OraOraOuroboros

I binged 20th Century Boys about 8 years ago.

I first got into anime around 2001-ish. I had watched Pokemon before that, but it was Yu Yu Hakusho that really hooked me. Granted I wouldn't find anime outside of TV (or other fans) until around 2009, but watching what was on Toonami was still fun.

Currently working my way through Heavy Object.

I started FFXIV not too long ago. Playing as a pugilist so I can punch stuff to death.

I'd like to drop a few in the pile: Pumpkin Scissors: Is the name dumb? Yes. Does that make it a bad show? Not necessarily. It takes place in world similar to our own. The setting is based off of Germany during the 1920s-1930s. It's been three years since a massive war, and the Empire (yes, the setting is simply "the Empire.") is experiencing the fallout: the rich taking advantage of the poor, drug rings, political corruption, massive economic turmoil dividing the social classes even further, that sort of thing. Much akin to Germany following World War I. A military unit was commissioned in the capital to administer war relief. State Section III: Pumpkin Scissors Unit. While doing an investigation, the unit comes across Randel Oland, a (friggin huge) man who served in the war under a mysterious unit called 901-ATT. Randel happily joins the unit after learning of their cause. Despite being considered a public relations tool of the government by.....pretty much everyone, the unit's leader, Lieutenant Alice Malvin, believes in her ideals and wants to help heal her country in any way possible whether it be serving food to starving citizens or apprehending nobility for aggravating war damages. The unit must combat tanks, corrupt nobles, other soldiers, and a guy with a friggin flamethrower while a plot unveils involving a research institute, a secret society, and some top secret military units called "the Invisible 9." There was a planned second season that never happened between a hiatus on the author's part and the animation studio (Gonzo) having serious financial troubles in 2008-2009. The anime series was picked up by the now defunct ADV Films in 2007 for North American audiences. They were able to dub and release it before shutting down, and Funimation did rescue and re-release the show, but it has faded into obscurity. The manga was published in English by Del Rey for a little while, but between lacking sales and Del Rey transitioning into Kodansha USA, it got lost in the shuffle. The fan translations are only about half way through the still ongoing series (which is at about 20 volumes iirc). It's being scanned as chapters come out, but not translated. I thought I'd share that so people understand how frustrating it is being a fan of this. PS needs Senpai to take notice. Any Senpai. Texhnolyze: Ooooo boy......here we go. It's the future. Humanity is living underground and its days might be numbered. Realizing that human evolution is rather slow and the human body....kinda sucks sometimes, scientists have designed artificial limbs that can be plugged directly into your nervous system. A technology called Texhnolyze (the texh pronounced "tech"). This.....is a really dark show. I like it, but it's not for people that require happy moments en masse. The first episode is one of the most atmospheric beginnings I've seen. It sets a dark tone using very little dialogue. Trust me, it gets rather bleak. I'd look into it if you liked Serial Experiments Lain (which had the same character designer and main screenwriter), or are a fan of cyberpunk.

I drifted away for a bit. I was reflecting for a good while about some stuff. My obsession with doing everything the correct way in every possible sense is self-destructive. I'm not going to go in any further detail about it here, though. I see there's an article tab...... hmmmmmm maybe someday...... But yeah, I'm back.

I was studying philosophy until that train got derailed in a horrifying fashion. The past 9 months or so have allowed me to sort of rethink some stuff. I can't give a lot of serious thought to the issue due to my mind not being in good shape.

What's time? Kidding aside, my sleep schedule is so damn weird. To the point that I barely have one.

