Top Ten Pokemon To Make You Ask “Why?”

Coming up with new pokemon has to be one of the best and worst jobs on the planet.

When you got an entire island to fill with creatures ranging from cute to creepy, you really gotta stretch your brain to the limits to twist anything and everything into a new creature. We gotta a recent sneak peek into the processes when creators of the franchise detailed here the origins of their best mascot, the adorable Pikachu.  This combination of squirrel and mouse went from faint sketch to worldwide success, in just the blink of an eye.

And thus, a marketing success was born

That being said, the “worst” part of that job has to be when you reach that creative wall. Every writer/artist/musician/creative thinker knows that sometimes your brain has emptied out the idea bin, and what happens next can be strange at best, downright pointless at the worst. And when you hit that wall while creating these crazy critters, what ensues is downright bizarre. These are my top ten Pokemon that just made me stop and ask “why?” when I first saw them. As always, feel free to tell me your own in the comments below.

10. Spinda

As always, I thought it prudent to start with the smallest offender here. Because really, this adorable thing only has the crime of me not getting half of the concept.

Spinda was a cool collectable pokemon of sorts when introduced in the Hoenn region. No two catches have the same pattern of red spots on their head,  and there are over one hundred different patterns each one can have.  But, for all the coolness of this Pokemon, I had to stop myself and ask where exactly they got the concept of this one from. They decided to take a giant panda, make it red with extra long ears, and then make it dizzy. It’s the latter half of this sentence that just makes no sense to me in concept.

Such things are, however, petty in the long run. No, the real offenders are farther down.

9. Lickitung

I want you to remember something for a moment: The original show made claim that the pokemon, Clafairy, was an actual alien. And yet this guy is the one that made me think this show was weird.

Lickitung is supposed to be based off several types of lizards that make use of a long tongue to catch food. And I even get the idea of taking that to the extreme level and making that tongue massive and crazy. But lickitung has got to be one of the dumbest looking buggers I’ve ever seen on this show, and that giant tongue only makes it weird and gross. They managed to pull “adorably dopey” with slowpoke, but this one just seems excessive.

8. Smoochum

One of the most universally disliked Pokemon stands before you, and its origins still make no damn sense to me.

As if  Jynx didn’t have enough controversy around it, they decide to throw in a tiny baby with more mixed origins than Donna Troy.  It’s clear that its supposed to be a baby ganguro girl, but it’s also speculated that Smoochum is based off the human-looking child Yuuki Onna is seen holding (one of Jynx’s possible origins). It could be based off Kintaro, a human child raised by the other possible origin of Jynx, Yama Uba. Neither of which, from what I can tell, involves the weird lips and the weird references to kissing that turns so many people off.

Overall, Smoochum is just a confusing addition to the list of creatures. They may have successfully gotten a baby version of Jinx, but they sure didn’t make a concept that makes any sense.

7. Vanillite/Vanillish/Vanilluxe

So, I don’t know if you noticed, dear readers, but Pokemon has a weird habit of turning inanimate objects into weird creatures. And, with the lack of animals in the world the writers have created, there’s already tons of speculation on how the food is likely made from these same cuddly creatures. But then the writers decided to go and make all that worse by making a pokemon out of ACTUAL food.

And, for the love of Arceus, I can’t understand how this one fits into the “wild.”

Vanillite and its evolutions are quite literally what they appear to be: vanilla ice cream with icy cones. You find them when you go through the obligatory ice mountain level of every game, specifically in Pokemon Black and White, and I can only imagine the trainer’s face when they plod through the caves and see freakin’ ICE CREAM just float on by and pick a fight.

6. Trubbish

They made trash alive and kinda cute. This is what running out of ideas looks like.

I know Trubbish shouldn’t really shock me; they made toxic sludge sentient and catchable in the first game after all. But the vague nature of Muk and Grimer allowed for the funny idea that it was just so toxic that it came to life, but this one is just plain ridiculous. The idea is that the Pokemon came from an accident between a trash bag and some industrial waste, which sounds like a B-Movie that just hasn’t been made yet, or a possible sidekick to the Toxic Avenger. Because everything is solved by the presence of Radioactive Goo(trademark). 

5. Gulpin + Swalot

But maybe we haven’t gone weird enough. Maybe we need to take an actual organ from the body, slap some eyes on it, and teach it how to fight. Gotta catch ’em all!

There’s an argument to be made that this seemingly cute thing is based off some snakes, who are known to swallow their prey whole. But, given the green color, the nature of its poison type, and just the general weirdness that this series is known for, I’m going with the other speculative origin. Mainly, I’m convinced both of these specimens are based off either the gallbladder, a green sac inside all of us full of gastric acid, or a giant poison gland.

