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    LucyHeartfilia22
    Latest Entry

    Choose which one you think would win a fight against Goku!

  1. So... @SoullessMarshmallow already did an entry on this topic, but thank god it wasn't copyrighted. So here I go.

    There was this guy I met online. He's an AWESOME friend, and when it comes to anime we're basically best buds. So I finally met him in real life after discovering that he was in the same school as I was in. So we kinda started talking, but the convo lasted only a minute. Afterwards I literally ignored him and he ignored me too. All he would do was stare at me. Finally, one day I couldn't take it anymore and asked him why he only stares at me but doesn't talk. And he just responded that he doesn't stare at me, but somebody else. Seriously, I mean, who  DOES THAT?!

    After that we kinda just ignored each other at school but online I was literally telling him EVERYTHING that has been going on with my life. And yeah, we were literally awesome friends online, but in real life... Well, it gets really awkward when he's even ten feet near me.

    Then this one day at school I confessed to him and like everyone, and I literally mean EVERYONE, heard my confession. Now I'm literally being laughed at and it's really hard to avoid those guys.

    So I kinda lost my Instagram (aka I cannot DM anyone anymore since I use Instagram on PC instead of my phone) and now I got "someone" (*cough* @I.Zara2006 *cough*) to talk to him. Now this "someone" told him that I want to talk to him in school. And... Things got REALLY out of hand. Everyday I'm LITERALLY playing Hide 'n Seek with him after we're done with our exams and everyone's just, like, milling around the campus. This was really embarrassing for me.

    After he rejected me I kinda backed out. But now, I feel like I'm not in his "friend circle" or "trustworthy circle" anymore. I just want to be good friends with him. But now, I'm so stressed out about this situation that I CAN'T. THINK. STRAIGHT.

    I did not put any "important" details in here, since he MIGHT be reading this. Who knows?

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    Ok so maybe we all had been ignored by someone or at least once. Or maybe some people never got ignored ( those who are luck). Sometimes it feels like i am the only person on earth. Sometimes It seems like no one can't even see you!! Or they just don't know you. The reason why  i am writing this to tell you all how a person feels when someone ignores him or her. So there  a girl who writes about me in her diary. My read her diary before so they told what was going on.... she Wrote that i am weird..ok so maybe i am little bit weird and she wrote that i i have a wicked plan. People just think that i am just annoying! Well sometimes people play jokes and that goes a bit too far. Ok so Once i went to one of my friend and said, "hi whaat are you doing?" She just ignored, then i waved my hand in front of her face but it seemed couldn't see me...

    I FEEL LIKE I AM JUST INVISIBLE NO ONE CAN SEE ME! people who are having the same problem i want to say that if someone ignores you should ignore them too! Cause someone doesn't give you credit! You are you no one has to tell who you are! 

    Love yourself and others who are kind hearted!😊

  2. I've been away for quite awhile, mostly because I don't know what to do with the state of my health. I'm used to being chronically ill, but ever since December I've had acute illness after illness, as soon as one leaves I get another. My lungs still have not fully recovered from the bronchitis I developed before Christmas, even. Just this past week I had a stomach virus, and the very day the virus started to improve I came down with a sinus infection which resulted in my face swelling as if a golf ball had grown in it and I was completely unable to chew food. I decided to stop waiting until I "feel better" to get online, because I no longer have any idea of if or when that will be.

    Along with my health there have been a couple other factors that have kept me from getting online, one being that we've started having frequent power outages due to storms, where the power will go out sometimes multiple times a week for 20-36 hours. And, because one of my hedgehogs, Wendy, passed away three weeks ago. It's been really hard. She passed away much younger than expected, most likely due to some hidden health complications due to an infection she had as a baby. I am a person who gets majorly attached to animals, especially my own pets, so it's hit me hard. For the first week and a half I just completely isolated myself while I dealt with the grief. But, I'm trying to push myself to get back out there, because I know it's not good for my depression to stay like that.

    However, there is some good news! Five weeks ago my family adopted three cats:

    mPKSa1F4Cl8jb6GRjRegBeJk1Dlr71xGZRfJ1oH6_Mcfrbis5yZXaDAsVMEU1_qxTGmhyP8Gq8XVIEOwfq0i8apyvARzsYrG6kGKIOY-k-7YRkE_LzFqZg82TM2bB7427JsrZAzx385kz2mqNNPQNWdFQZODgVHIKr71t0GIO2cK4aiBOwuVOp9zicUj75NwZOJi2dmGv4Oj3x1ik9-R4cwxQvxbVMmRjbbdwRFSQxs_SRJGw6W2SHPlL-neJhyx2DoNIdtm-fpbgzpr0kyjBzrzxFQvStIDktc_rRsWDla7RT13n-9Fcz_vakfN1ecdGwm32iFCaTGDmlCKPskI0i8jVSIP4Ym9Pvu-PfuvsYmrYUfXDivjq4AqsADE8IJBslaN2l0QJCm3QcECFqfzWqHWjzOTX0PYZ-9tNGcE0XHTRvBo9QQFUiD-bZeiDgUJjasvzh7W2l0M_CxccnyVX--K8e0h0O-EVeCe4Cfj-gVL6dmGUImqLEJ_6-9fZjEty3alb4cdVkdchLYT0VKacaXTW06KkGBSpsXFAmx-AMI0q56zQ2H0jaOjJxKfEqlnLI7jjEb3n8AsndBSjq2pLyhdmG09NBYzgA3dsUiW=w1282-h769-no

    Pooka is goofball who always wants to either cuddle, play, or find some trouble to get into. He's my younger sister's cat and he will wake her up by biting her face, she has taught him to sit on command, he doesn't quite know how to meow but chirps instead, get stuck behind the dryer, tries to jump into the spinning ceiling fan, and enjoys scaring me by running up and wrapping himself around my legs to hear me scream.

    HR2oLLfHtP7dH4eGD6gTJr44oIgF8wCKdlTgLUrH6W9bZ3jajiPyB6lrxKkOCa_P3_XuNf3GxD-BGBla0sPcEx06XM57jqYDR-Y_KfMDGsejAmgTWY42dLKDvVopcY8p3oK6oVzWyoS-MTH0mTF1B4KdiIbrzH9-Qq2o2w3urUQ2hhcnqGtRMQJyVYTqyqSqoQDguPcJ1RtRXCWhuJPpQCpP2iLcjNkV5BAswGTMSxCkQMxrxIoln12woR4XUY3t3KOFMHbDB9bYwPnfqTroJU23wRs3aiz413p1IoAQyJkWDEkAg2_dkCSbST9I6-g2YsxyLmUJ-6xa8SjzVqE6f5RIJC59PHeWwQ0COYSWAz98cExS3UQkLYayiSSLkrCz5dn-cDCzrazP72On75Cktl4dSHz6X5cuZO1ia99XmkTWRi9_BViFRav0PBtRj_SeTHCdpo98FomFei6A1Oq0lZ8Fix7TzCYTyZxKRZz8sw29DynK2hnYgxulUE40nfZUPY1Uoz9wU6p3FaDGKSEk1aPOZgrRdxdU1-oU_A8a6uFUXhcvLmpwKieXSG6nUp5ee77-jBLUCSt2j8pADP0Zg6mhtHWA_BIZNCNFYd-S=w1282-h769-no

    Hunk is a sweet big boy, who is largely bonded to my older sister and parents. He's 15lbs and a healthy weight, but on a strict diet because he is obsessed with food and will gorge himself if you let him. After finishing his own serving of food he will search the house for more, often trying to steal the hedgehog's food. While he doesn't like to be held, and doesn't like to be petted too much he does enjoy chin and face scratches. He also loves to sit beside people on the couch while they read or watch TV. He gets scared easily, and if an object is reflecting the least bit of light he will bop it with his paw, sometimes jumping away before bopping it again, until he is satisfied it won't attack him.

    4GK1y5DsH1OKU4VDR12kOsapj8ot23L78CM-jGoQ-bbtDN8K8n8pTZqnnKOuhqku5pj6OxOUMzX52J2E4FTGHOBbDrXkEi6D_JLcfAJkoSmPm0XZSTgA6ZKLZwOW-Fi_-Ke4pe8sIS10XkJckhRVixQvFharE5rrR4tVvdONgOZKuRjC6LJIvgb5wLSQ8y97Dv4ub-vABmWmb8xp-bzQ7S69DNPzJbROt1AbNndmmbHRKss-IqjI1ABsnVOeZGcAO2gJ4ZAB7sew8JItbe8myG0VV8SXBT6B3C4heEZRCbW-qNi46_znEk7aSe9IbLdMM-GEQe-5p7ZJmW8Uw7m1qoSBKAlVKaSRjz9ZDPYaTkGz9HD1X3KsqKiPyFegA9znLb_8oLSGGBNZ2sUvUFKwF6oLWXhtyT9poaKYuNOfbmHe8pOJ1bZjQ1yLxEJeK25Mm4RmQjx0EOxKPFvx56lF-Xpn-X7PVCeReR1gJm8IbYZ5zMfBBgh6_2ENqYAWI68dlws8rDuWNKts4nTU2sjx_ttWO3Js-J7N-gArt2-0qPhAoWDr16sZG7C5f1BRApSwgKDX8tx58aSl2xAArEqJhEOJflypxqo6L0w-2o1U=w1282-h769-no

    Izuku is my baby and I am absolutely in love with him. He is the sweetest darling who would never hurt or scratch anyone. He loves to talk, he's always having a conversation loudly meowing. Most mornings he is my alarm clock. He is happiest cuddled up in bed sleeping with his head resting on my legs, but he also loves looking out the window, sleeping under the bed, or on top of the piano or bookcase. He will come running if I shake the treat bag. He loves to play, especially with his brothers. He will try to coax them to play by bopping or wrestling with them. He has the loudest purr, and getting attention makes him beyond happy. He's such a darling! <3 

    Anyways, guys, that's all for now! I hope I can catch up on the forums tomorrow, goodnight!

  3. CasseyFujiwara
    Latest Entry

    Yooo Minna~SAN!!

    Current Anime being watched: Steins;Gate

    Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance, Mystery (from what I've seen)

    Recommend it? OF COURSE!

    It tells the story of Okabe Rintarou a self-proclaimed mad scientist along with his fellow "Lab Members" as they fight an organization in the future (terminator vibes eh), well anyways.. this is a must watch for everyone, though some may not understand it then watch it and you'll understand why I'm saying that this anime is outstanding (you could already understand what I'm saying just by looking at the show's ratings.) There's also some romance, that's pretty awesome if you ask me, though I've already watched the movie and have not watched the series full yet (which is pretty much one of the most stupid things that could happen) but I guess I have a Spoiler Paradox if that's what it's called, or maybe it was just my stupidity cause actually I thought the I was watching the first thing and I really thought that it was a movie, and the thing is I discovered that it was really the last of the franchise.

    Rating: 9/10 (I wanna stay true to the MAL Rating, though what I wanted was 10/10, but see for yourself. .

    GO WATCH IT!!

    [mal type=anime id=9253]

    THAT'S IT FOR TODAY, SEE YA LATER!

