Princess Tutu 10th Anniversary: An Appreciation Post

Everybody has times when they feel that they are unable to reach their dream. But deciding that there is no way you can do something is nothing more than a way of comforting yourself when you lack motivation. Are you sure you are not fooling yourself about how you feel? About what exactly is most important to you? 

- Neko-sensei

On the 16th of August, 2002 an original anime aired in Japan that had been over a decade in the making. The anime was, of course, Princess Tutu.  My ultimate topic for fangirling and ranting. My guilty pleasure. A metaphysical masterpiece. A show that challenged what it meant to be a magical girl years before Madoka did. Quite possibly the best feminist anime since Revolutionary Girl Utena. A true gem for those who persist in watching past the first few episodes. And one of the most relatable works I have ever come across.

Obviously, yesterday was the show's 10th birthday and I'm weeping because I somehow managed to miss it, even though I'd been thinking about it since the beginning of the year. I feel as if I've missed my child's 21st or something ahaha. But even if I am a day late, I have to contribute my share to love towards to show on this momentous occasion. Lord knows I have enough of it.

If you've read my blog before, you know the drill. There are four main characters, all of which get their fair share of screen time and character development, and all of which play several different roles. It's kinda something like this:

Ahiru: Literally a duck, transformed by a sadistic, dead writer into...
A clumsy, genki, duck-like, sweet girl who goes to ballet school and crushes on the emotionless popular guy, which leads her to...
Transform into Princess Tutu, a fairytale character, from said sadistic writer's story, whose only role into the story was to confess her to to the prince and then vanish into a speck of light. However, her role in the current story is to help the prince regain pieces of his fractured heart.
Also, Fakir's muse later on.

Mytho: An emotionless, innocent and naive ballet student, popular with the ladies because of his effeminate features and faraway look. Actually emotionless because...
He's the prince from the sadistic writer's story. He's come out of the book after tearing his heart (and therefore apparently his emotions) out to stop a monster raven from eating it and taking over the world.

Fakir: An asshole who tries to stop Ahiru/Tutu from helping Mytho regain his heart. A dick who is physically and emotionally abusive. This is because...
He's been trying to protect Mytho since he came out of the story when Fakir was a small, orphaned child. Despite truly caring for Mytho's wellbeing, the main reason he doesn't want him regain his heart is because...
He's the incarnation of the knight from the same fairytale, whose fate was to protect the prince, but die in vain, being torn in half. Thus, whenever he tries to be a knight and fight with a sword, he fails. Which later leads him to discover that...
He is a direct descendant of the sadistic writer of the fairytale, who is currently controlling everyone with another story. He also has the power to make stories into reality, but only when he writes about Ahiru. Ship ship ship.
He is also a kawaii blushing dork who gets awkward about nudity and has a soft spot for cute, fluffy animals.

Rue: Mytho's apparent girlfriend at the academy. Originally Ahiru's rival in love, she looked as if she'd become the big bad because...
She is also the daughter of the evil raven from the story.
Or not, as you find out later. She was really just kidnapped at birth, deprived of human love, and told by the Raven that Prince Mytho, who loved all people, was the only person in the world capable of loving her.
In the end, she is the one who proclaims her love for Mytho and sacrifices herself for him, not Tutu.

Understandably, all the leads suffer from very serious and very real identity crisis. Though Ahiru can transform into the mature and talented Tutu, as a girl she is underdeveloped and downright untalented at dancing. As a girl she can have fun with her friends, she can talk to Mytho, squabble with Fakir and dance with Rue, but she's really a duck. And a mere duck can't do anything, right?

Rue doesn't have a clue 99% of the time whether she's really Rue, or if she's the villain Princess Kraehe. And despite her love for Mytho being so strong, how could he ever love her, if she was the daughter of his enemy? Fakir's got more issues than Windows Vista. He doesn't want to be a knight. He doesn't want to be a writer. He doesn't want to accept that he needs to be involved in any of this, and he is for Mytho's sake, and later Ahiru's. He struggles with massive amounts of self-doubt, but like everyone else, he pushes forward. Mytho literally doesn't even know who he is and although he wants to regain his heart, a lot of the feelings he gets back cause him more trauma than anything else.

What I think I love most about this show is that, despite having all these internal struggles, everyone saves everyone. And everyone saves themselves. The women in this show are never talked down as helpless, weak or in need of a man. Instead, they fight even harder than the guys for what they believe in. This is a show where the princesses save the prince. I also love their strength isn't shown as emasculating the men that they save. When the men need saving, they're glad of the ladies' kickass powers and determination. There's no sexist comments about Ahiru's flat chest, or Kraehe's plunging neckline. When there's disagreements between the group, it's because of clashing beliefs, not because of gender. It also makes me really happy to see the girls being as badass as they are, while still being feminine. Because there's nothing wrong with femininity. This is a show that says "It's okay to be girly. It's okay to have weaknesses. Most importantly, it's okay to just be yourself, whoever that may be. Just stand up for what you believe in, and fight for those you care about."

Speaking of fighting for those you care about, can I take this time to insert another Fakiru rant? There's so many wonderful things about them, but for me, these are a few of my favourite things.

1. Their relationship is based on mutual trust and respect and loyalty. Canonically speaking, it has nothing to do with lust or sexual attraction or idolisation. They see each other for who the really are, a dorky coward and a duck. And they fully accept each other for it.

