Brandon Varnell's Blog, page 14
January 25, 2015
Devil Ninja, Chapter 11
LeroyallenXnaruto: I read on your Blog I think the part for questions and answers and you said that the people in the DxD verse are stronger than those of the Naruto verse.
I think you're wrong. For proof you should check out "Naruto the fatherly sage" by fairy tail dragon slayer the seventh chapter to be precise has Naruto's stats and all of them are cannon and not fabricated.
If that doesn't convince you you should check out his other story. "Naruto the human alien" the second and most recent chapter also has proof of how strong Naruto really is..
Answer: I don't know where you got the idea that fairy tail dragon slayer was Kishimoto Masashi, but allow me to disabuse you of that notion. Fairy tail dragon slayer is, like myself, a fanfiction writer. That means he writes fanfiction, which consequently means that nothing he writes is ever cannonically accurate. What's more, fairy tail dragon slayer is one of those writers who always writes OP or God-like Naruto stories. While his fanfics aren't bad, and I do enjoy reading them, they are not accurate either. If you want accurate information on Naruto's stats, then you should check out Naruto wiki, not fairy tail dragon slayer's fanfictions.
Phoenixblade Hm... while an interesting chapter, I'm not so sure about the whole "Excalibur Ruler being used to subvert Naruto's will". Don't get me wrong, it's not that I think Naruto should be able to resist it, it's more that it's extremely annoying and a fairly bad plot device, and it leaves me with a kind of "bad end" feeling. Over all I can't say I'm unhappy with the chapter considering how much happens that has a good feeling to ti, but that ending doesn't make me like it. So I'm stuck with merely calling it "interesting" and hoping the coming chapter makes up for my lack of enthusiasm.
I know that he can't simply breeze through everything. Let's face it that would unrealistic and incredibly boring. There are bound to be trials and tribulations, and I know that being the "hero" of the story he'll come out fair over all. ... Still can't help that "bad end" feeling though.
Answer: I do understand your point, but then, that's also kind of the point. I want you to have that, "I've got a bad feeling about this," thought when you read that ending. It creates tension. You read this chapter and wonder to yourself, "how is Naruto going to get out of this? Can he even get out of this?" It's written this way with that purpose in mind.
Slydino: Great chapter. Not sure I like where the story's going. I mean Issei is great and all but I don't like having two harems it leaves a bad taste in my mouth it's ok to give him Asia but I think Akeno would be a much better fit with Naruto. Just my opinion though. Anyway great chapter and can't wait for the next one.
Answer: I don't consider two girls a harem. To me, a harem is when one male is in a relationship with three or more women, and I'll tell you right now that Issei isn't getting anymore women. I had him get with Asia because it gives Issei someone who helps him overcome his limitations by wanting to protect her, and I added Akeno because, if I'm being honest, I don't think she and Naruto would make a good couple unless I OC her. Akeno is a sadist, and Naruto isn't really the type who's into S&M. Issei, on the other hand, I can see eventually being turned onto it.
LordGhostStriker: isn't Ruler's weakness is that your Will needs STRONGER than the person your trying to control?
Answer: Actually, it never says that the will of the wielder must be stronger than the person Excalibur Ruler is being used against to work. It just says that Excalibur Ruler grants absolute control over other beings. I imagine it won't work on some beings though, like Ophis and Great Red, and maybe the Heavenly Dragons Ddraig and Albion.
I think you're wrong. For proof you should check out "Naruto the fatherly sage" by fairy tail dragon slayer the seventh chapter to be precise has Naruto's stats and all of them are cannon and not fabricated.
If that doesn't convince you you should check out his other story. "Naruto the human alien" the second and most recent chapter also has proof of how strong Naruto really is..
Answer: I don't know where you got the idea that fairy tail dragon slayer was Kishimoto Masashi, but allow me to disabuse you of that notion. Fairy tail dragon slayer is, like myself, a fanfiction writer. That means he writes fanfiction, which consequently means that nothing he writes is ever cannonically accurate. What's more, fairy tail dragon slayer is one of those writers who always writes OP or God-like Naruto stories. While his fanfics aren't bad, and I do enjoy reading them, they are not accurate either. If you want accurate information on Naruto's stats, then you should check out Naruto wiki, not fairy tail dragon slayer's fanfictions.
Phoenixblade Hm... while an interesting chapter, I'm not so sure about the whole "Excalibur Ruler being used to subvert Naruto's will". Don't get me wrong, it's not that I think Naruto should be able to resist it, it's more that it's extremely annoying and a fairly bad plot device, and it leaves me with a kind of "bad end" feeling. Over all I can't say I'm unhappy with the chapter considering how much happens that has a good feeling to ti, but that ending doesn't make me like it. So I'm stuck with merely calling it "interesting" and hoping the coming chapter makes up for my lack of enthusiasm.
I know that he can't simply breeze through everything. Let's face it that would unrealistic and incredibly boring. There are bound to be trials and tribulations, and I know that being the "hero" of the story he'll come out fair over all. ... Still can't help that "bad end" feeling though.
Answer: I do understand your point, but then, that's also kind of the point. I want you to have that, "I've got a bad feeling about this," thought when you read that ending. It creates tension. You read this chapter and wonder to yourself, "how is Naruto going to get out of this? Can he even get out of this?" It's written this way with that purpose in mind.
Slydino: Great chapter. Not sure I like where the story's going. I mean Issei is great and all but I don't like having two harems it leaves a bad taste in my mouth it's ok to give him Asia but I think Akeno would be a much better fit with Naruto. Just my opinion though. Anyway great chapter and can't wait for the next one.
Answer: I don't consider two girls a harem. To me, a harem is when one male is in a relationship with three or more women, and I'll tell you right now that Issei isn't getting anymore women. I had him get with Asia because it gives Issei someone who helps him overcome his limitations by wanting to protect her, and I added Akeno because, if I'm being honest, I don't think she and Naruto would make a good couple unless I OC her. Akeno is a sadist, and Naruto isn't really the type who's into S&M. Issei, on the other hand, I can see eventually being turned onto it.
LordGhostStriker: isn't Ruler's weakness is that your Will needs STRONGER than the person your trying to control?
Answer: Actually, it never says that the will of the wielder must be stronger than the person Excalibur Ruler is being used against to work. It just says that Excalibur Ruler grants absolute control over other beings. I imagine it won't work on some beings though, like Ophis and Great Red, and maybe the Heavenly Dragons Ddraig and Albion.
Durarara!!
I've decided to begin reviewing some of the anime that came out in 2014, and what better way to start this off than with a bang? Durarara!! was definitely one of the better anime to come out this season, and I'm going to tell you why.
To understand why Durarara!! is a great story, we must first look at the cast. There are a lot of characters in here for people to get behind. If you don't like one character, then you can always choose to root for another. Unlike most anime that keep their cast small, Durarara!! goes big. There's so many diverse characters, each with their own unique personality that you'll never find a dull moment in this anime.
And, of course, you can't look at an anime without looking at the artwork. In a year where almost every anime looks like they've been created by a cookie-cutter, this is one of those anime where the art-style is more unique. Most anime in this day and age look almost exactly alike, from the way their eyes are shaped to the style of their face and everything in between. The anime that keep a more original style are becoming few and far between. Durarara!! doesn't suffer from this problem of mundanely drawn characters and uninspired animation. While not 100% original, it still maintains a uniqueness that makes this worthy of taking note of.
We've looked at the characters, so now we need to look at the story. The story seems almost like a typical slice-of-life when you first think about it: a young man moving to the city in order to live a life of excitement. Sound familiar? But wait, that's not all. After meeting up with his friend, this young man learns that the city has some people in it that you just don't want to cross: a superhumanly strong man, a dangerous information broker, a gang known as The Dollars, and a headless biker known as the Black Rider. From learning this alone, we know that stuff is going to go down in this anime, but what makes the story truly unique isn't just the life of the young man, one Mikado Ryugamine, but how the anime follows the narratives of all its characters equally, showing how their lives intersect to create a greater plot throughout the series. It's a very intricately woven story, and one of the few I've seen that really feels like every aspect is somehow connected.
Like all anime Durarara!! is not without its flaws. Fortunately those flaws seem minimal at best. I think my biggest issue is that there are some characters that I just don't care for, which can honestly be a good thing or a bad thing. Certain characters are supposed to be unlikable, so I can't say it's a fatal flaw, and this anime wouldn't be very realistic if every characters was someone you could like. That being said, when a character that I don't like comes on screen, I feel almost like skipping those parts, even if I know doing so will have me miss important parts of the plot.Overall, I would say this anime rates an 8.5/10. I enjoyed just about every aspect of it, from the diversity of the cast to the intricacies of the plot. There isn't a whole lot that I can say is wrong about this anime.
January 18, 2015
5 anime of 2015 that I've decided to watch first
So here is a list of the new 2015 anime that have come out this season that I feel are interesting enough to watch. Please be aware that these are anime that I personally feel are worth watching based on what I saw of the first episode. These anime may not be for everyone, and if they are not for you, that is okay.
Seiken Tsukai no World Break
Out of the four harem anime that have appeared this season, I have decided to go with this one. Why? For starters, the characters feel more original than Absolute Duo, Unlimited Fafnir and Shinmai Maou no Testament. The second reason is because this is the only one that doesn't appear to base its entire plot around the concept of fan service. While I'm normally okay with fan service in anime, I feel that you should either play it up or not play it at all, meaning if you're going to have boobs in your anime, then you shouldn't bother censoring them. That annoying glare or steam is a real bother and destroys the aesthetics of the artwork. And the third reason? It just happened to catch my interest more than the other three.
Dog Days''
I never would have imagined that Dog Days would get a third season, and yet, here it is, back and seemingly fluffier than ever. While I didn't enjoy the second season because of its lack of plot. The third season actually does appear to be centered around a larger storyline. I guess only time will tell, but I am looking forward to seeing what this anime has to offer.
Aldnoah.Zero
Now, I'll be honest, I didn't necessarily love the first season of this anime. It was alright, but I feel like they paid too much homage to the secondary characters and not enough to the main characters like Princess Alyssum and Inaho. It didn't help that most of the side characters like that grizzly alcoholic lieutenant don't seem to actually have anything to do with the plot. In fact, for most of the first season a good deal of the side characters felt useless. That being said, I'm hoping the second season will be better.
