Fun Stuff: Words of the Wise

There's nothing I hate more than people who brush off hobbies of reading manga and watching anime as 'childish' or 'just reading comic books'. As an English major, the first thing that comes to my mind is: What on earth is wrong with reading comic books? There is virtue in all kinds of reading and literature, and manga in particular has a bevy of teachings and morals that are on par with those in great works of literature. Besides, here in the West we rarely get a taste of Eastern culture and philosophies in places outside of school. Manga has in many ways exposed me to ideas I would have never thought of on my own, and that is an experience very far from childish.

There are many quotes I have uncovered in anime and manga that have influenced me as both a person and a fan or writing, and I'm sure that most fans have had similar experiences. In this posting, I would like to share some of my favorites from the shows/games I love and keep coming back to. These are the ones that have stayed on the top of my head and made me think, and I hope as I continue to read and watch and reread and rewatch that I'll be able to add more to my collection of wisdom (and the walls of my dorm!). Please note that translations vary: some are from the published versions, some are fan translations. The integrity of the statement should still be intact, even if its not the 'official' translation.


 1. "Even if you protect the weak and the ones you love by sacrificing of yourself with the compassion of the Buddha himself, sorrow will remain in those people. They will never be truly happy. Even if you quell danger with your fierce anger, sacrificing your life... it is only for one short moment in time, and time goes on. The will to live is the heart of existence. Do not forget that" -Hiko Seijuro from Rurouni Kenshin
Why it rules: In anime, manga, literature, and life there are people in the world who are death seekers (people who have lost their purpose and motivation and are all right with the idea of dying regardless of the feelings of those who love them) or who place their survival as secondary to someone else. We all have a little bit of this inside us. There are several people I would willingly take a bullet for, and as a society as a whole, we often see nothing wrong with taking actions such as these. In fact, Maximilian Kolbe's sainthood in the Catholic church has a lot to do with his decision to give up his life for the sake of a stranger in Auschwitz. We love sacrifice and see it as the ultimate symbol of kindness and friendship, but what Master Hiko reminds us is that there are always people left behind in these instances who are filled with guilt at being sacrificed for, and are kept from being able to find happiness. Oftentimes, they find themselves resenting the person for throwing themselves away and diminishing their own value. Whatever your perceptions of sacrifices are, several characters have faced the brunt of them in anime and manga (Franz and Albert from Gankutsuou, Seishriou and Subaru from Tokyo Babylon and X, Natalia and Asch from Tales of the Abyss come to mind), and it makes one question whether or not sacrifice is a kindness or a cruelty.

Master Hiko's words of wisdom encourages Kenshin not to treat his life lightly and cause Kaoru and the people who love him pain.

 
2. "The thing that makes that person special, the things that make him different from the rest is that he is him. I have found him: the things that he can't do because he is him, the things that he can do because he is him. I fell in love with him because he is that person. And I believe he will find them: the things I can do because I am me and the things I can't do because I am me, and then... hopefully he will love me... because I am me." -from 'A City With No People' in Chobits
Why it rules: I'm sure it's not uncommon for people to date/be involved with someone who asks 'Why do you have to be so ____?" or "I don't like it how you ____". Sure, there are plenty of things about us that bother other people and habits that we would be better off correcting. But a person who truly loves us will take the time to realize what we are and are not capable of doing, and respect us all the same. The things that define who we truly are (rather than habits and conditions that are temporary and changeable) should not be brushed aside because they do not suit someone else's tastes. As another guru Dr. Seuss once said, "Be yourself, because the people who mind don't matter, and the people that matter don't mind."

This story within a story offers the insights that make Chobits so thought provoking

 
3. "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality." -Aster and Richter Abend from Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Why it rules: This oft repeated line from the game probably drove a few fans crazy, but I personally took it to heart even though between Richter, Emil, Marta, etc. the saying was drummed quite forcefully into the players' heads. However, truer words were never spoken over and over again. Most dreams we have, be it personal or professional, aren't going to come true if we sit by passively and wait. And to take action and make a difficult ambition or hope more than just a private wish, what do we need? We need many things, in truth, but courage is number one on the list. If you're not brave enough to step up and own your wish, then there's really no point in wishing it to begin with (unless it's a pipe dream, although those also serve to motivate people towards achievable goals). These words certainly had an effect on Emil, and on Richter as well, and led them both to overcome prejudices and self-inflicted doubt to fight for the side they believed in.

