For Every End, A New Beginning

If I recall, I started writing for this blog about four years ago.  In that time, there’s been a lot of ups and downs.  I wrote, got burned our, wrote again, and then blew up in the hanger.  Nevertheless, I’ve made a lot of memories and several good friends through this blog.  But with lvlln and Raph officially moving on, I think it’s high time I do the same.  It’s time to let go.

I’m starting from scratch and writing for myself.  I know at the very least, Space Brothers has ignited a spark that’s made me think about writing again.  Hanging out over at Metanorn has given me motivation as well.  I will hopefully continue writing under my new WordPress blog, Derivative Paradise.  Or I could be completely talking out my ass again.  Who knows?

To all of you, past, present, and future, who have read this blog, thank you for your time and participation.  Special thanks to those of you who still have this blog on your reader after all these years.  I wish you all the best.  I have no intention to allow any more posts here.  However, this blog will continue to exist as a testament to both successes and failures.  I think anything less would be a disservice to myself, my compatriots, and the readers who still continue to stumble into this space.

Until we meet again,
~Rakuen

Happy New Year, and Farewell

I’ll make this short. I’ve joined the team over at Metanorn, and I’ll no longer be a part of Borderline Hikikomori. Thank you to all readers and commenters. It was a lot of fun being a part of this team, and it was gratifying to be able to reach and interact with so many people. I learned a lot about blogging and writing in my time here, and I thank Rakuen (and the now retired CJ) for taking a chance on me and giving me such an opportunity.

Anyway, since everyone’s been putting together lists, here’s my top list of all the anime I blogged in some capacity here:

1. FLCL (10 years later retrospectives)

2. Evangelion 2.22

3. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

4. Bakemonogatari

5. Magical Girl Madoka Magica (My last episodic here)

6. Durarara!! (Substituted in for Rakuen a few times)

7. Yet the Town Keeps Going

8. Arakawa Under the Bridge

9. Ookami-san and Seven Companions

10. Dance in the Vampire Bund (My first episodic here)

11. Amagami SS

12. Black Rock Shooter

Please pay me a visit at Metanorn some time. I’ll be active with a couple episodics this coming Winter 2012 season.

Insider Trading in Redline: A Safer Way to Fix a Race

So I watched Redline last week, and it is one fine film, definitely worth checking out. But this post is specifically about one of the plot points in the movie: that protagonist JP and his partner Frisbee fix races for the mafia, which they do by having JP hang back until the last quarter of the race, suddenly take the lead, before ultimately losing the race. There will be some minor spoilers.

I got to thinking what kind of scheme the mafia had going that allowed them to profit from this situation, and what they needed JP to do. And it made me realize that, given JP’s capabilities, they could have fixed it a different way which would have allowed them to profit regardless of whether or not JP lost the race.

Magical Girl Madoka Magica 11, 12 (END) – It All Comes Tumbling Down, Tumbling Down, Tumbling Down…

So the phenomenon that was Magical Girl Madoka Magica is finally over. From the start, many had compared it to Neon Genesis Evangelion with its genre subversion and psychological themes, and the ending provided plenty more fodder for this comparison. The final 2 episodes tried very hard to emulate great endings that had come before it, but, lacking the focus and cohesiveness of such works, it ended up merely stumbling its way across the finish line.

Spring 2011 Season Preview

Alright, so we’re pretty much on the eve of the start of the Spring 2011 season, which means it’s time for our previews. Below, you’ll read what each of the 4 of us think of the many many shows that are coming up. It seems that noitaminA is creating great anticipation again with its financial thriller [C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control, and the much hyped urban fantasy/scifi thriller Steins;Gate has caught our attention. We fork in our interests quite a bit from there, which is expected given the huge number of shows next season, but studio Shaft’s works seem to be on all our radars, a sign of the respect it’s earned over the past 2 years.

Magical Girl Madoka Magica – The Story So Far

So Magical Girl Madoka Magica has been delayed indefinitely (a Shaft show being delayed near its finish? Say it ain’t so!), or at least until some time in April. But no hard dates as of yet. Which I guess gives us some extra time to step back and reflect upon the ride it has provided us so far.

Supercell’s Perfect Day is Darn Near Perfect

So the the anime-based music video for Perfect Day the top track to their latest album Today is a Beautiful Day was released a few weeks ago, and it’s pretty phenomenal. Telling the story of two girl friends who somehow grew apart, I couldn’t help but be reminded of another anime work based on a Supercell song. And it simply puts Black Rock Shooter to shame.

FLCL 6 – FLCLimax, 10 Years Later

And it all came to an end. 10 years ago today, on March 16, 2001, the grand finale, and the longest episode of FLCL, FLCLimax (originally Furi Kura) was released on DVD. It brought forth the 3rd amazing episode in a row and also provided a worthy finish to this great series, one that left me speechless and sad that it was over. But it didn’t leave me wanting more. Rather, it made me happy that the work was so complete, so well constructed from start to finish.

This is the last post in a series of posts I’ve made celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of each of the episodes of FLCL. As for all the posts before this, I did not rewatch the episode before writing this and instead chose to write based on my memories. The last time I watched the series was in the summer of 2009. You can read the previous posts here: (1 & 2: Fooly Cooly and Firestarter) (3: Marquis de Carabas) (4: Full Swing) (5: Brittle Bullet).

Magical Girl Madoka Magica 10 – Magical Girl Homura Magica

The reveals are coming hard and fast now, and the one in this episode somehow managed to top everything else so far. It was a move that many had predicted from the start, and a perhaps disappointingly convenient tool for explaining Homura’s story up to now. Still, the episode was filled with solid action and moving stand alone scenes and did its job of teaching us Homura’s story and letting us feel for her.

Magical Girl Madoka Magica 9 – A Rare Misstep, but Since it Involves Yuri, I’ll Allow It

After last week’s intense reveals and Sayaka’s quick spiral into despair, we were treated to an episode that was decidedly more relaxed in its pacing. The reveals came calmly this time instead of as big hits, with Kyubey finally explaining his motivations to Madoka and Kyoko rediscovering herself in the face of Sayaka’s transformation. As usual, the pacing was spot on, and the development of Kyoko’s character was handled wonderfully, but the way the climax played out left a bad taste in my mouth, ending an otherwise good episode on such a sour note that this may be the worst episode in the show so far.