Death Parade
A psychological thriller that caught my interest. I'm not gonna say much about this anime, but the visual artwork and animation of this anime caught my attention right off the bat. I'm expecting good things from this anime.
Durarara X2 Shou
It should come as no surprise that I'm watching this. I saw the first season and thought it was awesome. Now the second season has come out and I'm looking forward to continuing this saga. The first episode was mostly a sort of introduction, so it didn't have much, however, considering Durarara has a crap load of characters, that's kind of necessary. I'm looking forward to the next few episodes and hope it won't disappointed.
While these were the anime I've mentioned, they are not the only anime that I'm watching. Here are some honorable mentions that may also catch your interest this season:
Ansatsu KyioshtsuTokyo Ghoul Root AMaria the Virgin WitchShinmai Maou No TestamentUnlimited FafnirAbsolute DuoIdolM@ster Cinderella GirlsKantai CollectionSengoku MusouKoufuku GrafittiIf there are any anime you feel are worth watching this season, then please feel free to leave it in the comment section below.
Seiken Tsukai no World BreakOut of the four harem anime that have appeared this season, I have decided to go with this one. Why? For starters, the characters feel more original than Absolute Duo, Unlimited Fafnir and Shinmai Maou no Testament. The second reason is because this is the only one that doesn't appear to base its entire plot around the concept of fan service. While I'm normally okay with fan service in anime, I feel that you should either play it up or not play it at all, meaning if you're going to have boobs in your anime, then you shouldn't bother censoring them. That annoying glare or steam is a real bother and destroys the aesthetics of the artwork. And the third reason? It just happened to catch my interest more than the other three.
Dog Days''I never would have imagined that Dog Days would get a third season, and yet, here it is, back and seemingly fluffier than ever. While I didn't enjoy the second season because of its lack of plot. The third season actually does appear to be centered around a larger storyline. I guess only time will tell, but I am looking forward to seeing what this anime has to offer.
Aldnoah.ZeroNow, I'll be honest, I didn't necessarily love the first season of this anime. It was alright, but I feel like they paid too much homage to the secondary characters and not enough to the main characters like Princess Alyssum and Inaho. It didn't help that most of the side characters like that grizzly alcoholic lieutenant don't seem to actually have anything to do with the plot. In fact, for most of the first season a good deal of the side characters felt useless. That being said, I'm hoping the second season will be better.
Death ParadeA psychological thriller that caught my interest. I'm not gonna say much about this anime, but the visual artwork and animation of this anime caught my attention right off the bat. I'm expecting good things from this anime.
Durarara X2 ShouIt should come as no surprise that I'm watching this. I saw the first season and thought it was awesome. Now the second season has come out and I'm looking forward to continuing this saga. The first episode was mostly a sort of introduction, so it didn't have much, however, considering Durarara has a crap load of characters, that's kind of necessary. I'm looking forward to the next few episodes and hope it won't disappointed.
While these were the anime I've mentioned, they are not the only anime that I'm watching. Here are some honorable mentions that may also catch your interest this season:
Ansatsu KyioshtsuTokyo Ghoul Root AMaria the Virgin WitchShinmai Maou No TestamentUnlimited FafnirAbsolute DuoIdolM@ster Cinderella GirlsKantai CollectionSengoku MusouKoufuku GrafittiIf there are any anime you feel are worth watching this season, then please feel free to leave it in the comment section below.
January 10, 2015
The two anime of 2014 that you probably shouldn't watch
Before I start this post, I feel like I should mention that this is just my opinion as a fan of anime. If you enjoyed watching either of these anime, that's okay, because anime is always subective, and what I like might not be something that you like. Try not to take offense and just understand that these are my own opinions and nothing more.
2014 saw a lot of good anime come out, and some anime that weren't so good but entertained me nonetheless. That being said, there were a few anime that I absolutely did not like. These anime were ones that I felt were boring, bland, and had nothing interesting about them that made me want to watch more.
Number 2: A Good Librarian Like a Good Shepherd.
The problem with this anime isn't that it's a bad anime, but that it doesn't have anything to call its own. The artwork is good, the girls are very pretty, and the animation is as good as any other anime in this day and age. It's just not very unique. The characters all feel like cardboard cutouts of other characters. The main character is uninspired and boring, not even Gary-stu, just boring. And while some of the girls have personalities of their own, you can clearly see that all of their personalities are basically standard archetype personalities that I've come to expect from anime. Even the story is uninspired and bland. It's basically a slice-of-life with supernatural elements in a high school setting. Nothing wrong with that, except the supernatural elements feel more like an afterthought until about halfway through the anime and the slice-of-life aspect uses standard tropes that look like they were transplanted from every other anime of this genre. It's unoriginal, bland, and I would not recommend watching it.
Number 2: Le Fruit De La Grisaia
Now here is an anime that disappointed me. I played the visual novel for this anime and really enjoyed it, so when I heard it was getting an anime I was excited. Then I saw the anime. Now, the first episode was alright, nothing interesting happened, but it was just the beginning so I didn't think too much on it. Then the second episode came out. Nothing happened. I thought to myself, "okay, it's probably just one of those anime that starts really slow to introduce the characters and will then pick up the pace." so I watched the third episode. Nothing happened. By episode six I was just about ready to tear my hair out. This is an anime that follows one of the cliches I hate more than any other. Anime that don't go anywhere. This is an anime where an entire episode can be about a maid making the main character a purse and the main character trying to convince the maid not to. It's basically 24 minutes of nothing happening. Even the massive amounts of fanservice can't save this anime from monotonousness. The only redeeming quality this anime has is that the last three or so episodes are actually pretty epic. Too bad it's only three episodes out of 13.
What's worse is that the main character is so bland. You guys know how Kirito is a Gary-stu character and has often been considered a bland character, right? Well, this guy is worse. He's basically a secret service agent who does assassinations for the government and is now going to a school that only has 6 really pretty girls for reasons that are never explained in the anime. He's got all of the emotional range of a brick wall--no, actually I think the brick wall has more emotions than this guy. He's so emotionless it's almost sickening, and this is the guy you follow around throughout the entire series. Add in how he's basically a gary-stu who can do no wrong and you've got a recipe for disaster. I can't recommend this anime to anyone.
So, here they are. These are the two anime of 2014 that I didn't really like. Once again, I would like to state that this is my opinion. If you disagree that is fine. I don't mind. If anyone else has an anime of this year that they did not like, then go ahead and let everyone know in a comment below.
2014 saw a lot of good anime come out, and some anime that weren't so good but entertained me nonetheless. That being said, there were a few anime that I absolutely did not like. These anime were ones that I felt were boring, bland, and had nothing interesting about them that made me want to watch more.
Number 2: A Good Librarian Like a Good Shepherd.The problem with this anime isn't that it's a bad anime, but that it doesn't have anything to call its own. The artwork is good, the girls are very pretty, and the animation is as good as any other anime in this day and age. It's just not very unique. The characters all feel like cardboard cutouts of other characters. The main character is uninspired and boring, not even Gary-stu, just boring. And while some of the girls have personalities of their own, you can clearly see that all of their personalities are basically standard archetype personalities that I've come to expect from anime. Even the story is uninspired and bland. It's basically a slice-of-life with supernatural elements in a high school setting. Nothing wrong with that, except the supernatural elements feel more like an afterthought until about halfway through the anime and the slice-of-life aspect uses standard tropes that look like they were transplanted from every other anime of this genre. It's unoriginal, bland, and I would not recommend watching it.
Number 2: Le Fruit De La GrisaiaNow here is an anime that disappointed me. I played the visual novel for this anime and really enjoyed it, so when I heard it was getting an anime I was excited. Then I saw the anime. Now, the first episode was alright, nothing interesting happened, but it was just the beginning so I didn't think too much on it. Then the second episode came out. Nothing happened. I thought to myself, "okay, it's probably just one of those anime that starts really slow to introduce the characters and will then pick up the pace." so I watched the third episode. Nothing happened. By episode six I was just about ready to tear my hair out. This is an anime that follows one of the cliches I hate more than any other. Anime that don't go anywhere. This is an anime where an entire episode can be about a maid making the main character a purse and the main character trying to convince the maid not to. It's basically 24 minutes of nothing happening. Even the massive amounts of fanservice can't save this anime from monotonousness. The only redeeming quality this anime has is that the last three or so episodes are actually pretty epic. Too bad it's only three episodes out of 13.
What's worse is that the main character is so bland. You guys know how Kirito is a Gary-stu character and has often been considered a bland character, right? Well, this guy is worse. He's basically a secret service agent who does assassinations for the government and is now going to a school that only has 6 really pretty girls for reasons that are never explained in the anime. He's got all of the emotional range of a brick wall--no, actually I think the brick wall has more emotions than this guy. He's so emotionless it's almost sickening, and this is the guy you follow around throughout the entire series. Add in how he's basically a gary-stu who can do no wrong and you've got a recipe for disaster. I can't recommend this anime to anyone.
So, here they are. These are the two anime of 2014 that I didn't really like. Once again, I would like to state that this is my opinion. If you disagree that is fine. I don't mind. If anyone else has an anime of this year that they did not like, then go ahead and let everyone know in a comment below.
January 3, 2015
Top 10 Anime of 2014
So here we are in 2015. A new year has started which means new anime to watch. However, let us never forget the anime that came before. The anime that gave us joy this past year. The anime that deserve to be watched again at least several more times because they are just. That. Good. These are the anime that I feel were some of the best out there. The ones that made me laugh, made me cry, or just made me keep watching over and over again. So let's get started on this trip down memory lane... of one year ago, with the Top 10 Anime of 2014.
Number 10: No-Rin
No-Rin is an anime that didn't seem to get much publicity and I feel is under appreciated. It's the story about a famous pop idol who retires at the tender age of 16, shocking the nation and crushing her biggest fans dreams of meeting her. Fortunately for Kousaka Hata, a young man attending Tamo Agricultural school and Ringo Kinoshita's biggest fan, the young pop idol has decided to enroll at his school and learn agriculture.
