Miscellaneous


As most of you are probably already aware, Omni’s been losing a lot of bloggers on his site lately for various reasons. In fact, with the most recent departure of Patrik, the only blogger left on Random Curiosity is Omni himself. After speaking with Omni for a bit and hearing about how he’d like to expand the types of shows the blog covers, I gave it some thought. I was a bit apprehensive at first since I wasn’t sure if I could make the commitment or not, but I eventually decided to give it a go. The appeal for me was that by doing so, I would get a chance to voice my thoughts/impressions of shows I’m watching, hear other fans’ impressions, and provide readers with a broader coverage of anime here at Random Curiosity.

My anime “background” if you will, stemmed from the early 1990s when I first watched Akira and Dragon Ball (the original, not Z) from some VHS tapes that I happened to get my hands on. This was during the pre-high-speed Internet era, so needless to say, anime was pretty sparse at the time. Anyway, my interest grew and I watched more anime over the years, most of which were on fan-subbed VHS tapes (can you imagine how much of a pain these must have been to make?) that my brother rented from a local anime shop.

Fast-forward to the present now. Anime-wise, I’ve literally watched hundreds of shows and thousands of episodes, which can be seen on my anime lists at ANN and MyAnimeList (the latter of which is much easier to view). Given my “credentials” (can these even be called credentials? o_O), hopefully the personal opinions I eventually end up blogging will seem to have some “weight” behind them.

In terms of shows I enjoy watching, I would say I have a pretty diverse taste in anime, meaning I’ll pretty much consider watching anything short of yaoi. (So for all you Junjou Romantica fans out there, I’m sorry to inform you that you’ll have to look elsewhere…)

This includes your:
– Action-packed shounen shows like Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Bleach
– Mecha shows like Macross and Gundam (heh, like the iterations I linked?)
– Romance comedies / dramas like School Rumble, ef – a tale of memories., and true tears
– Pure comedy / slice-of-life shows like ARIA, Azumanga Daioh, Hayate no Gotoku!, Ichigo Mashimaro, Minami-ke
– Yuri shows like Strawberry Panic!
– Shoujo shows like Honey and Clover and Ouran High School Host Club
– Ecchi fan-service shows like Golden Boy, Girls Bravo and *cough* To Love-Ru
– Psychological horror shows like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
– Somewhat generic shows like AYAKASHI and Night Wizard
– and even relatively unpopular shows like Hatenkou Yuugi and Suteki Tantei Labyrinth (has anyone else even heard of these?)

So in short, I’m pretty open-minded to what I watch and enjoy all different types of genres for what they are. My favorite genre is probably romance comedy, but I always enjoy a nice mesh of shows every season.

Now as for a blogging schedule, I plan to cover some shows on a weekly basis. As for what shows I can cover, I’m basically watching everything that Omni is already covering, plus a whole slew more, so I have some options. Since the disappearance of Jaalin, coverage of comedic shows has been lacking, so that’s definitely one genre I’ll delve into. As for blogging style, I don’t plan to focus on a detailed summary as much as Omni does, but instead plan to focus more on thoughts and impressions. Over the past year, I’ve inadvertently become somewhat of a seiyuu-otaku (often deciding to watch a series simply because it stars seiyuus that I like), so you may hear me bring up seiyuus and voice acting as part of the impressions. Summary-wise, I only plan to give a quick rundown of the key things that happened in the episode, because I assume readers will eventually watch the episode themselves (either raw or subbed) to get the most out of it. By using this blogging approach, I hope to reduce the amount of time needed to write each post, which in turn, should translate to more shows being covered (and more discussion of different shows).

Wow, that was a long intro! I guess there’s nothing left to say but, “Kochira divine desu. Yoroshiku ne~” 「こちらディバインです。 よろしくね～」

 

Addendum:
I should mention that I mainly watch anime unsubbed now, much like Omni does. My Japanese is sufficient enough for most shows, so while I can’t make any guarantees due to real-life constraints, you can probably expect to see posts on the same day a show airs or only shortly afterwards.

104 Comments

  13. So are these animes shows goi8ng to be on the site?? This includes your:
    – Action-packed shounen shows like Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Bleach
    – Mecha shows like Macross and Gundam (heh, like the Macross and Gundam shows I linked?)
    – Romance comedies / dramas like School Rumble, ef – a tale of memories., and true tears
    – Pure comedy / slice-of-life shows like ARIA, Azumanga Daioh, Hayate no Gotoku!, Ichigo Mashimaro, Minami-ke
    – Yuri shows like Strawberry Panic!
    – Shoujo shows like Honey and Clover and Ouran High School Host Club
    – Ecchi fan-service shows like Golden Boy, Girls Bravo and *cough* To Love-Ru
    – Psychological horror shows like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
    – Somewhat generic shows like AYAKASHI and Night Wizard
    – and even relatively unpopular shows like Hatenkou Yuugi and Suteki Tantei Labyrinth (has anyone else even heard of these?)

