- Song Of The Day - "If the world we dreamed of
exists anywhere,
let's go look for it,
beyond the wind.
The freezing dawn,
the parched midday,
the trembling night;
let's go see what's at their end.."
- Tabii no Tochuu, Natsumi Kiyoura
- How I Got Started On Anime - "It was so sudden. There's always something wonderful happening everyday."
After watching Pokémon and other animated shows all of my childhood I pretty much abandoned the medium altogether pretty early on because of my family's taste in TV and movies. At the age of ten my favourite movie was Good Will Hunting and I gave in to the misconception that anime is childish.
In the summer of 2013, I visited my family in Texas. My cousin, who I'm close to, introduced me to her best friend. I hit it off really well with him and the three of us began watching Ouran Host Club, which I now consider my 'first' anime. To keep in contact with them, I took up watching anime with them via Skype calls, starting with Shingeki no Kyojin and EVA. Amazed by both the depth in artwork and storytelling of these two titles, I decided to watch one on my own: Clannad.
Some tears later, here I am now: hopelessly captured by the many colours and stories of anime.
- Regarding Friend Requests - "People meeting other people is a wonderful miracle - treasure that moment."
Comment on my profile if you want to discuss any show or anything really! I don't accept random friend requests, but if we've talked before or have some mutual friends then I might. I don't bite. If you're shy or want to talk about something private, just PM me.
- About Me - "I don't want to say: I was happy at that time.
I would say: I was happy at that time too, just like I am now."
☆ I share a birthday with Kurisu Makise. ☆I'm a university student studying computer science and biology. ☆My personality type is INFP ☆I used to be big FPS player, but really all that I still play on console are sports games. ☆I used to be a moderator on the EA UK FIFA Forum, but it is a rarity I dust off my console. ☆My favourite games are FIFA, Overwatch, League of Legends, Halo, Pokémon, and SSBM. ☆I play soccer regularly and my favourite team is Manchester United. ☆I also used to run XC and play basketball competitively in HS. My favourite team is the Dallas Mavericks. ☆I listen to just about anything except for metal/screamo and, as well as Japanese/Korean music. ☆I love Taylor Swift and oldies (80's and 90's pop/rock). ☆I love movies, but, lately, I don't watch as many as I feel like the quality is going downhill (Letterboxd). ☆Favourites include Good Will Hunting, 50/50, Pretty Woman, The Departed, Four Weddings and a Funeral. ☆My taste in TV is greatly influenced by my parents: Three's Company, House, Friends, and Grey's Anatomy. ☆I read far too fast and I burn through books at an unsustainable rate financially. ☆My favourite books include: The Art of Racing in the Rain, Kite Runner, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, The Name of the Wind, An Abundance of Katherines, Lioness Quartet, Millenium Trilogy, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Hamlet, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, The Alchemist, Pride and Prejudice, and The Great Gatsby. ☆I love to draw and paint. I failed art in grade three and was forced to stay after-school to trace lines and do colouring pages to work on my fine motor skills. It still is kind of a funny and embarrassing story. ☆Here's an album of some of my better recent drawings.
A birthday gift from Chieri. <3
- My Rating Scale - “The world appears wonderful in the eyes of wonderful people.”
9+: Exceptional 8: Very good (this is very enjoyable and may include some favourites) 7: Good (has some standout characteristics, even if it doesn't reach higher) 6: Above average (has faults in it that hold it back from being good, for example writing or pacing) 5: Average (meets expectations for watching, i.e. very standard show) 4: Below average (bad watchable - may have *head in hands* inducing qualities and lead to blindness) 3: Bad (results in adverse feelings and would not recommend to anyone, I may have even dropped the show) 2: Very bad (even worse) 1: No words needed (the worst)
Np and yeah short haired Aika is life <3 She actually became my favourite character after that episode which was unforseen for me because I didn't really like her until the final third of Natural. Aria just develops it's cast so well that by the end of it, you can't help but like almost every character.
Either is fine with me. MAL makes it easier to manage messages plus it's not as public so I like it here.
Oh wow that's really cool to hear you being involved with those translations! I recall hearing about how the French can get manga faster than English or something like that. A lot of manga is tempting me to get into it tho. What titles did your group scanlate?