This story isn't what I would call original, however, it does have two things that I loved. First: it's hilarious. I laughed pretty much nonstop when watching this. Second: it's intelligent. While this story has the same slapstick and stupid humor of most anime, it can also be witty and teaches you a lot about agriculture. It's one of those anime that are not only enjoyable, but surprisingly educational.
Number 9: Parasyte
I didn't originally plan on putting this one up here, but after consideration felt it deserved being here. Parayste is a horror/science fiction anime about creatures called Parasites, which worm their way into human bodies, destroy their brains and take over. One Parasite fails to take over the main character, one Shinichi Izumi, and the two find themselves working together in order to defeat other parasites.
While this one wasn't as entertaining as some of the other anime out there, I liked this because of how unusual it is. It's one of those bizarre, strange anime that take concepts you don't see often.
Number 8: Nisekoi
Nisekoi is another anime that isn't very original, but still very enjoyable. The story follows Raku Ichijo, the son of a leader in the Yakuza faction Shuei-Gumi, and Chitokage Kirisaki, the daughter of a boss in a rival gang known as Beehive. The basics of this story is that the two gangs have agreed to settle their differences by pairing up their gang leader's children with each other. Too bad Raku and Chitokage seem to hate each other. It doesn't help that their first time meeting was Chitokage's knees Raku in the face. Things get even more complicated because Raku's got a crush on a girl in his class, Chitokage has a female hitman for a bodyguard, and there's another girl who comes to town claiming she's Raku's fiance.
This story is incredibly cute and kind of silly. There's a lot about this anime that's enjoyable, especially if you're into the whole harem love comedy bit.
Number 7: Psycho Pass
This is another anime that took concepts you don't see in anime very often and stretched them out. It is also one of the few Dystopian anime I have ever seen, which makes it even more original.
The series is set in 2113. The Sibyl System is a system that actively measures the populaces mental states, personalities, and the probabilities that individuals will commit crimes, using the cymatic scan of the brain. This is known as the Psycho-Pass. When the probability of a person engaging in crime by the Crime Coefficient index exceeds a certain level, he or she is pursued, apprehended, and killed if necessary. For people who enjoy crime fiction and dystopian mixed with cyberpunk, this is definitely the anime for you.
Number 6: Maganka-san to Assistant
This is an anime whose stupid comedy made me laugh so hard. It's about a mangaka and his assistants. The mangaka is the talented but perverted Yuki Aito, and his assistants are a bunch of girls based on various archetypes. The story is basically just Yuki and the girls getting put into a bunch of awkward situations. If you enjoy comedy, a little ecchi, and some "Oh dear god, what the fuck just happened?!" moments, this is the anime for you.
Number 5: Tokyo Ghoul
Ghouls are human-like creatures who devour human flesh. After barely surviving an encounter with one, Ken Kaneki is sent to the hospital and undergoes surgery that turns him into a half-ghoul, who must also consume human flesh to survive. With nowhere else to turn, he is taken in by a group of ghouls who own a coffee shop called Anteiku, where he learns what it means to be a ghoul, the various conflicts between ghoul factions, and struggles to keep his identity as a human.
This is a very dark story filled with gore and violence and constantly forcing you to ask questions most people would be uncomfortable with. I enjoyed this anime despite it not being the type I watch very often. For people who enjoy dark and twisted fantasy stories, this anime is one that you just can't miss.
Number 4: Rage of Bahamut: Genesis
This is a swashbuckling fantasy that, at first glance, doesn't seem terribly interesting due to its un-intriguing plot, and then smacks you in the face with pure awesome upon watching the first scene. This is one of those anime that I actually couldn't wait for the next episode to come out and kept me hooked with its combination of action, comedy and fantasy elements. It was a thoroughly satisfying watch from start to finish.
Number 3: No Game No Life
No Game No Life is an anime that takes several different concepts, throws them all together, and somehow gets an amazing anime. This story had many of the aspects that I love in an anime. It combined an intriguing plot where two NEET students are sent to a different world where there is no war and disputes are settled with games, two main characters who are intelligent but also complete insane, massive amounts of comedy, and tasteful ecchi that doesn't detract from the story but enhances it.
I think what I liked about this anime the most, aside from Stephanie Dola being randomly stripped naked and put in humiliating situations, was how they took basic games like Chess, Go Fish and various word games and turned them into something epic. I was honestly impressed by the knowledge this show displayed on the various types of games, even obscure ones that most people don't know about.
Number 2: Noragami
Noragami was one of my all-time favorite anime of this year. It's a story about Yato, a down on his luck god who meets Hyrori Iki, a normal girl in high school. It had everything I loved in an anime: action, adventure, comedy, romance, and a deep storyline with intricate and relatable characters. I don't think there was a single thing about this anime that I did not like... aside from the fact that it doesn't have a second season.
One of the things I loved most about this anime was it's ability to make me feel a wide range of emotions. It's very rare for a single anime to make you feel an entire spectrum of different emotions, from happy to sad to angry and everything in between. Noragami accomplished what few anime could.
Number 1: Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works
I'll be honest here, when the first Fate/Stay Night series came out, I thought it sucked. I hated it so much that I was completely turned off to the point where I wouldn't even play the visual novel. Then Fate/Zero happened and I was like, "holy crap! This is awesome!"
Starting several years after Fate/Zero, this is the story of Shiro Emiya and his place in the Fifth Holy Grail War. I've given this anime the number one spot because it's story is not only unbelievably epic, but it also has some of the best animations I have ever seen. Each scene is flawless, the battles are incredible and the characters are well-thought out and developed. I absolutely loved the first season of this anime, and cannot wait for the second season to come in this year.
And there you have it, my top 10 anime of 2014. It was hard choosing just ten, but in the end, these are the ones I enjoyed the most. After reading this, if you find that these anime are not your top 10, be sure to put what you would have placed as the top 10 into the comments section below. I would love to hear your opinions.
Number 10: No-RinNo-Rin is an anime that didn't seem to get much publicity and I feel is under appreciated. It's the story about a famous pop idol who retires at the tender age of 16, shocking the nation and crushing her biggest fans dreams of meeting her. Fortunately for Kousaka Hata, a young man attending Tamo Agricultural school and Ringo Kinoshita's biggest fan, the young pop idol has decided to enroll at his school and learn agriculture.
This story isn't what I would call original, however, it does have two things that I loved. First: it's hilarious. I laughed pretty much nonstop when watching this. Second: it's intelligent. While this story has the same slapstick and stupid humor of most anime, it can also be witty and teaches you a lot about agriculture. It's one of those anime that are not only enjoyable, but surprisingly educational.
Number 9: ParasyteI didn't originally plan on putting this one up here, but after consideration felt it deserved being here. Parayste is a horror/science fiction anime about creatures called Parasites, which worm their way into human bodies, destroy their brains and take over. One Parasite fails to take over the main character, one Shinichi Izumi, and the two find themselves working together in order to defeat other parasites.
While this one wasn't as entertaining as some of the other anime out there, I liked this because of how unusual it is. It's one of those bizarre, strange anime that take concepts you don't see often.
Number 8: NisekoiNisekoi is another anime that isn't very original, but still very enjoyable. The story follows Raku Ichijo, the son of a leader in the Yakuza faction Shuei-Gumi, and Chitokage Kirisaki, the daughter of a boss in a rival gang known as Beehive. The basics of this story is that the two gangs have agreed to settle their differences by pairing up their gang leader's children with each other. Too bad Raku and Chitokage seem to hate each other. It doesn't help that their first time meeting was Chitokage's knees Raku in the face. Things get even more complicated because Raku's got a crush on a girl in his class, Chitokage has a female hitman for a bodyguard, and there's another girl who comes to town claiming she's Raku's fiance.
This story is incredibly cute and kind of silly. There's a lot about this anime that's enjoyable, especially if you're into the whole harem love comedy bit.
Number 7: Psycho PassThis is another anime that took concepts you don't see in anime very often and stretched them out. It is also one of the few Dystopian anime I have ever seen, which makes it even more original.
The series is set in 2113. The Sibyl System is a system that actively measures the populaces mental states, personalities, and the probabilities that individuals will commit crimes, using the cymatic scan of the brain. This is known as the Psycho-Pass. When the probability of a person engaging in crime by the Crime Coefficient index exceeds a certain level, he or she is pursued, apprehended, and killed if necessary. For people who enjoy crime fiction and dystopian mixed with cyberpunk, this is definitely the anime for you.
Number 6: Maganka-san to AssistantThis is an anime whose stupid comedy made me laugh so hard. It's about a mangaka and his assistants. The mangaka is the talented but perverted Yuki Aito, and his assistants are a bunch of girls based on various archetypes. The story is basically just Yuki and the girls getting put into a bunch of awkward situations. If you enjoy comedy, a little ecchi, and some "Oh dear god, what the fuck just happened?!" moments, this is the anime for you.
Number 5: Tokyo GhoulGhouls are human-like creatures who devour human flesh. After barely surviving an encounter with one, Ken Kaneki is sent to the hospital and undergoes surgery that turns him into a half-ghoul, who must also consume human flesh to survive. With nowhere else to turn, he is taken in by a group of ghouls who own a coffee shop called Anteiku, where he learns what it means to be a ghoul, the various conflicts between ghoul factions, and struggles to keep his identity as a human.
This is a very dark story filled with gore and violence and constantly forcing you to ask questions most people would be uncomfortable with. I enjoyed this anime despite it not being the type I watch very often. For people who enjoy dark and twisted fantasy stories, this anime is one that you just can't miss.
Number 4: Rage of Bahamut: GenesisThis is a swashbuckling fantasy that, at first glance, doesn't seem terribly interesting due to its un-intriguing plot, and then smacks you in the face with pure awesome upon watching the first scene. This is one of those anime that I actually couldn't wait for the next episode to come out and kept me hooked with its combination of action, comedy and fantasy elements. It was a thoroughly satisfying watch from start to finish.
Number 3: No Game No LifeNo Game No Life is an anime that takes several different concepts, throws them all together, and somehow gets an amazing anime. This story had many of the aspects that I love in an anime. It combined an intriguing plot where two NEET students are sent to a different world where there is no war and disputes are settled with games, two main characters who are intelligent but also complete insane, massive amounts of comedy, and tasteful ecchi that doesn't detract from the story but enhances it.
