Miscellaneous

Greetings and salutations, gentle readers. I’m Passerby, your new writer here on Random Curiosity. That would make me the grotesque by-product of the recent recruitment drive, foretold in the prophecy. That’s all great, but as the fresh addition to the all-star cast you already have I’m apparently also going to have to moonlight as Lackey #1. Still, even as the redshirt, it’s hard to contain my excitement about this opportunity. Dearly did I wish to write for RandomC, and here I am. All it cost was my soul! What a bargain.

I am sure you are all wondering what manner of exotic beast has been ensnared for your entertainment. Hard to say myself. I hail from a strange and alien land girt by many seas. Some call it Terra Incognita. Some call it Australia. If I accidentally use some extra vowels or dip into nonsensical slang please chalk it up to distractions from our deadly native fauna. My background is in law and politics (mea culpa) with an unflattering stint in drama. Otherwise I’m the complete geek package. I read fantasy, play games, turn to ash in the sun. And, of course, I watch anime. Which is, rightfully, the important part. That’s what you’re all here for, right? My qualifications? My nerd cred? Gotcha.

To date myself: the first ‘anime’ I watched was a film: Miyazaki Hayao’s Castle in the Sky Laputa. Yeah, I started early. To put this development in context, I spent my formative years in Hong Kong. As everyone knows as indisputable fact, Hong Kong has historically had two great imports: opium and anime (ask your parents, kids). Only one of these was suitable kid’s entertainment so Saturday morning TV was occupied by the Japanese like it was 1941. As with the other young couch potatoes of my generation I devoured it all indiscriminately, but thanks to an art snob uncle I ended up watching more Ghibli than Gundam. Since I couldn’t understand what anyone was saying it was probably just robots shooting lasers either way and otherwise I just watched whatever was on TV at the time. After I moved to the Great Down Under, I naturally fell into the habit again. Get all the boring details on my modern anime viewing habits from my hastily assembled MAL. But tables are boring and my list sketchy so here are some TV series that I have loved: the sci-fi examination of the human condition that is Cowboy Bebop and its dystopian spiritual successor Darker than Black. The strangely coherent absurdity of Excel Saga and the gentle soul-cleansing of Aria. The introspective shounen adventure of Fullmetal Alchemist and the parental love drama of Clannad. And more, and not just anime. I also do videogames, manga and visual novels, feasting on an omnivorous diet of cross-cultural media.

Let me say this, though: it actually doesn’t matter all that much what my geek levels are (and frankly, it’s not even 9000). I’m no great scholar, no Professor of Japanese Animation. I’m not a font of sage wisdom or a celebrity tastemaker. I just like talking about what I love. What geek doesn’t? And I imagine all who visit RandomC to have at least a kernel of that passion. So here’s what we’ll be doing each week: I’ll write a slab of text and hopefully that’ll facilitate a free, honest and civil discussion of our hobby of choice. My promise to you all is that I’ll do my best to stay open-minded and self-aware. If I like something, I’ll try to explain why. If I dislike something, I’ll give it a fair autopsy. And I’ll try to stay positive and light-hearted throughout the entire affair, which I hope won’t devolve into just lampooning everything I watch. Let’s see what happens. It’ll be an adventure.

That’s enough out of me for now; I’ll see you all in my baptism by fire where I’ll be covering Persona 4 the Golden and, depending on the whims of the stars, Hanamonogatari. I’m open to all comments, criticism and general feedback and I’ll love to hear from everyone; please, you’ll be helping me. So at the risk of putting on airs, let us exchange the appropriate pleasantries:

よろしくおねがいします。
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

107 Comments

    1. The majority of our writers are in North America. Enzo is the only one (to my knowledge) that’s located outside of the continent, in Japan. So Passerby helps us represent one more continent now that they’ve joined the team!

      Zanibas
      Reply

  10. welcome aboard passerby, looking forward to your writing.
    also i realize from the list of anime you’ve watched that fate zero is still on hold. you better watch that when you have the chance, you won’t regret it, your eye will love the treat from fate zero.

    danes256
    Reply

    1. It’s been on the back burner because the novel depressed me thoroughly. Urobochi hates his characters with the same sadistic glee of a dungeon master dropping rocks on his players.

