Archives for March 2010

There are two types of character development in anime…

When asked what one of the most appealing aspects of anime is, fans will usually mention character development. However, I’ve often wondered exactly what defines character development, at least in terms of anime narratives. Over the years, I’ve come up with two prominent types of anime character development, though I’m still debating whether that’s what they should both be called…

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Hanamaru Kindergarten review

Probably the cutest show to come out so far this year, Hanamaru Kindergarten attests to GAINAX’s flexibility with different genres of anime besides mecha. Twelve episodes wasn’t enough to get me extremely attached, but the show will definitely be missed…

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Kobato review

An anime series based on CLAMP’s relatively new manga, Kobato comprises many themes common in CLAMP works, even a number of crossover characters. However, while not one of their best, it is a cute and pleasant show if you can overlook its flaws…

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Sora no Woto review

So ends the initially dubbed “Military K-ON!” anime which, though not a spectacular series, was fairly enjoyable…

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To Aru Kagaku no Railgun review

Railgun wasn’t originally on my list of shows to watch for the fall ’09 season, but after hearing nothing but good things about it, I decided to check it out. I’ve been marathoning it over the past month and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it…

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So it’s my birthday today…

This is actually the first post I’ve written on my birthday even though I’ve had the blog for my past three birthdays. Since this particular year has been pretty eventful for me (and for want of something better to write about at the moment), I decided to give it ago…

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Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver review (part 1)

I’ve finally played through enough of my U.S. copy of Soul Silver to write a proper review. Since Heart Gold and Soul Silver are the longest Pokemon games thus far, I decided to split my review for them into two. The first one here will cover the first half of the game in the Johto region…

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Is it weird to like anime characters more than actors?

The Academy Awards have once again come and gone, and once again I find that I have very little interest. The reason? Because I don’t watch any current American TV shows or movies (besides Disney/Pixar movies). Why not? Because, in all honestly, I just can’t get into live-action actors/actresses as much as anime characters…

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Five improvements for the next generation of Pokemon games

Tomorrow, Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver will be released in the U.S., the last games of the current 4th generation. The next games to come out later this year will mark the beginning of Pokemon’s 5th generation, with new pokemon and new features. As I eagerly anticipate getting my copy of Soul Silver tomorrow, I’ve been thinking about some improvements I’d like to see in the upcoming 5th generation…

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Communal Japan vs individualistic America


Not a Hetalia post, just used some screencaps X)

Now that I’ve had some years of experience studying and being immersed in Japanese culture, one particular thing that’s always fascinated me about Japan when compared to America is the sense of communality that permeates many aspects of the country. Japan’s emphasis on the communal is quite contrasting to America’s emphasis on individuality…

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