Cy~

@Wedgy Oh my god, I wish that I could send a hug to you right now. Thank you for sharing that, honestly - it made my eyes tear up. I'm so happy that things worked out well for you and have settled in a good place!

Hello Nectar! You lovely creature, you! We'll start with the basics. What's your favorite color? What's your favorite food? Have you ever done anything that you regretted deeply but had no way of undoing?

I don't tend to get confused by stories in anime, and in my experience, a lot of people confuse ambiguity for complexity. A lot of the anime that are commonly thought of as "complex" are actually just layered stories where the writers left out key pieces of information that would be necessary to understand how all of the puzzle pieces fit together. Maybe they share them later, maybe they don't. However, to me, this isn't complexity - it's just a particular type of implicit storytelling.

That's correct, I think. There is no such thing as a "universal best". The "best" will depend on culture, time, place, ethnicity, and a billion other factors that will vary minutely from person to person. We only use "best" wrong if someone believes that language is absolute, unchanging, strictly formal. However, in informal usage, the word "best" typically comes with an implied addition that makes it clear - "for me". For example, if I'm going to a restaurant with a friend and I am unfamiliar with the food, I might ask, "What's the best thing that I could get here?" I would assume that my friend would not suggest lobster or shrimp, because she (I just realized that I have no remaining male friends, wtf) would know that lobster and shrimp aren't to my liking. The "for me" is implied. I don't have to say it. Actually, there are other words and phrases that are similarly strange. Have you ever told someone something sad and then had them respond by saying, "Wow, I'm sorry to hear that." If you really think about it, it sounds utterly terrible. They're sorry that they heard something negative? Wat!? However, no one actually interprets it this way, because there's an implied add-on "this happened to you". So, what they're actually saying is fully sympathetic. I studied linguistics back when I was in college. Ultimately, I decided to not make it my primary field, but I still find little things like this to be really intriguing. Soooo, to answer the question directly - no, we do not use "best" wrong. Instead, it's the case that the dictionary definitions have not quite caught up to modern usage, which is actually quite common. Just one more tangent - dictionaries are flawed. They are maintained by relatively elite members of society that tend to live in culturally isolated bubbles. As a result, dictionary definitions sometimes fail spectacularly to capture current language. The best place to find current language is in reading fiction/non-fiction and reverse engineering definitions out of the way that the words are actually used.

Mmm, @Frost - your post intrigues me. This is not a critique, just joining you in contemplating an idea deeply. As long as it's yuri, I'll totally buy into this, ahahaha. This sounds good to me. It seems like, as you say, most mecha anime tilt one way or the other. The probable reason for this is that the writers themselves prefer one type of story or the other. The kind of people that are good at writing/storyboarding action don't tend to be the kind that are also good at balancing - they're really narrow into their specialty. Which would you say would be your strength as a writer? How would you bridge the gap? That's a strange outcome! Are they straight or non-straight couples? For reasons unknown to me, almost all fictional relationships that don't fit a certain societal standard end up collapsing into the abyss. Though, that could also be because it's easier for writers to get a bittersweet outcome by slaughtering a backup romance without sacrificing their primary couple. I've noticed that a lot of anime go for the cheap thrills. I actually expect it, these days - especially from mecha anime. I really, really like the idea of the approach in your post. Kill off one of the characters in the most popular shipping for the bittersweetness. Have the unfavored ship invite the survivor to form a strange polygamous threesome. Though, I suppose that would be bittersweet and a little weird, hahaha. Maybe compromise with two 13 episode seasons? This gives an excuse to blow budget on a ridiculous season closer twice! I think that this format also keeps the story moving crisply, by preventing arcs from becoming stale over the course of more than two-dozen episodes. You're going to need really good writers. Well, no, that's not true. You're going to need hungry writers - the kind that have a story to tell and can't help but lust to put it all out there as quickly as they possibly can, with little to no care for all of the fluff. To be honest, I think that this is the type of writer that a mecha anime should always have - writers that grasp how to make a story that cuts like a scalpel, straight through its own meta. I actually really like mecha anime, but I have a love/hate relationship with the genre. On one hand, I like it, on the other hand, it pisses me off enough that I sometimes want to delete the entire genre. Still, I almost always end up watching a mecha anime, once again hoping that it doesn't startle me out of my suspension of disbelief. I would watch your mecha anime, I think.

