Anime Industry Theory

A Response to this topic

Because show will have more fans this way.

Fans who are in it only for sexual reasons, but fans who will buy it nonetheless.

Besides if they making such a complex show, why not just make it appeal to both genders.

Doing it just for one gender is probably easier.

Make it about one cool strong guy in love with someone drama and that is all you need to make girls buy it.

Guys are more sophisticated that that. You need 5 (minimum 3) girls. Guys cannot agree what is the best type of girl, so you need no less that 3 (each conforming to a different -dere type) to make the show appeal to all of them.

The show itself can either be action or CGDCT, but it has to have at least some common theme or better yet a plot. As guys cannot be satisfied with just relationship drama.

Sora no Otoshimono First Ending

I rarely post anything about Sora no Otoshimono. The reason is that side character's ruin this show and turn it into chaotic mess. Because of them best girl Ikaros gets little screen time.

However, this song is all about how Sakurai and Ikaros are happy together. If only the whole show was like this. I would have given it at least 9.

Song is nice and melodic too.

Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics

This song actually has cult following and even several remakes by various artists, such as Marlyn Manson.

It does give you a simple idea to think of. People either want to abuse or to be abused. That is a stark contrast to treat other how you wish to be treated. Back when I was younger, I used to lean towards this latter maxima. Nowadays I instead look for a girl who wants to be abused by me.

 

I wonder how to find a girl who wants to be abused by me?

Enjoy the Silence and Depeche Mode

 While most Depeche Mode songs are not that great melodically, the compensate well with really good lyrics. They were somewhat relatable for me even before and even more so nowadays.

First is Enjoy the Silence. I live like that King, wander around the world and look for a place where I can rule and reign in peace.  

Next is Lie to Me. You can only relate to it if you are completely disillusioned with life and people and want them to at least pretend to care about you.

Free Love, Dream On and Personal Jesus is also mostly about the same idea that you want someone to honestly care about you in this cold uncaring universe.

Violet Evergarden Review

Overall Rating - 6.2 out of 10 - Half Hayao Miyazaki movie, half Gunslinger Girl

I somewhat recommend watching.

The good about this show it Violet herself, quality of art and music.

Bad is almost everything else.

This show tries to be "right, nice and normal" way too much, just like Nibutani Shinka from Chunibyo. It panders to boomers pacifist hippy views way too much. As if just stopping all wars going to just magically solve everything. This is some sort of conservative dis/utopia (not my kind of utopia) show, that Hayayo Miazaki and One Piece keep making for their fans. Everyone here respects parents, elderly and women. Most men are filled with some form of guilt and most women are all too confident about themselves and make men chase after them. I guess to those who like these things it is a masterpiece or something.

Now back to good things. Music is good, art is of very high fidelity. On this level work is flawless.

Now the most important good thing in the show: Violet herself. She is like older Henrietta from Gunslinger Girl. Just as loyal to her master and deadly to his enemies. The kind of qualities I very much appreciate in a woman.

However unlike Gunslinger Girl where Henrietta just keeps killing for Guise ((this guy https://myanimelist.net/character/2024/Jose_Croce), she calls him Guise-san, that is what I remember), here Gilbert dies and Violet has to find a new purpose for herself. Gunslinger Girl too explores similar issues with Claes and possibly Angelica as well, do not remember the details.

Here however people around Violet all try to make her become more human and more selfish possibly. Even Gilbert actually wanted that from her.

In contrast while Guise liked the cute girl appeal of Henrietta, he actually wanted her to perform her duties as his tool well enough. That did confused Henrietta though.

Henrietta though did her duties well for the most of the show, I remember last episodes rather poorly though.

In contrast Violet is rather unstable at times. Occasionally goes very emotional and runs off somewhere.

I however like the way Violet talks in a very technical and factual way. Though I probably like the cozy warmth of Henrietta somewhat more. However both are good.

Overall I have a mixed feeling about it. It is not as focused on Violet as I would like it to be. In this regard episodes 8 or 9 was the best of them all. Though I do not remember which part of her flashback was the best.

For those who liked Violet I can certainly recommend this https://myanimelist.net/anime/134/Gunslinger_Girl great anime with a awesome selection of mini-Violets

For pacifist hippy tories I can recommend One Piece and Hayao Miazaki (Studio Ghibli) movies, they have so many you will never run out of stuff to watch. We only got 13 episodes of Gunslinger Girl, world is unfair and needs to be changed.

Without Violet Evergarden character I would have given this show 3.0 out of 10.

