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So I know that we are in a pandemic and all, so meet ups and con's are pretty much off the table for a while yet. But I wonder if there are any of you on here, like myself, who live in really rural areas and have limited access to the anime/manga community outside of online? Growing up I had no idea that anime or manga even existed. Growing up in a pretty conservative house I had only brief glimpses of such things through mediums like Pokémon and my friend's interests, but even these influences were limited by my parents. When I was in probably the 5th or 6th grade was my first real introduction to anime through some fellow classmates, mostly because they wanted me to understand why it was so cool. Soon after I began spotting Japanese styled books and shows everywhere and became pretty obsessed with the language and culture as well. I even started a club with my school mates (though honestly there were only like 4 of us and all we did was meet at my house to watch shows and eat snacks). But soon enough that small group disintegrated, either by moving away or the slow ebb of communication once I went off to high school. In high school I went to a coed academy in the middle of nowhere (very generous private sponsors my whole life), filled with lots of young people my age from my church denomination. Strangely enough there were quite a few like myself who enjoyed the medium! To the boys dorm I became the download queen (Our school rules prohibiting private movies and dvds for our laptops), they would come to me for absolutely any and all anime, because unlike the other girls in my dorm I liked ALL anime and manga, not limiting myself to genera. Several of us made far off distant plans to travel to cons and experience the American world of anime, others (including myself) wanted to travel to Japan someday (though by this time my interests were not solely weeb and I had actual interest in the country itself). But time went by and people moved on. I graduated and went to China for 2 years (again sponsors), and while there never really lost my love for Japan. After two years I returned to my small hometown in the middle of the US. and here I have remained for about 6 years now? But unlike the rest of my story I have been pretty alone in my interests up to this point. There are a few fellow weebs where I live, but I am not particularly close to them. My closest book/entertainment store is severely limited in both the anime and manga sections, with prices being jacked through the roof for conveniences sake. So now at 25, with two years of Uni down and another two to go, my single and alone ass is out here looking for other people like myself just to have a conversation with about our mutual interests. I am also wondering where all the guys from my church who liked anime and manga went... did yall fall off the face of the planet? Yall need to come back because ya girl never left. But seriously though, I'm not alone in this problem right? At least the rural living, with limited access and few if any friends who share this interest?

Naruto is know for it's large cast of lovable characters but as of episode 112 of the original series I can definitively say that Rock Lee is easily my favourite character in the series. Everything from his positive demeanor, to his underdog background is so very beautifully shounen, he's so very cheesy with his background of fighting back against those who didn't believe in him, finding comfort in Might Guy and rising to become a splendid ninja. But what I think makes him special is just how genuinely sympathetic, yet still endearingly passionate in the face of absolute failure and misfortune he can be. An example of what I've expressed comes from his legendary fight against Gaara in the preliminaries before the finals of the Chunin Exams. When he is defeated by Gaara we learn that he will never be able to return to being a shinobi due to the severity of his injuries, this causes Lee to question his future and everything up until this point becuase of his ethos being to never give up and that with hard work even he can become a splendid ninja but in spite of it all he keeps a positive outlook and whole heartedly believes he will one day recover with perseverance. Eventually Naruto finds the legendary healer Sanin Tsunade who is famous for her healing capabilities, however she urges Lee to quit being a shinobi due to his only option being life threatening surgery, at this point, desperate for an answer he asks Might Guy what to do, in a highly emotional climax both Lee and Might Guy decide that in order to coninue his dream he must never give up as that is his nindo, his ninja way. In the end he displays something so beautifully simple, that passion and perseverance will always pay off and that even in the worst of times we can continue to be better for ourselves and for those we love. Rock Lee is my favourite because he's corny and goofy and simple and so emblematic of what I love about shounen anime.

So lately I keep seeing the terms otaku & weeb/weaboo used interchangeably. Maybe no longer the case but the distinction I learned was “otaku” when used to refer to a westerner is someone who’s a fan of japanese pop culture (anime/manga/video games etc). A “weeb/weaboo” was a westerner who’s convinced japanese culture/heritage is superior to their own and tries to imitate japanese mannerisms & philosophy, but usually wind up coming across as a false stereotype (wannabe/poser). So while I accept the label otaku, “weeb” makes me cringe. Of course from a purely japanese semantic, otaku can be used to refer to someone with an unhealthy obsession about anything, usually to the point where it has a negative effect on other aspects of their life. Anyway, not trying to call anyone out, just something of a pet peeve of mine.

Any of you play Call of Duty or Halo?

Welcome back to confirmation biases. Last time, I explained that to avoid confirmation bias, you'd have to view a perspective on both sides. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do. So, what did I mean by viewing a perspective on both sides? Well, simply put, I meant what I said. You find both proving and disproving evidence of a topic. Well, how do you do this? Think of it this way - "Does this evidence give clear evidence that this might be right? If not, is there any counter evidence?" If the answer to this is yes, congratulations - You've found sound evidence that does not confirm that your belief is 100% right. At the most, you've most likely only confirmed a very small portion of your claim. If the answer to this is no, however, you then look for counter evidence. Counter evidence to see if your not-clear evidence is incorrect. Let's use an example, again. You're investigating a murder. You have solid evidence that the murderer is a 15-year old child from... I don't know, Kentucky. However, you know that this one piece of evidence doesn't confirm it, and therefore, look for counter-evidence. Then, you do find counter-evidence. You find counter-evidence that they're not from Kentucky, and that they're actually from New Jersey. So, you put both of these aside and begin battling out which seems more likely. If, however, you can't find a conclusion, then set them aside for later until you find more evidence/counter-evidence. Once you have enough, argue with yourself, then make your case. This has been Week One of Logic Lessons with L, stay tuned for Week Two, which we'll be discussing about planning and unplanned executions of... anything.