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Nutty

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Posts posted by Nutty

  1. BanG Dream! (Bandori) 

    I've been really getting into it recently. It's a cute and stress free rhythm game that also has a gatcha element which as pretty decent rates. As a collector I find pleasure in a accumulating band members and forming neat bands for events and so on. The original and cover songs are surprisingly amazing too. It's on mobile too so it's super accessible and can be played anywhere and on the go. 

    Highly recommend checking it out if you guys haven't! :)

    On 10/19/2018 at 5:39 AM, ArchieKun said:

    Today I worked a little more on my survival world in MC, and am going to be playing more DK 64 tonight.

    Minecraft, I love that game! I would be playing right now but I'm waiting for the server I play on to update to 1.13.

    What are you working on? :o

  2. Kaori from Your Lie In April. 

    As much as I love her character, I feel as though her death really added to the impact and significance of her limited time spent playing music and with Arima. She's the bright light in a series filled with themes of childhood trauma and anxiety. And just like a firefly (which she compared herself to) she lit up the darkness and faded into the night. 

    Her death was truly heartwrenching, poetic, and beautiful. 

  3. maxresdefault.thumb.jpg.af9dabbd1b9e3ff819b8cab2e8476d6d.jpg

     

    It’s heartwarming, heart-wrenching, honest, realistic, innocent… yet melancholic at the same time. That said, I do not think words alone are enough to do justice to White Album 2.

     

    At its heart, White Album 2 is about 3 close friends spending their last days in school together, and tackles themes of friendship, love, and separation through its masterful incorporation of music. Personally, I feel that music amines are the ones that work the best in invoking emotions into the viewer. But even with that said, White Album 2 couldn’t have touched me as much if it purely relied on its music.

     

    Upon viewing the show for the second time, I realized that the creators of the show are excellent in understanding the shows mood and effectively using it to create more tension or alleviate it if need be. A lot of the episodes start without an OP which allows some of the more emotive episodes to intrinsically seep into one another. The ED of the show – “Sayonara no Koto” was only played at the end of episode 3 to achieve its maximum effect too. These are the little things that I didn’t notice my first time round and only realized its importance after my second viewing of it.

     

    Though, one thing I did notice during my first viewing of White Album 2 was the melancholic undertone it carried right from episode 1. I went into the series expecting a more lighthearted, happy anime but it immediately suggested otherwise through the shot compositions and musical score. Although I didn’t know what it was going to be, I sensed an approaching winter right from the start. And man, thank goodness I was prepared for the snow.

     

    It may not seem like it, but I think of White Album 2 as one of the best anime series I have ever seen and consider it near perfect. But even though my fingers are itching to do it, I cannot bring myself to over-analyze the show and extract it for all its worth; since I genuinely see the show as a living, breathing thing due to the incredible amount of respect given to the characters as human beings. Other than them having a background, reasons for why they are who they are, and believable emotional and ideological conflicts – the way the story is presented without being too “in-your-face” about their true emotions or reasoning behind certain decisions. This may seem trivial, but I have never once felt like I knew everything there is to know about the characters; which resulted in be subconsciously getting more and more invested in them – because unknowingly, I was getting to know someone new and slowly see them open up.

     

    I have a very intimate connection with this show as I literally watched the characters practice, and make music the show presents. I, as an audience member, got to see the characters interactions between practices, the hardships, and the fun they had… I never felt left out.

     

    And that’s why, when the curtains drew open, and the music played – I felt happy. And when silence filled the show – it was deafening.

     

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    I wrote this piece as a part of my anime marathon to watch all of my favorite shows and write about them in around 1 month. This is my second, out of fourteen pieces to write and publish on here and my blog https://nutmegsjuice.wordpress.com/blog/ ... Wish me luck :P

     

    But more importantly, what are your thoughts on White Album 2? I personally can't get enough of it and get the goosebumps just thinking of the last scene. I'd love to know how many more fans are out there!

  4. kiznaiver.jpg.8c60a015bd895b8933dc2eb6f555b481.jpg

     

    Bright character colours, contrasting the rather monotone and dull backgrounds of Kiznaiver prominently set up our cast to take center stage. The spotlight is on them - and them alone. But as emotions well up, and pain blurs the lines of their relationships; they find themselves whirling into a never ending vortex of bonds, love, scars and pain… Now doesn’t that sound angsty?

     

    x240-jn4.jpg.99d59d73c21384962f42c953bfc5ebd1.jpg

     

    The excellent use of colour, and how it perfectly invokes characters emotions through visuals was something I was planning to write about when I re-watched Kiznaiver today. And I wasn’t wrong, as I do give full credit to the team that worked on the show for that; as it was one of the more visually stimulating ones that I have seen as of late. However, it really seems like the unavoidable topic to address when mentioning Kiznaiver is its blatant intent at being a philosophy-filled, 12 episode explanation on the fact that relationships won’t work without pain.