Fakir: Everyone is scared of returning to their true selves, because they're used to being given roles in stories. The real you is a duck. The real me... in the end, the real me has done nothing but be protected since I was a child. Even if I'm truly like that, I still want the story to end.
Ahiru: [..] If that happens, I'll go back to being just a bird, won't I?
Fakir: [...] That's alright, isn't it? Because that's who you truly are. Even after that happens, I'll stay by your side forever
Ahiru: (thinking) [...] I'm weak, but for some reason, Fakir always makes me stronger.

Me: Fffffffffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkk ;_;

2. They making an amazing team.

Ahiru: My feelings belong to me. That's the same with anybody's feelings. They're all precious. I am not a marionette.
Fakir: I won't sit and be frightened by fate while everyone faces it.
Ahiru: I want to protect Mytho!
Fakir: I will!
Both: Together!

3. They can share anything with each other.

Ahiru: I could go check this out if I was a bird, but... if it's Fakir.
*proceeds to turn into a duck, exposing her greatest vulnerability and weakness to someone who she was enemies with not long ago, because she's seen his most vulnerable side while she was her duck-self. And he's just about to get the shock of his life.*

4. Their interactions are hilarious.

I'll stop now, but yes, they are my beautiful otp team forever. It really is possible to ship any of the characters in this show together though, because their interactions are just fantastic. There are some final things that I would like to fangirl over, though. Firstly, the art of the show. A lot of art from that time period really, really hasn't aged well. But the pastel colours and and softer lines used have helped it stay looking pretty good. Also, the character designs are pretty definitive and have a nice style to them. Obviously there were some budget issues, which led to lots of panning shots of cels, but it blends in well and still fits quite nicely.

Lastly, I love how much darker and complex this show is than you'd expect. This is no happy, predictable fairlytale. Everyone challenges their prescribed roles. No one is who you think they are. None of the characters stay stagnant or the same. Even Ahiru's two comic-relief friends face trials and tribulations over the course of the narrative. Then there's the whole fate vs. free will debate that I will never get tired of. And Neko-sensei's deep rants when he's not talking about marriage. And the "Fakir-sees-Ahiru-naked-and-freaks-out" running gag. And the story's lack of a proper villain. And the classical music. And the ballet/ fairytale references. And the animal motifs. And the dancing. And and and...

This is all just the tip of the iceberg that is this fantastic show. Ten years on, and it's draw more peoples into its small, but dedicated fanbase every day. I've recommend it many times before, and I'll recommend it again. This show helped me find the strength to believe in myself, and push through that final awful year of high school. I've watched it in its entirety 9 times in the past year, one of those times being recently with my sister. I forced her to sit down and watch it, even though she was very skeptical. Within 9 episodes, she was begging me to let her watch it, and started marathoning ~7 episodes a day. So, if a generally mainstream 1D fangirl can appreciate the awesomeness that is Tutu, then you can too! Watch at least the first ten episodes, even if it is a push, and I guaranteeing you'll be given a very rewarding viewing experience. It would make me very happy if the Tutu love could continue to spread for many decades more!

This has been a Princess Tutu fangirl post by [demisemiquavergirl]. Tutu on!

Life in Demisemiquavers: The Abridged Post

Gosh, I love that feeling I get when the clock strikes 11p.m, and for some reason, I suddenly feel compelled to blog. My mind has been a complete whirlpool these past few days, and I have much to rant about. However, as wonderful as the night is, I know that to function properly tomorrow, I need to sleep tonight. Therefore, I'm making an abridged post! I wish I could make this post even half as funny as an abridged series (then again, some of them seriously lack humour and taste), but my brain is frizzled in the shizzle... drizzle. That totally reminds me of this mobile phone advertisement I saw in Hawaii. There were different stereotypes posting their way of saying 'LOL' on this full-keypad phone. I was as such:

Nerd: That's insanium in the cranium!
Goth: I'm laughing on the dark and pitiful inside.
Muso: /singing/ Shake ya funny makeeerr... Shake it. Shake it hard.

Okay, so nothing I said even appear there, but I said that it reminded me of it. My mind like to go on weird paths and tangents. Maybe it's not a linear narrative. Non-linear narratives are going to either be the success or the death of me. Only the next week will tell! Away with this tarrying, let the abridged areas of my life begin!

The Good:
Most assessment is finished for the term! To top this off, exam block allows me to have tomorrow off school, and Monday is a public holiday. Somewhere under 100 days left of school, ever. Did I mention the I go on proper holidays in a week and a half, too? Yeah, this is damn fine. Holidays always means more time to do lots of crazy things. So, expect moarrrrr random from my bloggings once they begin!

The Bad:
Well, I do still have assessment. Everyone is sick, and I'm starting to join that club. And, Noodleton. Just... urgh. Anyone who knows what I'm talking about, knows what I'm talking about /eyeroll/ My multiple discussions with him today only fuelled my dislike of him both personally and professionally. Especially the one in the afternoon. He's so smart, but he really needs to learn how to do his job properly.

