Otakureviewers: Tweet of the day!

my life motto pic.twitter.com/71UyF5FZ9t

— Emergency Kittens (@EmrgencyKittens) January 4, 2017

He helped save a cat, now lets help him!

The Anime World of Last Year (2016)

In the anime-otaku world, pocky is a friend just like dogs are a man's best friend. Pets and pocky were made to cheer you up. Just like anime and video games boost pop culture among certain pop lovers.

Like in Pokemon Go, you get a pokemon at first and then go battle for victory. The debut anime had Ash Ketchum as the main character and obsessed with pokemon battling. He seems kind of introverted and shy compared to Pikachu and his friends Misty and Brock. There were other successful platformers that came with an anime such as Kirby and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). The TMNT show was even more popular than the "Nintendo (r)" game. The turtle heroes were humanoid hero turtles but they battled bad guys and didn't back down from their challenges and hundreds of foes. As much as Ash Ketchum might have had second guesses about his Pokemon training abilities and his Pokemon, he was not much inspiration to my child self... He was always debating in a way to himself about why he couldn't take all of the Pokemon he caught with him on all of his journeys, which would be impossible for someone who second guesses himself. In a way, he's not exactly a friend you could trust that much, what do you think? Actually he may be excellently trustworthy because he sees trust in Pokemon, they are his friends.

"Tiger and Bunny" - When you saw the title you knew there would be an accidental tiger attack on a helpless bunny. Actually the anime is about two guys who fight bad guys on reality TV as actual superheroes. Off camera, they control their powers and build social lives with each other and their families. But Bunny has a number of problems and Tiger is losing power... Together they overcome all of their issues with The Man and bad guys to save Sternbild over and over again.

"Chi's Sweet Home" - There are slow episodes (though they are only five minutes long) about a stray kitten that is lucky to find a home in the 'burbs of a Japanese city. If you and I keep watching the episodes, Chi starts to love her new home.

"Gintama" - Samurai and aliens are among Edo's post Meiji crowds, where Gin-san runs Yorozuya Gin-san with Kagura and Shinpachi! Don't forget there's Sadoharu a kind of dog (is he a Samurai or not?) that Kagura adopted and likes. ...And there might be some interesting perspectives on the growing stray cat population.

"Yu-Gi-Oh" - That's deja-vu for the popular card game, c.a. the Pokemon fad that we love. Yugi and his friends (!!!) are on a quest and they want the strongest (monsters?) to defeat Yugi's nemesis at Yu-Gi-Oh battle! Some of the card monsters, dragons and knights, are so strong that the battle is almost over when they're called out!

"Natsume Yuujinchu" - The book of friends contains the names and bonds of kinship to untold "youkai" who were befriended by Natsume's grandma. He wants to begin his grandma's second legacy of giving freedom or friendship back to them. Along the way he gains companions who are interested in the book of friends and in Natsume.

"Tegami Bachi" - There are letters to deliver and the terrain is hazardous due to large metallic insects. There is a message of a kid named Lag Seeing who delivered to a new family by his Tegami Bachi, Gauche Suede or Noir. Later, Lag Seeing becomes a "letter bee" or "tegami bachi" that delivers the last messages of the people of that place to distant far out-of-the-way remote locations there, along with partner 'Niche' who is his partner. Without an eagle, without a bloodhound, or panther, Lag the tegami bachi needs to deliver every one of those backed letters of messages to become the "Head Bee" the leader of the "Tegami Bachi" HQ. Don't you ever wonder if Lag ever sees a bit of himself in every letter?

"Inuyasha" - Is he a dog, or a human, or a super demon dog? Inuyasha is the type of guy who could obey the "phrase", "down boy" by his girlfriend Kagura. His dad is somehow missing, that and the exorcist priestess Keikiyo is after him. Kagura likes Inuyasha's world and Naraku wants to wreak havoc on Kagura's human world. Can Inuyasha, Kagura and friends stop Naraku before he takes of the human world! Will Naraku ever actually take over the human world that way? Before you answer these questions, remember that Inuyasha was the most successful program on Adult Swim and that it's already pretty awesome!

 (SAO's Legend -sao.gamesprite.me)

NHK World TV - News and more from Japan

I think it’s safe to say that most of us want to go to Japan someday.  Anime and manga is a big thing for us, but the history and culture of the amazing country that gave us our obsessions is something we should learn before our trip. My recommendation would be NHK World TV. There’s shows about pretty much everything from Kabuki to robotics. What makes this app really cool is that it’s free AND there’s no ads. You can also watch from your home computer or laptop, so so smartphone or tablet is needed. ^,^

NHK Newsline is the main program. It broadcasts every half hour on Mondays-Fridays  which covers news from around the world as well as Japan.

Japanology Plus covers things that are uniquely Japanese or foreigners that have made Japan their home.

Core Kyoto talks about things and people that originated in Kyoto.

Journeys in Japan talks about the different cities and towns of Japan and what makes them special.

Tokyo Eye 2020 talks about the preparations for the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics. .

For music, J-Melo is definitely the go-to program for j-pop and j-rock. It's also my favorite show~

Kawaii International is for anything and everything Kawaii.

Remember this cool site?!