     

     

    Conceptually, this show had no obligation to be as dramatic as it turned out to be.

     

    Yet, the characters were intentionally connected through pain.

     

    Yet, they were intentionally put together as total mismatches.

     

    And yet, they were intentionally put through stress to test their bonds.

     

    So if you think about it, isn’t this set-up something a similar show would have? But instead of having all of it be forced, count it off as just a mere coincidence that these people got together; and a mere coincidence that drama was involved – and at the end of the day, conclude with showing that friendships will last if you persevere?

     

     

    Kiznaiver knows the kind of picture it wants to paint at the end of the day, and sets up its colours upfront before turning, morphing, and rotating the wheel of teenage drama. Some would prefer for the colours to be left alone – so they could naturally observe which of them would leak into one another; which of them would mix, and which of them won’t. While others may be enthralled by the repetitive and heavy cycle, as they to find their own colours from within the swirling display of fluorescent the show presents as teenage emotions.

     

     

    When looking at Kiznaiver:

     

     

    Some choose to look at it as is, and see a cluster of smudges and missed potential.

     

     

    While others may chose to look at it with its intentions in mind, revealing what seems to be – a kaleidoscopic stare at teenage angst.

     

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    My feelings are indeed quite mixed, which explains what I wrote... :P

     

    What did you think of Kiznaiver?

  5. I wanted this to be my first yuri series, but that honor goes to Bloom Into You. I was a bit concerned that this might have a lot of fan service in it, so I guess I should of asked that instead...but I was sleepy...

    -------

    I'm sure I'll like it. If it's even somewhat serious then it's something I can enjoy.

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    No, I don't mind drama, in fact I love drama. I look forward to watching Kiznaiver once I have a open slot, I hope you'll let me share my thoughts with you when I do.

    Yup. Sakura Trick has quite a bit of fanservice, but it was something that I too already expected before starting the series. Surprisingly enough, it also contained a decent amount of character development admits all of it and also had something meaningful to say about bisexual love, which caught me off-guard.

     

    I'd love to hear your thoughts on Kiznaiver! After all, I love talking about anime. Especially the ones I'm very fond of :)

    • Like 1
  6. In this case the Japanese release is coming out on July 27. I watched the Japanese version in cinemas so that's the version I'm going for, plus it looks like they're doing a gorgeous 4k Blu-ray release!

    http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/feature/kiminonawa_movie_blu_ray_DVD

     

    Yup. They had millions of posters promoting the release in Akihabara. Which would have been hype, if I wasn't leaving Japan on the 26th...

  7. Sakurai Trick

    The Monogatari Series

    Kiznaiver

     

    Sakurai Trick is average to good depending on how much you like your yuri. Personally, I quite liked it for the innocent yet compelling relationship between the main leads.

     

    The Monogatari Series is always solid. It has a wonderfully composed OST(original sound track) and well thought-out characters. However, the presentation of the story may or may not be your type; so you'll have to give it a shot yourself to find out.

     

    Kiznaiver is just beautiful to look at. It can/ is supposed to get very melodramatic at times but some people don't like it for that reason. I loved the series and rated it highly, so I definitely recommend you check it out if you don't mind the drama.

  8. It will take too long if I am going to explain why I love each and every series so much, so I won't do that :P But here is the list of shows that got me into anime. I hope you love them as much as I did!

     

    Romance:

    - Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (watch this before anything else)

    - Toradora

    - Sakurasuo no Pet na Kanojo

     

    Action/ Adventure:

    - Nantasu no Taizai

    - Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch

     

    Food Anime :D:

    - Shokugeki no Souma

  9. My romance with writing has been a long, yet recently reinvigorate one.

     

    During my time in primary school, I had started keeping a diary. Inconsistently updated, but a diary nonetheless. I wrote songs too. They were often alternative lyrics to songs I heard on the radio. These were my little side projects. In school, I consistently scored amongst the top for English in my class. I always came either first or second, but I absolutely wanted to be number one. And that is probably what fueled my attitude towards self-improvement in my English.

     

    So there's that. I used to like writing, purely because I though of it as a good way to attain good grades and then boast to my childhood peers xD But as time went on, it started to get boring, repetitive and tiring. Because gone were my little passionate side-projects, rather, I spent all my writing time on assignments and write-ups. Our relationship weakened.