Well, since others are being open I might as well...... Where to begin...... The beginning really. I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. Not Asperger's. Classic autism. The "associated with the movie Rain Man" variety. The "commonly mistaken for straight up MR" variety. I do not remember anything from when I was diagnosed, or even remember experiencing being as limited as reports suggest, but my mother and written documents state that I didn't answer to my name, meaning that if my name were called I wouldn't relate the thing being called out to me as an identifier on a cognitive basis. There were a few other things that are probably relevant that I can't think of right now. I spent the next several years hard at work. I was never in Special Ed full time. I had some supplementary assistance, yes, but I was mainly in regular classes. All was reasonably well in childhood. I did make a threat against a girl's life, revealing and setting up issues that would be developed much later, and I did have to witness several accounts of verbal abuse against my mother and older brother by my grandmother, but my childhood was alright. Well, the grandma thing is important........so I'll elaborate. My grandmother was an alcoholic, but she did have ownership of the house. My mom was a single mother, still is. She didn't have anywhere to go to my understanding, and the relationships she formed that led to myself and my two brothers were questionable. She has issues, as do our respective dads. And I will try to answer to the "your mom is a whore" criticism by saying that my older brother and I are about 7 years apart and my younger brother and I are 12 years apart, and if memory serves she did little, if any, dating outside of these three. May require further context, but that's all I know. Grandma spared me from the brunt of the verbal assault up until she passed around New Years 2009. Because of these attacks on my family, I became afraid of conflict. If people were arguing or fighting in my vicinity, I would get stressed. I could handle it if it were in a fictional context, but reality? Need to get away. Of course, this caused me to be very pacifistic. I have always tried the path of least resistance. I required a defense in case running was not an option. The result was sort of terrifying. When I felt the fight or flight response kicking in, fight meant property damage, threats, and assault, and flight meant curling into the fetal position and suicide attempts. That's the simplest way I can put that. It's far more complicated and I may have this wrong, but that's my understanding of it right now. My big problems revolve around two things: severe OCD and internalized categorism. OCD isn't the random tics. The random tics and rituals offset the real problem: obsessive thinking. I tend to over-analyze. To conspiracy theorist levels. I will give examples in a second. Categorism is a term that encompasses all group based discrimination (racism, sexism, that sort of thing). Internalizing that means you belong to a group you don't want to belong to, in a sense. So internalized categorism is basically hating yourself for being who you are. I hate myself for having autism, being mentally ill, and having specific interests (anime included). There's a huge amount of interplay between these two. I'm conscious that anything I do or say could be interpreted as something only a disabled person would do. I restrict my behavior so much that people don't learn that I have autism, am mentally ill, like certain things, etc. It becomes too much and I ruin my own facade. Here's where it gets really bad. I can't exhibit any behavior that could interpreted as nervous or that of a mentally ill person where law enforcement is involved between the news over the last few years about school shootings and the fact that the mentally ill can be profiled (not to Psycho-Pass levels, but that would be petrifying). I can't reveal my interests due to the stereotypes revolving around them. General population: Japanese animation: weirdo, idiot, childish Animation in general: (same as above, possibly more so) Wrestling: gullible, stupid Disability: "r-word", using as crutch, "you don't seem disabled", well-meaning but pity-driven sympathy Depression: "get over it", "grow a pair", emo, "world's smallest violin" Anxiety: "get over it" Anger: insanity, incarceration, "needs to be put down", "deserves death" Psychiatric Professionals: Animation: would get sent to an institution due to a possible link between this interest and mental instability. This theory comes from several nerd media based studies connecting things such as comic books, Dungeons & Dragons, video games, and anime to juvenile delinquency and psychosis. This dates back at the very least to a flawed, yet still influential book called Seduction of the Innocent. Seduction of the Innocent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Don't get me started on within fandoms. I can't define my own tastes, so I could be attacked by newcomers and veterans to anime for various reasons. I also abstain from critics due to certain views they have being parroted for no reason, doubt being generated concerning my intelligence and worth as a person for liking certain shows or recurring tropes, and the possibility that those very people would tell me to kill myself if I didn't agree with them. As for now.....here's a brief version. * Get accepted into a University. Transitioning from a two-year school to a four-year one. As well as from an assisted living home to a college dorm (this is a very complicated story to tell and I'm getting tired so....not today) * Am supposed to get help from the company I lived under every so often * transition works fine * Loneliness sets in * Inability to make connections with others becomes more obvious to me * End up limiting my exposure to my strongest support system for admittedly trivial reasons * Company tricks me into signing myself out * Medication runs low * Pressure gets to me * Acting out gets me in trouble, put on behavioral probation * GPA slightly lower than necessary, full tuition scholarship in danger, housing also in danger due to conditions of probation * Direction of therapy not going where it needs to go. Focus on current events, not root causes * Director of residential life being a possible ablest (though I might have been reading into things) * A certain hotline proves counter productive as the volunteer ends up triggering me further (unintentionally, but still) * I crack and threaten suicide * After talking with some res life employees, I'm approached by the campus police who say there's an ambulance outside for me. I go with the assumption I would be back within a few days...... * Learn on day 2 or so that I was going to be evicted. * Due to an even more complicated situation I had nowhere to live. I spent a good while in there. * Released to my mother under the impression that it would be quite temporary. The release was seven months ago. There was a reason my mother was reluctant to take me. This is the only place at the moment that I could be monitored by people that understand how to deal with me on a reasonable level, but it is highly detrimental to my development as a human being. I have left the apartment less than 10 times. I'm not really monitored actually, just cared for. I can go hours without talking to anyone. And I mean actual conversations, not things like twitter banter. Isolation at this level can do damage. I'm really only here until there's somewhere to transition to. The friend I mentioned in my intro post, the "elitist" (though he's more of a litter-bearer, one who likes something but hates other fans), he is the only person I spoke to about anime at all for some time via skype. The changes I saw in him I found unsettling. Just hours ago, I blocked and cut ties with him in any way I could find. twitter, skype, tumblr (deleted that, even). I didn't want to look at tweets that exuded that much hatred. I fear being who I am, but even worse I fear not knowing who I am. I've restricted myself so much for so long that the emptiness became who I am, not what I was actually hiding. I'm really sorry for the info dump. I did not know how to make this short. Context is kind of important for most things in my life.

