So it's been 2 months into this anime blogging foray of mine. Whoopee. I'm only a day away from boarding a plane for Osaka, and in between being nervous as hell about it and finalizing packing, I'm still GIVING IT ALL I'VE GOT trying to catch up with the Winter Season finales before Spring comes in full force. Unfortunately, that hasn't amount to much when I'm still waiting for subs and being a naturally slow watcher, so this isn't the Final Winter Season Impression post I thought of doing before I leave. Instead, I thought I'd just share what I've learnt about myself as an anime blogger over the past two months.
And in a rather shoddy attempt to make this look more like an organized post than a spur of the moment one, I've decided to number them. Oh, what do you know, it's now a Top 10 post! Well, in no particular order:
1) I take too much time on posts. Some of these take actual hours to do and it's often I actually spend more time here than actually watching anything in a day. Even something like this will probably take me a good hour. Or three. *sigh* I'll probably have to adopt a less is more stance later when things like studies come back into play.
2) Ever constructed a decently intelligent post in your head only to have it completely wiped out of your memory once you sit down and start staring at a 'Create New Post' screen? This is actually an everyday affair for me, and most of the hours spent on 'blogging' that I take is mostly used up trying to pick up the fragments of ideas "I could've sworn I had a minute ago...". The end result? Half baked ideas being presented in a half baked fashion for the critical masses to see. Or ignore. Thankfully there are commenters who fill in the blanks where my one-sided rants often fail to touch upon.
2.5) Note to self: Start scribbling thought on paper
3) Wait a minute, this blog's actually has readers and the occasional comment now??? *pinches self* A Big Thanks goes to AnimeNano (and again hung for listing Tondemo Nothing on the site) for this (I'm guessing I'm not the only one who doesn't actually subscribe to specific blogs and just read posts from any blog that has an eye-catching enough title :P)! Oh, and also to the random people who Google for random things like 'manly Japanese' (trying not to think what the actual context is) who end up here as well. Well, I suppose I should also apologize to this blog's irrelevance to most of those searches. It happens =P
4) There are times I let my somewhat pessimistic outlook on life affect my blogging. Trying to be funny in posts (and failing) doesn't quite make up for that.
5) I need to be reeducated on the proper use of emoticons and memes. ORZ (Assuming there's a 'proper' way? :P)
6) I have a tendency to reference too many other anime and seiyuu in posts, especially when I run dry on content. Wish I could be as 'subtle' about it as that SHAFT show with Nonaka Ai or that one with the butler that's getting another season...
7) I seem to reference other blogs a whole lot too. Not as much as Author of course.
8) Not only am I slow to the point that I may conveniently 'lose track' of what I'm watching at times, the same happens with what I blog about. Oh and btw, Haruhi won March Madness on Derailed by Darry after all. Surprised?
9) I fail at episodic blogging. Takes too much time for me anyways.
10) Finally, I can't believe I've not done a single actual post on Animal Yokocho itself!!! For a start, I'll just lead you to hung's post and this one from Yuribou. And Matthew seems to be far far ahead than where the subs have stalled early last year... (Animal Yokocho concluded in what? 2004/5 ?)
In conclusion, I'm obviously still at a learning stage (and will likely be stunted at this stage for as long as I continue doing this) when it comes to blogging and there's certainly much to copy learn from other more established anime bloggers out there, blah blah blah. I seriously doubt I'll ever be as witty or funny or intelligent or scathing or bitchy (in a fun way :P) or influential as some of them are, nor will I ever be involved in dorama like the whole ABC fiasco (god forbid anyways). But you know what, it really doesn't matter as long as there's fun to be had on this side of the trapdoor, and as long as I'm still watching anime and reading people's views on them, I might as well be tossing in my two cent's worth.
