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Shiroe

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  2. Shiroe

    Screaming

    By Shiroe,

    AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

    AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

    EEEEEEYAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

    HAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

    AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  3. Shiroe
    Isekai Quartet is one of the anime airing this season. It's not finished yet, but I'd like to give my thoughts about it here.
     
    Overlord
    Overlord is by far my favorite out of the four. I love the characters; they bounce off each other in a way that I find hilarious, especially in the spin-offs like A La Carte and Ple Ple Pleiades. A common complaint I see about Overlord is that the guardians have no/the same personality because they're all loyal to Ainz. This might seem true to an outsider, but as someone who's a bit closer with the series, I feel that the characters are distinct and interesting.
    Overlord has, in my opinion, carried Isekai Quartet so far. Ainz has done the most legwork interacting with the other characters, which is the point of a crossover show. He even ends an episode in the most comfy way possible, but I'll let you experience that yourself if you haven't seen Isekai Quartet yet. Ainz should also be the most relatable for the average viewer, even if he's a skeleton lich Sorcerer King.

     
    KonoSuba
    For some reason, r/anime and /a/ just love KonoSuba. While I actually used to like KonoSuba a lot, constantly hearing exaggerations about how hilarious or based it is has turned me off of the show. (So much, in fact, that it has made me lower my score of it on Anilist.) My biggest issue with KonoSuba in Isekai Quartet is the repetitiveness of their gag humor. This is especially true of Darkness, who pretty much has one joke in both Isekai Quartet and the KonoSuba anime. I still do like Darkness in KonoSuba, but in Isekai Quartet, she's just outright annoying. Megumin also hasn't done much in Isekai Quartet yet either, so sorry if you're a Megumin fan.
    Honestly, watching Isekai Quartet made me realize why Aqua is so popular, even if Megumin is the "canon" ship with Kazuma. Aqua and Kazuma are hilarious. Their jokes felt the least repetitive, and in Episode 8, Aqua has a hilarious interaction with Albedo and Shalltear that just made me laugh because of the connection that was being made across the two anime. I still find /a/'s constant praise of KonoSuba to be worrying, but I shouldn't let that stop me from enjoying an otherwise good anime.

    Re:Zero
    Oof, Re:Zero has pretty much always been polarizing. A lot of people (including the characters IN the show) find Subaru obnoxious, but I actually like him. He has a wholesome hikki-esque sense of humor that a lot of people think about but don't say. Also, the Re:Zero anime (out of these four anime) is the most compelling to watch on an episode-to-episode basis. I still remember sitting on the edge of my seat watching Re:Zero for the first time and having the ending theme send chills down my spine.
    As for Re:Zero's role in Isekai Quartet, I personally find it to be the weakest link. Roswaal's voice is grating, Emilia & Beatrice have minor roles, and Rem's character is just "I love Subaru" now. However, I find Ram's smirk to be hilarious, and I still find Subaru's antics to be endearing, even if annoying.

    Youjo Senki
    Youjo Senki is by far the most unique isekai on this list. It's ugly, unfamiliar, and features a completely unrelatable protagonist. Because of that, it is the least popular of the four anime, but I would say it has the most purpose to it. Overlord (in the anime so far) has mostly been a power fantasy. KonoSuba is a comedy. Re:Zero has had more meat to it, bringing out the most extremes of its characters to grip the audience, but the ending of season 1 made it feel like the show had no purpose. On the other hand, Youjo Senki has a goal and path to the story with unique themes, settings and power system that're interesting to learn about. However, because of Youjo Senki's heavy focus on these topics, the characters are sparse and extremely boring.
    A comedy like Isekai Quartet is carried by the interactions between characters. Although Youjo Senki brings a squadron of people, it really has two characters, (Tanya and Viktoriya) and Viktoriya has yet to do anything interesting. But, Tanya has had a golden moment with Ainz where they enjoy themselves, which is honestly a breath of fresh air for me and the both of them. Both of them live stressful lives, feeling alone and disconnected with the people around them due to their leadership status, so it was actually nice to see them become good friends that can relate to one another. Tanya also gets along with Ainz's close "friend" Demiurge, which also brought a smile to my face.

    Summary - Is it worth watching?
    Honestly? Is this show worth watching? If you've already seen all four of these shows, then sure, it's a nice filler anime. But if you don't like one of the anime on the list, (for instance, you think Overlord's characters are boring or you don't appreciate KonoSuba's humor) then it may not be for you. Either way, it's not a huge waste of time, as it's only going to be 12 episodes that are around 12 minutes long each. So far, I would rate the show somewhere between a 5 and a 7, but it's not finished yet so it's hard to say definitively. 

