Report Tsulaa's Profile

The following is a bit of background, if interested...

I've enjoyed animation for many years. In fact, my fascination began in early childhood during one of my secret, midnight forays downstairs to plunder our stock of Maraschino cherries & to watch late night TV while my family snored the best hours of the night away.

Anticipating some random horror flick on Chiller Theater -hosted by Pittsburgh's own Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille- or another zany episode of Benny Hill, you can imagine my surprise when my pre-tween eyes beheld the most bizarre of "cartoons"...René Laloux's Fantastic Planet ...aaaaannnnd I was HOOKED.

And then frustrated...denied, even! The choices of anime that a child could get his/her hands on in the 70s & early 80s were slim-to-none. Kimba the White Lion & Speed Racer were about it. Years later, and still hungry for more varied forms of animation outside of the Saturday morning cartoons, came Heavy Metal. Then -finally!- after a few more years, "anime" became more widely featured. And yet, it's only until recently that I've been actively searching it out. It's amazing how much is out there compared to 20+ years ago! I'm lovin' it!

I must admit to feeling a little spread thin regarding all the stories I've been following, but I'd have to say that my Top 2 series', at this time, are Claymore & Bleach. Some of the anime-style movies I've enjoyed throughout the years are (in no particular order): Howl's Moving Castle, Angel's Egg, Tokyo Godfathers, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, and of course, Ghost in the Shell. I’m also a huge fan of The Last Unicorn movie & Avatar: The Last Airbender series (I am waiting with bated breath for M. Night Shyamalan’s adaptation in 2010).

Besides my newly-focused interest in anime, I'm an avid reader, and enjoy a wide range of genres (inc. graphic novels & comics), with my favorite being Fantasy. I also follow a number of webcomics on sites such as [url=http://www.zudacomics.com/"]Zuda Comics[/url], Drunk Duck & Girlamatic. Some personal favorites from these sites are Gettosaki's Bayou, Dylan Meconis' Bite Me! A Vampire Farce, and anything I've read by Sarah Ellerton at her site, The Seraph Inn.

I also enjoy browsing the creations of the many artists featured at deviantART. I've found this site -& others of similar content- to be a great way to get turned on to new & interesting realms of the art world.

If you happen to view my List, and a certain series, film, novel (graphic or other), etc. comes to mind that you think I may enjoy, please feel free send a message.

C-ya'll around!
~Tsulaa

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UPDATE: It's now late Spring of 2010, and after a short hiatus, I'm back in the anime game. Man, have I learned a lot since I found this site. There is SO much talent out there! Upon joining, my favorites were Claymore and Bleach. Beside the repetitiveness of Claymore's episodes' storylines, I still consider it a favorite. As for Bleach, well, I've taken a break on that for a while. The best anime I've viewed to date is Shigurui: Death Match. It truly rates as a Masterpiece. I also really enjoyed Utawareumono; it's not as "cookie cutter" as I expected, & Kuroshitsuji which is one of the most well-paced & satisfying animes I've yet to see.

As far as manga goes...I have barely tested the waters. It's time will come.
C-ya!
~Tsulaa

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UPDATE #2: It's now mid-Spring 2014, & -once again- I'm a few weeks into my return from this year's "anime break." Yeah, I've noticed a pattern. I guess I just get bored; not due to any lack of decent anime options...& that brings me to the main point of this update.

I'm not so hung up on staying en trende with a season's "Most anticipated." I still like to know which shows are coming out when, but only because I don't want to miss anything. Whether I end up watching it right away or not depends on a number of factors; only a couple of which are set in stone.

I take this very general, "Entertain me"-centric approach to any anime, which is so vague in demands & requirements, it takes a lot to turn me off completely. I've come to recognize, & am comfortable with, what those deal breakers are so, as long as they don't rear their nasty, little heads, I'm pretty much set.

Game on.

I'll close with a mention of two titles I'll call "Happy Surprises" rather than "Masterpieces." They are: Gatchaman Crowds (the opening track, "Crowds" by WHITE ASH, alone, is seriously kick ass!) and Yowamushi Pedal. As I am a fan of neither Mecha nor Sports-based anime, Gatchaman & Yowapeda are excellent examples of the potential payoff that can come from keeping an open mind in regards to one's usual genre (& even style) preferences.

Until next time!
~Tsulaa

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UPDATE #3: It's now mid-Spring 2021, & I do believe I'm beginning to sense a pattern developing. I took another 3-ish year break as I did a Score: 10-Triple Lindy, smack head-first into the oh-so addictive, time-sink of a world called...K-DRAMA! I've actually been into it since 2012? 2014? Nothing like these last few years, tho, but, that's an entirely different website's profile...

Which season was it that the banner season for anime occurred? Was it Winter 2018? 2017? Ah well, whichever one it was, it ruined me for the many seasons that followed. I just couldn't seem to find more than a few anime/year that really grabbed me. I started to watch plenty of them, but I had seemed to have run out of steam. By the time Dr. Stone came along in 2019, I was done. I could feel it.

That being said, some of the stand-outs within these last, few years are (a very incomplete list, & in no particular order):

- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (2019)
- Made in Abyss (2017)
- Violet Evergarden (2018)
- The Ancient Magus' Bride (2017)
- That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime (2019)
- The Promised Neverland (2019)
- Vinland Saga (2019)

I'm sure I watched more, & I'm definitely sure I attempted to watch even more than that, but by 2020, not even Jujutsu Kaisen could hold my attention.

I'm remedying all of that now. I began watching anime again earlier this week. I'm all caught up on Dr. Stone, all of the Mushi-shi series' & one-offs, the Made In Abyss movies, & I'm half-way through Jujutsu Kaisen. I've even watched the last three eps of Duoluo Dalu Part 2, & the first few of Part 3 (I kind of use the latter as a palate cleanser...? That might make sense to someone out there. Maybe?).

So I'm back in action, Boys & Girls...Gentlepeople...kin... (insert identifier here) ; whoever happens to be reading this! Dang, was that a sign o' the times or what?! I hope you & yours have made Covid-19 & all of the other bullshit going on your bitch! If you've been struggling, please...hang in there until, then paint your special flare all over that muthafucka!

Cheers!
~Tsulaa