Monday, 31 March 2008
A Self-Indulgent Self-Reflection Post by a Self-Centred Blogger
Sunday, 23 March 2008
Back in the (Animal) Alley
So after a not so mysterious disappearance (had relatives to visit *gasps* so much for being a hikikomori... Then again for all you know I could've just popped back through that trapdoor I came from...) I'm back to leave a teeny if not inconsequential mark on the already bloated blogosphere. Huzzah...
Advertising for Gurren Lagann?
Though my anime viewing has taken a nosedive for the past few days, but I've been generally GIVING IT ALL I'VE GOT (well, not really, got distracted by the pile of manga lying about where I was. Read about 3 volumes of Full Metal Panic Sigma and all I can say is... makes me want to finish watching FMP- if the backlog was significantly less currently) in keeping up with the general ho-hum in the blogosphere.
Well, I may say general but really I've just been to Derailed to check out on the March Madness Championship :P Jason has posted a whole lot regarding why GAINAX Gurren Lagann is perhaps more deserving the vote as opposed to Kyoto Animation Haruhi and for the most part I agree since both series have been a source of much enjoyment so it's tough to choose between them. Without being as wordy as Jason, I'll just state right off that my vote's for the Gurren-Dan just because I'd rather not see another Haruhi banner on a blog right now :P That and the rather undemocratic sentimentality of supporting the underdog (God Knows if Haruhi-ism will ever die -_-")
And on the continuing subject of popularity contests, there's them The Anime Blog Awards. Here's some discussion on how the people behind it probably do mean well despite the restrictions to just anime bloggers in the nominations (and possibly the later voting) making it all seem rather *gasps* elitist... Well whatever the reasons and motivations, it's another bandwagon I don't see any harm in jumping on. I've just registered to nominate, though there's a chance it won't even happen since technically, Tondemo-Nothing's been around before Feb 1st, but my 'first' post only came about on that date itself... Well whatever the case, even if I don't pass the eligibility thing, it'll just be another thing of interest to observe *shrugs*
Well, enough of all that, got some episodes to catch up to right now. (The 'much anticipated' finale of CLANNAD VS two new subbed episodes of Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei? Thank the anonymous people of Anonymous! Why can't voting in them popularity contests be this easy? =P)
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
March Madness Final 4: Kyoto GAINAX Kyoto Kyoto
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The March Madness Final Four include 3 series by Kyoto Animation - and Gurren Lagann. Possibly to prevent it being KyoAniVS KyoAni in the end, Jason decides to mix things up by having all four go against each other at once (vote for the 2 you like best!). So will it be Haruhi-Gurren Lagann? Haruhi-Fumoffu? Or Haruhi-CLANNAD (*urgh* Please no...)? (I'd like to think I'm getting ahead of myself here, but seeing Haruhi get 700+ votes per round compared to Fumoffu's 557 which came in second... There's also the incredibly amusing gender-bender version of Haruhi sparking everyone's interest lately as well...)
Back to March Madness, I'm now pulling for Gurren Lagann to pierce that high ceiling that is Haruhi hence one vote to the Gurren-dan from me =P As for the second, not that I have anything against Haruhi (it seems that you either worship the franchise or treat it as overhyped trite), but I'd be deluding myself to assume that it's not advancing to the final showdown with or without my vote (I'm banking on the fact that everyone else is more democratically minded than yours truly). So it boiled down to Fumoffu or CLANNAD... Gee... this is a tough one... *rolls eyes*
Thus far we have Haruhi well in the lead with Gurren Lagann coming in second with a decent margin ahead of Fumoffu and that other one with the sad girls. There's until the 21st to vote before what should be an epic (if not predictable) showdown for that coveted banner on Derailed... The question is will it still stay as Derailed by DARRY after that? Hmm...
Now if you excuse me, I've got some gender-bended songs to listen to...
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER and whatnot
VOTE FOR
TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN
TO BE THE ONLY NON-KYOANI SERIES LEFT IN
MARCH MADNESS AT DERAILED BY DARRY!!!
