Thank you for the recommendations. I must thank Irina for introducing me to Ajin, one of my favourite anime. I think the context was that I tweeted that I needed an anime recommendation and listed some of my favourite anime. Then Irina commented Ajin, and she was spot on with the recommendation.
Thank you Nora for tweeting about the Japanese BL drama, Old Fashion Cupcake. I watched it the same night, and it was a 10/10.
Thank you Shoujo for writing about The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System. Thanks to your post, I was able to enjoy the donghua and then I read the books. Now I am obsessed with SVSSS.
Thank you Crimson for tweeting about buying Hashihime of the Old Book Town on Steam. I am enjoying the game so much! Even the most random thing can be significant.
Thank you Jon Spencer for recommending Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edogawa Rampo. I don’t remember the context too well, but I believe it was over Twitter. Rampo is my favourite author of all time, and I recently read The Edogawa Rampo Reader!
There are countless instances like these. We learn about anime, dramas, books, and games one way or another, right? Thanks to all of you, my life is a lot more colourful.
This post is long overdue, but I won a giveaway hosted by Crimson of A Nerdy Fujo Cries. I participated in #theJCS in December, which Crimson hosted.
The winners are *drumroll* @melo__nsoda and @TheAmbiGamer 🥳 I know I didn't advertise it much so if you're like HUH I don't want to share my deets, pls lmk so I can draw another name, thanks so much everyone, I hope you guys enjoyed everyone's posts and this gift 🥰 #thejcspic.twitter.com/DL6RAXtM3C
Thanks Minty for the tag. ❤ There are so many prompts, hahaha. 95% of the music I listen to are from Asian dramas, anime, other shows, and games. That’s why most of the songs I listen to are in Chinese, Japanese, Thai, or Korean.
Rules
Link back to the original (Sophie @ Me and Ink) so she can see your answers and listen to the tunes.
For every prompt you choose, name 1-5 songs (you can use Sophie’s grapics)
Have fun and play your music LOUD!
1) Home Town Glory
Songs that remind you of home
The gist of it is: Suddenly, it seems that time has passed by so quickly and you’re left feeling confused where exactly that time went. It’s a very sad song.
2) It’s a Love Story
Your favourite songs about love
This is from The Phantom of the Opera musical. Raoul is played by Kwang-ho Hong. I actually don’t like Raoul and prefer Erik, but I like Kwang-ho Hong too much. I like this specific performance.
Another favourite is Time of Flight 時間飛行 by Bai Yu 白宇 and Zhu Yilong 朱一龍. It’s from the Chinese BL drama, Guardian. I talk about this song more in #11.
3) Shut Up and Dance
Songs you have to dance to
I’m a boring person and never dance to music.
4) If This Was a Movie
Songs from movies/TV/Broadway
I love the songs from the musicals, Jekyll and Hyde, The Phantom of the Opera, and Death Note. My favourite musical singers are Kwang-ho Hong and Zheng Yunlong.
I like anything Kwang-ho Hong sings. Here, he sings This is the Moment from Jekyll and Hyde.
5) Comfort Crowd
Songs that make you feel calm
Kago no Naka ni Tori 籠の中に鳥 by yourness makes me feel calm. It’s from the anime, Sing “Yesterday” For You.
A chill instrumental song is Revelation, also known as Oracle. It’s from the Catherine OST. Catherine is one of my favourite video games.
Another calm song is Artic Whispers by Bai Yu. It helps me fall asleep.
When I was in a child, I listened to S.H.E, Fahrenheit, and JJ Lin every day after school.
I believe this song is from 2006 because it has clips from the Taiwanese drama, Hana Kimi. Two of the Fahrenheit members starred in it.
7) Let’s Get Down to Business
Songs that motivate you
I was feeling down one day and then Man With a Mission’s Fly Again played on my phone (it was on shuffle). At the time, the lyrics and the overall feeling of the song lifted my mood. I still feel lucky about getting a pick at their concert.
8) Old Town Road
Songs from the past (like really old ones) that you love
I feel like this and #6 are the same for me.
9) Cry With You
Songs that make you cry and cry
Where Has Time Gone? (See #1) makes me cry.
10) I Think I’m in Love
Your latest music obsessions
This one is easy to answer. The songs that I listen to repeat are from the shows I’m currently watching.