I would love some more actually if you want to share some more haha. I've also got to explore though, I won't make your links that formed a good base go to waste!
The backlog never ends, eh? How big is it? It sounds like my own anime list.
I didn't realize you were the one that write that post on Reddit! When I saw that post, I immediately thought how beautiful it is to see Aria being advertised again in that subreddit.
From your WT! which was really great btw:
>I believe it is truly a heartfelt and down-to-earth journey down life's avenues. With a multitude of quietly presented humanistic themes, it is a saccharine series that will grow on you with time, as you discover Neo-Venezia episode by episode.
Oh my god, I didn't think I would able to find somebody else who sees it like this. Whenever I've reflected on an episode from Aria, some great moral comes out and it's incredibly uplifting. From your comments in the WT, Aria was able to powerfully impact you during university. I don't tend to share these personal details but finding another person who loves Aria is a rarity.
I would love to talk about Aria too if you would like. Who’s your favourite character? Favourite moment? How’d you find Aria? Etc.
Below is why I love Aria. It does get personal at points, so I hope you don't mind that.
-----
To expand from my profile about why I love Aria (and if you don't mind me blogging a bit - I know it's a bit long):
As you might already know, University can be hectic. I was and am still university right now too. Anyways, during my 2nd year, I was having a sort of mental breakdown because I wanted to change careers and majors. It felt like I was in the wrong place and a bunch of other personal issues got brought up as a result of this intense stress. Went to seek therapy at school and became just incredibly miserable as a result from all of this realization.
During this time, I was in the height of watching anime and was a big fan. However, my interest was starting to fade because I was getting depressed. Around this time, on reddit and other sites, I've seen people recommend Aria and say it's 'healing.' That term was such a buzzword back then but I'll admit, it's not wrong. Being depressed still at that time, I've looked up 'healing anime' on google. Came across a blog post recommending it highly and how it must be watched episodically.
So I watch Animation on YouTube, back when it was still up for everybody. I immediately got drawn in, and I felt relaxed. It was the first time I’ve felt relaxed for years. I’ve decided to watch it weekly. It was kind of crazy but after 2 episodes, I instantly knew I would love this series.
Every Friday, I basically rewarded myself with an episode of the series. It was incredibly cathartic at times as I was constantly stressed from school during the whole week. Thanks to Aria though, I was able to regain my composure when going through therapy. I just felt more happier and it helped me get through it most definitely. I’ve saw Aria as a sort of big escape from the real world at the time. Thank god too because Neo-Venezia is the best place to escape to, imo.
Now what makes Aria springs up to the top for me is how there were like many times where I’ve felt incredibly lost in life and the very next moment when I watched Aria episode, one of the lessons would help guide me back or even teach me some things of life. It was like a sort of parent in a way and being able to feel like I’m getting some sort of control back and learning felt amazing.
As for the particular moments that struck me, I recall one of them involved with Alice and Athena where it explores their relationship between them. Alice was getting sick of her left hand for being incompetent. This episode was in Animation. In the end, the lesson was that the left hand was helping support the right hand. It’s incredibly subtle but it’s helping. I think I’ve just never realized that subtly before in human interaction.
Another is with Alice and Athena, I believe it was Alice not smiling too much. This was probably in Natural. I can’t recall what was happening but it was incredibly powerful as it helped shape my world view from that moment onwards.
Also, Akari and Alicia’s particular moment in Natural where they see the blossoms was also a beautiful moment that you cited in your reddit thread. That was a very powerful moment for me at the time. I’ve been making so many mistakes at the time and was just feeling so bad at the time. The way the show was able to shift that perspective in how you can find a much more beautiful world through that was… really amazing.
I think what I enjoy a lot about Aria is how they were able to tie in a sort of lesson through its story. Many times, I’ve always been thrown off with the lesson it’s presenting. 0/10 I can never predict what it’s trying to say throughout the episode and that surprise really helped with my viewing. While they hint the theme in the beginning, how they execute it and show it was something different. Masterful direction right there.
Also, I’ve got to say, I didn’t like President Aria in the beginning of the show. The cat prez. His design and voice genuinely annoyed me at first but when I got to his personal episode. I fell in love with the cat. It was the fastest turn around for me hating to loving a character. Now that cat is the cutest guy ever.