    27113.jpg

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    Estatia
    Latest Entry

    When I watch curtain anime I start to question my life based off of what is going on, like in a anime an MC is portrayed to come out on top in Romance, Action or Fantasy.... But What about in the real world? In the real world everyone is the MC so who comes out on top.... When I think about it I feel to small to make a wave in the ocean of people.... But not being able to does not mean I don't want to but it does mean I think I can't... I wonder why do we continue with our lives when ultimately we don't have any real goals, for instance... You say your goal is to get a medal what do you do after you get your medal nothing changed from you getting it... You say your gonna start to workout to get in shape. Why, whats the point when if you didn't you can indulge yourself more with little affect... Why, is there a reason to continue when a goal you set leads to nothing more... When you feel like your life doesn't mean anything... Anyway just got done watching a bunch of sad anime and these where what came to mind afterwords nothing to serious, right?

     

     

  4. =UZUMAKI=
    Latest Entry

    Dattebayo!

    Hi guys! I have been watching anime more so, here it comes!

    ANIME

    STEINS GATE

    Genre: Time Travel, Romance

    Recommend it? YES

    Guys, this anime was fabulous, if you are interested in time travel, this anime is something outstanding. It's basically about a group of people who want to look beyond the time using D - mails and primitive time leaping machine. It's also very psychological and I should also mention that it is also has many funny moments.

    ANIME MOVIES

    DOUKYUUSEI

    GENRE: Yc, HS

    Recommend it? YES

    A cute love story about two HS boys. The story is very sweet a adorable. It has also a very unique art! 

    MANGA

    I have read so many mangas I will write them some other time :)

    Sorry.

     

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    KiroCookie
    Latest Entry

    I mean, watching an anime about something with no intense and powerful battles in it is not really my style but I'll give is an exception for this. The art is phenomena, the characters have distinct, original personalities and the story is extremely well written. Saying this was just another anime would be a huge understatement from all of the obvious work that went into this and it's art. I rated it a 5⭐️ on Rotten Tomatoes, and one of the highest ratings you can give on most rating systems there are, just wanting to let the people who worked on this know that our changed my life goes the better.

    My depression cure length? I'd say that this movie cured my depression and some of my anxiety as well for about two weeks with only one dose neededD1E2A8FC-5612-42B8-A24F-5E7E8B5D4E21.thumb.jpeg.fb69b6ca5686793dae248472cd0bec46.jpeg

  5. So, here is my episode 4 review. Let's go!

    We start with the Principal talking to Mrs Sakurai about discipline and the need to better enforce it. This is the setup for the first half of the episode and is quickly delivered before going to the OP.

    After that, Mrs Sakurai is motivating herself in regards to new task of enforcing rules. She bumps into Sasahara, who is eating a cooked meal layed out on a tray he has hung from his neck. There's also wine, because eating in the halls is something Sasahara does with sophistication. Naturally, Mrs Sakurai freaks out. But she tries to take Sasahara on. It works, amazingly. This is the first time Mrs Sakurai has done this telling a student off thing successfully and with Sasahara of all people. Of course, Sasahara feels the need to loudly declare that those who prepared his food should be notified that he found it delicious. Instantly, Misato is behind Sasahara with a minigun. So, she too has a special power. Everyone seems to do in this anime, but I guess that's to be expected in this shounen ani...wait, this is slice of life? Whar?

    Well, I hope Misato has better amunition this time. Mrs Sakurai nervously reprimands Misato on the minigun she has. But a person suddenly calls Misato over, so Mrs Sakurai doesn't have to deal with that. She then asks Sasahara about his cravat, which she calls a frilly thing. He first responds with a random bit about how their ordinary days might be a series of miracles, with Sasahara and Sakurai being shot as though this is some super meaningful moment. Then Mrs Sakurai asks Sasahara aboiut the cravat again, since she doesn't know it's name. He laughs and says he'll tell her it's name. He then leaves without finishing the sentence of “It's name is...” with a actual name. But this is actually better than usual, so Mrs Sakurai is happy. This is very good day for her in terms of accomplishments. Well done! So it has to finish off with Sakurai asking a student about their hair and that student becoming upset, loudly confessing after being pushed by Mrs Sakurai that their hair doesn't grow on the sides.

    We get a random bit where a student is counting for a game. When he turns around from the wall he was facing, he gets told by another student that the others involved in the game have gone home. Oh, the transition bit for at this point is a shot of a urinal. That's odd.

    Nano and the Professor are doing food shopping. Nano's dealing with the problem of taking a young child around shopping. The Professor wants snacks and has zero interest in healthy foods. Plus, she already has snacks back home. But Nano does accept that they can get some snacks for Sakamoto. While looking for those, the two notice a snowman on the sehelves and Nano asks a store worker about it. It's actually made of ice and some other people express interest in it. But Nano decides to buy it. You know, because it's cute. Yeah, that makes total sense in regards to buying something that'll melt and that you'll be shaving ice off for shaved ice treats. The Professor uses this brash impulse purchase to leverage some snacks out of Nano. It is understandable when Nano got a snowman for herself. Well, Sakamoto is stunned by this. He doesn't care much, as long as he has his own food. 

    Yeah, Nano forgot that, thanks to the distraction of the snowman. So, your meal is shaved ice, Sakamoto. Enjoy! Hmm, are there actual frozen treats for cats? I wonder.

    We get the rock paper scissors game between Nano and the Professor again. This time, her hand launches into the air, with a cord attached to it that links to to Nano. It stops extending after a point and pulls Nano up into the air. Come back, Nano! We still need to do the rest of the episode!

    Okay, next bit. All the students are in class and working. Mrs Sakurai has fallen asleep. Yukko is looked freaked out at something. That turns out to be Mai standing on her desk while no one pays any attention to that, apart from Yukko. Then Mai is suddenly gone, Yukko looks around and then finds Mai behind her, lying on top of the lockers. She then lifts her hand up and has a finger touch a hand drawn behind her with it's own finger extended, like that famous painting with man reaching out to god. Hmm, perhaps it is Mai who is meant to be God. Yes, that makes perfect sense! God is an anime girl who does random stuff to screw with people.

    Yukko tries to get Mio's attention, but Mio just thinks it's an eraser Yukko's after and hands one over without even looking at Yukko. Then Mai is back at her desk, but is taking off her hair. Yukko freaks out at this. So does the Principal, who we see through the class window. Then the bell rings, stirring Mrs Sakurai and getting her to end to test. We then cut to Mai and Yukko on the rooftop with Mai holding the wig she wore for the whole no hair thing.

    We get a bit with Mrs Sakurai in the office, musing on thinking about what others want and what you want. It's not a joke, but it's short and nice.

    We get another bit with that person playing the game from earlier. He is still trying it with no one around playing with him and the person who told him the others had gone just telling him to stop already.

    Yukko goes up to a window, tired. Then a bird, some sort of exotic bird, appears and tells her that it has gotten used to this form. Yukko freaks out.

    Nano is cooking umeboshi. Sakamoto tries one, but they aren't cooked yet. The Professor gets a foxtail from the garden and says she can play with Sakamoto with it. Sakamoto isn't pleased with the way he is adressed and the Professor keeps using the undesired form of address while trying to apologise, annoying him further. Nano goes shopping, leaving Sakamoto with the Professor. She annoys him further, though the way she sways the foxtail left and right begins to distract him. Then the Professor leaves him to got to the loo, giving him a moment to think. He thinks about how he is the only adult there in the house and will have to take a parent role, an attempt at being mature which is hard to take seriously when Sakamoto starts playing with an eraser part way through his inner monologue and gets seriously into playing with it. Then the Professor pops back and wonders what he was doing. So save his dignity as the self-proclaimed parent, he says he was sleeping. Then he gets distracted by a fly while trying to explain himself and starts trying to swat it. He then gets distracted again by the foxtail and leaps at it. Yeah, mission accomplished, Sakamoto. The Professor will surely take you seriously now that you've gone full cute kittie in front of her.

    *sighs* Why won't cats ever go full cute kittie for me in real life? Whyyyy?!

    After that, we see the hair guy from before at home, trying to arrange his hair to look more normal. It works, but his mum pops in and both of them freak out.

    Yukko and Mai are outside, after school. Yukko spots Mai reading a book hidden by a book. Yukko says this is likely part of Mai working to her role as the funny man. But she decides to poke fun at 4this anyway. This annoys Mai, who says her good jab effectively overshadows her funny man act. It's amusing in a way, since Mai is the most serious in the way she acts. But I'd say Mio is the straight man of the group, while funny man of the group is potentially applicable to Mai. Anyway, Yukko is actually a bit confused about what Mai is doing. Mai says she doesn't need to explain and thought Yukko would just understand, since she;s quick on the uptake. Then it gets briefly tense with Mai saying they aren't friends. Mai clarifies a moment later that they are best friends and thus don't need words. Yukko says some words are okay and tries to hug Mai. Mai pushes her back and it's tense again, with Mai saying she shouldn't do that. Then it gets odd, with Mai saying she'll fall further in love with Yukko. Yukko thinks this is a best friend sort of love, but Mai tries to clarify. It's the romantic sort of love thaty girls normally have for guys. Yeah, so Yukko freaks out at this.

    It was a joke. Yukko says she believed it, then tries to lie her way out of that. Mai then says, very seriously, that she hates people who try to lie their way out of situations. Yukko apologises.

    It was another joke. Yukko is just utterly confused at this point. Also, the comment about Yukko being quick on the uptake was meant to have Yukko respond with “No I'm not” as an alternative setup for a joke than the whole sudden love thing.

    Well, in my opinion, that was an improvement over episode 3. It was very funny. There was no super animation moment, but all the jokes worked wonderfully.

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    Serial Experiments Lain

    Episode Layer 01 Weird

    "And you don't seem to UNDERSTAAAAAAND!!!!!!" *cough cough* sorry. So this is my third viewing of Serial Experiments Lain and since I'm gonna be completely unemployed for the next two weeks I figured 'Hey what better way to spend my time then writing an episodic analysis on one of the most mind-fucky shows out there!' (yay) I almost made this blog entry about how terrible Fate Apocrypha is but given that I was complaining in my last entry, I've decided to change the mood a little. (Fate Apocrypha can wait)

    Lain.thumb.jpg.99a21ff07388858839b5c5ddab17ee2b.jpg

    oh and uh here's a quick Synopsis if you don't know the show for some reason.

    Synopsis (from MAL)

    Lain Iwakura, an awkward and introverted fourteen-year-old, is one of the many girls from her school to receive a disturbing email from her classmate Chisa Yomoda—the very same Chisa who recently committed suicide. Lain has neither the desire nor the experience to handle even basic technology; yet, when the technophobe opens the email, it leads her straight into the Wired, a virtual world of communication networks similar to what we know as the internet. Lain's life is turned upside down as she begins to encounter cryptic mysteries one after another. Strange men called the Men in Black begin to appear wherever she goes, asking her questions and somehow knowing more about her than even she herself knows. With the boundaries between reality and cyberspace rapidly blurring, Lain is plunged into more surreal and bizarre events where identity, consciousness, and perception are concepts that take on new meanings.

    Honestly to understand this blog post I seriously recommend just watching this episode first. (edit: I have added a plot summary)

    But James why are you doing this?