The first one is The Love Letter 唯一寫過的情書 by Alex Chou 周予天. It’s from the Taiwanese BL drama, We Best Love: Fighting Mr. 2nd. I loved the first season, but this season feels so… raw. I’m enjoying it a lot more. I don’t know why I love dramas that are painful to watch.
The next song is Ask Heaven by Liu Yuning. It is the opening song for Word of Honor, a Chinese historical BL series. I’ve been listening to the entire album non-stop these days.
This series was recommend to me by a Twitter stranger, and I’m thankful for them because I’m enjoying it a lot. If you like The Untamed, I definitely recommend Word of Honor.
11) Writer in the Dark
Favourite lyrics from songs
The English translation for Time of Flight by Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong (#2) probably won’t make a lot of sense.
In Guardian, Bai Yu plays Zhao Yunlan and Zhu Yilong plays Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are soulmates, and this has been proven time and time again. No matter how many years pass (and I’m talking about thousands of years), the feelings are never lost. They will find always each other again.
Zhu Yilong: How much more serious and how firm it is to make a difference
How many exercises will you become like this?
Bai Yu: I am always waiting for a message here, you have not given up.
Chorus: Flying together across time”
I also like the lyrics from Joker Xue’s Animal World. I’ve interpreted the lyrics in this post.
別再進化 別讓動物世界太假”
12) Sign of the Times
Songs in the charts that you love
I have no idea. I just listen to what I like.
13) More Than a Memory
Songs you have specific memories attached to. Tell us the memory.
When COVID was a new thing, I got into Thai dramas for the first time. Listening to the songs from the dramas reminds me of that period because I had so much energy at the time. No one wants a pandemic, but I made the most of my time and tried a lot of new things.
This song is sung by Bright Vachirawit, who played Sarawat in 2gether: The Series. I’m currently watching Lovely Writer: The Series. Thai dramas make me so happy and I love the music.
Another song is Wu Ji 无羁 by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. The reason is because I watched The Untamed with my friends and did a blogger collab on it. Instead of watching alone like I normally do with shows, I had people to watch and talk with. I talk about it more in #17.
14) Sing to Me Instead
Those songs you have to sing to
…
15) I Wasn’t Expecting That
Songs that you didn’t expect to love, but you do
In 2018, I knew that the opening song for the anime, Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, was popular. When I listened to it the first time, I thought it was overhyped. I didn’t include in My Top 5 Spring 2018 Anime Opening Songs post. After I published that post, I couldn’t stop listening to it. LOL
The song is called Fiction by Sumika.
16) Favourite Record
Albums you can’t live without
My favourite album is The Untamed OST by various artists. The Untamed is my favourite Asian drama, so I hold the music dear to my heart.
My other favourite albums are the Guardian OST (#2 and #11) and the Word of Honor OST (#10).
17) Video Games
Name your favourite music videos
I’m a little confused why this is titled “Video Games’ when it’s asking about music videos. Anyway, my favourite music video is Wu Ji 无羁 by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. It’s the opening song for The Untamed. It’s my favourite music video because my feelings for this drama resurface every time I watch it. It’s one of my favourite songs.
From my personal experience, it is hard to be creative if you don’t have much energy. If you’re tired all the time, you’re not going to be thinking about creative ideas. So, I think that having energy is #1, almost like a requirement to being creative. When I have a lot of energy, I will cosplay, blog, draw, and do a bunch of random crafts.
I mostly get inspiration after having fun with my friends. I think this ties in with what I wrote above about having energy. It naturally comes to you when you feel happy and motivated.
I agree that other bloggers and creators are sources of inspiration. If it wasn’t for Annie’s post, this post wouldn’t even exist.
Thinking about my posts, I got a lot of inspiration from anime, songs, and a lot of other things. I’m driven by my passion and love for my interests and hobbies. One of my main reasons for blogging is to have a space to talk about my interests, often because I don’t have anywhere else to dump my thoughts.
Hmm, I don’t think that you can force out creativity. I don’t think it would feel very authentic. Breaks are fine, and sometimes we need them. That way, we can blog with a fresh mind and new ideas. I feel that prolonged breaks are scary, though. What if you become too comfortable and never return to blogging? Or, what if you lose your enthusiasm towards blogging? This is similar to what Annie voiced re: those who never come back. Here’s what I think: Your health comes before blogging.
Thanks to Irina’s anime recommendation, I just binged both seasons of Ajin. It’s my kind of show. I didn’t really like the main character, the main villain, or the government workers. That being said, I’m not sure whose side I’m on. Probably the government’s because I am also human. It’s still one of my favourite anime because of how intense it was.
