Over the years I’ve met all kinds of anime fans, both in real life and online, who love anime in different ways. I’ve come to realize that there are perhaps two main relationships to anime that fans could have…
How understandable is anime iconography?
June 21, 2010 by 29 Comments
The immortal sweat drop
We all know that anime utilizes a lot of unique animation techniques, stylized facial expressions, and iconography to emphasize certain character emotions and story points. These elements make anime stand out among Western animation, but I was wondering, just how universal is our beloved anime iconography? Could the techniques actually work against them as far as acquiring a wider range of appeal?
Why do we like anime songs?
June 18, 2010 by 40 Comments
For any anime we watch, chances are we’ll take an interest in the songs for that series, particularly the openings and endings. Many of us, myself included, become quite enamored with anime songs to the point of listening to them everyday and memorizing the lyrics. I’ve often wondered why we develop attachments to anime songs, especially when we usually can’t understand the words and they often have nothing to do with the show itself…
The experience of watching anime with my mom
June 11, 2010 by 25 Comments
My mom’s favorite anime
Although there are plenty of exceptions, most anime fans are teenagers or young adults. As with other things, the generation gap makes it difficult for older people to get into something like anime…
Anime – blurring the distinction between masculine and feminine
June 9, 2010 by 23 Comments
In a week and a half from now, my gig as an anime enrichment teacher for the local YMCA will come to an end. After spending nine months at thirteen different elementary schools and experiencing well over 200 kids’ reactions to anime I’ve shown them, I’ve come to an interesting realization…
Reminiscing about my anime crushes
June 4, 2010 by 26 Comments
He was my dream man
I’m sure many of us do, or at least did at some point in our fandom, develop crushes on certain anime characters…
Appyling “The Laws of Anime” to the anime of now
May 19, 2010 by 16 Comments
Anyone who began their anime fandom in the early 2000s or sooner may remember “The Laws of Anime”…
How important is originality in anime?
May 17, 2010 by 10 Comments
I’ve heard it said that most anime, even some of the best loved series, are in fact cliche and unoriginal. I’m sure many would agree that the majority of moe/harem/fan service anime that have come out in recent years are annoyingly cliche, but it can even be applied to shonen, shojo, slice-of-life, and other genres…
The dichotomy between your real and online self
May 14, 2010 by 7 Comments
Guess you’d only know the significance of this picture if you watch Durarara!!
I’m sure many of us have thought about this before…
Is there any type of anime character you dislike?
May 10, 2010 by 37 Comments
I’ve spent much time discussing my favorite anime characters, but I’ve rarely written about characters I dislike (probably because there are not that many in comparison). So today I’ll be looking at what there is to dislike about certain types of characters, as well as my personal dislikes…