The School:
English Extension is the only subject I have yet to be assessed for this term. I have a draft due tomorrow, which I have not even started. The lecture is due and week and a day from today. Despite having talked to my teacher about the assignment, I'm still pretty baffled. My main steam English teacher was much more helpful, thankfully. Not that I'm supposed to have talked to him or anything... Gotta love the teacher wars at my school. That aside, I don't know how I'm going to do the assignment. I've seen the structure for the defense now, so that's how good. However, I still don't really know how I'm going to do a complex transformation of Dracula. I've decided to give Mina the power role, and therefore most likely write from her perspective. Seeing as my chosen theorist insists that linear narratives restrict the freedoms of women, I'm going to have to make my transformation completely random. Emails dated at different times are seriously looking like my main option right now. Not that I know what to put in those emails. Yeah, I'm as stuffed as a teddy bear.

The Anime:
I've started watching yet another anime! Seriously, I always seem to get into anime that either have really strange names or premises, or ones that just aren't that well known or popular. Well, not always, but that has been a trend recently (excluding Shugo Chara! because, dayum that's popular). My newest anime obsession is no exception to this. In fact, it doesn't even have it's own TVTropes page, despite having a loyal and not-tooo-small following. Hakushaku to Yousei, which translates to "Earl and Fairy" would be the anime I'm talkin' 'bout. When I saw the English translation of the title, I literally headdesk'd. I mean, I've had to tell people for a few months now that my favourite anime is Princess Tutu, which makes me sound like a brainless fairytale-loving child, when in reality, the show has an almost exclusively adult following, who respect it for it's metaphysical elements and the way in which it deconstructs reality, whilst parodying theatre and fairytale genre. On top of the awesome characters and shipping. But, I'm getting off track again. I was "totes devo" that my new anime obsession had a name that was almost equally as childish-sounding. Thankfully, it's most often called by the Japanese name, so let's stick with Hakushaku to Yousei.

It is set in 19th century London, and tells the story of 17-year-old Lydia Carlton, a 'fairy doctor' whose world is turned upside down when she accidentally gets involved with Lord Edgard Ashenbert (and by 'accidentally invovled', I mean kinda abducted, kinda forced to run for her life with. Whoot death plots). I'm pretty sure that Edgar's actually a criminal on the run, and his real name is John. But he's not really bad? And his name might actually be Edgar? Yeah, three episodes in, and I still don't understand him at all. He totally has a servant named Raven, who everyone seems to fangirl over. Not that Edgar doesn't also have his share of fangirls. This isn't at all surprising, seeing as he looks like Usui from Kaichou wa Maid Sama! (did I get the spelling right, ClearlyUnfocused? I didn't bother checking it). They are both fangirl-worthy. The ending credits are just blatantly fanservice-y. I was thinking to myself "What demographic is this made for? It's too intense to be for children. It's got too many romantic moments to be for men. Then who?" A few minutes later, I saw the ending creit animation, which consists on shots of the show's male characters nude, presumably sleeping on beds, and only covered on their lower torso by a sheet. I was all "Riiiiight. This is for young women! ZOMG! THAT MEANS I'M ACTUALLY PART OF THE INTENDED DEMOGRAPHIC FOR ONCE. SCORE!" I'm really loving it. Romance + mystery + different time period + a little bit of violence + anime mancandy + some fantasy = win for me! Aaaaanyways, as much as this anime hooked me in from pretty much the first second I watched it, I'm not too sure what's going on. Well, I think I know what's going on, but I don't know how to explain it. Which is probably good, because I have made this section way to fat already. WHY DOES EVERYTHING I HAVE GET OBESE? D:

The Theatre:
This weekend, I'm seeing the hilariously awesome return season of [title of show] with my galpals, which shall be wonderful! Then, next Friday and Saturday night, I'm seeing the return season of Jesus Christ Superstar, which I am incredibly excited about as well! And, I have just received word that I'm flying interstate to see Don Giovanni at the opera house with my uncle and grandparents in October.

The Religious:
Because I am in a religious mood, I saved the best until last. I don't believe in forcing one's religion on others, but this is my blog, and I would like to share a verse that I have always loved. Et hem.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a great voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people and Gos himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."
Rev. 21:1-4

This never fails to fill me with such wonderful hope. We must remember that, being from Revelation, there's going to be a lot of symbolism kicking off, and a lot of things that simply don't make sense in our culture and context. But, the underlying message of hope for the future still rings through. I personally think what it means is this: Everything is temporary, and will come to pass. Enjoy what you have, while you can, as it will not last. However, pain and suffering shall also pass, and one day, when all these worldly things and feelings are gone, you will be left in the peace of God, who loves you, and all shall be well.

God has been so good to me lately. Being the sinner that I am, I got frustrated with Him, and said that he wasn't in my life enough. The next day, a series of ridiculously ironic things happened, and I gained a lot more direction. Yeah, He was all "Bitch, please. I'm always here, you just haven't been looking for me." What can I say? My God is an awesome God.

Aw nuts, I've gone and spent way too long on this post anyway. SHITAKIMUSHROOMCAKES! It's almost midnight, and I've got a long day tomorrow, thanks to the existence ofExtEng. Goodnight, moon children!

Ninja invasion of the head and stomach. Now with TD kinda rant!