I think what I liked about this anime the most, aside from Stephanie Dola being randomly stripped naked and put in humiliating situations, was how they took basic games like Chess, Go Fish and various word games and turned them into something epic. I was honestly impressed by the knowledge this show displayed on the various types of games, even obscure ones that most people don't know about.
Number 2: NoragamiNoragami was one of my all-time favorite anime of this year. It's a story about Yato, a down on his luck god who meets Hyrori Iki, a normal girl in high school. It had everything I loved in an anime: action, adventure, comedy, romance, and a deep storyline with intricate and relatable characters. I don't think there was a single thing about this anime that I did not like... aside from the fact that it doesn't have a second season.
One of the things I loved most about this anime was it's ability to make me feel a wide range of emotions. It's very rare for a single anime to make you feel an entire spectrum of different emotions, from happy to sad to angry and everything in between. Noragami accomplished what few anime could.
Number 1: Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade WorksI'll be honest here, when the first Fate/Stay Night series came out, I thought it sucked. I hated it so much that I was completely turned off to the point where I wouldn't even play the visual novel. Then Fate/Zero happened and I was like, "holy crap! This is awesome!"
Starting several years after Fate/Zero, this is the story of Shiro Emiya and his place in the Fifth Holy Grail War. I've given this anime the number one spot because it's story is not only unbelievably epic, but it also has some of the best animations I have ever seen. Each scene is flawless, the battles are incredible and the characters are well-thought out and developed. I absolutely loved the first season of this anime, and cannot wait for the second season to come in this year.
And there you have it, my top 10 anime of 2014. It was hard choosing just ten, but in the end, these are the ones I enjoyed the most. After reading this, if you find that these anime are not your top 10, be sure to put what you would have placed as the top 10 into the comments section below. I would love to hear your opinions.
December 28, 2014
Hayate no Gotoku
Hayate no Gotoku is the stupidly funny, fourth wall breaking romantic comedy that somehow manages to follow one of my least favorite anime cliche's and still entertain me.
The story itself is about Hayate Ayasaki, a down on his luck young man with two good for nothing parents who don't work. After getting fired from his job he comes home to discover that his parents not only took his hard earned money to spend it on their dreams, but are also massively in debt and have sold Hayate off to a Yakuza gang. Through a series of events in which Hayate meets Nagi Sanzenin, tries to kidnap, then rescues her, Hayate ends up becoming a butler for Nagi in order to pay off his massive debt.
One of the first things you should know about this story is that it has MASSIVE fourth wall breakage. The Narrator constantly makes snipes and holds conversations with the characters. The characters are constantly making mentions to other anime or previous episodes. The poor wall is broken literally every time someone opens their mouth, sometimes even when they don't open their mouth. From episode 1 and onwards, there is literally no fourth wall to speak of because it's been turned into a pile of rubble.
As I've already mentioned, Hayate no Gotoku falls under one of my least favorite anime cliche's: Anime that Don't go Anywhere. This is an anime where 10 episodes can be about absolutely nothing, where the story can deviate in ways that have nothing to do with the plot, and where an entire episode can be about something that has nothing to do with the main storyline. In fact, I would say most episodes are like that.Despite this anime falling under one of my biggest pet peeves in Slice-of-Life anime, it's one of the few where I can stand it. Hayate no Gotoku is just so stupidly funny that it doesn't always matter if the episode has no plot because I'm too busy laughing like a loon to care.
Something else to note about Hayate no Gotoku are its characters. While some feel like typical stereotypes, the main characters are all given well-crafted personalities that manage to exceed those archetype cliches... sometimes. Nagi Sanenzin is your classic example of a tsundere character right down to her violent temper. However, she's got more than just that going for her. She's also a super rich girl, which means she should have fallen under the rich ojou-sama trope, but didn't. She's also a shut-in Otaku who'd rather play video games and try to become a mangaka then go to school. In fact, she usually just skips school because she doesn't like being in crowds. This breaking of tropes is what makes Nagi an actually likable character as opposed to that annoying female who always beats on the main protagonist, like Naru Narusegawa from Love Hina.This anime does have some issues--namely that it has over 52 episodes and only about 20 of those episodes actually has anything to do with the plot. It's incredibly slow and I sometimes feel like they don't go anywhere. That being said, it's still enjoyable and I would rate it a 6.5/10 with a recommendation of anyone who enjoy Japanese culture, romantic high-jinks and ensuing fourth wall breaking hilarity to watch it.
December 26, 2014
Devil Ninja, Chapter 10
Anonymous1.25.415: Can't the juubi use ying-yang release-(yin to create form from nothing, and then yang to breath life into it) to heal Naruto? After all, the juubi has the rinne sharingan-(not to be confused with what Sasuke unlocked in the manga, that's different) which has control over that. Infact, him being the juubi jinchuriki should be enough for him to awaken it, like Madara did, though you might be able to justify that, it was his chakra network being busted. I don't see a reason for not being able to create something out of nothing, even Naruto was able to pull this feet in the manga with just yang. After all, its really disappointing to Naruto weakened to such an extent, especially after he spent his whole life getting stronger.
Answer: Kurama could use yin-yang release to heal Naruto, but not until their chakra synchronizes. The problem at the beginning was two-fold. For starters, Naruto didn't have any coils left, they were destroyed completely, leaving Naruto as a normal human. The second is that Kurama's chakra is simply too powerful for Naruto's body to withstand. If Kurama flooded chakra through Naruto's body it would have killed him.
Hellfire44: Umm...Koneko? Naruto's not a pedophile is he?
Answer: Um, no... just no. Where did you get that idea? Just so you know, Koneko is 15. Naruto is 17. That's a two year age difference. I've dated girls who were two years younger than me back when I was in high school. Also, in Japan, the age of consent is 13 years old. If they wanted to, Naruto and Koneko could legally have sex and no one would have to legally do a thing about it.
Guest: No offence man but don't u feel your rushing the romance I mean not the feelings part but the intiment parts cause while I like the story and will keep reading regardless I can't see naruto sleeping with someone so soon even if he loves her, rias either for that matter anyway looking forward to more
Answer: Not really. While I don't focus much on the passage of time, Naruto and Rias have known each other for several months now. You also have to remember a few things about these two. First: they're teenagers. Teenager relationships can start off quite fast. I know several couples who started having sex less than a month after they dated. I know some that started BECAUSE the couple had sex. What Naruto and Rias are doing is no different from any other teenage relationship. Two: Rias has no compunctions against sex. She was willing to have sex with Naruto in order to try and keep from marrying Rizer. What makes you think she wouldn't have sex with Naruto because they're dating? And three: Neruto and Rias are devils. While it's not implicit, devils are creatures of desire. They grant the desires of others in exchange for power, and they also have strong desires of their own which, due to their inherent greed as devils, they do not bother denying themselves.
ArmorofGeddon: It took me a couple of days before I looked back and realized something rather odd. Koneko just outright admitted to Naruto that her race was subjected to near-total genocide by the Devils (and she herself was nearly executed as a small child) just because of a crime committed by one member of their race... and Naruto just glossed said fact over like it was nothing. You would think that would be the kind of crap that would normally piss him off big time, and yet he acts like it's not even something worth thinking about.
As much as I enjoy Highschool DxD, it's moments like that that remind me that the Devils, while not all as vile as they are often believed to be, are still, in fact, a rather evil race as a whole (heck, Rias is considered one of the nicer ones by far, yet she basically left Issei to die so he would have no choice but to join her peerage and she's never called out on that). And they are, by and large, massive Karma Houdinis, since, once the story finally ends, they'll almost certainly be the unquestionably strongest faction out of the three Biblical powers, if not the strongest faction in the whole supernatural world.
Answer: While you bring up a good point, I figured I'd nip this in the bud now. It's not that Naruto glossed over this fact like it was nothing, it's that he realizes there is nothing he can do. What happened to Koneko is in the past and getting angry over it isn't going to help anyone, least of all Koneko, who needs his love and support, not his anger. Naruto might be kind of dense, and he might even be an idiot, but he knows a lot about the effects of hatred to know what would happen if he got angry in Koneko's presence while she's suffering.
You do bring up a good point about the evils of the devil race. I actually plan on bringing this up later in the story, especially during the arch that features the devil faction of the Chaos Brigade.
Exanime Draco: Well that was quite interesting to read about Naruto's piece. A Fairy Piece huh? I'm actually curious however about this, and I was hoping you could at least bring this up be it in a pm or in the next update. But I was wondering if this Fairy Piece that you mentioned as something you came up with or a part of the dxd series itself, since if it is odds are that it hasn't been placed on the wiki just yet. Then again when you consider all the stuff not on the wiki despite being out and revealed it's ridiculous. I mean seriously there are characters who have apparently been shown and have their images revealed but not shown on the internet or the wiki. Somewhat annoying when your trying to find out what they look like without reading every chapter.Still though that was rather interesting to learn about so if Naruto is knocked out of a game, then Rias loses huh? Interesting even more so since it seems that Naruto doesn't have any sort of benefits from this Fairy Piece at all. Or rather none that we are aware of at the moment so far. It will be interesting to see if he does get any or not in the future. Additionally I was a bit disapointed that Naruto didn't get any sort of familiar during the trip to the familiar forest, however, I think I know what your going to do about Naruto's familiar or at least I have a hint of your plans. In any case however, I enjoyed the chapter and I'm looking forward to the next update and I hope it happens soon!
Answer: The Fairy Piece that I used for Naruto is actually called Mann, an Inverted King piece, and is often used in a chess variant called Quatrochess, which is chess for four people. There are several Fairy Pieces in this variant:The chancellor moves as a chess rook and knight.The archbishop moves as a chess bishop and knight.The mann moves as a chess king, but has no royal power.The wazir moves one step orthogonally in any direction.The fers moves one step diagonally in any direction.A camel leaps in a (1,3) pattern like an elongated knight's move. It jumps over any intervening men.A giraffe leaps in a (1,4) pattern like an elongated knight's move. It jumps over any intervening men.DarkPirateKing: even if it's not really a major thing, i'm kinda happy that they can have sex without someone interrupting for the sake of comic relief... or making a huge fuss about it in the first place. they are teenagers/young adults in love and filled with hormones, so it's perfectly natural to have sex.
despite grown used to it long time ago while reading here (and not thinking about it too much).. it initially always feels awkward to read when protagonist has a boner (literally in this case) for a girl with a loli body, regardless of their actual age..