    'Well I'm glad you asked hypothetical nobody.' You see Serial Experiments Lain is not quite as loved as most of it's fan-base would have you believe. No actually a lot of "anime critics" Random ppl on the internet* Believe that this show is fucking garbage and I cant really blame them. I've given it a 9/10 on MAL but I'm not sure I could prove that Lain isn't an incoherent piece of shit if someone confronted me with that argument. So here I am. Does Lain actually make any sense at all? Well we're about to find out.

    So far I've re-watched the first episode and taken a shitload of notes categorizing them into three types of information. Stated Info, Implying info and interpretive Info. All my notes will be presented in italics below. Don't worry you don't actually have to read it. I'll be making my points below it so I can reference it every now and then. (so in order for this to make sense you are going to need to look at my notes whenever i reference them.) But shit you can probably just skip to my analysis summary at the end and still get it. 

    Anyhow... Let The Analysis Begin!

     

    Notes (with time-stamps)

    Stated infomation

    [1A] (02:10) Spoken: “Why? Why won’t you come? I wish you could come here…” (by who?)

    Text frames(TF): [2A] (03:03) “Why you should do that is something you should figure out for yourself.” TF

                       [2B] (03:53) “I don’t need to stay in a place like this.”  TF (These are possibly Chisa’s words based on the fact that we see her lips moving without sound before the second text frame appears. It also makes sense as something she would say before she kills herself.)

                       [3] (05:00) “If you stay in a place like this you might not be able to connect.” TF

                       [4C] (06:52) “Everybody, hurry…”  TF

    [3.5] (05:46) Lain tells people on the train to shut up (uncharacteristic of her).

    More text frames: [6] (09:28) “What’s it like when you die?” “It really hurts.”

    Yomoda Chisa’s email to Lain:

    Chisa: “Hello, how are you? Lain I walked home with you just once. Do you remember?”

    Lain: "Yes" 

    Chisa: “I have only given up my body. By doing this I can explain to you that I am still alive. I wanted to let you know this, Lain, so I sent this email to you. Do you understand? It’s okay if you can’t right now. You will all understand soon. Everyone will.”

    Lain: "Why did you die?" 

    Chisa: “Rumour at school has it that this is a prank email. But I want you to know that it isn’t, Lain.”

    Lain: "Why? Why did you die?"  

    Chisa: “God is here.

    Lain: (only spoken)"Huh?"

    [7A] (15:54) Lain’s Fathers Words: “You know Lain, in this world. Whether it’s here in the real world or in the Wired, people connect to each other, and that’s how societies function.” *looking at headless people on computer* Lain’s father goes on to reassure her that she can make friends easily and that there is nothing to be afraid of. We see Lain silently mouth something with one syllable. She then says. “I’m not scared” She also says that there is a friend she wants to see.

     

    Implying infomation

    [8A] (17:11) Lain is on a train when suddenly it stops and the train driver announces that there has been an accident.

    [8B] (17:38) Lain looks out the train window to see blood dripping from the power-lines.

    [9] (20:31) Again Lain’s vision goes blurry as she stares at the blackboard. However, this time the board’s words change into a message to Lain saying “Come to the wired as soon as you can.” The message although she views it on the blackboard appears to have come from her Navi.

     

    Interpretive infomation

    [1B] (02:55) Chisa is surrounded by black and red shadows before she goes to kill herself.

    [4A] (06:30) Lain staring at her shadow (shadow is not black and red. Instead it is green and blue.)

    [4B] (06:40) Lain looks at other students in the courtyard when her vision begins to blur and the students disappear as her vision fades to white.

    [5A] (08:45) Once again while Lain is in class her vision goes blurry and the words on the board become illegible.

    [5B] (09:18) This is the scene where steam seems to emerge from Lain’s fingers and trails throughout the class.

    [7B] (16:55) Lain’s father makes weird laughing noise.

    [8C] (18:03) Cut to a dream sequence where Lain is standing in the middle of the road, she then appears in a subway; then an empty school grounds; then what seems to be an empty classroom. Finally after a flash-cut of a red train-crossing light she appears on an empty road. Fog swoops in from outside the frame surrounding her as she finds herself on a train track. She then sees a girl walk in front of an incoming train and gets hit. Lain wakes up in her classroom afterward.

    [10] (21:08) In the final scene Chisa appears before Lain in the street and Lain asks “Chisa? Where are you?” Chisa just stares at her weirdly and disappears in a green spiral.

     

    Plot Summary

    Okay fine I suppose I'll do a normal episode summary before I do my analysis and analysis summary. I can't expect people to watch the episode before reading this. Alright so the show begins with Chisa killing herself. After that we meet Lain and pretty much immediately we know something's not right. On her train ride to school Lain hears voices that aren't there and once she arrives she begins to have vision problems. Lain learns from her classmates that apparently Chisa has been emailing people from the dead. Once Lain arrives home she finds that she herself has received one of these emails and what she learns is that apparently Chisa has found God in the Wired. Intrigued, Lain asks her father for a new Navi(computer) so that she can better interact with the Wired. The next day Lain is on a train to school when the train grinds to a hold after an accident. Lain quiclky falls into a dream sequence where she witnesses a person getting hit by the train. Once Lain wakes up in her classroom at school she experiences more visual problems which twist the words on the blackboard into a message. The message instructs Lain to come to the Wired asap. Finally in the last scene we see Chisa confront Lain. To Be Continued.

    Analysis

    OKAY! I am fucking ready for this. So the first thing you hear in Serial Experiments Lain (aside from that godly op :crazy:) is a strange bit of dialog(see [1A]) and we have no idea who says it. Luckily though I have a theory. I actually think this voice is one of Lain's other personalities trying to convince Yomoda Chisa to kill herself. She want's Chisa to leave her body and come to the Wired. Now I'm no connoisseur of Japanese voice acting but I'm pretty sure that it was Lain's voice. Also Chisa's suicide scene is shown soon afterwards so I'm almost positive that these words are directed at her. This is supported by the next cut where we see Chisa out of breath and seemingly upset.([1B]) This is a little bit strange because when we see her leap from the building she appears to be at peace.

    Real quick this is what I mean when I say text frame: serial-experiments-lain-episode-1.jpg.2dc25aa3f414a52c6834793a7ced4709.jpg

    Given my last assumption we could interpret the next cut to a silent text frame([2A]) as Lain's words to Chisa telling her to figure out why she should come to the Wired, why she should kill herself. And the text frame right before Chisa jumps is obviously her Dialog “I don’t need to stay in a place like this.” ([2B]). In all honesty this theory is a little bit of a stretch, because if they wanted to represent Lain's Dialog again in [2A] surely they would just have her speak them like she did 53 seconds ago in [1A]. However, as it is, I cant imagine these words([2A]) being from anyone else. (these could totally be Eiri Masami's words) On a side note I am going to refer to this version of Lain as 'Lain 0' from now on so as to not get her confused with normal Lain. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about with this multiple personality shit then don't worry, all shall be explained in time.)

    The next thing I noted was a text frame that appears just before Lain leaves for school. “If you stay in a place like this you might not be able to connect.” ([3]) This can be interpreted as a message to Lain from Chisa. A likely assumption because if I'm not mistaken I'm sure Chisa tries to convince Lain to come to the Wired later in the series. Given these motives it is not hard to imagine these as Chisa's words. Even if this is not the case it is almost certain that these words are for Lain regardless of who they come from. 

    Lain is riding a train and she is sick of the people on the train talking so she tells them to shut up.([3.5]) However what's interesting about this is the way people look at her when she says this. They look as if they have been silent the whole time. This likely means the voices she is hearing are coming from the Wired.

    Now I am still unsure what exactly is the significance of this scene, the different colored shadow([4A]) particularly eludes any explanation of mine.(I just thought I'd note it anyway) What I am sure of however is that it is somehow connected to Lain's partial loss of vision.([4B]) And the following text frame “Everybody, hurry…” ([4C]). Honestly I might have to just let this one sit until I start researching more episodes. This is actually pretty important because one of the biggest complaints I saw in negative reviews is that many scenes are pointless and don't go anywhere. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. But fuck I'll be surprised if I get through this whole show and everything connects to everything else with no plot holes.(But this tangent can wait)

    Okay so this is the second time Lain begins to lose her vision([5A]) which means there is clearly some sort of meaning behind this. Then again I had vision problems all the time in school and there wasn't any meaning to that. What happens next however, happened to me slightly less often.([5B]) And I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you again because I have no explanation for this. But to be fair like who the hell does? Even the most knowledgeable Lain fans will tell you 'Yeah we have no fucking idea what this is.' It's certainly cool don't get me wrong but I'm not sure we will get far narrative wise if we waste time randomly guessing at what this might be. Moving on.

    Luckily these text frames([6]) are pretty straight forward since we know there's only one character who's died so far. Although we don't know who's asking the question. My first guess would be the next girl who kills herself. Perhaps she is asking what it is like to die before she goes and kills herself. Even though this makes sense there really is no evidence for this so far. Again I will have to come back to this part later.

    Okay so now I'm going to talk about Chisa's email to Lain which is the blue writing in my notes. At first it was difficult to tell whether this was a conversation or just one email because Lain spoke all her replies. It is only when Chisa answers Lain(not even directly mind you) that it becomes evident that this is a conversation.(It's not hard to assume that Lain's Navi converts her words into messages because her Navi was shown to be voice operated to some extent earlier.) Most of what Chisa says is pretty self explanatory, not much to analyse there except for her reply to Lain's question. "God is here." Now I have a pretty good idea of who she is talking about. After all there really are only two people she could be talking about, Eiri Masami or Lain 0. Here is my current hypothesis: Chisa is referring to Lain 0 when she says God. First evidence for this is that it makes sense as a reply to Lain's question "Why? Why did you die?"  If Lain 0 is the one who convinced Chisa to kill herself, saying that Lain 0 is here(God) makes perfect sense. There are other reasons as to why I think that Lain 0 is the God Chisa is speaking of but I'll cover this later when I analyse the relevant episodes.

    So this is where Lain speaks to her father about getting a better Navi.([7A]) What can we learn from this interaction? Well most obviously Lain's dad is a big Navi(computer) enthusiast. However, I'm not sure how much significance any of his dialog actually holds. If nothing else I'd say it's a kind of foreshadowing for the themes the show will be exploring. Actually given Lain's father's true identity his words may have more weight than I'm giving them credit for. However, I think it's still a bit too early to discus this. As for Lain we can see that this scene shows a bit of a turning point for her, because up till now she has had no interest in technology. So finally her father asks her why she has taken a sudden interest in Navi's and Lain simply replies "There's a friend I want to see."(Obviously Chisa) But before she says that, we see her mouth move silently forming only one syllable. This could be anything from Lain wanting to say something else or a mystery word that the audience isn't supposed to know yet. Regardless there's really not much we can do to figure this out right now. So what happens next I honestly have no words for.([7B]) This crazy ass laugh is weird as fuck and out of nowhere. But it's actually not the strangest thing in this scene. If you look at Lain's father's computer while he is talking to her, you'll find that he is clicking through moving images of headless people. yeah... weird right. The scene doesn't seem to put much emphasis on this but it's just far too bizarre to just mean nothing. So I looked closely at what he was entering on his Navi and this is what I found. He types into a bar under 'application cya_iiization(illegible word) system' and he types "Think Blue Count One To".(probably a password) I'm not really sure if this means anything but I'll record it just in case. There is also some writing in Japanese next to the headless people so I will see if I can get my friend to translate it. I'm not really confident that it means anything significant but better safe than sorry.

