Tag: Thoughts

(WARNING: This post may contain small spoilers from Banana Fish. Read at your own discretion.)

Revenge is often slow moving and slow burning. It may take years for a characters revenge plot to be fulfilled, but that doesn’t make the results any less sweeter. Most often than not characters design revenge schemes in order to destroy the recipient; either psychically, emotionally or sometimes both. Whether it is served piping hot or cold-revenge is one dish I can’t get enough of in anime.

The definition of revenge has a multitude of meanings. The first one is described as “the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands“and the second one is “the desire to inflict retribution.” You can think of the first definition as the famous saying, “an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.” Revenge often serves as a reminder to others that you should not be trifled with. Revenge provides a way to keep order in a society where the rules of law are weak and malleable, but at the end of the day revenge always comes at a price.

One character that is comfortably familiar with revenge is Yut-Lung Lee from the anime Banana Fish.

Considering that revenge is a human response, it isn’t surprising that Yut-Lung would seek out revenge in the show. The emotion of revenge often stems from the feelings of hatred, anger, or hurt that was once portrayed as love or desire. It is generally a result of something you might have always wanted but was ripped away from you, or someone you always loved not being with you anymore. Once this specific thing/someone is forever wiped away from existence in your life you might think you need to seek retribution. This feeling implies that whatever it was that you held closest to you still in fact matters deep down. Seeking revenge on someone means that you are still affected by whatever was done to you.

Yut-Lung Lee sought out revenge not only on Ash and Eiji in the series, but his own brothers as well. Yut-Lung is the youngest of seven children, and his parents died when he was just six years old. That is when he started living with his aunt and uncle. But where does the revenge plot come in you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Later on in the series we find out that Yut-Lung’s mother was a street vendor’s daughter and became his father’s mistress when she was just 10 years old. His father was 65. When his father died, his half brothers came in and raped/killed his mother as they despised her and Yut-Lung of being their father’s favorite mistress and child. Thus seeing Yut-Lung as a threat for the inheritance. They raped/killed his mother and made him their weapon to keep him from gaining power.

Yut-Lung grew up hating himself and vowed that he would bring the Lee family to extinction with his own hands. He would kill his own brothers and family to make them pay for their crimes against him and his mother. A perfect leeway for a revenge plot am I right? The right thing for Yut-Lung to do would be for him to let it go, forgive and move on but that’s not how this works in anime! Nope. Revenge is another key to why Yut-Lung despises Ash and Eiji so much.

Yut-Lung believes that he and Ash are like Yin and Yang. His feelings towards Eiji are amicable at first but then they slowly turn towards hatred later on in the series. He believes that Eiji will drag Ash down and likely be his downfall. He also despises Eiji because of how much he means to Ash, viewing him as this undesirable weakness. This was really prevalent in episode 18 when Ash didn’t hesitate to shoot himself in the head for Eiji when Yut-Lung as him to.

In a few episodes towards the end of the anime series Blanca states that Yut-Lung feels like this because he desires the sort of connection Ash and Eiji have. A pure unrequited love for one another, something that Yut-Lung never got to experience. This is due to his mother being raped/killed by his own brothers and his father being a POS pedophile. Yut-Lung never got to feel the emotions of love, security, affection because those emotions were replaced with loneliness, heartache, and affliction. Something no child at the age of six should have to experience.

In a lot of ways Yut-Lung still shows signs of being a child on the inside. Throughout the series we see him display signs of selfishness, whining, and crying/throwing tantrums when he doesn’t get his way.

To me, this shows that Yut-Lung missed the opportunity to really be a child because of his past experiences. He grew up not knowing what true happiness/love felt like and was completely consumed by the thoughts/idea of revenge. I can’t imagine the type of toll that took on him. I should probably also note that Yut-Lung was also used like a sex toy much like Ash was in the series. I am sure this also played into his feelings of wanting to be loved by someone. The desire to want to be loved unconditionally by someone is eats at you like a parasite. Yearning for something you want but cannot have will break your soul little by little. And that is exactly what Yut-Lung was in the series…a broken young boy pretending to be a man. Blanca knew this from the moment he met Yut-Lung and Sing confirms this in the last episode of the series.

As Alex over on Watch JoJo (in 2017) says, “No one does revenge stories quite like Japanimation.” Revenge stories in anime tend to give us the best tortured and diverse characters. I couldn’t agree more. Yut-Lung’s story of revenge was one of the best plot points in Banana Fish. I was captivated by him, not only by how beautiful he was, but also by how tormented he was a young man. Lost, angered, jealous, bitter, but also endearing in some ways. When Yut-Lung showed his weak points he was utterly helpless and that made me feel for him. I wanted to reach out and hold him. I knew deep down that he was still a young boy crying out for attention/love. And that is what a good story should do. It should make you feel something when watching/reading/consuming it. That means the creator/author did their job (*as I have stated many times on my blog before).

Yut-Lung’s character in Banana Fish was one of my favorite things about the show. I definitely find myself often thinking about him and how he felt throughout the series. I feel like we can all relate to him on some type of level. My hopes for Yut-Lung in the aftermath of Banana Fish would be for him to find himself, love himself, forgive himself, and be able to overcome his sense of self-deprecation. Ash and him both deserved better, but they only knew how to survive the hand they were dealt. I would want Yut-Lung to find inner and outer peace. As Yut-Lung says, “Nothing is born from history.”

