50 questions

A list of 50 questions recently posted by AceRailgun has been making its way to various anime blogs, with the respective bloggers taking a shot at answering the questions. The questions are a mix of anime-related and personal questions. It looked like fun, so I decided to give it a go…

Back in 2010, I answered another list of anime/personal questions from a different source, but those questions were actually a lot more deep and personal than these. AceRailgun’s questions here are pretty straightforward and not too prying at all. I could have written a lot more for some of them, especially the ones asking about favorite anime characters, scenes, etc., but I tried to keep it brief.

I always enjoy reading posts where bloggers take a break from anime-related discussion and let their readers know a bit more about them personally. Being able to put a “bio” behind the blogger helps us connect with them better, whether they’re talking about anime-related topics or not. Despite never meeting them in person or even talking to them one-on-one, stuff like this allows us to “know” them as a person and not just what they have to say about anime. It makes for a more intimate blogging relationship in my opinion.

So, without further adieu, here are the questions along with my answers:

Questions about anime

1. Who is your favorite male anime character?
If we’re allowed to count characters that aren’t human, it would be Tony Tony Chopper from One Piece :3


“It was love at first sight when I first saw Chopper. Like all the One Piece characters, despite his odd looks on the outside, he has a lot going for him on the inside. He knew great abuse, rejection, and loss in his past, however, against all this he became skilled and developed dreams and goals. He rightly has some mistrust and resentment towards humans, but the selflessness and stark sense of justice that the other Straw Hats have rub off on him. Being once a normal animal himself, he’s also very sensitive to the feelings of other creatures. And he has some of the most humorously exaggerated reactions of fear, awe, and excitement. But despite this he can be a brave and serious fighter when provoked. He’s just the perfect character for my tastes.”from my 2009 list of favorite anime characters

2. Who is your favorite female character?
Haruhi Suzumiya~


“Whether you love her or hate her, there’s no doubt that Haruhi has had one of the biggest influences on anime fandom in recent years. I for one share in the love that so many fans have for her. I can see why she’s likened to some sort of goddess because of her wildly unpredictable character and the many sides of her unique, impulsive personality. She’s appealing not so much because she’s really compassionate or sympathetic, but because the things she does and believe are so outrageous, and her view of the world is so unusual, you can’t help but be drawn into her outpouring enthusiasm and self-confidence. There are no boundaries in life as far as she’s concerned, but she also has a ‘melancholic’ and deeper side to her too. The crazy and often bullying things that she does turn some people off, but the way I interpret it, Haruhi doesn’t do these things with any malicious intent; she sincerely believes that the world revolves around her every desire (oh wait, it does, doesn’t it?)”from my 2009 list of favorite anime characters

3. What is your favorite anime soundtrack?
If we’re talking specific soundtrack CDs and not just isolated songs, it would be the two Wolf’s Rain OSTs. Yokko Kanno and Mayaa Sakamoto work their magic…I still get chills every time I listen to “Tell Me What the Rain Knows.”

4. What is your favorite anime opening + animation?
A tough decision, but it’s still the the third Magic Knight Rayearth opening. It would be something different depending on whether I’m judging by visuals alone or by song alone. But this would be my favorite if I’m judging both equally. Nice song and it features a ton of things we love in anime – magical girls, bishonen, magic, swords, mecha, a cute mascot, pretty backgrounds – all in one OP.


5. What is your favorite anime ending song + animation?
“Hare Hare Yukai,” it will never die!

6. What is your favorite anime scene?
There are just too many…it’s hard enough picking a favorite series or character, but for every one of those there could be a ton of potentially favorite scenes! So I have to pass on this question.

7. If you could meet an anime character who would it be?
Another tough choice (though there are plenty of anime characters I would be afraid to meet!) I’d have to say C.C. from Code Geass. For someone who’s lived as many centuries and been through so much hell as she has, I’d like to have known more about it.

8. What anime character is most similar to you in terms of personality?
I believe that’s something only people who know me well could say. I think any character who’s shy and quiet but also kind and thoughtful, would be like me.

