30 Minutes of Anime
I'm not normally one to do one of these things. No, not blog posts, we already know I've stopped doing those. I mean memetic lists. Especially those "X Days of Y". But I wondered how it would turn out if I tried the 30 Days of Anime, so I decided to do all of them at once. This saves you the trouble of having to wait to hear what I think about things, and it saves me the trouble of remembering to do one of these every day. So here we go!
Oh right, warning, there may be spoilers in here, etc. etc.
Minute 1: Very first anime
So if you want to be technical, it was probably Totoro back when I was too young to recognize when anime was anime. And I probably saw the odd episode of Voltron or Robotech once in awhile. But first anime that I followed daily and was upset if I missed it? GETTO DAZE.
You bet I woke up at 6 AM every morning before school to watch this idiot fail at catching Pokemon. Pokemon made up the core of my geekdom in the late nineties, since I was all into the show and the video games and the card game. Fun fact: little Dan almost cried when Ash was going to let Pikachu stay in the forest with all the other Pikachu. Somehow, some way, we have to say goodbye~ THAT DAMN SONG.
Minute 2: Favorite anime you’ve watched so far
Ugh, so I have to pick one? While I am primarily a fan of giant fighting robots and the Gundam franchise will always win the lifetime achievement award, if it's only one show, then it has to be the mother of all space operas. Legend of the Galactic Heroes tells a story of love, war, and ambition that dwarves anything else that I've seen. Plus it has the most badass moe emperor ever. Look at him!
The diverse cast, sprawling universe, and attention to detail are incredible. Sure, it's not the most fast-paced show in the world and for every amazing battle there's about three times as much political wheeling and dealing going on in the background. But you know what? It works. This show is like watching five years of these people's lives and how a handful of talented individuals can turn all of humanity on its head. For foppery and whim.
Minute 3: Your first anime crush
It was high school and I was an awkward nerd who liked Dragonball Z. Enter Videl.
She's cute, she's deadly, and man does she rock the short hair like a boss.
Minute 4: Anime you’re ashamed you enjoyed
This one's pretty tough, because chances are if I enjoyed it, I've told people "Oh man, this show is awesome you should totally watch it." I certainly regret buying and watching all of Lucky Star, because apparently I was holding out hope for more obtuse references that I would get -- "You know, Konata, you're almost as old as Captain Bright!" -- but I can't say I'm ashamed that I enjoyed it because, well, I don't know that I really did. So I'm going to go with Fighting Fantasy Girl Rescue Me Mave-chan. Yeah, it was awful, but it was kind of cute and I watched it right after reading Yukikaze, so I totally see what they did there.
What's that? Why, no, I don't plan on watching Strike Witches or Infinite Stratos!
Minute 5: Anime character you feel you are most like (or wish you were)
So if you take away his ridiculous level of porn consumption, I'd say that I'm most like Madarame from Genshiken. A socially awkward Gundam fan with glasses and computer skills who spends lots of money on ridiculous toys? Sounds about right.
Although it looks like he's wearing a tie to work, which is a complete non-starter.
Minute 6: Most annoying anime character
Since I tend to watch shows with a lot of fighting, anyone who hangs around the plot despite being utterly useless tends to become this. Hell, I'd even throw Orihime in here even though she has mystical hairpin powers. But she cannot even come close to being the most annoying, because it's this... this... thing.
Seriously, if Index didn't exist and the show was just about Touma beating the crap out of powerful guys and being awesome, then I'd be able to watch it without wanting to break somebody. Once her arc is over, she's just baggage. Chatty, abusive baggage.
Minute 7: Favorite anime couple
It may not be canon, but I don't care. If I'm going to ship anybody, it would be Domon and Allenby.
Rain is much closer to an ideal Japanese woman, but Allenby is just all-around more awesome. Even if she is occasionally brainwashed and crazy.
Minute 8: Most epic scene ever
It wasn't enough that the final battle of Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann features a pair of universe-sized mecha throwing galaxies at each other like they were ninja stars. No, the movie took that and dialed it up to twelve. Compilation movies are always tough to get right, but the final fifteen minutes or so of Lagann-Hen make it all worth it.
There's so much manly spirit flowing through me just thinking about it that I think I just dropped a third ball.