Other shows that also contain revenge themes are 91 Days, KILL la KILL, Psycho Pass, Castlevania, Berserk, Claymore, Afro Samurai, Code Geass, Dante’s Inferno and Terror in Resonance. Of course there are tons more but I don’t have all day to name them all XD

Disclaimer: All imagery and photos come from searching for them on the internet. I have no claim or right to them. If I find any links I will always post them (this usually entails fan art or any other work affiliated with an artist)

 

(Disclaimer: Today’s blog is a Throwback Thursday post I wrote in May of 2017. I figured since I have a larger audience now you guys might enjoy this content!)

I wanted to have a little chat with you all today on the topic of what makes an anime truly great.

We all have our likes and dislikes, our favorites and least favorites, characters we love to hate and hate to love, our best wifu’s, and even which OP’s and ED’s we decide to watch every time a new episode is on or should we choose to skip over the song(s) just to get to the opening scenes. But with everyone’s personal taste being just that, personal, how do we really know when an anime is great?

Is it the characters or how they are drawn?
Is it the plot/story-line?
Is it the animation or art style?
Is it the music/soundtrack(s)?
Does it have to be unique or can it be done over and over again with a different perspective?
Or is it simply because you can immerse yourself into that world because the mood or atmosphere draws you in?

These are all very logical and rational questions when it comes to breaking down an anime series.

Yin DTB Art

For me it’s a combination of all the questions I just asked. It is a jumbled mix of art style, design, story premise, music, character development/progression, and the ability to be drawn into an anime within a matter of minutes.

Now I do have to admit I am not the harshest critic out there. I tend to go easy on anime I love, while others tend to tear it apart. I feel like I am that audience member that is easy to please. But I also feel like my way of processing anime (and other media) is way more open than others. I really enjoy anime (and movies) that have no real concept or meaning. I like things that have no “true” ending. A good example of this is the anime Glasslip. This was a pretty typical romance anime until the very end. Many people were disappointed because it made zero sense when it ended, but here I am saying that I liked it. I wasn’t mad that it veered off in a completely different direction than what I thought it was going to be originally. I think I was more so wondering why they didn’t explain things more thoroughly? It needed that little extra edge for it to make more sense.

Glasslip

I think in order for an anime to be truly great it has to leave some sort of lasting impression on you. It has to have some meaningful impact that you can connect with on a “personal” level. Those are the anime’s that tend to stick with you throughout your life time. Even if the story or the characters are cliche, if there is something within that anime that resignates with your soul then that anime has done its job.

Being unique and different are just plus side effects of making an anime that is simply special.

I would like to call this feeling “emotional impact.”

My favorite anime’s tend to make me cry or they have me on the edge of my seat. Those are the anime’s that I love the most. I love the feeling you get when you are so hyped up on watching a certain scene that you just can’t help but squeal with excitement. You are so enthralled with what is going on that you don’t  even dare to blink. Memories are usually forged with these “emotional impacts” and these are what allow anime’s to stick with you forever.

I want to know your thoughts on what makes an anime truly great. Is it some of the topics I mentioned above or is it something else entirely? Do you have any likes and dislikes about certain anime? Let me know in the comments section ❤

Disclaimer: All imagery and photos come from searching for them on the internet. I have no claim or right to them. If I find any links I will always post them (this usually entails fan art or any other work affiliated with an artist).

You know there are a ton of anime characters out there that you all love to hate but also hate to love. You secretly wish they would die but also kinda hope they succeed with their evil plans. Like I said…this is a love hate relationship.

When we think about anime characters we often classify them as either the hero (protagonist) or the villain (antagonist). It should be simple as black and white, but deep down we can all see a little of us in each type of character, whether that be the hero or villain. I actually talked about why anime villains appeal to us a few weeks ago (I’ll link that here in case you missed it: https://kawaiipaperpandas.wordpress.com/2017/08/15/topic-tuesday-why-are-anime-villains-so-alluring/) and it all tied into one factor…relatability. But we won’t get into that topic again today because we already had a nice long discussion on it! Just go check out my previous post if you want some more knowledge on this topic or to see my general thoughts.

Anime is full of many many characters, both equally loved and equally hated, but what about the characters we have a love/hate relationship with? Which side of the fence do they fall on? Are they a mix of both feelings or do their actions still cause them to be hated? I feel like there really isn’t a reason why we love/hate a character sometimes. I think it mainly boils down to if we can see ourselves in that “said character.” *cough cough* Why I wrote a whole post about character relatability. I do know that some of the most memorable characters in anime are the ones we “supposedly” hate.

So here is a list of my favorite anime characters I have a love/hate relationship with!

1. Reiko Tamura from Parasyte

Reiko’s personality in Parasyte was cold, emotionless, and cruel. She was a parasite (alien) from another world. So, of course she was going to be like her fellow parasite’s; a cannibal who eats humans to survive and gain power. This makes the viewer initially hate her, but as the story progresses Reiko starts to gain human emotions (mainly due to the fact that she gave birth to a human child). We see her develop/learn laughter and love towards her son, making her a bit softer. I really enjoyed Reiko’s character because of her high intelligence as a parasite, as she often studied the human psyche in hopes of understanding the species better. I felt like she progressed well in the anime and wanted to know more about her as a human and as a parasite.