(Tried to find something other than the 300 trailer video, but all I got were disturbing ones like this and this (the Yoko/Nia version was even less complete). Wanted to put up the Simon Host Club one really, but again it's an incomplete vid =/ )
That is all. (Two March Madness posts in a row? This blog is in need of content, stat! As quickly dated it's becoming, expect an OoFuri post after this =P)
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Sunday, 16 March 2008
March Madness: Elite 8 (Start!)
So yeah, Gurren Lagann, TSR, Haruhi and Mako-cakes all advance to the Elite 8. Not much in the way of surprises with all 4 creaming their competition (Goodbye Revy/Balalaika/Hansel & Gretel. With Black Lagoon out of the way, my own vested interests in this particular popularity contest has been severely reduced, but this far in I might as well continue blogging the remaining rounds). The first four series fighting for 2 of the four final spots are:
1) Fumoffu VS Azumanga
Comedy-wise Azumanga delivers the laughs more consistently over the course of its 25 episodes (oh wait, it's 26... probably should just watch that last one some time soon...) whereas Fumoffu focuses on building hard-punching humour in spurts. Since Azumanag was the one that toppled Ouran previously, my vote goes to Chiyo-chan and Osaka this time around.
2) Death Note VS Clannad
I've actually been warming up to Clannad somewhat recently (it helps that there's only one episode left) ever since the story focused itself on what it's been building up to all this while - Nagisa's story. Only now does everything from the OP to Dango Daikazoku (Basically all the other girls except Nagisa have been relegated back to what they were meant to be for the series - extras), but I'm saving all that for a whole other post. My vote is still for Death Note since unless thigh meat has gone out of fashion sometime in the last hour, I seriously doubt Nagisa and co. even need this one extra vote.
Sounds like I'm voting for the underdogs again, as much as it wasn't my intention. Azumanga which had a good show of support in the last round is being battered down by Fumoffu, and it's really no surprise again at how well Clannad is doing. It's a shame that all the strong comedies have been facing one another all this while and now they're basically whittling down to one (or two if you count Haruhi, but there's another shoo-in if there ever was one) while the Kyoto powerhouses (Haruhi and Clannad) have just been crushing whatever comes in their way (even fellow KyoAni series Lucky Star and Kanon). The next two matches should prove at least half-interesting with Gurren Lagann agaist The Second Raid , and in the unlikely event that the broken readers of Derailed rise and vote Mako-chan over Mikuru... I'll really be at a loss for words then (Though of all the series left in the tournament, methinks a Broken by Minami banner would suit DbD best, after the 'sensible' choice of Gurren Lagann since Haruhi-ism banners have been done to death elsewhere)
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Sayonara Host Club, Zetsubou Shita!!
"Takashi... We LOST???"Sad, but true. Chiyo-chan, Osaka and the Bonklers usurped Ouran's early lead and came out tops by 33 votes in the end T.T Am absolutely crushed... Don't feel like blogging about March Madness anymore... Wait, does that mean I'll have to start cranking more posts of actual substance now? Err... On to March Madness Sweet Sixteen Part 2 it is!
(In retrospect, if it had to be a show to take down Ouran, I'm half glad it was one that matched up to its comedic prowess as opposed to melonpan power or anything else for that matter. Will bear no grudges against Azumanga in the next round, but still pretty bummed that the host club was doing so well previously only to be taken out halfway through the tournament. Also congrats to Death Note for overthrowing the killer lolis halfway through, Fumoffu for ousting Lucky Star... and Clannad for being this season's shoo-in)
1) Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann VS Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop still remains on my list of anime that I should probably watch before I can be considered a proper anime fan... Pfft, who's to decide that anyways? (If I had a less sluggish internet connection currently, maybe I'll get round to watching some of these so-called shows) That being said, it may sound unfair to vote Gurren Lagann just because I've not watched the other show, but I liked Gurren Lagann, I liked that I was surprised by how much I still like Gurren Lagann, and hence Gurren Lagann it is.
