First and foremost, I am currently one of the DB Administrators on MAL. This takes up most of my MAL time that isn't contributed to contests and other stuff :) If you have any questions in regards to the any of the databases, please post here: Anime | Manga | Characters/People.
I am also one of the staff for the Fantasy Anime League. FAL is usually run bi-yearly, for the Spring and Fall sessions. It's a lot of fun, so I encourage you to join the club and participate in a season if you get the chance :D
In addition to that, I am an editor over at MAL Rewrite. If you have any writing skills whatsoever, I strongly encourage you to think about joining!
And finally (because I like to have my fingers in many pies, apparently ^^) I also co-host the Icontests run through the anime/manga icons club. If you like making or viewing icons, feel free to join the club and take part in the contests :)
I used to spend a lot of time in the Anime Episode/Manga Discussion boards... however, with the increased users on MAL, I've shied away from most discussions as trolls and immature know-it-alls only prove to make me angry.
The things that draws me most to anime and manga is the art, with plot coming in close behind. On one hand, I love that a series is 13/26 episodes, and it's done. It has a reason to run, and it ends.
I don't know when I started watching anime (Sailor Moon or Dragonball Z was probably my first) but I've always loved animation. I drew countless of Sailor Moon, Mummies Alive!, and Neon Genesis pictures when I was growing up (so it's not limited to anime!). I'll still go and see a Disney film in the theatres - and without taking my kid siblings either XD
I love recommendations for new anime, and especially, new manga (and drama!). Romance is a huge element for me (I am a romantic at heart), but I usually like some sort of story around it, and action and mystery are good, too. Blind romance and wishy-washy female (and male) leads usually irritate me to no end. Stupid continual love triangles, squares, circles are also tiresome.
I seem to go for rejected and mysterious male characters. Unfortunately, this often means the main lead usually doesn't end up with the character I want them to :( I also usually end up going for the underdog, or the character that fans least want the lead to end up with. Does this mean I have a fickle personality?
I completed my BSc in Electrical Engineering in 2007, and am currently working on my MSc with a concentration in MEMs and Nanosystems. I would like to apply my engineering degree to the medical field; specifically, to diagnostics. This is where I believe I will be able to make the most impact and be the most of help to society.
This is your opportunity to sell your favorite series to me!! XD Feel free to ramble about them and why I should watch them! :D
FAL Placings:
Spring 2008 - 13th place
Fall 2008 - 36th place (horrible ^^;)
Spring 2009 - 9th place
Fall 2009 - currently 21th place
Stuck in my head:
"Merry Go Round" by Nozomi Sasaki (Bokura ga Ita)
"LET IT OUT" by Miho Fukuhara (FMA: Brotherhood)
"Natsu Yuuzora" by Kousuke Atari (Natsume Yuujinchou)
If you see abuse, infractions, or other bad things happening around MAL, then report it! Rather than complaining that the mods haven't seen it yet, point it out to us so that we can do something about it! :)
Anyway, as for anime this season, the ones that I'm watching are Nyan Koi, Darker than Black, and Fairy Tail. DtB has been pretty good thus far, as advertised. Nyan Koi has been a nice surprise. And Fairy Tail is just a big disappointment (not that the manga was anything special to begin with. Though it was somewhat promising at one point). But yeah, those are the only shows I've really had the time to watch thus far. Though I suppose that is more anime left to marathon in the future.
And I definitely echo your sentiments about wanting the year to end. Personally speaking, though it hasn't been a crappy year per say, its been an uneventful and mundane year. Not much happening in all respects. Which I guess is a good thing, depending on how one looks at it. *Shrugs* And what's even worse is that I woke up this morning with a sore throat, which is usually a precursor to a cold. Let's hope I can avoid that because I was dedicating this weekend to finishing a presentation that I'm going to give on Wednesday. Bleh.