2. Ferid Bathory & Crowley Eusford from Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End)

Ferid and Crowley(This image can be found here: https://dessa-nya.deviantart.com/art/Owari-no-Seraph-Crowley-and-Ferid-542269169)

Two characters you should automatically dislike because they are vampires killing off the human race in Owari no Seraph, but I can’t come to hate these boys! Ferid and Crowley have such amazing charm and wit about them (that you secretly want to date them). Plus just look at them! They are totes hot! Well…I mean most anime guys and gals are perfect…but I have a special affinity for vampires. Both of these guys are playful, sneaky, and enthusiastic to the point of unpredictability. I think that’s why I have a love hate relationship with them. They feed off humans but their personalities are spot on! I feel like the writers of these two characters should get a gold star.

3. Shougo Makishima from Psycho-Pass

Shougo sketch

If you have been following me for a while now you know Shougo is my favorite anime character of ALL time. I really don’t need to explain why I love/hate him. He is one of the best written anime character’s that I have ever laid eyes on…plus Psycho Pass is a PHENOMENAL anime period. I think the best way to describe him is how Wikia Fandom lays out his personality traits (http://psychopass.wikia.com/wiki/Shogo_Makishima):

“Makishima is a humanist on the dark side: someone hopelessly in love with cruelty, savagery and all the worst aspects of human nature with no qualms about witnessing or causing others’ suffering. He has the ability to manipulate people to do his bidding, possessing both uncommon charisma and a true gift for persuasive speech. He has no compunction about dealing death to those who either stand in his way or those of whom he has grown tired, either with his own hands or through subordinates. He enjoys reading dystopian literature and Shakespeare,as well as having a thorough knowledge of the Christian Bible. He is often seen reading and even quoting texts from these works on occasion. The thing that truly separates Makishima from the rest of humanity, however, is the fact that despite his diabolical intentions and actions, his Psycho-Pass remains unsullied.

Makishima personally states that he wants to see “the splendor of people’s souls” and outwardly disdains humanity’s way of living, considering humans worthless due to their dependence on the Sibyl System. He aims to alert people to their false ways and to force them to examine their motives and to determine the direction of their lives based on their own will.

This adamant belief extends to the point where he is willing to die by the hands of someone “who has the will to kill.” 

4. Elsa Granhiert from Re:Zero

Elsa…the incredibly hot and dangerous “Bowel Hunter.”  We all know she’s a crazy ass bitch who loves fighting. She will even continuously injure herself in order to fight strong opponents, but she has an abnormal healing rate so I feel like this doesn’t affect her persistence.  This lady loves to cut people through the abdominal region in order to tear out her targets bowels. She loves the look and feel of people’s internal organs. This alone should make you gag and despise her, but not me! I wanted to see more of her throughout Re:Zero. She has this mysterious aura about her that made me super intrigued on why she was called the “Bowel Hunter.” Give me a spin-off of Elsa and her murdering sprees please!

5. Light Yagami from Death Note

Light Y

Would Light be considered an anti-hero? You know…kinda like how Deadpool is? Where they do heroic deeds but don’t give a shit about anything else except their own agenda. I feel like that is the category Light would fall under. Light has a very strong sense of justice but that quickly becomes wraped after he gains the Death Note. *Insert God complex here* Light is decisive and driven to achieve his ambitions, without faltering one bit in his beliefs. Despite knowing the criminality of murder, Light would consider his actions the ultimate “sacrifice” to help the world. So…ultimately Light thinks he should rule the world and everyone in it. Light was super intelligent but got lost in his own goal that he went bonkers (which is actually my favorite part of the series). I wanted him to win but we all know how that turned out…lololz XD

6. Shiro from Deadman Wonderland

Shiro Dead Man

It isn’t Shiro so much that I hate, but really what lives inside her. You know *spoiler alert* the Wretched Egg. When the Wretched Egg takes over Shiro’s body, Shiro is essentially trapped in her own mind. Shiro is the bubbly and fun person Ganta knows in the show, but it is said that eventually Shiro and the Wretched Egg personas fuse together to form Shiro’s true self.

(Skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to know any more spoilers)

“This final, genuine persona contains characteristics of both personalities: it has Shiro’s strong love for Ganta and desire for happiness, yet with Wretched Egg’s bleak outlook on life and evident hatred (towards others as well as herself). Shiro’s ‘true self’ also appears to remember everything from her life, both as ‘Shiro’ and ‘Wretched Egg’. In the end, it is discovered that the reason she wanted Ganta to become a Deadman was for him to kill her and end her suffering. It is also revealed that Shiro’s wish to die was evident 10 years ago, when she caused the Great Tokyo Earthquake in an attempt to destroy her body before it could regenerate, therefore trying to kill herself.

In Chapter 57, Ganta finally understands her and states that dying is not Shiro’s ‘true wish’. At the realization, Shiro begins to cry and says that she wanted to ‘go to school, play with friends, ride on the ferris wheel’, but she could not do any of these things. She states that she has done so many horrible things and doesn’t deserve to live, but at the same time, she doesn’t want to die.

In the end, all she really wanted was to be happy.”

7. Fumito Nanahara from Blood-C

I think Fumito might be my ultimate love/hate relationship character. If you have seen Blood-C and Blood C: The Last Dark (Movie) then you know what I am talking about. You initially fall for him in the beginning of the series and then all of a sudden you DESPISE him beyond belief. Then at the end of Blood C: The Last Dark you can’t help but fall for him all over again. It is one hell of a roller coaster ride! I hate it but I also love it so much. It rubs me the wrong way from time to time, but eventually I get over it by the time I watch the final scene between Saya and him. Anime…WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?! WHHHYYY???

