Miscellaneous

Jig 1

Hey everybody! c:

I’m honored to be the newest addition to RandomC’s staff of writers! The profile says Jig, but you can call me The Jig Man…or Jig Meister, Jiggy, McJiggerton, Andre Jiguodala, Jiggy Azalea—you get the idea.

Or Sweet Jesus. You can call me Sweet Jesus if you want to.

First and foremost, I stumbled into anime from a very early age. Having parents that worked as artists in the animation industry since before I was even born, I grew up around the medium in all of its forms—from Western to Japanese. I have thus grown to cherish animation as one of my most beloved modes of storytelling. Some of my favorite shows growing up ranged from programs I watched on the tube like Batman: TAS and Dexter’s Laboratory, to old tapes of stuff like Astro Boy, Mazinger, and Brave Command Dagwon that I would rent from the Asian video store.

My great love of anime stems from the Japanese’s very sincere regard for the storytelling possibilities and creative potential of the animated medium. Aside from a couple of rare exceptions (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Transformers: Prime, Pixar films, and the like) it’s really difficult to find many American animated productions which take the art form seriously (given the more Western consensus that animation should be reserved for kids’ cartoons or lo-fi mature comedy shows ala South Park and Family Guy. Not that I’m discounting these programs—they’re great for their own reasons). Anime, though, doesn’t play it safe—it dives headfirst into the absolutely insane levels of creative freedom and narrative possibilities which can be realized with animation, and it is so goddamn sweet.

I think it’s beyond my capability to pinpoint and delineate my specific tastes and preferences in anime. Like a lot of people (I presume), I’m unable to definitively predict if I’ll enjoy a show or not. Sure I could list some criteria for types of series I think I’d either absolutely eat up or spurn immediately, but my expectations have proven erroneous time and time again. Generally speaking, though, I consider my palette modestly expansive—some of my fave stuffz ranges from high-adrenaline, balls-to-the-wall action shows like Gurren Lagann and Kuroko No Basket (Basuke?), to the subdued complexity and allegorical intricacies of productions such as Garden of Words and Anohana (no Name wo Bokutouchywamajfdal;nlkla). I’m still fleshing out my MAL, but feel free to check it out if it tickles your fancy.

jig-2

On a more personal note, I study both English Literature and Philosophy (and hopefully a film minor, if everything pans out accordingly) at UCLA in preparation for law school. I harbor a deep and intense appreciation for the art of storytelling, and consume it in all forms, from novels, to movies, to comic books, to video games, and so on. My exploits in creative writing turn out much the same as they do for many other “aspiring” writers—a half-finished screenplay there, a barely started novel over here. Right now, though, I’d like to complete an entire screenplay, as long and drawn out as the process might take (here’s hopin’!).

If I ain’t doin’ any of that though, you can catch me playin’ some tasty jams. Aside from gluing my headphones to my earholes, I’ve been playing the violin, guitar, bass guitar, and my vocal folds for many years, and am currently in the process of fluidizing myself with the ukulele and the piano. Now, I’m not the best at any of those, but I still have a blast playin’ ’em. 🙂 I also love me some hoops! I avidly follow the NBA and its day-to-day happenings and occurrences, and though I’m often far from being the best guy on the court, I try to find every opportunity I can to play.

Overall, I’m super stoked and honored that I’ll get to write for all you lovely pickles! Though I have a long ways to go and lots to learn, I’m hoping you’ll all be patient with me and help me grow along the way. All feedback, criticisms, and comments are immensely welcome and wanted. Let’s talk lots! Don’t be afraid to hit me up on Twitter, my amigos.

And with that, I bid you all adieu! And because all the cool kids are doing it:

よろしくおねがいします。
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

53 Comments

  4. M’kay, Jigz McKenzie, Jigsaw, Jiggers, Jigs n’ Jugs, Jigs von… okay, okay, deep breaths, Ryan, deep breaths…

    No, but really, I’m going to have an unhealthy amount of fun with your name. 🙂

    Congratulations on becoming the newest fresh meat writer here at RandomC. Looking forward to seeing what you can do and what your first show will be. Do your best and seeya around. ;D

    RyanAshfyre
    Reply

  9. Hey, Sweet Jesus! ‘Sup~

    Ya’ seem sprightly boiyh! Ne’er expected that you’d be the one, but y’know what? I bear-hug you into mah arms in love!

    Now c’mon, let’s get jiggy wit’ it!

