Some people think that I like wholesome shows or shows from the shojo genre. My university’s anime club held a shojo trivia game and I wasn’t very helpful… Sure, I’ve watched shows from every genre but I didn’t know the majority of the answers.
So then… what kind of shows do I like? Well… I wouldn’t exactly classify them as ‘wholesome.’
From top to bottom: Parasyte, Death Note, Attack on Titan, Kaiji, and Zankyou no Terror. I also like Attack on Titan and Inuyashiki.
So what does this all mean? What do my anime preferences say about me as a person?
Absolutely nothing at all, except that I like interesting anime. Hahaha.
I seldom rewatch shows. I usually remember what happened. Of course, there is the entertainment factor in rewatching a show. I’m actually very hesitant about this. Why?
To tell you the truth, I’m a little worried that rewatching a show will change my perception of that show… in a negative way. I am more likely to pick at its flaws the second time around. I might come to a realization that the show wasn’t as good as I remembered it to be.
Maybe I’m overthinking this. I have experienced this though. I’ll explain.
When I was in elementary school, I really liked the anime, Fruits Basket. I admired Tohru Honda and wanted to be like her.
In 2019, the anime got a remake. Technically, I didn’t “rewatch” the show because I watched the remake. However, the remake was true to the manga and it was well-done. When I watched it, I realized I didn’t really like Tohru Honda. I didn’t like that she didn’t ask for help when she wanted it. I didn’t like how she was always rescued by others.
Then, my perception of Fruits Basket changed.
So… Can rewatching a show make you dislike it? I think that it’s possible. I know it won’t happen every time, but do I really want to take that risk? I think I would rather be able to look back to a show with fond memories.
Do you rewatch shows? Has this ever happened to you?
If you pretend to be someone you’re not, won’t your inner self try to “burst” out? If you pretend for too long, will you even know your true self anymore? What is a true self, anyway?
Day 3: Wet
A teru teru bozu is a handmade doll hung to prevent the rain. I drew the teru teru bozu I made in 2015.
I thought I would write a little update because quite a few people have asked how I’ve been. Mostly everyone I know is staying at home.
I’ve been at home for… around 9 days now. Staying home doesn’t bother me because I’ve always preferred staying at home. I’ve always hated hot weather, the rain, the snow, exercising, waiting for the bus, loud sounds, the list goes on… Right now isn’t so different from my old life. I’m used to it.
I’ve been pretty busy finishing practicum and my course. I just need to put in one more day of work to finish my last course of my degree! I’ve also been working from home.
In my spare time, I’ve been watching anime and dramas, cosplaying, playing games on my PS Vita, drawing, listening to music, watching YouTube videos, and reading manga, webtoons and fan fiction. Not much has changed from before…
I would have liked to admire the cherry blossoms and drink bubble tea with my friends. I miss bubble tea a lot. There are more important issues in the world though.
I participated in Inktober in October. Now there’s a new drawing challenge called Quaran-tober.
Day 1: Bloom
Sometimes people ask me if I will finish my drawings but to me, they’re already finished. I guess my idea of art is different.
I wasn’t motivated enough to draw before because I only drew at anime club or during Inktober. Now that there’s this new drawing challenge, let’s see how long I will keep this up.
A little update: Starting today, I will be staying at home. The university has instructed us to stop going to our practicum sites and to do the work at home. The class will also be done remotely. This was after Justin Trudeau’s announcement, in which he recommended that everyone stay at home.
I’m not sure if I ever wrote this, but I have a number of jobs. Most of them are done from home to begin with, so I’m used to it. Still, I wonder what these next few weeks will look like… O_O
During these uncertain moments, sometimes we just want to escape from reality for a little while and watch something to distract ourselves. I’m not in the mood to watch something twisted because it reminds me of society too much (hahaha) so these are shows that will help calm you down! In my last blog post, I wrote about songs that inspire hope during this challenging time.
Mushi-shi
Mushi-shi is perfect for when you need to unwind. It makes you feel so calm. The opening song, Shiver by Lucy Rose, is in English and it is such a beautiful song. The colours of the show are so calming to look at. Every episode is its own short story with new characters. I highly recommend this anime.