This is a level of gross that’s new for me. And, while I kinda love it, even I cannot deny that this one seems like an odd choice for the creators to make. Because it makes total sense for a gallbladder to be sliding out in the wild, all willy-nilly.

4. Salazzle

Now, this one is a bit tricky. I get the concept; even the execution makes sense when you give it some good, hard thought. But it’s still just so… weird.

Salazzle is a tricky Pokemon to get, mainly because its first form, Salandit, is a poisonous glass cannon that’s hard to train. But, if you find a female one and train it up, you’ll get this oddly sexual, poison-spitting lizard that will be a challenge to your future opponents. But the very first time you see this creature on Alola’s beaches may make you stop for a brief moment and ask yourselves: why does my poisonous lizard look like it’s ready to pose for Playboy?

Fan theory says it’s based on a Mo’o, a Hawaiian mythical dragon known to turn into a beautiful woman to lure in men, then bite their heads off. Makes sense; still pretty messy in practice.

3.Bruxish

And now we go from “why” to “OH GOD, WHY?!”

Clowns are not fun anymore and putting them on a fish doesn’t make them any better. And now we’ve got a clownfish in front of us with the super sharp teeth of a shark and a rather evil look in its eyes. But what’s worse than all of that above is that the possible origins of this creature, when you go through it all together, make no damn sense.

Bruxish’s name makes sense in context: brackish waters and what not. But the best people can come up with in terms of inspiration are two tropical fishes, mainly a filefish and a Hawaiian reef triggerfish. Both of these can probably be super colorful when given the right genetics, but I seriously doubt they’d both look like Pennywise the clown going on some aquatic terror trip.

2. Porygon – Z

Sweet Arceus, what did you do to this poor creature?

Now, it’s no secret that the people of pokemon love to create their own digital pokemon.  It’s kinda dubious how they can become living creatures with their own personalities and feelings, but such things don’t really get pressed. But I must press this one poor Porygon, who gets turned into this weird, shaky thing if you trade him over with the item “dubious disk.” That’s right, folks; you give poor Porygon a virus and he gets corrupted in the trade. I guess, in concept, this is supposed to be him incorrectly restructured. That doesn’t make it any less creepy. I feel so sorry for the little guy, I really do.

1. Spiritomb

Our last one, though, leaves all these others in the dust. Or at least it would if it actually had a physical form you could touch.

Spiritomb’s quite literally the only case of a pokemon being absolutely evil. He was formed when 108 spirits were bound together in another dimension, and this monstrosity came as a result. It’s inspired off a series of Buddhist traditions that are very fascinating when researched, but the concept alone still baffles me somewhat. It’s a pokemon that’s actually a hundred pokemon, who aren’t physically there, and who actually do wish harm and chaos onto the world. It reads more like a pokemon creepypasta than an actual pokemon and it still leaves me scratching my head to this day.  

 

What Pokemon elicited the “but why, though?” reaction out of you? Feel free to share in the comments below! Don’t forget to like and follow for more content like this, or join my email-list.

Stories I’d Love to See as Anime

It’s amazing how many things end up on the anime screen. From a retelling of a classic Shakespearean story to an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, anime has no real boundaries when it comes to taking classics, or even semi-classics in pop-culture, and turning them to something fresh. But, with all of that, it stuns me that there are still popular pieces that have yet to be animefied.

It’s sad to imagine because there are certain stories that would lend themselves so well to the medium. Anime relies heavily on fantastic visuals and out-of-this-world story ideas, and it’s already proven that creators have a penchant for making radical east-meets-west anime pieces. So, if I had my way, I can think of at least four stories I would have made into full-feature anime. And if these already do exist, let me know; I never say “no” to new shows.

 

• For Fantastic Visuals, Look No Further Than The Opera Ghost.

Anime and musicals have an odd relationship; mainly, live action musicals of anime tend to do better than their non-musical, movie counterparts. But, even if you stripped away the music part, I can’t think of a greater visual piece than the famous story by Gaston Laroux, made even more famous by Andrew Lloyd Webber. We’ve got a book, musical, and several movies for it. It’s now time for an anime of The Phantom of The Opera.

The image here from an anime called Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo, but just picture something like this in full feature-length, or in a full-length series.

 

This story is ripe for spectacle anime: a grandiose opera house with tons of french detail, a sprawling cavern covered in candles and swimming with mists on a black glassy lake, Opera performances with detailed costumes, swelling music, and so much more. And, if that isn’t a strong enough reason for you, then how about the dramatic tone of the story, the tragedy of it, and the sheer size of the gargantuan fanbase? It’s got all the pieces lined up, just waiting for a good writer to pick them up, but we just haven’t seen it yet.