2) Full Metal Panic The Second Raid (TSR) VS Black Lagoon
Another match where I've decided early on what to vote for. Again, it may seem unfair to TSR, but it's hard to beat the sheer intoxicating mindless excitement from watching the explosive over-the-top freakshow circus (to borrow one of the more memorable titles from The Second Barrage) that is Black Lagoon. Substance? Who needs it even if it's there =P
3) Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu VS Kanon (2006)
Let's just say the memory of picking up this one episode of this one show (that received next to zero hype before its premiere mind you) based on a summary that vaguely described it to be about the exploits of an 'ultra director' (said summary was changed soon after) only to be confronted by the now infamous riot that was the "Adventures of Asahina Mikuru" (and I'll also remember the "WTF did you just download here??" look my brother had on his face at that time) trumps both versions of Kanon for me. Haruhi may be the oversensationalized phenomenon of this past 2 odd years, but I'm one who's inclined to believe that it does deserve a big portion of the ongoing hype (the rest being fanboy driven mania, but that's fanboy/girl-ism for you) hence the vote.
4) School Rumble VS Minami-ke
Considering the broken readers of Derailed by Darry, I'd be surprised if School Rumble will even come close to running circles (~gurugu mawaru~) around Minami-ke. Both strong comedies a tier below Ouran/Azumanga class in my books hence a lack of preference here. The coin flip (i.e. my brother) says School Rumble though, so we're tossing one to the underdog this time.
With Mushishi and Ouran out of the running and Black Lagoon at risk of joining them, it does look like I'll just be [following the] voting out of observational interests only pretty soon. It's still 10 times more entertaining than the current season of American Idol at any rate, but that's just me =P Voting stops in 2 days so be sure to support your favourites if they're still there.
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
March Madness Sweet Sixteen (Part 1)
Mori-senpai wants your vote for Ouran!Old news: Cowboy Bebop, FMP TSR, Kanon and Minami-ke advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Which starts today. Time to give Ouran ALL I'VE GOT! =P
The first four matches in the of March Madness Sweet Sixteen are:
1) Clannad VS Honey & Clover
20 episodes of Clannad VS 1 of HnC... And I still vote Honey & Clover. Seems a bit unfair to Clannad and all, but I've already expressed my sentiments on the series a while back, and though the story is now more focused in the latest episodes, it hasn't exactly won me over or got my vote - not that it even needs it at this stage of course.
2) Death Note VS Higurashi
I loved Death Note for all the reason I'm thinking I should have - epic suspense, killer plot twists, gripping mind games (all while they lasted anyways). I loved Higurashi for what I suppose were the wrong reasons - emo facial distortions, WTFBBQ torture scenes, the trainwreck first season and Jason's coverage of said trainwreckage :P Or maybe those were all the right reasons after all... Anyways my vote's for Death Note for being the series of the two I can recommend with a straight face.
3) Lucky Star VS Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu?
The first of 2 Kyoto Animation series matchups (for now anyways). I spent a moment balancing Tsukasa on one hand and Sagara on the other in my head, and though the laughs from Fumoffu were superior and it had the better Seki Tomokazu role, I just couldn't decide on this one... Now that I've typed all this, it tells me I should've gone with Fumoffu after all... Too bad I skipped this one over and allowed my brother to do this one =P Lucky Star it is.
4) Ouran High School Host Club VS Azumanga Daioh
Easiest vote for me yet? Not exactly, since I have visions of Osaka-san appearing by my bedside with a knife tomorrow morning... *shudders at thought* But I'm staying strong and giving Ouran my full support... We've already seen an Azumanga banner before after all.... =P
I'm at the edge of my seat anticipating the results for that 4th matchup between the comedy giants - they're both neck and neck currently with Ouran still in the lead (!!!) though just a moment ago they were at a 50/50 deadlock (!!!!!!!!!) There' until 11PM PST tomorrow to vote, and I'm still keeping my fingers crossed... GO GO OURAN!!!
