30 Days of Anime – #29 the Anime That I Wish Was Real

The anime that I wish was real, or the fictional world that I would most like to step inside of and immerse myself in, would have to be Mushishi. Mushishi is a lesser-known masterpiece that first aired during 2005. The show is about a man named Ginko who travels the world studying these strange creatures known as mushi. Mushi are, ordinarily, invisible to the eye, but are, nevertheless, responsible for various phenomena, some natural, like rainbows, others, supernatural, like immortality, the ability to sense impending disaster, and the ability to communicate with animals.

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Naruto’s Greatest Love Stories

The Naruto franchise is far from perfect. Even though I consider it to be one of my all-time favourites I am not blind to its many flaws. A sizable chunk of episodes are filler episodes, most of which are inexcusably awful (ninja ostriches, anybody?), and some of which actually interrupt canon arcs, utterly decimating any sense of tension and/or excitement. Not to mention the massive variation in production quality throughout its runtime…

However, I am willing to overlook these issues on the strength of the franchise’s characters alone. Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden have a huge and varied cast of characters, an impressive number of which are developed and have an interesting set of abilities and characteristics. But the best thing about these characters is their relationships with each other. Given that it’s Valentine’s Day this week, I thought I’d write about some of these. Sure, Valentine’s might be associated with romantic love, but that is just one of many kinds of love – and by no means the most important! Both Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden feature an assortment of different kinds of love and relationships, such as that between a parent and child, between friends, and, yes, between lovers. Below I list some of my favourites. Enjoy!

30 Days of Anime Challenge – #28 My Favourite Quote

#28 What Is My Favourite Quote?

Alphonse Elric: “You’re not a good-for-nothing person. I think that being able to try your hardest at something is a talent all by itself. […] I think you should have more faith in yourself.” – Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

I had no problem choosing a quote for this challenge item. Despite it being nearly 10 years since I first saw Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and despite the fact that the scene in which it’s spoken is fairly inconsequential to the anime as a whole, I’ve carried this quote with me through the years like a protective talisman.

Ty’s Pirate Crew

This week I was nominated twice over to participate in the “My Pirate Crew” tag. Thanks to both Karandi and Winter Reverie for considering little ol’ me! Whilst a fun tag, the idea of being stuck on a boat indefinitely is not my idea of a good time. I’m not the strongest of swimmers and, to be honest with you, the ocean freaks me out (did you know that we’ve explored more of space than we have our own oceans? Who knows what kind of horrors lurk in the deepest depths?). I’d much rather stick to exploring land, thank-you very much! That said, that wouldn’t be in keeping with the “My Pirate Crew” tag, so, to make up for being stuck on a boat, I’ll pick the most fun shipmates there ever was!

The Rules:

1. Display the My Pirate Crew logo and add ‘My Pirate Crew’ as a tag.
2. Thank the blogger who nominated you and post a link to their blog.
3. Link back to the original post here (so I can compare your crews to mine).
4. Select seven anime characters and give them a position on the crew. These are the positions you can to fill. Warrior, sniper, chef, doctor, scientist, navigator, strategist, mechanic, entertainer.
5. Nominate 5-10 bloggers.
6. Set sail and rule the seas!

Without any further ado, here’s my crew!

30 Days of Anime Challenge – #27 My Favourite Scene in Which a Character Acts like a Complete and Utter Badass

#27 What Is My Favourite Scene in Which a Character Acts like a Complete and Utter Badass?

Deku Saves Kacchan from the Slime Villain – My Hero Academia 1st Season

This may seem like a bizarre choice for my favourite scene in which a character acts like a complete and utter badass. Deku’s probably not the first character who comes to mind when considering all-out badassery. Maybe you think of a character like Guts, capable of taking on armies of one hundred or more soldiers single-handedly, one of JoJo’s many meatheads, or somebody like Sasuke, who’s as cool as a cucumber and always has a snappy clapback tucked away in his long, billowing sleeves. But I’d like to argue that Deku is just as badass (if not even more so) than these characters. And nothing exemplifies that better than the scene when, during My Hero Academia’s first episode, he rescued Kacchan from the Slime Villain. This was the scene that first won me over to the franchise and catapulted Deku straight into my Top 10 Favourite Characters, so it holds a special place in my heart!