JoexySun's Blog

Anime Relations: 86

Finding well-informed and well-argued criticisms for popular or endlessly praised shows can be difficult. Steins Gate, Madoka Magicka, Gurren Lagann are some of the examples. The shows share some commonalities: 1, my appreciation for them are drastically limited due to criticisms I believe valid; 2, I don't hate them, just struggle to locate them in my personal top shows; 3, when trying to find well-informed criticisms online, it's far easier to find enthusiastic fans defending or worshipping these shows.

That led me to realize that I might not be a "real" hardcore anime fan. Perhaps I need a more streamlined way to make peace with that. Also, I still don't like trolls. Reading an apparent troll review of "86" and finding out it received hundreds of upvotes is frustrating. Not only is it full of unbridled prejudice and ranting. The whole review's logic is broken, and people here apparently love reading that?

Again, there's got to be a better way to vent about these, and make peace.

Anime Relations: Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai

It's still one of my favorites. And that holds true even with me finishing the Steins Gate series and quite a few similar time-travelling, multiverse-bending rom-coms.

Still, does it deserve a 10 from me, if I hold myself to the consistency of standards I claimed?

Before I decide on that, I would give it a 9/10 for now.

Anime Relations: Vinland Saga

I imagine everyone's different and has their unique perspectives and history of anime, and that deserves some respect no matter what.

However there are also legit trolls who exist on MAL solely for the purpose of trolling people with their outrageous reviews, and sometimes they get popular.

Like the dude who gave Vinland Saga a 4/10 and got 852 likes (putting his review at No.1 on Vinland Saga's page). Or the dude who gave Castle in the Sky a 3/10 (also putting his review on the front page of the anime).

Well it's fun encountering your input, but honestly, eff you and your trash tastes.

Anime Relations: Monster

Last time I did some statistics about 10 of my favorite shows (as of March 2022), and it turns out Madhouse is my favorite anime studio.

Now Let's see all the 38 anime I have given a 9/10 and above.

Madhouse Studio:
1. Monster
2. Gunslinger Girl
3. One Punch Man
4. Parnoia Agent
5. Hunter X Hunter
6. Perfect Blue
7. Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
8. Parasyte

Studio Ghibli:
1. Mononoke Hime
2. Castle in the Sky
3. Spirited Away
4. Kurenai no Buta
5. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
6. Grave of the Fireflies
7. Whisper of the Heart

Wit Studio:
1. After the Rain
2. Vivy
3. Vinland Saga

CloverWorks:
1. Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl
2. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

A-1 Studio:
1. 86 Part 1
2. 86 Part 2

Sunrise:
1. Z.O.E. Dolores, I.
2. InuYasha: The Final Act

Bones:
1. Mob Psycho 100

Production I.G.
1. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG

Studio Deen:
1. Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal

Shin-Ei Animation:
1. Doraemon (1979)

Trigger Studio:
1. Kill la Kill

Polygon Pictures:
1. Knights of Sidonia Season 1

OLM and P.I.C.S:
1. Oddtaxi

David Production:
1. JoJo Part 3 Stardust Crusaders 2nd Season

Geno Studio:
1. Pet

CoMix Wave Films:
1. Kimi no Na Wa

White Fox Studio:
1. Re: Zero Part 2

Lerche Studio:
1. Assassination Classroom Second Season

Tokyo Movie Shinsha:
1. Akira

Tatsunoko Production:
1. Tekkaman Blade

Doga Kobo Studio:
1. Gekkan-Shoujo Nozaki-kun.

Ok, turns out my favorite studio is still Madhouse Studio, followed by Ghibli and Wit.

Anime Relations: Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2

In the 10 characters that made into my Top 10 list here on MAL, I deliberately chose 5 males and 5 females.

Turns out, of the 5 males I chose,

Johan Libert from Monster is a supervillain seemingly without a trace of humanity left in him, until we learn of his gut-wrenching backstory. I initially thought the ending song "make it home" was a elegy for a monster like him. I was wrong. The song is for me.

Rei in Fist of North Star is a tragic hero and self-sacrificial friend to the main character. He is called the "Righteous Star" in the Southern Stars.

Saitama from One Punch Man is a "hero for fun" who gained infinite power but lost the thrills of facing tough enemies. He is always chasing the supermarket discounts.