Minute 9: Saddest anime scene
Full Metal Alchemist has them both. The first one involves a certain talking chimera, and the other...
DAMN IT HUGHES.
Minute 10: Favorite slice of life anime
I usually dislike slice of life because, well, it's boring. Anime is an escape, so it's hard to get into a show where I just watch people do normal stuff. It's worse when they're teenagers. Been there, done that, don't need to go back. So unless there's a pretty amusing hook, I'm not going to even give it a chance. Moyashimon wins because the microbes are adorable.
One of my favorite things from -- what, two seasons ago? -- was when they did a live action Moyashimon and during the festival they had an idol singer do the theme song from the anime. That was sweet.
Minute 11: Favorite mecha series
It's pretty hard to pick just one. Gundam naturally is my favorite franchise and I'd lean toward the original series, although I recently watched Dougram and think I enjoyed that more because it tended more to the political end of the spectrum and required less miracle science than Gundam did in order to work. So I'll take a third option and go with Macross Plus.
Plus takes everything that makes Macross great and boils it down to four episodes with immense production quality for the early 90s. The result is gorgeous. The plot moves at the right speed, the triangle actually has some serious drama that charges the combat, and the YF-19 is a downright sexy machine.
Minute 12: An ecchi picture from your favorite series
... Does Galactic Heroes ecchi even exist? I mean, there was episode 40, but that's not going to happen. So have some tasteful Hilde.
Hail to the king, baby.
Minute 13: Cosplay of your ‘waifu’ or Husbando’
Having a waifu is kind of silly, isn't it? Well, I answered the crush question, so let's see. If I had to pick, it would be Emma Sheen from Zeta Gundam. She's the only woman in that entire show who isn't completely crazy.
It's really difficult to imagine how she ended up in the Titans, let alone in the military. She's such a nice person!
Minute 14: current (or most recent) anime wallpaper
It's been Gundam Unicorn since before the first volume came out on Blu-ray and MADE ME BUY A BLU-RAY PLAYER.
Oh yeah, volume 3 is out. Where's my preorder, Bandai Store?
Minute 15: Post a cute Neko-girl
... But my irrational dislike of catgirls is well-established!
VERY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Minute 16: post a kigurumi cosplay of your favorite anime character
I don't even know what this is. Google says... uh huh. Interesting. I don't know if such a thing would exist for my favorite characters since they tend to be dudes, so here. Have a Gundam riding a bicycle.
I don't think the magnetic coating is the most pressing performance upgrade...
Minute 17: Favorite tsundere
For some reason this is popular. Really, if I had to put up with a girl who was all tsuntsun, I don't think she'd have a chance to go deredere because I'd be the heck out of there. But here we are, and I still have to pick one. Do I go with Kaname Chidori, or do I go with...
Yes, even though I'm not a big fan of the Raildex franchise, I'll admit that I thoroughly enjoy watching Misaka unload on someone with her electrical powers. And her cute side IS ridiculously cute.
Minute 18: Something moe
Very well.
Moe Reinhard returns all the way from minute 2!
Minute 19: Mandatory swimsuit post
Is it really? Fine.
America's trunks are not nearly flamboyant enough, though.
Minute 20: Favorite shoujo anime
Hmm, in this case, the challenge isn't really finding a shoujo anime I like but finding a shoujo anime I've seen. There isn't much. Granted, getting into tokusatsu gave me a newfound appreciation for Sailor Moon, but if I had to sit down right now and pick something to watch... it's Rayearth.
Sure, I've only seen a little over half of season 1, but there's swordfighting and magic, monsters, and they even summon a robot that looks like Zeorymer of the Heavens! I'll even tolerate the little puntable mascot character/bag of infinite holding.
Minute 21: Best yandere character
Tsunderes aren't bad enough already, nooooo, now we have to bring in the crazies, too. Fortunately I have Baka and Test to play this for laughs.
Just watching what Shouko puts poor Yuuji through makes me weep for the guy, but anyone who can take repeated taser blasts and a shining finger deserves respect.
Minute 22: Favorite BL/yuri couple
Do I even have one? Uh... NanoFate?
At least they're not, like, ten in StrikerS so it feels less creepy. I guess I would eventually wind up with a favorite pairing if I just starting mashing the Moyashimon cast together, too... the show did plenty on its own.