    Honestly ([8A]) and ([8B]) don't really need much analysis. The bleeding power-lines are cool visuals for sure but other than representing someones death I don't think its alluding to anything else. Speaking of this person I'm not sure we ever find out who it is that gets hit by the train. We find out in Lain's dream sequence([8C]) that it is a high school girl but other than that i don't remember the show ever bringing this up again. But I suppose we will have to wait and see.

    So Lain wakes up in class after her dream to find herself having problems with her vision.([9]) With this I think we can understand the meaning behind its previous occurrences as well. Lain's loss of vision is likely a result of someone trying to bring her into the Wired. Although at this point in the story there's only one person we know to be contacting Lain from the Wired, in the grand scheme of things this could actually be quite a few different people. For now though I think it's still a question between Yomoda Chisa and Eiri Masami. That is one thing that has been bothering me actually. Both my main theories about Lain 0 contacting Chisa and Chisa contacting Lain could just be replaced by Masami and still make sense. 

    FINALLY WE MADE IT. In this last scene we see Chisa finally confront lain([10]) in person(sort of). This encounter is nothing if not weird and all we get from it is Lain asking questions and Chisa just staring at her weirdly. It doesn't help much.

     

    Analysis Summary

    So the only unique idea I really got out of this episode was my Lain 0 theory wherein Lain's Wired personality was the one who convinced Chisa to kill herself and is the one Chisa refers to as god. Other than that I think my interpretations were pretty standard. Lain's recurring loss of vision is likely Chisa's doing. To be honest there are far more lose ends then I would have liked there to be but It's really not surprising. 

    Loose ends:

    • Lain's colorful shadow
    • That "everybody hurry" text frame.([4C])
    • Steam erupting from Lain's fingers.([5B])
    • Who is asking Chisa what death is like?([6])
    • Why Is Lain's dad interested in headless people and why does he laugh like a maniac.([7A]) and ([7B])
    • Who gets hit by the train?([8C])

    Alright I'm done. This is about all I can get from this first episode. Hopefully we can see this loose end list diminish as time goes on and I analyse more episodes. Or it will just go up in which case the haters are right. I think either way Serial Experiments Lain is predominantly an aesthetic show. It's not about what you know is true, it's about what you think you know is true. Regardless I've always wanted to know if SEL's Narrative actually holds up and you know what they always say, if you want something done right do it yourself. 

    Thanks for reading if you got this far and if you have anything to say you know what to do. :D

     

     

  6. Killing Bites is based off of the manga of the same name. People have created human-animal hybrids called jujin, and powerful businesses bet on the outcome of their duels.

    The show wastes no time explaining things and I could wrap up the first half of the episode pretty fast. Hitomi Uzaki, while walking down a street late at night, is forced into a car so that the passengers can have their way with her, but she kills everyone but the driver, Yuuya Nomoto, who didn't know that this was what his friends wanted him to do. He is then told to drive her to a place that turns out to be a graveyard of human bodies, which causes him to flee in terror but he accidentally stumbles upon a open arena for the Killing Bites death matches, here he meets a man by the name of Leo and doesn't question what he might be doing here, but tells him what happened as he pleas for help. Leo tells him that Hitomi is likely a jujin and explains what that is.
    After Yuuya calls him stupid, he transforms into one himself, but Hitomi comes to his rescue and transform himself. The thing about jujin is that male ones are fully covered in fur while female ones only have their limbs and ears change, another thing to note is that she only has her bra and underwear on at this point. In other words, fanservice.

    Now the fight itself is pretty well animated, but apparently their bodies are made out of steel since they can withstand being thrown into cars multiple times but still rip off eachother's appendages with ease. Yuuya is grateful of Hitomi and wants to take her to a hospital so as to get her wounds treated, but she tells him that she can't go there and ends up treating her wounds himself.
    The next day, they go out for pancakes because she wanted some and that is where we are properly introduced to Reiichi Shidoh, who Hitomi has been calling since after they arrived at the graveyard because he wanted her to protect Yuuya, and now says to be his bodyguard. He recites all the information he has about Yuuya, I wonder if he how long it took for him to get it memorized? So Reiichi is the director of Killing Bites and tells him that there are four zaibatsu that still have dominion over japan's economy and they use this death match as a proxy war with each having their own representative, and he further states that he wants him to be the investor for Hitomi and that's why she has to protect him, otherwise she won't be able to participate in any more matches.

    Hitomi acts pretty moe and not like herself at all around Reiichi, she adores him pretty much. After getting into his limo, Reiichi's secretary states how it doesn't make any sense to entrust some random guy with their money and I agree, can't these type of shows come up with better reasons for a character's harem existing?
    When they get back and Yuuya counts the money he received until night falls, Hitomi tells him to go out and buy her some stuff. I'm not sure why she told him to do this when she's supposed to be protecting him, but maybe she realized this and that is why she appeared later.
    On his way back, another jujin appears and flashes him in order to gain the upper hand and force him to talk, do you really expect this show to give a reason why she would need to do this when he didn't even notice her before? And do you expect it to give a reason why she didn't notice Hitomi even though she was right not to her the whole time she was lying in wait to ambush him?

    All in all, this show doesn't have a very good plot, it might not even have very good characters. The action is well animated, but will simply be fast paced and not contain too much logic. This anime is clearly geared towards people who like adult content though, so it won't be enjoyable by people who don't. That's it for now, please be sure to check out my look at Beatless. I will return in a week on february the 4th for my last two impressions, I promised to do Clear Card-hen but unless I can find it somewhere online, I'll likely have to give my impressions on the manga instead unfortunately. Thank you for reading, and have yourself a wonderful day.

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    Yesterday I met a man who, while giving me some pennies, started to make some derogatory remarks about the character on the pennies. Now, his camo overalls and other aspects of his appearance led me to assume he was one of many rednecks who live in my area, the majority of which I think are decent people. But after the remark about the pennies I knew this guy was on a whole different level.

    I told him, "That's Abe Lincoln, you know."

    Then he says something like, "Oh, I don't pay any attention to that stuff. It's all stupid!" And goes on to show me a tattoo with 'A' for anarchy. 

    He went on to say justice was for wimps, and after that I stopped paying attention.

    I'm nothing close to a history buff, but I thought knowing the political figures on American currency was basic knowledge for American citizens. 

    I guess I was the stupid one for setting my expectations so high.

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    sai to
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    helloooo! welcome to my new blog, as you may have already figured out I have no experience in this kind of stuff, but I hope you can enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. as an introduction I'd like to say that I'm a cosplayer and my favourite anime is Charlotte (I'll make a review on that later). I have a normal life but I don't really have anyone to talk about anime (sad I know) I'll try to write something interesting weekly, make reviews and show you stuff I draw. please leave a comment, I would really like to know your opinion about this future blog. !

  7. Well, here we are again...

    I would like to start this off by simply saying that at times being down really, really sucks. We've all been through it, since its just human nature.

    But tell me why it has to be such a great weight, huh? 

    Now, I always try to stay as positive as I can, but sometimes things get to me. Recently I have been going through some stuff, and in all honesty I just feel unhappy all the time. While its not exactly apparent on the surface, it feels as though there is a little part in the back of my brain that's rotting. Like a nagging doubt and decay.

    Either way, I just tell it to stuff it!

    I'm not giving in to some nagging mournful voice of doubt. I've had this before, and i sure as hell am not having it again!

    Anyway, regardless, the point in this was not for me to complain. In fact, I actually wanted to vent about why I love the anime forums so damn much. 

    Over the, well, I would like to say two years as a a cover, of being on this forum, it has slowly become much like a home to me. Everyone here is like family, and I wouldn't change that for the world. So, thank you so much Optic, and everyone who has been along for the ride. it's wonderful to have such an amazing community, and I look forward to seeing where we all end up in the next few years.

    So yeah, just know that you are all amazing people, and you all deserve to know that. Here, we are family.

    Anyway, like I said, thank you so much for allowing me to feel welcome in such a loving community. Without it, I don't think I would be as happy as I always am now ^w^

    (P.S: Don't worry about me either xD I will be fine in about a month or two. I cant stay unhappy for long. I'm too positive...... xD)

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    Hey! Its been awhile! Good news, I passed my finals, and I got my acceptance letters to both colleges I Applied to!

    So HappY!

    Lets go crazy!

    【Nightcore】→_I'm_Gonna_Show_You_Crazy____Lyrics.mp4

  8. The 2017 Summer Anime Season started off strongly, with quite a number of shows that have gained my interest instantly; and quite a number that seem interesting enough to keep watching. So with the number of new releases dying down, I think that this would be the optimal time to get my first impressions of it out.

    As usual, my goal with these kinds of posts are to introduce to you some of the shows that I will be watching this season – for those of you who don’t have time to check all of the premiers out. Moreover, I will be explaining what’s to be expected out of these shows and why I like them in the first place, in order help you decide whether or not to check them out.

    This selection was made after viewing, and dropping, around a dozen or so newly released shows. So without further ado, these are the ones that stood out to me.

    Ballroom e Youkoso

    Ballroom-e-Youkoso.png.390d44f1f1467bf137b66ecfc377ae42.png

    Source: Manga

    Quote

    A professional dancer named Sengoku rescues Tatara, an introverted third-year middle school student who is being harassed by delinquents. Tatara ends up at Sengoku’s dance studio where he meets Shizuku Hanaoka, a schoolmate he comes to secretly idolize. From this defining moment when Tatara enters the world of dance. Sengoku is a free-spirited, dynamic international dancer who recognizes Tatara’s potential and begins to coach him. Through dance, Tatara meets another schoolmate, a dance prodigy named Kiyoharu. Through these new friendships, Tatara develops a passionate desire to improve as a dancer and be accepted by his peers and rivals, which nurtures his own native talent. And through interaction with Tatara, other dance members are encouraged to take steps to overcome their own challenges and issues.

    Along with Kakegurui, this show probably had the strongest premier this season. The artwork is sharp and expressive while still retaining a very human, and down-to earth feeling; and the characters and story do seem to have a lot of potential. Given, the underdog story has been re-told countless amounts of times before and may be considered overused by some. However, it is still effective (from a storytelling perspective) to get the viewer automatically invested in a character, and is up to the rest of the show to build upon that investment. With Ballroom e Youkoso – I have the confidence that it will do so beautifully.

     

    Isekai Shokudou

    Isekai-Shokudou.png.ff90cced7313a3578b14e8f8048da817.png

    Source: Light Novel

    Quote

    At the bottom floor of the building with a dog signboard, in the shopping district near the office street, there lies a cafeteria called “Youshoku no Nekoya,” that has an illustration of a cat on the door. It’s been open for fifty years and has satisfied various salarymen from nearby offices. Despite it being called a Western cuisine cafeteria, it also provides other varieties of menus. For the people of this certain world, it’s their one-and-only special cafeteria.