• A Lesser Known Gem From That Writer They Tried to Teach You About

 

I’m sure many a student out there recalls those long periods in literature class where the teacher painstakingly tried to get them to read and like Shakespeare. And, because Shakespeare is hard, and students are predisposed to dislike school reading material, their last-ditch effort is usually to throw Romeo and Juliet at students to pique their interest through romance. But, if they wanna throw love at people, then I have a much better suggestion. And it even has the added bonus of living statues, old-fashioned slut-shaming, and a sexy violence from a bear.

 

Jokes aside, The Winter’s Tale would lend itself well to an anime because it features a very eventful, outrageous plot. From a king accusing his wife of infidelity, his daughter’s miraculous survival, and the magical return of lost loved ones, the story lends itself well to dramatics. And besides, anime has already proven that it’s willing to make some crazy nonsense with Romeo and Juliet. Why not add a bear attack, a living statue, and a pastoral romance? I’ve seen worse.

• “I Love You, Paul. So Bring Misery Back.”

 Anime loves its yanderes, doesn’t it? Crazy chicks or crazy guys that love someone so much that they go to the brink and back again to prove it… or protect them… or kill someone when they get too close… or kill the object of their desire when it spirals out of control. And so, in this sea of love for the craziest of crazy loves, I have to ask: why hasn’t anyone taken a crack at Stephen King’s take on obsession and insanity? Especially when the main antagonist in question, Annie Wilkes, was the inspiration for the Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure character that inspired the trope name in the first place.

 

Misery is every creator’s nightmare: to be stuck, injured, in the house of your craziest and “biggest” fan. Annie Wilkes, our main antagonist, is frightening in her unpredictability and boundless fury, even more so when you start to realize that our main character, Writer Paul Sheldon, is only alive by the grace of her insanity being on the positive swing. Despite the fact that the story takes place inside Annie’s guest room, I truly believe that the story would translate well to a full-fledged anime due to its extreme, well-written characters. Besides, Ms. Wilkes is practically the mama of Shion or Yuno, so she deserves her own anime alongside them.

• The Last One Is Just For Kicks

 

This very last one is more just for my sake; it’s my favorite book, after all, and most people don’t know the movie for it even exists.

The Last Unicorn is a novel by writer Peter S. Beagle, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves fairytales. The story is written in this romantic, poetic, style, recounting how the last unicorn must leave her enchanted woods to save her kin, and sees how the world has forgotten magic, wonder, and unicorns as a whole. It’s a sad but fulfilling story that’s downright gorgeous, and I think it would lend itself extremely well to an anime. After all, it managed to survive a Rankin/Bass movie.

This story is both beautiful and a bit quirky, a combination that would suit anime just fine. From Mammary Glands appearing in strange places (like a tree and a bird) to a sudden summoning of Robin Hood by The World’s Worst Magician™ , there’s a hidden tongue-in-cheek to the story that would line-up pretty well with anime tragicomedy. It’s still just wishful thinking on my part, and it wouldn’t be anything to rival the likes of Princess Tutu or even Berserk, but it would be western-themed anime that would make a very specific niche very happy.

What story would you love to see as an anime? Feel free to comment below; don’t forget to like and follow for more content like this.

 

Anime that Turned Their Genres Inside Out

Ever rolled your eyes at the cliches in your favorite anime? Or maybe you love them to itty-bitty pieces? Either way, we all know that each genre of anime has baggage or traditional settings that come with it. You probably know the storylines by heart, the types of characters within it, and what the outcome of the story may very well be. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it is very fun to see things shaken up. And lo, anime has its fair share of titles that take their respected genres and re-set the standard, or take the standard somewhere off-kilter. They may very well deconstruct it as a whole.

These are four anime that turn their genres inside out and around, changing the stage for everyone. These are, as always, my opinions and I choose shows that deserve to be talked about a little more. I’m open to discussions with others in the comments below.

 

• Isekai – Now and Then, Here and There

 

Isekai, or “different world”, literally refers to stories where a normal person is transported to a different world in the story. It’s often used in sword and sorcery-typesettings, where the hero is given a mentor to teach him the “ways of the world” and an added love-interest for extra measure. It’s a genre with a pretty heavy focus on wish-fulfilment, with shows like Sword Art Online for fantasy lovers or Girls Bravo for harem fans. However, the deconstructive tales to be found here can be extremely dark in nature when the writer is allowed to make a literal hell-on-earth type situation. Such was the case with Now and Then, Here and There, which turned this genre from “wish-fulfillment” to “really be careful what you wish for.”

