Fun Stuff: 100th Post Extravaganza

Soooo, it's my 100th post on this blog of mine, and I wanted to celebrate in a very special way! Since 100 is the magic number, I've compiled 10 top ten lists of Asian pop culture things I love- anime, manga, music, bishounens, etc- as a way to sum up all the things I've been talking about on my blog. So, without further ado, here's your chance to learn a little about the world of Quickand2thePointless!

xxxHolic, Natsume Yuujinchou, FMA: Brotherhood, Code Geass, Hetalia, X, Tiger & Bunny, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, Durarara!, and Nodame Cantabile.

When it comes to anime, I love supernatural/fantasy elements, male leads (not that I don't love the ladies, but Japan is a bit heavy on the fan-service, dependent types, and I like a gal who can define herself- like xxxHolic's Yuuko), and plots that lead to unique perspectives on human emotions and behavior.

Fai (Tsubasa), Yuuko (xxxHolic/Tsubasa), Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X), Natsume (Natsume Yuujinchou), Kotetsu (Tiger & Bunny), Scar (FMA: Brotherhood), Lelouch (Code Geass), Holo (Spice & Wolf), Hakkai (Saiyuki), America (Hetalia)

The characters I love the most are strong-willed, independent, and though they are burdened by their pasts and regrets, they actively seek paths of redemption or develop to the point where they can come to terms with who they are and the world they live in.

Just a sample of what's been on my playlist lately!

With music, I tend to gravitate towards two sounds-- either the type of pop music that reminds me of my boy band obsessed childhood during the days of NSYNC and Backstreet Boys, or inspired singer-songwriter type tracks which break through the language barrier and still manage to tell a beautiful story.

Tales of Symphonia, Golden Sun, Fire Emblem, Sakura Wars, Arc Rise Fantasia, Pokemon, Dragon Age, Monkey Island, Soul Calibur, and Street Fighter

I'm a bit limited when it comes to games, since the only consoles I have access to are the Gameboy Advance, Wii (and thus GameCube), and my trusty PC. Nonetheless, I'm a huge fan of JRPGs, strategy/tactics based adventures, and anything with fantasy elements and beautiful artwork. 

Fantasy, Supernatural, Bishounen, Comedy, Shounen-ai, Shoujo-ai, Historical, Action, Music, and Samurai

Besides my obvious love for beautiful men, I also enjoy plotlines that teach me about Japanese history and folklore, as well as stories that make me laugh or tug at my heartstrings. Romances are always appreciated (hence the shounen and shoujo-ai), but shoujo didn't make the list this time since, as stated earlier, I'm not a huge fan on Japanese leading ladies (exceptions do exist, such as Toradora and Ouran High School Host Club). As a huge fan of Asian music, music themed shows are always, always on my list!

Tsubasa, Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist, xxxHolic, Rurouni Kenshin, Chobits, FAKE, Saiyuki, Tokyo Babylon, Cardcaptor Sakura

If we're being completely honest... I love CLAMP. Fruits Basket is also the first manga series I ever completed, and it immediately hooked me by pairing shoujo with the supernatural elements I love so much in the other series I read. 

Sebastian (Black Butler), Doumeki (xxxHolic), Keith (Tiger & Bunny), Greece (Hetalia), Sanzo (Saiyuki), Kyoya (Ouran High School Host Club), Kaname (Vampire Knight), Kratos (Tales of Symphonia), Lantis (Magic Knight Rayearth), Haruka (Tactics)

Looks like I'm shallow! But when it comes to personality, I like a little bit of stoicism that hides a truly sweet personality, a little bit of gruffness,  but someone who turns out being a little bit of a doof when you get to know them better.

Nico Touches the Walls, Shikao Suga, SHINee, YUI, Big Bang, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Yuya Matsushita, Epik High, Maaya Sakamoto, Miss A.

I love all kinds of music, and these artists span all my favorite genres: alternative rock, dance pop, singer-songwriter, hip pop, throwback rap, and straight up vocal talent.