Ravel doesn't count, since her breast size in canon is inconsistent anyway.
well, those are just small things in the grand scheme of things that won't take away from the overall reading experience, at all.
Answer: Thank you! You're one of the only people who has realized this so far!--or at least one of the only people who's mentioned it. Naruto and Rias are teenagers. Teenagers have sex. It's a fact of life. I only know a few people in high school who remained celibate throughout it, and they were those really goodie two-shoes types who never did anything their parents didn't want them doing. They're also devils, which means they have more desires than a human does. I think Rias put it best when she was speaking to Xenovia about what it means to be a devil... which was actually what started Xenovia's whole "I want to have a child with Issei" spiel, come to think of it.
Random Reviewer: This chapter feels like filler. Like nothing really important happened. Even the revelation of the kind of mutated piece Naruto has doesn't really mean anything, because it apparently gives no bonuses *and* also serves as a massive liability in rating games though I'm not sure how that works. Surely the people refereeing the match would recognize Naruto as a servant and not the "King" of the peerage. I honestly don't believe that "losing a match if defeated" is an inherent property of a King piece so much as it is a simple rule that was implemented in the games themselves. So the "he can force you to lose a match if he gets defeated" makes absolutely zero sense.
Next, the familiar forest. They went there and basically nothing happened. We didn't actually see what went on with the main group and Naruto/Koneko basically just sat down on their own and had a brief chat. After which Koneko fell asleep for a few hours, meaning they basically time-skipped strait through the entire event. Even the talk they had felt extremely nonsensical. Naruto isn't *that* oblivious, he can connect 22 to puzzle out that the reason Koneko is crying about him dating Rias is that *she* wanted to date him. Especially when he got an erection while she was sitting on his lap, pointed it out to him, and then stayed on his lap anyway. That's .. not subtle. At all. Naruto isn't a complete dunce, he'd understand what was going on.
Finally, the sex scene at the beginning. Aside from attempting to titillate the readers was there any point to it at all? It added nothing to the story or the narrative outside of the fact that they're having sex. That could have been told to the readers with a simple suggestion that they were sleeping together and going at it like newly-weds. Actually describing the scene on the other hand does nothing but clog the story with purple prose that 1) isn't terribly well written and 2) does nothing to progress the plot, nor establish any new information that is relevant to the plot *or* to the development of the characters involved. If you *really* needed to get across that Naruto was happy with his new relationship with Rias you could have had him reminiscing about it in bed, post coitus, without the need to actually be explicit about it.
Basically, it feels like the sex scene was added as nothing more than an attempt at pandering to the readers. Which was especially blatant because it was the very first part of the chapter, ensuring that anyone reading the chapter would see it first (and with no warning of an incoming lemon scene).
I have no real suggestions on how to improve this other than to edit the scene so that Naruto is reflecting on it, maybe while walking Rias to school or while he's in bed next to her after she falls asleep. Fade to black works for a reason, and right now I personally believe your story is suffering because it *isn't* doing the equivalent of a "fade to black" thing. And I think you're degrading yourself as an author by such obvious pandering to the people here on this site that think sex is the be-all-end-all of a relationship.
Answer: You clearly don't know anything about chess, then. Naruto's piece isn't a mutated piece, first of all. It's a fairy piece, which actually exists in chess. I'm not going into details because I've already put them in another answer, so I'll only tell you that it does make sense and you simply don't realize it, probably because you haven't played much chess. I don't use random cop-out plot devices without at least researching and making sure those random cop-out plot devices make sense.
And what part did the familiar forest episode play in the anime? None. Issei didn't get a familiar, and we haven't even SEEN Asia's familiar since she got it. The whole thing was pointless, yet they put it in there anyway. I put this part in here because it was an important character developmental point between Naruto and Koneko. Naruto learns of Koneko's tragic past and also temporarily fixes the problem between him and Koneko. That's called character development, and if you want a good story, you need it. Epic stories with bland, uninspired characters make terrible stories.
Not relevant to the development of the plot or characters? I'd assume that two characters being sexually active is pretty relevant to the characters if not the plot. Physical intimacy is an important part of any healthy relationship. It's statistically proven that relationships where the couple are physically intimate, aka having sex, are healthier and prone to lasting longer than relationships that don't. You might be uncomfortable reading it, and that's fine. If you don't like it, you can just skip it.
Also, I'm going to tell that I was not pandering to the audience. I was pandering to myself. I write for myself and no one else. If other people like my stories, awesome, I'm glad, but if they don't, that's not really my problem. An author has to love their own work first and foremost.
Answer: Kurama could use yin-yang release to heal Naruto, but not until their chakra synchronizes. The problem at the beginning was two-fold. For starters, Naruto didn't have any coils left, they were destroyed completely, leaving Naruto as a normal human. The second is that Kurama's chakra is simply too powerful for Naruto's body to withstand. If Kurama flooded chakra through Naruto's body it would have killed him.
Hellfire44: Umm...Koneko? Naruto's not a pedophile is he?
Answer: Um, no... just no. Where did you get that idea? Just so you know, Koneko is 15. Naruto is 17. That's a two year age difference. I've dated girls who were two years younger than me back when I was in high school. Also, in Japan, the age of consent is 13 years old. If they wanted to, Naruto and Koneko could legally have sex and no one would have to legally do a thing about it.
Guest: No offence man but don't u feel your rushing the romance I mean not the feelings part but the intiment parts cause while I like the story and will keep reading regardless I can't see naruto sleeping with someone so soon even if he loves her, rias either for that matter anyway looking forward to more
Answer: Not really. While I don't focus much on the passage of time, Naruto and Rias have known each other for several months now. You also have to remember a few things about these two. First: they're teenagers. Teenager relationships can start off quite fast. I know several couples who started having sex less than a month after they dated. I know some that started BECAUSE the couple had sex. What Naruto and Rias are doing is no different from any other teenage relationship. Two: Rias has no compunctions against sex. She was willing to have sex with Naruto in order to try and keep from marrying Rizer. What makes you think she wouldn't have sex with Naruto because they're dating? And three: Neruto and Rias are devils. While it's not implicit, devils are creatures of desire. They grant the desires of others in exchange for power, and they also have strong desires of their own which, due to their inherent greed as devils, they do not bother denying themselves.
ArmorofGeddon: It took me a couple of days before I looked back and realized something rather odd. Koneko just outright admitted to Naruto that her race was subjected to near-total genocide by the Devils (and she herself was nearly executed as a small child) just because of a crime committed by one member of their race... and Naruto just glossed said fact over like it was nothing. You would think that would be the kind of crap that would normally piss him off big time, and yet he acts like it's not even something worth thinking about.
As much as I enjoy Highschool DxD, it's moments like that that remind me that the Devils, while not all as vile as they are often believed to be, are still, in fact, a rather evil race as a whole (heck, Rias is considered one of the nicer ones by far, yet she basically left Issei to die so he would have no choice but to join her peerage and she's never called out on that). And they are, by and large, massive Karma Houdinis, since, once the story finally ends, they'll almost certainly be the unquestionably strongest faction out of the three Biblical powers, if not the strongest faction in the whole supernatural world.
Answer: While you bring up a good point, I figured I'd nip this in the bud now. It's not that Naruto glossed over this fact like it was nothing, it's that he realizes there is nothing he can do. What happened to Koneko is in the past and getting angry over it isn't going to help anyone, least of all Koneko, who needs his love and support, not his anger. Naruto might be kind of dense, and he might even be an idiot, but he knows a lot about the effects of hatred to know what would happen if he got angry in Koneko's presence while she's suffering.
You do bring up a good point about the evils of the devil race. I actually plan on bringing this up later in the story, especially during the arch that features the devil faction of the Chaos Brigade.
Exanime Draco: Well that was quite interesting to read about Naruto's piece. A Fairy Piece huh? I'm actually curious however about this, and I was hoping you could at least bring this up be it in a pm or in the next update. But I was wondering if this Fairy Piece that you mentioned as something you came up with or a part of the dxd series itself, since if it is odds are that it hasn't been placed on the wiki just yet. Then again when you consider all the stuff not on the wiki despite being out and revealed it's ridiculous. I mean seriously there are characters who have apparently been shown and have their images revealed but not shown on the internet or the wiki. Somewhat annoying when your trying to find out what they look like without reading every chapter.Still though that was rather interesting to learn about so if Naruto is knocked out of a game, then Rias loses huh? Interesting even more so since it seems that Naruto doesn't have any sort of benefits from this Fairy Piece at all. Or rather none that we are aware of at the moment so far. It will be interesting to see if he does get any or not in the future. Additionally I was a bit disapointed that Naruto didn't get any sort of familiar during the trip to the familiar forest, however, I think I know what your going to do about Naruto's familiar or at least I have a hint of your plans. In any case however, I enjoyed the chapter and I'm looking forward to the next update and I hope it happens soon!
Answer: The Fairy Piece that I used for Naruto is actually called Mann, an Inverted King piece, and is often used in a chess variant called Quatrochess, which is chess for four people. There are several Fairy Pieces in this variant:The chancellor moves as a chess rook and knight.The archbishop moves as a chess bishop and knight.The mann moves as a chess king, but has no royal power.The wazir moves one step orthogonally in any direction.The fers moves one step diagonally in any direction.A camel leaps in a (1,3) pattern like an elongated knight's move. It jumps over any intervening men.A giraffe leaps in a (1,4) pattern like an elongated knight's move. It jumps over any intervening men.DarkPirateKing: even if it's not really a major thing, i'm kinda happy that they can have sex without someone interrupting for the sake of comic relief... or making a huge fuss about it in the first place. they are teenagers/young adults in love and filled with hormones, so it's perfectly natural to have sex.
despite grown used to it long time ago while reading here (and not thinking about it too much).. it initially always feels awkward to read when protagonist has a boner (literally in this case) for a girl with a loli body, regardless of their actual age..