No jokes to be had here. This one is some serious shit

Now and Then, Here and There sees the hero transported to a world that is dark and unforgiving. Children commit acts of immense violence against each other; young men are conscripted into an insane king’s army, and young women get passed around that same army to be raped and abused. Our hero, Shu, tries his best to be the big hero, but there really can’t be any heroes in this more realistic look at war and tragedy.

• School Anime – Great Teacher Onizuka

Oh, those slice of life school anime, they tend to be so innocent. And they are no stranger to the “Save Our Students” trope in popular culture, where some new teacher swoops in and gives each student a new start on life: better grades, better study methods, so on and so forth. But, really, what if that new teacher was so very far away from innocent? And what if he was just as jaded as all the other teachers?

Enter Great Teacher Onizuka, or GTO, a manga/anime that takes both school anime and the Save Our Students trope through a shredder and a blender. Onizuka himself is crude, impulsive, morally questionable, and only here in hopes of netting jail-bait. Does he slowly come to realize he cares about his students, their asshole-behavior aside? Absolutely, but not before trying to kick some ass, get laid, and just generally try to avoid any real work.

Or scare the crap out of a teenage gang so hard that they become his personal assistants.

While I can’t recommend the show over the manga, I can make the argument that GTO turned the school anime into something amazing. Instead of providing some random, albeit quirky, moral figure to whip the kids into shape, we’re given a former delinquent that accidentally teaches his students moral values that work IRL. The story is definitely not for the kiddies, but I think most adults will get a big laugh out of it.

• Magical Girl/Shojo – Revolutionary Girl Utena

 Everyone loves to talk about Puella Magi Madoka Magica these days in regards to the deconstruction of the magical girl genre. I will be the first to admit that the show does a good job of showing the more serious side of being a magical, sailor-suited soldier of love and justice, and yet there was one before it that made it look dangerous and trippy.

If Cutie Honey is magical girl’s grandma, and Sailor Moon the proud mama, then Revolutionary Girl Utena is the rebellious little girl ready to strike out on her own.

The whole show and manga revolve around Utena herself brushing past shojo girl stereotypes and the show itself looking at more serious issues. The idea is to pick apart the pretty and fantastical world of shojo manga to get to the truth, “reality” as it were, with lots of mind-screwy, allegorical moments to get it done.

• Mecha Anime – Mobile Suit Gundam and The Gundam Franchise

Of course, giant robots were a thing long before this series hit the ground. But the genre itself focused mostly on the Rule of Cool principle, with unruly and unrealistic robot designs that were impractical at best, impossible to work with at worst. Several shows in the 90s poked fun at that fact, and at the overall sentai-ish nature of it, but one series decided to “fix-it” with a hard-science approach.

Mobile Suit Gundam looked hard at how these kinds of robots would function and what a war involving them would really look like. It wasn’t a fun series; it took a very hard look at how a war would harm the surrounding people and areas and you got a whole crapload of technobabble to make a Star Trek fan blush. This set the stage for the rest of the Gundam franchise, in which the robots have gotten fancier-looking and the stories have continued to be hard drama. Of course, outliers will exist, with shows that returned to traditional giant robot escapades… I believe I named one of them as my guilty pleasure.

Childhood Nostalgia Powers, GO!

What anime do you know that broke the stereotypes to smithereens? Feel free to share below. Like and follow for more content just like this.

 

My Golden Etiqutte for Anime Conventions

As we pull into spring and summer, anime fans everywhere have something new to look forward to a fresh crop of anime conventions.

Aw yeah, WOOT!

I freakin’ love a good anime convention. It’s when we, Clan Anime Nerd, can all meet in one place to drink, dance, meet our respective heroes and just have a good time all around. The awesome costumes, the cool panels, and the sweet merchandise tables make the cost of hotel and gas worthwhile, at least in my opinion, and I’m sad that I’ve only been able to attend a handful of them in my time.

That being said, for how little I’ve attended, I have noticed from more experienced goers that there are certain unspoken guidelines that you’re expected to follow. They aren’t exclusionary by any means (we are a very accepting bunch) but they are important if you wanna have the best time possible and make sure everyone else has a good time. Because nothing’s worse than going to an awesome event and leaving sticky, disappointed and fearful of being charged with breaking the venue.

And wanting to eat alive the people who broke things in the first place.

These are my “proper etiquette rules” for conventions or at least the four I would mention to someone who’s never been to one. No one’s demanding you follow them, but trust me when I say they will make your life at the event so much easier.