9. What is your favorite thing about anime?
Amazing variety of genres and storytelling techniques, a never-ending list of unique plot premises that range from brilliantly creative to ridiculously entertaining, heavy emphasis on character development and establishing intimacy between them and the audience, incredible setting, background, and story-timeline building for complex series, a diverse range of good songs and scores, sometimes good animation and often appealing character designs…and the list could go on =)

10. What is your least favorite thing about anime?
Dealing with people who are ignorant about it. And of course not every anime series is good, so watching a bad one can be annoying. But often pretentious, obnoxious, or just plain stupid anime fans get on my nerves more than any series or character.

11. Who are your favorite anime couple?
I’ve gone through many over the years, my strongest one being InuyashaxKagome from Inuyasha. Now I’m leaning towards HaruhixKyon.

12. Who is your favorite anime animal?
It would be Chopper again, but since I already picked him for #1, I’ll let Chi from Chi’s Sweet Home have this spot =^.^=

13. What anime would make a good game?
I think all the ones I can think of already have game releases…

14. What game would make a good anime?
I await the day Okami gets made into an anime. Game-to-anime adaptations don’t usually go over well, but gosh it would be gorgeous to watch.


A good studio would need to produce the animation though.

15. What was the first anime you ever watched?
Sailor Moon, dubbed on TV in 1995, years before I’d find out what anime is.

16. Do you think you’ll ever stop watching anime?
I don’t think so. My relationship with it might change over the years, like I’ll have different favorite series/characters or might not be able to watch it as often, but I doubt I’ll ever stop watching it and loving it.

17. What is your favorite genre of anime?
I like most genres but I guess I prefer series that are primarily slice-of-life but also incorporate themes of sci-fi and/or fantasy. Drama, romance, and/or comedy would be nice additives. Series like Haruhi, Shana, and Fruits Basket are examples.

18. What is your least favorite genre of anime?
Anything so heavy on fan-service/ecchi/hentai that it overrides a good plot and good characters. I don’t care for anime that specifically cater to yaoi/yuri either, though I don’t mind if yaoi/yuri pairings are present in anime I watch. I tend to avoid sports-themed anime too.

19. Are you open about watching anime with people you know?
Usually – all of my friends and relatives know I like it. Some coworkers have known it. At the very least, if I spend time with a person, they’ll know I like anime, but how much of a fan I’ll let them know I am depends on how comfortable I feel with them and how open-minded I feel they are. The more comfortable I feel with them, the more I’ll let my fan girl side show.

20. Have you ever been to Japan?
Yes, twice. Once in 2006 for a study abroad extension program, and in 2009 for a charity-funded sight-seeing trip.


With the two trips combined, I’ve spent a total of seven weeks in Japan.

21. What anime was the biggest let down for you?
I’m pretty tolerant with most anime and rarely go into a series with incredibly high expectations that were later shot. I suppose the few series I’ve dropped could be considered let-downs. One let-down I actually got through all the way would be Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu season 2. Even I thought the first season wasn’t very good so you can imagine how bad the second season must be!

22. What anime was better then expected?
For me, this would be Kannagi. The plot makes it sound terribly overused and cliche, but for some reason I found the characters, design, and overall feel of the show so appealing and enjoyable that it briefly became my favorite series. I read all there was of the manga, even raw because I couldn’t wait for translations! There really needs to be new manga chapters and/or a new anime to rekindle my interest!

23. What is the best anime fight scene?
There are quite a few, but I personally will never forget just about all the major battles in Naruto, particularly the one between Naruto and Sasuke towards the end of the first series.

24. Who is your anime waifu?
Is there an equivalent of this for male characters? If so, it would be Vash from Trigun :3

25. What was your favorite video game as a child?
I adored the 8-bit/16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog games on Sega Genesis and Sega Game Gear when I was a kid.

Questions about me

26. Most embarrassing moment?
Luckily I haven’t had too many of these. The ones I can think of involve me falling in front of people, once in middle school in front of my classmates and once when I was in Japan actually, walking in Asakusa when I slipped because the sidewalk was wet from the rain. In the former case I didn’t get hurt, but in the later one both my knees were very scrapped. I’m thankful it didn’t turn out worse than that, though.