Ravel doesn't count, since her breast size in canon is inconsistent anyway.
well, those are just small things in the grand scheme of things that won't take away from the overall reading experience, at all.
Answer: Thank you! You're one of the only people who has realized this so far!--or at least one of the only people who's mentioned it. Naruto and Rias are teenagers. Teenagers have sex. It's a fact of life. I only know a few people in high school who remained celibate throughout it, and they were those really goodie two-shoes types who never did anything their parents didn't want them doing. They're also devils, which means they have more desires than a human does. I think Rias put it best when she was speaking to Xenovia about what it means to be a devil... which was actually what started Xenovia's whole "I want to have a child with Issei" spiel, come to think of it.
Random Reviewer: This chapter feels like filler. Like nothing really important happened. Even the revelation of the kind of mutated piece Naruto has doesn't really mean anything, because it apparently gives no bonuses *and* also serves as a massive liability in rating games though I'm not sure how that works. Surely the people refereeing the match would recognize Naruto as a servant and not the "King" of the peerage. I honestly don't believe that "losing a match if defeated" is an inherent property of a King piece so much as it is a simple rule that was implemented in the games themselves. So the "he can force you to lose a match if he gets defeated" makes absolutely zero sense.
Next, the familiar forest. They went there and basically nothing happened. We didn't actually see what went on with the main group and Naruto/Koneko basically just sat down on their own and had a brief chat. After which Koneko fell asleep for a few hours, meaning they basically time-skipped strait through the entire event. Even the talk they had felt extremely nonsensical. Naruto isn't *that* oblivious, he can connect 22 to puzzle out that the reason Koneko is crying about him dating Rias is that *she* wanted to date him. Especially when he got an erection while she was sitting on his lap, pointed it out to him, and then stayed on his lap anyway. That's .. not subtle. At all. Naruto isn't a complete dunce, he'd understand what was going on.
Finally, the sex scene at the beginning. Aside from attempting to titillate the readers was there any point to it at all? It added nothing to the story or the narrative outside of the fact that they're having sex. That could have been told to the readers with a simple suggestion that they were sleeping together and going at it like newly-weds. Actually describing the scene on the other hand does nothing but clog the story with purple prose that 1) isn't terribly well written and 2) does nothing to progress the plot, nor establish any new information that is relevant to the plot *or* to the development of the characters involved. If you *really* needed to get across that Naruto was happy with his new relationship with Rias you could have had him reminiscing about it in bed, post coitus, without the need to actually be explicit about it.
Basically, it feels like the sex scene was added as nothing more than an attempt at pandering to the readers. Which was especially blatant because it was the very first part of the chapter, ensuring that anyone reading the chapter would see it first (and with no warning of an incoming lemon scene).
I have no real suggestions on how to improve this other than to edit the scene so that Naruto is reflecting on it, maybe while walking Rias to school or while he's in bed next to her after she falls asleep. Fade to black works for a reason, and right now I personally believe your story is suffering because it *isn't* doing the equivalent of a "fade to black" thing. And I think you're degrading yourself as an author by such obvious pandering to the people here on this site that think sex is the be-all-end-all of a relationship.
Answer: You clearly don't know anything about chess, then. Naruto's piece isn't a mutated piece, first of all. It's a fairy piece, which actually exists in chess. I'm not going into details because I've already put them in another answer, so I'll only tell you that it does make sense and you simply don't realize it, probably because you haven't played much chess. I don't use random cop-out plot devices without at least researching and making sure those random cop-out plot devices make sense.
And what part did the familiar forest episode play in the anime? None. Issei didn't get a familiar, and we haven't even SEEN Asia's familiar since she got it. The whole thing was pointless, yet they put it in there anyway. I put this part in here because it was an important character developmental point between Naruto and Koneko. Naruto learns of Koneko's tragic past and also temporarily fixes the problem between him and Koneko. That's called character development, and if you want a good story, you need it. Epic stories with bland, uninspired characters make terrible stories.
Not relevant to the development of the plot or characters? I'd assume that two characters being sexually active is pretty relevant to the characters if not the plot. Physical intimacy is an important part of any healthy relationship. It's statistically proven that relationships where the couple are physically intimate, aka having sex, are healthier and prone to lasting longer than relationships that don't. You might be uncomfortable reading it, and that's fine. If you don't like it, you can just skip it.
Also, I'm going to tell that I was not pandering to the audience. I was pandering to myself. I write for myself and no one else. If other people like my stories, awesome, I'm glad, but if they don't, that's not really my problem. An author has to love their own work first and foremost.
December 21, 2014
Ashikabi no Shinobi, Chapter 39
SilverBladeStar: You are a great writer, very talented. Your fight and sex scenes are top-notch. One of your few flaws is that when you do great, long, complex fic like this one, you have trouble keeping you own details straight. It seems like sometimes you can't remember some of the things you have written.
Answer: Sad but true. I won't deny that I do have the occasional problem remembering something that happened in a story. The problem isn't that my fics are long and complex, but more that I'm just writing for so many stories that my facts get mixed up and jumbled together. It's difficult writing 9 fanfics at the same time, add in my original stories and you've got some serious problems.
anon1: Nice chapter. There were some minor grammatical errors but nothing too noticeable. The only glaring mistake was when you referred to Yukari as 'Yukari Sendo' whom is a character from an entirely different anime/manga, RosarioVampire, instead of Yuarki Sahashi which is her actually name. Other than that, wonderful job. Looking forward to the surprise and an update on any of your stories.
Answer: Thank you for catching that. While I would love to claim that I never make mistakes when writing, the truth is I do, I make quite a few mistakes, in fact, and it's impossible for me to catch all of them.
Nope: The sex scenes - they are awful. Also, if Matsu is not wearing panties how could Naruto have taken them off? Blergh, this fic could be an awesome study in the field of psychology, you know? Someone could write a nice paper on unfulfilled dreams and sexual desires.
Answer: If you don't like my story then how come you've read 39 chapters of it? Seriously dude, it's okay if you dislike my stories, but if you're still reading this after 39 chapters, then you've clearly got issues. Are you sure I'm the one who has unfulfilled dreams and sexual desires? Because it seems to me like this is the other way around.
DraconisVladisDrake: 'Death by sentai pose'
Kudos to making me laugh my ass off.
I also liked the mixing of the plots with the Jinki and the Shinju. It does make me wonder about how your going to handle the relationship of the Jinki and the Sekirei?
I also like the hint at Naruto thinking of using the Jinki to give his Sekirei immortality. With all the changes to his personality I was afraid you had just gotten tired of his attitude and were trying to change him at the cost of the plot.
I would like to see some of his insecurities reappear intermittently when the plot allows, in order to show that he is human and make the story more believable. But I understand that it is difficult to make an 'organic' transition in personality that isn't 'forced', I look forward to seeing how you handle it.
I admit to being a little disappointed in the lack of attention Tsukiumi is getting, but I understand a lot is happening quickly and your trying to balance going to fast in the story and skipping important things, or going to slowly and making the reader loose interest.
Also I think Homura is feeling a little like a seventh wheel here, I'd like to see some kind of interaction between him/her and Naruto.
I also liked the 'Surprise' Minaka has coming up soon, it has felt like things are too easy for the protagonist and the lack of proper challenge does detract from the story. I liked how you smoothly inserted a new challenge with an action that is very 'Minaka like' and feels right. It is far too often that I see fan fictions 'bend' characters away from their established personalities and it was nice to see Minaka act in character and deal with the threat Naruto poses in a way that the original character would have done.
overall I rate this chapter a 9/10 the only reason I didn't give it a 9.5 was because the story is going a little fast and could stand to have certain interactions expounded upon. But overall very well done, I look forward to your special 'Surprise' in the Author Notes.
Answer: It is indeed difficult to make such a strong reversal in personality like this. Part of the reason I had Naruto struggle so much is so that his shift from angsty brooding jerk to somewhat decent human being felt a bit more natural. I had Naruto fight against his bonds constantly, always lamenting the past, until a catalyst (Musubi's death) forced him to acknowledge those bonds and allow for further development, however, even I'll admit that it's incredibly difficult.
Don't worry. Tsukiumi's time is coming. I have something special planned for her wedding night. It just takes some time and preparation. XD
ABitterPill: I have a question. Naruto has demonstrated incredible regeneration and has shown he can regrow his heart and stated he can regrow his head. So if he were bisected straight down the middle, would both halves regenerate and thus end up with two Narutos?
Answer: An excellent question, and the answer is no, the two halves would not regrow into two separate Narutos. The way I see it, Naruto only has one soul, therefore, there can only ever be one Naruto (not including clones) in the universe. You can't split the soul in two... unless you were to go the evil Naruto segregation route (which isn't happening), so if Naruto were separated into halves, only one part, his torso, would regenerate, while the other remained inert.
Guest: i like the story,but why you make yume will merge with musubi?
i think, it will be better if naruto find a way to give yume a body.
so she can join into harem.
hope my review will not slowing down your update.
anyway, this story is very good . so i will wait for next update.
Answer: The reason I'm having Yume and Musubi merge is for several reasons. First: No one else has done it before, at least no one that I know of. Second, I only have room for 8 Sekirei in Naruto's harem: Akitsu, Kazehana, Homura, Matsu, Miya, Musubi, Tsukiuimi and Kusano. That's already Sekirei, so Naruto's harem is all filled up.
Digitize27: amn, Akitsu seems to have taken a bit of a backseat lately. Still, good chapter that definitely justifies the waiting _
Answer: It's unfortunate, but sometimes, certain characters are often delegated to the background. Because of how quiet Akitsu often is, it's difficult to give her a prominent position as a foreground character who's always given time in the spotlight. I'll try to give her some more time to shine.
DarkPirateKing97: are you SURE you haven't read gabriel blessing's In Flight? last time i asked was pretty long time ago.. one of the 'Gift of Memories' chapters had In Flight in the title.
i mean the whole scene with Yukari calling Naruto and asking for 'life counseling'.. or maybe she was like that in canon (it HAS been a while)? and the whole thing with Musubi riding the protagonist while he's not aware of it at first thing seems eerily familiar too.
i don't know.. maybe great minds just think alike. doesn't make this any less awesome, but it's just something that started to nagging my mind while reading.