 

• Pictures and Cosplay: Ask and Expect to Be Asked

 

Cosplay, if you’re out of the loop, is the practice of coming to convention’s dressed as specific characters from a show or game. Most cosplay is handmade, with the more high-quality costumes made by professional cosplay designers and companies. People who wear or design cosplay tend to get tons of attention at conventions because A) it takes some serious skill to create an exact replica of certain characters and B) those who buy the costume shell out mondo bucks for the higher quality gear. And hey, what better place to show off either your purchase/creative conquest than a convention of your fellow nerd-kin?

It’s also a good gauge to see what shows or comics are popular right now. One of the conventions I attended was littered with members of the Scout Division from Attack on Titan; the other had a LOT of Homestuck trolls.

Now, I adore cosplay as much as the next anime-centric adult. So much so that my phone is usually chock full of cosplay photos after a convention. BUT it’s important to remember that there’s a person under that wig and felt armor. And nothing is creepier than some stranger coming at you with a phone while you’re checking the merch table. It’s a no-brainer in my mind, but just remember to ask before you take that photo. And, if they say no, respect it.

The flipside of this is for actual cosplayers: expect to be asked about photos. It’s a compliment, a means of saying “hey, you did a good job and this is really cool.” That being said, you don’t have to agree if you don’t want to; a simple no will suffice. Just don’t be too upset if you get frequently stopped for photos.

 

• Do Yourself a Favor and Remember to Shower

 You’d think this would be common sense; I’d like to think all of these are common sense. And yet, I found myself still wondering where certain smells are coming from. I think this complaint is addressing a more general complaint, mainly that peeps at conventions seem to forget what hygiene and good health habits are. They don’t shower; they don’t eat well; they stay up at all hours of the night and then wonder why they get Con Flu when they go home.

Look, I’m not your mom; no one’s your mom here. But cosplay costumes are hot in the literal sense and you will likely not be getting a good deal of rest and good food on this vacation. So, do yourself a favor and remember to shower, brush hair, and just keep yourself clean and tidy. You’ll get sick a lot less if you clean off in between con-days.

 

• Come With Friends

 

Awesome places are not that fun when you’re all by yourself. They’re also twice as dangerous that way.

Hard to enjoy the free Ramen when you have to be on alert, isn’t it?

I noticed, at all types of conventions I’ve frequented, that almost all attendees would be a part of a group. They may be a group of friends, family, or maybe a specific group on a field trip, but they all accomplish the same thing: a herd. Not only does the Otaku-Herd have twice the fun by experiencing the VA booths and fun games together, but they are less likely to be mugged, taken, or just plain harassed than the lone convention-attender. Maybe these spaces should be safe, and they generally are, but it’s hard to say what will happen when someone said something stupid in a group of people who are sleepy and drunk. It’s just safer and you’ll have more fun.

 

• Don’t. Break. Their. Stuff.

 

Speaking of what can happen when the sake or beer are free-flowing, sometimes people do stupid things. That’s fine; it happens, but do ALL OF US a favor and don’t leave a trail of destruction in your wake.

This is not Fate-Stay, relax.

The nice thing about anime conventions is that most hotels or meeting centers are willing to host them. They bring in lots of business after all, what with goers needing a room, using the bars and restaurants, or even just attending the convention hall in general. However, as years of retail have taught me, you providing your business is a privilege, a privilege that can be abused. Because if you break their nice things because “I’m a guest,” then guess what? Next time the convention will have to find someone else to host or the “guests” will be treated like children.

I gained this insight from the first convention I went to. The hotel had this lovely glass elevator in the center that took everyone to the three different floors of rooms, sparing people the awkward escalators. This worked out just great until the elevator broke and became off-limits to all patrons. Why? Because a large group of people decided to enact an “elevator party” inside it and jumped up and down on it as it was going up and down. Surprise surprise, it broke. The very next year, the same convention was allowed at the hotel but they put a limit on how many of us could be in the elevator at one time.

So, I say this not as someone who wants to “kill your fun.” but as someone who hates being treated like a toddler high on sugar: Don’t break the host’s things. Have your fun, drink, and be merry, but try not to cause property damage. Because the rest of us are going to feel your punishment too.

Is there anything you’d love to tell someone going to an anime convention? Are there any you’re attending and looking forward to? Feel free to comment below and don’t forget to like and follow for more content every Saturday. Have fun, all, and stay safe.

My Favorite Anime Tropes

I think it’s time we, as a consumer culture, admitted something: we love our popular tropes.

They’re called popular for a reason after all. Book, television, and even cinema are veritable buffets of tropes, motifs, and other common types of stories that we each like to consume for pleasure. Anime follows this almost to the letter, providing almost categorical shows you can select from depending on what you wanna see. You wanna see a group of young boys like you save the world? Try on some shonen. You wanna see a romantic drama between a girl and her male best friend? Try on shojo. You wanna watch a spineless nobody get “chased” by a large group of women who’d normally want nothing to do with him? Harem anime.