If you ever forget these words, Emil will be happy to have ten flashbacks to Richter saying it to him.    

4. "If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha. If you meet your father, kill your father. Free of everything, you are bound by nothing. Live the life that was given to you." -as repeated by Koumyou Sanzo in Saiyuki
Why it rules: It seems like a cold hearted statement on the surface, and it is often used as such by Genjyo Sanzo when he is attempting to distance himself from his companions in order not to burden them with having dependence on him (the sacrifice of Koumyou Sanzo on his behalf was the cause of this, which makes an interesting connection to quote one), but this quote is actually quite good advice for those of us who rely overmuch on the influence of others on our lives (family, religion, peers, media, etc). We don't necessarily have to go around killing these connections (the quote isn't meant to be taken THAT literally) or ignoring them completely, but it is important to be aware of them and how they take us down paths that we would never choose ourselves if it was up to only us and what motivates us inside. There is virtue in guiding ourselves rather than being guided by others, and in recognizing the life we want rather than the one others want for us.

Koumyou's words have a huge impact on how Sanzo chooses to live his adult life.

5. "No one should tell you how to mourn. And when someone says 'move on', you take their hand and say, 'my choice'" - Aveline from Dragon Age II
Why it rules: While not an anime example, this line is too excellent for me not to include it. Aveline is addressing Hawke during a particularly painful time in his/her life, and shares a story of how when she was younger and read with her father, he would not turn the page until she guided his hand to indicate that she was ready. In a similar way, we cannot always allow others to move us forward when we are mourning, and 'turn the page' before we are ready to move on. In a similar fashion to the quote above, the way we live our lives is ultimately our choice, and even if we allow others to choose for us, we have chosen or consented to submit our will to their guidance. If we want to live this life given to us, our hands should be the one moving the page forward, even if it does so grasping on to someone else's. 

Aveline's advice is rare moment of tenderness from the typically solid woman.

6. "The instant one gives up, that is when it all ends. Keep wishing. Wish strongly! Wish hard! Do not let it matter what kind of being you are! Do not let it matter what pressures others put on you! Continue to wish for that which your heart truly desires!" -Ashura (of Shura Country) from Tsubasa  
Why it rules: This advice, given to Syaoran before Ashura submits to death at having failed to realize the impossible wish of reviving someone who had died, is something completely consistent with CLAMP philosophy, and with many of the other philosophies already expressed here. Ashura's wish was one he/she (oh, the challenges of English not having a suitable androgynous pronoun) knew could not be achieved, but the fact that he/she held onto it as a true desire of the heart speaks strongly to the importance of not compromising a wish for the sake of anything, even the demands of the world. The moment of giving up on an authentic and important wish really is a moment of no return. As one of my favorite bands Jimmy Eat World puts it, "When you let go, then that's where time will stand".

Syaoran respects Ashura's wish by never giving up the true desire of his heart during the events of Tsubasa.

That's all for now, but as with my theme spotlights, I hope to post more great quotes in the future!

Fire Emblem: The World in Crisis

Since I have Fire Emblem to thank for getting me in to Japanese games and RPGs, today's post will be a toast to the game that started it all: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. As I said in my first post, I picked up Fire Emblem because I liked the cover. I was in sixth grade at the time, and liked to sketch anime-like characters in the margins of my notes, so I was drawn to the pictures of blue haired beauty Princess Eirika and slender hunk Prince Ephraim of Renais on the cartridge box. I flipped over the back and thought the fantasy-sounding plot had potential, so I decided to go for it. It's not like it would be a big deal if it didn't work out-- my dad was the one paying for it. Besides, even if the game stank, I could still keep the awesome cartridge package that had drawn me in in the first place!

