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Mou daijoubu, nazete? Watashi ga kita! For those of you who don’t know me yet, you can call me Stars. After following RandomC’s posts for years and years, I’m joining the RC crew as a shiny new writer. Since I’m going to be taking my position here very seriously, it’s important to know that I am fluent in Vine, anime, and movie references. Please feel free to converse with me in my native language at any time. It’s an honor to be here among such a talented group of people and I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of what makes RandomC so amazing.
My exposure to anime started in the 90’s with Sailor Moon, but really hit its stride with Inuyasha, Dragonball Z, and Naruto in middle school. At first I was pretty adverse to watching them, but a friend of mine had a Sesshomaru plushie in her room that stole my heart, as well as copies of Inuyasha: Affections Touching Across Time and Inuyasha: Swords of an Honorable Ruler, which combined were more than enough to set me on my current path. Later on, thanks in no small part to RC’s recommendations, I expanded from the shonen genre and magical girls to include science fiction and mysteries like Steins;Gate, or the works of Gen Urobuchi, namely Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica and Psycho-Pass.
College was my action/comedy days. I still remember binging Gintama and Kyou Kara Ore Wa!! while pouring over hundreds of pages of Renaissance literature. And since we’re on that topic, Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat in a Tub of Goldfishes is a very funny poem by Thomas Gray, among other mock-heroic poems, such as The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope. I suppose one of my favorite writers of all time has to be William Shakespeare. Hamlet was one of the first plays I truly related to, since the main character always seems so young, regardless of the adaptation. The main conflict of the play, whether it is right to avenge a sin with another sin, is a struggle that audiences can understand, and no matter how questionable his choices might be sometimes, I’ll always be rooting for my angsty prince.
Even if he chooses to live with a warthog and a meerkat and eat bugs for the rest of his life.
Moving on, I’ve been interested in Japanese history and culture since I was thirteen. I studied Japanese for two years in college, went on to teach English in China, and then when I’d finally saved up enough to travel to Japan, I went straight to Mt. Fuji. Okay, so it was more like I booked a hotel four hours away from the mountain, took a train to Fujinomiya, booked another hotel, then jumped on a bus to Mt. Fuji in the morning, but you get the idea. While I was climbing down the mountain, I kept falling on my rear and sliding down the trail. After a while, I slid so far I nearly tumbled off the trail, and when I looked up I saw an elderly Japanese man who ominously told me in perfect English, “You don’t belong on this mountain.” Later when I met him again, he spoke only Japanese. So, was what I heard a hallucination due to altitude sickness? Or a very frustrated youkai? You decide.
As for hobbies, I enjoy buying books I don’t read, writing fanfiction, and tearing my hair out while attempting to make sense of the canon Star Trek, Marvel, and Overwatch timelines. I also like to fold origami cranes for my senbazuru. Someday, I’ll get that wish granted, and when I do, you’ll never notice any changes to your reality.
I honestly cannot wait to write posts for these exciting, silly, scary, romantic shows, and to share my thoughts with you all. If you have any comments, criticism or feedback, I’d love to hear it, since this is a great opportunity for me to not only share my interests but to improve my skills as a writer. To tell you the truth, that’s one of the best things about writing in general – there’s no cap on your abilities. Your capacity to grow and change and learn is boundless. With all that in mind, thank you everyone for this incredible opportunity. It’s a dream come true.
And now, since all the cool kids are doing it:
よろしくおねがいします。
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Welcome!
Ha ha – me too. Although I’m slowly working my way through the
first series of Tom Swift books (from early 1910’s).
It’s good to have someone who’s survived a youkai encounter —
now I feel less crazy…
Ah – 2 new writers just in time for the upcoming spring season.
Nice! It’s always great to have an appreciation for the classics
And it sounds like you may have a bit of a tale to tell, as well.
Thank you so much for the warm welcome 🙂
“This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them!”