27a. Can you drive?
Yes, I got my license in 2005. Unfortunately I’m not a big fan of driving and actually never learned to drive on freeways despite living in Los Angeles. The reason for this is that my mom, being from New York, didn’t grow up navigating freeways in LA, and by the time she moved out here she was too busy raising me as a single mom to become familiar with places in CA beyond the little suburban valley where we live. She also hates driving on the freeways in general, so I could never learn about them from her. So all my driving has just been confined to school, work, and places that don’t require the freeway. When I can get the money and motivation together, I plan to take driving lessons on the freeway one of these days.

27b. Do you own a car?
My mom and I share a car. I did have one of my own for a period of time, but when I moved away to college in 2007, I wasn’t using it and we decided to sell it since we couldn’t afford payments on two cars. My mom retired in 2008 though, and since she doesn’t like to go out much except for errands like grocery shopping, I can have the car most of the time.

28. Are you mature?
I would say so.

29. What year were you born?
1986.

30. Do you prefer cats or dogs?
I love all animals pretty much, but out of cats and dogs, I feel more comfortable with cats only because I’ve always had at least one cat my whole life and have never had a dog. I love dogs too and many of my friends and neighbors have had adorable dogs…but I get scared when dogs I don’t know bark at me.

31. Describe yourself physically.
Fairly tall and “big” for a woman but not necessarily “fat.” Big-boned maybe? I used to be noticeably overweight but I’ve been working hard these past few months to change that! I’ve lost 30 pounds since September and would now say I’m only slightly overweight ;)

32. What would you name your first child?
I don’t want to have children.

33. What is the worst injury you have ever had?
I’ve never had any serious injury ::knock on wood:: The worst physical injury I can think of is having a bad case of carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand due to spending too much time in an uncomfortable position on the computer. Luckily it went away on its own after a while.

34. What is your worse habit?
I don’t think I have any habits I’d call “bad” (anyone who knows me, feel free to correct this)

35. Do you drink or smoke?
Neither. I can’t stand the smell of smoke and I can’t ignore how often drinking is linked to people acting irresponsible and obnoxious. I prefer to get my “high” from substances that aren’t potentially addicting or damaging to my body. Something like anime for example =)

36. Do you have a tattoo?
No. I always prefer to keep my body as natural as possible (also why I don’t wear make-up or dye my hair).

37. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Morning definitely. I can never sleep in past 9-10am no matter what day it is and I always go to bed around midnight except for some rare occasions. My mom’s a morning person too and we’re usually done with things like eating breakfast, going shopping, doing some house chores, etc., before noon XD

38. Have you ever slept past midday?
The only time I’ve slept past 10am is when I was very sick.

39. Do you regret anything?
Countless things, most small and insignificant to my life, a few not so much. I don’t feel like going into detail, but I will say some good can come from regrets – the ability to learn from your mistakes, with the sting of regret making you stronger.

40. Can you count the number of friends you have on one hand?
Best friends, just about. Other friends, it would take two hands. Everyone else I would consider an acquaintance. I choose the people I consider friends wisely and would rather have few but true friends than many unreliable, “fair-weather” friends.

41. Do you wear glasses?
Yes, by my senior year of high school I couldn’t function without them on 24/7. Years of playing Pokemon games and working on my web site have made me terribly near-sighted.

42. Are you a picky eater?
I used to be but not really anymore. I have things I like and don’t like but nothing extreme. I could eat the same thing everyday for years or eat different things all the time. The only thing weird about my eating is that I don’t like sweet things like fruit and candy.

43. Would you die for someone?
I don’t think so, not at this time anyway. Kind of a hard thing to say until the situation actually arises.

44. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Two things: I want to fly, and I’d also like some kind of time-control. Not necessarily time-travel but something like giving my life a rewind, fast-forward, and pause button XD

45. Do you believe in the supernatural?
Yes, to an extent.

46. Would you rather be rich or famous?
Most definitely rich. I don’t want to be famous; you lose a great deal of privacy and control over your life and those are things I value. I wouldn’t mind being famous among a small niche of people though, like among anime fans.

47. Have you ever committed a crime?
No, though I do recall stealing an animal-shaped eraser from a school book fair when I was like, five years old. I did regret it when I got older though.