     

    But recently, my interest in writing has picked up; which is entirely due to anime. A quote that I often love to use to describe my attitude towards anime is: "I love watching anime, but what I love more than that - is talking about it." Talking - to be specific refers to discussion, leaning more towards the in-depth side, rather than casual conversations. Due to this need, and the fact that I don't have much people to talk to IRL about anime; I started writing.

     

    At first, I wrote long posts for online forums but then quickly realized that I wanted to do this as a full-fledged hobby and have it be easily accessible to others. That is the reason I created my blog, and joined more discussion-based forums like this one, I still like to write long posts (idk whether people read them, but whatever, I like writing :P). But now, more often than not, I am seeking to improve myself with every single post. Rather than just posting for the sake of doing so (which is totally fine).

     

    I do have a lot of writing projects planned for the future. One of them includes a collaboration with another writer I met online, which will be held of a date that's undecided yet. The latter, and more exciting one of the two involves me re-watching, and writing about all of my favorite (14) anime this summer. The aim for me doing this is to help me have a record of what I love about those series at this moment in time in order for me to finalize my top 10 favorite anime list. More importantly, I aim to convey what I love about those series to others and experiment with my writing style in each and every piece I write. I also want to improve a lot of my basic skills such as different sentence structures, appropriate punctuation etc. So in many ways, it would be a fun and educational summer :D

     

    Even after that, I intend to continue with the writing collaborations and constantly update my blog.

     

    I don't see my escalating relationship with writing slowing down anytime soon.

    • Like 2
  10. I have actually spent a decent amount of time throughout the last few months coming up with a potential anime I would make. After viewing a lot of anime, I think it would only be natural to have thoughts of the sort. Originally, I had only thought about writing the story/script for the anime, and left myself to thinking about actually producing it later on. This thread really prompted me to think about my envisioned story as an actual anime more. So thanks Cy~, you really know how to pick the right questions to ask! :P

     

    This is the first time I am writing my ideas down, so it would be easier for me in bullet points.

     

     

    Story

    -- Around 39 episodes long. One season, with no continuation.

     

    -- The genres it will fit in will be somewhere in between Slice Of Life, Drama and Romance

     

    -- Core themes would be about friendship, love and family.

     

    -- Revolves around an ensemble cast of about 5-8 teenagers in high school.

     

    -- There will be love triangles, unrequited love etc. but the people the main cast of characters fall for needn't be in the main cast itself. Characters are allowed to find love outside their main circle of friends. Also, not everybody will want to/ be in love.

     

    -- Will be rated R, since I will want to include a bit of sex and mild nudity.

     

    -- It will start off slowly with a primarily Slice Of Life feel to it. So the characters, and the dynamic between them can be developed before jumping into the meat of the story entirely. This will take around 12 episodes at least.

     

    -- The middle episodes of 12 - 27 or so will be individual character(s) arcs as we follow them for around 2-4 episodes each and experience their individual thoughts/ perspectives of school, friends, family... The period we experience with different characters will be in chronological order but can overlap. Meaning that the audience can view the same event twice through many different perspectives. The goal of doing this is to give the viewer a more personal connection to the characters and show them the fact that the same issue can be looked at may different ways. (This also helps sell character merchandise :P)

     

    -- The final 12 or so episodes will be taking advantage of all of the character development done in prior ones. Characters will go through ideological conflicts about morals, their future, love etc. to heighten the drama. This will be effective because the viewer will know where each and every character is coming from and empathize that way. There is not anyone that is definitively right or wrong. The conflicts will resolve towards the end of the series... somehow or another. (I haven't thought much about the ending yet, so please bear with me.)

     

     

    Characters (It won't be ultra-specific since I haven't thought about this to great length before.)

     

    -- The main pairing would either be a straight one or a yuri one. I honestly can't decide, although I am slightly leaning towards yuri - due to the fact that there aren't many of those in anime. Also, I find yuri really appealing and attractive as a male viewer. This relationship would be developed throughout the course of the first 24 episodes, and they would be a pair by the final arc.

     

    -- If the main pairing is not a yuri one, there will still definitely be one among the main cast. This relationship will be developed by episode 24, and then be allowed to run its course for the rest of the series.

     

    -- The characters will be diverse, but not too diverse. I want it to be actually believable that a group of people like this IRL would be friends. So they need to have a reason to be friends with the rest of the main cast.

     

    -- They will be intelligent and self-aware, to an extent. I really dislike it when characters are plain dumb in anime, since it's hardly believable that those kinds of people really exist. And I do feel that characters need to be like real people in primarily Slice Of Life and Drama anime. So these characters may not understand their feelings/ thoughts at first, but they will want to find out.