Oooooh, what's the buzz? Hopefully it's not my phone going off... or my stomach churning. Well, right now I'm chilling at the state library. I just finished my English assignment, and I am rather proud of my productivity. Especially considering how terribly unproductive I was yesterday. I took the day off school, because my stomach decided to start churning like crazy, leaving me wanting to, ah, do the opposite of eating, to put it nicely. I kept thinking to myself that I was going to work on lots of school things. But instead, I did nothing. Well, I didn't do nothing. I seemed to get well fairly early in the day, so, I went out and rode my bike and spent time with my dog. And then I spent hours on TVtropes. Then I spent an hour watching the PT finale, and the commentary for it. I'm such an idiot. I assumed that because I didn't cry my eyes out like a little baby the first time, and get rather depressed, I wouldn't this time. Not true. I must have looked like pathetic incarnate: sitting on the floor crying like a kid while watching anime, wiping makeup all over my face, and stuffing my mouth with chocolate. Really smooth.

So, this post is now being continued several hours later. I really should be in bed, but, I'm a night dwelling person. I got some night driving hours tonight, which was awesome. Unlike most people, I actually find it easier to drive at night than during the day. I tell you people, it's the larger pupils. And I'm just naturally semi-nocturnal. I have been meaning to watch episode three of AnoHana, but for some reason, my internet is loading the video at a snail pace. As in five minutes of video loaded in half an hour slow. So, I've been lurking around the Total Drama fandom while it loads. Despite being an on-and-off mega-fanatic over the series, I'd never really looked into the fandom until yesterday. By on-and-off I mean, when I don't have anything to do with it, it's cool. I don't act like an addict or anything. But, when I watch it, I suddenly feel like I have to watch more. And more. And more. Espically with World Tour. Oh dear. Anyway, back to the fandom lurking. Eh, it's not a very active one. I mean, it is, but only on the Wikia page and Fanfiction. The LJ and Fanpop pages are pretty inactive. The shippers, though not exactly in-your-face bothersome, are quite annoying. I don't mind fanon, but, there is just waaaay too much crack shipping going on. I would go so far as to say there are more fanon shippers then canon. Some of the ships are alright. Some of them are just weird, and way too sexualised. Especially when they revolve around Noah, Cody or Heather. Especially when it's all of them at once.

Why are Noah and Cody the most popular male characters? More the point, why do most girls these days seem to like men that are a) not masculine b) look incredibly young/ like women. I read an article by Francis Whiting that suggested this was the case becase effeminate looking men were not confronting or scary; they are approachable heroes/obsessions. Once again reaffirming how much I deviate from the norm, because I'm just like "GROW A P*NIS AND MAN UP!" But anyway, I was really shocked when I discovered that Sierra was a really accurate parody of a TD fangirl, with her Cody-obsession, because he actually was the most popular male character in the show. To be honest, I thought Duncan would have been the favourite. Apparently not. It always shocks me as to just how unpopular Alejandro is with the fans. According to a poll on Fanpop, Sierra was chosen as the better new character. I mean, she's hilarious and all, but, like, what? What is wrong with you all? His stereotype pretty much defines that he's meant to swooned over. But no, apparently girls these days want weenie boys. ** /grabs paper bag and hyperventilates/

Phew! Now that that's done, I can finish ranting. Yes, I'm aware that no one really has much of a clue what I'm on about, but hey, Kira, what you're doing is purple. /waits forty seconds, with cheesy elevator music playing/ Yaywhoot death! Becuase, making an even more abstract reference was toootally going to save this post. Mkay, I promise y'all that when I've finished my ranting, I'll have a super-hyper-crazeballs time to make up for the boredom you've endure. Because I'm just that lovely, word. Gah, I feel like having a high-high-high-ho randomific posting time now. No. must finish ranting. Don't want any unresolved ranting tension. I mean, it's worse than unresolved sexual tension. And that's really annoying.

Moving forward! Yes, I just made a Julia Gillard reference. How diabolically terrible of me. Moving even more forward! I'd been getting so into the Fakiru pairing, that I'd forgotten that AleHeather was my OTP beforehand. What's the deal with OTPs anyway? I got the impression that it meant one true pairing, but people seem to have more than one OTP. Or is there one per show? Anyway, I love many ships, and I'm quick to ship. Like, I did a [ClearlyUnfocused] and shipped Yukiatsu with Menma before they'd even met on AnoHana. Actually, I kinda like the idea of that being a one-sided-ship more, because that makes it tragic. I think this is the case anyway. I wouldn't know, because my dang internet is still loading at a snail pace. awkdgahsnddjia. And, I totally have character dibs on Yukiatsu. C'mon, like, messed up, good looking, not-protagonist, voiced by Takahiro freakin' Sakurai /drools/. Guys, the timbre of his voice is just so lush. I could talk about it all day. But, I won't, because I'm already getting way off topic.

 So yeppo, shipping is awesome and fun. And I just naturally do it. There are a few of us who even ship teachers at school, though it's usually crack and just for lolz. Despite this, there are very few ships that I really, really get into. I'm pretty sure AleHeather was my first proper ship. D'aww. It really doesn't have the following it deserves, but most fans of it seem to be quite intelligent. As opposed to NoahxHeather shippers who are sick little schoolboys that want to play out their nerd-gets-popular-bitch fantasies through their crack pairing. Anyways, it's still one of my favourite pairings ever, even if the creators did completely ruin it, just seconds after making it canon in the show. Huurr grr. Hopefully they'll patch things up in season five. I'm kind of scared for season five. Season four most likely going to be lameballs, because they're using all new contestants, as opposed to the old ones. But, I hope it's mildly successful, so the creators have enough funding for season five, which is rumoured to be the final season, and have all the characters which have ever been on the show. I've got my fingers crossed that they'll fix Aleheather, Duncney and Gwent, because those are easily my favourite pairings in the show. And all of them were completely ruined. Speaking of Duncney, I've been catching some of the Total Drama Action episodes of ABC3 lately. That ship is like, one of the few things season two was good for.