      Passerby
      Reply

  12. By the way, great thanks to Stilts for making this post actually happen. Great hardship and crushing ordeals were endured. The survival story is being adapted for the silver screen as we speak.

    Passerby
    Reply

  14. How I imagine the RandomC gang:
    character labels on top, emotions below

    –senpai looking to push work ———RC gang————–Passerby———–RC gang———-
    ヽ( ★ω★)ノ__________________(　＾∇＾)_(ノ^_^)ノ__(●⌒∇⌒●)___ლ(๏‿๏ ◝ლ__(◕‿◕✿)

    Readers:
    ٩(^ᴗ^)۶

    Techim
    Reply

  16. Greetings greetings. This intro post already shows great promise, so I’m looking forward to seeing your reviews.

    There is a warning I feel compelled to give to new bloggers. Remember: there will be people who will criticize you and your reviews, no matter how well you write them, no matter how fairly you judge everything. Do not let it get to you.

    Wanderer
    Reply

  17. Hello hello kangaroo person (or wallaby…uh…ABORTED AUSSIE JOKE!) and congrats on being the new RC writer!

    Can’t wait to see your first non-introduction post! 🙂 But seeing as you put Okabe in your post, I like you already. (Also, you seem like a funny muffin.)

    platinum
    Reply

    1. Oh yes, I played Ni no Kuni. Out of a sense of obligation as much as anything else.

      I mostly carry the card of the PC master race, but I also own a PS3 and the burnt out shell of an Xbox 360. Oh, and a 3DS someone gave me. I’d have a lot of games to play if I wasn’t blogging anime. Totally worth.

      Passerby
      Reply

  20. A heartfelt congratulations and welcome to you, Passerby. Should your soul survive its baptism by hellfire, by which you’ll be tied down and forced to marathon the sinspawn of anime known as School Days in a single afternoon, I look forward to seeing you around.

    El Psy Congroo.

    Ryan Ashfyre
    Reply

  23. Congrats on becoming Lackey #1, the dream job of 70+ anime fans!

    I’m loving your writing, can’t wait to read more 🙂

    One question out of curiosity: what’s your take on light novels?

    Anonymosity
    Reply

  24. Welcome, Passerby! Although you’ve already been here for some time, welcome!
    Your writing style feels like it fits right in with the rest, so I’m not surprised you got through The Great Selection of our time. You got some great taste in anime there, both in the shows you listed, and the ones you’re going to blog. With that said, I’ll be reading both.
    Good luck.

    El. Psy. Congroo.

    Crook
    Reply

  25. Oh hey,it’s a Passerby(that was terrible I know) and a fellow DtB fan at that! Someone interested in videogames too? I know it might be out of place here but I can’t help but wonder if you(or other people here for that matter) are looking forward to this.

    I hope you’ll have as much fun slaving away writing at RC as we have reading!

    MgMaster
    Reply

    1. I, too am looking forward to playing Witcher 3: Wild Hunt– and would be completely unsurprised if it turns out to be one of the best games of 2015 considering the precedent that CD Projekt RED has set with the previous Witcher game (Witcher 2- Assassins of Kings), and their commendable company ethos towards video game production in general. The relatively small CD Projekt put mega-development/publishing houses like the EA, Ubisoft and Capcom to shame with the Witcher 2 with regard to the depth of its gameplay, the strength of its narrative and the game’s vast technical superiority on PC- and I would love to see this precedent continued with the third game. At least when it comes to the graphical fidelity of Witcher 3 I think it’s unlikely that we have anything to worry about with reports having surfaced that even GTX 780 Ti’s can’t run the game on max settings at 60fps. But, well, we’ll see- I just hope that the developer’s open world aspirations don’t have a negative impact on the game’s narrative force, and the depth of its gameplay- which were large parts of what made the second game as good as it was…

      Zen
      Reply

      1. I hope it get’s the game of the year award! I absolutely love the witcher series(I still have to read the books though). I enjoyed stuff like Mass Effect & Dragon Age(besides ME3 and DA2,of course) but The Witcher is in another league. But anyway,I don’t think there’s much reason to worry as long as CD Projekt continues to remain independent,therefore keeping it’s artistic integrity 😛

        MgMaster
        Reply

  26. Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie, Oi, Oi, Oi

    That was a fun read; very colourful. Looking forward to your Hanamonogatari posts if your whims take you there.