     

    -- They need to have backbone. By this, I mean they wouldn't be completely hopeless without the others around. They need to be wholesome people on their own. (That's also another reason for the individual character arcs.

     

    -- The characters will also be mature. I think that is needed for a more psychological/ dramatic Slice Of Life anime like this one. Plus, high-schoolers in Japan are also kind of considered adults.

     

    -- There will be a girl that does cute stuff. That's needed. :D But not because she's dumb or anything. Rather, she likes doing it, or wants to appear that way to the people around her.

     

     

    Art

     

    -- Two words. Studio Shaft.

     

    -- I want every shot to be interesting (The Monogatari Series). Plus, I like my visual metaphors (The ef Series).

     

    -- I also really like their willingness to change things in the OP and ED to suit the state of the show better.

     

     

    Music

     

    -- Composed by Satoru Kousaki as he has the ability to craft deeply emotional and moving classical pieces and more poppy and fun counterparts to suit the show.

     

    -- Will avoid using overly high-pitched and squeaky J-Pop for the OP and EDs.

     

     

    OPs and EDs

     

    -- One for the first 12-ish episodes.

     

    -- One for each character arc in the mid-section of the series that fully captures the characters in a short few minutes.

     

    -- One for the last arc.

     

    -- They will also evolve and change depending on the state of the show.

     

     

    ---

     

     

    That's the rough idea for now. I may develop it more in the future and eventually put it into actual words. I may not even go through with this concept at all.

     

    But right now, if I were to make an anime - it would be this one. :D

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  11. These are three of my favorite from the genre:

     

    Another (Series)

    Personally, I would consider this the least scary out of the three, but it still holds up pretty well. It has quite a large cast of characters, so seeing interact and play off one another was quite interesting.

     

    Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Series)

    There are two 24-ish episode long seasons - so there's plenty to watch there. This is one of my favorite horror anime's because of the lingering dread and mystery the show emphasizes on throughout. You also get to see the cast of characters thoroughly explored through seeing how they react to different situations. It will get bloody at times. And when it does, man is it awesome. I highly recommend this one if you're a hardcore fan of horror (or just good anime in general).

     

    Perfect Blue (Movie)

    This is ranked among my all-time favorite movies, period. It is a masterful psychological thriller that has a lot of elements that's very reminiscent of horror. Reality literally warps before your eyes, as you are thrown into uncertainty and try to figure out what is going on while the imminent dread builds up. Perfect Blue takes you on one hell of a ride, an if you can spare 1 hour and 30 minutes; I absolutely recommend it.

    • Like 3
  12. I thought it got a lot of hate back then. "Suck Art Online" used to be a thing people would say. In fact, it's still a widely-hated anime now. Hardly overrated IMO.

    Well, the thing is, SAO has a huge fan base. One of the largest in all of anime. So naturally, there will be a lot of haters, and people that adore the show.

     

    I consider SAO overrated due to the sheer amount of cosplays it gets at conventions. Not as much as Attack on Titan gets, but still up there. Plus, it has been ranked among the most popular, and most favorited series by MyAnimeList users.

     

     

    upload_2017-6-2_14-19-5.png.4acd02729b3e04e86bbc4fa32c4ad99c.png

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    upload_2017-6-2_14-18-38.png.e50c9f144cc20d0194ec69f324eefaf8.png

    • Agree 1
  13. It's not as bad in Singapore, partly because it's an Asian country. Watching anime is a lot more normal around here as opposed to America, where people constantly misused the term, "weeaboo" (it means non-Japanese who pretend to be Japanese, by the way, not people who watch anime; there's a difference). I do still feel a bit awkward around certain peers about bringing up the subject of anime since I know they're definitely not interested at all, going so far as to not consider them serious shows worth paying attention to by anyone above the age of 10. So yes, it gets a bit harder talking about anime to those kinds of people.

     

    But like I said, I don't think it's as nasty around these parts, probably because anime fans here are less... disgusting. They're not the stereotypical kind dressed in anime wigs and walking around with some big-ass katana, so it might have lessened the stigma.

     

    Agreed. I reside around that part of Asia too, so the culture from where I'm at is pretty similar.

     

    Personally, I am very open about my love for anime, even going as far as to try and convince people in which never even gave anime a chance to check it out. As of late, I have even started to watch anime with my mom and dad (after much persuasion) and I think they are growing fond of it. With my friends and people I meet face-to-face, I would usually share my love of anime with them rather than hide it. And of course, I would not feel comfortable watching anime in front of total strangers since I wouldn't like to be misunderstood for someone who is only into "fanservice", "cartoons", and "cute girls."