    There is, however, one secret to “Nekoya.” The cafeteria is closed to the public every Saturday in order to make way for special guests. When a bell rings, customers from different places of birth and races appear who ask for mysterious and delicious dishes. They are actually the same dishes served to the salarymen, but these special guests find them to be more exotic than to what they are used to. As the cafeteria aims to serve masterpieces, it is usually referred as “Isekai Shokudou.”

    This anime is a food anime at heart, but what makes it stand out is the little “twist” of having different entities, from different walks of life taste the delicious food prepared every week. There is just this light-hearted delight from watching other life forms gobble down a scrumptious looking plate of human food. Along with that, we are treated to their backstories, personality, and how they got to the restaurant in the first place.

    If you are looking for something episodic and easily digestible to watch, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up this anime.

     

    Kakegurui

    Kakegurui.png.89ff6c1ca8b284cfc6319425aa19ab40.png

    Source: Manga

    Quote

    Hyakkaou Private Academy. An institution for the privileged with a very peculiar curriculum. You see, when you’re the sons and daughters of the wealthiest of the wealthy, it’s not athletic prowess or book smarts that keep you ahead. It’s reading your opponent, the art of the deal. What better way to hone those skills than with a rigorous curriculum of gambling? At Hyakkaou Private Academy, the winners live like kings, and the losers are put through the wringer. But when Yumeko Jabami enrolls, she’s gonna teach these kids what a high roller really looks like!

    There was a lot of hype coming from the manga community even before this anime aired, so I just had to check and see what all the hype was for. And thank god I did, because this anime certainly justifies the excitement people had for it.

    I would recommend this anime to others as a “more condensed and refined version of No Game No Life” as it is able to instil immense amounts of tension, excitement and border-line fear into the viewer in each and every gambling scene. This anime may not be for fans of the more light-hearted genres, since it tends to try and invoke extreme emotions in the viewer through almost devil-like facial expressions the characters often put on, and the growing steaks each time the main character gambles. I am assuming that that the series will have an episodic format of storytelling – with new opponents each and every week, which is awesome, because that means more gambling; and gambling is what this anime excels at.

    Watch the OP, and if you don’t like the show by then, it is safe to say that you may as well just drop it. But if you loved the vibe from the OP – watch on! I know I will most certainly be doing so.

     

    Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e

    Youkoso-Jitsuryoku-Shijou-Shugi-no-Kyoushitsu-e.png.44e7500bba60bddf92d8f8913414fb57.png

    Source: Light Novel

    Quote

    Koudo Ikusei Senior High School is a leading prestigious school with state-of-the-art facilities where nearly 100% of students go on to university or find employment. The students there have the freedom to wear any hairstyle and bring any personal effects they desire. Koudo Ikusei is a paradise-like school, but the truth is that only the most superior of students receive favorable treatment.

    Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is a student of D-class, which is where the school dumps its “inferior” students in order to ridicule them. For a certain reason, Kiyotaka was careless on his entrance examination, and was put in D-class. After meeting Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyou, two other students in his class, Kiyotaka’s situation begins to change.

    I am usually sceptical when it comes to light novel anime adaptations. Especially light novel anime adaptations that are set in high schools, and are solely about high school life. However, what sets this show apart from the multitude of similar ones is its premise. As a bunch of mismatched, lazy and even naughty students earn their pocket money each month based on the class’s performance as a whole. This is yet another underdog story of students whom have been placed in the lowest ranked class; but the characters are interesting and I enjoy how they play off one another, so I’ll be sticking around to see how the progress.

    “Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e” translates to “Classroom Of The Elite” in English, and I am definitely excited to witness D-class’s transformation into that.

  9. $3x¥'s Blog

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    nisekoi-1.thumb.jpg.adf4baeeb17b53a02b72a82c6a00380c.jpg

    Note: Before reading realize there are some spoilers in the second paragraph.

    Nisekoi is an anime that miraculously manages to take a large number of overused anime cliches and surprisingly make them enjoyable for both the new anime fans and the old. The anime takes these cliches and combines them with stunning visuals and animation and brings them to life in a rom-com that surprised me as well as many others.

    Nisekoi is set in a peaceful town where, Ichijou Raku, the son of a Yakuza gang leader, is forced to date a girl whom he has a grudge against for various reasons, because she is the daughter of an enemy gangs leader. They date in order to keep the two rival gangs at bay and maintain the towns peaceful aura. Of course they’re both against it, but, both comply with their fathers wishes and to keep their friends and family, as well as their town, safe. Raku, however, frets over his long lost “wife” whom he had promised to marry years prior, their only connection being held between a key she carries and a lock she gave him. However, after this twist of events in his life, Raku is thrown into a circle of events (arcs), where he manages to unwillingly seduce several more girls, ignorant of the fact each of them loves him (with one exception) while still looking for the holder of the key, his future wife.

    Anyways, this anime has eye catching animation and character designs, and is altogether fluent. Each character has a unique design and an interesting background. The soundtrack of the anime is catchy and the opening’s animation and color is just as, if not more, of an eye catcher as the actual anime, showcasing (however quick some of them might be) all the characters you’ll be introduced too over the course of the anime.

    However, I felt the script was the best part of this anime. As I mentioned earlier, the anime uses an absurd amount of cliches as it’s main source of humor and plot. Normally, an anime like this would go unnoticed by the masses and would most likely be ridiculed by the majority of those who did watch it all the way through. However, Niskoi’s script is well written and these jokes actually seem entertaining, regardless how many times you’ve heard them. The characters and plot are much like the anime’s script; they are cliche and overused. But once again, the writers keen abilities allowed him to write such a cliche, yet alluring script, characters and plot while still managing to entertain a majority of viewers.

    However, at 20 episodes, this anime can stretch itself out at points and most of the content, though funny, is overused. This overuse of cliche jokes can get people who are picky about what they watch upset, causing them to drop it. This anime also lacks a definite ending, as Raku does not pick a girl at the end of the anime whom he has decided to love (which, would be fixed if a third season is introduced).

    So should you watch Nisekoi (False Love)?

    If you’re new to anime or don’t mind watching a harem, go for it. I think you’d enjoy it as Nisekoi is quite a popular (which, for the most part, it deserves) harem and the cast as well as script is lively. However, if you don’t like cliche anime or unoriginal content, Nisekoi is probably not the anime for you as it is entirely comprised of such content, from it’s story to it’s jokes. Nisekoi is also not for people who want a definite ending. So far, the series (anime wise) has not finished (though I believe the manga has) and Raku has not made a decision on what girl to date. If you don’t mind the jokes, but do mind the indecisive ending, read the manga. I haven’t read all of it myself, but from what I have read, it’s just as enjoyable as the anime itself.

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    Since you are reading this article I will assume you are a horror lover like I am. The horror genre in anime and manga can be really good but we come into problems with the lack of content in the genre.

    Anime Horror Recommendations
    Here are some horror anime titles to check out:

    1. Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni

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    If you are a horror lover this is the first show you need to watch. The show has great psychological elements and a mystery to keep you interested in the show until the end. THe show has a second season but only watch it if you enjoyed this one. However viewer be warned: The English Dub is absolute garbage. Do not watch the English Dub.

    2. Parasyte

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    While this show focuses more on drama and action I do say that it definitely plays a lot with body horror. The way you see the parasites is absolutely bone shilling at times and is still a decent show all around.

    3. Shiki

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    Vampires. This is a show about vampires. The show has a slow start but quickly turns into a gore torn show and it is absolutely awesome. The horror towards the end of the show is really good and with the drama it adds even more to the MANY deaths in the anime.

    4. Tokyo Ghoul (First Season)

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    Again we focus on the theme of monsters but this show is more focused on plot and character at first. The horror is nearly there for effect at first but plays well into the show as it goes on. However two disclaimers for the show. Firstly the second season was absolute garbage and was a complete waste of time, don’t watch it. Secondly is that the show is currently censored on most legal streaming sites but an uncensored version is around and I definitely recommend tracking it down.

    5. Corpse Party: Tortured Souls

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    If you are looking for straight up horror this is it. This show is the finest horror and gore I have seen in the anime medium to date with every scene played to excellent effect. However with great horror you get only an average plot and kind of bland characters. THe show is not perfect but if you are looking for straight up blood, guts, and scares this is the show for you. Plus it is only four episodes so you hav eno excuse.

    Manga Horror Recommendations
    A list of a few horror mangas if you prefer to read your frights:

    1. Uzumaki

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    This is considered a must see in the genre. Similar to Parasyte int he fact that it is body horror but Parasyte does not compare. The story is overall very good and the art is f****** scary. However during the later chapters I felt the manga got a little more on the ridiculous side and that may turn off some people so be warned.

    2. Franken Fran

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    While focusing more on some comedic qualities this manga is absolutely still scary. It contains some of the best artwork in the genre I have seen and the characters are so much fun. WHile this is not straight up horror you will find moments where you gasp and amy stay up at night thinking about them.

    3. Hideout

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    My personal favorite horror manga and it is for a reason. The manga is THE BEST because of its story and art. THe story is very well executed and the art it just adds so much to the story. I really can;t say how much I loved this manga but the only downside to some is that it is very short.

    4. Ibitsu

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    This was my introduction to horror manga and if you were to start anywhere I would start here. THis manga plays a lot with talkers and the constant “I am going to get you” kind of plot. However Ibitsu makes the plot work withs some interesting character and an ending that will leave you wondering “Wha tthe f**** did I just read?”.

    5. Doubt

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    This manga has the main focus on psychological scenes but the tense atmosphere it creates makes the manga even scarier. I recommend this to people who are scared of the unknown and don’t mind solving abut of a mystery.

    Well those were my recommendations and I have not seen every single show or read every manga. If you felt that I missed something please feel free to comment them and I will be sure to include suggestions that I think should have been on the list.

  10. Na11's Blog

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    Hey guys, and I was thinking about adding something, reviews!

    It was an ok episode, but has the same beginning, a dorky, clumsy girl trying to go to school, how about something new?

    The art and quality were fine, and the sound (especially the opening). The opening is beautiful, it’ll make you say: EVERYBODY JUMP, or something similar.

    You can also tell that the villain in this episode is pretty badass. And wait, cure happy, holy light?? She doesn’t look holy to me..
    Seriously tho, she doesn’t look holy.

    Miyuki personally isn’t my type of protagonist, but hey? She a cute, loveable character. And she’s pink, that’s like my favorite color!

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    This is a little idea I came up with a while back.

    I’ve always been able to find my own way as regards to what shows I watch. Sometimes I watch it for the aesthetic (Nisekoi, Anohana, and Lain, all I really enjoy) but sometimes I tend to delve into more unknown animes than the usual Naruto or Dragonball.

    So, here’s how this is going to work.
    I’m going to list off some well known anime titles and I will be recommending other titles for people who have seen them and liked them.

    #1: Death Note/Monster

    Well, this one doesn’t need any kind of explanation.
    Death Note, is by no means a favourite series of mine, but I can see why some people like it. However, there is another series that I have seen compared to Death Note all too often.

    Naoki Urasawa’s masterpiece, ‘Monster’.