To an eleven year-old nerdy girl, finding this is equivalent to getting a pair of custom Louboutins

I started playing as soon as I got home, and immediately got hooked on several of the elements. Unfortunately, I had no real mind for strategy at my young age, and there was no way I could have won at my current skill level. I put the game away for a few months, hoping to look at it with fresh eyes when I had the chance later on. The second time ended up being a more successful run through.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Fire Emblem titles are turn based strategy games that use a grid-like system for characters to move around in as they face enemy units. Player units come in all different types, and can evolve based on a two-tier class system when leveled up (although some titles have alternative or additional tiers). The main characters are usually lords, a class which offers specialized stats and abilities, but other options include healers, mounted knights, wyvern fliers, pegasus knights, mages, thieves, etc. The game usually starts off with a lord who is thrust into a continent-spanning war, and continues to follow the central protagonist as he or she is slowly joined by allies over time. The player can choose a team from the group of allies for each chapter, relying on a sound strategy and balance of skills and abilities to become the victor of each battle. And yes, strategy and leveling characters up consistently is very important. If an allied unit dies or is knocked out of a battle, they ain't coming back.

A sample of one of FE's many battlefields. This is where you move your characters and enter into combat.

It is all too simple for new players, like my sixth grade self, to get stuck in the rut of relying on certain characters too heavily or dismissing a character because they initially have low defenses. For example, when I first played the game I was fixated on Princess Eirika's paladin Seth, who started high level and was already in his second tier class, which meant his stats and mobility were stronger than the other characters. I overused him, allowing my other characters including Princess Eirika to become virtually useless, and wound up getting stuck when it got to the point where the world could not be defended by Seth alone. The key to being a good Fire Emblem player is finding balance, using a variety of different characters, and not being afraid to experiment. There are guides and walkthroughs made to help gamers point their teams in the right direction, but the real joy of Fire Emblem is winning based on your own efforts and skills.

General Seth is a skilled unit, but it's always a mistake to focus on one character to the exclusion of all else.

The Sacred Stones starts off in the Kingdom of Renais, one of the countries founded after a group of five Legendary Heroes sealed away the evil Demon King from the continent of Magvel. Renais has been a long time ally of the Grado Empire, the largest territory in Magvel, but something begins to seem fishy with Grado's Emperor Vigarde, and one day the Grado army shows up in Renais and begins seizing territory after territory for seemingly no reason.

Our heroine, Princess Eirika, is with her royal father when the Grado army reaches the capital. Her warrior brother, Prince Ephraim, is currently missing in action, and the capital city doesn't stand much of a chance at its current level of defense. The king, being a smart guy, sends his daughter off with the general of his armies, the aforementioned Seth, to seek sanctuary in the neighboring kingdom of Frelia while he stays behind to try and figure out what the hell is going on with Grado. Unfortunately, the generals of Grado aren't interested in a discussion regarding motives, and they promptly kill him off screen.

Princess Eirika, who defeats enemies by distracting them with her sexy miniskirt

Eirika and Seth flee, but quickly run into one of Grado's newest generals, the sick and sadistic wyvern knight Valter. Valter makes it pretty clear that he thinks Eirika is hot stuff and wants a piece of her before he takes her down, and the knightly Seth must step in to defend his lady, even though there is no way he is going to defeat the guy who looks suspiciously like a potential boss for later chapters. He sustains heavy injuries, but naturally can't allow himself to die and put his lady in danger. He snatches her up and makes a break for it while Valter chuckles to himself about how much he will enjoy hunting them later.

Just the kind of guy you want to bring home to meet the parents

After arriving in Frelia and learning that her father is dead, Eirika decides she wants to find and support her missing brother with troops so they can make a stand against the Grado Empire. The plot follows her as she builds a following and begins to learn more about Grado's motivations in their successive attacks against both Renais and Frelia. Apparently the Demon King that the Legendary Heroes defeated is sealed away by the powers of the Sacred Stones which each country in Magvel carefully protects. Emperor Vigarde has decided that he wants to destroy them, an act that would awash Magvel in evil and pretty much end the world for humankind. Eirika begins to fret that her BFF Lyon, Prince of Grado, is in serious trouble, and hopes that once she finds her bro, the two of them can get him to talk some sense into his father.