8. Charioce XVII from Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul

Chaorice

I really really REALLY want to punch Charioce in the face. This season of Shingeki no Bahamut has my feelings all over the god damn place. I feel like once something goes right a plot twist ensues and we have to start all over from the beginning. Charioce is a very intelligent yet stupid man child. He needs to get his shit together. Either you be the King or you say you were wrong and ask for forgiveness. YOU CAN’T HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO CHARIOCE! For fucks sake. Give me something to work with! And stop pretending you’re not in love with Nina. Bleh…I see you. 😛

9. Black (The King of Despair) from Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront)

Black Kekkai Sensen

Technically the King of Despair shares a body with Black. This happens during the first Great Collapse in Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront). Black’s personality is vastly different than the King of Despair’s. The King of Despair is laid back, cunning, and has little respect for others. They have an affinity for twisting peoples emotions against themselves. I guess I like characters that bend other characters to their will. Maybe that’s why I like villains so much? Because they are twisted and fucked up just like myself. The King of Despair is shown to be much more powerful than Black, and more in control of his power. He is capable of killing without even a single touch, and is able to move masses of rubble ten times his body size. Definitely one you don’t want to mess around with!

10. Miach Mihie from Project Itoh <Harmony>

For most of the movie you think that Miach Mihie is a ghost. A figure of Tuan’s imagination that haunts her endlessly, but in the end Miach is very much alive. She is brilliant and intelligent, who doesn’t agree with the present world. Her personality is that of a calm philosophical girl; she is very charismatic and capable of manipulating those around her to an impressive extent. No surprise here that I would have another manipulative character on this list! Seems to be a trend of mine. They was Miach speaks in this film is utterly captivating. It is beyond what I can normally comprehend in an anime film. You really have to pay attention to the theme of Harmony or you will be completely lost. If you want to feel super smart for a small portion of time then I highly recommend watching this.

What are some of your favorite characters that you love to hate and hate to love? Do you like any of the characters I talked about above? If so, which ones? If not, then why? I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Let me know in the comments section down below. ❤

Disclaimer: All imagery and photos come from searching for them on the internet. I have no claim or right to them.

the gods lie 1

Manga: Kamisama ga Uso wo Tsuku. (The Gods Lie)
Published: 2013
Genre: Drama, Romance, School, Slice of Life, Seinen
Authors: Ozaki, Kaori (Story & Art)
Volumes: 1
Chapters: 5

Background: Kamisama ga Uso wo Tsuku. was published in English as The Gods Lie by Vertical Inc. under the Vertical Comics imprint on April 19, 2016. The series was also published in Spanish by Milky Way Ediciones on November 25, 2014 and in Brazilian Portuguese by Panini Comics on December 17, 2016.

Synopsis:

Eleven-year-old Natsuru Nanao is the ace of the soccer team, yet has trouble speaking to girls because of a certain event following his transfer to his current school. Due to his father dying long ago, he lives only with his mother but doesn’t let this distract him from his passion for soccer, as he hopes to become a professional player. One day, a female classmate named Rio Suzumura approaches Natsuru, a meeting which signals a huge turning point in his life.

Upon talking with Rio, Natsuru immediately becomes interested in her. After he saves an abandoned cat, he runs into the girl and her younger brother Yuuta on their way to the supermarket and asks if they can take care of it, to which they agree. But when Natsuru arrives at their home, he is shocked to discover that the siblings have been living alone in a dirty house, a secret which Rio absolutely wants to keep. As Natsuru spends more time with them, their circumstances and reason for secrecy are slowly brought to light.

I actually bought this manga (mainly) because the wonderful Akidearest over on Youtube recommended it. You can check out that video down below:

But I am so very glad I did. This story might have been short (in a standard manga sense) but boy oh boy did it deliver! This story was heartfelt, and deep, and meaningful beyond belief. It also has a very dark underlying tone within it as well. You get to that later on in the chapters (but it is foreshadowed in some of the earlier panels).

I don’t do reviews very often, (mainly because I feel like everyone already does them), but mostly because I like people to form their own opinions about certain things (movies, music, anime, manga, books/comics etc). I like people who “think for themselves” so to speak. That isn’t to say reviews aren’t helpful (because they totally are) but I feel like you should read them primarily for a different perspective. Do your research after you have already plunged in head first.

The main characters of our story here, (Natsuru and Rio), seem to fill their roles as “adults” more so then their parents do. Natsuru’s Mother seems a bit childish at first but still fits the role of a caring mother. Rio’s father ends up being out of the picture for quite some time (3 months is what I recall) leaving her and her younger brother, Yuuta, all alone in their household. I guess you could call them “removed” family members. You know the typical “parents are too busy or gone from their children for a period of time” in anime cliche that we always see.

So you have Rio who does everything herself (cooking, shopping, cleaning, taking care of her younger brother) who is growing up quickly and Natsuru who relies on his mother for pretty much everything (because Natsuru’s father passed at a young age). Both of these characters are missing that key “father role-model” in their lives. Which in a way brings them together in this story. They can relate to one another because of this similarity.