I don’t recommend it to everyone, though. If you don’t like violent shows, this is not for you.
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In other news, K made a Buzzfeed Personality Quiz on anime bloggers and I got myself. I’m sure most of you have seen the quiz already.
Thank you Aria for the Valentine’s card! For those of you who don’t know, Izaya is my favourite anime character. Aria was spot on with this.
Adding this last-minute request from @melo__nsoda . Again, I'm not overly familiar with the series and had to read up a bit on him to think up an appropriate line, but I hope I nailed it. pic.twitter.com/PVwqL8X9ib
— Aria @ Waiting for Full 2nd DRB Songs… (@MagicConan14) February 6, 2021
A lot of bloggers, including myself, are participating in Anime X-Change, an event hosted by Jon Spencer Reviews. The gist of it is: you are assigned a partner –> your partner recommends a show –> you watch it –> you write about it.
My partner is @nobelmonsters on Twitter and I was assigned to watch Time of Eve.
I had never heard of this anime before and knew nothing about it, except that it was a Sci-Fi anime. I was excited to watch Time of Eve because it was different from what I normally watch. Not only did I finish the series in one sitting, but I also enjoyed it enough to watch the movie the next day.
Synopsis: This story takes place in the future. In Time of Eve, it is normal to have an android housekeeper in your home. They look the same as humans; without a halo, one probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. The androids are bound by strict rules. While checking his android – Sammy’s – activity log, Rikuo Sakisaka notices a strange activity. Curious, he checks it out with his classmate, Masakazu Masaki. They find themselves in a cafe called Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve). The cafe has one rule: “No discrimination between humans and androids”. Rikuo and Masakazu visit the cafe nearly every day and learn about the stories of the cafe’s regulars.
Thoughts: As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed this anime. I liked how the cafe was a safe space for humans and androids to intermingle. I also liked learning about the individual stories of the cafe’s regulars. My favourite episode was the last episode, which was focused on Masakazu and his robot housekeeper, THX. I cried when I watched it, which is strange if you think about it. Robots shouldn’t have feelings, so why did I feel empathic towards THX?
Differences between the series and the film: The movie basically condenses the series. I recommend watching the series over the film. Afterward, you can watch the movie or directly skip to the ending. The main difference is that at the end of the film, you learn more about a certain character.
In the end, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed Time of Eve. I feel appreciative towards Anime X-Change because I watched a show that I would have never watched otherwise. I absolutely recommend this anime.
The Purpose of this tag is very simple! Describe yourself through anime! To do this you will answer all of the questions below!
After this is done you will tag 6 people to pass the tag onto! If you’re tagged for a second time you only have to tag 3 in your next post and 1 on your third attempt and should you so choose beyond. Tell us why you nominated these people!
People who ask to be tagged should be added to your tag list with a link to their blog!
Tell something nice about them as well.
Remember to have fun with the tag and be proud of who you are, you are an amazing person and the fact that so many anime and anime characters share traits with you shows you are pretty breathtaking!
QUESTIONS
Describe a hobby or passion you have through an anime series! For example Shokugeki no Soma if you like cooking or Initial D if you like cars.
I like anime. Himouto! Umaru-chan sums up what I do in my spare time. To quote my Relatable Anime Characters post from 2018, “Pop, snacks, manga, games, comfy clothes and blanket make up my paradise too. ^^”.
Simplify yourself to an Anime Archetype (Tsundere, Dojiko, Shota, Shounen-Protagonist etc) don’t overthink what an archetype is, go with your gut. Name a character that is also that Archetype.
Kuudere?
Describe your looks through comparing it with anime characters, you can decide how many!
When I’m at home, I look like Moriko Morioka from Recovery of an MMO Junkie. Messy hair, dark circles under the eyes, and comfy clothes. Just need to add glasses. This is me right now:
When I look more presentable, Airi from Erased.
Describe your romantic bias and or sexuality through anime characters you find attractive. insert the Will Smith meme from at the movies/ ta-da
I recently wrote a post called My Husbandos. My favourite anime character is Izaya Orihara from Durarara!! His looks are kind of plain compared to other anime characters but I take everything into account.
Tell us about your day to day life and what anime that would fit into! You can be creative here!