I wasn’t sure how they did it but every single episode managed to top the previous one for me in terms of enjoyment when going from Animation to Origination. A++
I had almost forgotten that name cause I always just think Tantan-kun and Tan-tan-tanuki, lol.
I think it's the first time I have the same favourites with someone! Usually it used to be Ryuuki and Ran (along with Seiran) that most people fawned over.
As for the ratings, I don't see anything misleading about that. Though I also don't really pay much attention to my own ratings...if I think about what to rate something for too long I just skip it. Too much trouble! And yeah I do tend to like a lot of different things, haha, he mentioned it to me before, as well. And awwww he's fun to talk to, as well, though it's been a while since we chatted about shows! I'll go say hi, lol.
I really like Mars and I've managed to rec it quite a few times over the years but people really need to like that kind of drama so I can recommend it. It's not something you can just read lighthearted-ly and need a certain mood for it. Oddly enough I've re-read it a lot of times, can't tell if I should worry about that or not. Curious what he'll think if he does read it, btw. We seem to like similar stuff, so I hope he likes it. Kakukaku Shikajika I read more recently so haven't had the chance to rec it yet.
That was my trip west, yup, and it was great! I did lots of hiking and exploring. Stayed at a friend's place in Vancouver and met up with another friend in Alberta. It sucks to be back at work after two weeks off, haha.
I'm enjoying Tsuki, but I'm not crazy about it. My favourite romances with younger characters tend to be more comedic, like His and Her Circumstances or Katanagatari.
All Comments (2001) Comments
Elitist Janai
Your profile pic is pretty cool too I guess
Oh wow that's really cool to hear you being involved with those translations! I recall hearing about how the French can get manga faster than English or something like that. A lot of manga is tempting me to get into it tho. What titles did your group scanlate?
I would love some more actually if you want to share some more haha. I've also got to explore though, I won't make your links that formed a good base go to waste!
The backlog never ends, eh? How big is it? It sounds like my own anime list.
I didn't realize you were the one that write that post on Reddit! When I saw that post, I immediately thought how beautiful it is to see Aria being advertised again in that subreddit.
From your WT! which was really great btw:
>I believe it is truly a heartfelt and down-to-earth journey down life's avenues. With a multitude of quietly presented humanistic themes, it is a saccharine series that will grow on you with time, as you discover Neo-Venezia episode by episode.
Oh my god, I didn't think I would able to find somebody else who sees it like this. Whenever I've reflected on an episode from Aria, some great moral comes out and it's incredibly uplifting. From your comments in the WT, Aria was able to powerfully impact you during university. I don't tend to share these personal details but finding another person who loves Aria is a rarity.
I would love to talk about Aria too if you would like. Who’s your favourite character? Favourite moment? How’d you find Aria? Etc.
Below is why I love Aria. It does get personal at points, so I hope you don't mind that.
Joe, Natsume, Moribito, Nana soon and eventually Aria PADS.... I'm going to die, halp
Erin is obviously the cure to all of this
I had almost forgotten that name cause I always just think Tantan-kun and Tan-tan-tanuki, lol.
I think it's the first time I have the same favourites with someone! Usually it used to be Ryuuki and Ran (along with Seiran) that most people fawned over.
As for the ratings, I don't see anything misleading about that. Though I also don't really pay much attention to my own ratings...if I think about what to rate something for too long I just skip it. Too much trouble! And yeah I do tend to like a lot of different things, haha, he mentioned it to me before, as well. And awwww he's fun to talk to, as well, though it's been a while since we chatted about shows! I'll go say hi, lol.
I really like Mars and I've managed to rec it quite a few times over the years but people really need to like that kind of drama so I can recommend it. It's not something you can just read lighthearted-ly and need a certain mood for it. Oddly enough I've re-read it a lot of times, can't tell if I should worry about that or not. Curious what he'll think if he does read it, btw. We seem to like similar stuff, so I hope he likes it. Kakukaku Shikajika I read more recently so haven't had the chance to rec it yet.
Erin is pretty smelly idk if I wanna spend 50 eps with her
I'm enjoying Tsuki, but I'm not crazy about it. My favourite romances with younger characters tend to be more comedic, like His and Her Circumstances or Katanagatari.
Canada Day is coming up! Do you have any plans?