On top of the entire piece itself I have created a section for graphic novels/manga. I have Scott Pilgrim, Y: The Last Man, Scott Pilgrim, Kick-Ass, some Naruto and Death Note. I also have a really cool SP poster in vain of Street Fighter. The 3 shelves that run along from the top are all books. The first from the left are Artemis Fowls books and other novels that I throughly enjoy and do not belong in the closet i.e. House of Leaves, John Dies, Douglas Adams etc. The section to the right of that is Harry Potter which is self explanatory. It's the entire series in order. Then to the right of that is Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events which is also tight on space due to books that are part of the universe but not an installment in the series.

Once we get to that point, the shelf then descend into a column of games. From top to bottom the games are ordered: PS3, Wii, DS, Misc. The Misc. section is just for games that I like to keep close but really don't fit elsewhere. More than half of it is PS2 games but there is some Gamecube and PSP thrown in there. I have room room for like 4 more Wii games and I wouldn't mind departing with or shelving 1 or 2 games there so I'm not concerned and I actually ran out of space for DS games some time ago but the cases are small so I found a way to keep them together that isn't really ideal for me but it will have to do. This method is the first thing I tried with my PS3 games but the cases are too tall.

So that bring us to the PS3 shelf. I just ran out of space when I bought LBP2 and Dead Space 2 this month. There are more PS3 games inbound this year so I'm seriously screwed if I don't find a way to organize this. I'm afraid I'll have to start putting things into... the closet.

Or I could just put stuff from Misc. onto my 2 shelves of gaming paraphernalia. I could have a nice little shrine for my Kingdom Hearts games and with the 3DS coming out I can actually put all my DS games away somewhere and I won't feel the pain as much.

All I know, is that some serious organizing is in order. I've also considered just putting all my books away and having only videogames on my shelf. But my mind somehow connects that to loss of character so I don't know how I feel about that. I don't really want 2 shelves of PS3 game either. Ugh...

I know I'll figure out. It may take some compromise but I'll come to a decision.

P.S. Did you guys miss having photos in these blog posts? I sure did!