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    The man you see pictured is probably my favourite villain ever, Johan Liebert.
    ‘Monster’ tells the story of Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese brain surgeon living in Germany. One day, two children are admitted to the hospital he works in after they discover their parents murdered, one of them manages to escape, grows up, and becomes a notorious serial killer. It centres around Tenma trying to catch the killer known as Johan Liebert.

    ‘Monster’ and Johan are known throughout the anime community for being one of the best horror series and arguably one of the best villains anime has ever seen. Guillermo Del Toro, director of Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth, has shown interest in making it into a TV show or a movie. It has the same aesthetic and it’s a great gateway into deeper, darker anime.

    #2: Clannad/Anohana

    Ever get one of those shows that you thought you didn’t like but then, you re-watch it and you love it? That’s how I felt towards Clannad.
    The animation style was the only thing I didn’t like, the rest of it was amazing, especially After Story!

    However, there is an anime that, it being my favourite, I can recommend for any Clannad fan, that’s because a Clannad fan recommended it to me.

    Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.

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    “We found you.”
    Well, this being my favourite anime ever, I can’t help but sing it’s praises.
    Anohana tells the story of Jinta ‘Jintan’ Yadomi, a teenager who is a hikikomori (someone who does nothing but sit in the house, play video games, and watch anime). During Jintan’s childhood years, him and a group of friends (Poppo, Tsuruko, Yukiatsu, Anaru, and most importantly, Menma) formed a gang called the ‘Super Peace Busters!’. The gang was struck by tragedy when their friend Meiko ‘Menma’ Honma passed on.

    10 years later, the gang has grown apart, and Jintan is playing a video game when the ghost of Menma visits him and tells him that she has one final wish. The series centres around the group of friends trying to figure out what that wish is and trying to fulfil it. It is the only anime that has ever made me stop the episode because I had to finish crying. The character development is great (because the story is mostly character driven) and the animation style is beautiful. It’s definitely a 10/10 in my mind but it sadly hasn’t gotten an official release in the UK yet. You can view it on the US Crunchyroll. The similarities to Clannad include dealing with the death of a love one, and friendship. The last episode of Anohana is probably the saddest episode in any anime I’ve ever seen. I ain’t gonna spoil anything, but from episode 4 right up until the end, it’s the saddest anime I’ve ever seen.

    Also, I made the entire character cast on Tomodatchi Life, THAT is how much I love it.

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    #4 Sword Art Online/Log Horizon

    Data-base, data-base, just living in the data-base, woah-oh…

    Everyone knows Sword Art Online, however, not everyone likes it, and I can see why. It is very poorly written and the MC is very unlikeable. Which is why I’m saddened to see that shows such as Log Horizon, No Game No Life, and Btooom! are in SAO’s big shadow. Whilst Btooom! and No Game No Life aren’t strictly speaking the same as SAO, Log Horizon is the same, but so much better.
    The premise doesn’t need explaining but I’m going to do it anyway.
    Teenagers and adults alike sign up to play ‘Elder Tale’, a new game. They get stuck in the game and essentially have to try and find their way out of it.

    I’m going to leave it there, because I don’t want to go into too much detail about other shows as Naruto, DBZ, One Piece and Bleach should be easy to find recommendations off.

    Thanks for reading!

    -Jack

  11. I’ve noticed that there’s lots of anime fans who don’t know much about films outside of the anime.I’m sure and know for a fact that not all anime fans are like this but there’s some who do want to broaden their horizons but don’t know where to start.

    So,I thought I’ll make a list of films and compare them to some anime to convince some people to watch.

    FARGO/CASE CLOSED
    Fargo is the first one I’ll talk about because it’s a bit more simplistic.
    PLOT:a down on his luck car sales man hires two criminals to kidnap his wife for money because her father’s well off.then,things go horribly wrong for everyone.

    WHY SHOULD YOU WATCH:
    It’s kind of funny that I compare it to cased closed but it’s the closes thing I could think of.there’s not much similarly between the two but I picked because if you love mystery then this is for you.

    Simply put it’s a really simple crime film.there’s not much “fancy” detective work going on but that only adds to it.since the plot is simple it gives more time to develop the characters and more time to spend learning about the environment the characters are in.the snowy hell and freezing cold weather just adds to the feeling of solidarity.

    BLACK CEASER-GANGSTA/BACCANO
    Black Cesar belongs to a genre of films called Blaxploitation.it’s a genre that started off somewhere around the 70s and with films like shaft,coffy,and foxy Brown,ect.

    THE PLOT:the plot is very simple it’s about a group of black gangsters rising from the underbelly of new York to become a vicious gang.then,our main lead slowly watches the very same things that gave him his wealth destroy and corrupt everything around him.

    WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH:
    Coffy and foxy Brown both starred the extremely talented Pam Grier and it launched her into superstardom along with other actors in this genre and one of them is FRED WILLIAMSON this movie has other really talented actors but for the sake of simplicity we’ll just talk about him for now.

    Fred Williamson gives a wonderful and powerful performance as a gangster along with the ferocity that comes with being one.I recommend this film because this along with other gangster films of it’s time inspired a look and feel that things like gangsta,baccano,ect have.
    The big fancy Cadillac,clothes,and extravagant lifestyle are exemplified perfectly in this film.the violence subtle but leave impact that never leave your mind.
    d’urville martin is amazing as he plays a corrupt preacher pushing a Mafioso agenda.

    DUEL TO THE DEATH- KENICHI THE MIGHTY DISCIPLE/AFRO-SAMURAI
    if you’re looking for a badass non-stop action film then look no further.if love the old school style of kung fu that anime like afro samurai and mighty have then you’re in for a treat.

    PLOT:there’s a competition for the best samurai of two villages and they both send thier best warriors to fight.soon enough over the course of the film the two main characters become friends.

    WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH:
    This movie looks and feels like a fight is about to happen.I love kung fu anime but the main problem is it doesn’t look right sometimes because their is no sweating,heavy breathing,the clanging of swords doesn’t sounds or feel right.The dubbing is really damn good too but some might find it cheesy or dumb.I think it’s one of the things that add to the overall atmosphere of a kung fu film.
    I’m not saying that mighty isn’t a great but at some points I thought it could have been better but comparing live action and animated movies on the feel and look isn’t easy.duel to the death along with the other films on this list Inspired me to write this list because it’s not an easy task to compare.

    Duel to Death gets so many things right in the fighting department but does something that’s really hard to do.what’s that you ask? It’s nailing the look.

    Long wide shots before a battle.

    Using environments to set a tone(feeling).

    THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN/THE ZODIAC-HIGURASHI
    Damn,choosing between the two was almost f****** impossible so why not both?

    PLOT OF THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN: the year is 1946 and their is a serial killer on the loose in Texas.then,the police send one their best to catch this killer who seem to disappear into night.
    WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH:
    These two films the town that dreaded sundown and the zodiac have two separate elements that make higurashi great.one is suspense and the other is psychology in nature.

    The town that dreaded sundown is down some what like a old style cop show like drag net.if you’re not familiar with the show think of those cop shows that reenact the crime scenes.I choose to call this one suspenseful because it’s a fear of the unexplained and how the film uses narration,low lightning and other techniques to make you afraid.
    The fear comes from the simple fact that the killer is from a small town and that he could be anyone.hell,he’s probably sitting down next door to anyone of us preparing dinner or simply going to bed.

    PLOT OF THE ZODIAC:
    The zodiac is a movie basically on a real serial killer that called himself the zodiac.he’s still on the loose and has yet to be caught.

    WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH:
    This film is a bit longer than most of the film’s here but I have faith that it’ll grip you and never let go.I’ve said that these two films each have separate elements that I believe made the show great and the other half I mentioned psychological horror.
    While the things that made the film scary where fears of the unknown what makes this just FUCKIN SPOOPY! Is what we do know and facts not adding up.
    The film is very factual in it’s presentation and let’s decided what is true and what isn’t.the film follows the zodiac killer and his unpredictable patterns from taunting the police with notes with riddles and clues to his identity.
    The main draw of the film is the psychology and how it takes a toll on the main characters as they’re partially chasing a ghost.they’re restless pursuit for the truth leads to dead ends,clues that don’t make any factual sense.

    DEATH RIDES A HORSE-TRI-GUN/COYOTE RAG TIME SHOW
    While the film isn’t a futuristic western like tri-gun and some what lean more on the anime coyote rag time their just so much too love.

    PLOT: a young boy watches his family get killed by outlaws and plans his revenge and waiting for the right time to strike!

    WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH:
    One of the things most of the film’s on this list have is a very simple plot compared to the anime that I’m comparing them to.it’s quiet easy to forget the joys that come with a fairly simple plot structure.
    This film is rather old but I hope that doesn’t scare some of you away because it has so much too offer.what made both tri-gun and coyote rag time show great was the vast landscapes and the bizarre and colorful characters.
    The film feels familiar because every character has a gun and a checkered past or an axe to grind.a town full of deceit and crime with the only solution is to bring justice one shell at a time.

    FULL METAL JACKET/MECH-ANIME/GRAVE OF THE FIRE FILES
    This movie is really dirty in every single way possible.and,yes that way too.

    PLOT:this film takes a looks at the daily lives of soldier’s in the Vietnam war from training to the actual battlefield as the war takes a it’s toll.

    WHY YOU SHOULD WATCHC:
    With lines like “This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine.” I felt incredibly dirty and uneasy.I could sit and name numerous things and point out the geniuses of Stanley Kubrick but I won’t.
    From the beginning of the film’s icon opening in a boot camp the soldiers quickly learn that it’s another cog in the war machine and just made to spit out military officers who clearly aren’t ready for the Vietnam war.
    The trauma doesn’t stop there as our main lead finds out about lots of cover ups and fake news reports to lessen the work load and to keep us feeling safe in this losing battle.soon,the soldiers get use to this reality and it’s all they know.

    I hoped you enjoyed the reading I much as I enjoyed writting.also,tell me what you think?

  12. drill's Blog

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    After a year of being on here, I’ve noticed that more often than not, that many users might already have an idea on what anime they like, but haven’t a clue when it comes to manga. As such, there are some suggestions listed below based on what you might like:

    Do you like extremely long titles that get released rather frequently, along with a unique Shounen twist in it? If so, you might actually be more interested in Manhwa (Korean manga pretty much). Here are a few titles that you might want to start off with:

    Tower of God

    This is quite an interesting title as there are so many plot twists, and has great fight scenes and character development as well. As many titles that run for a long time, it does start to make quite a few of the characters more generic past around chapter 180 or so.

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    Magician

    The first Manhwa I’ve ever read. It has an excellent blend of adventure and action, and does quite well with world building. Like Tower of God though, it starts to make some characters more generic later on, but sadly, I would say that it does it more so than Tower of God. Ah, and I need to mention, don’t let the artwork at the beginning turn you off, it gets better rather quickly.

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    However, maybe a long running action/adventure story really isn’t your thing, and you’re looking for something more relaxing. These few titles are slice of life, and are quite relaxing (and quite cute as well).

    Love So Life

    I’ve only just started reading this one, so I can’t actually say too much about it, but everything about the manga so far is really heartwarming. I think one of the main reasons why I like it so much is the MCs flashbacks are a lot darker than the story itself which helps contrast and explain certain decisions she might make during the present.