If you like Mushi-shi, you’ll also like Natsume’s Book of Friends (and vice versa).
The Case Files of Jeweler Richard
This is an anime from this season. This show is pretty interesting because you learn about different gemstones. For example, I didn’t know that there was a fascinating stone called the Cat’s Eye until I watched the show.
My Roommate is a Cat
In this anime, Subaru Mikazuki, an introverted writer, changes in small ways. Haru is such an adorable cat. The latter half of the episodes are retold from Haru’s point of view.
After the Rain has so much beautiful imagery. Akira Tachibana’s eyes are drawn so beautifully and the backgrounds are so pretty. This anime is about loss, innocent love, and new beginnings.
I’ve been feeling quite jaded with society lately re: panic buying due to the coronavirus. I.e. fights at the stores, stocking up baby wipes because hand sanitizers are sold out and leaving nothing behind for families with babies. I’ve lost some faith in humanity because of those people who resell toilet paper, face masks, and hand sanitizers. When I read the news, it feels like an animal world. Every man for himself.
I’ve always been interested in human nature. I have a Psychology degree but I thought it wasn’t enough. I’ve examined portrayals of human nature depicted in novels, plays, textbooks, manga, dramas, films, music and video games. I think that I was secretly hoping to find something that said, humans are not selfish. You can believe in people.
Unfortunately, the recent news has not helped hahaha. Instead, I felt more pessimistic than I already was!
Then I came across two songs by Chinese artists I love. The first is my favourite singer, Hua Chenyu. I’ve written about him multiple times. The second is Wang Yibo, who starred in my favourite Chinese drama, The Untamed. Their songs inspire hope and give comfort for everybody around the world regarding the recent events. Their songs are on Spotify.
Hua Chenyu 华晨宇 – You Have To Believe This Is Not The Last Day 你要相信，这不是最后一天
This is a powerful song. Hua Hua writes about believing that this is not the last day and that better days will come. [English translation lyric YouTube video link here]
Wang Yibo 王一搏 – We Stay Together 因为我们在一起
Yibo has a calming singing voice and he makes you feel less anxious about everything. [English translation lyric YouTube video here]
Thanks Hua Hua and Yibo for using your talents and influence to instil hope in people (like me).
Thanks for the nomination, Yomu. Yomu explicitly wrote in his post that he expects a response from me, so I guess I have no choice.
RULES
Thank the one who tagged you and if at all please tag the original post as well. This is my first blog tag and a bit of a passion project so I would like to see where it spreads! Oh and use Super-Happy-Love as a tag!
Display the Super Happy Love Logo in your post. Share the rules!
Choose a minimum of 2 out of these 6 prompts (see this original post for prompts) to answer in this blog! More is always allowed!
You are actively encouraged not to bring negativity into this tag.
Tag 6 bloggers you love so they can take on this challenge as well.
Everyone who comments something lovely about your post ALSO gets nominated. (Should they so choose).
WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT A FANDOM OR FRANCHISE YOU LOVE.
I like The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi fandom. It’s nice to see people cosplay in hanfu. It’s also nice to listen to covers of the songs played by traditional Chinese instruments.
TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT A CHARACTER YOU LOVE.
I love Tanjiro from Demon Slayer. I wrote about how he inspires me (you can read about that here). He’s kind to everyone, including demons, and he never gives up.
TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT A PIECE OF MUSIC YOU LOVE.
My favourite anime opening is the first Tokyo Ghoul opening. It’s Unravel by TK from Ling tosite Sigure. It’s perfect. It’s everything I have ever wanted in a song. It suits my tastes in music perfectly.
WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF YOU LOVE!
I think that I have good taste in shows. Okay, that sounds biased but other people tell me that I give good recommendations. It makes me feel like I am doing a good job at reviewing anime and doing my part of introducing good shows to people, especially underrated ones. It’s a shame when good anime goes unnoticed.
I think I’m also good at getting people to watch the shows I like. I’ve gotten my classmates, anime club friends, and blogger friends to watch Kaiji and many more shows.
NOMINATIONS
Once again, I’m opening this up to anyone who wants to do this.
Wretched and Divine 