  4. Shiroe
    Well, if you read that title and are expecting this blogpost to be a guide on how to become a successful Youtuber...
     

    Sorry, but no.
    Note: this entry is rambling and my personal experience/opinion.

    You know, for a big part of my life, I've wanted to have a community. I've tried a lot of different things, like reddit, 4chan, discord, etc.
    A lot of them don't really sit right with me.

    Let's start off with reddit. For the most part, the reddit website is fine, but I have lots of issues with the r/anime subreddit. Here are some of my issues with it:
    The same things are said over and over again. This is possibly due to the seasonal format recycling the same ideas. This is really bothersome for me because no new "ideas" are being thought of. There's too much Fanart. Fanart isn't necessarily bad, but if I wanted to see fanart of a show, I would subscribe to that show's subreddit. Most comments in a fanart post have nothing new to say. There's no discussion at all. The same joke or a variation of it is always top comment, rather than the comments that have something interesting to say. This is due to the "early bird gets the worm" system that reddit has when it comes to its voting system. Instead encouraging thinking, the reddit system encourages taking a trending joke and fitting it into the scenario. Because a comment was posted earlier, it has been seen for a longer time; therefore, that comment will get upvoted. Comments that are not top comments get buried in an avalanche of redditors rushing to get their karma. The upvote/downvote system is stupid. Many times, I get downvoted for doing nothing wrong. Conversely, people who say stupid/obvious things get upvoted. In other subreddits, downvoting should only be used to show that something is off-topic, offensive, or rulebreaking, but r/anime uses it as a disagree button I post many things that are on-topic, yet still get downvoted for no apparent reason. This is super frustrating because I can never find out why I got downvoted. It just happens. It feels too impersonal. On my time on AF, I feel like I've already gotten to know some of you guys despite being here for less than a month. From using reddit over years, I have not felt the same. I feel like no one knows who I am, and no one knows who each other are. The only way people know people is through other websites. (For instance, Youtubers or Twitter users, etc.) I explained to someone why I don't like getting spoiled. I was downvoted, and then someone replied to me saying "spoilers don't ruin a show". The person who replied to me got upvoted. Both the person and the people who downvoted me failed to see that I was explaining why you shouldn't spoil things for other people. Instead of trying to understand me, they downvote me anonymously. Some other points that may or may not be true anymore: Mods are power-hungry, corrupt, and hard to work with Rules don't make sense or are unintuitive Posts get taken down for no good reason And most importantly, the biggest problem of all... The community is way too passive aggressive. They dance around what they're saying in a sarcastic manner, which is really frustrating.
    Boy, that list was longer than I expected.
    I still love reddit, but it's definitely time for me to part ways with r/anime. I've had very few problems with other subreddits, like r/manga or r/animemes. This may be because more specific subreddits have a focus. For instance, fanart isn't banned on r/manga, but it's taboo to spam fanart there because the subreddit is, in essence, a manga-focused subreddit. The r/anime subreddit, however, will just hoard whatever anime-related content it sees while hypocritically banning topics that "aren't anime".
    MrAnimeFan and others have had this issue before, and it's really confusing.
    Next up is 4chan's /a/. I've pretty much only lurked there, but the vibes are definitely not for me. Essentially:
    Way too many untagged spoilers Constant aggressiveness Refusal to understand other viewpoints, even when proven wrong Impersonality/lack of "community" It's still way better than r/anime, though. The discussions on /a/ are way more "intelligent" than r/anime, there isn't a stupid voting system, and their general taste in anime is much better than r/anime's.
    That last point is entirely subjective, but I still stand by it. I probably feel this way because many of my thoughts about an anime are never even mentioned on r/anime, (or they are downvoted when brought up) but are explained in detail on /a/ in a precise way that just clicks with me. The biggest example I can think of off of the top of my head is My Hero Academia. Everyone and their grandmother loves this show, but there were so many things that bothered my enjoyment of the show that're just overlooked on r/anime. On the other hand, /a/ will gladly call out anything they have an issue with.
    The biggest difference between reddit and 4chan is that redditors try to conform to what other redditors are thinking to farm upvotes. However, 4chan users mostly don't care about what other 4chan users are thinking and will jump at the opportunity to directly insult them.
    So what's better, Kinbaryu: a redundant website that stays inside its own thought bubble, or a volatile website that claws at itself to prove a point?