Oh look, the dead-horse I need to leave alone.

I poke fun, but there are tropes I’m all over as well. And, since I’m still fighting the virus from hell, I decided to cheer myself up and reminisce about my favorite flavors of anime. These are my favorite anime tropes.

 

• Sweet, Beautiful, Deadly.

 

Western animation has no room for the vain or the overtly androgynous. Often times, when a character is either a “pretty-boy” or a lady who puts a ton of time into her self image, they are portrayed as weak, vain, cowardly, you name it. This is especially true in so called “geek” media, where the wish fulfilment dictates that the super-handsome chap be the one who suffers.

Anime has a different approach: the prettiest person is probably the one who could kill you the quickest. Japan, being far more accepting of androgyny and cross-dressing than the west is, has no qualms about making the more feminine or attractive character the one most likely to mow through armies at a moment’s notice, or end a fight in a fate far worse than death. This is the part where spoilers come in, so, here’s your warning.

Take, for example, my now second-favorite shonen: Yu Yu Hakusho. I get a lot of eyerolls when I mention that my favorite character from the show is the former fox-demon, Kurama. But I am quick to remind them that the show’s other resident woobie, Hiei, said multiple times that he’s very glad Kurama was on his/their side. Because this pretty-boy demonstrated multiple times that his rose-whip is not to be toyed with and his control over plants will lead you to a fate worse than death if you piss him off.

But maybe a good guy isn’t a good enough example; it’s a shonen after all, so they’re supposed to be that powerful. But what if we went on the other side of the coin and took a villain who was the “fairer” one, at least by the show’s standards, but still highly skilled and highly deadly. Look no further than Berserk’s Byronic Tragedy named Griffith, mercenary leader and reincarnated demon later on. It’s well known at this point what Griffith becomes and does in the later half of the show – atrocities that I will not show because this blog is PG13 – but he was far from weak before he become evil incarnate. Let it be known, one must beware the nice ones and the pretty ones.

 

• It’s So Crazy It’ll Definitely Work

 

The idea is insane. In live action media, in comics, it’s just too out of this world. In anime, it’s a surefire way to win.

I have spent hours waxing poetic on how much I love anime’s crazy weirdness and how it isn’t afraid to go the extra mile. But what I love about that the most is that it produces ideas that are tangled in gordian-knot like risks that will ultimately pay off. These are the craziest gambits I have ever seen and when they work – as they inevitably will – the payoff is sweet.

My personal favorite scheme that seems bound for failure was when Light Yagami gave up the right to his Death Note and all the memories that went with it. In a chess game of life and death, this is near suicide. L has him locked up on suspicion and the move requires a massive chain of events to be planned out prior and executed with a master’s precision. And that was exactly what we got as the plan panned out, a move I loved as a writer and hated as a fan of L.

And then, of course, there’s the good guy and Magnificent Bastard, Roy Mustang, from Fullmetal Alchemist, who churns out these kinds of plans like an assembly line. You wanna elaborately fake the death of an officer so the higher-ups are appeased? He’s your guy. Capture a large and dangerous homunculus to figure out the grand conspiracy that killed a close friend? Again, he’s your go-to. Clever, sharp and determined, Mustang’s schemes gain various levels of crazy but almost always work just fine.

 

• Liquid Body Horror

 

But all good things must eventually make way for the horrifying; I look forward to it every Halloween.

Anime and manga like to push limits since the visuals are only limited by the artist’s skill and imagination. This comes to horrible fruition in horror and anime manga, where the human body can be bent, twisted, or reshaped in a number of awful fashions. Sometimes, it’s so unnatural that our brain detaches from the horror and just starts giggling at the ultraviolence or its more realistic and causes your skin to crawl in what I call the “Junji Ito-Squirm.” Nevertheless, this horror fan appreciates a well-crafted scene of water-balloon blood and bodies doing things they shouldn’t do.

Or an evil bastard getting their face dragged on a wall like a pencil eraser

On the subject of Hellsing, Alucard is a prime example of what can happen when the limits of body solidarity are pushed. Not only is his blood-pudding body capable of morphing into unspeakable horror, but Alucard routinely commits violent murder in ways that are so unrealistic they stop being disturbing and just become funny, as in stabbing a woman with her obnoxiously long, blunt-ended gun. The horror in anime becomes real on so many more levels due to its lack of limits, a truly frightening thought.

This woman has every right to be scared.

