RotW: Anime That Almost Made Me Cry

I have a confession to make: No anime or manga has ever made me cry. EVER. I’ve watched many sad episodes and chapters that have made me choke up a little, but nothing has actually made me shed tears. And I’m a girl.

But don’t flame me until I acknowledge the eight nine series that have pushed me to the very brink of tears. I AM human, I promise. In no particular order…

(warning: MASSIVE SPOILERS. ‘Nuff said.)

RotW: CJ’s Favorite Anime EDs Ever

Good ending themes rock, lame ones suck. ‘Nuff said; intros are overrated, so let’s move on to the actual list.

RotW: CJ’s Favorite Anime OPs EVER

Don’t you hate it when a series has a really cool opening theme song, but turns out to be crap? It happens with series based on manga, OVAs, sequels, shojo, shonen… everything. So I’ve stopped picking series to watch based on OP alone. (Smart, right? ^_^;;;)

Every great opening song out there, though, has a special place in my heart; regardless of whether or not it fits the series. I guess I’m just a music nerd; and I’ve made use of that eternal nerdiness by painstakingly picking and ordering my 25 top anime opening themes ever. Let the countdown begin!

RotW: The 9 Types of Anime Bloggers

In all honesty, I love reading other peoples’ anime and manga blogs. 80% of the time theirs pwn mine, but it always inspires me to work harder. Of course, it’s also fun to catch up on the latest news or episodes of series I don’t watch.

However, sometimes bloggers make me mad. I won’t name particular things that they’ve done, and I won’t name names, because the list goes on and on. But then it occurred to me: we’re all different, and we’re all entitled to our opinions. :P

Thus, I have come up with 9 categories for the anime/manga/Japan-related creatures bloggers out there. Lists like this have been done before, but I feel the need to put in my two cents.

RotW – My Christmas Wishlist

This week’s Randomness of the Week isn’t that random, I guess; after all, we’re getting close to the holidays… and we ALL have something we want at Christmas.

Not everything on this randomly ordered list, though, is material or even plausible. Take a look, and you’ll know what I mean…

RotW: Anime vs Reality (part 2)

(A/N: ‘Kay, another random rant disguised as an essay. Ennnnjoy.)

Another question from the Otaku SAT:

2. ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.’ This concept is most often presented in

A. Shojo manga and anime
B. Shonen manga and anime
C. Seinen manga and anime
D. Josei manga and anime

My answer: A (try debating with me on that, I DARE you.)

I hate a lot of shojo manga because of their overzealous presentation of this saying. 4 out of 5 times, a shojo series will star a gutsy heroine who makes the most of her situation no matter what. She shuns her orphan status and chases after hot older guys makes friends with cute boys, living life to the fullest and never doubting herself.

RotW: Anime vs Reality (part 1)

A/N: Randomness of the Week is back this week. Prepare yourself for more opinionated rantings! :D

This past weekend, I was at a certain gathering that I really didn’t want to be at. I was always a loner at these particular meetings, but my mom dragged me to one anyway. I was having a miserable time before the thing even began… but then a cute guy randomly sat next to me.

We randomly chatted for a few seconds (I think we only spoke about 20 words total) before the meeting began. The entire time, I plotted about what I was going to say to this guy after the meeting. When we were about to leave, I tried to follow him…

RotW: Best Manga Artists

I envy people who can draw AND write stories to go with their drawings. Often manga artists are more talented at one than the other; as an artist, I tend to give major cookies to those who can draw expertly. Character development is still more important, but who’ll complain if your characters are drawn well?

RotW- Random Saimoe Trivia

I confess: I’m finally hooked on Saimoe 2007. I have overcome my fear of disappointment and confusion all for the sake of seeing Konata win the sport of popularity. (Of course, ‘the sport of popularity’ totally killed me in junior high… but whatever.) With Kagami unexpectedly beaten and Nanoha barely making it through this round, I’m sure that this year is the most unpredictable year on record.

… or IS it?

After researching the tournament, I discovered some interesting fluff stuff. Use it to make yourself look smarter at whatever conventions you go to this year.

RotW: Who’s gonna license what anime

With the anime industry in a bit of turmoil right now, it seems to me like US companies might hold off on licensing new series in order to possibly grab Geneon’s titles. But even the months leading up to September 27′s Geneon downsizing have been slightly lacking in major licenses. The only one that comes to mind right now is Bandai’s July licensing of Code Geass.

With that said, there’s a LOT of series out there that are currently without licenses. Here’s a list of the 10 most notable, and who I think will pick them up for North American distribution.