A Not-so-significant Post

Then again, since when was there a rule that said posts needed to be important?

Hey guys~ Still remember me? No? D;< Sorry for not updating in such a long time~ I’ve been taking a break from anime and anything basically computer-related ever since eighth grade started. The last time I did anything was check for the Summer 2012 Anime Roster:

Nyum nyum, I’m only watching a selected few…CUZ I GOT NO TOLERANCE FOR OTHERS MUAHAHA- *vomits blood*

Is everything coming to an end?

WHAT IS THISS?!

Why are the words ‘Final’ written after Bleach Episode 366? Someone better provide me with a good explanation…

It’s been rather peculiar lately, more so, this past week. I’m not to sure if our readers (if there are any) have noticed that our beloved ongoing and popular anime have recently all been ending together. This includes the seven above, as well as ten others. Ironically, the ones I wish to end, never seem to end (i.e. Sweet Precure and Aurora Dream); whilst my beloved animes’ such as Daily Lives of High School Boys, Chihayafuru and Bleach, came to a dramatic end.

Also, where’s my final arc Kubo Tite? Shouldn’t Bleach the anime be on-going? Last but certainly not least, WHY THE FINAL ARC?

Downs of Being Semi-Otaku

Hi, I’m SleepySlacker (or Sleepy for short) and one of the new writers on the blog, Doozo Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu! Seeing that this is The Otaku’s Blog, it would be fitting to talk about Otakus. But since there are so many things to talk about, I will talk about the bad points.

Are you watching InuxBokuSS?

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a hate post or anything. I just want to talk about my experience as a Semi-Otaku (have not gotten THAT deep yet) and see whether I am the only weirdo that thinks that way.

A Beginner’s Guide to Yaoi

Hello readers!

I’m Shrutianime (you can call me Shruti) and I just got accepted as a writer for The Otaku’s Blog. A big hug to the staff here! Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu~ There are surprisingly very few posts on Yaoi and as a 120% Fujoshi I thought I’d start off with a simple guide to  Yaoi for beginners.

Even the most deep rooted Japanophiles and anime fans are occasionally hesitant to try out new genres and themes. Even I find it difficult at times to adjust to different genres and sub-genres, art styles, plot lines and new mangaka.

About 60% of the anime community I mingle in has a prejudice against Yaoi. Understandable, especially when you look at it from a deeper perspective. Where I come from, anything even remotely sexual is looked down upon and everyone shies away from it. Thankfully things are changing and everyone’s views are turning more liberal and open. 

Bleach is coming to an end?

I don’t know whether I should be rejoicing or crying at the fact that the long series will be coming to an end with a “final arc” as the manga declares. I was never a diehard fan to begin with but seeing the manga, and eventually the anime, reach its finale makes me feel somewhat forlorn as I would with any other long-running series that has at last come to an abrupt end. Though some arcs weren’t as great as the others, particularly with the anime and its seasonal fillers, Bleach undoubtedly had a brilliant cast of characters with each to his/her peculiar power and personality. Even the antagonists were to my liking as there were plenty who managed to earn my hatred for their twisted character and evil schemes to bring Soul Society, Kankura town and Ichigo and his gang to their downfall. This I will definitely miss.

But for now, I’ll like to see what this proclaimed “final arc” has got install for us. It would be a huge bummer if this series ended with a whimper and not a bang.

Plagued by the eternal question: what if?

NB: This is an old post by Jacqivarius prior to his retirement from the blog. It’s incomplete but comprehensible nevertheless. Think of it as a commemoration of sorts.

 
There is always a sense of liberation when doing the right thing, a satisfaction that arises only when you know for a certainty that you made the correct decision. And yet there is still doubt. Always there is doubt. Our lives are a culmination of mistakes. We brood on them and wonder “what if?”.

What if I hadn’t missed that test? What if I went to that party? What if I sought solace in the fact that I tried my best? What if I did try my best?

What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if?

We are plagued by the question. We are human because we are ever wrought by anger and sadness, lingering in the past, wallowing in our own self depreciation.

While watching the above video I began to contemplate my life. Sugimoto Kousuke’s works do that to you. I wonder if I will regret my lack of desire or perhaps my languid what of living. I’m sure that I will.

– Jacqivarius

An Introspective Look into the Demography of Inu X Boku SS: Shoujo or Shounen?

A repost from my other blog, Kirakuna.

Though its artistic style suggests otherwise, Inu x Boku SS is in fact “shounen”. Note the quotation marks. Originally targeted at male audiences interested in the romance genre without having to resort to the dramatic nature of shoujo anime – that, or the plenty of fan service that the show offers as lolis and a “big jug lesbian” are a big thumbs up – female fans have also grown to enjoy watching the series. After all, Inu x Boku SS incorporates a brilliant cast that’s sure to involve a variety of male and female characters in which both genders of the audience can see fit to their taste buds.

As a result, there have been arguments regarding the demography under which the series is classified. Is it shoujo or is it shounen? I’m not surprised that many fans tend to confuse the two since they can’t decide whether Inu x Boku SS is one or the other.

Confessions of a Fujoshi: Realism in fiction.

NB: Fujoshi (腐女子, lit. “rotten girl”) refers to female fans of manga and novels that feature romantic relationships between men.

I wasn’t always a fujoshi. Somewhere down the road it just happened; symptoms of fanaticism had stricken me after much exploration through the wonders of the internet like daggers of sharp icicles that eventually melt into your skin. With thanks to Mangafox, the cause of my incurable sickness, curiosity had gotten the better of me. But I wouldn’t say that it was for the worst.

I have to admit, there hasn’t been all that great stories under the shounen-ai/yaoi demography, particularly the latter. While there’s been a few that’s enjoyable, it’s the obvious lack of realism which leaves you craving for a different touch after reading pile upon pile of manga. Perhaps this is because the majority of yaoi mangaka are female hence series such as Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and the works of Minami Haruka, the supposed crème de la crème, are no better than generic story lines and spicy sex scenes. If the only difference between steamy smut-filled shoujo and yaoi is the gender of the love interests, then this is a lacking distinction.