A different kind of show with Violet Evergarden in it can easily get to 8.0 out of 10

Paripi Koumei Review

Overall Rating 7.0 out of 10 - Overall good show that is carried well by Kou Mei (Kong Ming) character. 

I recommend watching.

Kong Ming is a really awesome person who carries this otherwise mediocre show to the level of good.

The way he reacts to things and how people react to him is really cool.

Various stratagems and tricks he uses to get his way and promote Eiko are really ingenious. He is not as smart as Lelouch or creative like Kaiji, but he is smart and creative enough to make it worthwhile to watch. Kong Ming can even promote even someone like Eiko to a celebrity.

Even great generals needed assistant tacticians, that is why Lelouch recruited Toudou and 4 Holy Swords for example.

The rest of the show is mostly about world of aspiring musicians who lament their poor fortunes. It is realistic enough to not scream nonsense at you and rather insightful to follow. Kabetaijin and Nanami are sympathetic, Eiko is mixed bag.

In fact, after the Kong Ming himself, lethargic and disillusioned Nanami was probably the other best thing of the show. That is the kind of sad that appeals to me. So, I did not like it when she got back into her old lively self at the end of the episode 12. Also, her hair is good in both plain and twin tail versions, but her Azalea consume is much better without the mask. Though I can see that mask is being used as a metaphor for her hiding her true self.

Overall, I would recommend it to anyone. Kong Ming definitely carries this show and Nanami is a good bonus.

Chao You Bing Review

Overall Rating 7.0 out of 10 - Witty comedy about social issues of out times.

I recommend watching.

This is actually a very funny show in best tradition of Gintama.

Unlike Ginatama that mostly satirizes pop culture trends and such this one hits heavily at social issue instead. Issues such as high housing prices are well represented in this show. It fully supports my anti-boomer stances as it depicts fights of younger generation to wrestle out property from the old people.

Unfortunately it is very small, but these four episodes are fully worth watching.

Quality of animation is average, but story does makes up for that.

Yes, it is in Chinese and not Japanese. I would say that Chinese are good a humor.

Also who calls a girl XiaoHong (small fire). You should not call girls fire, even small one. That will back fire as they might turn out too fiery for everyone good.

I can fully recommend it to everyone.

A Kite Review

Overall Rating 7.0 out of 10 - Controversial, but reasonably well written show

I cautiously recommend watching.

Nice, if rather sad story.

I really sympathize with Oburi and Sawa as well as their plan to kill Akai and free themselves of his manipulations. Sawa in particular had to put up with a lot of shit. Oburi too had to deal that nasty Akai. In the end Sawa had to lie to Akai to silence his vigilance and save Oburi.

Oburi and Sawa make for a nice couple. The show writes their romance rather clumsy though, which is a shame. I wish their time together was more like Takaki and Akari from Byosoku 5cm, or Sakakibara and Mei from Another. It is sad that Oburi was killed by that girl who used to play basketball. For whatever reason they did not want to give us a happy ending.

It has some good action too, though it is clumsily written at times.

The premise is rather dubious. Akai is somewhat of a pedophile, yet he also secretly hunts down and kills other pedophiles. That does seem illogical to me.

Akai is not only a pedophile but also murderer, liar and traitor. He killed Sawa's parents, and lied to her that it was not him to make her work for him. He employed Oburi as assassin, while also secretly plotted to kill him. Akai set Oburi against well prepared and armed target, Sawa saved him. When that failed Akai made that girl who played basketball to sneakily kill him unguarded.

Finally, there is sex. Girls look like they have fully developed adult bodies but are visibly smaller than males in the story. That was probably done for censorship reasons.

Overall, this reminds of how cruel and evil humans can be. It bugs me that there are too many parallels between Akai and my dad. I cannot know for sure if he is a pedophile or murderer, but he sure is traitor and a liar in a similar to Akai way.

Overall, I can recommend this story. It is rather fast paced, so it is easy to miss many important details. However, it is rather short overall and plot worth it to pay attention.

Bikini Warriors Review

Overall Rating - 7.0 of 10 - Good show that does well what it advertises to do.

I recommend watching, unless you are prude. 

This is actually a deep and profound show with sophisticated plot and complex characters. As complex as that Legendary Bikini Armor that fools cannot see it and only intelligent people can. /irony

In actuality this show does not have any more plot than the amount of clothes that heroines wearing. However, it does not make it bad.

This show is rather fun to watch. It has whole two rather likable females in it. That is 50% of the cast. I am talking about timid, gentle, polite and small mage mostly. A so self-sacrificing crusader is also good for the most part. Other girls are also alright overall.