All of these have been featured as a Theme Spotlight for a reason: I love them each!

Anime themes really need to suit the atmosphere of the show, and quite a few of these were picked because of how well they achieved that purpose- I especially get into the theme if it is paired with a brilliant opening/closing video, or if the lyrics meaningfully tie back into the message of the show. I also like a bit of fun in my music, which is probably why "Kimi ni Mune Kyun" continues to be one of my favorites.

Kurogane/Fai (Tsubasa), Winry/Ed (FMA), Doumeki/Watanuki (xxxHolic), Chiaki/Nodame (Nodame Cantabile), Seishirou/Subaru (Tokyo Babylon/X), Chi/Hideki (Chobits), Kamui/Fuuma (X), Ryuuji/Taiga (Toradora), Kendappa/ Souma (RG Veda), Okabe/Kurisu (Steins;gate)

Clearly, I love how CLAMP does their slash pairings, but when it comes to het, I LOVE vitriolic couples that leave you wondering whether they'll get together in the end (although I suppose Chi and Hideki don't exactly fall into this). I love it when both the male and female characters have difficult personalities, but still find a way to make it work. As for my CLAMP... I love it when couples suffer and sacrifice for each other, always fighting for the futures that make them happy, even when it doesn't turn out the way they want it to.

Fun Stuff: Blah Day Anime

Having spent all my life in Ohio, I am veeeerryyy familiar with the four seasons. Winter in particular is a rough one for us. Some years, like last year, winter hardly even comes at all, and all we receive is an early and extra long Spring. And then other years, like this year, snow falls nearly every day, the ground turns muddy and gross, and as soon as the weather warms up a little bit, the whole lawn turns into a massive lake of standing water. Ick, ick, ick.

As much as I enjoy parts of winter, I do suffer from a mild case of Seasonal Affective Disorder every time the dead of winter hits. For those unfamiliar with the wonders of SAD, it's essentially a minor depression that arises based on patterns of weather. In my case, I get a bit gloomy when the days get darker and the sunlight goes away for long periods of time. It's not so much that I suddenly think life is a black abyss or anything, but I lose a lot of energy, motivation, and high spirits when the weather outside is gray and blah and uninspired.

Luckily, sun lamps and a positive atmosphere help with SAD, and one of my favorite things to do on gray days is to watch a handful of my favorite episodes from my favorite shows. Since I usually don't have enough energy to invest myself in a new plotline, it's fun to go back to a story I'm well familiar with and just sit back and enjoy. The episodes I choose are usually ones that can stand alone, and that can be shown to someone unfamiliar with the story and still be simple to comprehend. Filler is usually a four letter word, but when I find a quality episode that takes a break from a serious storyline, I don't mind stockpiling them for these kinds of days.

Here are some of my favorite blah day anime from various genres, although since it's me, you can expect quite a bit of CLAMP :)

Code Geass- Season 1, Episode 6: While this episode covers details important to the plot including Suzaku's transfer to main character Lelouch's campus and the overarching battle between corrupt empire Britannia and rebel Japanese forces, the main story of this episode features a mischievous cat stealing a mask meant to preserve the main character's double life. And said cat is very talented at evading capture, and said main character, while being a total genius, is quite physically weak. Hilarity ensues when the school president offers a reward for whoever retrieves the secret that cat stole, which Lelouch desperately wants to keep secret. It's overall the most lighthearted episode to a serious action show.

Code Geass might have taken a completely different turn if it was Cat Geass

Natsume Yuujinchou- Season 1, Episode 13: All you really need to know to enjoy this episode is that main character Natsume is a young man who can see spirits and returns power to them by giving them back their names, which were once collected into the Books of Friends. Aside from that, you can simply enjoy a touching bonding moment between friends, as well as the growing connection growing between Natsume and the spirits he helps. The setting is an autumn festival, so there are familiar tropes to make it an easy watch along with the supernatural twist.