The gods lie

I felt like the author tried to pack a big punch with this story in the shortest amount of words possible. While a lot of readers were hoping this story was more on the “romantic side” side of the spectrum, I came to the conclusion that it was more of a “coming of age story” with heavy themes of “drama/darkness.” This story was more relatable to real life more than anything.

As the story progressed the plot seemingly got more complicated than the previous chapter before it. As the reader got more of the background on Rio and Yuuta, we learned what harsh realities really lie with the real world. This story in a sense tries to sympathize with the problems children face growing up and the cruelties of society surrounding us. It tries to convey the struggles to survive in a dysfunctional family, the burden when you are forced to grow up too fast, children facing the truth of mortality of humans and also the will to still carry on despite all the obstacles.

Rio color

These characters are pretty simple, but yet in the long run they are much more realistic than a lot of other characters in other things. I would like to believe that Rio’s height (because she is oddly tall for an elementary student) symbolizes strength. She is tall. She seems strong and independent and capable. Yet, in reality, she is just a young girl trying to provide for herself and her younger brother. She wants to be loved and nurtured for.

the gods lie scene

Rio has made the most significant and lasting impact as a character for me in the shortest time. She is not gorgeous, yet she is breathtaking. She is plain, yet she is beautiful. We can easily relate to the Natsuru’s clear dialogue and understand why he is so attracted to such a girl. Rio makes herself endearing to the narrator and to the reader. Rio is the character you are most intrigued by (in my opinion anyway). Natsuru is cute and fun but Rio steals the show of this manga.

I loved the artwork! I think it is absolutely STUNNING. My eyes were drawn to it the very moment I saw the cover. I would recommend this manga on the visuals alone. The characters make it that much more beautiful. This manga is clean, it has amazing panels, and it contains deep meaningful dialogue.

My favorite part is towards the end of the story in chapter 5. It ties in the title of the manga (and I am a sucker for anything that ties in the name/title). It is a scene of young Natsuru and his dying father. His father tells him, “If you’re a good boy, and listen to your mother the gods will see, and I’ll get better.” “So wait for me and be good, okay?” 

And then the manga cuts back to Natsuru’s dialogue which says, “But he died…So I must not have been good enough. Sometimes even the gods lie to us. Why? It’s because they love you very much. The gods lie. They lie because it’s the best they can do.” “So I’m okay now. I know. We reach out for their lies and we keep on living.” 

THAT RIGHT THERE! Just…OMG all over my feels. My heart was breaking into a million pieces at this scene. I didn’t know if I should cry or be thankful or flip the table upside down. SO MANY EMOTIONS TO FEEL!

If I were to rate this manga I would give it a 9 out of 10. I ENJOYED it that much! I definitely need to add more manga to my reading list. I think the next one I am going to get is Totsukuni no Shoujo (The Girl From the Other Side). I am also trying to purchase the manga of Wolf Children. I love the movie oh so much so I might as well get the manga and add it to my collection. Also if you guys have any manga to recommend then leave me some recommendations in the comments down below! It would be greatly appreciated ❤

Disclaimer: All imagery and photos come from searching for them on the internet. I have no claim or right to them.

What exactly makes a leading lady in anime “waifu” material?

Is it her devilishly good looks? Is it her over the top sexual prowess? Is it because she cooks, cleans, and acts like a potential wife for the main character? or is it simply because she is the best candidate out of the slew of girls gunning for the main character’s heart?

In otaku retrospect it is a combination of all the potential questions I stated above. A “waifu” is someone that makes a certain impression on the viewer. Whether that is their personality, their actions, or their very larger than life oppai (that means boobs if you didn’t know)….”waifu” material can mean anything to anyone. Gotta love things that are open to interpretation!

Let’s go over the definition of “waifu.” I mean…this isn’t called Senpai Saturday for shits and giggles. I am here to teach you guys (my general understanding) of what otaku terms mean. Today just happens to be waifu! You guys voted via Twitter (https://twitter.com/paperpandabears) and I am here to give you pandas what you want. Should I take a cue from Sebastian Michaelis and say, “Yes, my lord?” Bahahaha…If only I was cool as Sebby XD

Waifu definition:

“Waifu (noun). fictional character a person feels affection toward. 2. fictional character considered one’s spouse. 3. Japanese word derived from the English word ‘wife.’
synonyms: husbando, mai waifu”

In uncomplicated terms “waifu” is a fictional character that a person loves. Many people approach “waifuism” casually, while other fans take this term a bit more seriously. Some people be cray cray over shit like this!

Usually comparing “waifu’s” is just something that is entertaining and temporary, while other’s take this as a more ostentatious type of relationship. Some fans even take it as far as wearing a wedding band to symbolize their marriage to their waifu. This is where we insert the word “obsessed.” I mean…I feel strongly about my waifu’s but I’m not that crazy! Lololz….or am I!? You’ll never know 😉

As Chris over at (https://www.japanpowered.com/otaku-culture/what-waifu-means ) states, the word “waifu” is a more recent term in otaku culture. It isn’t as old as some of the other terms I have covered so far. Here is a little history to get you guys caught up to speed:

“Waifuism is a fairly recent development in otaku culture.  Google records the first significant appearance of the word waifu in November 2007. The oldest entry for mai waifu appears in the Urban Dictionary in April 2, 2007.  However, waifu has a longer history outside of otaku culture.