48. Pirates or ninjas? Time traveler or ghost?
I don’t have a preference really. These themes don’t matter to me as much as how well one handles them in an anime XD

49. Does someone have a crush on you?
I wonder.

50. Are you in a relationship?
No, but it would be nice to find the right guy. When I was younger I didn’t care, but the older I get the more I see how difficult life can be without someone to help and share it with, especially for someone like me whose only real family member is my mom.

—–

That’s all for the questions. Hope you enjoyed them! I’ll be back with another new post next week~

Other bloggers’ 50 questions:
AceRailgun
Nopy
Inushinde
dai1313
lostty
Tofu
Tsurugiarashix
Kai
Overlord-G
thehippiefreak
Yerocha
Marth
Yamadipati
Mystia
Cely_belly
Marina

No Comments… read them or add your own.

  1. AceRailgun says:

    Good answers. It’s interesting to find out a bit more about the people I see around the blogs everyday.

    I’d totally watch an Okami anime. If done right i’m sure it would be a hit.

    • Yumeka says:

      If not done right, I fear an Okami anime would be boring for anyone who’s not a big fan of the game. But if given gorgeous artwork and fluid animation, that alone might be enough to carry it =)

  2. Cely_belly says:

    I agree with number 10 – they can be annoying. Why didn’t I think of that? XD

  3. KRILL says:

    Interesting. Lists, EVERYBODY loves lists! My favorite characters would have to be Kakashi for a dude and for a chick it would be… Hinata. What a cutie! I am biased to Naruto obviously.

    Yea, the only person I could die for is my family and one special lady that things have been very off and on with over the last 4 years. To that extent, I hope you meet that special someone. It’s kind of stressful but it’s nice to have someone you can confide in and spend a romantic moment with *wink* *wink* You might even decide to have children when you meet the love of your life. It tends to be fulfilling. If you only have one or two children your basically just replacing your lives when they end, and over population is less of a problem in developed nations if that was any concern.

    Oh and congratulations on the weight loss. Hope it continues to go well!

    • Yumeka says:

      Kakashi and Hinata are great characters. Kakashi was actually my first favorite Naruto character before Rock Lee, Shikamaru, and Gaara were given a lot of character development. But he’s still awesome!

      Overpopulation isn’t the only reason I don’t want to have kids (though it is one). I’d prefer a lifestyle as free of stress, dirty work, expenses, etc,. as possible and I know I won’t have that with kids. Having worked with kids for two years at my old job, I really don’t enjoy being with them that much. I just want to have pets :3

  4. nerdyberry says:

    Excellent read. I’ve always enjoyed perusing your blog. From what I’ve read, you sound like a strong person. You are your own person and don’t live your life under the pressures and constraints that society places on us (it’s refreshing, this is coming from another 20something female). Your decisions about not having children , not changing your body, and sharing your hobby with the world reflect this. I respect that. :: insert virtual high five here ::

    • Yumeka says:

      Thank you so much for the compliments about me and my blog ~^_^~

      By the way, I see you sent me a friend request on MAL way back in 2010. I didn’t know who you were back then, but now I do, so I’ll be glad to befriend you there.

  5. Mushyrulez says:

    Heh, I’d probably answer the first 25 questions with ‘undecided’, ‘I don’t know’, or ‘they’re all good/bad’, and the next 25 questions with ‘nope’ or ‘unsure’.

    :v that’ll do for an interesting 50 answers.

  6. Hm, four years older than me. Would of never of guess it. #3 is also an interesting choice; since I remember the series but vaguely of the music. Sounds good though. Also guessed it, but nice to see your also a fan the Pokemon games (very excited to see what Black and White 2 will be like).

    • Yumeka says:

      I think Marina from Anime B&B and I, both born in 1986, are the oldest out of all the bloggers who answered the 50 questions. I haven’t looked at everyone’s post though so I can’t say for sure.

      Yeah, I’ve been consistently playing Pokemon games since 1999 and haven’t stopped loving them since ^.^ I’m also excited about Black 2 and White 2.

  7. Myna says:

    Haven’t played the Ookami games yet, but I’ve always liked what I’ve seen.
    Congrats on the weight loss! That’s pretty impressive!