So, that was my very long way of telling everyone that I'm in a Total Drama-erific mood. Urgh. I just remembered that I still have to practice and learn my English oral. Superdooperlametimes. I had a careers discussion with my parents again this afternoon. They're not happy with my preferences for Uni. At all. And they're totally bummed that I don't have a specific career I want to do. The only thing that's ever really interested me it theatre management, and like hell that'll ever happen. Maybe I should try and work towards it anyway. I don't know. Maybe I should just do Journalism at uni. What do you all think? Am I decent enough at writing to do something like that?

It's nearly midnight, so I should be off to bed now. My AnoHana episode hasn't even loaded halfway yet. Fffff! My parents have another rugby game booked for tomorrow night. Apparently there's going to be a crowd over over fifty thousand, which breaks the record crowd in the stadium for that type of game. This is all coolbeans, but I really need the time for studiez. Ah well, it'll be good for me to get out of the house again.

SO LUCKAY! Yer, I haz that stuck in my head. Oh dear, LOLcat infestation of the brain. Actually, it's because I found a heap of Fakir crack macros that someone on LJ had made. They made me laugh so hard. I'd put one on here as a picture, but that would require asking the creator for sharing rights, and like, that requires social contact with peoples I've never talked to before. Just click on the link and chck them out, even if heaps of the humour is fandom specific. Anyways, continuing with the random. Here's some random life facts:

Last night I dreamt that I was a beepboxer.
Today a gay guy told me that he liked my boots.
Today my own mother hit on me in jest.
At an eisteddfod on Thursday, I almost fell backwards when I stood up on stage.
I often think everything smells like pancakes.
Today a Tomtom said I drove across the water. Ridin' Jesus style, brah.
I also confessed to loving my ninja today. Lucky he was too busy pimpin' this blog to notice :#3
Wraps are too expensive.
Life is a hard and painful game. In short, yo mama so fat.
I can haz zzzzs?
Don't read Dracula on the bus if you're travel sick. It will only end in nausea.
I now read most things from a postcolonial perspective.
Chuck Norris found me.
Seeing weird sparkles before your eyes is usually an indication that you should go to bed.
Therefore, I'm off to the land of slumber

Farewell, my little blog following wonderkids! Remember: Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant and die. I think I just stuffed up that ITR. Did I? Eh, who really cares. Take care, chickens. And, as [Gojo] so nicely told me in what I'm guessing is a reference: If your sex is on fire, it's probably chlamidya.

** Disclaimer: I apologise to those of you who are manboy inclined. Everyone is very entitled to their preferences. Different strokes for different folks? /luminescent blush/ ⁰#⁰ Erm, I mean, there's someone for everyone? It's a good thing that not all people are attracted to the same thing, or poligomy would become massive? Okay, now I'm just making a fool out of myself. Imma shut my piehole now.

Random Post Thang: Unfinished Anime

Well, I was thinking of starting this blog post off with "POLTERGEIST MONKIES SINGING "SEX ON FIRE" AND EATING TRUFFLES DIPPED IN CHEESE FONDUE AND DANCING THE FANDANGO!" but that would be a little disrespectful to anime, seeing as it's what I'm actually blogging about. Eh, it looks like I've gone and done that anyway. Back on track. I started watching a new anime yesterday. It's called Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, which roughly translates to "We still don't know the name of the flower we saw that day." It is a ridiculously long name to write, so I'm going to call it AnoHana from now on. AnoHana tells the tale of a group of childhood friends, who spend their days having innocent fun together. This all changes when Menma, the sweet, innocent girl of the group, suddenly dies. Years later, her spirit appears to Jintan, a boy who was one of her closest friends, and told her that she was ugly, just before her death, to avoid having to confess his feelings for her. Menma claims that he must grant her dying wish, and that this can only happen if her reuintes their old group of friends. Did I mention that Jintan is the only one who can see Menma's ghost? Oh, and everyone's like, really messed up. And one of the main dudes, known as Yukiatsu, is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, whose voice I'm in love with. The animation is really good, and I'm enjoying the show a lot so far. Plus, it's the first ongoing/current anime I've ever watched. Whoot.

Aaaaand, thanks to [Gojo], I've started re-watching Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When the Evening Cicadas Cry). Yeah, it is a complete contrast to the other anime. I don't even know how to describe it. Mystery, multiple-universes, conspiracy, murder, cute little girls, maniacal laughter, shrine gods, small town with dark secrets and RENA WITH HER HATCHET, LAUGHING LIKE A MANIAC.

Yeeeah, don't be like me. Don't watch this show late at night. In the dark. With no-one around. When things in your room keep moving for no reason.