     

    If I am going to pour hours into something I am truly passionate about - I absolutely see no need to hide it :)

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  14. I looked through your list and noticed that you haven't watched one of my favorite romance anime's - ef: a Tale of Memories and ef: a Tale of Melodies. The 2 season long anime series is largely about romance and centers around a few male protagonists. The visual and aural presentation is stellar and I would strongly recommend it :D

  15. I expect a lot of people to disagree; but Kiznaiver is a really great anime in my opinion.

     

    People usually criticize Kiznaiver for being too melodramatic and exaggerated, which I do agree with to an extent - but not entirely. And it is also not to say that I dislike the melodrama present in the show, in fact, I would argue that the show is made for it. Noriko is a character in the series that a lot of people blame for the excessive drama that ensues. That may be the case, but that is why I like her (to put it bluntly).

     

    I wholeheartedly connect with this show on an emotional level. That's why I like it so much; and a mere short post like this won't nearly do it justice. But I will be writing about why I love Kiznaiver after re-watching it this summer along with my other favorites. So I guess you'll find out why think it is extremely underrated then :P

    • Agree 1
  16. Has an anime ever "changed" my life?

     

    I mean, anime in general definitely has. As the moment I got into it, I was completely engrossed and all I wanted to do was watch more and talk to people on it. That led to my lifestyle changing too, as I started to do more writing and started to participate on online forums (like this one!). In the 6 or so months that I have been into anime, I have watched a total of around 550 hours of it; which averages to around 3 hours a day. So yeah, there's that.

     

    But if I were to pick a specific anime that had the most impact on my life - it would be undoubtedly Your Lie In April.

     

    Although the anime itself carried plenty of emotional weight on it's own, what made it leave such an impact on me was Kaori. The themes and concepts she represented as a character really resonated with me. Up till now, I would say the biggest psychological obstacle for me was bravery and the willingness to do what I want in spite of what others think. And Kaori was the literal embodiment of what I lacked.

     

    Kaori as a character in Your Lie In April inspired me to do things that I usually wouldn't in real life. She gave me the bravery to be brave.

     

    fbdbececa903365c16852510d535c0c6.gif.7184724fb4a4d5f142d0c9ab666f925e.gif

    • Like 3
  17. Nice idea for a thread! :)

     

    As a male in high-school, there aren't a lot of male characters that would "reflect" how I am/ what I stand for to the degree that I would like them to. Most anime's have males (in high school) as the main leads. And given the nature of anime nowadays, they usually serve as a self-insert character for the typical male viewer first and foremost. For example in a heterosexual love triangle - who are the more interesting character(s)? It is usually the female(s). I think you get what I mean. With that said, the females are the ones who are usually given more of a personality, and ones that I find, can more accurately portray me even as a male.

     

    large.jpg.d5f3e46c9a87c236c8ccdbc47af835f5.jpg

     

    With that out of the way, Sonozaki Noriko from Kiznaiver is someone I can empathize with the most, on a personal level, from all of the anime I have watched thus far. Noriko usually keeps to herself, is quiet, but can say a lot - just like me. But beyond that, and how she may come off as first - she has a deep desire to understand others and connect with them through feeling their pain. At the end of the anime, she realizes that (to put it bluntly) connecting with everyone is physically impossible, and that the joy of forming relationships isn't in knowing them. Rather, it is the process of getting to know them.

     

    Personally, I can really empathize with Noriko, as I am someone that has a desire to understand people too - both good, and bad things about them and their life. And sometimes, it is because of this desire that rejection hurts so much.

     

    But through observing Noriko in her transformation, I learnt something. That is the fact that it can be impossible to perfectly understand everyone. In fact why would I want to anyway if it means devoting time and attention away from myself. I mean, it is good and all to want to understand others - but sometimes, it is just impractical and impossible.

     

    That's why, like Noriko, I stick with my close group of friends where we actively help each other out whenever we are facing problems. And through that - is how we learn to understand each other better :)

    • Like 3
  18. I am actually right in the middle of my finals this month, so I probably shouldn't be watching so much anime lmao :P

     

    These are the series that I have completed the month of May:

     

    - JoJo's Bizzare Adventure

    - FLCL

    - Sakura Trick

    - Hanasaku Iroha: Home Sweet Home (Movie)

    - Space Patrol Luluco

    - Yuri Kuma Arashi

    - Kiznaiver

    - Seikon no Qwaser II

    - Death Parade

    - Shokugeki no Souma OVA

    - ef: A tale of Memories.

    - ef: A tale of Melodies.

    - Perfect Blue (Movie)

    - Bakemonogatari

    - Niseimonogatari

     

    Damn. Up until now, I wasn't aware that I had finished that many anime this month... :sarcastic:

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