Not useless at all! This is still a good contribution, since I didn't even know about Texhnolyze before, and now I am intrigued into the temptation of watching it - solely by your comment here. Good move to spoiler that, tbh! It saves the shock for newbies. Also, yeah, Madoka was one of the first anime that I had ever watched. @zoop had told me that it was a little dark, well - I think that she really understated the darkness. I'll confess, though, I tend to be a very morbid person so I didn't actually have much of a reaction, but I was legitimately surprised.

Hahaha, that *is* cute - the long dating part of things, that is. The protesting is just sad, but thankfully folks like you and your spouse were there to counter. My spouse and I actually dated for 3 or 4 years as well before we finally settled into things as well, so that's yet another point of commonality.

I would represent you as your lawyer.

It is mafia, JJ! Can I call you JJ? I'm gonna call you that from now on. However, just like in a real mafia, you know, there's always the interested spectators, entertainers, and random passers by. I'm a little bit of all of the three, particularly because it doesn't seem like there's any voting going on at the moment. @zoop, sweetie, why is no one dead yet?

You'd better run faster, boi~~~ Mmmhm, watching is a good thing. It means that I'll be ready for you when it's my turn, senpai~

Hullo, I'm not in this game, but I detect sauce and so here I am. Now, don't mind me, you may continue~~~

Hahaha, if anyone takes issue with this then they can fight me first. I think that slice of life is overrated and there are far, far too many slice of life anime out there. I usually need something a little extra in my anime. Like, if it's slice of life, then I'd want it to include fantasy, suspense, or mystery elements as well. Though, I guess then the question is... Is it still slice of life? It all made perfect sense. 100%!

"Most people don't try to become adults, they just can't stay children any longer." - Kobayashi (from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid) When I first heard that quote, I actually teared up a little. If you think about it, it's really, really fucking deep.

1. I relate to Eren in Attack on Titan quite a bit. Rage, rage, rage against the walls! 2. I'd be a friend/snuggle buddy with Kobayashi from Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. I'd figure out some way to get rid of the damn dragons. 3. I'd crush on Reki from Habane Renmei. No especially deep reasons, I just really like her character design and attitude.

Okay. What's the most incredible and hardcore death that you have seen in the anime that you've watched? Which characters showed grit, defiance, and ferocity all the way to the bitter defeat? (Don't forget to spoiler it if it's a plot twist!!!) Remember! No tears here, only awesomeness. For crying, there's already a good topic for that. (Note: Just to clarify, pls only share sfw stuff, as per the site rules. Hahaha, I mean hardcore as in the adjective, not the genre.) [spoiler=Fate/Zero] For me, I think that the most impressive death that I've seen was Rider in Fate/Zero. In that particular round, he came literally within inches of smashing Gilgameshs's skull in with his sword. Unfortunately, Gilgamesh had plot armor some chains lying around, and Rider was defeated. For a larger than life character, I thought that it was a pretty impressive way to go out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2GFUFmyne4

Imagine this scenario. You've finally found an anime that you think is perfect. You're watching the first episode and you see something... Whatever it is, that's it, you're done with this episode and you might be done with the whole series. You bail, running away at top speed. What did you see? Are there any noteworthy anime that have already struck out for you? For myself, here's what makes me run screaming - Excessive fan service (ecchi) - I usually don't have the patience for this stuff. It doesn't do shit for me and I find that it can distract from a good story. Ugly graphics - I'm shallow. If it isn't pretty, then I'm out. Blatant 3D - If I can obviously tell that it's tacky 3D models, then I'm done. At least try to make it believable. Sterotypical macho guys - They get on my nerves. I rarely make it through an anime that has more than just one or two of this trope. Pointless cruelty - Out of character cruelty just for shock value? Seems like the writers are reaching too hard. Stupid characters - It isn't hard to write smart characters. If a character is supposed to be a noble leader but ends up betraying everyone because... Reasons... Then, I'm done. No time for stupid characters with unexplained MYSTERIOUS motivations. It's really just bad writing. Zoop and I typically give anime three strikes, and any instance of the above counts as two. Other annoyances can add to that, and when they strike out, we take them off the list. I'm not even going to bother listing the anime that have "struck out". There are far too many. What about you? What are the things that make you run from an anime?