It's a really good show, though. You should watch it. It's violent, but hey, if I can deal with it, then I'm sure everyone else can. Anyway, I noticed yesterday that I really suck at finishing anime. I've started a fair few, but only finished... Erm, not that many. So, out of boredom any random-ness, I'm going to make a list of all the animes I've watched. I'm very forgetful, so, this probably isn't all of them. Let's just see how I go with the list, mkayyeah?

Anime I have completed:

-Death Note (Episode 37)
-Angel Beats! (Episode 13)
-Clannad (Episode 24)
-Clannad~ After Story (Episode 24)
-Princess Tutu (Episode 26)
-Pretear (Episode 13)

Anime I have started watching/am watching:

- Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (Episode 2)
- Arakawa Under the Bridge (Episode 5)
- Kanon 2006 (Episode 7)
- Fruits Basket (Episode 3 + random bits and episodes from [ClearlyUnfocused])
- Special A (Episode 2)
- Rurouni Kenshin (Episode 17)
- InuYasha (Episode 75)
- InuYasha: The Final Act (Episode 2)
- Full Metal Panic! (Episode 2)
- Baccano! (Episode 3)
- Honey and Clover (Episode 2)
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Episode 7)
- Toradora! (Episode 1)
- Hetalia - Axis Powers (Episode 3)
- Rumbling Hearts (Episode 3)
- The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi (Episode 1)

Evidently, I am much, much, much better at starting anime than finishing them. I have many valid reasons for not finishing a lot of them. InuYasha and Rurouni Kenshin are both really long (168 and 94 episodes, respectively), things like Baccano! and FMP! don't have enough shipping for my current liking, and Rumbling Hearts had sex secenes, so yeah, I kinda gave up on it.

I must be like, an anime hoe. I can't commit to only one! It just proves, I reeeally have to love an anime to finish it. Or, it has to be short. I've never re-watched an entire anime series. I'm two episodes away from re-finishing Princess Tutu, which will make it my first re-watched anime series when I get there. It also has the record for my most watched episode (I have watched episode 1 five times through, even though I consider it nowhere near as good as the later episodes). And it holds the record for my most watched scene (FakirxAhiru blush-tastic moment in Episode 12. I have watched it way more times than I can count, and laughed/squee'd very hard each time). Although, if Total Drama World Tour were counted, it would have stolen both those titles. I have watched the whole season more times than I can count on my fingers, and rewatched individual episodes even more. Pssft. No obsession.

In conclusion, I need to finish me some animez! I don't know which ones on the list I will actually finish, because my moods and animes likings change quite a lot. After watching 3 episodes of Princess Tutu, I can honestly say that I thought I would never return to it, or finish it. But, we all know how that turned out. Thank goodness for reading TVtropes pages! Right now, I'm on track to finish the two series I'm watching at the moment. And I really want to watch Umineko no Naku Koro ni. I think that I will finish Baccano! one day, when I'm not so shipping-obsessed. If that day ever comes. Though it'll probably take me like, a lifetime, I think my chances of eventually finishing InuYasha are moderately high. And I know I'll watch some more Rurouni Kenshin and Arakawa Under the Bridge someday. The rest of them, we'll just have to wait and see. Goodnight bloggers!

... OH! If you were wondering where Excalibur was. He fell asleep after the first paragraph. Turns out, he isn't that interested in me making anime lists. Oh wells!

Let Me Be Your Wings...

I have spent the day in bed with a hottie... A hot water bottle that is. Yeah, I wish the second half of that sentences wasn't there too *snarky smile* I don't know why I'm smiling snarkily, because that doesn't really fit the situation at all. Ehehe, too bad.

So, yes, I have been n bed pretty much all day. I've been getting sick quite a bit lately, which isn't surprising, because I seem to catch things during term 2/3 every single year. At least I haven't got the flu yet. Fingers crossed that I miss out on that one this year! I've just got the lovely mix of your common cold, and an allergic reaction to all the pollens in the air at the moment. Let's just say, I'm not the prettiest sight at the moment. Unless, you know, coughing, sniffing girls who lie around complaining about their sore head and throat turn you on. Each to his own.

I haven't really been doing much to make myself any better. I mean, yesterday I got home, had a cup of tea, and then just flopped into bed. Sounds like a good thing to do, right? Well, it was, but it didn't last. Even sick people get bored, and despite banning myself from Facebook, I couldn't resist using my iTouch for other internet uses. Somehow, I got onto watching Princess Tutu AMVS. Some of which were so full of awesome, they made me love the show even more... If that's possible. When my parents went to bed, I decided to watch an actual episode. Yes, the correct thing to do when you have a headache, and the light from your screen is hurting your eyes, is to watch anime episodes. It was around nine o'clock, and a good time for me to actually go to bed. Alas, I went back to watch more AMVs. Someone had decided to do a few to songs from The Swan Princess, and well, that reminded me of my childhood. Am I the only one who watched that movie (and the sequel. And the sequel's sequel. Awkward!) as a kid? Most likely. But anyway, that reminded me of being a kid, and made me want to watch the movie again. So I looked up all the songs on Youtube and had a laugh to myself. The lyricist for that movie must have had a ball writing all those stereotype-y, satire-y, pun-y, funny lines. Actually, it would be really awkward if they actually took that movie seriously, because I didn't even when I was seven. I can still remember my mother literally running across the house to listen to Princesses on Parade. To be fair, it was a pretty good parody song. If I ever have kids that watch that movie, I'd sprint across the house to listen to it.