    To Love-Ru
    Reply

  14. @To Love-Ru:
    Most of the shows I listed there have already finished airing, so I don’t think those shows in particular will be covered. The list was more to give a sense of what type of shows you can expect. i.e. a wide range of shows.

    @Everyone else:
    Thanks for the immediate warm welcome! I look forward to your thoughts on the shows I’m watching/covering as well.

    divine
    Reply

  19. I hope you’re more objective and rational in your reviews than Patrik.He does get a little carried away once in a while but otherwise he does good work.A shame he’s gone.

    P.S.
    Umm just pointing a a slight grammar mistake..the “kochira” I believe is used by the person who is introducing you, translating to “This person is”, unless Omni is the one saything that.So I think atashi/watashi is more proper.

    God~knows~
    Reply

  22. Hey Onmi,

    I’m new here your doing a pretty great job on this website. I can’t wait for my number one anime show “Kure-nai” i like the characters and the design, my other favorite anime shows is “Allison and Lillia” i like how is based in the world of 1930s-era. Another anime show that i like is “Wagaya no Oinara-sama” i like the fox designs there pretty great, Another is “Neo Angelique Abyss” i been waiting for the show for a few weeks now i hope it comes soon. I think you should add a anime show called “Chi’s Sweet Home” i read the comic it’s pretty funny also you should add is “Kyou Kara Maoh! Season 3” it’s awsome, well Onmi i have to go put i hope we can talk more and be friends!

    From: The_Worlds_Best_Anime_Fan_Freak

    To: Onmi

    Hey divine,

    you seem to be a cool guy, hope we can talk more. But i really have to go see you later dude! *peace*

    The_Worlds_Best_Anime_Fan_Freak
    Reply

  24. @God~knows~:
    Actually, it can be used to refer to yourself too. It’s commonly used over radio communication for example.

    I’m glad you brought this up though, since I guess I should mention that I mainly watch anime unsubbed now, much like Omni does. My Japanese is sufficient enough for most shows, so while I can’t make any guarantees due to real-life constraints, you can probably expect to see posts on the same day a show airs or only shortly afterwards.

    @leefan:
    I only recently signed up for MAL due to the nicer anime list. I find its layout much better for sharing with other people and plan to keep my profile updated now. The main reason I link to ANN though is because it’s been my main (English) source of info for some time now. Lately, I’ve also become somewhat of an avid ANN contributor for seiyuu info too, so you’ll often find me adding cast info (on a regular per episode basis) for every show I’m watching.

    divine
    Reply

  25. Welcome! It’s great that we’re getting another blogger here on this blog (I know that sounds really redundant ^^;;) so we can get a more better, more diverse survey of anime each season. 😀 I look forward to seeing which shows you will write about!

    mangaka-chan
    Reply

  29. Welcome Welcome~
    A bit sad about the not blogging Junjou Romantica cause I’m a big yaoi fan, but oh whatever. At least, I hope that banner of Rokujo means you’re blogging Nabari no Ou? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. =]

    Dreamer
    Reply

  31. You know what’d be nice? If you would just rant once in a while like a random musings since the random musings aren’t well random anymore so I thought it’d be nice if someone brought it back 😉

    Hei
    Reply

  32. Something is strange about your ANN list. Firstly, why one category? Also, where are comments and ratings? I don’t quite understand the purpose of keeping the list and not actually making it useful for anything.

    Author
    Reply

  34. cool, you’re going to be blogging some anime genres i’ll be intereasted in ^^
    hey do you know hayate no gotoku will have a second season, would u be able to blog that when that comes out? thanks divine

    Terry
    Reply

  35. First off, Welcome! Hope you enjoy….blogging…..0_o And thanks, in advance, for that blogging.

    Second, I’m curious if you’re going to blog Nabari no Ou cause it seems after the first episode it was abandoned or something. So, I just wanted to ask that…..and greet you too, of course. So yeah…..

    Final
    Reply

  37. A diverse watcher. I like that. It’s something everyone should strive for.

    I’ll be watching you with great interest. As everyone’s already said, welcome to the wild world of anime blogging.

    RmX
    Reply

  38. haha! I watched more anime than you! Yay:P May be I shud have participate in bloggin at least one anime here too, but oh well, giving comments is more relaxing:P. anyway, good luck man. The reasons I keep coming back to this blog are spoilers and impressions. If you are anime seiyuu otaku, u get my full support. I do that too. Eg. code geass, I wouldn’t has started watching it if there is noone I know. ~~

    whatever
    Reply

  40. @Author:
    Unless I’m mistaken, you can’t provide all the categories for ANN users via a single URL (hence why I set up a MAL list). If you want to see my other categories, you can search for “divine” in the public lists.

