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Happy Birthday To Our “Superman” Sociopath, Sosuke Aizen!
May 29 marks the birthday of one of the more notable sociopaths in anime and manga today, BLEACH’s Sosuke Aizen. The plot twist involving his true intentions during the Soul Society Rescue storyline remains one of the more epic plot twists in recent memory.
His character is a great reminder that even good people around you can be extremely deceiving and you might not even know it until it is too late.
Who remembers the time when Aizen was first revealed as the central antagonist of BLEACH and what memories do you have of him?
Here’s probably the one thing I will always remember about him.
Even though this scene still makes me laugh, who said Aizen lacked empathy? Everyone knew he was in love with Ichigo Kurosaki the moment he heard about him. I always thought that Aizen didn’t want Ichigo to go through the “dirty politics” of Soul Society, albeit that his methods were misguided. Did Aizen see himself in Ichigo to a certain degree? We probably won’t know until he appears once more in the series.
Though honestly, if he was a good guy, Aizen would make a great hypnotherapist with Kyoka Suigetsu. That voice of his in the anime is also calming.
Let’s celebrate his wickedness (no matter how convoluted it gets) and let’s also forget the fact that he became a Pokemon in the end, ok?
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Smashing Manga Records, Tentacle Satire, Emotional Games, and More - Fun Link Round-Up
I think the “person” behind you wants to be your friend, so go talk to him/her/it. Here’s some links to read for the weekend.
The Boundaries of Humor: An Interview With John Cadice, Creator of Tentacle Bento - I’m sure most you have heard about this card game that recently got their funding shut down by Kickstarter. Now, this interview is pretty bias as the interviewer, Brandon Sheffield, wanted to say “HA! I WIN BECAUSE I HAZ MAINSTREAM INTERNETZ POINTS”. It just felt like a huge flame war done in a professional manner. Though I have to say, Sheffield got Cadice good with that video demo of two people playing the game in action. The lesson of this story: the Internet is truly a frightening beast for EVERYONE involved.
Social Manga Project Aims For Guinness Record - Three of the most epic mangaka, Hirohiko Araki, Takehiko Inoue, and Hiroshi Motoyoma, team up to smash a Guinness World Record? Consider me sold. I love how all types of artists are invited to join them. This is what gets people more interested in the world of manga.
The Influence of Genes on Psychological Well-Being - Reading this makes me think about Naruto and his parents. Naruto and his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, definitely share some similar traits.
How Can Otaku Stay Enthused About Anime? - You know, I do wonder why I still watch anime despite the quality of series decreasing ever-so-slightly. Though as John says, shows like Oreimo and Puella Magi Madoka Magica definitely keep people’s spirits alive.
Why I Stopped My JManga Subscription - I have not subscribed to JManga at all. There’s nothing I really want to read there honestly. Om brings out an interesting point about its PC-viewing preference being a flaw. I still believe JManga will evolve into something greater.
A Personal Journey: Jenova Chen’s Goals for Games - Just like how some folks want emotional substance in anime and manga, some folks want to feel inspired through video games.
Finally, anyone who talks like the third guy in the video below deserves to get chainsawed.
Have a wacky weekend, everyone!
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Help A Fellow Fan! The Anime and Manga Fandom Survey
A fellow anime/manga fan by the name of Ines de Castro is looking for anime/manga fans to answer a quick survey regarding fandom in those areas. This survey is for Ines’ Masters’ Degree thesis on anime and manga fandom online. Her focus is on Communication, Culture, and Information Technology.
If you want to spread the word about your fandom to the education world, this is a good opportunity to do so. The survey link is listed below.
Anime and Manga Fandom Questionnaire
If you have any questions, you can email Ines at inescastro88(at)gmail(dot)com.
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Toonami Rap, Chi at Toronto, Unforgivable Characters, And More - Fun Link Roundup
Nope, you can’t have my soul. Here are some fun links to read for the weekend.
BRING BACK TOONAMI!! - For those who were watching Cartoon Network on April 1, Toonami, the famous animation block that brought a whole slew of anime, replaced the Saturday block of Adult Swim. “Otaku King” Richie Branson enlightens us with his wonderful rhymes on why Toonami should come back. Man, we need more afterschool moments with Toonami cuz anime ain’t dying yet, yo.
Kanata Konami Visits The Toronto Comics Arts Festival - Most of you have heard that the mangaka of Chi’s Sweet Home, Kanata Konami, was at Toronto this past Saturday for TCAF 2012. Enjoy this brief recap of her event hosted by Vertical, Inc along with a couple of photos taken there.
