guyklc's Blog

Looking back, I think I've graded anime way too liberally in the past. I have knocked down the score of some past anime. Also, I've implemented a new rule on grading, particularly those with scores of 10: that is, the value of the show throughout time. It may have been entertaining and left a good impression at me while watching it, but if I think about it years from now, would I still remember all of its awesomeness? If not, I will drop the score appropriately. In addition, I am no longer allowing all my 10's anime to keep 10s. If I find new anime that I find reasons to give 10s to, then I will go back and drop the score of certain anime that I've given 10s to. I'm doing this because my rating is starting to not make any sense to me in recounting which anime I truly enjoy versus anime that I thought was fun and good at the time.

So... this blog is dedicated to my life outside of anime (because I actually have one).

I am short for a guy, and I am currently living in the Greater Los Angeles Area. I commute to my college that is about a 40 minute drive away from where I live (although there's usually traffic, so it's more like at least an hour). I live just a few miles away from one of the largest Chinatown in California (possibly even in the entire United States). Generally speaking, I like where I currently live... except I want it to rain more. It's too hot and dry here.

I am studying the informational sciences and how it relates to the business world. I am planning on going into the IT industry after graduation. So... if anyone has a question about computers, you can ask me and I will... direct you to somebody in my department who knows more about computers than I do >.<

I am a very cynical person, quite possibly the most cynical person you will ever meet. It's just how I am, and it's my style of humor.

The only sports I like are baseball and basketball (and martial arts I guess, but there aren't that many places for martial arts here in the States). I have no interest in any other sport. However, I don't watch sports either (well, I'd watch a little bit of the Olympics). I'd rather play sports than watch sports, but even then, I don't play that often (I suck, lol).

Loud noises irritate me. That's the first thing I noticed when I lived in a dorm for the first year. Everyone blasts loud music through speakers. I realized how quiet my house is now that I live alone.

I was the co-founder of the chess club back in high school. That brings back memories... speaking of such, I have not played chess in a long time.

I was also in the school orchestra both in middle and high school (but not for every year). I went from a first violinist to a second violinist... lol, fail >.< Speaking of such, I have not played the violin for a long time either. There's this guy at my college who wants to start a duo with me; perhaps I should accept his offer.

I am scared of needles (no shots, please).

I have had two root canals and almost had a third one, but my dentist took care of that (yes, I brush my teeth twice everyday and use Listerine... I guess I just have shitty teeth). Also, I do not have dental insurance... very expensive crap right there. Sometimes, I wonder if I should have gone to dental school instead. It's very profitable, and plus, I probably wouldn't have so many cavities.

I like science more than I like the arts. I'm not very good at science, though. But I like it. Speaking of science, it was my childhood dream to become a scientist.

I procrastinate a lot, but when it comes down to serious business, I believe I am a very hard and diligent worker.

I hate it when people use the world, "irregardless". It's "regardless"; irregardless doesn't make any sense.

I hate it when people confuse when to use "you and I" and "you and me".

I'm an introvert, in case you couldn't tell by now.

Personal philosophies:
"A dream with nothing but delusion is simply a delusion. A dream without being delusional at all is not really a dream." (my own philosophy, and I like it)

"You cannot please the world. However, as long as you control all the major trade routes and have the world by its throat, it matters less." (interesting belief for world domination, lol. I don't remember where I heard this, but I like it. No, I'm not some fascist dictator planning on taking over the world, but I'm not going to please everyone, and I have no problem with that)

"People are irrational creatures who try to be rational, which in turn, only makes them even more irrational." (another one of my own)

Anyways, that wraps it up for now. If you like to know anything about my life, just ask me (although I may not answer anything too personal).

Alright, so here's where I blog about my anime-self (for anyone who actually cares). I don't really remember when I started watching anime; I never really got into it at first. My first anime was probably one I've seen when I was living in Taiwan (probably Totoro?). Other than Totoro, I think I might have watched a little bit of Chibi Maruko-chan before moving to the US (but that's all ancient history). In the US, the first real anime that I liked was Pokemon (just like everybody else at that time). Afterward, it was probably Digimon. And... uh, from then on, I didn't really watch anime.

That stayed all the way until I started high school (or half-way through, actually). A friend of mine recommended Love Hina, saying it was funny. I watched it, but I thought it was more perverted than funny. Nonetheless, I slowly began to enter the world of anime. I believed I started watching other shows like FMA and School Rumble... and then maybe Death Note. I joined my high school's anime club in junior year, but I still didn't really like anime that much.

I really started to like anime during my final year of high school. During winter break, my family went to China for vacation. Because youtube is blocked in that country and anime is prohibited from airing on TV (commies and their censorship laws -_-), I had to buy pirated DVD's from underground shops. It took me forever to find one, but when I did, I bought the DVD for Darker Than Black. I saw a few episodes of it back in anime club, and I was hooked for me. But the package also came with two other DVD's: Code Geass and Lucky Star. I bought it because it was a pretty good deal (pirated DVD's were very cheap).