    I don't want to partake in either, yet I still do. I love anime, and I love talking to other people about anime. For every 3-4 painful threads on /a/ or r/anime, there's always a good thread where the replies are interesting to read. I love reading what people have to say about an anime, and how it inspires them to draw or write or change their life. These threads make me appreciate a show in entirely new ways I couldn't have imagined on my own.
    It's fascinating.
    Maybe these websites aren't for me, then. I'm okay with that. So, I turned to discord. Afterall, you could talk to anyone in the server, and there's a name and profile picture that lets you identify who someone is. But in regards to anime-based servers, here's why I don't like them:
    Many servers are dead. Anime-based servers are typically quiet. General servers that have a channel for anime discussion are even more quiet. Some servers that aren't dead are way too chaotic. I can't tell who's who, and I can't tell what's going on. There's no sense of connection, meaning it's hard to get your foot in the door on these servers. There's always drama. I don't care. I want to talk about anime. A lot of servers don't even talk about anime. Over ~15 anime-related servers I had joined, only two have consistently talked about anime. In a lot of them, here's the most they would talk about anime: "Oh hey, I like My Hero Academia." "Oh really! Me too! My favorite hero is [Hero], who's yours?" "[Hero]" There's nothing interesting being said here. They don't explain why they like the hero, or what they think about the show. This is probably a huge factor in why I have a resentment against My Hero Academia. Eventually, I was led to more things, like Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and AnimeForums. So far, I'm not having a bad time here, honestly.

    I do lurk too much, though. I should definitely try to be more active, like @Kaga Koko.
    But really, I actually feel welcome here, especially compared to r/anime, /a/, or discord servers. There's even high-level discussion, with @Ryan Dave Jimenez explaining the parallels between Harry Potter and My Hero Academia in my last blog post, with @Wedgy responding to that comparison. Most importantly, neither of them are attacking each other for having a different opinion/interpretation of the series, and neither of them are being passive-aggressive to one another. Ryan didn't take it as a personal attack when Wedgy responded to his interpretation because he understands that it's an interpretation. 
    This is probably because the two of them are mature adults that know how to present their viewpoints without feeling like they need to attack the other person for thinking differently. That's all I've ever wanted, to be honest.

    Does this dude ever stop talking...?
     
    Wrapping up, I don't know what direction I'm going with Youtube. Hopefully, I have a main channel for humor and a side channel for more in-depth talks like these, but who knows what the future holds.

    Alright, the entry is over, I promise. If you managed to read this whole thing, thanks. I really do appreciate it.
  5. Shiroe
    TL;DR I like Saitama more than Midoriya, and the themes of One Punch Man appeal to me more than My Hero Academia's. Also, hype culture is bad for any media.
    I will try to make this blog post spoiler-free, so no worries about that. However, I can't guarantee anything I source will be spoiler-free, so discretion is still advised.
     
    This blog entry was inspired from @Seshi  and me talking on the Introduce Forums, found here. I tried to condense a lot of what I was thinking there, so hopefully it sounds more fluid here. Just to note, I'm going to call One Punch Man "OPM" and My Hero Academia as "BnHA"
    So, Seshi is not the first person to ask me why I rate BnHA so lowly. I admitted that 3 and 4 might be a little harsh for something that actually feels like it has heart poured into it, (and that I plan to change these ratings when I read/watch more of the show) but I still heavily prefer OPM over it.
     
    I find it interesting that these two are lumped together pretty frequently. Other than being action anime about hero organizations and ranks, I don't find them anything alike structurally. At their core, OPM is a meta-comedy with an overpowered main character that doesn't really get any stronger and BnHA is a battle shounen about progressively and constantly getting stronger.
    Anyways, the question I get a lot is "why did you enjoy OPM, but not BnHA?" Answering this question means explaining why I like anime to begin with. Compared to western shows and movies, (where I find the characters completely disconnected and shallow) I can relate to anime characters in the weirdest ways, and the more I slowly understand about a character, the more I can appreciate who they are.
    To give an example of this, Koyomi Araragi from the Monogatari series seems like a shallow character at first. However, as the series continues, more of his motivations and ideologies get revealed, which really made me admire his character and thought put into him.

    As for Deku, I felt like we knew everything about him from the beginning. He's kind of a timid kid who works hard because he wants to be like All Might. For the two seasons I watched, he's kept this same personality throughout both seasons, and it doesn't seem like he's going to change.