It has witty parts as well. Like for example that invisible bikini episode, or episode where Crusader wanted to marry and be abused. Girls should be willing to be abused.

Overall, this sure is simple and primitive show, but it does what it need to do really well. Therefore, I can recommend it to anyone.

Space Pirate Captain Herlock: Outside Legend - The Endless Odyssey

Overall Rating 7.3 out of 10 - Near great show, that could have been much better. 

I recommend watching.

Best thing about this anime is Herlock himself. He is awesome and for the most part very relatable to me. I am the same kind of strong silent and willful type with Nordic temper/character.

This show loves and worships Herlock so much that it even makes most other characters about twice as short compared to him. Miime and Key are the only crew members of roughly the same size.

So, if you like Herlock you will enjoy this show overall. If not, then you probably won't.

Herlock is independent and unconventional hero who does what he wants and rejects all duty and obligations. He achieves great things despite that.

This time around story is actually rather psychological and philosophical even. This installment of Herlock saga tries to be as deep and profound as Revolutionary Girl Utena, SEL or Umineko. It even has some of the SEL vibe to it.

Being deep and profound kind of works half of the time. Some good ideas are often mixed with some cliches of living like 'real men' and such. It is somewhat intellectually stimulating, nevertheless. I would say it begins and ends rather poorly, but middle part is rather good.

Art quality overall is rather good for 2002. However, the show deliberately imitates old style art of the original Herlock of 1978, so many characters are in that deliberately retro style.

Overall, I can recommend this for everyone. It is probably more accessible for a modern anime fan than old original Herlock and also much shorter than it. It can nevertheless introduce you to this legendary Space Captain, one of the best anime characters of all time.

Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita Review

Overall Rating 6.9 out of 10 - Solid good show with only minor flaws.

I recommend watching.

It is actually a good isekai with likable protagonist pair of cute slave cat-girl and a dude who gets reincarnated as literal talking sword. Likable protagonists are rarely these days, so watch it.

World itself is nothing too special, but overall alright. It is better than say Harem labyrinth where almost all monsters are trees. It has many colorful moons in it, which is cool.

Battles are actually very good. They have some tactics, strategy and overall intrigue. I does not feel like Fran completely OP and will not lose to anyone. She uses combination of magic and sword. Sword can use some magic by himself, adding furth originality and creativity to battles.

Monsters are more original than in labyrinth but still leave to be desired.

Side characters are kind of mixed bag. Some are alright other are rather unpleasant.

Overall I can recommend this to everyone. This is the best show of the autumn season and one of the best this year.

It is nothing mind blowing, but not as bad as some other stuff.

Blame Movie Review

Overall Rating 7.5 out of 10 - A very good show with somewhat upsetting ending.

I can recommend watching for everyone. It will also work as an entry to Blame franchise in general.

This I can recommend even if you did not understand anything from the original. Not only you can understand anything without watching the original. It is actually a lot easier to understand story and idea of this movie compared to more esoteric original.

The story of the movie touches ideas on the original only remotely but gives enough hints that there is more to this world then the immediate story of the villagers trying to survive in technogenic dystopia.

It has good visuals, design audio and everything else you could possibly expect from a modern show. In that regard it puts many other modern shows to shame. Overall it is very well executed. This guys really managed to get to the highest level of implementation excellence.

One complain here is, while it is easier to understand, overall ambition of this movie is somewhat smaller compare to the original. It only tells a story of a single village in a dystopian world and does not touch too deep on the bigger conflict that created this dystopian world to being with. Killy and Cibo try to use artificial Net Terminal Genes to control the world but ultimately fail. While that leaves us with possibility of a sequel but still feels like letdown, because they did not win.

I want to see restoration and the enhancement of the original utopia before things went sour.

Blame Prologue Review

Overall Rating 4.0 out of 10 - Limited watching value

More of a tech demo for early CGI then a show

Unfortunately, unlike the original, prologue does not have any kind of story or idea to convey. It is just couple of battles and nothing more. Maybe it is only of interest to those who read manga, but I haven't yet.

Atmosphere wise it does convey broadly the same feel as the original.

Animation is early CGI and looks relatively good for the show that old. However nowadays it can only be of interest for historical reasons, to see early stages of CGI development.

Overall other than for looking at early CGI or very heavy interest in technogenic future, there is no particular reason to watch it.

Blame Review

Overall Rating 7.8 out of 10 - Great and deep idea that show only manages to scratch on the surface.

Watch if you can read between the lines and understand implied plot. The show does not really make sense at the surface level.