The young prince of Grado is at the center of the conflict, though whether for good or for evil is unknown by the twins

Eventually the game reaches a point where Eirika and Ephraim are reunited and the player can decide whether to follow Eirika as she tries to get word to the countries Jehanna and Rausten of Vigarde's evil plan or Ephraim as he heads into Grado to personally challenge Vigarde. I personally prefer Ephraim's route; he is my favorite unit of the twins, and I enjoy going into Grado and uncovering the big secret of Emperor Vigarde and Prince Lyon. However, going Eirika's route is the only way to discover the true identity of one of my favorite units Joshua, so if you're curious to learn more about him, following Eirika is the way to go.

The second hero option Ephraim dresses more chastely than his twin sister

Time for a quick SPOILER! The method behind Grado's madness is the Fire Emblem, the special name for the Sacred Stone of Grado which contains the sealed soul of the Demon King. Scholarly Prince Lyon realized his father was getting sick, and had begun experimenting on the spiritual powers of the Sacred Stone in order to heal him. However, Vigarde dies before Lyon's experiments can come to fruition, and Lyon's unyielding wish to resurrect him splits the Sacred Stone and creates a new gem entirely possessed by the Demon King called the Dark Stone. This is why you're not supposed to want to resurrect the dead-- bad things happen when you tamper with the taboo. Unfortunately for Lyon, he's convinced he can handle the Dark Stone and ends up getting himself possessed by the Demon King. Demon King!Lyon smashes the Sacred Stone, resurrects his father, and raises his army to destroy all the remaining Stones in Magvel. And though he was responsible for all of the horrific events in the game, both Ephraim and Eirika deeply struggle with the thought of having their best friend's soul consumed by evil and being the ones who are required to defeat him. SPOILER END!

For the most part, The Sacred Stones is a good title, and is an excellent introduction into the Fire Emblem series for potential new players. However, compared to the original North American title, Blazing Sword, and both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, The Sacred Stones is very easy due to the World Map feature and the always-available training arenas such as the Tower of Valni and the Lagdou Ruins. It will still take time to level up and work your way through the game, but there's nothing quite like the terror of Hector Hard Mode from Blazing Sword or playing Radiant Dawn without the save-game-during-the-battle option, so veteran players may very well be disappointed by how simple the game mechanics ended up being.

If you understand tactics and strategy, it may become a little too easy to fry giant spiders into oblivion

However, if you're like me and enjoy playing for plot and romance, The Sacred Stones does not disappoint. Fire Emblem games generally have a Support system, which creates bonds between allied characters, sometimes of friendship, sometimes of romance. As you get to know the personality of each character, you can play matchmaker and decide who you want to see with who. The support conversation are often very darling (Artur and Lute's are my favorite), and most pairs you support as either friends or lovers have a special ending where you learn what happens to them after the war is won. The in-game tutorial introduces how to go about making supports, which in the end comes down to having the characters constantly stand beside each other in the battle formation. Which is kind of funny if you think about it, especially when the player becomes an in-game character, the Tactician, in Blazing Sword. None of the characters seem particularly perturbed if the Tactician repeatedly makes them fight alongside the same person over and over again in hopes that they will take a break from battle and flirt with each other.

The ever amusing shipping mechanics of FE, as lampshaded  by Lute and Artur

I, of course, was daydreaming during that particular tutorial, and found out about supports in my first playthrough by having Seth constantly rescue Eirika because I never leveled her up and didn't want her to die. As soon as I realized I could make a lady-and-her-knight pairing (which I'm a complete sucker for, by the way), I was completely sold on Fire Emblem. Romance options all the way! The games also have supports that potentially have gay/lesbian subtext (depending on how you read it) but none of them particularly stood out to me in this game, unlike Ike and Soren or Heather and Nephenee from Radiant Dawn where they were practically oozing with subtext.