Minute 23: Anime you think had the best, or most intriguing art
I have a soft spot for the OVA style of the late 80s and early 90s. Experimental, artsy stuff like what Shaft does? I can do without that. I don't really appreciate that sort of thing. Although I will comment on something I've watched recently that I found interesting:
Katanagatari looks very different from most of what comes out anymore. It manages to maintain a high level of detail despite being a much simpler art style, with bolder lines and colors. But it really works. The animation flows and calls attention to what's really important in the scene.
Minute 24: Favorite anime hero or heroine
Favorite hero? How about favorite GALACTIC hero?
Now, Legend of the Galactic Heroes doesn't really ever pick sides. You have the space empire against the space republic, and the show makes it clear that both sides have their pros and cons. Amusingly enough, his abilities are acknowledged more by his opponents on the other side than by his own government. Yang didn't want to be a soldier, but it was his only ticket to a free education. And what's unique about him is that he specializes in "not losing" rather than "winning," and nobody in the republic government knows or cares about the difference. The fact that he managed to uphold the spirit of democracy despite living in one of history's crappiest ones says a lot of about his toughness, even if he never really shows it.
Minute 25: Best anime villian
See, if the question was "favorite villain," I'd probably just stick to my guns and go with Char Aznable for sort of breaking the mold of what it meant to be a villian back in '79 and inspiring a boatload of clones. But he's not on the same level as this guy.
So Father first obtains a body made out of philosopher's stone by manipulating the king of a powerful country, and once he has said body, enacts a plan that spans centuries to build another country and turn IT into a stone. Leaving the protagonists alone was probably a dumb mistake, but his plan advances so far and he's so strong that I really had trouble seeing how Ed and company were going to win that final battle.
Minute 26: Your favorite harem anime
So here's another genre I don't see much of. Through the nostalgia goggles, Tenchi looks like a safe bet and it's actually a minor achievement that they got it on broadcast television. But whenever I think of harem anime that I really enjoyed, I always wind up at an inn on the hill.
I'm not really sure what it is that makes me like Love Hina. Maybe nostalgia goggles are at work here, too, since I don't remember there being that much fanservice compared to today's shows and Naru's tsuntsun routine was pretty funny. Oh, and Koalla Su's robot army! (I wonder if I should change my "anime I'm ashamed of enjoying" to this?)
Minute 27: Favorite anime opening theme song
Itsuka mita ano yume wo / ryoute de dakishimete / hanasazu akiramezu ni shinjitsukuketai
I guess it's been eleven years, now, hasn't it? It was right after I'd watched Gundam Wing and learned that it was only the tip of the Gundam iceberg, and the first Gundam series I tracked down and watched after that was X. The opening theme song was a synth-pop ditty called "Dreams" by Romantic Mode and it stuck HARD. It was the first Japanese song I learned the lyrics to, and even now I still remember most of them. (The second opening they did for the show, Resolution, is also pretty sweet.)
Minute 28: Favorite pokemon
There really no logical explanation why I like Jigglypuff. It's one of those axioms of the universe that is because it is.
I think it's really the show that made me like it. Travelling the world with a punishment game marker, imploring the world to "LISTEN TO MY SONG!" (Dropping a little Macross reference, there.) And then going tsuntsun when Sing does what it's supposed to do. Ah, Jigglypuff, you never got old. And you're so cuuuuute :3
Minute 29: Favorite school uniform
I don't think I have one because it's not like I've ever seen a school uniform and gone "Oh wow, I really want to wear that!" It's a uniform. They're boring. And let's assume there's a cool one somewhere. I don't remember it because I don't consider a school uniform to be a detail worth remembering. (And I forget things. Meh.) So I'm going to go with Full Metal Panic because the people in them are pretty awesome.
And they're pretty durable, too!
Minute 30: Favorite anime ending theme
Tooku hanareteru hodo ni / chikaku ni kanjiteru / samishisa mo tsuyosa e to / kawatteku kimi wo omotta nara
One of the things Gundam SEED Destiny has going for it is the music. After episode 1, I was admittedly psyched after seeing Athrun commandeer a Zaku and then Shin came barreling into the fight after a core fighter combi. And then I heard Nami Tamaki's "Reason," the first ending theme. And man was that a good song. Although this one hasn't stuck as hard as "Dreams," whenever I think of ending themes I really enjoyed, this one comes up first. (In hindsight, the easiest snark is that the ending theme was the best part of ANY Gundam SEED Destiny episode.)