    As for the ratings, I just purposely choose not to rate shows. I use ANN as more of a directory to track what I’ve watched and to quickly look up info (cast, production, etc.).

    divine
    Reply

  43. i think focusing more on thoughts and impressions is a good thing. In fact, thats all I read, I don’t care about what happens in most shows, just what you think of them. If they are good, then i’ll end up watching them, if not why would I want to read a summary? In fact its fun to read impressions on shows even if I don’t watch them.

    zoozoc
    Reply

  47. I just posted a full write-up for Special A episode 1, which Omni never really got around to. If you get a chance to look at it, please let me know what you think about the show, the post itself, or anything else in particular. I look forward to your comments! 🙂

    divine
    Reply

  53. @Terry:
    I skimmed over your comment inadvertently, but yes, I’m aware of the sequel to Hayate no Gotoku. (I guess we can’t really call it a second season because the original was four seasons.) As for whether or not I’m going to cover it, that’s too far in the future to even know. 😐

    divine
    Reply

  54. ロジャー ディバイン. こちらこそ, 今日から夜路死区～ [Roger Divine. kotirakoso, kyou kara yorosiku~]

    just finished watching MACROSS on Youtube 3 days ago(with espanol subs)… many of our favorite seiyuu are already on Macross F [incl. Hirano Aya and Tanaka Rie plus Sugita Tomokazu], then there’s Negima – ALA ALBA out in August with manga vol.23-25 (orders begin today – April 17, 2008)

    当に核, 頑張ー!

    tonbo
    Reply

  55. It sucks that theres a lack of bloggers these days, Omni does such a service to the anime community by running this site. I wish people would actually appreciate the help that he gets instead of running them out. I hope you will stay for a while and know that there are people who support the work that you guys put into even if were not as vocal as the haters. Good luck divine!

    buh
    Reply

  59. At the moment, I’m only blogging Special A and Nabari no Ou. Omni suggested that I don’t try to take on too much too early (and burn out quickly), but kurenai is actually a show I’d like to cover as well.

    Ideally, I’d like to blog every show I’m watching that Omni isn’t covering (which is ~12 shows), but I’ll have to see how quickly I can get through the current shows first. As I said in the intro post, I’m hoping a more thoughts/impression-oriented blogging approach will be sufficient for everyone, which would allow me to blog faster (and in turn more shows).

    Any thoughts/comments regarding this are appreciated.

    divine
    Reply

  63. That’s great! I’ve been thinking that though Omni and Patrik were great bloggers in their own right, it isn’t possible for them to blog about every new show since they have their own likes and dislikes. Being open to almost every genre is a good thing.

    I do hope the blogging can be such that the synopsis takes precedence over personal opinion, but you have your own style, and in any case, I am glad to see a new blogger around.

    Owaranai Destiny
    Reply

  77. man, i don’t care for what you do, but i want you to know that this blog is freat, and thanks to this i have met many other animes that i wouldn’t never watch if it weren’t for this, so if you want to keep this, i can just say thank you

    pietro
    Reply

  90. Hello~!

    I’m more of a passer-by reader type; and I don’t comment much, but I thought I’d say good luck! Considering how hard it is for me to find time to watch anime on a given week, I can only wonder about the commitment you’ve made.

    And, for what it’s worth, I’ve also heard of Hatenkou Yuugi — and if I ever find time I’ll go watch the rest of it. 🙂

    cbhl
    Reply

  91. @divine:

    I don’t really know why the situation has become that Omni is losing bloggers, but from reading a few of Patrik’s posts, I always felt that he was of the “elitist” type (unfortunately). Just like many others, I look forward to your posts, and hope (I hope that’s not hoping for too much) to see some nice, objective episode summaries and plot discussion / speculation.

    Cyrilix
    Reply

  92. Divine,
    I saw your anime list on ann and that’s quite impressive. Just hope you stay in RC for a while, looking forward your summaries, and since I have crazy shifts in a hospital, a small summary works just fine for me. Well, buena suerte(good luck)!!!!

    key05
    Reply

  93. XD Well, I know Hatenkou Yuugi from the last part. XD I’ve read the manga but it was called “Dazzle” when I read it. I guess that was the “American name” given to the series.

    😮 I didn’t know there was an anime for it.

    Augi
    Reply

  95. I’ve heard of Hatenkou Yugi and I’ve actually watched the first few episodes. I haven’t gotten around to watching the last half of it yet though since the story hasn’t interested me much yet. I’m excited that you’re interested in comedies and I’m looking forward to reading your impressions on new comedy series. I’m also a big fan of your plans to write about seiyuu impressions and I was wondering if you could also add other notable anime roles the seiyuu has voiced before.

    (Your blogging approach is pretty much what I look for in anime blogs, reading impressions is what gets me to watch a series. Looking forward to your reviews.)

    fangthe7th
    Reply

  99. i can’t stop thinking that Suiseiseki here isn’t used as a reference to the Rozen Maiden series, but more like a chan reference 😉

    having said that i wish to say “hajimemashite!” and “gambatte kudasai, divine-kun”

    paulie
    Reply

  100. @paulie:
    Actually, I only recently got around to watching Rozen Maiden, so the Suiseiseki picture was added to refer to the series. The other reason thought was simply because I thought it was cute… :X

    Thanks for the welcome! 頑張ります！ (Ganbarimasu!)

    divine
    Reply

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