Archives for November 2010

To be generic, or to be unique?

A recent post by Valence got me thinking about “generic anime vs unique anime.” Even though many fans, myself included, admit that most anime produced nowadays has a generic plot with cliche character archetypes, we’re still drawn to them. What makes anime appealing even though it’s become much like other forms of media entertainment – formulaic and driven by popular tropes…

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1,500 words in defense of moe

I’ve tackled the moe debate indirectly in previous posts, but I haven’t yet went head on with it. So here I go, a post of 1,500 words about why moe does not deserve the negative treatment that many Western anime fans give it…

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I’m thankful for anime

For my fellow American anime fans, today is Thanksgiving, a day to spend time with family, eat good food, and contemplate all that you’re thankful for…

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A small history of drawings

For the past five to six years, my field of academic interest has been Japanese language and culture, which was brought about by my love for anime. However, that was not the case for most of the years of my life. In fact, for quite a long time I thought my career would follow not the language and culture of anime, but its visual medium – animation and cartooning…

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An in-depth look at an anime fan

Back in 2009, Reverse Thieves launched a project called The Otaku Diaries in which they interviewed a number of anime fans about their personal lives and relationship to anime. I would have liked to participate in the project, but I didn’t find out about it until after it was over. After reading all the questions that were asked via digitalboy posting his answers to the interview, I’ve been wanting to give it a try…

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My top 10 favorite anime songs

After writing editorial/analytical posts the past few weeks, I figured it’s time to take a break and return to good ‘ol fan-gushing posts. I haven’t done a list of favorites in a while, so here’s one that I’ve always wanted to do – my top 10 favorite anime songs…

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Thoughts on dubbed anime


Fruits Basket – one of the best dubs ever

Despite what we may think nowadays, the majority of us got our start with anime through dubs on TV, whether it was shows like Astro Boy and Voltron in the old days, Pokemon and Dragon Ball in the semi-old days, or Cowboy Bebop and Inuyasha in the newer days. Ever since anime began to be recognized as a medium that should be separated from typical cartoons and not necessarily be edited and Americanized, most non-kids anime, especially DVD-only releases, have had dubs that stay faithful to the Japanese script. So what is it about dubbed anime that spawns so much debate?…

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How does one love an anime character?

We all have our reasons for why we love certain anime more than others. But what about that very important component that often determines whether we’ll even like an anime or not – the characters. Just as we have our specific tastes when it comes to our favorite anime, we all have our character preferences. But how exactly do we describe the love we feel for certain characters?…

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The appeal of the anime “short skirt plus long leggings” look

Skirts blowing in the wind is always a nice touch.

Not too long ago, while I was showing my mom a video of May’n and Megumi Nakajima’s Budokan concert, she made an interesting comment about their outfits. She said that she found the combination of a miniskirt plus long boots, tights, stockings, etc., to be an attractive look. This got me thinking about what an expected, and almost overly generic, appearance this style has become for the average anime female character…

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A series of mini-reflections on OreImou and otakuism

The five episodes of OreImou that have aired so far have given me a number of otaku-related subjects to ponder. This post is a collection of six short essays about specific topics that OreImou has made me reflect on, both in terms of the show itself, as well as my own personal experiences…

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