frivolous

i think i'm turning japanese, i really think so.

or at least, i'm turning otaku

amid my phd endeavours, every Thursday Friday and Tuesday night, I return home from office/school/second-home-on-the-fifth-floor-of-tydings, and search the internet for subbed versions of the four anime shows that i have been avidly following this past quarter. what can i say? some people have Grey's Anatomy, some have korean dramas, I have my "die-die-must-watch" anime series.

but why anime you say? well.. i can think of a few reasons for my personal preference.

1) animes are short. they're 22 minute long shows and streaming videos online has meant that tv ads are nicely cut out (or at least along the unobtrusive margins of websites). all this provides for nice quick viewing for those with short attention spans. In addition, I'm selective about the animes i watch. I can't deal with bleach or one-piece which have hundreds of episodes to their name and are still on-going. The shows i pursue are nicely wrapped up within 24 episodes max. That makes for easy following and an expectation of a definite end.

2) what you can't do in real life can be done in animation. Suspend disbelief. in the world of animation, anything can happen. you want a headless motorcycle rider who's more human than some of the real humans. you've got it. and on a low cost budget too. given the possibilities, i find some anime shows to be more original than some live action television programs. animation can provide the writer more leeway to pursue different angles on subjects never thought possible and gives the writer the opportunity to play with the impossible made tangible in 2d.

3) i am a sucker for nice art. (check out some of the drawings below)

4) there's something to be said about japanese humour. you can't really compare family guy to japanese humour. the two are just different realms of humour. there are some jokes and stereotypes that i will see in a japanese anime that will never be replicated in western shows. The over-the-top voice-acting, the characteristic sweat-drop or vein throbbing in the forehead of an agitated character... i haven't really seen an equivalent to that as of yet in western media. probably because these features and jokes are cultural and require an implicit common understanding.

anyway, i've waxed lyrical on this for too long... this is what happens when you live in a US suburb with no nearby cafes and shops, i think

durarara!

senkou no night raid