This touching episode of Natsume Yuujinchou features ayakashi alongside a beautiful festival and hanabi viewing

Ah! My Goddess- Season 1, Episode 5: Simple plot summary? Main character Keiichi makes a wish for beautiful goddess Belldandy to live by his side, and promptly falls in love with her. In this episode, he tries to work up the courage to tell her his feelings, but unfortunately for Keiichi, Belldandy is a bit... clueless... when it comes to matters of the heart. For romance fans, this is a sweet and simple episode, while also showing off the series' comedic elements. But if you're looking for tips on how to confess to the person you love... this may not be the way to do it!

Nice try, Keiichi, but the road to love won't be that easy!

Junjou Romantica: Season 1, Episode 3: For a quick fix of Boy's Love, watch the beginnings of the Hiro x Nowaki pairing in this episode. The first two episodes cover the relationship between Misaki and Usagi, so you really don't need to know anything about the rest of the show to enjoy this episode (although I would suggest deciding if BL is your thing or not before trying it, because softcore sexythings do happen). The story features Hiro finding a new chance at love with an unexpected partner, although his tsundere tendencies and pride may cause a few troubles along the way!

Nowaki and Hiro won't fail to satisfy a craving for the BL genre!

Ouran High School Host Club- Episode 11: Girl who looks like boy gets forced into a host club. Boys in host club find out she is a girl. Girl stays in host club dressed as boy to pay off a debt. Now that you've got that basic storyline down, watch this hilarious episode where the members of the host club try to bond a lil sis who's afraid of the dark with her occult-crazy older brother who hates the sun. Nekozawa is comedic gold, and the brother-sister elements are quite adorable and kooky.

Nekozawa (and his puppet) isn't quite capable of your standard family reunion

xxxHolic- Season 1, Episode 19: Snow ball fight! Main character Watanuki lives in a spirit-ridden world where anything is possible, and when his employer Yuuko, a powerful witch, is thrown into the mix, nothing is quite so simple as it seems. In this episode, Yuuko initiates a snowman contest with Watanuki in his friends, but things get interesting when their creations come to life and start battling one another. Who will win the battle, and what will the amazing reward be?

And with a Mokona snowman on the field like this, you can bet the battle will be fierce!

D. Gray-man- Season 1, Episode 8: In this show, exorcists battle against demons called akuma, but the conflict with big bad Millinium Earl is set aside in this episode to make way for a rogue robot called Komlin II created by a Komui, a scientist with an off the charts sister complex. Komlin II goes haywire in the exorcist headquarters and starts trying to off the exorcists, and it will take quite a bit of work to defeat him when his creator will do anything to preserve his "masterpiece." D. Gray-man can get heavy, but a rambunctious Komlin episode always does its job in providing comedy.

Behold! The majesty that is Komlin!

Cowboy Bebop- Episode 7: Spike, Faye, and Jet Black make a living as bounty hunters, catching criminals in order to receive the price on their heads. In space. That's all the info you need to start watching this episode, which features Spike teaming up with a tough-as-nails female trucker V.T. to nab a dangerous explosives smuggler. Don't forget, Cowboy Bebop has one of the best English vocal casts of all time, so it might not hurt to watch the dub of this show rather than the sub!

V.T. only factors into one episode of the show, but's she an incredibly likable character

Maria Holic- Season 1, Episode 11: The basic set up is that lesbian Kanako is attending an all-girls Catholic school with the intention of falling love, but is constantly tormented by her roommate Mariya, a boy secretly cross-dressing as a school girl. In this episode, we meet rogue and clueless priest who not only has an eye for the lovely Mariya, but is tricked into using his baffling psycho-analyzing skills on Kanako, who is terrified of men! I'm a Catholic not easily offended by people poking fun at my religious culture (as long as it isn't meant with pure hatred), so the perverted priest trope didn't really bother me, but if this doesn't sound like your thing, feel free to pass on this one (although I will add, the humor in this episode is hysterical!)

To figure out why Kanako is yelling about Trinidad and Tobago, you'll need to watch the episode!