Oh right, warning, there may be spoilers in here, etc. etc.
Minute 1: Very first anime
So if you want to be technical, it was probably Totoro back when I was too young to recognize when anime was anime. And I probably saw the odd episode of Voltron or Robotech once in awhile. But first anime that I followed daily and was upset if I missed it? GETTO DAZE.
You bet I woke up at 6 AM every morning before school to watch this idiot fail at catching Pokemon. Pokemon made up the core of my geekdom in the late nineties, since I was all into the show and the video games and the card game. Fun fact: little Dan almost cried when Ash was going to let Pikachu stay in the forest with all the other Pikachu. Somehow, some way, we have to say goodbye~ THAT DAMN SONG.
Minute 2: Favorite anime you’ve watched so far
Ugh, so I have to pick one? While I am primarily a fan of giant fighting robots and the Gundam franchise will always win the lifetime achievement award, if it's only one show, then it has to be the mother of all space operas. Legend of the Galactic Heroes tells a story of love, war, and ambition that dwarves anything else that I've seen. Plus it has the most badass moe emperor ever. Look at him!
The diverse cast, sprawling universe, and attention to detail are incredible. Sure, it's not the most fast-paced show in the world and for every amazing battle there's about three times as much political wheeling and dealing going on in the background. But you know what? It works. This show is like watching five years of these people's lives and how a handful of talented individuals can turn all of humanity on its head. For foppery and whim.
Minute 3: Your first anime crush
It was high school and I was an awkward nerd who liked Dragonball Z. Enter Videl.
She's cute, she's deadly, and man does she rock the short hair like a boss.
Minute 4: Anime you’re ashamed you enjoyed
This one's pretty tough, because chances are if I enjoyed it, I've told people "Oh man, this show is awesome you should totally watch it." I certainly regret buying and watching all of Lucky Star, because apparently I was holding out hope for more obtuse references that I would get -- "You know, Konata, you're almost as old as Captain Bright!" -- but I can't say I'm ashamed that I enjoyed it because, well, I don't know that I really did. So I'm going to go with Fighting Fantasy Girl Rescue Me Mave-chan. Yeah, it was awful, but it was kind of cute and I watched it right after reading Yukikaze, so I totally see what they did there.
What's that? Why, no, I don't plan on watching Strike Witches or Infinite Stratos!
Minute 5: Anime character you feel you are most like (or wish you were)
So if you take away his ridiculous level of porn consumption, I'd say that I'm most like Madarame from Genshiken. A socially awkward Gundam fan with glasses and computer skills who spends lots of money on ridiculous toys? Sounds about right.
Although it looks like he's wearing a tie to work, which is a complete non-starter.
Minute 6: Most annoying anime character
Since I tend to watch shows with a lot of fighting, anyone who hangs around the plot despite being utterly useless tends to become this. Hell, I'd even throw Orihime in here even though she has mystical hairpin powers. But she cannot even come close to being the most annoying, because it's this... this... thing.
Seriously, if Index didn't exist and the show was just about Touma beating the crap out of powerful guys and being awesome, then I'd be able to watch it without wanting to break somebody. Once her arc is over, she's just baggage. Chatty, abusive baggage.
Minute 7: Favorite anime couple
It may not be canon, but I don't care. If I'm going to ship anybody, it would be Domon and Allenby.
Rain is much closer to an ideal Japanese woman, but Allenby is just all-around more awesome. Even if she is occasionally brainwashed and crazy.
Minute 8: Most epic scene ever
It wasn't enough that the final battle of Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann features a pair of universe-sized mecha throwing galaxies at each other like they were ninja stars. No, the movie took that and dialed it up to twelve. Compilation movies are always tough to get right, but the final fifteen minutes or so of Lagann-Hen make it all worth it.
There's so much manly spirit flowing through me just thinking about it that I think I just dropped a third ball.
Minute 9: Saddest anime scene
Full Metal Alchemist has them both. The first one involves a certain talking chimera, and the other...
DAMN IT HUGHES.