This is actually very deep and profound anime that is a complex metaphor or allegory to a world we live in.

Unfortunately, few would be able to understand the idea of this show. However, I think that is not what creators indented.

Then wanted to send a message to select few who could get it. Now I finally got their message as well.

I guess I can almost quote the main character. I am looking for humans with Net Terminal Gene, that is a metaphor as well.

Well, I guess I want to find people who can understand this stuff as much as I do and talk online.

It would be interesting to talk.

Of course, only if you understood it the same way as I did. I have no interest in people who is not getting it.

I am smart so I can get this show, you possibly not so you will not get it at all.

Death Note Review

Overall Rating 6.0 out of 10 - Flowed, but reasonably entertaining show.

I can still recommend watching it.

Note desu - Suiseiseki

Many compare it with Code Geass. particularly Light with Lelouch. That hardly holds any water. Light not only far less smart, but also very different from Lelouch on fundamental level.

Light does not try to change the system and make world a better place. Nor does even has interest in learning more about anything. He just kills criminals based on his simplistic black and while morality, that erroneously divide people into good and bad guys. Because of that this show is hardly anything deep or profound.

On the other hand this show is not an affront on everything that is good and likable like Guilty Crown. It has relatively interesting plot. Interesting antagonist in L and rather original base premise of a Copybook that kills everyone, whose name is written in it.

Quality of story somewhat fluctuates. Some of the plans and trick Light and L use to win are more interesting than other. L cleverly used limited area broadcasts to pinpoint general location of Kira. Light cunningly solved CIA involvement with Ray Penbar.

On the other hand that thing when Light relinquished his Death Note to erase his memories of being Kira. He done it so that L would not be able to find any evidence in his memories. This ark is long boring slog based on ham-fisted plot trick.

Overall it is not too bad of a show. It has its flaws, but overall watchable and enjoyable.

ID-0 Review

Overall Rating 6.5 out of 10 - Other than overly cluttered plot at times, it is a good show.

I recommend watching.

This is a rather simple (by my standards, that means requires a reasonable amount of intelligence to understand) show that explores further on the ideas introduced in Ghost in the Shell.

Compare to Ghost in the Shell ID-0 is exploring the world where boundaries between biological and technological are blurred. This one is particularly focused on shells, or i-machines as the called them in this show. Some characters there still have physical bodies, some have lost them, others possibly never had them to begin with. None of them however think too deep about any of that. They just live with it like it is nothing special and just pursue their hobbies and passions like normal people.

It is a world where artificial body concept was completely normalized and society explores untapped possibilities that this tech could bring, such as mining orichalcum across the universe. i-machines do not replicate human body to be human like. Instead, they are bigger than human body and allow users to do more and better compare to a normal human body. They are customizable to individual teste too. You can use different models as well, switch between them at will. This does open a lot of possibilities.

On its own story has somewhat interesting premise, but not that much more. World of this show somewhat curious but rather hollow. Conclusion is somewhat anticlimactic and underwhelming.

Because of these flaws I gave it 6 instead of 7. But I can still recommend it to watch. It is better than many other shows.

I double recommend it to people who enjoyed GitS and SEL. That is about post-transformation world, kind of.

Grave of the Fireflies Review

Overall Rating 7.0 out of 10

A very sad and painful story. Watch at your own risk.

This one is a very sad story that kind of got too close to my sore wounds.

It is about brother and sister of their way to what is essentially slow death. Their parents died; more distant relatives mostly took advantage of them rather then helped. They ended up homeless, then slowly Setsuko died of malnutrition. He lasted a little longer just to see his country he was so proud of losing the WWII and then he died as well.

This is probably the most sad, cruel and unfair show out there. It is about how one slowly dies after life takes a wrong turn. So applicable to us after that financial crisis.

Because of that I have mixed feelings on whether to recommend it or not. Not even Silence of the Lambs made me so sad and frightened about my future.

It is painful to watch. More than any other show I watched. At least for me that was this way.

That is a testament to why world is such a evil cruel place and people are evil.

Watch at your own risk.

Ghost in the Shell Review

Overall Rating 7.0 out of 10

I recommend watching, especially for intellectual kind of people.

A year before they released SEL, they made Ghost in the Shell. A somewhat spiritual predecessor to SEL.

It is about one simple (or not so simple if you are not so smart) idea.

Can you still continues to exist even if your physical body is destroyed. Can you consciousness, personality and memories, your ghost in the show terms, be copied off your brain using technology and then inserted into artificially created body. Will that still be you. Character of this show do ponder over this question.