Tsubasa- Season 2, Episode 11: Tsubasa actually has a ton of horrible filler, but one episode was quite funny. Dimension travelers collecting magical feathers that contain the scattered memories of Princess Sakura end up in a world comprised entirely of chibis! It will take the inventiveness of Mokona to get them out of the comic book world and back into reality to continue on with their journey! This episode does contain a few flashbacks to earlier episodes, but for the most part is a humorous stand alone episode where the characters look way too cute for words!

Fai, Syaoran, and Sakura look quite charming in the chibi style!

Enjoy, and chase those winter blahs away!

Fun Stuff: Cosplay!!!

Now that Halloween season is coming up, this girl is going cosplay crazy! Last night marked my first party excursion, and I rocked the night as Euphemia li Britannia of Code Geass fame.

In Princess Euphemia bosom clasping mode. Since the cosplay is new, I'm still working on getting in character.

Close up Euphemia's gorgeous hair

Single White Euphemia desperately seeking Single White Suzaku.

Theme Spotlight: World End

Thanks to the wonders of Last.fm and its musical recommendation options, I discovered the j-rock band Flow not long after getting into UVERworld. Naturally, I was thrilled to learn when I began watching Code Geass that FLOW sings the first and second seasons' opening tracks (or at least one out of the two), joining the talents of some of my other favorite bands such as Orange Range and Ali Project. I was surprised at first that the theme wasn't more hard driving (a la "What's Up People," the opening theme to the second half of a similarly themed show, Death Note), but the words still perfectly reflect the struggles of both Lelouch and Suzaku as they face up to the consequences of the changing world they have helped to create. Sometimes the results of a battle for the world are not quite as ideal as they seem...   

Lelouch vi Britannia commands you: Listen to this song and love it!

Fun Stuff: 30 Day Anime Challenge

For those of you who enjoyed the 30 Day Shipping Challenge, here's one focused on anime in general. I personally have a great time digging through my memories of watching my favorite shows to pull up the answers to the questions and recalling the things I loved the most. So let's give this one a shot!

Day 1 - Very first anime: Technically Sailor Moon and Pokemon when I was a young 'un, but in my more adult career of watching anime, it was Tales of Symphonia, as I detailed in my first post. It was so much fun seeing a game I loved animated that I checked out other series, including Bleach, Gakuen Heaven, xxxHolic, etc. But the very first were definitely the good old nineties classics. 

Ah, nostalgia. Brings back those good old grade school days.

Day 2 - Favorite anime you’ve watched so far: Definitely xxxHolic. I am obsessed with Yuuko, Watanuki, and Doumeki, so I was absolutely ecstatic to see them in the animated form. I was also pleased with how well the first two seasons stuck to canon and kept the filler to a minimum. Also, the use of Suga Shikao for opening themes? Um, YES!

Day 3 - Your anime crush: Oh, I definitely have plenty. Ogami from Sakura Wars, Hakkai from Saiyuki, Kyoya from Ouran High School Host Club, Yuri from Tales of Vesperia, Kotetsu from Tiger & Bunny... the list goes on

Day 4 - Anime you’re ashamed you enjoyed: Hmmm... I don't know, I don't really get ashamed of things I enjoy. With Tsubasa, I, along with many of CLAMP's fangirls, was disappointed by the filler and veering from canon, but I still enjoyed it aside from the many problems... mainly because of the soundtrack and the absolute joy of seeing Fai D Flourite animated.

 
Day 5 - Anime character you feel you are most like (or wish you were): I feel a kinship with Franz from Gankutsuou. We both like to be the voice of reason to our hot headed friends, and have a tendency of keeping our heart to ourselves. We both have someone we love very passionately, but realize we aren't the right person to make that person happy. Instead we do everything we can to ensure they are happy, even if our own happiness takes a backseat.

Franz does get minus points for engaging in needless self-sacrifice, though

  Day 6 - Most annoying anime character: I tend to have a problem with clingy jealous girls and guys. Sodia from Tales of Vesperia comes to mind (although I suppose that's the video game rather than the anime). And Yokozawa from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi before he finds his own romance and gets over Takano.