Should You Read The Sailor Moon Manga? - Yes, for the most part. Otaku no Video reviews Volume 1 and recommends it to those who are fans of shoujo manga. Though I believe it can be a tough sell to fans of the Sailor Moon anime.
Japanese Fans Name Anime’s Most Unforgivable Characters - The number 1 choice totally deserved the top spot, wouldn’t you say? I’m interested to see who else you guys think should have also been on Biglobe’s fan poll on unforgivable characters.
Geek to Geek: Utopias and Dystopias - An interesting discussion about what would happen if utopias and dystopias existed in reality. Those two themes have been subjects of anime and manga series. Reminds me of Crocodile’s “Operation Utopia” plan from One Piece.
Girls with Fangs Take A Bite Out of Japan - Does anyone understand why Japanese men find “yaeba” (crooked teeth) to be attractive? I hear it’s mostly because fanged teeth makes women look young. Maybe perhaps they’re into vampires and don’t mind getting bit by cute looking ones. Still, it’s a trend that seems to be extending (and growing) beyond anime/manga into reality and another unique quirk to add onto Japan’s pop culture resume.
If anyone loves that Kyubey design, you can purchase SuperOrange’s t-shirt (ladies only) featuring the design at their store website. Ladies, you know you want to run back to him.
May Kyubey make your weekend full of troll-rific awesomeness.
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A Child Almost Lost in Confusion - Son Gohan’s Development (Dragon Ball Z)
With parenting being quite an interesting subject these days (especially with how to properly raise the next generation of kids), let’s look at a child that was raised to be a fighter and forced to survive on his own at the age of 4. He’s also a child who would eventually be responsible for saving Earth from destruction. I’m talking about none other than Son Gohan, the son of the iconic Son Goku from Dragon Ball Z. If you think your early childhood was hectic, imagine if you were in Gohan’s shoes. Gohan’s early childhood development is an interesting case of parenting and one that is applicable in real life.
While Gohan’s parents (Goku and Chi-Chi) are the ones who gave him life, the one person to actively take a huge role in developing Gohan was Piccolo. Piccolo kidnaps a 4-year old Gohan to prepare him for the big battle against the Saiyans. Over time, he grows to love his pupil and considers him as one of his own. This relationship stays strong throughout the series as Gohan treats Piccolo with respect by calling him “Piccolo-san”. Piccolo has been around Gohan a lot, mostly because Goku was either dead or MIA. The only time when Goku and Piccolo are both there for Gohan was during the Androids/Cell Arcs.
A key moment in Gohan’s development during the Cell Arc was when Goku decides to send him out to beat Cell in the Cell Games Tournament. Piccolo questions Goku’s decision as Cell has shown how powerful he is compared to anyone else. Goku retorts by saying that Gohan has hidden strength that can defeat Cell. Piccolo then argues that Gohan isn’t a fighter at heart. While Gohan is getting pummeled by Cell, he goes on to say that Gohan is wondering why his own father isn’t rescuing him as his mentality is still that of a child’s. Goku begins to understand and decides to save his son, though things suddenly turn sour. In the end, Gohan eventually becomes stronger than Cell and defeats him to save Earth.
That moment in the Cell Arc makes you think about how parents interact with their kids. Goku isn’t the greatest father in the world. Is it because of Goku’s childhood since he grew up an orphan? Though the big problem is that Goku was too distracted by fighting that it hindered his development in other areas. You can say Goku has a bad case of uninvolved parenting. In reality, we face so many distractions that get in our way to progress as people. It’s interesting when people try to justify being distracted, yet they don’t realize that they have the willpower to stop them. Don’t get me wrong, certain distractions that are important (i.e. saving the Earth from evil and being the only person capable of doing so) do need to be addressed, but we should at least take some time to get to know and understand the important people in their lives better. Making up for lost time is an option that doesn’t always magically pop up when you need it.
Another point to address is Gohan’s nature when first introduced in the series. When you look at Gohan in the very beginning, he had the makings of a spoiled brat since his mother, Chi-Chi, was always trying to protect him. If it weren’t for Piccolo “kidnapping” him for a year, Gohan might have turned out to be a terrible person. When you think about it, there are children who become instantly pampered the second they are born. Now why does this continue to happen? You can argue that parents really aren’t sure on how to raise kids, are too passive with regards to authority, or that they spoil their kids because it makes them feel good. Chi-Chi seemed to focus her entire life around Gohan, like how some parents act when around their children. Unfortunately, this leads to more harm than good since children will develop an attitude that the world should bow down to them.
