Miscellaneous

Introduction – A New Writer? Shocking Surprise!

Pancakes 1

A new writer out of the blue? Is this real life? Well boys and girls it certainly is. Stilts and crew were gracious enough to offer me a spot here at RandomC and I simply could not refuse. So who just signed onto Kyuubey’s onerous contract? Some probably know me already from the occasional comment, but for the uninitiated I am Pancakes, the tasty breakfast delight. Canadian by birth and home, I am currently working on a chemical engineering degree, because money is a necessity and nothing screams money quite like oil and pharmaceuticals. I did have dreams to be a doctor, but some dreams are not meant to be.

My anime experience is like many others. I started out in elementary school with the trifecta of Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and Digimon before quickly ascending into the magic of Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh. By the time grade eight rolled around, however, social standing took precedence and my anime watching ended. What got me back into anime (and incidentally made me an anime addict) was this little show called Code Geass. I was bored one day during my first degree (biology) so plugged it in. I never became hooked on something faster. Binged the entire series over a week, went searching for more, and never looked back. By time of graduation in 2013 I was a convert to watching anime as it aired.

Conventions / Miscellaneous

Anime Expo 2016

「Anime Expo 2016」

Photos Courtesy of Takaii & Xumbra

Even though I wasn’t able to enjoy the convention for its entirety (I was up in Northern California for most than half because of family related things), what I was there for was simply amazing. Luckily I also had Guardian Enzo, Xumbra, and Jig there to cover things in my steed (their impressions down below!).

Best of Anime / Miscellaneous

The Best of Anime 2015


Now that 2015 is officially over, it’s time for our yearly pitchfork skewering foray into annoying everyone with our questionable opinions, the Best of Anime 2015 post! As with last year, the post will be a collaboration between the two writers who watched the most series this year (and also had the most time on their hands). Relative newcomer Samu takes the place of Stilts, who had a little too much to drink this time around. The total series watched list for both writers ended up at about 100 this year, and while we won’t guarantee total objectivity (like such a thing exists), we’re generally well-informed about whatever we’re wrong about.

More after the jump.

Disclaimer: As always, disclaimers abound. Please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for us isn’t necessarily best for you, and that’s perfectly fine. This list shouldn’t be taken as some kind of inviolable truth, but rather the opinions of two guys who had too much time on their hands and spent it conjuring up a list of picks based on all the anime they watched. Think of them more as a recommendations influenced by our own tastes, experiences, and personal impressions. Before you go bashing one of our choices, please make sure you’ve at least seen it and know where we’re coming from. Finally, all we ask is that you respect our opinions and the opinions of others in the comments, just like we respect yours. Thank you.

Disclaimer #2: The choices in this post are not reflective of the opinions of all Random Curiosity writers. They are solely the opinions of myself (Zephyr) and Samu, save for where otherwise noted.

Miscellaneous / Season Schedule / Series Introduction

Winter 2016 Non-Schedule

A mysterious schedule. Let the freaking out begin.

Normally, this is where we would publish our blogging schedule. We’re going to do something different this time.

We won’t be announcing any blogging picks until the second or third week of the season. This is a change which, if it works well, we will continue with going forward. Read on to find out why.

Miscellaneous / Poll

Reader’s Choice – Best of Anime 2015 Poll

The end of the year is here and it’s time for the tenth Annual Reader’s Choice poll. Do you have a favorite series you’d like to see win? Are you just curious to see what everyone else enjoyed this year? Either way, the microphone’s in your hands now. Make your vote count.

As per the usual, there will be two polls for you to vote on this year – one for regularly broadcast TV series, and another for OVA/movies. We’re asking you for your top 5 picks in each poll, which should stop the results from being heavily skewed towards the mega-popular shows. This year we have an astounding 194 TV series/shorts and 111 OVA/movies for you to choose from, so make sure you look over the entire list before deciding. Keep in mind that like all entertainment, anime is subjective. There is no one size fits all here. Please respect the opinions of others, even if you may disagree with them.

More after the jump.

Miscellaneous

Introduction – “I know it’s not ordinary. But who ever loved ordinary?”

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.

Miscellaneous

Oh Yeah. We Were Recruiting a New Writer, Weren’t We?

“Aren’t you supposed to be doing something, Stiltsanashi-kun?”

It’s summer, I thought. That means people should have extra time to read applications, right? Bring someone in early and we’d have plenty of time to get them settled in before the autumn season, I figured. Maybe they’ll even have time to help us with previews!

Only it turns out, everyone who reads the applications isn’t a student (which I knew), and the summer isn’t any less busy for us full-time workers. (Related: The monthly impressions will be back when our monthly review ringleader, Cherrie, doesn’t have four billion things on her plate.)

Whoopsie.

We did finally get through all the applications though, so we do have a new writer incoming! (Woo!) And, as is quickly becoming standard, it was a difficult decision, because there were a bunch of great writers (and cool people) among the lunatics who applied.

Seriously. I don’t say that just to assuage your wounded pride. There were several applicants who didn’t get the spot by a razor’s edge, people I would have happily brought on. It’s an embarrassment of riches around here. Probably ’cause you all rock. Also: Are smart, intelligent, savvy, and handsome and/or beautiful. And easily flattered? (I can only hope.)

More after the jump.