Other characters here have some electronic implants but only main female protagonist has completely artificial mechanical body with her electronically preserved consciousness controlling it like a normal person would control a machine or something like that.

This show explores her feelings and experiences stemming from that arrangement.

This show could be called revolutionary or cutting edge. However, there are other shows that borrow this base idea and take it much much further. Therefore, this show is only as good as an entry point on the journey further into uncharted horizons of the world shaped by technology.

This show ultimately looks back. It only thinks of using technology to replicate lost human body. In its logic ghost does need a shell to inhibit. An artificial body may be, but a body. Characters here mostly nostalgic about their physical bodies.

SEL (World of Ghosts without Shell) on the other hand, take a step further and explore a world where consciousness could simply exist in the Wired without any body at all.

And that is just the beginning. It continues on and explores just what kind of previously unthinkable things could become already became (it is 2022 not 1996 anymore) a reality of our lives. A new reality shaped by internet and computers. SEL is like a multifaceted gem that shows countless surfaces and angles of such world. It would take too long to explore it all here, you would have to retell the entire show to do that.

ID-0 in another example of exploring the world where boundaries between biological and technological are blurred. This one os particularly focused on shells, or i-machines as the called them in this show. Some characters there still have physical bodies, some have lost them, others possibly never had them to begin with. None of them however think too deep about any of that. They just live with it like it is nothing special and just pursue their hobbies and passions like normal people.

It is a world where artificial body concept was completely normalized and society explores untapped possibilities that this tech could bring, such as mining orichalcum across the universe. i-machines do not replicate human body to be human like. Instead they are bigger and allow users to do more and better then with a normal human body. They are customizable to individual teste too. You can use different models as well, switch between them at will. This does open a lot of possibilities.

Overall, I can recommend Ghost in the Shell as your starting point towards other shows about futuristic life, such as SEL and ID-0. It is good by itself as well, even if somewhat gloomy and slow.

One Piece Review

Overall Rating - 4.5 out of 10

I would not recommend watching. Unless you are very morally conservative Christian zealot kind of person. Then this show is for you.

This one was called one of the big three back in the days.

It has occasional epic moments, even entire good arks, few good characters and interesting stories here and there. Some arks standalone I can rate s high as 8.

However they are but a tiny minority in the sea of stuff that goes squarely against my values. On summary it is bad.

The good arks game me sense of false hope that this show then kept betraying forever and ever. For so long it seemed that this show will finally improve, we will graduate from all this silliness and get to some major story ark with a big battle for the future of the world. By Big Mom ark I finally gave up on that and dropped it.

I guess I have to tell a similarly long story of how I got into it and then got out.

I started watching it from a flashback ark, just after the War at Marinenford. Ace died and Luffy was reminiscent about his past: back then he, Ace and Sabo were little and only dreamed of being pirates.

I could particularly relate to Sabo, the way his parents treated him reminded me of my own parents. The way he reacted to it made a lot of sense to me. Sabo as he was in that ark is my favorite character in the show.

That ark alone I can rate 8

If only the rest of the show could live up to this high mark.

Right now I can say that this ark is the uniquely best in the entire show. Back then it gave me false hope that the rest of OP will live u to this standard.

After finishing this ark I started to watch from the beginning. That was not like the flashback ark at all. At first I thought that may be early arks are just warm up, it will get better later.

Occasional cool characters like Mihawk, Corocodile's revolution and uprising, Water 7, Black Beard's crew and Doflamingo kept my interest and made me keep watching.

I was pleasantly surprised when instead of Vivi they made Robin join the crew.

Finally, Marienford and the flashback ark, the highlight of the show. Then 2-year gap. Ant then it was supposed to get better. But it did not. OP just kept failing and failing.

They brought Sabo back to life, but he was not the same anymore. You would think he would be the most inclined to stay independent, but instead he works under Dragon. Worst of all he also has, typical for OP unappealing female with him who keeps torturing him.

Also, about Dragon and his Revolutionary Army, I do wonder what kind of revolution they are planning if any at all. As I begun, I thought about something along the lines of Lelouch and Black Knights, but closer to the end I started to doubt it will turn out that way.

Well, since we are talking about women, I guess I have to explain this 'typical for One Piece unappealing female' term They are selfish, confident, do what they want, hurt men whenever they please. Some sort of feminist mad dream, or more of a nightmare if you ask me.

I wonder if it were editors who made Oda replace Vivi with Robin to somehow counterbalance this problem. Robin is one of the few women in the show who do not fit the above description. Robin saved the show somewhat but far not enough. Because most other women there do fit it.