I finished DTB, then pondered if I should start Code Geass or Lucky Star first. I tried Lucky Star, and the first few seconds of the show confused me. I thought I had just seen the weirdest, most on cracked show on earth (referring to the OP song). I turned it off and did not watch Lucky Star or Code Geass DVD until after returning to America.

After returning to America, an online friend of mine said he really liked LS, and told me to give it another chance. He promised me that I would like it. After finishing a few other anime title (Fate Stay/Night, Suzumiya Haruhi, etc.), I decided to give LS another shot. And I'm glad I did, because Lucky Star changed my life. I was inspired by Konata and her enthusiasm to become a full-fledged otaku, despite knowing that being an otaku is supposed to be a shameful thing. I realized the error of my ways of downloading/streaming anime (or buying cheap, pirated DVD's). I have devoted myself into buying and repaying the anime industry at any chance I get. Today, I am a proud and full supporter of anime, meaning I buy anime. I still stream and download, of course. But I have made it a goal to buy and support as much anime merchandise as I can.

The genres I generally like are slice of life, comedy, or drama. As said in my intro, the most important thing an anime has to be is that is has to be entertaining to me. If not, then I consider the anime a failure to me. Plot wise, I'd rather have no plot than to have a terrible plot. I generally also prefer episodic episodes than anime with a central plot. Rushed or dragged plots are both bad, but I think dragged plots are worse. I cannot stand watching many episodes (as in Naruto) before things finally get started. This is probably why, as mentioned before, I prefer episodic shows to shows with a central plot, because anime with a central plot either drags or rushes things too much.

I don't like anything pervy. Ecchi, I can kind of stand (but it has to have something else, like an interesting story or something; it can't survive on ecchi alone for me), but yaoi, hentai, yuri, etc, are just out of the question for me.

Some other stuff:



That wraps up this blog entry, I guess. Thank you for reading, and if you need to know anything else about my anime life (believe me, this is the condensed version), feel free to comment and I will respond.

After watching more of Kobato and Kimi ni Todoke, I have to say, I'm going to reverse my stance from before. I said in my previous entry that Kobato will be another fun slice-of-life anime to watch, while Kimi ni Todoke just might make it to my list of best of 2009. Now, it's reversed.

Kobato's storyline has been developing a lot recently (minus a few fillers now and then). I am excited to see what will happen to Kobato and her relationship with Fujimoto, Ioryogi, and Domoto. I am also curious to see what will happen to her collection of kompeitou. Then, of course, the ultimate question: Why has Sayaka's ex-husband turned into such a greedy bastard in wanting to shut down the school at all cost?

Kimi ni Todoke, on the other hand, just plummeted in my eyes after the very dragged Kurumi arc. We now move on to the side characters' love life, and to be honest, I found most of them very predictable. That, and the fact that I really do not like the art in Kimi ni Todoke. In fact, the only art I like is Sawako's chibi face, but with her in the spot light less and less, there's not much Sawako's chibi face. In addition, Kimi ni Todoke has become even more shoujo (if that's possible), and I'm starting to reach the limit as a guy. That's not to say it's a terrible anime; it's just that it is far from what it once was to me.

Perhaps on my next entry, I will write about the most overrated and over-hyped anime of 2009. It's never too late for controversies (hint: KyoAni, I'm looking at you and your most successful franchise).

Anime Relations: Pandora Hearts, Natsu no Arashi!, Seitokai no Ichizon, Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini

As promised, here are my top 2009 anime. Once again, I remind everyone that I have not seen all of 2009's anime, but I believe I have seen all of the more promising ones. Also note that 2008 anime that continued anime do not count (otherwise, Clannad Afterstory would easily win the spot); and there are still 2009 anime that are airing, like Kobato and Kimi ni Todoke. From the way things are, Kobato will probably be just another fun slice-of-life anime to watch. However, it is possible that Kimi ni Todoke (from the way things are now) may also become one of 2009's finest anime in my eyes. It is currently too hard to judge.

Anyways, currently, my picks are as followed: Pandora Hearts (best music), Natsu no Arashi (best mixture of comedy and drama), Seitokai no Ichizon (best comedy), and Darker Than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini (best drama and action). If I feel like it, I may update/write another blog on justifying my picks. Again, these are my picks, and not official in any way.

Alright, I will be compiling a list of my top 5 anime for 2009. Please note that I have not seen all of 2009's anime (as that would be too much and I don't think I have the time to, anyways). I have, however, seen quite a few of 2009's anime, so I think I am confident enough to make a judgment on what good anime of 2009 are to me. If I feel like it, I may even post the biggest disappointments of 2009 for me. I am looking forward to doing this every year from now on. Anyways, stay tuned and hope you enjoyed my picks.