Ah, the memories of all the couples I brought together.

For anyone interested in tackling Fire Emblem, keep in mind that half the battle is understanding your units' strengths, weaknesses, and how best to play them on the chessboard of war. No unit can solve every problem, and each has things they're weak against as well as certain class specific vulnerabilities. If you play things well, becoming a master of Fire Emblem is no impossible dream, but I've met far too many people who rely too much on physically strong characters without paying attention to mages and healers, or who don't understand how to launch an offense without sacrificing units. Don't worry: it can be done! But you will have to use your brain, and even then, it might take additional playthroughs to perform to your best potential. And that's one of the things I love most about Fire Emblem. It's highly re-playable, and with each go through, you can focus on new characters and uncover even more supports and secrets!

Next up will be tearjerking classic CLANNAD (plus After Story). Thanks for everyone who continues to follow my posts!

New York: Sunny with a chance of Mechas

As someone who has fallen in love with almost every JRPG I've ever touched, I'm always looking out for new titles to expand my obsession. Unfortunately I'm limited to only three different platforms- Gameboy Advance, PC, and Wii- and it seems that many of the things I want, such as the Tales of games and the newest additions to the Fire Emblem series, are coming out exclusively on DS or the Playstation systems. That aside, this year I came across a Wii game that I hadn't tackled yet called Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love. The cover looked promising, and the description on the back which detailed a young Japanese samurai joining a capital defense division of woman-warriors manning mechas and masquerading as a New York theater troupe during an early 1900s steam-powered era seemed both entertaining and fascinating. I was eager to see how the Japanese creators interpreted American life and transitioned the Japanese male hero into the female-run New York Combat Revue.

What would a young samurai do surrounded by hot women in an AU New York? Play to find out!

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the Sakura Wars line. Although the harem and dating sim elements (the main character, Shinjiro Taiga, can date any of the females in the revue, and each one of them thinks he's the bee's knees after their initial period of dislike) were probably not geared toward female players like me, I loved the strategy needed to pull off the mecha battles, as well as the development each of the leading females had to undergo in order to operate as part of the team. Finding a way to navigate the constant conversations also clues the player into how to really understand what is important to a person and how to deal with their personal times of trouble, although the old adage of 'you can't please everyone' is strictly held. If Shinjiro tries to impress cool and logical Subaru Kujo, he may end up offending bright and dynamic Rosita Aries, but the game offers plenty of opportunities to redeem friendships that might be flagging based on dialogue choices.

The man of the hour: Shinjiro Taiga. Boys wanna be him, girls wanna do him.

The six Star Division fighters were all enjoyable characters, in spite of their often flawed judgment. Shinjiro, the protagonist (voiced by the notorious Johnny Yong Bosch), occasionally lacks self-confidence and is a bit of a doof around women depending on how you play him, but all in all he is your typical little engine that could of a warrior. Despite having the entire combat revue dislike him at first, he proves himself to everyone and ends up reaching out to each one of his companions in order to give them the means to make themselves better and stronger. The most enforced love interest option is Gemini Sunrise, a spicy Texan cowgirl trained under a Japanese swordsmaster (and no, I am not making that up) who has a secret double life that even she is unaware of. I liked her well enough as a character, but I didn't fall for the fact that she was supposed to be the number one romance pick. Even as a straight girl, if I have to choose from a harem of ladies, I'm at least going to aim for someone who is kind of my type!

"But Shiny, the game wants you to date me!"

Next up of the female cast is the aforementioned Subaru Kujo, although the word 'female' might not be the best way to describe this character. Subaru is rather androgynous, and there is no real way to tell if (s)he is a feminine man or a masculine woman. (S)he uses feminine pronouns to describe herself, and the fact that she has the mark indicating that she belongs in the female-run Star Division makes her most likely a woman, but she makes it perfectly clear that gender is not a concept that matters to her, and if Shinjiro is interested in getting together to her, he better not care if she is a man or a woman. Subaru makes a good choice if you enjoy an air of mystery, and if you don't mind defrosting the cynic and putting up with a few verbal barbs.