Ahhh... nostalgia.

After that session of watching stuff, I tried for an hour to get to sleep, but my headache, coupled with my refusal to have any form of medication was making it hard. Soooo, I went back to TSP songs again. The distracting thing about Youtube is all the recommended videos. I ended up finding songs from all sorts of movies from my childhood. There was everything from I Stand Alone from Quest for Camelot (I'd completely forgotten about that movie, even though I'd watched it heaps of times) to Once Upon a December from Anastasia. Despite feeling like crudballs, I had an awesome time reliving the animated awesomeness of my youth. Too bad it caused me to stay up until after midnight... I know, I'm always full of such smart ideas.

I FREAKIN' LOVED THIS MOVIE! And who didn't have a cartoon crush on Dimitri?

Okay, so you can blame Thumbelina for keeping me up so late, because I spent more times listening to the music from that movie than pretty much all of the others combined. Please, someone tell me that I wasn't the only person that watched this as a kid? I re-watched it today for the first time in about ten years, because I had nothing to do... Okay, I could have been catching up on school assignments and such. I re-watched it purely because I wanted to. I don't know which is sadder: the fact that I still knew 90% of the dialogue by heart, the fact that my Mum relocated herself to the lounge room so that she could watch it with me, while she worked, or the fact that I find it more romantic now, than I did ten years ago. I cried at the ending, for flip's sake. That never happened when I was a kid. So, I think I'm regressing. Usually you watch animated stuff as a kid and say "Awwwww. So romantic! I wants me some prince!" and come to be a teenager and say "Urgh. This is so unrealistic. Nothing like this is ever going to happen. Men aren't like this. I can't believe I used to watch this crud."

"... anything that you desire; anything at all! Everyday I'll take you higher and I'll never let you fall!" Ah, so romantic. And, Cornelius is the only male character who should be allowed to sparkle. :3

... then again, I've pretty much become a total sap at the moment. I'm so sappy, you could take all the sap out of the [many!] trees in my backyard, and combine it into one big sap-tub, and it still wouldn't describe my sappy-ness. I still think that I am regressing back into a child. Even though the song Let Me Be Your Wings never sounded as romantic when I was a kid. Like, I should shut up about this, but it bothers me. I've alwaysssssss been a hopeless romantic, and very much so as a child. To become even more so is... worrying. Because, I would really like to act like I didn't give a toss about romance. Pretty much proves that I fail at having any sort of facade. Yay fail!

Gawshdangit, I have a headache again. I should go back to bed, so I am well enough to go to school tomorrow. Man, is it bad that I don't want to be well enough to go to school tomorrow? I can afford to miss another day, but, being away just feels so good! Et hem. Anyway, I will return to school tomorrow. But, I have strangely enjoyed my day off, being sappy and ill. I'm sorry that my blog fluctuates from having amusing anecdotes, to me ranting about sap-tastic things and my issues. I tend to use this blog as a rant-outlet. Ah well. Errg. My head hurts even more. I'll actually go to bed now. Hoping that everyone had a good day!

*starry eyed* I've listened to this song way too many times in the past 24 hours. Regression, I tell you, regression! Still, even musically-analytically speaking, it's a good song. Sappily speaking, it's amazeballs.

Could We Start Again, Please?

TEH ANIMES HAZ CALLED ME BACK! Yeah bros, introductory sentence, LOLCAT style. If a post that has a title which references a Jesus Christ Superstar song, is about anime and has an opening sentences that uses "bad grammars" for comedic effect doesn't seem awesome to you, then... I don't know, you suck.

Anyway, I have returned to watching two anime series that I truly thought I had given up on. I was sitting at my laptop, after finishing the 350 words of my English Extension assignment that I said I would do today, and I though to myself: Gee, I really feel like watching Arakawa Under the Bridge.
For those of you who don't know what it is, yeah, you're sane. Okay, I'll try and make this as simple as possible...

Arakawa Under the Bridge is the weirdest show I have ever watched. In my entire life. And I have watched many shows. Holy gumballs, this anime has some strange crud kicking off. It is about a bunch of homeless people, who live under a bridge in Japan, and think that they are "kappas" from Venus. That's right venus. And they're not kidding, they actually believe that they're not from this world. There is one sane character in the entire show, and that is Rou... and he aint that sane. The son of a very wealthy businessman, Rou believes that you should never ever be indebted to anyone. If you are, you should repay the debt straight away. So, when Rou falls off a brigde, trying to get his pants that some youths stole off him and hung up the top, and the beautiful (but oh, so, so strange) Nino saves him, he flips out something chronic. Feeling that he owes his life to her, he promises Nino that he will do anything to repay her. Her request: for him to live under the bridge with her, and be her lover. Now, when I say lover, I mean 'person who hangs around', because these guys have the weirdest relationship ever.


It's even stranger than it looks... Which is a whole lotta strange.



Not as weird as the other people that live under the bridge. Did I mention, there is a guy who wears a mask that makes him look like he has a star for a head, a guy who looks and acts like a turtle, a military man who is dressed as a nun, called "Sister" and a little girl who looks innocent, but is the most violent and manipulative thing ever born. Ya know, just to name a few. And this isn't even the strangest part. I can't even describe the stuff they actually get up to, it's just crazy. But, oh, it is beyond hilarious. This anime actually gets really good reviews, and is pretty unanimously liked. I would say that it's something that has to be watched along with something else. If you watch this anime and nothing else, your brain will just explode with wtf-ery. But, if watched in conjunction with something else, it's super enjoyable. So please, watch at least one episode and come and talk to me about it. I really need someone else to share the weird with.

