Category: My Way or the Anime

If you hurt one of us, you answer to all of us!

Thanks to my persistent laziness, this week yields another Stilts Out Loud: Special Report, where I partner up with another RandomC writer (and/or an underground Fight Club brawler…whoever is available) and talk about whatever entertains us. This week we have an article penned by none other than Stereoman, and to any of you who know her, the topic should come as no surprise. And if it does, I suggest you look at the title of this post. It sorta spells the whole thing out.

Erh, what was I talking about? Right, nakama. Stereoman, take it away!

More after the jump.

Remember your ABCs: Always. Be. Closing. Capitalism, Ho! …or else.

In business, an elevator speech is a 30-second summary of an idea. The thought is that, if you were to find yourself in an elevator with a very important person, you should be ready to persuasively pitch your idea in 30 seconds, or else the elevator will reach its destination and the very important (and busy) person will ignore your crappy idea and leave.

What does this have to do with anime? Well, anime have elevator pitches too. Or more correctly, they have premises which can be boiled down into one sentence summaries, which is practically the same thing.

More after the jump.

Not the post we deserve, but the one we need.

I write this after having finally seen The Dark Knight Rises, over a month and a half after its release. Yeah, I’m weird like that. Yet, as good stories are apt to do, it has put me in a writing mood, so it’s time to get these thoughts down before they melt away. This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for some time, and I’ve saved its release until the end of this season because that’s the only time it could come out. This is a time of endings, along with a few not-so-endings, and that’s exactly what I want to talk about. Here is my not-so-controversial (but frequently ignored) thesis:

All good stories must come to an end.

Though this is a post about endings, there are surprisingly few spoilers ahead. More after the jump.

Good guys? I don’t see any good guys here.

Let’s talk about good guys and bad guys. Here’s what I think about them – there aren’t any.

All notable spoilers are behind spoiler tags. More after the jump.

A manly man with manly emotions…and he dies. Coincidence?

As a hot-blooded American male, I have historically had a contentious relationship with emotions. Yet, at the risk of getting pummeled by all my male brethren, let’s talk about exactly that.

Potential spoilers on Clannad, Kanon, Angel Beats!, Moshidora, and Kokoro Connect. I try to keep them pretty vague though, so you’re probably safe. More after the jump.

A wild Idiot King has appeared!

And we’re back with the next edition of Stilts Out Loud! *the crowd cheers as fireworks burst overhead* On this week’s agenda is the second installment of my Emerging Trends, where we’ll talk about a character type that we’re all familiar with – the Honest Idiot. Why, I think I see one creeping up to us now…

More after the jump.

I wonder, I wonder, I wonder what could have been…

Imagination is a powerful thing. Any good horror writer knows that the scariest monsters are not the ones described on the page or shown on the screen, but the ones the audience conjures in their own minds. But what about when storytellers aim our imaginations not towards horrors unseen, but at wonderful events that are never to be?

Post may include spoilers for: Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Kanon (2006), Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Angel Beats!, Aquarion EVOL, and some random Star Wars novels. Yeah, we’re going deep into the weeds this week. Trust me, it’s worth it. More after the jump.

Yes, I’m sticking with the absurdly long titles for these posts. To make up for this, here’s a cute picture. Nyaaan~

And we’re back with another edition of Branching Out. This week, we’re going to be talking about the genre that is responsible for the creation of this series, Slice-of-Life! Get excited people. I know I am.

More after the jump.

Objection! Does this post need to exist? o.O

Generally, I’m a pretty happy, optimistic guy, at least when it comes to anime. Sure, not every show is a masterpiece, but what’s the point of getting worked up about at TV show? It’s far better to just enjoy it for what it is and get worked up about important things, like why the couple who lives next door always comes back and blares music at 2 o’clock in the morning when I have work the next day and IS IT REALLY NECESSARY TO PUT YOUR TRASH OUT IN THE NUDE!?!?

Ahem. Anyway…

More after the jump.