Wow, you're ALWAYS on! I'm watching Escaflowne and have to say, WAY better than I was expecting. I thought, because it was such an old show, that it would be a little... ahh... eh... melodramatic or the humor would be off. Was I ever wrong! It's so much better than I was expecting. It's great in the way that Jyu Oh Sei, a personal fave, was. Plain old great storytelling, and very little humor to cover the seriousness of the situations. It's got a little melodrama, but it's justified. I mean, she IS a high school girl blasted to a planet full of freaks. But she's dealing really well. lol
I hear you've already been pestered by the clique of retards on MAL, trying to get people to realize why they were banned etc. That work's not pretty. Keep it up. :>
You know, I kind of miss leaving comments on your wall. I haven't left one in awhile. :(
Anyway, we really haven't spoken to each other on IRC in awhile, probably because I've become uber busy with real life lab stuff and you have an additional drama-ridden DB admin stuff to deal with along with your real life stuff, but that's okay. You're doing an awesome job. :D Anyway, happy November! Not sure about you, but this year has definitely flown by really quickly for me. And I still need to start watching Kimi ni Todoke, as you recommended. Gah.
Anyway, I have nothing of real importance to say. Lol. But you rock. <3
Yeah, True. I have a friend who read the Manga & watched the Anime, he told me so. Fruit Basket is one of the Animes I am willing to read the Manga of, I am just lazy when to do so.
Really? You must have a ton of interests. I sooo can relate! I'm trying out my first manga right now, it's Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and I love it!! It was rated 3rd here and is totally different than anything you'd see in an anime. Looked like it had a unique feel, and that alone settled it. -_- (it actually does have a different feel)
You bet! I've only seen the first 2 eps so it might be a while.
Hi. I wanted to tell you I'm watching the perfect show, it's Ichigo Mashimaro. It sorta seems like something you'd get a big kick out of. It's only 13 episodes long, adorable (in inappropriate ways), quirky as hell, and for me, it's a nice 'get away' or plain old stress repressor! You ever consider watching it? As for me, I decided (out of your suggestions) on Escaflowne. Time to go all epic. Cha!
Hummn, Bokura ga Ita really looks up my alley, ef was the show I was debating with myself to start watching yesterday (along with Air and Lovely Complex... Air won out for whatever reason), and Escaflowne I'm actually ashamed to have put it off this long. >///< So shameful.
The lead male in Kimi ga Nozomu Eien could easily be seen as a shell of a man but not a shell of a character. He's tortured and conflicted, not self-centered, much more the opposite. But this show is about the resilient strength of the female characters. Not overtly. It's about their weaknesses also. Mostly its about love, tragedy, redemption, and above all reality. In so many ways the characters are realistic beyond what an anime should be. It's still fantasy as far as the medium, but it isn't as detached from what actual people truly go through as other romances. The mistakes that they make along the way are ones I recognize (the female leads). It may not be your idea of romance. Truthfully, it's a lot like watching a train wreck in super slow motion. But in the end, it's just perfect. It's for college romance anime fans, not high schoolers. You may have to bail on it, or you might be enthralled. I get overwhelmed.
Thank you so much for your suggestions. Giving me three makes it hard on me. What to do, what to do? How do I pick between those? Sometimes I spend weeks trying to decide while I just re-watch shows I've seen many times before.
You have a wonderful "about me" section. I hope you get to work on those medical diagnostic machines and really make a difference. My root health issues can't seem to be identified by any method, although many machines have helped diagnose some of my treatable symptoms. Anyway, sorry. I didn't want to talk about that. I wanted to advocate.......
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien!!!!!! You love romance and haven't seen that? It's NOT for the faint of heart. It's beautiful in its tragedy, has more realistic character interactions than I've EVER seen on TV or in a movie, and it leaves my whole body sore from emotional agony when it's finally through with me. Every time.
Hey, I'm a big romance fan myself so please drop me a recommendation for one you think I should see. I can't get enough! I just sometimes need a cry, too, like so many other anime fans. Then I'm off with Desert Punk or GTO etc... to get my manliness back on track. >.<