Waifu is an English loanword that appeared in the Japanese lexicon around the early 1980’s. Dynamics between husband and wife continued to change in ways that made the tradition way of referring to a woman as a wife offensive to young couples. Kanai, the word for wife that uses two Chinese characters that mean “inside the house” became objectionable for many young women. Likewise, the word for husband, shujin or danna, translate roughly to “master.”  Because these words fail to match their relationship, many couples adapted the English words husband and wife. Of course, the words changed slightly in pronunciation. Wife became waifu. Husband became hazu.

These words were slowly picked up by American anime/manga fans and were used to refer to their favorite fictional characters. The anime Azumanga Daioh is thought to be one of the anime that popularized the use of the word waifu. However, the words were in the Japanese lexicon and used by anime long before this popularization.” 

Emiliatan

To me, a good “waifu” is someone who is strong, sexy, intelligent, a bit irrational at times, but also sweet on the inside. I am a sucker for “yandere” and “kuudere” girls in anime. Sometimes you just have to play hard to get. Which in most cases almost all girls in anime are! And or you a lucky and get thrown into a harem of anime girls

*Does best Katy Perry impression…breaks out into song and dance *

‘Cause you’re hot then you’re cold
You’re yes then you’re no
You’re in then you’re out
You’re up then you’re down…

*Ahem* I’ll stop being a weirdo now. Maybe I had too much coffee today? or not enough sleep? Yeah…it could be a number of things. I can’t keep track anymore. Send me a life raft when you find one my pandas. You could LITERALLY be saving my life right now. Ya’ll have know idea.

What does the term “waifu” mean to you? Who is your favorite “waifu” in anime/manga? Do you have more than one? or do you have a favorite “husbando?” Let me know in the comments section below! 🙂

Disclaimer: All imagery and photos come from searching for them on the internet. I have no claim or right to them.

Let me just say this,

I always enjoy coming up with new topics/discussions for you my pandas! I’m always constantly thinking about how I can improve my Ani-blogging or what I can do differently from my fellow anime peers. I mean…this blogging business is no joke. I take my post very seriously and I am sure my other fellow bloggers feel the same way. We want to provide the best quality anime content we can. So instead of today being Fantasy Friday, I want to bring you guys a new idea of mine. FACE-OFF FRIDAY!

Today I will be taking two anime characters and pitting them against each other in a fiery pit of death! MUAHAHAHA XD

Just kidding!

More like I will be comparing two alike characters, (whether that be in appearance, personality, or them as a character overall), and seeing which character would win if they were to crossover and battle each other. Just a good ol’ fashion fight to the death. Nothing out of the normal…ya know what I mean jellybean? 😛

Today’s opponents are Rias Gremory from Highschool DXD

VS

Mio Naruse from Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha (The Testament of Sister New Devil)! 

Sexy red-headed Demon princess VS. Sexy red-headed Demon princess!

Here is what we know about Rias from my lovely friends over at http://highschooldxd.wikia.com/wiki/Rias_Gremory:

“She is the next heiress of the Gremory Clan after her older brother Sirzechs took the title of Lucifer. She is the only daughter and youngest child of Zeoticus and Venelana Gremory, the auntie of Millicas Gremory, and the cousin of Sairaorg and Madgaran Bael. She is known as the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess. 

Rias is the daughter and second child of the Gremory Family. She became the heir after her brother, Sirzechs, became the Satan Lucifer, losing his right as heir to the house. After being announced as the heiress of the Gremory Clan, Rias was eventually placed into an engagement with Riser Phenex. When she was a child, she was attacked by a camel for making fun of it, which caused her to have a strong fear of camels ever since. Just seeing imagery of a camel is enough to trigger her fear, as shown when she gets frightened seeing her clan’s mascot which is a camel.

Prior to the series, Rias has reincarnated Akeno Himejima, Koneko Toujou, Yuuto Kiba, and Gasper Vladi as members of her peerage. Rias met Akeno, her Queen, first servant and best friend, in Japan saving Akeno from being killed by her fellow Himejima Clan members after Akeno accidentally entered Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa’s territory. She then met Koneko, her second servant, after her brother rescued Koneko from being executed, leaving Koneko under Rias’ care. She later reincarnated both Yuuto and Gasper, the former who died after being a part of the “Holy Sword Project” and the latter killed by vampire hunters.”

Rias Grem

Rias’s powers include:

  • Power of Destruction: A type of demonic energy that allows her to release energies that can disintegrate matter, both living and inanimate, with relative ease. She is further able to control the shape and power of the technique such as creating multiple softball sized bullets to lessen the destructive force yet increase the range of her attack.
  • Extinguished Star “Demonic Star of Extinction”: Rias’ ultimate one-hit kill technique created from the change in Rias’s demonic power due to the influence of Issei’s power. Rias manipulates her Power of Destruction into a compression of unimaginable amounts of demonic power; takes the form of an enormous sphere with a mixture of crimson and black aura radiating from inside of it that launches it toward her enemies in a slow velocity. It has the ability of a magnetic force; pulling the enemies towards it and get disintegrated by the latter similar to a black hole. Its destructive power is stated to surpass the speed of the retiring system in the Rating Game.

Magic Expert: Rias is also shown to be proficient in using magic such as the ritual to drain energy from Issei’s left hand to let it appear human again, healing spells, teleportation magic, as well as defensive magic to protect herself as well as her servants from powerful attacks.