Man or woman? Subaru is Subaru, no more, no less.

Cheiron Archer is the older woman option, and damn is she hot stuff! Like Subaru, she prefers to wear men's suits, but when she changes her image and lets her hair down, she clearly becomes the option for those who want their girls to have business going on up top. Cheiron is large and in charge, a Harlem-born African American lawyer who is in love with justice to the point where very little else matters to her. Her blind obsession with justice over compassion is her character developing issue, and she is one of the earlier characters in the game to open up to Shinjiro, even after the crazy hard time she gives you in the beginning. All the same, she leaves you wondering. The early 1900s were a time of rampant inequality for both women and blacks, and I'm curious if the creators of the game chose to ignore this for plot purposes, or if they really thought America was a haven for female lawyers, even though women wouldn't have even had the right to vote during this time.

"This is the law of the land! You! Are! Guilty!"

Another interesting diversity option is Rosita Aries, a Mexican bounty hunter who is also the local lolicon. She doesn't dress up in tart clothing or anything, but she can't be much older than elementary school age. Shinjiro doesn't date her, per se (at least I hope not!), but he can develop an older brother type relationship with her, which might have the potential to grow and change when she gets older. Her conflicts center around her dislike of failure and loss of her family, and her little sister-like relationship with Shinjiro and the rest of the Star Division is pretty adorable, as long as her thing with Shin doesn't slide into the romantic realm (until she's older). She also has a pretty amusing obsession with eating; her pet ferret Niccolo is actually kept around in case she has no other food options available!

Cartoon depictions of Mexicans have come a long way, haven't they?

The last option was my personal choice, sickly girl Diana Caprice. When you meet her, she is set to die of an illness, and is cursed with the crappy ability to sense when the people/animals around her are dying and how long they have left. Due to this, she has trouble finding meaning in life, for herself and for others, even though she has a caring and nurturing personality, and serves as the team's primary healer. As a writer and helpless sap, I most likely ended up picking her because she was the one to comfort Shinjiro after an occasion when the entire combat revue told him they pretty much wanted him to go back to Japan and send over his cousin, the more experienced veteran commander from the earlier Sakura Wars games released in Japan. I'm a sucker for couples that help each other believe in themselves, so I probably latched onto that from the very beginning. I ended up being pleased with their (totally cheesy) relationship, although I'm probably going to go for Subaru in my next play through. I like her air of gender ambiguity; it gives you the best of both worlds, to borrow a phrase from Hannah Montana.

I apparently make passes at girls in glasses

All the mecha elements were interesting as well. You weren't just tanking the baddies; like my favorite series, Fire Emblem, you actually had to come up with effective strategies to take down the enemy's vulnerable points. Most of the battles presented a challenge, and I actually had to go back in replay some of them multiple times because I ended up getting my troops obliterated by some of the more difficult bosses. The fighting sections of the game were tough, but not so difficult that I ended up throwing my controller across the room, as I have been sometimes known to do on occasion (Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, I'm thinking of you).

In any case, my enjoyment of the Sakura Wars game for Wii led me to do a little research to discover that there was an anime series based on the original Sakura Wars title, where the combat revue was set in Japan and commanded by Shinjiro's hot young uncle Ogami. The game was never translated for North America, but I was still interested in seeing what it was like, so I picked up the series collection at the Colossalcon convention in my home state, Ohio. I recently finished watching it, and my next post will feature the animated interpretation, which was actually in many ways different from its console counterpart. For now, enjoy the opening video of the game, which features the female cast and Shinjiro, as well as some of the secondary characters including Mr. Sunnyside (he runs the behind the scenes operations of the revue), Cherry and Anri (the young ladies in charge of deploying the mechas before battle), and Ratchet (the former vice commander and an additional romance option for the second playthrough).  

Well, here we go...

Hello there!

