The Mystery of Characters (like Watanuki, Natsume, and Tyki Mikk)

In anime, some characters have this mystical and magical appeal to the viewer that convey such beautiful mysticism that is missing from the world, at large. What happens in the real world, is that it's day to day progression erodes most human aesthetic endeavor into human weakness. This is not so with anime. Even though the characters might have flaws, they always find a way to either look beautiful or find what's missing in their story, here by mystic abilities. This blog post is going to show some of those characters, the good and the bad.


Watanuki Kimihiro
xxxHolic

Watanuki is training with Yuuko who is a dimensional witch. He cooks and bakes for her. Among all that, he helps with the errands which include looking into customer life problems involving monsters and spirits. Yuuko might accept him if he works hard enough.

Tyki Mikk
D.Gray-man\

Tyki Mikk is one of the foremost antagonists of D.Gray-man and companion/subordinate of the chief antagonist, The Millenium Earl.

Natsume's grandma, the original owner of the "Book of Friends" and master of the spirit, Nyanko.

Natsume-san
Natsume Yuujincho

In Natsume Yuujincho, everything is kind of beautiful and peaceful, kind of like the Japanese ideal of nature. Even with the ghosts of the forest... Natsume's Grandma gave him her "Book of Friends" so he can decide whether they're still friends or moved on...

Nyanko-sensei was surprised when Natsume had a nightmare.

Natsume walking to school in the snow, with his umbrella.

Anime Introspective: ERASED and the American Serial Drama Tropes

 Most people live life on the path we set for them. Too afraid to explore any other. But once in a while people like you come along...

Guess which anime has topped the MyAnimelist charts in just a short few months?

"Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi" - The Town Where Only I Am Missing, or simply "ERASED" as the English adaptation title, is a story about Fujinuma Satoru, a young 20-something manga author who has a mysterious ability called "Revival" - returning a few moments in time before a tragedy in order to prevent its eminent occurrence. Without revealing too much, a major catastrophe causes Satoru to use Revival to the point where he is sent back 18 years in time to prevent a tragedy deeply rooted in his childhood. 

The concept in all honesty is not far from being cliche, at least in the world of anime. It is not the supernatural or over-the-top powers known to many anime which made ERASED an instant fan favorite. It is the nature of each episode, strongly intertwined and the tension / hype tools used to pull the viewer in that have made this show so popular.

Time to take a short departure from reviewing like an Otaku, and putting on my "Westerner" hat. Who here hasn't seen "Breaking Bad", "Lost" or "How to Get Away with Murder" - or any other popular "Serial dramas" that have pervaded American society of late? The premise of these shows is deeply based in reality, but a strong character takes a twist in his normal fate and becomes something more than they are - someone who drives their storyline, a thread in a multi-threaded theatrical puppet show, where everyone else's plots weave into their in a very strategic way to further the main story. 

ERASED functions in much the same way: it is highly character driven but to the point where these characters drive their own plotlines with their actions. One small example we can take is of Katagiri Airi - the part timer who works with Satoru. She is unassuming until they delve into her backstory, and she forces herself into Satoru's life and helps him out. The same goes for Kenya, Hiromi, Jun, and Kayo - they lead organically disparate lives but their plots weave with Satoru's.  

Another success formula that ERASED uses is the heavy plot twists and cliffhangers. You may think "All anime series' have cliff hangers at each episode," but ERASED uses them in a 12 episode series - and in a way which is deliberately used to increase tension instead of just make you happy / excited. Ring any bells? American Serial Dramas use the same tools. Amazingly, your fear of Walter White's last decision in BB is the same as Satoru's desperation in protecting his friends. It's not the same as the 800 episodes of Case Closed that do next to nothing to bring the viewer back into the story for the next episode.

What would the face of anime be like if all new anime focused on episode-by-episode crescendos, story tension used as a cliffhanger-y element, and crime-drama style character development? Would anime mirror Western Netflix binge-able serials or AMC's next big psychological drama?

-chansu

:::Fall Season 2010::: Recommendations

Hey everyone! I'm sure you guys don't want to get left behind this season without knowing what to watch, so I have some quick recommendations for you based on what I've seen in the first few episodes and what looks promising.

(Note: May include 1st episode spoilers)

First off is Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai (The World God Only Knows) which is about a guy who's a master at dating sims games and can conquer any 2D girl... but how well does he fair in real life? Well, he hasn't tried...

But when suddenly he accepts a challenge a "demon" girl who looks more like an angel flys down from the sky and tells him that he needs to free the loose demon souls trapped in some girls' hearts by making the girl create a space for him in their heart so the demon has no where to go.

Unique right? It has a very refreshing feel and the production and music is very nice. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a comedy romance. I would say it gives me a sort of Angel Beats vibe, so if you liked it you may like this as well.

Next up is Shinryaku! Ika Musume (Invasion! Squid Girl) which is about a squid girl who is enraged with mankind for polluting the water. She surfaces with her super powered tentacle-hair and attempts to take over the world. Little does she know that mankind is more than 1000 people ^^.

Join Ika Musume in this hilarious comedy/slice of life!

It's sure to warm your spirits :)




Next up is something I was skeptical about at first: Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute). At first I thought it might be very ecchi+ but then I found out it was a lot more comfortable to watch than I thought and no ecchi-ness at all. I was glad it was just a tease and much more pure than it seems =P. If you're wondering why I started watching it anyway it's because I looked up the ratings and it seemed safe--but I wasn't sure if I could trust it--but now I'm sure I can ^^.

What's it like?
This anime gives me a sort of Minami-Ke / Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu feel in that it has spontaneous comical moments with a fun and happy production style and she has a secret from her family: that she's an otaku tsundere. If you're a fan of comedy and secrecy-based-suspense animes you'll definitely enjoy this one =P

Yet another recommendation (yes, this season looks promising =P) is Bakuman! The first episode really caught my attention and now I'm hooked o.O... And although I haven't read the manga like a few of my friends, I can tell that it's going to be great.

So this anime is about two guys who are going to follow their dreams to become manga-ka despite what society has to say about them. They're going to push away the negativity and look forward to their goals. What makes this anime more interesting is that the girl the main character, Mashiro Moritaka, had a crush on agreed to marry him if their manga turns into an anime. What more motivation could you ask for? =P.

Join Mashiro and his friend, Takagi, on the journey to their dreams! :)

And as a final recommendation, I introduce MM!

This is about a hilarious comedy of a seriously masochistic guy who's trying to cure this condition so that when he confesses to the girl he likes she won't look at him like a freak.

He asks a club called the "Second Volunteer Club" for help, who aim to grant any wish or help solve any problem to their guests.

The funny part is that everyone thinks he's a pervert because he keeps asking other people to hit him more and as they do he gets turned on even more and it goes in this vicious cycle that's very humorous =P.

So will his condition be cured by lethal force? You'll have to watch MM! to find out =P.

Full Fall Season Guide:

Here you go! ^^ Click it for the bigger picture where you can actually read the descriptions.

So that's my fall season recommendations, I hope you guys check these out and decide to keep up this season because it's going to be great! :)

Well that's all for today! If something changes (such as the ratings) I'll be updating this post, so check back! :)

Thanks for reading ^^
:::Deretsun:::

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