Answer: I have not read any of Gabriel Blessing's stories. I tried reading A Hill of Swords once, but couldn't get past the first chapter because it was written in 1st person and at the time I did not like reading 1st person POVs. I'll probably get around to reading his stories at some point, because I've heard nothing but good things about his writing, but it won't be until after this is finished. If there are any similarities between his story and my own, it's just a coincidence. Oh! And if you're curious, I actually got the idea of "life counseling" from the anime OreImo (My Little Sister Can't be This Cute).
NarutoDKurosaki: So a new chapter and this fic is at its end and I would really like to see your hypothesis in this fic about the jinki where they grow into a primordial god.The next thing is your thoughts about the last chapter of naruto manga how did you like it? And as for your surprise is it the sequel to the harry potter fic of yours or an entirely new fic
Answer: To be perfectly honest, I'm not really into canon Naruto anymore, so my thoughts are sort of, bleh, in a way. There's a lot about the story I didn't like, some things I did like. I do admit that I think Kishi managed to end his story nicely... except for Gaara's hair, but my opinions are sort of, meh.
Answer: Sad but true. I won't deny that I do have the occasional problem remembering something that happened in a story. The problem isn't that my fics are long and complex, but more that I'm just writing for so many stories that my facts get mixed up and jumbled together. It's difficult writing 9 fanfics at the same time, add in my original stories and you've got some serious problems.
anon1: Nice chapter. There were some minor grammatical errors but nothing too noticeable. The only glaring mistake was when you referred to Yukari as 'Yukari Sendo' whom is a character from an entirely different anime/manga, RosarioVampire, instead of Yuarki Sahashi which is her actually name. Other than that, wonderful job. Looking forward to the surprise and an update on any of your stories.
Answer: Thank you for catching that. While I would love to claim that I never make mistakes when writing, the truth is I do, I make quite a few mistakes, in fact, and it's impossible for me to catch all of them.
Nope: The sex scenes - they are awful. Also, if Matsu is not wearing panties how could Naruto have taken them off? Blergh, this fic could be an awesome study in the field of psychology, you know? Someone could write a nice paper on unfulfilled dreams and sexual desires.
Answer: If you don't like my story then how come you've read 39 chapters of it? Seriously dude, it's okay if you dislike my stories, but if you're still reading this after 39 chapters, then you've clearly got issues. Are you sure I'm the one who has unfulfilled dreams and sexual desires? Because it seems to me like this is the other way around.
DraconisVladisDrake: 'Death by sentai pose'
Kudos to making me laugh my ass off.
I also liked the mixing of the plots with the Jinki and the Shinju. It does make me wonder about how your going to handle the relationship of the Jinki and the Sekirei?
I also like the hint at Naruto thinking of using the Jinki to give his Sekirei immortality. With all the changes to his personality I was afraid you had just gotten tired of his attitude and were trying to change him at the cost of the plot.
I would like to see some of his insecurities reappear intermittently when the plot allows, in order to show that he is human and make the story more believable. But I understand that it is difficult to make an 'organic' transition in personality that isn't 'forced', I look forward to seeing how you handle it.
I admit to being a little disappointed in the lack of attention Tsukiumi is getting, but I understand a lot is happening quickly and your trying to balance going to fast in the story and skipping important things, or going to slowly and making the reader loose interest.
Also I think Homura is feeling a little like a seventh wheel here, I'd like to see some kind of interaction between him/her and Naruto.
I also liked the 'Surprise' Minaka has coming up soon, it has felt like things are too easy for the protagonist and the lack of proper challenge does detract from the story. I liked how you smoothly inserted a new challenge with an action that is very 'Minaka like' and feels right. It is far too often that I see fan fictions 'bend' characters away from their established personalities and it was nice to see Minaka act in character and deal with the threat Naruto poses in a way that the original character would have done.
overall I rate this chapter a 9/10 the only reason I didn't give it a 9.5 was because the story is going a little fast and could stand to have certain interactions expounded upon. But overall very well done, I look forward to your special 'Surprise' in the Author Notes.
Answer: It is indeed difficult to make such a strong reversal in personality like this. Part of the reason I had Naruto struggle so much is so that his shift from angsty brooding jerk to somewhat decent human being felt a bit more natural. I had Naruto fight against his bonds constantly, always lamenting the past, until a catalyst (Musubi's death) forced him to acknowledge those bonds and allow for further development, however, even I'll admit that it's incredibly difficult.
Don't worry. Tsukiumi's time is coming. I have something special planned for her wedding night. It just takes some time and preparation. XD
ABitterPill: I have a question. Naruto has demonstrated incredible regeneration and has shown he can regrow his heart and stated he can regrow his head. So if he were bisected straight down the middle, would both halves regenerate and thus end up with two Narutos?
Answer: An excellent question, and the answer is no, the two halves would not regrow into two separate Narutos. The way I see it, Naruto only has one soul, therefore, there can only ever be one Naruto (not including clones) in the universe. You can't split the soul in two... unless you were to go the evil Naruto segregation route (which isn't happening), so if Naruto were separated into halves, only one part, his torso, would regenerate, while the other remained inert.
Guest: i like the story,but why you make yume will merge with musubi?
i think, it will be better if naruto find a way to give yume a body.
so she can join into harem.
hope my review will not slowing down your update.
anyway, this story is very good . so i will wait for next update.
Answer: The reason I'm having Yume and Musubi merge is for several reasons. First: No one else has done it before, at least no one that I know of. Second, I only have room for 8 Sekirei in Naruto's harem: Akitsu, Kazehana, Homura, Matsu, Miya, Musubi, Tsukiuimi and Kusano. That's already Sekirei, so Naruto's harem is all filled up.
Digitize27: amn, Akitsu seems to have taken a bit of a backseat lately. Still, good chapter that definitely justifies the waiting _
Answer: It's unfortunate, but sometimes, certain characters are often delegated to the background. Because of how quiet Akitsu often is, it's difficult to give her a prominent position as a foreground character who's always given time in the spotlight. I'll try to give her some more time to shine.
DarkPirateKing97: are you SURE you haven't read gabriel blessing's In Flight? last time i asked was pretty long time ago.. one of the 'Gift of Memories' chapters had In Flight in the title.
i mean the whole scene with Yukari calling Naruto and asking for 'life counseling'.. or maybe she was like that in canon (it HAS been a while)? and the whole thing with Musubi riding the protagonist while he's not aware of it at first thing seems eerily familiar too.
i don't know.. maybe great minds just think alike. doesn't make this any less awesome, but it's just something that started to nagging my mind while reading.
Answer: I have not read any of Gabriel Blessing's stories. I tried reading A Hill of Swords once, but couldn't get past the first chapter because it was written in 1st person and at the time I did not like reading 1st person POVs. I'll probably get around to reading his stories at some point, because I've heard nothing but good things about his writing, but it won't be until after this is finished. If there are any similarities between his story and my own, it's just a coincidence. Oh! And if you're curious, I actually got the idea of "life counseling" from the anime OreImo (My Little Sister Can't be This Cute).
NarutoDKurosaki: So a new chapter and this fic is at its end and I would really like to see your hypothesis in this fic about the jinki where they grow into a primordial god.The next thing is your thoughts about the last chapter of naruto manga how did you like it? And as for your surprise is it the sequel to the harry potter fic of yours or an entirely new fic
Answer: To be perfectly honest, I'm not really into canon Naruto anymore, so my thoughts are sort of, bleh, in a way. There's a lot about the story I didn't like, some things I did like. I do admit that I think Kishi managed to end his story nicely... except for Gaara's hair, but my opinions are sort of, meh.
December 13, 2014
OreImo
Here's an anime that gets a lot of love and hate. My Little Sister Can't be this Cute or OreImo for short, is an anime about a good-for-nothing brother who discovers his sister is an Otaku with a love of little sister eroge. This anime was... surprisingly good. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much of this anime, but for almost the entire two seasons of it, I actually enjoyed watching this a great deal.
The first thing I enjoyed about OreImo is the glimpse it gives us into otaku culture. Contrary to popular belief in America, Britain and other countries around the world, otaku is a derogatory term in Japan. It's basically an insult to be called otaku. If you're otaku in Japan, people are basically calling you a social outcast with no life outside of your obsession (which can be anything, not just anime).I love how this aspect of Japanese culture is accurately displayed in this anime, not only making it entertaining, but actually adding a bit of educational value by teaching us foolish foreigners about what it really means to be an otaku.
The second thing I enjoyed about this anime was the characters. All of the characters in this anime actually feel like real people, not caricatures of archetypes. Even the tsundere of the group, Kirino Kousaka, feels like a real life person. In fact, I'd say she was the most well-created of the entire cast. I know a lot of people don't like her because she's annoying, belligerent and mean, but that's actually what makes her feel so real. She acts just like an obstinate little sister.
Another well-thought out aspect of this anime was the development between the main character, Kyousuke Kousaka, and the rest of the cast. Unlike most romance/harem genre anime, this one actually takes a more realistic approach to developing relationships. In fact, Kyousuke actually ends up dating one of the characters in the anime, something that you see surprisingly little of, even in romance anime.One of the things this anime has that few don't is steady progress and development between the main character and the rest of the cast. You actually get to see how they develop further as a result of their interaction and watch them grow and become more mature. It is quite possibly the most enjoyable aspect of the entire anime.
And then episode 12 of season 2 came...
... and the entire anime was butchered with a rusty spork.
Something I feel everyone should know about this anime was that it had some serious potential. Despite the mixed reviews it got, this had all the makings of a great anime until episode 12 of season 2 came out. It had interesting characters, progressive character development, an interesting story, and a nice little romance. Episode 12 is where all this awesome was thrown down a garbage shoot because the author decided to let his little sister fetish get the best of him.