Minute 10: Favorite slice of life anime
I usually dislike slice of life because, well, it's boring. Anime is an escape, so it's hard to get into a show where I just watch people do normal stuff. It's worse when they're teenagers. Been there, done that, don't need to go back. So unless there's a pretty amusing hook, I'm not going to even give it a chance. Moyashimon wins because the microbes are adorable.
One of my favorite things from -- what, two seasons ago? -- was when they did a live action Moyashimon and during the festival they had an idol singer do the theme song from the anime. That was sweet.
Minute 11: Favorite mecha series
It's pretty hard to pick just one. Gundam naturally is my favorite franchise and I'd lean toward the original series, although I recently watched Dougram and think I enjoyed that more because it tended more to the political end of the spectrum and required less miracle science than Gundam did in order to work. So I'll take a third option and go with Macross Plus.
Plus takes everything that makes Macross great and boils it down to four episodes with immense production quality for the early 90s. The result is gorgeous. The plot moves at the right speed, the triangle actually has some serious drama that charges the combat, and the YF-19 is a downright sexy machine.
Minute 12: An ecchi picture from your favorite series
... Does Galactic Heroes ecchi even exist? I mean, there was episode 40, but that's not going to happen. So have some tasteful Hilde.
Hail to the king, baby.
Minute 13: Cosplay of your ‘waifu’ or Husbando’
Having a waifu is kind of silly, isn't it? Well, I answered the crush question, so let's see. If I had to pick, it would be Emma Sheen from Zeta Gundam. She's the only woman in that entire show who isn't completely crazy.
It's really difficult to imagine how she ended up in the Titans, let alone in the military. She's such a nice person!
Minute 14: current (or most recent) anime wallpaper
It's been Gundam Unicorn since before the first volume came out on Blu-ray and MADE ME BUY A BLU-RAY PLAYER.
Oh yeah, volume 3 is out. Where's my preorder, Bandai Store?
Minute 15: Post a cute Neko-girl
... But my irrational dislike of catgirls is well-established!
VERY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Minute 16: post a kigurumi cosplay of your favorite anime character
I don't even know what this is. Google says... uh huh. Interesting. I don't know if such a thing would exist for my favorite characters since they tend to be dudes, so here. Have a Gundam riding a bicycle.
I don't think the magnetic coating is the most pressing performance upgrade...
Minute 17: Favorite tsundere
For some reason this is popular. Really, if I had to put up with a girl who was all tsuntsun, I don't think she'd have a chance to go deredere because I'd be the heck out of there. But here we are, and I still have to pick one. Do I go with Kaname Chidori, or do I go with...
Yes, even though I'm not a big fan of the Raildex franchise, I'll admit that I thoroughly enjoy watching Misaka unload on someone with her electrical powers. And her cute side IS ridiculously cute.
Minute 18: Something moe
Very well.
Moe Reinhard returns all the way from minute 2!
Minute 19: Mandatory swimsuit post
Is it really? Fine.
America's trunks are not nearly flamboyant enough, though.
Minute 20: Favorite shoujo anime
Hmm, in this case, the challenge isn't really finding a shoujo anime I like but finding a shoujo anime I've seen. There isn't much. Granted, getting into tokusatsu gave me a newfound appreciation for Sailor Moon, but if I had to sit down right now and pick something to watch... it's Rayearth.
Sure, I've only seen a little over half of season 1, but there's swordfighting and magic, monsters, and they even summon a robot that looks like Zeorymer of the Heavens! I'll even tolerate the little puntable mascot character/bag of infinite holding.
Minute 21: Best yandere character
Tsunderes aren't bad enough already, nooooo, now we have to bring in the crazies, too. Fortunately I have Baka and Test to play this for laughs.
Just watching what Shouko puts poor Yuuji through makes me weep for the guy, but anyone who can take repeated taser blasts and a shining finger deserves respect.
Minute 22: Favorite BL/yuri couple
Do I even have one? Uh... NanoFate?
At least they're not, like, ten in StrikerS so it feels less creepy. I guess I would eventually wind up with a favorite pairing if I just starting mashing the Moyashimon cast together, too... the show did plenty on its own.