Oppai Beam: Rias has gained the ability to project a red light from her breasts, which recharges Issei’s energy. Each use of this power causes her breasts to temporarily shrink in size, which makes Issei cry even though it’s sometimes necessary. Her breast size will restore itself after a few days of rest.

Expert Tactician: Though outsmarted several times throughout the series, Rias has proven herself to be an excellent tactician and has saved her team along with others many times due to her profound intellect and her ability to handle unexpected difficulties calmly.

Flight: Being a Devil, Rias can fly using her wings.

Memory Alteration: Rias has shown that she has skills in memory alteration using it on Issei’s Parents.

Here is what we know about Mio from my lovely friends over at http://shinmaimaou.wikia.com/wiki/Mio_Naruse:

“Mio is a Demon who is the Demon Princess and next in line for the Demon Lord position. She is the daughter of the previous Demon Lord, the late Wilbert, and is the niece of Ramusas. She inherited her father’s abilities after his death and became aware of her heritage 6 months before meeting the Toujou family who unofficially adopt her and her retainer, Maria, into their family. Mio became Basara’s servant through the Master and Servant Contract.

When Mio was born, her father entrusted her to two demons to raise her on earth like a normal human girl in order to protect her from his enemies. However, this plan failed when her father died and her adoptive parents were killed by Zolgear, traumatizing Mio and leaving Maria as her only guardian.”

Mio 2

Mio’s powers include:

  • Gravity Magic: The signature ability of her father. Mio is capable of using the same gravity magic as her father, but not to the same extent. While her control of this magic is lacking, it’s raw power is still enough to easily crush any opponent, including a Heroic Spirit, albeit leaving her extremely exhausted afterwards.
  • Gravity Barrier: An ability Mio once used without even realizing it. By focusing her Gravity Magic, she creates a concentration of distorted gravity around herself, capable of blocking almost any attack.

Magic Expert: After discovering her Demon heritage, Mio trained with Maria for six months in the use of magic. Initially, her level of competency was of low-level, and she needed the assistance of Maria to perform more complicated spells and enchantments, with varying results of success. After further training, and frequent “subjugation” sessions with Basara, her power and skill have increased drastically, to the point that she could single-handedly destroy a Heroic Spirit in one attack.

  • Elemental Magic: Mio’s signature method of attack. She has displayed great skill in the use of natural elements, her most frequently used ones being lightning and fire.
  • Flight Magic: During the events of volume 7, Mio has shown the ability to fly via magic.

Master-Servant Contract: Though not one of her own abilities, the Master-Servant contract that Mio has with Basara is still considered a demonic power. As the first person who signed the contract with Basara, Mio has set time aside almost everyday to deepen her bond with Basara and increase her overall power with the contract. As such, her power has grown to the point that even after having the lion’s share of her power sealed off by Zolgear, Mio was still powerful enough to blow off his hand just by getting near it.

Sexual Resilience: As a result of her frequent “subjugation” sessions with Basara, Mio has acquired a high level of resilience to the aphrodisiac effects of the Master Servant contract. Though at the same time, she’s also gained an extremely, sexually sensitive body that makes being touched by another person difficult at times.

High-Level Charisma: As a pretty high school girl with an appealing body, Mio has often attracted unwanted attention from the opposite sex. But, she is able to use this attention to her advantage by getting the members of her fan club to work for her on occasion. For example, during the preparations for the school festival, Mio simply joined one of the departments with the least amount of people working on it, and half of the male population of the school followed her.

Two very formidable opponents if I do say so myself! Both are totally cute, and sexy, and childish all at the same time. I feel like Rias is a bit more sure of her powers while Mio still struggles with hers. But that doesn’t mean Mio should be taken lightly! Rias still has a lot to learn and will become quite skilled/powerful when the time comes (as if she isn’t already lololz). Mio seems like she might be a loose cannon, especially when it comes to Basara. I guess the same could be said of Issei and Rias! These two ladies have very very similar looks and character attributes. That’s why I stuck them together! I feel like this battle would be a pretty damn close call.

I think I may have to go with Rias on this one. Mainly due to her Crimson Extinct Dragonar. Which is a combination technique between Rias and Issei. Issei uses his Red Wyverns and they sync both of their auras and the Wyverns attach themselves to Rias to create her own female version of Issei’s Scale Mail. The armor acts just like Issei’s, boosting Rias’s abilities and giving her the ability to utilize Boost, Transfer, and Penetrate until she reaches her limit.

I want to hear your thoughts on this Face-Off battle! Who would you choose to win? Rias Gremory or Mio Naruse? Who do you think has the better set of magical skills? Do you think it could also turn out to be a draw? Let me know in the comments section below! 😀

Disclaimer: All imagery and photos come from searching for them on the internet. I have no claim or right to them.

Here we go.

Every otaku’s FAVORITE dreaded question…”What’s your favorite anime?”

Where does one even start with that quizzically imposing question? How do we tell our fellow non-otaku’s that the question they are asking is harder to answer than anything else in our tiny mundane weeaboo lives? How do we let them gently without anyone getting hurt?

The answer is…YOU DON’T. I’ve been thinking A LOT about said question over the last couple of days while visiting my family over the weekend. I even asked you guys over on Twitter (follow me here: https://twitter.com/paperpandabears) about this, (and while it only got 4 votes), many believe you can narrow down anime/manga to a favorite top ten list.

