Shin Sekai Yori episode 12- Perhaps us humans aren’t so bad after all?

As I pointed out during my last Shin Sekai Yori post, I absolutely love the episodes dedicated to exposition. Not only do they answer some of the many, many questions raised by the show, they do so in a way that raises even more questions, which really encourages you to think. This week we learnt the difference between a fiend and a karma demon, but not why exactly individuals turn into either of these things. Sure, we were offered theories, but nothing conclusive, which has really set the gears of my mind whirring. Why do boys turn into fiends, whereas girls don’t (at least not the large majority of the time)? What triggers individuals’ transformation into fiends? Is it even possible for one’s endorphins to trigger a murderous frenzy? Why do some experience cantus leakages whilst others do not? Why are fiends so hell-bent on self-preservation, whereas karma demons such as Shun and Izumi are able to exhibit self-sacrifice?

My top 10 characters

As promised, a (fairly) concise list of my favourite anime/manga characters, written (mostly) for my entertainment and reference. This is a list that’s constantly changing- I mean, two of these characters I had the pleasure meeting only this year– so I will update it as necessary.

Anyway, these are all characters that have had a profound impact, not just on their respective shows and fellow characters, but on me. Some have made me laugh, some have made me cry, some I have fallen in love with, one I find particularly terrifying, all are completely awesome and fascinating and if you’ve met them, I’m sure you’ll agree!

Autumn ’12 previews

Oh my daaays, I’d almost forgotten just how much effort putting together a previews post took! This has taken me well over a month to put together- not only did I struggle to condense what I wrote, I also struggled to find sufficient information on a lot of shows (I’m looking at you PSYCHO-PASS, Litchi Hikari Club and K!!) But it all came together in the end. I hope I’ve done a good enough job to help inform and aid in any of you guys’ decisions as to what to watch! Though I have to say, if like me you restrict yourself to only a small portion of shows every season, you’re going to have a tough time deciding what to watch regardless of whether or not you read my previews! There are quite a few really promising looking shows coming out…

As with my last preview I’m excluding remakes and sequels- I try to avoid parading my ignorance when I can help it…

The character archetypes I think are the bees’ knees

Disclaimer:

Yes, I have coined terms straight from one of my favourite websites, tvtropes.org; I hope that’s not an issue? Any usage of their terminology is merely to help illustrate my points!

Archetypes, for those who may not know, are universally acknowledged sets of characteristics, representing particular types of personality; they occur across mediums and are especially rampant in anime. Some examples of well-known archetypes include: damsel in distress, prince charming and villain-turned-good-guy.

We all have our favourite character archetypes, those that lighten up our screens and put smiles on our faces. I just thought I’d share with you some of my own personal favourites in preparation for my upcoming list of favourite characters. In much the same way my What makes a 10/10 anime? post helped justify the presence of some of the shows on my Top 30, this should help justify why I cherish those characters so dearly. Let me know what you think and what some of your favourite character archetypes are but, I should warn you, the first to say ‘tsundere’ is getting salmoned…