Minute 23: Anime you think had the best, or most intriguing art
I have a soft spot for the OVA style of the late 80s and early 90s. Experimental, artsy stuff like what Shaft does? I can do without that. I don't really appreciate that sort of thing. Although I will comment on something I've watched recently that I found interesting:
Katanagatari looks very different from most of what comes out anymore. It manages to maintain a high level of detail despite being a much simpler art style, with bolder lines and colors. But it really works. The animation flows and calls attention to what's really important in the scene.
Minute 24: Favorite anime hero or heroine
Favorite hero? How about favorite GALACTIC hero?
Now, Legend of the Galactic Heroes doesn't really ever pick sides. You have the space empire against the space republic, and the show makes it clear that both sides have their pros and cons. Amusingly enough, his abilities are acknowledged more by his opponents on the other side than by his own government. Yang didn't want to be a soldier, but it was his only ticket to a free education. And what's unique about him is that he specializes in "not losing" rather than "winning," and nobody in the republic government knows or cares about the difference. The fact that he managed to uphold the spirit of democracy despite living in one of history's crappiest ones says a lot of about his toughness, even if he never really shows it.
Minute 25: Best anime villian
See, if the question was "favorite villain," I'd probably just stick to my guns and go with Char Aznable for sort of breaking the mold of what it meant to be a villian back in '79 and inspiring a boatload of clones. But he's not on the same level as this guy.
So Father first obtains a body made out of philosopher's stone by manipulating the king of a powerful country, and once he has said body, enacts a plan that spans centuries to build another country and turn IT into a stone. Leaving the protagonists alone was probably a dumb mistake, but his plan advances so far and he's so strong that I really had trouble seeing how Ed and company were going to win that final battle.
Minute 26: Your favorite harem anime
So here's another genre I don't see much of. Through the nostalgia goggles, Tenchi looks like a safe bet and it's actually a minor achievement that they got it on broadcast television. But whenever I think of harem anime that I really enjoyed, I always wind up at an inn on the hill.
I'm not really sure what it is that makes me like Love Hina. Maybe nostalgia goggles are at work here, too, since I don't remember there being that much fanservice compared to today's shows and Naru's tsuntsun routine was pretty funny. Oh, and Koalla Su's robot army! (I wonder if I should change my "anime I'm ashamed of enjoying" to this?)
Minute 27: Favorite anime opening theme song
Itsuka mita ano yume wo / ryoute de dakishimete / hanasazu akiramezu ni shinjitsukuketai
I guess it's been eleven years, now, hasn't it? It was right after I'd watched Gundam Wing and learned that it was only the tip of the Gundam iceberg, and the first Gundam series I tracked down and watched after that was X. The opening theme song was a synth-pop ditty called "Dreams" by Romantic Mode and it stuck HARD. It was the first Japanese song I learned the lyrics to, and even now I still remember most of them. (The second opening they did for the show, Resolution, is also pretty sweet.)
Minute 28: Favorite pokemon
There really no logical explanation why I like Jigglypuff. It's one of those axioms of the universe that is because it is.
I think it's really the show that made me like it. Travelling the world with a punishment game marker, imploring the world to "LISTEN TO MY SONG!" (Dropping a little Macross reference, there.) And then going tsuntsun when Sing does what it's supposed to do. Ah, Jigglypuff, you never got old. And you're so cuuuuute :3
Minute 29: Favorite school uniform
I don't think I have one because it's not like I've ever seen a school uniform and gone "Oh wow, I really want to wear that!" It's a uniform. They're boring. And let's assume there's a cool one somewhere. I don't remember it because I don't consider a school uniform to be a detail worth remembering. (And I forget things. Meh.) So I'm going to go with Full Metal Panic because the people in them are pretty awesome.
And they're pretty durable, too!
Minute 30: Favorite anime ending theme
Tooku hanareteru hodo ni / chikaku ni kanjiteru / samishisa mo tsuyosa e to / kawatteku kimi wo omotta nara
One of the things Gundam SEED Destiny has going for it is the music. After episode 1, I was admittedly psyched after seeing Athrun commandeer a Zaku and then Shin came barreling into the fight after a core fighter combi. And then I heard Nami Tamaki's "Reason," the first ending theme. And man was that a good song. Although this one hasn't stuck as hard as "Dreams," whenever I think of ending themes I really enjoyed, this one comes up first. (In hindsight, the easiest snark is that the ending theme was the best part of ANY Gundam SEED Destiny episode.)