If you're bored and you like gadgets, check out this pretty decent website!!!

http://www.strapya-world.com/

RPGHero's Corner: Anime + Current Events

RPGHero's Corner

What does being an otaku mean in the modern world? Well we should examine current events through the perspective of anime and video game to find out a bit more.

What comes to mind first when you think about the, “#blacklivesmatter” protests? For myself, “Sword Art Online”. “Angel Beats”, and “Steins;Gate” are three anime that have come to mind. As an otaku who also founded this blog and also who is African-American, I see the plot elements of these anime when I see the emotions that the “#blacklivesmatter” protests have evoked from both those who agree with the protests and those who don't. That's because if you've seen all those anime mentioned, they are about the drive that the protagonists have to protect the lives of those around themselves and not necessarily their own life. I clearly see that the real-life protesters would fit in as the protagonists of any of those anime, if not the ones of their own choosing. They feel more strongly about the sanctity of life, especially in the face of clear persecution against “Black people”, than the people who see themselves more as spectators to the protests or even who are offended by them. In the otaku world of anime, such protests would happen and they would be called “human rights” protests. However, IRL the “#blacklivesmatter” movement has been seen as a bunch (rather large bunch) of youths rasing trouble for other people who are supposedly already down with the sanctity and purpose of all life. For those new to the concept of protests or self-actualized endeavor, that should be expected but for adults in reality any protest is a rally for society to change, not for any one individual or something. That and self-actualized persons, the famous ones rather, are all familiar with the concept of failure on the road toward a goal. So otaku and also everyone else should understand that without the protests, nothing would change and nothing would get better. At least nothing that the right people can take credit for when it happens. That's one perspective from the founder of a blog.

There's still more yet. What about the gender equality movement, called feminism? Actually feminism is much more popular as a movement than as a protest against society. Gender equality is a societal trend and not something anyone is really fighting for and striving for at all (that protesting was already done before our time).

The anime, manga, and otaku world is just following the rest of the world and by following them, I meant leading the way by showing young women and women in a more positive than the rest of the world's media. Even if that means portraying all men as, “nose-picking, selfish, tie-on-head wearing, grouchy, crybaby, softy, hippocritical, and about everything else there is in the book, stopping short of hardline misogynist (which no one can really prevent or change in another person).

But what if you ARE a woman? How do you see the otaku world?

IMO there are barely any shounen-power inspired heroines in anime, not enough to combat the fujoshi-girl stereotype of otaku which actually seems like a negative connotation for the real life woman of power. IMO the anime industry would greatly benefit from more Blood+ and Birdy the Mighty like anime series but I'm sure I've mentioned that before on here somewhere... The two main characters of those shows Saya and Birdy the Mighty are assertive and powerful enough to feminist character models.

Haruhi from “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” actually seems like a fujoshi-girl but given her power over the other characters in the show, it looks more positive. C'mon what kind of real life girl would go for a a male character like Kon... a loner like Kon, a over-critical loner like Kon! It does make make sense now to you, the reader, right??! Haruhi's character, even a extroverted fujoshi-girl, comes off as the savior character, especially since Kon doesn't “do” any saving or anything at all for the group. All Kon does is suggest different alternatives to haruhi's outlandish and outgoing plans and actions, adding to his character's needs which he later says are met by Haruhi's brooding influences and escapades!

In addition, Gintama has enough sketches that make fun of men, for a person who is a “good-for-nothing” to relate and laugh! Maybe Gintama isn't the best show for human empowerment since its a comedy battle shounen, so IMO it keeps it real with its fans. Gintama pokes fun at all kinds of “good-for-nothing” and “weird” characters and doesn't discriminate between different “kinds” of people, just making fun of as many people as possible without really apologizing. IMO that's just the way IRL works with injustice and misfortune and the alleviation thereof. I would rather laugh and feel a bit uncomfortable with Gintama, than deal with injustice and misfortune in the real world...

There you have it, otaku friends, and without any obvious political references!!!

The Dreamscape pt. 3

The Dreamscape pt. 3

Around nightfall, the snow 
Starts its descent  Each flake with its own shape 
Building a finished castle  In the silence of the dark 
The streets whistling 
As wind picks up its speed 
Changing powder to ice 
And ice to perfection 
The blue sky along the crystal 
Pulsates with energy and light 
And a rainbow skates with grace 
Where fire turns to ash 
A pointed finger is all it takes 
Towards your misty breath 
That rises toward the sky

The Dreamscape pt. 2

The Dreamscape pt. 2

Can you feel the icy wind? 

Against the barrister 

And the jarring motion 

Of cold teeth 

The chattering 

Of pots and pans 

Along with moaning 

Across the wooden floors 

Or the misted air 

Warming the inside of the pane 

As if to say 

You don’t need your mittens 

To hold a sweet portion 

Against the salty air…

The Dreamscape

The Dreamscape

There is a world of dreams

Where everything is not as it seems

In the recesses of a night’s repose

Unfulfilled thoughts open as your, conscious is closed

Does it make sense?

What you’ve always meant

You (only) know as much as you feel

There’s (alot) genius in what we (see) experience is real

Those images and sounds that you can’t comprehend

Are products of your own mental ends

Stories more intricate

And characters counterfeit

A setting almost too perfectly drawn

All part of your being (self) of dawn

Find Your Dreamscape!