    Nishizawa Mihashi
    Reply

    1. Seriously man, I thought it’d be someone like Pancakes or Frosty, but I guess we can always initiate our surgical strikes whenever the opportunity comes! Anyways, I’ll be lookin’ forward to more of ya’ Sweet Jesus! Just hopefully the shows you talk about have one or two missile silos to bomb~ (If you know what I mean)

      Nishizawa Mihashi
      Reply

      1. I know it’s random, but believe or not, if it ain’t for ‘speech-training’, I’d end up speakin’ English like I came from the southern United States. That’s just how it is son. But it’s also ‘cuz I’m from Malaysia, and quite a few of us do a lotta ‘code-switchin’, so our accents change dependin’ on who we’re talkin’ to.

        Nishizawa Mihashi
        Reply

  11. Welcome to the RC community, Jiggles.

    Spontaneous nicknaming aside, I’m looking forward to reading your posts for the upcoming Fall 2015 anime season. (You guys might want to start working on that preview.)

    Incognito
    Reply

  16. Hi Jig! I can sort of feel a happy energy from your introductory post, which makes me feel bouncy and giggle-y and happy too. Or maybe I’m just going mad from studying too much. Anyway, welcome and looking forward to seeing more from you! I think I like you already.

    ZJZJ
    Reply

  17. Welcome Jiggy to RC!

    I am looking forward to see your posts next season and now what kind of shows you will choose. I have been following this blog for 2 years and have tremendous influence in what anime that I watched. For working man like me, I don’t have time to watch entire animes in a season and always go to this blog to see what is worth to watch.

    Anyway, welcome again to RC!

    Dozzu
    Reply

  18. Gettin jiggy wit it
    Na na na na na na na nana
    na na na na nana
    Gettin jiggy wit it

    Always nice to read a fresh perspective, though I guess I’ll have to wait and see what shows you end up covering.

    Just curious, what’s your NBA team? My guess is Dubs based on your reference and apparent location?

    SK
    Reply

      1. That’s an interesting choice, do you happen to have a contrarian streak?
        I’m a Warriors fan (my local team), finally rejoicing after supporting nearly 2 decades of mostly bad, but entertaining, teams.

        SK
        Reply

  25. Sweet Jesus, you’re first tweet is an output code from Java? What’s up with that? hahaha XD

    Anyways, congratulations on making the team Jig! RandomC’s got a new water boy now. XD From what you’ve written here, I can’t really describe your writing style, yet. It’s a bit energetic and, well, jiggly. I’m looking forward to your posts and what you’ll be covering this Fall. An additional blogger would mean RC’s gonna be covering more shows, a little ironic though since Fall looks rather bleak.

    Oh well. Good job as usual RC. Cheers! 😉

    romcomgod
    Reply

  28. Welcome to the crew Jig.

    Glad to hear you are a fan of Avatar:The Last Airbender, i was hoping we might see it here on RC when it was airing as it’s worth the exception considering how good it is and closer to anime than to normal western cartoons.

    That said, there are several western cartoon lately which broke the mold and tried to present something a lot more mature than the kiddy shows and the mature comedy ones, shows like Gravity Falls, Adventure Time and Steven Universe (as well as Over the Garden Wall) offer an experience closer to anime than what we expect from western cartoons, long arching plots, interesting characters, real-life issues and dilemmas .. etc etc .. it would be great if those shows get some coverage here to introduce people to those shows.

    ===================================

    Also, another criminally underrated amazing show that rivals anime in terms of story quality and character complexity is Wakfu, it’s a french cartoon based on an MMO made by a french company called Anakma, thing is .. it might seem all cutesy and “for kids” at first glance, but once you dig into the story you will find the show with great characters, unique animation, great humor, epic fights and a fantastic overarching story, and i dare say some of the best villains in any animated show to date.

    The two seasons of the show are now available on Netflix dubbed in English and there are a couple of movies and OVAs that tie all loose ends fantastically (some even dedicated to the villains), all in all if you enjoyed Avatar Wakfu is a MUST WATCH, would be great if you watch it and even greater if you manage to give it some exposure/coverage here (even if it’s just a single post).

    Welcome again and will be awaiting your future coverage.

    Hunter-Wolf
    Reply

  29. Welcome to the RC family Jiggle-wiggle! Your writing has a very subtle and deliberate feeling to it. There’s a very curious aspect that I cant quite pin down, perhaps it stems from your interest in Philosophy. I love the shout out to ATLA and Dexter’s Laboratory! I look forward to your posts and pass on energy and thanks to the entire staff for working on the new season preview. So much to look forward too! 😀 As a looong time follower, it warms my heart to see RC growing and thriving. :)<3

    Chloesong
    Reply

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