Men for the most part are also dubious. Always respect women. Always so die-hard loyal to some leader. Would rather suffer and die then break promise. If it were just few characters here and there, it would be aright I guess, but here they are absolute majority. Majority that become way too overwhelming for me to tolerate by the middle of the Big Mom ark, where I dropped it.

I mentioned there are exceptions to these rules, but they are too few to justify continued watching.

Overall, I will not recommend it to anyone.

If not for Flashback ark, Nico Robin, Mihawk, Crocodile, Doflamingo, Black Beard, Water 7 ark, Eustas Kidd, Hawkins, Harpy girl and may be someone else I forgot it would be 3. But because of these characters this 5.

Favorite Sailor Girls

I did not watch too much Sailor Moon and that was way too long ago for me to really remember what their personalities were like.

However, from all the sailor girls in Sailor Moon franchise I like Mercury and Saturn most.

They both are calming and intellectual. 

Mercury is my kind of shy and nerdy.

However, Saturn just takes this to the whole new level of awesomeness. She is stylish. My kind of reserved. As well as my kind of sad and lethargically melancholic. She is not the kind of girl who moves and talks unnecessarily, and I like that in any girl.

Also, that hairstyle is just perfect, though that is not the most important part.

Also, some Sailor Mercury

Girls of Higurashi

While all Higurashi girls are overly violent to make any of them a suitable waifu material. One thing if she only kills my enemies like say Lucy from Elfen Lied, however it is not OK if she could actually hurt me as well.

However, setting is about one guy and four girls, who are each rather different from each other, but somehow all interested in him.

Out of them I like Rika and Rena, but not found of Shion, Mion or Satoko.

Rika is sweet, cute, adorable girl. She is weak and obedient as well. And she says cute phrases such as 'mii' and 'nipah'. She has thinking, contemplating and philosophical side as well.

Rena is about as sweet and adorable as Rika. You might think girls like Rika eventually become like Rena. She also has fondness for cute thigs and I like her catchphrase 'this is so cute; I want to take it home with me'.

In contrast I am not found of the other three girls.

Satoko is rude and arrogant. This is annoying in a girl. She is somehow worse than Shion. (With exception of when she was beaten by her relative and had that dead eye look on her face)

Shion radiates too much strength and competitiveness for me to like her.

Mion may be looks the most fancy and 'ladylike', however I do not like her as much as Shion. May be even more. 

The latter three just too arrogant. They look like they want to compete with a guy for power and influence. To challenge him.

In contrast Rika and Rena clearly radiate passive subservient girly vibe. Rika looks like the kind of cute thing you want to take home with you. Rena also that. However, she can also appreciate cute things in life like Rika and moe anime and bring them home for you to enjoy as well.

Takano if possibly the worst of them all, but I do not remember her too well.

More of Rika and Rena

Enjoy the Silence and Depeche Mode

While most Depeche Mode songs are not that great melodically, the compensate well with really good lyrics. They were somewhat relatable for me even before and even more so nowadays.

First is Enjoy the Silence. I live like that King, wander around the world and look for a place where I can rule and reign in peace.  

Next is Lie to Me. You can only relate to it if you are completely disillusioned with life and people and want them to at least pretend to care about you.

Free Love, Dream On and Personal Jesus is also mostly about the same idea that you want someone to honestly care about you in this cold uncaring universe.

Subversion of Power and Winning in Anime

Back in the days in anime and video games we could see a subversion of power and a protagonist getting all his dreams come true in the end. Even such diverse anime as from Code Geass and Girls Bravo had this in common.

I wrote a lot about Lelouch in Code Geass, by the end of Code Geass he kills and overthrows his dad, changes Brittania, conquers the world and changes it more to his liking.

However even Yukinari from Girls Bravo gets a girl of his dreams from Seiren who actually prefers him to higher, tougher, stronger and richer guy Fukuyama who is also interested in Miharu. He is the ultimate winner of the show.

However, no one wins quite as much as Saotome from Hand Maid May who gets entire harem, while also has his self-proclaimed rival Kotaro.

Utena's duelists all fought in duels to win and have their wishes and desires granted for them.

Masters of Fate/Zero (but not so much of Fate/Stay night) also fought for grail that would grant them their wish.

Even more complicated shows with a lot of suffering such as, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Black Lagoon and Inifnite Ryvius still had this desre for victory and happiness, that underpinned all that was happening on screen.

Other shows such as Naruto and even One Piece also promised us this: victory. Naruto was struggling at times, but he was winning, getting better and closer to his goal of becoming Hokage and the strongest ninja.

