I would like to thank Don over at Zoopraxiscope for what I believe is my first permalink in his sidebar. It was a real nice thing to do. I was surprised at how good it felt that someone thought enough about me to go through the effort.

Now I have to figure out how to do that here so I can reciprocate.

Zoopraxiscope is a blog about anime, music, literature and the arts in general and various political, cultural, and world event matters. In short, "trivia that matters".

He has a section where you can download music he has composed, which is something I am absolutely chickenshit to do myself. I have files floating on the internet somewhere, but I can't remember where they are. Don also has a list of midi files he has either composed or performed, royalty free, to be downloaded and used. If I ever rebuild my studio and set up shop again, I will be sure to use them.

Thank you, Don!

Posted by: topmaker at 06:57 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So far I have been consistent in seeing shows that I thought would be terrible but at least keep my interest and shows I keep wanting to be good that don't live up to my expectations.

I am currently following a few more shows than I normally would. Primarily they are as follows:

Nisekoi
Mahou Sensou
Witchcraft Works
D-Frag
Chuunibyou yadda yadda
Z/X Ignition
Kill La Kill
Golden Time
Mikakunen de Shinkokei
Sekai Sekufu bla bla Zvezda
Buddy Complex
Tonari no Seki-kun
To Aru Hikushi e no Koiuta

and I think that might be it.


more...

Posted by: topmaker at 09:32 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Turns out it wasn't too bad a story. Much better than the anime.

I truly can't believe I missed the Alucard reference. I guess it shows I paid less attention than I should have.

UPDATE
I just noticed the chapter number of this episode: 66.6.

Posted by: topmaker at 02:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Maison Ikkoku was a bit of a departure for Rumiko Takahashi. No space aliens, cursed martial arts aficionados, half human half demons or immortal travelers. Instead, it is a story about real people learning to love and learning to let go.

Widely seen as a slice of life in 1980's Japan, although perhaps without the psychotic fellow tenants. The manga centers around two main characters: Yusaku Godai, a student who can't seem to find the motivation to get through his entrance exams for college placement, and Kyoko Otanashi a widow who has come to be the manager of the boarding house owned by her late husbands family.

Rumiko Takashi is known for long format manga. She specializes in almost real time character development. While an important event always provides a push to her characters, it takes much more than that to make a lasting change. In the case of Yusaku, he grows from being a wimp to learning to stand up for himself. He learns motivation. He learns, most importantly, the difference between infatuation and true love.

Kyoko is somewhat more complicated. First, she must accept that she has a future separate from her late husband. She must come to feel that falling in love again is not a betrayal to her late husband. Last, almost last anyway, she must make the decision between greater love and greater security in deciding between the two men in her life.

I say almost last, because at the end of the story there is a final door she must walk through to move on with her life. It is something that is not mentioned throughout the series, but once revealed, the reader understands that it has been there all along and has influenced the reluctance to move on as much as anything the series spent time on which to focus.

Obvious spoilers to follow..........................

At this point, Kyoko is all  but proposed to. Godai, who finally has become a responsible adult is waiting for the perfect time to spring the question. Her father is dead set against her ever remarrying. He arrives on the scene sick and Godai ends up carrying him to wherever it is they are taking him to get home. Her father is reluctant because he felt helpless towards his precious only daughter after her husband's death. This was something he had no words to help with, no actions to solve and no way to lessen the pain - his or hers. Godai is telling an apologetic Kyoko that he understands her father's point of view. To him, she is and always will be his little girl, but to Godai, she is his most important woman, and would she please marry him.

The reader has known that Kyoko has been waiting for this moment. We know she is anxious to make it official. However she does not agree right away. She asks him to make her a promise. Godai thinks about what she might ask and states that he will never go out drinking with is friends, never to cheat and never to make her live in poverty. She replies that those things might make her mad, but never make her cry. Then she asks, not quite facing him (and the anime absolutely excels here) the question that reveals her final fear:

"Promise me that, even if it is by one day, you'll outlive me. Because I don't think I could  endure being left alone again."

Suddenly all of the reluctance, the jealousy, the doubt we have watched her go through is justified all the more due to something that has never been front and center. The overwhelming risk of pain and loneliness of finally opening your heart again, only to have it crushed by fate.

In all the series I have read and watched, it is one of the most truly special moments. Very well done.

Posted by: topmaker at 07:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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