Sunday, 9 March 2008
March Madness Round 2 continues
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The next set of 8 series vying for your vote are here! Previously we had Azumanga, Fumoffu, Higurashi and Honey & Clover advancing (T_T for Mushishi. It was a close fight against the killer lolis of Hinamizawa, but Higurashi had the edge all the way), which were all pretty much expected results (with the only real 'upset' for me being Ginko's loss. Yes, I'm actually more disappointed in this than the string of supposed upsets in the Malaysian general election yesterday -_-"). Anyways I'm a little less excited over this batch of series since a lot of them I've not watched and they're all going against the big guns later (Gurren Lagann, Haruhi, Black Lagoon, School Rumble which have pretty good to humongous followings on Jason's blog), but here's a look at part 2 of Round 2:
1) Shakugan no Shana VS Cowboy Bebop
Nope, haven't watched either, but from what I hear these two shows are popular for rather different reasons. Cowboy Bebop has 'must watch classic' going for it (and it's the only so called 'before Bittorrent' anime that made it into the final 24) while Shana has.... melonpan? Frankly melonpan doesn't do anything for me (if it's anything like the polo buns here which I'm not too fond of... yes, it's the bread I'm referring to here for anyone who thinks otherwise) and I get the feeling Cowboy Bebop would make for a more worthy contender to Gurren Lagann later on, so that's how my vote was cast in the end.
2) Fullmetal Alchemist(FMA) VS Full Metal Panic The Second Raid(FMP TSR) Again, no actual contact with either of these series *shakes head at self* Though I've watched FMP Fumoffu (and currently somewhere halfway through the first FMP), there's a practical reason why Jason included Fumoffu and TSR separately since the two series serves up different aspects of the popular franchise. I picked up Fumoffu solely for the humour, which was what it was focused on, and based on what I've seen of the first Full Metal Panic! it does seem that my interests lie more in seeing Sagara blow up the school and incurring Chidori's wrath than Sagara using the Lambda Driver to kick ass =P (though this may eventually change). Since I can't judge TSR using Fumoffu, I decided it would be better not to vote at all.
3) Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex VS Kanon (2006) Finally, something I can vote for, albeit with bias: I've watched and enjoyed both versions of Kanon (2002 had more Nayuki drama, 2006 had the spectacular snow rendering) whereas I could hardly sit through half of a GiTS movie during a viewing at an anime club (I walked out just after the Tachikoma's blazed on screen - just wasn't for me).
4) Minami-ke VS Otome wa Boke wo Koishiteru
Ah, the 'long awaited epic battle of the traps', in-depth analysis can be found here. Besides the fact that I've been watching Minami-ke (now Okawari) consistently while I only sampled one episode of OtoBoku , based on trap factor I'm giving the vote to Minami-ke's Mako-chan anyways since we actually got to follow his(?) gradual journey into trapdom spanning 2 seasons, whereas Mizuho 'onee-sama' simply can't be a trap since there's 100% no way there's a penis on him her, and this we know from the very start of the show! (if listening to Horie Yui voice her doesn't convince you, there's this, something Mako's years too early to try out XD)
A quick survey of the polls now show Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Panic TSR, Kanon and Minami-ke in the lead, with only Kanon looking to be in any danger at all from GiTS but still with a decent lead (nothing as close as Mushishi VS Higurashi yet) (Mako-chan and the Minami sisters are decimating Mizuho with 90% of the vote LOL). In the end after flipping a coin fishing for good comments from a friend who's watched both shows, I decided to toss a vote to Fullmetal Alchemist to help it out since it's currently being underdog-ed by TSR. Of course like Azumanga VS ef, the outcome doesn't really bother me since I'm pulling for Ouran and Black Lagoon in the Sweet 16 later. Voting for Round 2 (part 2) ends at 11PM PST March 11th. Can't wait for Round 3 >.<
Friday, 7 March 2008
March Madness Round 2 begins
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Damn, I actually had another post in mind for today... But what can I say, I got derailed by Derailed, lol. March madness has moved on to its second stage and I'm pretty pleased to see the lineup of series that made it through, and there'll definitely be some very in-te-res-ting matches to come. The first four one-on-one matches are now in order and now that we've dispensed with categorizations, it's now up to the readers to just vote for whatever series they feel has pierced the heavens/rocked their soul/insert any catchphrase denoting sheer awesomeness up to the final showdown. So on to the votes:
1) Azumanga Daioh VS ef ~a tale of memories~
I had my ORZ face on for a moment... both strong series in their own right which I adore, and not exactly comparable since as Jason has pointed out, they're so remarkably different from one another... But then I realized that the winner of this match would face Ouran in the next, and suddenly it became rather inconsequential which of these two it would be since it's Ouran 4tw for me :P So with half the dilemma done with, I voted ef since I had the feeling it would need my vote more against the stronger fanbase for Azumanga. Looks like I was right.
2) Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu? VS Dennou Coil
Again, 2 incredibly opposite series which I've enjoyed very much. Again a great comedy versus one of the better 'serious' shows of 2007. I'd flip a coin if Sagara Sousuke wasn't involved, so I'm sorry to say but it's Fumoffu for me, Densuke T_T Fumoffu would probably stand a better chance against Lucky Star the next round by splitting the comedy vote - do you like them laugh out loud explosive or moe moe moe?
3) Mushishi VS Higurashi
No doubt in my mind where my vote would go for this one. Mushishi is one of the very few shows I've awarded a full 10 on MAL (but considering I didn't rank them all at the same time and I'm rather inconsistent when it comes to a 1 to 10 number ranking system, it doesn't say all too much) and as much I enjoyed the WTF-ness of Higurashi (the first season. Ni Kai managed to answer most of the WTF questions lingering from the first season, but lost all the trainwreck goodness I was looking forward to) it's still Ginko for me. With the vote still in its early stages and only a small percentage separating the two, I'm praying for Mushishi to pull a win from the behind on this one despite the heavier Sonozaki pimpage on DbD...
4) Honey & Clover VS Baccano
Honestly, a throwaway vote from me this one, having not finished either series (this should rouse some cries of blasphemy from at least a few people reading). To be completely honest I've only watched the first episode H&C and I believe just 2 eps of Baccano before discontinuing both (now THAT's going to earn me some rotten tomatoes...) I'll just be taking the word of anyone who recommends either of these series that they're that good, but based on my limited experience with them I'm going for Honey & Clover since it had at least one character I saw which I liked (the only members of the bloated cast of Baccano which I can recall are the ones that annoyed me, sorry) and from the small snippets which I occasionally get from Animax, H&C looks to be the show of these two I'm more likely to watch later on and kick myself in the behind for not doing so earlier.
With general elections coming up in the country (and me being ineligible to vote anyways) March Madness couldn't have come at a better time (I should remind myself that it's called March Madness for a reason...), especially since real world politics simply baffle my hikikomori self... After round 2, I'm pulling for Ouran all the way from here on out since it's still a standing favourite of mine till now, and the thought of an Ouran banner on Derailed is just incredibly amusing to me =P
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
More March Madness
Sad boy in snow... (Would be more relevant if I voted for Kanon...)Okay good news, bad news time. The good: first voting results for March Madness over at DbD are out, with my personal favourite anime of 2006 in the lead!! The bad? My personal favourite of 2007 isn't even in... *sighs*
Honestly, I'm terribly disappointed Ookiku Furikabutte wasn't even included in Jason's
On a positive note, it's great to see Mushishi and Black Lagoon going on to the next round at least along with Ouran and the shoo-ins like Death Note, Haruhi, Fumoffu and FMA. Sad to say Muteki Kanban Musume is very likely out of the running (it only got like, 3% of the vote in the comedy division. Where is the emo-ramen love??) but at least we'll see the Minami sisters and the Azumanga gang as well.