 

• Friendship… Doesn’t Always Save the Day

 

One of the biggest themes you’ll find in almost all entertainment media is the power of positive thinking. Love is always the thing that saves and solves everything; friendships are treated as the key to life, liberty, and especially the pursuit of happiness. Don’t take me the wrong way; I like these things as much as the next movie-nerd. But what I love even more is when friendship isn’t enough in the face of great danger. Because sometimes, just sometimes, bad decisions are made and no amount of positive thinking can undo them.

More spoilers a’coming;  get gone if you plan to watch season one of Attack on Titan.

Season one has a very tense moment when the Scout Regiment is attempting to capture the Female Titan, using Eren as bait and Levi’s special unit as protection. Needless to say, she barrels through most of the scouts and manages to escape most of their capture tries. Eren’s friends – Levi’s group – beg him to allow them to fight instead of him, promising that they’ll save him. Eren trusts them and lets them face the female Titan. And each one of them gets wiped out completely.

Attack on Titan is one of those shows that takes great pains to remind you that you are well and truly screwed.

But it’s okay. This moment was crucial for Eren’s character development and shaped him as a fighter/decision maker later on in the season. It’s hard to swallow moments like this, when our expectations of love and friendship holding some supernatural power are subverted, but it has amazing potential when wielded by a crafty writer. It catches me off-guard and keeps me interested in the story, something all these tropes do when their powers combine.

What’s your favorite anime trope? Feel free to comment below! If you enjoy me rambling and wanna tune into my next stream of strange thought, follow me for post and page updates.

 

My Favorite Upcoming Anime (2018)

One of the first things I like to do around January is check out anime news network’s “Upcoming Anime list,” and other similar websites. For, while it’s true that I am perpetually playing catch up with shows I should have already seen, I also like to track down new material to watch. There’s something oddly satisfying about tracking down where a new show’s gonna be streaming, watching the episodes as they air, and then waiting in sheer anticipation for the next air. It’s nostalgic for me, like those days when I woke up extra early to catch the latest Sailor Moon.

And ho boy, am I excited for this year. Buried within the normal crop of magical girl/slice of life anime are a quite a few series that left me jumping for joy.

On that note, I figured I’d share which titles caught my attention the most. These are my favorites from the list of upcoming anime, be it for nostalgic reasons, favorite genres, or continuations that I am damn impatient about. This is not an exhaustive list, but definitely an itinerary as I go forward.

• Junji Ito “Collection” (Yesterday)

Let me tell you about a man named Junji Ito and how I gained some interesting nightmares.

I hadn’t heard of the famed horror mangaka for quite some time, blissfully remaining under a rock, until about three years ago when I discovered the horror that was Uzumaki. I claim not to be an expert – been too much of a chicken to try – but I adored the surreal, uncanny valley artwork I saw in Uzumaki. That, combined with the downright sadistic stories Ito wrote, made it a fun and frightening read. Dare I say, it made for quite the twisted experience?

But this year I have a chance at redemption, to look at the horrifying sketchbook of the master. Studio Dean will be adapting stories from the Ito’s Master Collection book and Fragments of Horror. The first episode premiered yesterday, and they’ve got eleven more to go alongside two OVAs.

I’ll be watching that one when Crunchyroll feels merciful… or awful, depending on your viewpoint.

• Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc (January 7th, 2018)

I was through the roof when I heard about Sailor Moon Crystal, several years ago. It was a heavy Nostalgia OD to see my longtime hero recolored and repackaged for the new audience and, while I can’t say it’s a perfect revamp, I heavily enjoyed what I saw. And now, another gem from my childhood is due for a dusting off.

 I started watching what I knew as Cardcaptors around the time Sailor Moon left cartoon network, solidifying my love of the magical girl genre. Now, CLAMP is all set to animate the sequel Manga, “The Clear Card Arc,” about twenty years later.  While I can’t say for sure that this type of show would still appeal to me today without any kind of childhood memories attached to it, I can say that I find myself extra curious about how this anime will go. 

Mmmmm, I can feel the cute dripping off it.

• Castlevania Season 2 (TBA as of Today)

 

Y’all remember my two posts on Castlevania The Anime? I was skeptical about the existence of this show if only because Castlevania’s early games were never very story-heavy, and later story-heavy games were heavily convoluted. Lo and behold, the man behind Red and Stranger Things delivered yet again and gave us a hilarious, gory and downright epic anime for about four episodes.

Fans were left begging for more after this mini-preview, and more they shall have. Since the first four episodes were so well-received there will be a definite sequel season this year, though no date as of yet has been released. This is one I am extremely excited for myself, as I was mighty impressed with how lore-friendly the anime was overall. Gimme more magic, more Trevor being a badass, and more Old School Alucard and I will be a happy camper.