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    Nukoduke!

    A story about little cat people called Nukos who live with their owner Yuuya and their every day lives. Its a rather short manga as it has very few pages per chapter, and really doesn’t focus too much on character development, but rather just being an extremely cute slice of life.

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    Finally, maybe you are looking to read a high school manga, but are tired of cliches that have been done before.

    Relife

    This is an amazing manga. It starts out quite a bit different from your typical high school setting since the MC is ten years older than everyone else at high school. I found it rather enjoyable, and a bit nostalgic as well, as it does a much better job at creating a high school atmosphere than most other stories do. Not only that, but all of the characters are well developed and have their own realistic problems.

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    Well, that’s it for recommendations for now. I’ll probably come around again in a bit and make another list that focuses on supernatural and romance next time. Thanks for reading! 🙂

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    As the winter 2016 anime season is starting, multiple new animes are coming out that catch the attention of any type of anime genre viewer. Whether they deserve for you to anxiously wait until they are released in a week’s time is all up to you. This season I have choosen to anxiously wait for the premiere and run of the anime, Dagashi Kashi, literally translating to cheap sweets candy. The premise of this anime follows Shikada Kokonotsu and his father,owner of a rural sweets shop, and his plan for Kokonotsu to take it over one day. However, Kokonotsu drem is to pursue his manga career, to which his father believes is not the best path for his son. One day in the summer, a cute but weird girl Shidare Hotaru,the heir to a famous candy operation, comes to visit the Kokonotsus. Apparently, Kokonotsu’s father is famous and she wants him to join her company. The story of this anime begins to unfold with the contract of Kokonotsu’s father to Hotaru, the only way for him to join her is persuading her son to inherit the family shop.

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    So far, the anime has a very captivating plot that although it is masked behind the enormous amount of forced and genuine humor, still reminds you the main objective of this show and this story. The plot doesn’t seem to let go any hint of any romance between any of these characters, but it is possible as many jokes were made about relationships throughout the course of the show. Characters seem to have room for development throught the course of the series.The animations are pretty good and the opening song is cute. As a result I award the story with a 4/5, animation with a 3/5 , characters with a 3/5, sound with a 2/5, and my personal enjoyment 4/5.Giving this anime a 3.75 , rating of watch it and await its release.This is definitely going to follow and await its release. If you enjoy slice of life, and comedic animes check this one out. And even if you don’t still check it out. Tell me your feelings about this anime in the comments.

  13. Hello and welcome to my Kanon 2006 Article! I can’t remember the last time I had enough time to write an Article for Anime Forums. Life has been crazy but it has slowed down for the time being for me. So here I am, back with another Article! This Article will be different from my previous Articles. (if anybody who has read those is still here xP) I will not be doing an episode guide. Instead, I’m going to discuss the main characters of Kanon 2006.

    Do NOT open the spoiler tags unless you’ve already watched Kanon 2006 as they contain MAJOR SPOILERS.

    Aizawa Yuuichi

    kanon-2.png.0fdfb6f97e0f1751d96c42df844cee6a.pngAizawa Yuuichi is the main character of Kanon. He used to visit the city but, after a terrible tragedy, he leaves and doesn’t return for seven years. When he finally goes back, he hardly remembers anything from seven years prior. He lives with his cousin, Nayuki and her mother. As he interacts with the people he met in the past, he slowly starts to regain his memory. Yuuichi is this fun guy who teases all the main girls but he has a good heart and often acts like an older brother and protects them. He does choose a girl towards the end which I’ll discuss later on.

    This whole person going to a city, leaving for seven years and returning with few memories really reminded me of the anime Celestial Method which I absolutely loved so that alone instantly got me hooked on Kanon. I seriously would love to be Yuuichi. All he does is go to school and then wander around talking to beautiful girls xP He’s a really great guy.

    Yuuichi’s Ending

    kanon-3.png.f065cde108dee239d5ad71ad47e60dd5.pngLater on, Yuuichi realizes he is in love with Ayu. They share a kiss. Ayu’s ending occurs and after lots of tears, heartaches and a miracle, they end up together.

    I’m not going to go into this too much since most of it involves Ayu’s route and I’m going to discuss it later. It’s really sweet and a good pair up for Yuuichi. (although not the best in my opinion but I’ll get to that later. xP)

     

     

    Nayuki Minase

    kanon-4.png.0d29aab5093a34867dba10b0e2e47734.pngNayuki is Yuuichi’s cousin. She loves strawberry sundaes. She’s such a heavy sleeper that she has to have a plethora of alarm clocks and even then, they don’t always wake her up and Yuuichi or her mother has to get her up. Even when she gets up, she is often in such a sleepy daze that, she can eat, get dressed for school and head out to school with Yuuichi before she even wakes up. Then she’s confused as to how she got to where she was fully dressed xP This often causes her to be late for school and she often ends up running. She runs to school so much that she became the school’s star runner and captain of the track team. She loves cats despite being highly allergic to them.

    Nayuki is an extremely fun character to watch. Her sleepy dazes are always so amusing to watch because she usually passes out again, often while eating or walking. xP  Her “neko mode” is pretty adorable as well. She easily has the best facial expressions out of every character in Kanon.

    Nayuki’s Ending

    kanon-5.png.e6dd2b3bbe676a0579b2420b17066d33.pngAfter a request for strawberry cake leads to Nayuki’s mother getting in an accident, Nayuki shuts down and completely blames herself for what happens. She tries to pretty much cut herself off from all her friends saying that she doesn’t deserve to be happy since it was her fault that her mother was in the hospital. It’s mainly due to the intervention by Yuuichi and some of her other friends that snap her out of it. Her mother survives the incident. It is also revealed that Nayuki is in love with Yuuichi.

    Seeing that expression on Nayuki’s face, in the above picture, nearly destroyed me the first time I was watching Kanon. She’s such a sweet girl that I just want to save her from the pain although that pain does make her stronger in the end. With this being based on a Key VN, I was soooo afraid Nayuki’s mother was going to die. I was so relieved when it was revealed that her mother didn’t die.

     

     

    Mai Kawasumi

    kanon-6.png.e26724dd8b63b7608c975c160f3ad065.pngMai Kawasumi is a mysterious girl. Due to her disregard for what’s considered “normal behavior”, she’s viewed as a delinquent by the other students. She can usually be found with her best and only friend Sayuri. She doesn’t talk much and even when she does, it’s usually brief responses. After meeting Mai in the hallway of the school at night, Yuuichi starts eating lunch with Mai and Sayuri and Mai slowly warms up to him.

    Mai is the cute, quiet type in Kanon. Don’t let that disguise fool you though because she’s a badass with a sword. She is extremely protective of Sayuri and let’s just say you wouldn’t want Mai to catch you being mean to or hurting Sayuri. It won’t end well for you xP.

    Mai’s Ending

    kanon-7.png.85b5b6b964f36f5e30c6ed592ca764b4.pngIt is revealed that Mai’s mother became ill when Mai was younger. After her mother is miraculously healed, we find out that Mai has the power to heal anybody and anything.  This power made the townspeople fear her and as a result everybody except her mother ostracized her. Mai was told that she would meet someone who would be able to put aside her powers and become a great friend and that friend was Yuuichi. Soon after, Yuuichi had to leave town and return home. This made Mai sad and, out of desperation, she made up a story about demons invading the field of wheat where they played together. Soon afterwards, a school was built on that field and Mai started walking the grounds at night, sword in hand, fighting off the demons. It is revealed that the demons are the manifestation of Mai’s power. Together with Yuuchi, Mai defeats each of the demons and afterwards, she tries to commit suicide but fails which lands her in the hospital.

    Mai’s ending is okay. You basically just find out that the destruction is caused by Mai not accepting her healing powers and the fact that she missed Yuuichi. Each time a demon was killed it hurt Mai. She survives her suicide attempt due to something I’ll discuss later.

     

    Shiori Misaka

    kanon-8.png.ee89e93e87c8ba5783bbeba0f62a9941.pngOne day, while adventuring with Ayu, Yuuichi meets Shiori, although during the first encounter, Yuuichi doesn’t get her name. A few days later, as Yuuichi is staring outside the window during class, he notices that Shiori is standing out in the snow right outside the school. When lunch comes, Yuuichi goes outside to talk to Shiori and learns her name and that she is outside waiting for somebody. He also learns that she is a student there but she is sick with a cold and that is why she isn’t in class. Yuuichi tells her to go home since she is sick and it’s snowing which isn’t going to help her get better. Nevertheless, she shows up every day waiting for somebody.

    Shiori reminds me a lot of Nagisa from Clannad (Nagisa’s character may have been based on Shiori since they are both Key titles) She’s sick, sicker than what she tells Yuuichi at first. She has a dream and that’s why she’s waiting for someone everyday at school even though she is too sick to actually attend. She’s a really sweet girl.

    Shiori’s Ending

    kanon-9.png.1f9cb7077f2b1f1d8077250560c51842.pngShiori is expected to die before her next birthday. We also find out that Kaori Misaka (Yuuichi’s classmate) is Shiori’s older sister but because she knows Shiori is going to die, she acts like Shiori doesn’t exist. Yuuichi eventually gets Kaori to acknowledge and to spend time with Shiori which makes both girls much happier. The person Shiori was waiting for was her sister Kaori. It was her dream to go to school with her sister. However, Shiori does not die and starts to get better due to the same reason Mai didn’t die which I’ll discuss later. This leads to Shiori returning to school and fulfilling her dream.

    Now you see why Shiori reminds me of Nagisa: the lasting sickness, potential death and wanting to fulfill her dream. I was so happy she didn’t die. Her playful personality despite the fact she knew she was dying was beautiful.

     

     

    Makoto Sawatari

    kanon-10.png.2936d6042b4e7890b6cdd0b1ec92a350.pngYuuichi meets Makoto when she attacks him out-of-the-blue in the middle of town. She was then carried her back to his cousin’s house (where he is living), where she lives as a guest for the remainder of her story. Despite having lost her memories, she eventually remembers her name and is sure that she holds a grudge against Yuuichi from the past when he visited the city back when he was younger. Makoto’s amnesia, is much more severe than Yuuichi’s or Ayu’s, but from an entirely different source. It takes her a while to warm up to a stray cat she finds and taking Yuuichi’s suggestion, names it Piro. Makoto loves Piro very much and will often carry the cat around on her head. Makoto has a mischievous personality which leads to her performing various pranks exclusively on Yuuichi during the middle of the night due to her strong dislike for him, something she constantly reaffirms. Her pranks vary in severity, such as simply dropping food on him or once even throwing lit firecrackers into his room. Yuuichi always counters them and as a result, Makoto is the one upset in the end. As time passes and Makoto starts feeling more like a member of the Minase family rather than a stranger, she honestly grows to like Yuuichi, effectively looking beyond her latent distaste for him. Makoto has an idiosyncratic expression, “auu~”, which she says when she is frustrated or sad. It has no real meaning. Another unique speech pattern of hers is that she always refers to herself in the third person. Near the end of her story, Yuuichi buys a present for Makoto, which she chooses. It’s a bracelet with two bells on it. Makoto enjoys the sound they make.

