Archives for February 2010

“How” do you watch anime?

I put “how” in quotations because I’m not discussing how you watch anime in terms of subs vs dubs, bittorent or streaming, etc,. Rather, I’m curious as to how my fellow fans watch anime in terms of two things in particular – one, your ideal setting for watching anime, i.e., by yourself or with friends, on the computer or TV, at night or during the day, etc., and two, do you prefer to watch currently airing shows once a week, marathon older shows a bunch of episodes at a time, or some combination of both…

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Nostalgia: remembering old school video games

Lately I’ve been indulging in the wonders of emulators – programs that allow you to play old video games from various consoles on your computer. Back in the 90s when I was a kid and before I knew about anime, I spent the majority of my free time engrossed in video games. And even to this day, thanks to emulators, I’ve discovered that I still love old school games, sometimes even more so than new games…

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Determining my 10 favorite anime studios

About three weeks ago, I wrote a post listing my 50 favorite anime. Last week, Scamp over on The Cart Driver analyzed his own list of favorites based on animation studio. I realized that I had never really thought about my favorite anime studios even though it’s one of the first things I look at when deciding to watch a new series. Thus, I was inspired to look back at my 50 favorite anime and, based on those, decide on my favorite studios…

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Is frequently changing anime OPs and EDs a new trend?

I’ve noticed that, for a handful of recent anime, a trend has been going on in which the openings and/or the endings are changed more frequently than usual. I’m curious if this is just a coincidence or if it’s pointing to something more…

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Animism and “non-human” characters in anime

There’s a certain trope that’s quite popular in anime, though not so common in Western TV shows and movies – the abundance of characters who embody animism, with human traits and often human form, but are not human…

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Happy Valentine’s Day from Mainichi Anime Yume!

It’s now Valentine’s Day here in the U.S. Just wanted to wish you all a happy one. It’s just another day for me, but I like the feeling of love in the air. If you have a special someone, I hope you’re able to have a nice time with them today ~^_^~

The end of “The Melancholy” of Haruhi Suzumiya

Now that the 2009 rebroadcast/second season is over and the much anticipated “Disappearance” movie has proven to be quite successful, it seems that Haruhi’s popularity continues despite the three year wait for new episodes and the “Endless Eight” fiasco. However, an interesting discussion came up on this AnimeSuki forum post – the fact that “The Disappearance” movie may be the final installment of the title known as “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”…

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How do you keep up your Japanese studies after graduation?

I have now gone half a year without any formal Japanese study after taking it up to advanced level at my university. Although I don’t feel like I’ve forgotten too much yet, what with my daily exposure to anime and my sheer willpower to keep it in my head, I wonder how long I’ll be able to keep it up…

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The common themes of anime songs

One (of many) things about anime that’s always stood out to me since I became a fan is the songs. No matter what the nature of the anime in question is, with relatively few exceptions, the majority of anime opening and ending songs, more often than not, have common themes…

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The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is out! (here’s a sneak peek)

“The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya” (Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu) has now been officially released in Japanese theaters, with the first showing today at 8:00am JST. Current news and fan reviews are coming in via AnimeSuki and other sites. Unfortunately, it may be many months before a DVD will come out and allow those of us outside Japan to watch it. So for those of you who have not read the novel and want to find out at least a little of what happens in the story, I’ve complied a “sneak peek” on this post…

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