Joseph Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventures is a prodigal son and a strategic genius who singlehandedly triumphed over superhuman "man of pillars". In his 60s, he was still messing around, but he gave his life to save his daughter, only getting revived by his overpowered grandson. At age of 79, he was still rumbling about eating beef steaks. He is too human to be a manga/anime character.

Killua from Hunter X Hunter is the best friend, brother, lover or family one can ask for. Gon really does not deserve him.


Of the 5 female characters I chose:

Edit March 10th, 2022:

Tsubasa Hanekawa is a straight-A student who always maintained the highest grades in her high school. From ethics, appearance to her management abilities, she always maintained near-perfection. Unknown to most of her peers, she lives in a house where both her "parents" are not related to her because they had remarried multiple times. She's mostly ignored in her own home and has no room of her own. Her parents feared and shunned her because of a dangerous energy lives underneath her perfect appearance (or because her perfect reaction to any situation put them off). Her mental stress manifested as a "dark cat person" and later a "giant fiery tiger". Her tantalizing behaviors in front of her crush both attracted him and scared him, yet neither of them were able to confess their feelings before it's too late.

Shouko Makinohara from Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl is a heavenly, angelic character who "will not give up until bringing happiness to Sakuta". Her motto is "becoming a little kinder and more tender everyday". And she lived by that motto in all variations of her future, whether she eventually dies of heart failure before reaching 16 or not. She loves in a sincere, non-coercive, non-possessive way. She completely won me over. Honestly, I wish to have a guardian angel like her in my life.

Ushio Kofune from Summer Time Rendering is, to put it unabashedly, the best waifu I have encountered in any anime or manga in my 30+ years of anime/manga experience. I am looking forward to seeing her anime this coming April. To talk more about her would be potential spoilers, so I will stop here.

Vivy the titular character from Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song is an android designed to "bring happiness to humanity by her singing". She is probably the best main hero I have seen, regardless of gender. She is the most spiritual and wholesome "savior" character I've seen in the "A.I. uprising" stories.

Emilia from Re: Zero is a flawed and overtly idealistic half-elf. She wants to change the world for the better, eliminating all discriminations, and she's sincere about it. She learned to calmly accept her past tragedies and regrets. The best thing about her is her potential to realize her great dreams. However, she's also a bit of a cross between deredere and bakadere, making her vulnerable to sophisticated schemes and exploitations. If I am Subaru, I'd spend more time talking to her about her dreams, interests, boundaries, etc. helping her articulating her ideals and plans. Most importantly, I'd want to ask her if her pointed ears feel cold whenever she uses ice magics.

Honorable nominations:

Teresa from Claymore is a legend, the strongest Claymore and warrior "with a faint smile". She did not mind being a lowly soldier and discriminated half-demon. She could regain her composure just by taking a nap with her back to her sword. She fell out with the organization after encountering Claire and decided to live out her life in peace with this newfound little sister. However, she was prematurely killed by the ultimate monster. She continued to live inside Claire and impact the story.

Keiko from Yu Yu Hakusho. I read that manga when I was about 10, and Keiko might be the first manga character I had a serious crush on. I used to draw imitations of her.
https://myanimelist.net/character/733/Keiko_Yukimura

Kenshiro from Fist of North Star. The manliest and coolest martial arts master. But in reality I always loved Rei more than him. I might have unconsciously realized how much of a power fantasy he really was.

Mako Mankanshoku from Kill la Kill. The most awesome bakadere to light your day up. With Mako around, you never need to worry about anything because she can turn any harsh situations into Looney-Toons.

I guess I am typical for certain kinds of toxic masculinity, judging from this list. The male characters have way more range than female characters here, and all of the females here resemble "selfless goddess" to a certain degree. Haha, toxic me.

Anime Relations: Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa

I have debated inside my head for a long time if I should just give Castle in the Sky a 10/10.

It's such a timeless classic, there's zero doubt about that. I can't imagine anyone actively hating it (uh, on second thoughts, maybe Nazis would hate this movie?).

I watched it for the first time on VHS when I was 5 or 6, and mostly remembered this movie by the pirate mom's straight-to-the-sky pigtails.

Then I found its DVD almost 10 years later, and my whole family became fans of it.

Last year when I watched it again, there was this weird feeling of watching a perfect playthrough of a Uncharted game. Really, Pazu is Indiana Jones + Nathan Drake on steroids. Maybe I have become old and corrupted, and I have this bitter realization that I will never be such an ideal hero like Pazu.