    Finally! I’ve gotten to my favorite girl in all of Kanon! Makoto is so adorable and her failed attempts at pranks usually in up with adorable scenes with her. Auuuu~ She’s so adorable when she says Auuuu~ I just LOVE IT!!! Her interactions with Piro are always super adorable too! She’s easily the best character in all of Kanon in my opinion. I don’t think I mentioned it earlier but she eventually becomes addicted to manga and meat buns and she eventually gets Yuuichi to read to her. So adorable I could die xP

    kanon-11.png.be7f64b60595648f529abdc72a40e294.pngMakoto’s Ending

    We find out that Makoto is not a human but instead a fox that Yuuichi found ten years ago when he came to the city as a child. Yuuichi first found Makoto, back then a young fox, injured on Monomi Hill and he took the fox back and kept it in his room for the rest of the summer. One day, Yuuichi tells the fox about an older girl that he had a crush on named Makoto Sawatari, which is where Makoto’s name is derived from. At the end of summer break, Yuuichi takes the fox back to the hill and he runs away soon after releasing her, leading her to be angry with Yuuichi. Her desire to see Yuuichi again was so strong that her wish was granted…..at the cost of her memories….and later…..after her humanistic qualities start to fade and all she can say is Auuuu~, Yuuichi takes Makoto to Monomi Hill and pretends to marry her,  making her final wish come true. Soon after, Makoto dies fulfilling the final requirement of the miracle.

    Makoto has the saddest route in Kanon because she actually dies. My heart broke and I hated that the cost of her miracle was her memories and later her life….Even now, I can barely type my thoughts on the matter because being reminded of it just makes me want to cry :’( :’( :’( :’( :’(

     

     

    Ayu Tsukimiya

    kanon-12.png.75156ccb87be0ec4dbc08975669d3069.pngAyu is a rather short, strange, energetic, and a very mysterious girl who literally bumps into Yuuichi early on in the story. She is easily recognizable by her winged backpack, and her red hairband. Ayu is left handed and loves to eat taiyaki. Ayu often takes out her frustration by using the idiosyncratic expression “uguu” much like Makoto with her “Auuu.” She is searching for an item that is important to her but she doesn’t remember what it is only that she’ll know it when she sees it. She has a severe lack of present day knowledge such as she doesn’t know what a cell phone is. She has memory loss as well.

    Ayu is really adorable and my second favorite girl in Kanon. Her “Uguuu” makes me die of adorableness just like Makoto’s “Auuuu~” did. Encounters with Ayu are pretty funny because she usually runs toward Yuuichi trying to hug him and he dodges which leads to her hitting a tree or falling over. She never stays mad at Yuuichi for too long though because he buys her taiyaki which she loves. And now onto the final ending of Kanon.

    Ayu’s Ending

    kanon-13.png.f6416f49b2b0164c9953405a84936c7a.pngSeven years before the story begins, Ayu falls out of a tree and hits her head on the last day Yuichi was going to be in town. At first, he believes she died, but Akiko reveals she is in the hospital and has been in a coma for the past seven years. The Ayu Yuichi has been meeting in town is actually an astral projection of herself (similar to Fuuko in Clannad). Later on in the series, with Yuuichi’s help, she breaks out of her coma, and gets her hair inadvertently cut too short when she goes to a barber shop, leading him to comment how much she looks like a boy like he did before. The item she had been looking for was a small angel doll that Yuuichi had given her telling her that it would grant three wishes as long as Yuuichi could make the wishes come true. She uses two of them and then her and Yuuichi bury the doll in a jar as a kind of time capsule. While Ayu is in her coma, she gains the ability to have one wish granted and she chooses for the one she cares deeply for to always be happy; that’s why Nayuki’s mother, Mai and Shiori didn’t die.

    I was heartbroken when I thought Ayu was dead. I was so relieved to find out she was in a coma and when she finally awoke. If Yuuichi couldn’t have Makoto, I would settle for him loving Ayu. I don’t know why Ayu’s wish didn’t extend to saving Makoto….maybe the cost of the Makoto’s miracle overrode the effects of Ayu’s wish. I just don’t know…..

    It was a pretty good ending to a great anime!

     

     

    I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey I’ve taken you on through the lives of the main cast of Kanon and I hope that you’ve either watched it or that this Article will inspire you to watch it! Thank you so much for taking the time to read it! I hope you have a great day!

    ~Ryuji

  14. greek-carnival.thumb.jpg.fe37e211b7f27f3d80dbf0d2c768b4fa.jpg

    ETYMOLOGY
    Over the years, I’ve heard one too many different opinions about the origins of the word ‘canival’. However, it appears to hail from the late latin words ‘carnem’ (meat) and levare (to remove/ take away) which actually sums up the purpose of the carnival period: to prepare yourself for the Easter fast. The greek word ‘απόκριες’ (apokries) also indicates an abstinence from meat.

    HISTORY
    The celebrations that accompany carnival originate from ancient Greece and the Dionysian rites, that took place in late winter and symbolised the coming of spring. In Athens, specifically, a chariot would make its way to the city while being followed by dancers and singers, who were dressed up in costumes that resembled goats and sang satyrical songs. After the prevalence of Christianism, pagan elements were fused with the new traditions, thus indicating the beggining of the Lent.

    Modern carnival started appearing in Greece during the 19th century, after the Ionian islands were unified with the mainland. The Ionians, that were under heavy italian influence, contributed greatly in shaping contemporary celebrations.

    DURATION
    The duration of the carnival period can vary, depending on Easter. The opening ceremony always takes place on a Saturday night in mid January. The same doesn’t apply for the closing ceremony, though. The Burning of the Carnival King, that marks the end of celebrations, is exactly seven weeks before Easter. If Easter comes late, like this year, carvival can last up to two months!

    CELEBRATIONS
    Different cities host different events and, honestly, there are too many of them to be written here. Therefore, I will only focus on those that take place in the city of Patras, where I live.

    Organisation:
    In order to take part in the parades, you need to sign up in a crew. Crews can be found anywhere in the city and each of them has their own set of costumes for males and females (you can choose whichever you want). Sometimes, crews have more than one costumes to choose from (mostly for females, though :P). You need to pay for your costume (duh!) and price depends on quality as well as the number of members. (If you go with friends as group, you get discount, discount good! *said in russian accent* 😛 )

    Events:
    Opening Ceremony
    One would think that the opening ceremony of such a grand series of events would be rather extravagant and it would feature a variety of shows but, actually, it’s more of a warm-up. It lasts for a few hours only and usually features singing by local singers/bands as well as dancing by some of the cities dance schools. A fireworks display couldn’t be missing of course (this time they went a bit overboard with it, making it even more gorgeous!). This year, we also had an acrobatics show that was a really nice addition

    It’s also the first day we can dress up, although most people go for a simple pair of animal ears or a mask rather than a full costume (at least I think it was, because I’m short and couldn’t see well ._.)

    Smoky Thursday
    After the start of the carvival period, no major events take place until the famous Smoky Thurday. Every meat lover lives for this day. Just like the name says, it’s a Thursday…. a barbequed one! Every store, wheather it is a hair saloon or a bookstore can set up their rotisserie (is this even a word? that’s what google gave me…) and roast dozens after dozens of souvlakia, selling them ridiculously cheap to passerbys, with loud music blasting out from the speakers.

    At schools, students and teachers can dress up however they want. In some elementaries, parents and teachers come and set up the rotisseries in the school yard and give children souvlakia for free, while they are having a party dressed up in their costumes. In middle schools, teachers usually order from a store and students have to pay a small price to get their souvlakia. In high schools…. well, they just let the students off much earlier without giving them any meat. It is a great chance to go out and eat with your friends, though.

    In the city center, certain events are organised for this day. This year we had a comedy wrestling show, in which various weirdos engaged in fake fights to win food. Later in the day, we have the annual ‘Marriage of koulourou*’ (*erm…that can be translated as ‘a woman who sells buns’ or something…?). It’s an old custom that presents a marriage and it takes place in the old part of the city, near the Roman Conservatory. It is based on a local myth, of a naive old woman who fell victim to the pranks of her fellow citizens and was lead to believe that the president of America, Wilson (1913-1921), was going to marry her.

    Hidden Treasure
    It’s a game played by the crew members. They are given hints and visit different locations in the city until they find the treasure and win the prize. Unless you have a ride, don’t participate, it’s suicide.

    Chocolate Wars
    People throwing chocolates. Just that… JUST THAT!!!!

    Children’s Parade
    Also called the ‘little’ parade. Hundreds of children in their costumes join a parade along with their parents. They dance to the music or board one of the floats and lazily wave at the crowd…. (my parents never let me go when I was young…..). The little parade happens a week before the end of carnival.

    Float Parade
    Floats designed by the city’s artistic workshop have their own time in the spotlight the last Friday night before the ending ceremony. They usually feature satyrical themes such as …..wait for it…… politicians! What else?

    Night Parade
    The Saturday night parade is the biggest and most important of all (Note that Patras has the biggest parades in the country 😛 ). You see people flocking downtown in large masses, only stopping to take a selfie or two with their friends. The center gets closed down so cars won’t enter and everyone is able to roam the streets freely. Colorful and creepy costumes flood the place, as everyone is striving to look unique. It’s a great opportunity for otakus to cosplay without getting any odd stares (ok, I take that back, I got a lot of odd stares 😛 ). It’s also not strange if a person completely unknown to you comes to chat or ask for a picture with you because, clearly, your cosplay is so awesome (it’s not like I’m bragging about myself here….). Alcohol is abundant and so are whistles and all kinds of trinkets that make noise. If you’re an old man living downtown, don’t even consider sleeping. Partying lasts until morning 😉

    Big Parade
    I don’t really get why they still call the Sunday parade ‘big’… It’s much smaller that that of the previous night for one simple reason: hangovers!
    Even so, it’s still pleasant to watch or take part in, whatever you prefer.

    Ending Ceremony
    The ending of the carnival period is signaled with the burning of a large gag-statue, the Carnival King. Every year, the artistic workshop makes a different King to be burnt, although it’s usually a famous (and hated) person…like……. wait for it….. a politician! What else? Once the King is on fire, there’s another fireworks display. And after that, it’s all over. See you next year!

    Others
    In between the major events, lots of others are being held like plays, concerts etc.

    THE GOOD SIDE
    Carnival, unlike the western Halloween, lasts for a long period of time, allowing people to live it to the fullest and take part in more events that they can count. You can look however you like and really be yourself without a care in the world. It’s also a huge financial relief to the city since tons of tourists come to visit.

    THE BAD SIDE
    Obviously, all big events have their downsides. The night parade especially, can be quite dangerous. Lots of people means lots of perverts as well. Stick close to your group! And, for God’s sake, when will people realise you can have fun without getting drunk? The 2-3 months after carnival are the ones when the majority of abortions take place….. guess why…

    OVERALL
    Carnival is something I both love and hate at the same time. I love the freedom it gives you but I hate noise and crowded streets. Still, if anyone asked me when is the best period to visit the country, I’d definately choose this (summer sucks). As long as you’re careful, it can be a most joyous experience.

    Stay safe and happy!
    Evil Bunny, signing off~

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