Welcome to the blog of Quickand2thePointless, a twenty-something American chick with an affinity for writing, snarking, and all things anime! For those of you who don't know me from my fanfiction or the crazy thing we call the real world, please let me introduce myself. My name is Julie. Did I mention I like to write? Must be because of the whole English major thing, but honestly, it's been a hobby for pretty much my entire life. My first short story was entitled 'Ship Surprise,' and I wrote it when I was about six years old. It's about two best friends hanging out, and one surprises the other with the fact that she owns a ship. It's still in my closet, in one of my old school notebooks. I'm still convinced that one day it will become the next great American classic, so I'm going to hold onto it until it does.

As far as the anime thing goes, that came later in life. I've been a fan of JRPGs since seventh grade thanks to my random purchase of a Gameboy game called Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (I picked it up because I liked the cover, so never say you can't judge a book by its cover; you totally can). From there I added a handful of new games to my collection, including all the other FE games I could get my hands on (Blazing Sword, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn) as well as titles like Golden Sun and Tales of Symphonia. I was obsessed with the plots and the artwork, but I didn't think to enter the world of anime and manga as the next logical conclusion. I'm a little slow like that sometimes.

The sexiness of the Renais twins... what started it all :)

I ended up making the leap a few years ago when I was camped out in my university's computer lab in order to avoid my roommate from hell. I was sitting in front of the computer with nothing to do, waiting patiently for one in the morning to roll around so the devil sharing my room would be asleep and we wouldn't have to awkwardly ignore one another when I came back. During this time, I somehow ended up on Youtube with 'Tales of Symphonia' typed into the search bar. I had just recently replayed the game, and I was in one of those moods where all I wanted to do was obsess over it while it was still on my mind.

A few Let's Play videos popped up, but what immediately caught my eye was a video called Tales of Symphonia: The Animation. I almost died of joy. Here I was with hours to kill, and one of my favorite video games had its very own TV show? I settled down to watch, and suddenly one in the morning flew by, and I still was in the computer lab, eyes glued to the screen.

Kratos stepped on screen, and the deal was sealed.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history. From Tales of Symphonia, I moved on to shows like Bleach, xxxHolic, and Vampire Knight, and along with my stacks of literary novels, I started picking up FAKE, Chobits, and Fruits Basket from the local library. Once I popped, I sure as hell couldn't stop.

My collection has increased quite a bit since then, and I've bonded with a lot of people who share my hobby, so I've become more and more comfortable talking about it over the years. And thus the idea of this blog was born. I like to keep track of what I watch, as well as what I liked and what I didn't about certain series when I'm deciding what to rewatch or share with my friends. Since I'm planning on tackling a crap load of series over the upcoming months, and I'll be revisiting some of my old favorites with a friend next semester, what better time to start than now?

Of course this could just end up as me talking out into the void, but in case someone actually cares about this, I want to put a few things out there for whoever may be reading. Since anime/manga/JRPGs fall under a wide spectrum filled with tons upon tons of subcategories and genres, I'd like to first give viewers an idea of what kind of things I will be talking about. Here is a brief profile of my tastes, to give you an idea:

THE EVER AMAZING TASTES OF QUICKAND2THEPOINTLESS:

Favorite Manga: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, xxxHolic, FAKE, Chobits, Saiyuki, Bleach, and Rurouni Kenshin.

Favorite Anime: xxxHolic, Tiger & Bunny, Black Butler, Hetalia, CLANNAD, Tales of Symphonia, X, and Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.

Favorite Games: Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Vesperia, Fire Emblem, Golden Sun, Dragon Age, and Pokemon.

Things I Love in General: School life stories, slice of life, fantasy elements, large groups of bishounens, characters who kick butt with swords, complex plotlines, questioning human nature/values, challenging gender roles, and complicated relationship dynamics.

Favorite Mangaka: CLAMP. Wait, that wasn't obvious?

If that sounds like something you might like, stick around! I'll probably end up blabbing about it longer than you can stand!