    I don't think this is necessarily bad writing, (many great works have no character development) but because of what I appreciate in anime, I don't like it when characters are shallow and unchanging. Conversely, I love when characters are deep or develop throughout the story, as it's showing that everyone can either change for the better, or is simply misunderstood.
    To move the topic onto OPM, I actually found Saitama's character to be more than "I'm bald man that kill in one hit". There are actually already videos explaining why Saitama is a representation of a depressed worker that feels nothing due to the harsh nature of the Japanese workplace, but I won't go into that in this blog post. Instead, I'm just going to mention that Saitama has an enthralling relationship with the other heroes, particularly Fubuki, Genos, and King. The dichotomy he plays with these other heroes is something unique and unlike most anime I've seen.

    The last thing I'd like to talk about here is the themes the two shows portray. From the first two seasons of BnHA, I found the theme to be "we shouldn't be afraid to follow in our predecessor's footsteps", especially in the second season with Todoroki. OPM, on the other hand, has a theme of "you should focus on improving yourself rather than comparing yourself to others", which is made apparent with characters like Genos and Glasses.

    I can appreciate both of these themes, but OPM's appeals more to me. I hope this a lesson that everybody takes to heart, as many people (including myself) don't feel confident because they're not as good as others' at doing something.
    I say screw that, be your own person. Are you a better person than you were yesterday?
    If so, then that's all you need.

    That's all for this post. Have any thoughts, questions, suggestions on this post or the next? Feel free to let me know, since I love talking and listening to others about anime. Don't be afraid to say something controversial, if it's what you truly believe.
  6. Shiroe
    A character HAS to be relatable to be a “good” character, right? That’s what everyone refers to when they’re criticizing something they don’t like. Conversely, when a show features a relatable character, the show is often praised. This is likely why many isekai characters are average japanese men; moreso, these characters may also turn out to be the “otaku” stereotype, such as Natsuki Subaru from Re:Zero.
    Personally, I have much more fun with characters that are only partially relatable. For example, Kazuma from KonoSuba is relatable because of his social incorrectness. Many people would also feel annoyed by Aqua’s condescending nature, but would not banter with her because of her status as a goddess.
    Scenes like this from KonoSuba are funny because Kazuma expresses his relatable emotions in an unrelatable way.
    Personally, my favorite is the “literally me” archetype. I’m not sure if there’s a solid title or description for these types of characters, but I would describe them as anti-social, quiet characters that solve their problems in unconventional ways. Examples of this include (but are not limited to): Hikigaya Hachiman from OreGairu, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from Classroom of the Elite, Naofumi Iwatani from The Rising of the Shield Hero, Keima Katsuragi from The World God Only Knows, Kobayashi from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Shiroe from Log Horizon, and Araragi Koyomi from Kizumonogatari. I have also been told that Sakuta Azusagawa from Bunny Girl Senpai and Hotaro Oreki from Hyouka fall in the same vein.
    If your anime’s protagonist falls under this category, it’s very easy for me to watch your show. This is most likely why I favor anime over other shows, since this archetype seems to be pretty rare for main characters in western shows. The only character I can think of that fits in this vein is Sherlock from BBC's adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.
    My favorites from the above are Hikigaya Hachiman, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, and Koyomi Araragi. Shoutout to @Muco for suggesting Classroom of the Elite to me; it was an extremely enjoyable show.



    Bonus points if your character has angry/bored eyes.
    On the other hand, I find it very hard to watch shows with timid main characters. For example, I still haven’t finished Neon Genesis Evangelion or Future Diary, and it was hard for me to watch two seasons of My Hero Academia. I find it fine when the main character develops, such as in Parasyte: the maxim, but even then, these characters are hard to stomach.

    Now, I need to clarify: I am not attacking you if you like these types of character. I don’t think that these characters are bad writing, either. Characters that go from zero to hero are satisfying to watch and easy to write and develop.

    My liking of "literally me" characters is just that: a preference. What about you? What do you like in an anime’s main character?
    Do you like the hothead, like Asta from Black Clover? This type of character is pretty common in shounen, like Naruto Uzumaki and Shoyo Hinata.

    Or do you like the bantering type, like Fuutarou Uesugi from Quintessential Quintuplets? This is a fun archetype, more common in comedy anime, but also exists in shows like Clannad.

    Maybe you prefer the vengeful type, like Tanya Degurechaff from Youjo Senki.

    There's also the A-hole characters, like Jotaro Kujo from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders.

    Another character could be the silent and/or mysterious type, like Afro Samurai's main character.

    Or maybe you have a complete opposite opinion of me, and like timid main characters, like Deku from My Hero Academia.

    Let me know! I love hearing about what other people think. If you feel like it, you should even tell me what main characters you like and why you like them.

    Thanks for reading!

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