Have you ever watched an anime and felt a strange sinking sensation as you fell off a cliff of madness, down a rabbit hole, or into a hall of mirrors? Basically, have you ever watched an anime with a strange plot? Which anime? Why was it strange? Did you find the gold at the end of the rainbow? I actually run into a lot of anime that I feel are pretty strange, but for my own example, I'll just cite Girls und Panzer. At first glance, it's just "cute girls doing cute things", but if you really think about it, then things start to seem a little strange. I found myself thinking about the circumstances that could lead to an isolated world where girls engage in fierce battle in tanks. Think about it. What about casualties? Are they training for some kind of war? If so, then are they always at war? Is everyone always at war? Why the hell are tanks only for girls? What's up with the schools? Where are all of the men/boys?!?!?! Are they all prisoners!? IS THIS A WEIRD SOCIETY OF TANK DRIVING AMAZONIAN WARRIORS!?!?! Anyway. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that has watched some pretty weird stuff, hahah. Pls don't let me be the only one to post.

Are there any characters in anime that inspire you? Is there a single character or maybe a few characters that somehow impacted you in real life? Are there any characters that you aspire to be more like? Or, maybe you simply have a character that you believe stands head and shoulders about the rest. This topic is a place to share any and all anime characters that you have found inspiring (in any way). For myself, when I think of an anime character that has inspired me, the first one that comes to mind is Balsa Yonsa from the Moribito series. Her personality actually reminds me of my own, but her strength, skill, commitment to principles, and overall badassery are actually things that I feel inspired by. I guess this may sound silly, but yeah, I sometimes assess a situation from her perspective, particularly when things are getting crazy at work.

Do you have anyone in your family that you look up to? Any role models or inspirational figures? This topic is a place to shout out to non-fictional (real) people that have made a positive (or maybe just a large) impact on your life. For myself, this may sound really cheesy but I admire my spouse - @zoop. (Go ahead, judge me, but read the whole damn thing first.) Zoop and I actually met online, on a forum that was not too different from this one. She was an administrator there and I was, initially, a member. Actually, our very first interaction was her responding to a status update of mine. I hated her almost immediately, hahaha. She didn't even bother replying to my welcome topic, and her profile seemed to paint her as being a jerk. Anyways, after I volunteered to help save the site following a disaster, I was made into a moderator and then a server administrator. From behind the scenes, I had a chance to see how Zoop worked as a moderator. She was professional, measured, and really really really tough. During an average week, there would be hundreds of reported posts and mod actions, about a half-dozen lengthy arbitrations (they had arbitration available for all mod actions), and at least one total and complete community disaster (drama queens everywhere). Zoop handled more than eighty percent of this shit. She did it while holding down a full time job and making time to think of ways to improve the community. She was basically a super mod. She also took time to argue with me. Hahaha. We both loved the community, but I was constantly grappling with the fact that the site owner insisted on running a bloated, outdated forum software. Sooo, I would be busy putting out fires and she would be all like, "I need this extra feature! Hey, can you change this theme? Is there a way to automate this? What about that? Holy shit, a SQUIRREL!!!!" It was funny, because a simple "no" never actually worked with her. I would have to prove my point, arguing against her in lengthy legalistic format. That's how we fell in love, I guess? Hahaha. Up until that point, I had never met anyone that could match and beat me in wonkish argument, persistence, and general energy levels. Overtime, I was completely filled with admiration for this weird creature. Sooo, I decided to put a ring on it. Now, she's mine. o3o *ahem* Soooo, what about you? Anyone that you admire?

Time to share some pics! These are from the last hike and a few of them were actually really dangerous to take, but I was feeling brave and a little stupid. My first warning that things would get a little rough was a sign leading down a foreboding path - Perdition Trail. We didn't take that route! I wanted to, but Zoop recommended actually living. I like living, living is good! Anyways, we continued on and came across some stunning views (with a highway in the pic, due to the continuing march of civilization), water, more water. We sat down to take a break at a rather weird bench. And, apparently, we visited the fairy falls. I ummm didn't see any fairies, but it was actually a really weirdly pretty sight. Then things became stranger... Finally, I had a chance for one more picture before the trail became dangerous and I had to focus on not dying. I'm not really happy with this angle on the mini waterfalls, but I didn't have much of a choice. It was actually as close as I could get and the best angle that I could get without falling a few hundred feet, hahaha.

I'm actually scared to ask, but would it be worth it to watch or should I sit it out until the end and keep my fingers crossed?

Oh thank goodness! I'm looking forward to it, then. I'll forgive this season of all of its strangeness, since it's still possible that brilliant pacing in the next season might outweigh some of my objections regarding S2.