    I enjoyed reading this. I always like getting to know more about the actual bloggers themselves, too. :)

    (I hope you read mine as well~)

    • Yumeka says:

      If you have a Wii or PS2, you should definitely give Okami a try. I think you’ll like it. At the very least, if you have a DS (which I’m sure you do since you play Pokemon), you can play the sequel, Okami-den.

      I enjoyed reading your 50 questions too~

  8. Soran says:

    nice answers to those questions,i can only say you r really a nice fine person,i share most of the answers you gave,and i do hope for you to find someone,as fine as you are to share your burdens, we r still young,but i do think children are life fulfilling, even though i’m a guy..some tend to make fun of me because of my thinking..but i’ve been near children in my life,by taking care of my little bro and sis and kids from my realatives….i learned cooking,doing, well as some would say non-manly things,i couldn’t afford much freedom,not had time to make friends..but if i think about it,i have no regrets,those kids were and r stll my life,and wouldn’t even think twice before giving my life for them..

    • Yumeka says:

      Thanks for the kind words. Sounds like you have a beautiful relationship with your kids, which is awesome. As for me, like I said to Krill above, I just don’t enjoy interacting with kids and my ideal lifestyle is free of stress, interruptions, extra expenses, noise, and many things that unfortunately can be attributed to raising children. I’ve always enjoyed the company of animals though, so I think I’ll have cats and/or dogs instead.

  9. Overlord-G says:

    Interesting answers for both sections. I could see myself chilling out in a mocha shop or any other hipster’s lair (That sounded so sad) with you had we been born in the same country.

    • Yumeka says:

      Yeah, it’s too bad many of the fellow anime fans we talk to online are spread all over the world and can’t easily get together in person.

      By the way, I saw that you also commented on many of my older posts too. Since I didn’t reply to those, I’ll just say thanks here =)

  10. Marina says:

    Ack, I really need to get around to watching Wolf’s Rain since I’ve seen it highly praised in numerous places.

    I’m also curious (forgive me if you’ve already talked about this) if you’re watching Poyopoyo. Seeing that you enjoy Chii’s Sweet Home, you might want to consider Poyo as well :3

    • Yumeka says:

      I’m biased, but I highly recommend Wolf’s Rain if you’re looking for a great adventure/drama/fantasy series that can effortlessly leap from deep and beautiful to grim and violent. Oh, and lovely music and animation too.

      I am watching Poyo actually. Not as good as Chi but still a fun little show. I love that Poyo is voiced by Ikue Ohtani (she’s the voice of Pikachu).

  11. Kal says:

    Oh my gosh! you do not like sweet!! Blasphemy :P Just kidding, it’s just quite shocking. Somehow the rest of the rest of the answers kind of fit with the image I had of you. Nice answers though, and like others said above, you seem like a very nice person.

    OST, I cannot forget all the songs in Tsubasa Reservoir chronicles. Yuki Kajiura is just too good :) I love your choice as anime opening. Magic knight rayearth opening is really nice. Enjoyable post, not sure I could take the time to answer all that without writing a book. I tend to be wordy when typing… Which is my queue to stop writing here :P Good post.

    • Yumeka says:

      Thanks~ ^_^

      It is weird that I don’t like sweet things…I never even liked candy when I was a kid, which was a good thing for my teeth (and overall health) of course. Even for fruit, there are only a few that I like. The one sweet thing I do really like is chocolate however =P

  12. Nopy says:

    Regarding Inuyasha, I could never decide between Inuyasha x Kagome and Inuyasha x Kikyou, they were both tragic in a way. Kyon x Haruhi is cute too, but could they really be considered a couple? Sure, Kyon did kiss Haruhi in the end, but they never went on an official date or anything.

    • Yumeka says:

      I was always into InuyashaxKagome as it just didn’t seem feasible that he would end up with Kikyou. Speaking from a narrative perspective, it would be a big let down if so much time was spent on developing his relationship with Kagome only for him to go back to Kikyou in the end. Plus I tend to like when both parties are “tsundere” about their relationship with the other, as Inuyasha and Kagome often were.

      I like shipping KyonxHaruhi but I don’t feel they’re a confirmed couple yet. But if you’ve read as far into the original light novels as I have, there’s a lot of evidence that they may indeed end up together XD

Leave a Comment

*