Two new writers in a row 😀 I hope you can enjoy writing reviews, Stars!
The more the merrier, right?
And what’s better than writing about the shows you love for people who love those shows, too? Off the top of my head, I’m drawing a blank
What would be even better than a youkai encounter was if that was literally the only English sentence the old guy knew, just because he was tired of tourists tripping all over Mt. Fuji.
And if you want another brain-teaser, try figuring out the Legend of Zelda timelines(hint: there are three). Even with a road-map by the creators they don’t make a lot of sense.
Hello and congrats.
Honestly, you’re right. That would be really funny. I wasn’t prepared at all for Mt. Fuji. Next time, though…
I know someone who’s playing BOTW right now and they’re always giving me spoilers without context. I’ll have to ask them about the three timelines and see what they say.
Hello and thank you!
Common thread between our new kouhai: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, Inuyasha… and Mt Fuji.
This doesn’t mean anything, I’ve just run out of interesting things to say.
So, er, welcome!
*nods sagely* Ah, yes. The anime starter kit. It starts with Sailor Moon and ends with Mt. Fuji.
Thank you so much for the welcome XD
Welcome aboard, Stars! Glad to have you around, and look forwards to reading your first episode post! Have to say I’m not a fan of Rape of the Lock, but an appreciation for Hamlet definitely signifies refined taste in literature! It’s my favourite Shakespeare play too. And I actually never saw the parallels with Lion King, haha. My favourite novel is East of Eden. Absolutely transformative novel that one. Otherwise, happy to have another literary person on the team. Rock on!
Thank you, Zaiden!
What can I say? I have a weakness for grandiose language describing mundane events. To be fair, I didn’t realize that Lion King was inspired by Hamlet until later on in life, which begs the question of where’s Horatio? Is it Zazu? After that, the second movie draws heavily from the plot of Romeo and Juliet, and 1.5 is similar to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
I’ve never read East of Eden, but I did read Of Mice and Men in highschool. Plus, I’ve heard good things about The Grapes of Wrath.
Thanks for the rec!
Welcome! It was very interesting to read about your anime-way. What romantic show do you love the most?
That’s a good question. I have to admit that I tend not to watch romantic animes very often, but if romantic comedies are okay, then Skip Beat or Fruits Basket would have to be my all time favorite
Welcome Stars! Looking forward to the posts you’ll be doing, especially with references to literature and Gintama.
I’m looking forward to it, too! And what’s this? A fellow fan of the silver-haired samurai, perhaps?
Welcome! I’ve folded probably 1,600 cranes. I have no idea if these will help you, but my tips for making a bunch: stack three or four papers and do the initial halving folds to all of them at once, align folds to just before the creases, and it’s easier to do them without looking at them if you do the simpler phases of folding to several in a row (instead of finishing one completely before moving on to the next). Best of luck!
1,600? That’s incredible! I haven’t even hit a quarter of that many yet.
And that’s really good advice. I’ll be sure to give it a try
For years I used the username starss. Maybe it’s time I change that. 😀
It’s okay! There’s a lot of stars in the sky. It’s only natural that there’s a lot of us, too
One more writer?! Awesome!!! Welcome! <3
Thank you XD
Welcome! Question: are either of the new staff planning to pick anything up this season?
Kind of. Miss Simplice has already begun coverage of Doukyonin wa Hiza. As for the other stuff, you’ll see 🙂
Nice intro, good to have you 🙂
Thanks! It’s good to be here
Yay!
*high five*
Welcome, Stars! Don’t ghost on us now! 😉
No worries! I wouldn’t do that to you guys
Such stories can really happen in any college. I remember when our whole class decided not to go to literature class. We were all almost expelled. But fortunately, we were just asked to write a 2000 word essay on conscience. I decided not to waste time on this and turn to the EduBirdie service for help. I even left my review here https://essayservicescanner.com/edubirdie-review/ This is an extremely good service that will provide you with quality paperwork.