As I’ve been doing since 2009, I’m once again participating in the anime blogsphere’s “12 Moments of Anime” project where we post our personal twelve biggest anime-related moments of the year throughout the month of December. As always due to lack of time, I’ll be posting my 12 moments all on one post here…
Mixing slice-of-life with plot in anime
A few posts ago I wrote about anime that mix comedy into their otherwise dramatic stories. Today I’ll be writing about a similar concept of anime that have a number of stand-alone “slice-of-life” stories despite having an established plot they could be progressing instead…
What makes an anime memorable?
Last month, hoshiko wrote a post discussing certain qualities of anime she feels make them memorable. While I’m sure we can all think of things that make an anime “good,” I think the traits that make an anime “memorable” are different…
Anime’s three “building” categories
An interesting thought occurred to me recently in terms of how anime series are structured. It seems that most anime series focus on “building” one out of three narrative aspects – either building the story, building the characters, or building the world. Some focus on two out of three, a few manage to focus equally on all three – but it’s intriguing to think about which of the three each series is most concerned with…
Examining the weak-willed anime male lead
A recent post by lostty over on Anime Princess discussed the ever prominent fan activity of bashing anime’s many weak-willed male leads. lostty considers most hate for these guys “unjust.” I tend to agree and would like to examine why…
My favorite anime character trope – examining the tsundere
Naming one’s favorite anime series or characters isn’t hard, but favorite anime character trope isn’t something we always think about, nor is it something an anime fan necessarily has. As a matter of fact, tropes could be something an anime fan dislikes since they’re likely to go hand-in-hand with cliches and pandering. But for those of us who don’t mind having our tastes catered to once in a while, we can’t help but notice character tropes in anime, and perhaps appreciate one…
Should any anime be called a “classic”?
Just as there are numerous books, movies, songs, and other cultural works considered “classics” by many, I’ve often wondered if certain anime should be labeled in a similar way…
Can anime affect our personality?
An interesting post via MkMiku questions whether anime, and our attachment to certain characters, can in fact influence our personality in real life…
Anime and the power of inner thoughts
One of the unique ways in which anime is written when compared to other forms of TV and movie entertainment, is how often the audience is given insight into a character’s inner thoughts and feelings. There are many examples of anime from a variety of genres where viewers get to hear what the character is thinking to him/herself (while the other characters cannot hear it). I believe that this method of letting the audience inside characters’ inner thoughts is a big part of anime’s appeal, especially in the character development department…