Of course, not all old anime had that much winning in it. But a lot of anime were about MC winning either right away or by the end of the show.

 

More on Girls Bravo

I will analyze Yukinari from Girls Bravo, as this show has all elements of winning in one show.

Here is picture of Yukinari winning as big as Donald Trump would promise in his electoral speeches.

Notice how he gets to marry the best girl Miharu. What other girls partly happy and partly envious of them.

Miharu is so perfect at being best girl, she does not even provoke Yukinari's usual allergy on girls. Also, she likes him for who he is and does not complain about anything. She is sweet, demure, cute, gentle and everything the girl needs to be liked by a guy. She cares for him a lot and put a lot of effort into making him happy in a way a guy can actually appreciate, by serving him. She is not always gets it right, but you can see she is trying earnestly and honestly. In fact, you can pity her for the fact that there is so few men on Seiren that she has to go great length to find one. In fact, Miharu should be you go to example girl if you want most guys to like you.

Also, to make sure this works for every guy watching it, it is ambiguous why Miharu likes Yukinari. That is if she liked him for being short or dark haired, tall and blond guys would feel that this show does not work for them.

Notice also how Fukuyama is upset that girl choose Yukinari over him. Fukuyama is taller, richer, manlier and stronger than Yukinari and according to all conventional wisdom he would win any girl, but here he is a sore loser who is not getting a girl. David beats goliath, underdog prevails over favorite. Fukuyama is the kind of antagonist most guys struggle against IRL, so it is sweet to see him beaten at least in anime.

Video game example of Arthas and Illidan

In video games, protagonist who defy order and prevail were prevalent as well. Diablo has conventional fight against evil. However, Warcraft III for example had hugely popular Arthas and Illidan who each defy existing order to do what they believe is right and win in the end. 

Arthas becomes Lich King in the end, after killing his mentor Uther and his father King Terenas. That is also symbolic move. Arthas gets disillusioned with principles and values that Uther taught him, as they fail to achieve results he desires. So, Arthas first embraces carnage on pragmatic grounds over Uther's principles over reality on the ground. Then Arthas defects to the Scourge and fights both his former mentor and his father for the undead future Scourge promised him.

Illidan tragically loses to both: Arthas on the battlefield and to his brother Furion in competition for Tyrande's love. He is relatable because of how hard he wanted and tried to win. How bitterly he mourns his losses later in the story. However, there is no doubt that the future Illidan desired and fought for was to stand on Arthas's corpse, holding enamored with him Tyrande in one hand and victoriously lifting the other one in the air. He fought to win, but there could be only one winner (Arthas had to protect Frozen Throne to keep Scourge together. Kil'Jaeden promised Illidan 'whatever his heart desires' in exchange for destroying the Frozen Throne). Yet his path and effort deserve respect and admiration. (That is up to his death in The Burning Crusade, they resurrected and retconned him in Legion, butchering his character in process)

Recent Shows

In contrast more recent shows failing to let male MC really win at anything.

They have struggle, but they do not have any victory. Struggle and suffering became a thing in itself, not a by-product of trying to achieve what you want from life, but as an end in itself. Just everyday suffering as part of normal everyday life.

To add insult to injury, they now started to fill protagonists with guilt and self-hating, where they actually enjoy the suffering, they go through.

Worse yet if they believe or taught some ideology, religion or some sort of value system that instills guilt and glorifies the constant suffering for others sake for no gain for oneself.

Tanjiro is good example of such guy who just suffers to save others from demons, even if no one will ever be even thankful to him for doing any of that. In fact, other characters treat Tanjiro in a very deplorable way.

However, Tanjiro is just a lapdog protagonist of this accursed era, who just serves other for not return for himself.

It would be nice if such a protagonist would be girl instead, as I like girls who are self-sacrificial and willing to do anything for me for no reward for themselves, I find them sexy and dateable. 

However, a male protagonist like that is unrelatable.

Even Illidan that was once a testament of fighting hard and breaking all and every rule and bound for personal ambition was altered in Legion expansion.

Legion's Illidan, much unlike the Warcarft III Illidan, somehow foreseen that demon's hunter's power will be needed to defeat Burning Legion, took over the Outland for this cause. There was nothing left of his ambitions and desires, he is just a martyr who sacrificed himself for the sake of people of Azeroth, who brand him traitor and do not appreciate anything he done for them.

Legion's Illidan would probably disgust The Burning Crusade's Illidan to death.

Conclusion

I hope this guilt infested era will finally get to an end and we will have relatable protagonists once again.

Also, I want to see more self-sacrificing victim girls in shows.