The argument on whether Goku or Piccolo was the better parent is somewhat irrelevant, since Gohan turned out to be an outstanding young man who strives to fight against injustice because of both men’s influences. In the end, every child needs to have consistent, unconditional love alongside proper guidance throughout their development. The fusion of those two elements will give your child the strength of a Super Saiyan. It also might unlock an inner determination to go beyond their normal state as they get older and become even more than they are to revolutionize the world for the better.
As the late Whitney Houston once said, the children really are our future.
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Manga Therapy Makes Frugal Dad’s List of Top Anime Sites
Well, this is an interesting surprise.
I received word from Frugal Dad, a blog/site that focuses on living in a frugal manner, that Manga Therapy recently made it onto their site’s list of popular anime sites to visit. How I made this list is beyond me.
Check out the list at: Frugal Dad’s Top Anime Sites. Some of my favorite blogs are on there as well.
In any case, much thanks go to Frugal Dad for recognizing this very site!
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What Are Your Favorite Epic Plot Twists?
If this really happened in BLEACH, the story would have turned out 100 times better.
I’m starting an “epic plot twist” set of posts in the near future called “EPIC PLOT TWISTS OF MANGA HISTORY” and am interested to hear your favorite plot twists that happened in your favorite series. They can be from any series, classic or new.
I’m sure you guys have some great moments to share that made you go “OMGWTFLOL”. Can’t wait to hear everyone’s suggestions!
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The Japanese Sneezing Superstition - A Superstition That Provides Benefits?
Who here believes in the power of superstitions? Here’s something that will get your mystical juices flowing. An interesting article about superstitions popped up in the New York Times. The article, entitled “In Defense of Superstition”, discussed how having superstitions can be beneficial to gain some sense of meaning in one’s life. They also give someone a big sense of self-confidence in doing certain tasks. One superstition came to my mind and one that is very relevant in anime and manga: sneezing.
In Asian culture, it is widely believed that someone who sneezes out of the blue is being talked about by other people not near them. If you sneeze once, someone is definitely saying something about you. If you sneeze twice, bad things are said about you. This superstition about sneezing has become a huge joke in anime and manga, where several characters talk about one character in one panel and then the next panel features the person being talked about sneezing (with some witty remarks and/or confusion). Sneezing blew its way through notable series such as Dragon Ball, Maison Ikkoku, InuYasha, Rurouni Kenshin, and Ranma 1/2.
Perhaps this superstition is helpful for others in terms of giving confidence that things are going to be just fine for them or an incentive to be more careful. Let’s say someone sneezes and he/she really believes that someone must be gossiping about them all of a sudden. That person can say to themselves, “Hmmm, maybe I should change my tune a bit.” or “Yes, someone’s talking about me! I feel important to someone!” That could give some meaning and motivation to alter their behaviors more positively. Of course, this can all backfire in a hurry, depending on the personality of the person sneezing. It is heavily argued that those who believe in superstitions tend to have a lack of control in their lives.
A great example of a “sneezing superstition” moment in anime/manga that stood out was in Rurouni Kenshin Volume 7, when the Kenshin-gumi spoke harshly about Saito Hajime. While at a soba stand, Saito sneezed repeatedly and even made a remark about how sudden sneezing is a result of ill will. He even goes on to say that it’s great that the Shinsengumi (his old troop) are still hated in the Meiji Era. You have to wonder if Saito’s comments were just a reassuring way of giving him more confidence to go and cause more mayhem since he doesn’t care what people think of him. The Wolf of Mibu’s mind is always a mysterious one, isn’t it?
So, what other Japanese superstitions do you think give people a sense of confidence? Feel free to share some crazy thoughts and let us have the wonderful moment of freaking out together.
Hope you didn’t just sneeze while reading this entry. :]
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What Character(s) Inspire You?
As much as I like to talk about the character(s) that inspire me (i.e. Vegeta), I want to know which anime/manga characters inspire you guys as a whole.
Do you have an essay you wish to share to readers about a character that makes you feel awesome? I would like to post some of your stories on this very site.
If interested, you can contact me at tonyyao82(at)gmail(dot)com.
Of course, you can always comment below. I love to hear who drives your will to succeed even higher.
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HOT! BLOODED! - The Rock Lee Story (Naruto)
“I want to show I can be a splendid ninja even if I don’t have ninjutsu or genjutsu. I want to prove it to the whole world!”
For those who believe that they have do not have the talents to achieve certain types of success, let me tell you an insightful tale. A tale where one enthusiastic young man must conquer multiple odds to reach his goal. It was a goal which required certain talents the young man did not possess. Despite his lack of talent, the young man presses on with nothing but unbridled enthusiasm and a passion to crush it. This is story of Naruto’s Rock Lee, a ninja who relies on his strong spirit to fight and more importantly, a stern reminder about keeping your passion going even through tough times.
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