Honestly, I just don't understand why someone would ruin such a good anime by adding incest. Yes, I know, the anime sort of ran in that direction several times, and yes, I am aware that this anime is based off an eroge where the MC getting with his little sister is, indeed, a playable route, but I never really felt any sort of romantic potential between Kirino and Kyousuke in the anime. To me, it felt more like the bonds between an estranged brother and sister being mended, which is what this anime should have been about, and would have been about, if the creator had not decided to go the incest route.What makes this route even worse is that the creators didn't go all the way through with it. No, instead of actually deciding to take this anime all the way, the creator did something I despise in anime, the Reset Button Ending. This is the ending where, after having gone through all this hardship to get to the point where they are now, the creator decides to make it all pointless by, essentially, resetting time. In OreImo, this is done by the end couple, Kirino and her brother Kyousuke, deciding to be a limited-time couple until Kyouseke graduates from high school and then returning to normal siblings. Now, I don't like this pairing at all. In fact, I hate this pairing. However, if you're going to go incest, then you might as well see it through to the end instead of playing the reset card, because allowing the characters to hit that reset button and pretend their relationship never happened pretty much invalidates the entire anime. It's like watching 24 episodes of an anime, and then realizing those episodes were nothing but pointless filler.
To be perfectly frank, this anime would have been a thousand times better if Kyousuke ended up paired with one of the other girls and Kirino was forced to confront her feelings for her brother and realize that the love she felt was never romantic in nature, but just deep-seated feelings of respect and admiration toward the brother she looked up to and admired when she was younger. The development derived from coming to terms with her feelings and realizing that, yes, she does love her brother but not in that way, would have been far more powerful than route they chose to take. As it is, I had a hard time taking this anime seriously after episode 12.Now, here is the tricky part, my rating. This anime would have gotten a 9.5/10 due to the story, characters and development, however, because the creator screwed himself over this anime isn't getting that high of a rating. I probably would have given this anime a 7/10 if the creator at least decided to go all the way and force Kirino and Kyousuke to confront the hardships that came from having an incestual relationship, but since the creator decided to hit the reset button, I am only giving it a 5.5/10. It had potential, I enjoyed most of the two season series, but that ending just ruined it for me.
December 7, 2014
Top Five Anime Cliche's
I've finally hopped on the bandwagon and decided to list the five anime cliches, or tropes, that annoy me the most. I know what you're all thinking. "How could you, Brandon?" I'm sorry, but while I love anime and manga and light novels, even I will admit this particular entertainment media has even more cliches than Chuck Norris has people kissing his ass.
There are hundreds of cliches in the anime world. More than I can list in a single article. For the sake of keeping my word count below 9,000, I'm only going to list the five that bother me the most. If you agree with them, awesome, let me know. If you don't, cool, let me know why. Also, if you have any cliches you dislike, be sure to leave a post and let everyone know.
Number 5: Harem Conclusions.
One of the few things I hate about harem anime is the lack of a conclusive ending. The problem with harems is that they almost always end completely open. The main character almost NEVER mans up and chooses a girl. The most you can expect from an anime like this is for everything to return to the way it was at the beginning, sans the fact that the MC now has several women chasing after his oblivious loser ass.
There are some anime that break this trope. Shuffle did a good job of having the man character man up and pick a girl. The World God Only also ended with the MC NOT getting with the one girl he might have liked (or any of the other girls), and Highschool DxD the light novel version Issei is actually getting his harem, but, generally, most anime fall under this annoyingly open end that never ceases to piss me off.
Number 4: Overused Female Archetypes
The problem I have with this trope isn't the archetypes themselves, but the fact that animators use them as an excuse to be lazy. Rarely ever will you see these characters fleshed out. In fact, you'll be lucky if these characters get any development before the end of the season. And when they actually DO get some half-assed attempt at development, it's always during the last 1 or 2 episodes when I'm just so annoyed by how stereotypical their personalities are that I just don't care anymore.
There are, of course, anime that can take these archetypes and create well-thought out, meaningful and believable characters, but those are so rare that usually only maybe 1 out of every 5 anime will successfully take an archetype and make them into something more. A few examples of GOOD archetype characters are: Rin Tohsaka from Fate/Stay Night, Kanade from Angel Beats, and Winry Rockbell from Fullmetal Alchemist. Feel free to add more to this list if you have a favorite archetype character. ^_^
Number 3: Anime that Never Go Anywhere
Something I really dislike about some anime is the lack of plot progression for the sake of dicking around. One of my beliefs is that a scene should do something to either progress the plot or develop the characters. In a comedy, character development is done through ensuing hilarity. In romance, it's done by developing the relationship of the hero and heroine. In action, you have an enemy show up that needs to be defeated. In slice-of-life, you generally have people dealing with everyday problems that need to be solved.
But what happens when a story has no plot? What happens when the characters are never developed? What happens when all you have are a bunch of characters doing nothing, where the story never progresses and the characters never grow beyond whatever archetypes they've been molded from? You get a horrible, god awful anime. That's what.
Number 2: The Boob Fall
Now, this is a cliche I'm on the fence about. I've seen some truly epic boob falls in my time, where the main character ends up falling into a girls boobs and somehow finds their face planted directly into her notorious cleavage. That being said, a lot of anime seem to use this for no other reason than fan service. And not the comedy type of fan service. I'm talking the "let's give these Otaku some fapping material" kind of fan service.
In my opinion, this cliche is rarely ever done well. To Love Ru can do because that entire anime is just one big fan service, and they're boob falls are so over the top that they've actually started doing crotch falls now too. NouCome does it well, too, but they take a very different approach to boob falling. While this trope is fine to use in comedy, I truly hate it when it's used in more serious anime.
Number 1: The Back of the Classroom
Why is it that every main character in every high school anime sits at the back of the main classroom? I just don't get it. Is it somehow symbolic with their rebel attitude? Is it to show how much of a loser they are? How anti-social they are? Why does every main character sit there?
Some of you might be scratching your heads wondering why this bothers me so much. I sometimes wonder that myself. I guess my biggest problem with this cliche is that it happens in EVERY high school anime setting ever conceived, and it's never explained! Just once I would like someone to make the character sit at the front of the class, where he's right up in the middle of the action. Is that too much to ask for?
This concludes my list of top five anime cliches. There are hundreds of cliches out there in anime, but it would take far too long to explain and I'm feeling lazy. If any of you would like to add a cliche you dislike, feel free. If you'd like to defend a cliche posted up here, feel free. As always, thanks for reading!
There are hundreds of cliches in the anime world. More than I can list in a single article. For the sake of keeping my word count below 9,000, I'm only going to list the five that bother me the most. If you agree with them, awesome, let me know. If you don't, cool, let me know why. Also, if you have any cliches you dislike, be sure to leave a post and let everyone know.
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Number 5: Harem Conclusions.One of the few things I hate about harem anime is the lack of a conclusive ending. The problem with harems is that they almost always end completely open. The main character almost NEVER mans up and chooses a girl. The most you can expect from an anime like this is for everything to return to the way it was at the beginning, sans the fact that the MC now has several women chasing after his oblivious loser ass.
There are some anime that break this trope. Shuffle did a good job of having the man character man up and pick a girl. The World God Only also ended with the MC NOT getting with the one girl he might have liked (or any of the other girls), and Highschool DxD the light novel version Issei is actually getting his harem, but, generally, most anime fall under this annoyingly open end that never ceases to piss me off.
Number 4: Overused Female ArchetypesThe problem I have with this trope isn't the archetypes themselves, but the fact that animators use them as an excuse to be lazy. Rarely ever will you see these characters fleshed out. In fact, you'll be lucky if these characters get any development before the end of the season. And when they actually DO get some half-assed attempt at development, it's always during the last 1 or 2 episodes when I'm just so annoyed by how stereotypical their personalities are that I just don't care anymore.
There are, of course, anime that can take these archetypes and create well-thought out, meaningful and believable characters, but those are so rare that usually only maybe 1 out of every 5 anime will successfully take an archetype and make them into something more. A few examples of GOOD archetype characters are: Rin Tohsaka from Fate/Stay Night, Kanade from Angel Beats, and Winry Rockbell from Fullmetal Alchemist. Feel free to add more to this list if you have a favorite archetype character. ^_^
Number 3: Anime that Never Go AnywhereSomething I really dislike about some anime is the lack of plot progression for the sake of dicking around. One of my beliefs is that a scene should do something to either progress the plot or develop the characters. In a comedy, character development is done through ensuing hilarity. In romance, it's done by developing the relationship of the hero and heroine. In action, you have an enemy show up that needs to be defeated. In slice-of-life, you generally have people dealing with everyday problems that need to be solved.
But what happens when a story has no plot? What happens when the characters are never developed? What happens when all you have are a bunch of characters doing nothing, where the story never progresses and the characters never grow beyond whatever archetypes they've been molded from? You get a horrible, god awful anime. That's what.
Number 2: The Boob FallNow, this is a cliche I'm on the fence about. I've seen some truly epic boob falls in my time, where the main character ends up falling into a girls boobs and somehow finds their face planted directly into her notorious cleavage. That being said, a lot of anime seem to use this for no other reason than fan service. And not the comedy type of fan service. I'm talking the "let's give these Otaku some fapping material" kind of fan service.
In my opinion, this cliche is rarely ever done well. To Love Ru can do because that entire anime is just one big fan service, and they're boob falls are so over the top that they've actually started doing crotch falls now too. NouCome does it well, too, but they take a very different approach to boob falling. While this trope is fine to use in comedy, I truly hate it when it's used in more serious anime.
Number 1: The Back of the ClassroomWhy is it that every main character in every high school anime sits at the back of the main classroom? I just don't get it. Is it somehow symbolic with their rebel attitude? Is it to show how much of a loser they are? How anti-social they are? Why does every main character sit there?
Some of you might be scratching your heads wondering why this bothers me so much. I sometimes wonder that myself. I guess my biggest problem with this cliche is that it happens in EVERY high school anime setting ever conceived, and it's never explained! Just once I would like someone to make the character sit at the front of the class, where he's right up in the middle of the action. Is that too much to ask for?
This concludes my list of top five anime cliches. There are hundreds of cliches out there in anime, but it would take far too long to explain and I'm feeling lazy. If any of you would like to add a cliche you dislike, feel free. If you'd like to defend a cliche posted up here, feel free. As always, thanks for reading!