Now that there’s a pandemic going on, my life has changed completely. I went from going out almost every day to being at home all the time. MMO Junkie because Moriko Morioka stays at home all the time.
I begin my day with a cup of coffee.
After breakfast and coffee, I check my work email. If I have a new task, I do it. If not, I do my other, lesser priority tasks. I can work any time of the day but I prefer to work during the day.
Then, I make lunch. I check Twitter and my blog throughout the day when I feel like it. I watch shows and blog when I feel like it.
A few hours after dinner, I work on my side job. I do that until I feel tired.
Zzz…
Describe your hopes and dreams through an anime character.
One thing I’ve learned is that I’m not a materialistic person. I just want to live comfortably. I want my family to stay healthy and for me to find something meaningful in every day.
In this post, I’ll be writing about how I manage criticism on the blog and my thoughts on this topic. If you haven’t heard about the Controversed project by Moya, click HERE to read about the project and HERE for more information about Week 4.
I have received criticism regarding my blog, drawings, and cosplays before, but it’s happens once in a blue moon. I get a lot more compliments than criticisms. When I do get criticism, here are some things I think about:
Did I ask for feedback?
What is the commenter’s intention? Do they want to help me or are they saying it out of spite?
Do I agree with what they are saying? Even when I don’t, I still try to see things from their perspective. People’s feedback don’t always align with my goals. On the other hand, when giving feedback, you must consider the individuality of the content creator. Not everyone is going to want to do exactly what you do.
Is the issue something that’s out of my hands? If there’s nothing I can do about it, then I will just leave it.
How are they phrasing their words? Are they being clear and specific, or are they so vague that they’re unhelpful? If someone is rude, I will likely ignore them, which goes back to the second point on the commenter’s intention.
I will listen and try to understand why those comments were made, but I will not follow everything. Not going to lie, feedback when I did not ask for it can feel like mansplaining. I think this can be mitigated by the last bullet point on how you phrase your criticism. I’ve found some feedback incredibly helpful, but those were mostly when I asked for feedback.
When it comes to work or academics, I am a lot less critical of feedback. In fact, I often ask for constructive feedback. At work, there is a quality of standard deemed “acceptable” or not. When it comes to my personal blog that I just update for fun, I feel that it’s a lot more subjective.
I rarely criticise others because I feel that I would need to be really knowledgeable or really good at something to do that. When people ask for my feedback, I will let them know my thoughts. However, whether they decide to do something with it is up to them. I will not be upset if someone does not listen to my suggestions.
Scott recently posted his Husbando post and I expect Nabe to do the same soon.
I’ve been told that I have questionable taste in anime boys. The reason is because I like villains.
Izaya Orihara from Durarara!!
In 2018, I wrote a post called, Why I Love Izaya. You can check it out if you want detailed reasons as to why Izaya is my favourite anime character of all time. Izaya is an antagonist. He’s an underground information broker.
Bloody Monday is an amazing manga. The Japanese live-action is great, too. I love J in Bloody Monday: Last Season the most. That’s Bloody Monday 3, but I liked J since the beginning.
No surprise, but J is an antagonist. He loves melon soda, hence my username. He’s a genius and one of the leaders of an evil group.
Other Characters I Love:
I’m picky. Although I love a lot of characters (Click HERE for my 30 Anime Characters – Appreciation Post!) I’m not sure if I could call these characters my husbandos.
Juuzou Suzuya from Tokyo Ghoul
Juuzou is a Special Class Ghoul Investigator, which means he helps humans. I think the lines between good and evil are blurred in Tokyo Ghoul. As humans, are we supposed to view all ghouls as evil?
Xue Yang from Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed
I ship Xue Yang with XXC so that’s why he’s not my husbando. Xue Yang is a villain.
Wow, this post is a lot shorter than I expected. Like I said, I’m picky.
Did you know I have a secret second blog? It’s more focused on anime, manga, and game reviews. I wanted to go anonymous but didn’t want to throw this blog away since I’ve done so much with it already.
I’ll still regularly update this blog with my cosplays, drawings, photography, daily life updates, and more. I will still post anime reviews and other anime-related posts on this blog.
Being anonymous has been an interesting experience. There are fewer things to worry about (i.e. fear of oversharing, fear of complaining too much, having bad takes, having bad taste).
Nabe tweeted about ordering ribbons –> I ordered one –> I posted about it –> Elle ordered one. Hahaha
Wretched and Divine 