Of course, a few warnings/notices probably must be issued considering that this is the internet, where there always exists someone out for blood:

1. There will be spoilers. I will try to mark them. I'm going to be talking about things I've read/seen/played all the way through, or else up to the current installment. I just don't want to give an overview of the premise, but to bring up my opinions on the ending/plot twists/arcs for those who have also gone through them as well. I will try to keep the spoilers at the end of my posts, and indicate when I'm heading into that territory. For things that are less plot driven, this will be much less of a concern.
   
   
2. I support shounen-ai and shoujo-ai pairings. I think all mutual love is beautiful. I get giddy and sappy over a good love scene regardless if it is shounen-ai (boy on boy) or shoujo-ai (girl on girl). Heck, I even support humans hooking up with artificial life/spiritual beings if the mangaka can make a good case for it. However, I only support pairings that have enough text and subtext to prove that feelings do exist (I also follow this rule with het pairings) so don't expect me to ship every pair of best friends I come across (some people really are just friends!). But if I'm being completely honest, about 85% of what I watch seems to have homoerotic subtext of some variety, especially since I love CLAMP so much and anything that features large amounts of bishounens. In any case, if you would like to tell me why homosexuality is wrong, feel free to, but it's really not going to change my mind. Ever since I figured out what it meant (when I was like eleven or so; I told you, I'm a little bit slow), I couldn't figure out why everyone was so freaked out by it. So if I wasn't able to be convinced as a straight laced goody goody Catholic school girl, there's no way I'm going to change my mind as an opinionated, free thinking young woman. Say what you want, but you'll be wasting your time.

   

   Heather and Nephenee: How is this not totally adorable?

   
   
3. I will happily accept recommendations! I already have a huge to-watch list, but I'm open to adding more. However, when I first began my anime watching adventure, I decided I would only tackle one massive series at a time. Out of the biggies (One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, Fairy Tail, etc) I chose Bleach, so I will not even be thinking about the others until I get Ichigo and co. out of the way (which shouldn't be too much longer at this point). When the time comes, I'll choose another one to dedicate time to.
   
   
4. I will swear and get sexual. A little.  I am in my twenties, after all, but I will try to keep it tasteful. There are plenty of words I think are too vulgar to use, even in something like this, but tamer expressions are all right by me.
   
   
5. I like a lot of genres, but there are some things I will not watch. Like Hentai, for example. I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but when I'm not at school, I live with my parents (at least for one more year or so). I like to watch my stuff on the big screen downstairs, and there's no way I'm watching anything suspicious when they are in the same household as me. Implied/censored sex is all right, but anything explicit is not going to be appearing on my TV screen any time soon. Also, any show where the entire plot seems to be “here are a ton of girls with big boobs doing things that make said big boobs bounce and jiggle” is not something I'm interested in. If I want to look at big boobs, I can just sit in front of the mirror all day, which to me sounds like more fun.

   

   This is about as far as I'll go on my TV screen. If my parents walk in, I can just pretend they're practicing for a wrestling meet.

   
   
6. I'm fine with people disagreeing with me. So please do! I love open discussions about the things I love, as long as its respectful and coherent. But as an English major, if you want to win an argument with me, you gotta be armed with evidence and persuasive skills. But if you want to make an argument along the lines of “xxxHolic is stuped, Watanooki is so gay,” I'm not going to rise to the occasion. If you want to argue like a little kid, find a little kid to argue with. It'll probably be more entertaining for you, in the end.
   
   
7. There will be typos. English major does not equal good typist. I also have the hobby of thinking faster than I type, which often leads to amusing errors (such as my personal favorite, 'stumbling into his perv' when I meant to say 'stumbling into his arms'. What the hell was going on in my brain?). But I will try to proofread! And if I'm consistently butchering a name so badly that it doesn't even look like a variation of the correct spelling, please let me know!

I think that about covers it. I hope I can provide someone out there some entertainment, but if not, at least I have indulged in my ramblings, which is always fun. First up will be a recent JRPG pick I've been enjoying, Sakura Wars: So Long My Love, and I hope you enjoy! I certainly plan to!