Welcome! You seem just wonderful. You'll be okay here. I have some the same problems as you do regarding others. Again, welcome to the boards. Hope you enjoy it here. ^^ [spoiler=Click for dancing hamster]

I would try to collect myself and then try to find my way home. I might be a fan of Japanese works, but I would never travel there. I know they're not fond of foreigners or otaku (the word usage is far more negative there than it is in the US). I'm overweight, so there's another point against me. Also, I'm not the healthiest mentally. I've always had this hunch that "the crazies" and "the tards" are not treated well by the general population. I fall into both of those categories. Sorry about the downer... Here's dancing Hamtaro!

It is more me than him, admittedly, but he's been one of the very few anime fans I've spoken to for a while. I had noticed a change in him recently, and decided to take a break from him to find folks that even if I did disagree with I wouldn't be afraid of being lashed out at and trolled endlessly like I am with this guy. I admit to having some rather serious issues that I didn't want to even hint at.

I do enjoy me some DW, at least what I've seen. That reminds me......I need to get back to that time traveling weirdo in the police box one of these days. ^^

That was some great planning with the girl's bath......and then things got weird......and that's saying something with a guy drawn like this walking around... .

I have seen bits of K, Magi, and the first Ippo series that came out. Kenichi I remember not getting into, but I may revisit it. But Kangoku Gakuen........I'll pass. Recently I had a random urge to look at ecchi manga (I get those every so often) and I looked at it completely blind. Excessive fanservice is one thing, but I was really turned off by all the dominatrix-like sadism and the guys suddenly being total masochists. I groaned. Not my thing. Sorry. Some of these I know nothing about, but no telling when I'll get to those. My watching habits tend to randomly rotate around a certain amount of series at one time and I watch a few episodes of one and then feel like doing something else, whether that's switching shows or just doing other stuff. I tend to drift back and forth from watching things, but at least I don't stop for no real reason like I used to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IStlBOX9F4o

Tom the Fish mode: CHOCOLATE!!!! Favorite pizza topping?

I watch stuff on hulu. (Triple O doesn't afraid of commercials) What was the last anime/manga related thing you bought? (Can include DVD/Blu-Ray/other video format, manga volumes, games, or other merchandise related to at least one anime and/or manga. Includes films in the case of animation, and "none" is an acceptable answer)

I've yet to have an answer to the waifu question, mostly because I haven't asked myself until recently. Due to my recent sporadic watching sessions, I know that one girl is currently going through the "Harem Application Process" Sailor Mercury/Ami Mizuno "But you haven't seen all of the Senshi ye..." "I don't need to!! She's a cute super genius!!" "Ummmm..." "In the name of Mercury, I will.......do stuff!" "Whatever." So, yeah......that was a peek into my world. The world of a man's search for sanity, new friends, and waifus. For some reason I want to jokingly call them waffles on occasion.....then I thought of this.. [spoiler=Everybody Wants Waffles]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnvGWHbPtZ0 Yyyyyyyyup. ^^

My sort of weird sporadic rotation of shows on Hulu (I do not fear these commercials, as some do) are: Log Horizon Sailor Moon (Viz dub. My first watch-through ever. I'm enjoying it.) Noragami Rose of Versailles (I've barely scratched the surface, but will try to return) Fist of the North Star (Because Kenshiro)

I should clarify the definition of "super-recently." I'm referring to things that have aired in Japan since 2012-13ish. I own all of Death Note and Samurai Champloo is great. I've avoided most of the things to come out either because the internet has become quite hostile or I'm a bit of a squid. EDIT: @Ryuji That's quite reassuring. I'm not exactly green when it comes to anime, I just know a limited amount of people I can talk to about it. I recognized every series name under the "welcome back, onii-chan" thing, but only knew Mikasa and Mayuri. Went with Mayuri. Didn't dig too far into either AoT/SnK or Gate of them thar Steins (optional semi-colon). I have trouble sticking with any series these days, short or long. Motivation is hard to maintain at times. It's not typically the show.