As we’ve turned our cranial cogs with  T3h Dave, we keep coming to the topic of the sad state of affairs that Japanese animation seems to be in these days.

I remember when we were still roaming the halls of compulsory  education; it was action, folding and developing plot lines, slice of life with depth of character, or light hearted escape. Now it’s mindless fights that have no plot to drive them, almost absolute predictability in story telling, characters that leave everything to be desired (and that are SO archetypal that you feel like they’ve bored you in the first 10 minutes), and crud so saccharin it seems catered as much to a cucumber as it does to you.

Even amidst all of this, I figure I want to pick up an art form I know has brought me some of the most unexpected changes in p.o.v.  So I check out Random Curiosity‘s Spring, 2011 preview list.

I have to admit I’m pleasantly surprised by the fact that any prospects show up at all. It’s true there’s your monster battle carbon copies, über cute magical girly gobs, excessively hodge-podged fantasy, and your share of useless robots.

But a few stick out like a sore thumb of potential.

昭和物語（Showa Monogatari)
へようげもの（Hyouge Mono)
ユルアニ？（Yuruani?)
and
Appleseed XIII

I’ll let you check the bit on each of them on your own but…

This is my thing. I guess what I’m looking for is something I can relate to. I’m 23 years old, two years out of college and faced with a tonne of real life decisions to make, a life to build and trying to come to a conclusion of what the world “is” or “is like”.  I don’t need poorly pieced  together tales with gaudy animation, or school days episodics that don’t even resonate to my experience.

I want something with depth, with characters that aren’t predictable or perfect. I want something that makes me think cyberpunk isn’t dead, along with the creativity, grit and concern for the future that spawned it. I want something makes something more of MY everyday, work, home (and when I’m luck, class).

In other words, I guess  I’m looking for something adult. It’s funny. I remember when the only anime you could get in town was at Suncoast Video and most of it was crap, not because there wasn’t anything out there, but because people bringing it stateside didn’t know better (or were expat trolls). One of our biggest sticks to fight of the mob of  ”that’s just cartoon porn”, (or oddly opposite), “Aren’t cartoons just for kids?”, was our feelings that there was skillful story telling, and that there was something that everyone could take away if they picked up Ghost in the Shell (what is it that makes us human?), or Cowboy Beebop ( a new take on noir, and KNOWING a soundtrack can be everything.). Anime and Manga are for adults too.

The only things that seem to still remain of “adult” in much anime now is violence, sensuality and the like.

Where are we. . . ?

-Beat

Zuzu’s Petals…

No, but really. When you’re bored and you’re scraping around in your pockets, and find a buck or random memento. That’s what coming across this blog feels like. I feel like dusting off my screen and taking the cob webs off of it.

Last post dates to college. Really..? Güau. I guess that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

I hope that I pick this up regularly and that some good writing comes of it. Interesting, introspective…maybe. Fodder? Most likely. I don’t know. How interesting can life get since then? It feels like not that much but we’ll see.

I definitely wanna see if I could use this as my proverbial note pad and scratch down quotes, ideas and stuff that pop in my head; These things I hope to synthesize into something productive. Was that semi-colon in the right place?

As is, the above stands to warn those of my content style. Stay if you will… bugger off if you won’t.

Danke

PostScript: I didn’t do any of the things I mentioned in my last post did I?!

Here Goes!!

I’d just like to thank Dàweī for introducing me to the universe of the internets 2.0′s garbage receptacle. I’d also like to give a warm and flaming thank to the resident Filipino bentman, Roy the Egg for giving me cannon fodder to put on this blog. I hope you wake up with mites on your face.

It’s been a tough week. One last midterm, a couple of papers and juggling to try an get things lined up. Everything’s in its proper place.

Special mention goes to Eh Rick for the character imput bit.

I hope to dream of panda and pies. In the sky, that is the fortress of the Humanities 4th floor!

Good night, and good luck!