Day 7 - Favorite anime couple: Kurogane and Fai from Tsubasa. So deep and complex, it makes me drool with all of the fanfiction possibilities. 

Day 8 - Most epic scene ever: One of my favorites is when Light is trying to figure out how to keep Ray Penbar's lady love from reporting to the police what she knows about Kira in Death Note. The mental work that went into stopping her is just astounding, and the pacing and tension of the scene is brilliant.

Day 9 - Saddest anime scene: Since I've already gone on and on in other postings about my sad Tomoya/Nagisa scene in CLANNAD, I'll pick a different one this time: Subaru and Seishirou in X. All of their interactions together. The scene where Subaru broods on his ailing heart. The scene where we learn that Subaru can no longer make his barrier because he lost the thing he wanted to protect and has pretty much lost his usefulness as a Dragon of Heaven. Gaaaah, Subaru.

Ah, those two...

Day 10 - Favorite slice of life anime: Now that I think of it, I watch very few things without fantasy elements. Does Kuragehime count? If so, then totally Kuragehime.

 
Day 11 - Favorite mech series: Code Geass has a pretty awesome use of mechs going for it, but I like the personality of the machines in Gurren Lagann. Especially the incorporation of Kamina's shades onto the machine.

Day 12 - An ecchi picture from your favorite series: Ummm... let's just have kinky Watanuki and Doumeki from a doujinshi

 
Day 13 - Cosplay of your ‘waifu’ or Husbando’: I don't want to post someone's photo without permission, but if I did, it would most definitely be a Ranulf cosplay from Fire Emblem.

 
Day 14 - Current (or most recent) anime wallpaper: To go along with the fanfic I'm writing, One Soul

This is 100% in character too, which makes it even better

Day 15 - Post a cute Neko-girl: NOPE! Let's do a neko boy!

Day 16 - Post a kigurumi cosplay of your favorite anime character: Don't want to post someone without their permission

Day 17 - Favorite tsundere: Hiro-san from Junjou Romantica, of course. I love it when he orders flowers for Nowaki and then orders him not to get a big head over it. Nowaki still tackles him and announces that he's so happy he could die.

Day 18 - Something moe: Finland!

Day 19 - Mandatory swimsuit post: How about the pool scene from Toradora?

Day 20 - Favorite shoujo anime: Fruits Basket. My god, Fruits Basket. Although the series is incomplete, I just love the characters and romance so much that I can't be mad at the show. It would be nice if they animated the amazing ending the manga gives us.

Day 21 - Best yandere character: Belarus, naturally. 

Day 22 - Favorite boy’s love couple (or yuri couple, if you don’t like that sort of thing): Well, I love my KuroFai, but that's not a real BL series. So how about Kisa and Yukina from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi?

 
Day 23 - Anime you think had the best, or most intriguing art: Gankutsuou hands down. Especially the clothing designs of Haydee, as well as Albert's pirate outfit.

So awesome... it's even better when you see it in movement

Day 24 - Favorite anime hero or heroine: Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia is a pretty excellent hero. I'm also rather fond of Vash from Trigun. And Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin.

 
Day 25 - Best anime villain: Ulquiorra from Bleach. His final scene... hot damn. He really does perfectly personify emptiness, and of course the fact that he's voiced by Daisuke Namikawa doesn't hurt!

Day 26 - Your favorite harem anime: I demand reverse harem! And as far as that goes, Ouran High School Host Club does it best.

Day 27 - Favorite anime opening theme song: Oooh, this is a toughie. Durarara does an excellent job with their track by Theatre Brook, and I'm rather fond of 19sai from xxxHolic. But really, does anything beat the Pokemon theme song?

 
Day 28 - Favorite pokemon: Bulbasaur!

Day 29 - Favorite school uniform: I'm going to have to go with CLANNAD

Day 30 - Anime character you want to cosplay: Euphemia from Code Geass. Costume is already on order!