The second part of March Madness round 1 covers the Sports, Giant Mecha, Harem and err... "Uncategorized(?)" series. My votes this round:
- Sports (Smythe Division): Have I mentioned how much I'd rather see Ookiku Furikabutte here rather than School Rumble and OtoBoku (which even Jason admits are there just to fill the gap...)? It's like appearing to support your favourite sporting team... Only they're not playing so you're left cheering for Tenma and Co's ridiculous basketball game to end all basketball games (SR being the only series in the list I've watched to the end). Okay, okay I'll stop ranting for OoFuri now. Incidentally, the two 'filler' series are leading in this division currently by a huge margin, which is an obvious indication of show popularity versus how much the show actually lives up to its categorization (and how few of DbD's readers actually enjoy true sports animes, I suppose).
- Giant Mecha (Norris Division): Easy pick, Gurren Lagann wins for making the impossible possible: letting me enjoy a giant robot show as a giant robot show - and not as a catastrophic trainwreck of cheesy goodness (if there was a category for that, Code Geass it would be =P)
- Harem (Patrick Division): Currently being lead by the two Key/Kyoto powerhouses. If I had to choose from the two my vote has to go to Kanon (2006)... But seeing as ef is in the list is there, the SHAFT bias came to play. (Though technically being less of a harem anime than even Rozen Maiden is...)
- ??? (Atlantic Division): Planetes (which I'm still pronouncing wrongly as "Planets") imho, was the best series I watched last year... which wasn't from last year, lol. Jason never finishing it probably meant he never got past the episodic slice of life (in space!!) episodes which took up a good part of the series, but the show thoroughly impressed me with its very believable take on how us humans are probably going to screw up (literally) life in space one day... Since there's no clear category here, there really is no reason against me voting for "Pla-ne-tes" (My main rant with the Atlantic Division would be since Mononoke's not even ranked highly on Anidb or ANN, Jason could've slotted OtoBoku here instead to give OoFuri a chance... okay, now I'll really stop)
Sunday, 2 March 2008
March Madness on DbD
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Derailed by Darry (or Anime on My Mind to anyone who won't accept the name change) has always been one of my top favourite anime blogs to visit (honestly, I think I love it more than my own! lol). Put simply, Jason's mix of obvious hilarity and insight in his posts is one of a kind (even especially his gimmick posts are pure win), though admittedly all the sports references fly past my head faster than anything on Oofuri did. Basically when Jason blogs a series, a huge part of the show's entertainment value, I swear, really comes from his postings on it. Cases in point: Minami-ke, Gundam 00 (which I don't even watch!), Code Geass, Kanon, Muteki Kanban Musume and the first season of Higurashi (which was probably when I started following DbD AoMM as it was called back then).
Okay, better stop the blog stalker-ish rant there and come to the actual content of this post... March Madness 2008 on Derailed by Darry! (so much for not sounding like a total blog stalker...)
Since I only started following Derailed way after the last time Jason held March Madness on his blog, the details are still rather sketchy to me but in essence it looks like yet another anime popularity contest driven by DbD's readership which undoubtedly must be bloated enough to support the venture. Hopefully it doesn't collapse on itself like the late SaiGar *touches wood* and will make for yet another interesting excuse to return to Derailed throughout this one month(not like one is needed really =P). Anyways, I'm jumping on the bandwagon this time around, so here's a rundown on where I cast my votes in Round 1:
Looking at the polls currently, there seem to be clearly predicted winners in each category already. Those who are still interested have till 11PST on March 3rd to vote for these 4 divisions before Jason posts the next 4 divisions. Since the top 2 series in each division will advance to the next stage together with the next 8 series with the highest total votes as wild cards, there seems a pretty good chance for all the series I've voted for to make it, with the sad exception of Muteki Kanban Musume T.T (Where is the emo-ramen love???)
No image this post since I think the one on the current March Madness post is just totally awesome by itself (can you spot 'me' in it? =P) Will probably report back on March Madness during the voting for the next 4 divisions come along, and probably up until the juggernaut series like Haruhi and er... Haruhi steamrolls the competition later on :P
