American Gaijin
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Self Control
In Love Live, there are a lot of different groups, and one of the interesting things is that each one has their own character to their lyrics and songs. The three main groups – mu’s, Aquors, and Liella, tend to write happy, cheerful songs that are supposed to be like, well, pop songs I guess. but…
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Why Anime Hurts
I’ve watched a lot of anime lately. Now, let’s be clear about one thing: I’m pretty picky about the anime I watched. Some anime that is very popular I dropped after as little as one episode. “The Quitessential Quintuplets”, for example. Maybe I’ll pick that up at some point, but I doubt it. It has…
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Hibike! Euphonium: My regrets
This usually surprises people to find this out about me, but I went to college as a piano performance major. I didn’t complete college for health reasons, but that was my major. I attended a medium sized college in Northwest Ohio (you have maybe three to choose from, and I’m very close to telling you…
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Eripyo and Maina
Last night I finished watching “If my favorite pop idol made it to the Budokan, I would die”. It wasn’t a great anime. I didn’t feel like I didn’t want to leave the world it created, like I did with some anime. It was actually just fair to middling, I even rated it 6 on MyAnimeList.…
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Anime, Otaku, and Lost Childhood
I didn’t get a childhood. I’m not really exaggerating in that statement, though as with every statement like that, there are nuances. It’s generally correct. I did not get a childhood. Every opportunity I had for “normal” development was stunted – either inadvertently or deliberately. The end result is the same. I didn’t get a…
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I’m a Failure
I always fail. If there’s one thing that is consistent in my life and has been ever since I was a child, this would be it. I’m a failure. Everything I have tried to do in my life has, in one way or other, ended in failure. Even the most successful things I’ve done are,…
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The Customer is Always Right
“The Customer is Always Right” is one of the most misunderstood adages, mostly because people forget or are conveniently unaware of the second half: “When it comes to matters of taste”. Practically, what this means, or what it’s supposed to mean, is that if there is a widget that is shiny, chrome with black highlights,…
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I am an Artist
All my life, I have never really understood myself. I mean, of course, I’m me. I know what is inside my head in a way no one else does – not even me, sometimes. I have a very complex inner world, and it’s so real and vibrant inside of me that it’s difficult, if not…
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Should I Continue Watching Anime?
There’s a “rule” that whenever you see a question in a headline, the answer is “no”. It’s not quite so simple in this case. The question maybe should be posited a little broader: Should I continue studying anything about Japan, including Japanese? I’ve asked this before, but the reasons for my question are different now.…
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Liminal Anime
So it’s taken me a while, but I think I’ve finally processed my feelings on “Love Live” and similar anime, and now I will inflict it on you, who may even read this. Anyone who’s watched anime for any length of time knows that there are a few different broad classes of anime. There’s “Slice…