But for me personally, I don’t know if you REALLY can. Don’t get me wrong, in many instances you CAN narrow down anime/manga by a considerable margin, but in all retrospect I think it’s almost impossible to do.

Anime/manga can NEVER be perfect. Anime/manga series always contain some type of flaw; whether that be execution, character reliability, if it engages the viewer or not, etc etc. It all comes down to the viewers perception of the anime/manga. As I have stated many many times before, everyone has different taste. We are all wired differently! I may like said anime/manga while Jane Doe hates it. That is the nature of the game.

So here I am with the grandiose question…can we narrow down anime to a measly top ten manifest?

I tried Googling this question and was met with a selection of sites that talked about choosing the right anime to watch, which shows were top ten in their specific category, and how to rank your top ten anime. (Keep in mind this was just the first page on Google). I decided to check out some of these pages for myself.

Alfonso “Fonzy” Ortiz over on Honey’s Anime (http://blog.honeyfeed.fm/6-tips-for-choosing-anime/) had 6 tips for choosing the right anime if you are a newbie and don’t know where to start. I actually find these tips quite useful! He had some great points and I think even veterans of anime/manga can use these as well.

Dark_Sage over on Crymore (http://www.crymore.net/2012/12/24/how-to-rank-your-top-ten-anime-lists-v-fall-2012/) has some interesting concepts on how to rank your top ten. Basically, you make your list and then cut all the bullshit from that said list in order to come up with something MOST everyone can agree on. This concept mainly applies to seasonal anime/manga though, not every series/story as a whole.

And of course many web pages were dedicated to top ten list in “specific categories” from top ten fantasy anime, to top ten favorite siblings in anime, to even the top ten best anime boobs of all time. I couldn’t help but get a kick out of that one! XD

Revolutionary Girl UtenaThe only really useful article I found was on page 5 of my Googling. It was a blog post by Scott on Mechanical Anime Reviews (https://mechanicalanimereviews.com/2016/10/03/why-i-choose-not-to-have-a-favorite-anime/). In his post he went on to talk about why he DOESN’T have a favorite anime. He talks about seeing other people’s favorites on My Anime List and being jealous of not being able to narrow down his list to several favorites. He knew these series were good, if not great, but why stop at just choosing one? How could he solve his problem? This is what he states:

“To solve this problem, I just decided to not choose any of them.  It was the easiest solution to fixing this problem.  I continually watch more seasonal anime and anime that have long since aired so my pool of anime knowledge is always growing.  Knowing that the number of anime I’ve watched is nearing 500, why would I want to choose one anime to title as my favorite.  Anime is a diverse medium/art form and choosing one anime to represent my taste feels completely wrong.  Not even a top ten list would give me the capacity to do that.  Yes, there are some anime that I like much better than others, but in my repertoire, there are some that I consider on the same level for different reasons.” 

But then he faced another problem…how can you stand to compare “favorites” when all of them can be favorably, if not equally, better than one another? Having a favorite anime/manga means it is always facing uncertainty, because the next big thing could be right around the corner or not even released yet.

“My second problem with having a favorite is uncertainty.  When you watch something that is on a close level to being your favorite, how are you sure that the series that you decided is your favorite is still your favorite?  Unless you rematch your favorite series all the time to reinforce that it is, you don’t know for sure that it is.  A favorite is always based on bias, but a person’s taste changes over time.  After a while, when you rewatch a series that you consider a favorite for a long time, you might not feel the same way about it.  Then you wonder why you ever thought it was in the first place.  There is also a possibility that you like it even more for different reasons too.  It’s impossible to know.” 

I love how he ends his article! ❤

“Just know that when people ask me what my favorite shows are, I’m going to respond by saying “I haven’t watched enough yet.” 

In a way I wish we got to see more of Scott’s thoughts on this question. I felt like he could have really dove into the aspects of a “top ten favorite anime list,” but what he did state was 1000% how I feel about this question! You can come up with a top ten list now and I can GUARANTEE it will change 10 years down the line. I have a top ten favorites list myself currently, but know I already need to change it. There have been so many AMAZING anime release since I created it. Sometimes I feel like I can’t keep up! It’s exhausting.

Sometimes you just need to crawl under a rock and never come out! Other times you need to face the music and tell people how you really feel. My own personal ideals lie with the fact that you can narrow down a top ten list but in ALL types of categories. You know…favorite Sci-Fi, Mech, Film, Yaoi/Yuri, Ecchi, Fantasy, Psychological, etc…you guys get the point!

I feel like a favorite anime/manga is something that is protected by time, so with each year that passes anime/manga gets better. Kind of like how something is good for nostalgic purposes or what might be in store for our future selves. I DO feel like there is a PERFECT anime/manga out there for all of us and we will know when we watch/read it. It could have been already created or it could be coming out sometime in the future, but we will definitely know when we cross that threshold. It is something that makes us giddy inside or gives us goosebumps when we see/read it. I love that feeling!

What are your guy’s thoughts on this? Do you think it’s possible to narrow down anime/manga into a top ten list? Do you have a top ten favorite list already? Does it need some rework or will you leave it “as is” for now? Let me know your thoughts and opinions down below! 😀

P.S. This is my 101th blog post! HOLY GUACAMOLE! I can’t believe I have already created that many blog topics. *Does the happy dance* Thank you for being here my pandas! Your support is greatly appreciated!

Disclaimer: All imagery and photos come from searching for them on the internet. I have no claim or right to them.