    Btw, judging from how you read VNs and your departing line, did you learn japanese?

    Hats
    Reply

    2. There is a lot of truth in Pratchett, actually. Everything in Australia really did evolve to kill humans. There’s no other way to explain it.

      I’m partial to Going Postal myself.

      Passerby
      Reply

      1. Moist von Lipwig is great, if only because I know how to use a few of his tricks myself >:D

        Night Watch is my absolute favorite though. There’s nothing like a Vimes book, and that one…”How do they rise up, rise up, rise up…” *shudders* Love it.

        Stilts
        Reply

  28. Welcome, stalwart survivor of a dropbear-infested country! Hope you can crank out some good blogs inbetween punching sharks and teaching lyrebirds funny sounds.

    El Psy Congroo!

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  29. Welcome to RC and congrats on winning the fierce competition, the neat introduction shows why you where picked, welcome again and best of luck 😉

    And anyone who uses Houtarou/Arsène Lupin from Hyouka 2nd ending as their avatar automatically wins in my book XD

    Looking forward to your posts in the near future.

    Hunter-Wolf
    Reply

  36. So it’s you, Passerby, wow, congratulations! 🙂 Of all regular commenters here on RC I have always considered you to be by far one of the most intelligent, articulate and personable- and I don’t say this lightly. I can think of none worthier of the position. Looking forward to seeing your first posts for both your shows, especially Hanamonogatari…

    Zen
    Reply

    1. Funnily enough, I commented as “Passerby” too just a handful of times too in the past, but stopped a few years ago once I noticed someone else using that name and commenting a whole lot more than I was. I think that person used a capital P too, so I’m guessing it was this new writer.

      Thanks for introducing yourself, Passerby, and I’m looking forward to P4TG since it’s my favorite show of the season.

      Watcher
      Reply

      2. regretably spelling is not my fortay 🙂
        edit: Gee. OH. ES. 8ch.**
        Also Gratz to you Passerby! *fist bump* May the road rise to meet you? FORCE be with you! yes for extra geek lvls.

        GoodStuffs
        Reply

  45. *squees* A Houtarou gravatar! Love Hyouka and love love Houtarou. x3

    Anyhow, congrats! I look forward to reading your posts. 🙂

    *hands Passerby congratulatory vegemite*

    As someone who has a new curiosity and appreciation for Australia, can I ask which part you hail from? o.o

    Isabel
    Reply

  46. Welcome Passerby! It’s so nice to have a local voice on the blog. Australia is a great place to watch anime as most things will air overnight and one can watch anime with your breakfast (which I often do). I look forward to reading your work!

    kouchan
    Reply

  54. Noooooooo I was rejected hahaha. Congratulations Passerby; your writing is superb, distinctive, alluring, passionate, and enticing and it would be a pleasure to read whatever post you may have in the future. From what i can tell, you seem to have your hands deep within the geektastic goop that is the nerdy world which means you’ll be able to provide a wide array of insight to all the things we love

    sonicsenryaku
    Reply

  68. congrats on your appointment and upward mobility. unfortunately i won’t be reading your writing this season since i’ve already decided to drop persona from my watch list.

    hwighting
    Reply

  73. You got me at, “turn to ash in the sun.” Hahaha! And I really enjoyed your intro ha! I’m now excited to read your covers on Persona 4 the Golden and Hanamonogatari.

    So, this is it! Congrats on being the chosen one and welcome aboard mate!

    Heii
    Reply

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