UFO Robo Grendizer Review

Overall Rating 7.0 out of 10

I recommend watching - It is a really good show if you do not mind dated visuals from 1975

This one is probably the first anime I ever watched. They showed it on TV during 90s.

It is somewhat simplistic by modern standards and have some silly stuff here and there. Animation is lacking at times. Plot of some episodes is bad. Some characters are stupid.

However overall, it is still a very decent show. It has awesome Intro and outro, both music and art. Really cool main protagonist Duke Fleed aa well as his mecha: Grendizer. Gundam and even Go Nagai himself with his Mazinger kept doing more and more mecha shows but could not reach brilliance of this one.

Grendizer is awesome, I do want to pilot it myself. Duke is also cool hero. He does a lot himself, but people around him are mostly supportive and grateful to him.

Opponents look like a stereotypical villain at first, but overtime they develop in rather creative and unique way. They internal politics and squabbles do occasionally come into play.

Art of course dated, but the idea of the design is great. Duke's outfit, helmet and Grendizer itself is awesomely designed. Vegan base on moon is also atmospheric and eerie. Other times design is plant. Authors might be able to do better with more budget or time.

Overall I can recommend it to anyone who likes mecha and good hero driven story. That is if you do not mind old style animation. However it is worth you time, it is better than many others.

Puni Puni☆Poemii Review

Overall Rating 7.0 out of 10

I recommend watching for all fans of Excel Saga

Somewhat standalone spinoff of Excel Saga. It has the same director and overall style of humor.

Compare to Excel Saga insanity went all the way to the new heights. At timed it made even me somewhat uncomfortable, may be because protagonist girl is clearly underage.

However, it is a very fun show, that fans of the original can enjoy. Fans of Gintama and Nichijou as well.

As far as I remember you do not need to watch Excel Saga to understand what is going on. However, it is probably best if you do watch it first.

This show parodies magical girl genre as well as tentacles sex in hentai. It also touches on BDSM and sexuality generally. Stuff that became more explicit as anime developed.

In some ways this show was a pioneer of the future trends. Much like Space Capitan Herlock.

Overall, I can recommend it to all fans of comedy as well as to people interested in history of anime.

Heppoko Jikken Animation Excel♥Saga Review

Overall Rating 7.0 out of 10

I would recommend to all fans of good comedy.

This one is another good comedy show, brought to you by Nabeshin. Despite being much older than Gintama and Nichijou, and had little to copy from (other than wester animation that is), it is almost as fun and the big two of comedy.

The main plot is about 'ideological organization' called Across, that tries to conquer the world and Municipal Defence Force that tries to protect their Prefecture, because they look at 'narrow' picture instead of a big picture. Across plans are often crazy and that gets plenty of opportunities for jokes and other humor.

However, they are not the only stars of the show. There are plenty of subplots and other characters that creative and ingenious in their own way, like Pedro and Will of the Macrocosm, who controls the entire show but otherwise is very emotional woman, desperate to find love.

There is also directors' self-insert character Nabeshin and well as manga author Rukido Kouji, who argue about the direction of the show.

It has overreaching plot that connects it all, but most episodes can be readily consumed in standalone fashion. Each episode has some sort of theme that Nabeshin makes Rukido approve at the beginning.

Overall, I can recommend it to fans of Gintama and Nichijou as well as to all who likes comedy (not romantic comedy, just comedy).

I have made a separate blog section for all posts about the women I like

I have made a separate blog section for all posts about the women I like.

You can find it by this link

I moved some of my blog posts about this issue from this blog to the one in the link.

If you cannot find it here, then it was moved there.

I did not delete any of that for good. I am just storing my blog for types of content as well as adapting Thor's Anime section with Google's ad-sense policies and moving everything noncompliant to a sister blog.

Thoughts on Kaguya Sumeragi

I am not a particular fan of hers, but neither do I hate her.

I also do not consider her undatable, like for example Kallen. With Kallen I can only have strictly business relationship. 

I like that she is so willing to accept that Zero will have other women in his life besides her. I like how she admires and respects Zero implicitly. I also like it that she is willing to defend him and be loyal to him.

On the other hand she is too bold and daring. That is not something I like. On the other hand she mostly does it at appropriate times to actually defend him from various assholes. So may be she is not too bad.

Also she is able to skillfully deal with emotional people with whom Zero's logic does not work. A useful ability that I might need in my gf as I too have a hard time dealing with people on whom logic does not work.

Actually there is a lot going for her. I guess she can grow up into a good woman and a useful wife for Zero or someone like me.