You haven't seen weird, til you've seen Arakawa Under the Bridge.

It's true. Oh! The animation is pretty amazeballs. KyoAni, who did CLANNAD as well as many other Visual Arts/Key animes, amongst others, take the cake for best animation, like, ever. But, the animation in Arakawa is pretty darn impressive. Especially the detail in the sky, and river water. Sooo prettyful :3

Moving on! So, I'm really glad that I started watching that anime again. It's full of awesome, in the strangest way possible. Another anime that I re-started today was Princess Tutu. Now, when I say I'm watching this anime, no-one ever takes me seriously. Even my little sister, who is such a kid at heart, laughed at me when I said I was watching such a show. Guyssssss, it's a serious anime! Whoever gave it that title should be sacked because, dude, you just lost half your audience by giving it such a kiddie, silly name. On TVtropes, it's under the trope of Better than it Sounds. And, it really, really, really, really, really, really, really is. Did I say 'really' enough times? It is so much better than it sounds. It even sounds lame when I describe it, but honestly, it's starting to become one of my favourite animes ever.

The characters are all ballet students in a fairytale-esque town, sound kiddie? Their ballet teacher is a cat, who threatens to force his underage students to marry him if they don't perform well, sound beastial and pedo? The main character is actually a duck, who has been granted the gift of being human so she can help a prince find pieces of his heart. Oh, and she turns into the beautiful ballerina Princess Tutu whenever she's doing this, sound lame?

Okay, now that we've established the strangeness. Yes, it is the second weirdest anime I have ever watched. It's pretty obvious what the first is. But, it's incredibly addictive, and just downright good. I'll admit, I watched the first three episodes a few months ago, and I liked it, but I never actually thought that I'd return to watching it. I am so glad that I did. The only reason I even started watching the show was because, well, I was looking through the Beneath the Mask page on TVtropes and I saw this:

Fakir, initially portrayed as a selfish, manipulative jerkass, accidentally reveals himself to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold when Ahiru is briefly stuck as a duck and he falls under the influence of Cuteness Proximity.

... can't breathe. Fangirling. Too. Much.

And I went "Ooooooh. Jerkass to jerk with a heart of gold. I love characters that change like that. I love this guy already." Then, I read somewhere that he was tall, dark and snarky, had a fangirl moment to myself, and decided to watch the show. Yep, Fakir was everything in a character that I had hoped he would be. Eeek! I'm fangirling here just thinking about him. New character crush! Well, I liked him when I first watched the series, but I didn't go super-uber-fangirl until today, so it counts as new.

Anyways, for some reason, watching Arakawa Under the Bridge made me want to watch Princess Tutu. So, I re-looked it up on TVtropes, and I discovered, that FakirxAhiru (the main character duck chick) actually ends up being a canon ship, and I like, jumped for joy. I had shipped these two so hard, beause they were always arguing and pretty much hated each other. I wouldn't call it BST, but it was awesome. Thank goodness Ahiru stops wanting Mytho (dude. Get your heart back and show some emotion) and decided to have a thing for a character who is actually interesting. And oh, their relationship gets so deep! Actually, I discovered that the end of the show is actually incredibly sad. If I hadn't accidentally ruined it for myself by reading spoilers, I think I may have cried. Nevertheless, I can't wait until I get to the sad/intense parts. They are going to be so epic! I just know it. Okay, so I'm only up to episode 7, and there's 38 episodes. But, at the rate I'm watching 'em, I'll get there sometime in the not too distant future.

CANZ THEY BE TOGETHER FOREVER? Argh. This picture is from a trailer for the show, where Fakir whisks Ahiru away from Mytho while he is dancing with her, and kisses her. I watched it and died. For some stupid reason, it never happens in the actual show. Devo.

Thus, I have returned to those unfinished animes. If you take the slightest interest in either, I highly recommend that you watch it. The former is hilarious and weird. The latter is weird, but oh so amazing. And, Fakir. It's worth watching the whole thing just for him. To show that the fan world agrees with me, I shall leave you with a quote from TVtropes:

Estrogen Brigade Bait

Fakir from Princess Tutu. Tall Dark And Snarky, Slipknot Ponytail, a birthmark that looks like a huge scar right across his chest shown off in the most fanservicey manner possible; a Deadpan Snarker who eventually becomes/is revealed to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, fiercely loyal, determined and protective; has a tragic backstory and a very strong sense of inadequacy, since his "role in the story" is basically to die; has epic swordfights; is completely wrapped up in Mytho to the point which even the main character comments that Fakir/Mytho is a real possibility; provides 80% of the Ho Yay and UST in the entire show just by existing; and gets his clothes ripped to pieces on a regular basis. In fact, he occasionally rips up his own clothes (this has not been explained). Also, he dances. He dances ballet. He also cooks. There is a reason why the Fakir Faction is so huge, you know. *fans self*

With that, I shall run off to watch some more Princess Tutu. Buenos noches, all!