One of the prettiest men in-game is bad-ass. That’s just made of win.

• Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) Season Three (July 2018)

Strap yourself down this summer, kiddies, because the madness is not over.

Attack on Titan is one of those odd shows I was unsure if I’d like; everyone described it as part drama part horror., not a common mix. But upon watching the first seven episodes, I knew I was in for a good time. The show has no qualms about showing both the psychological horror associated with being hunted by giant creatures AND the graphic horror that would come with it. After two seasons of blood, sweat, and character death, we’re gonna have to steel ourselves for round three.

Now, fans of the series will approach this news with excitement, but also with a little skepticism. After all, last year we suffered quite a bit of delay with the second season of the show, to the point where it became an internet joke that the show would never actually see airtime. But, thankfully, it pulled itself out of development limbo and I’m sure this one will do the same. In fact, as long as all of these shows can get that hard takeoff, I can predict some relatively smooth sailing.

 

Which anime are you looking forward to? Feel free to share in the comments below. And don’t forget to like and follow for more content just like this.

 

Some Anime with Odd Beginnings

The origin story of a tale can be quite fascinating.

The media we see are ususally the result of shaping an idea, through blood, sweat, and a lot of coffee. But the starting point to all the work occasionally comes from some very bizarre places. And that’s saying something, given anime’s propensity for the weird.

This is still one of my favorite gifs.

For some fun, today we chronicle some anime that got their start from unconventional places or were inspired off subject matter that isn’t common. The quality of the shows themselves isn’t in question, but the fact that they came from some truly odd places.

• Fate/Stay and Hellsing – Erotica

To say erotica isn’t new would be the understatement of my amateur career. People have been depicting the human body in sexual fashions as far back as the first century; the moral outrage associated with it is also nothing new. But no one really suspects that anything much will come from it, other than some people with a satisfied urge and a dirty secret.

You’d never think that two kickass shows/series would come from someone’s porn stash. But sometimes, if the story is that good or the characters are just that awesome, amazing things can bloom. And only the astute internet digger would be all the wiser to its risque origins.

And who should have such “humble” beginnings but two series known for extreme, over-the-top violence? The Fate/Stay series began with a singular eroge visual novel, the company’s first commercial product, and spawned censored sequels, prequels, and even spin-offs. Then, we have the gore-frenzy franchise Hellsing, whose creator was a hentai artist in his early career. From that, the prototypes for several Hellsing Characters came from a rare book of his called Hellsing: The Legend of Vampire Hunter.  

I don’t wanna read it; I’ll never look at Seras the same way.

In both instances, what worked from the original pieces  was salvaged and repackaged in a way that was more “accepted.” A censored version of the first Fate/Stay novel was released and The Legend’s characters were scooped up and repackaged for horror and comedy. Both became massive successes, proving once again that good writing conquers all, including prudishness.

• Astro Boy – Disney/Scrooge McDuck

Any anime blogger worth their salt needs to be aware and respectful of Osamu Tezuka. His work on manga pushed the industry forward to so many places, and his dedication to his work was astounding. If it wasn’t for the Godfather of Manga – a name not given lightly – all that we see in anime now would not be here.

Here is where your JoJo’s and your Edward Elrics all started. The age radiates off it like smoke.

But where did his influential shows even start? Well, truthfully, a lot of Tezuka’s work started in America. Tezuka was heavily inspired by the likes of animation giant Walt Disney and, reportedly, saw the movie Bambi 80 times. Not only did he take heavy inspiration from the movies, he was also a fan of the Scrooge McDuck comic books done by Carl Barks. Astro Boys big-eyed, cutesy style came from the WWII era Scrooge comics Bars was doing at the time, as did the looks of Kimba and several others. 

Disney was so impressed they offered Tezuka a job. He declined and became one of Japan’s most celebrated creators.  But the fact still remains that Disney had, once again, birthed a larger than life giant that’s still loved to this day: anime.

• Welcome to the NHK and Gintama – Sometimes Life is Fiction

 One of the biggest (and honestly most unhelpful) tips I get in writing is “write what you know.” And while my life is far too boring for a novel, some people can take that and make some great narratives from it. But not many people consider anime to be based off real events, or even autobiographical. As things get weirder and weirder in the medium, the idea that it could be a reflection of real life becomes ridiculous.

But, sometimes, creators just get sneaky. Or the comedy is a ruse for something very real and very sad. There are shows that are based off real-life events (like Grave of The Fireflies) and then there are shows that are far closer to home than any of us would care to admit. Case in point, the dramedy show Welcome to the NHK, which follows the struggles of a Hikikomori who’s under the strong impression that his life of misery is all due to the evil organization of the Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai (NHK). The story comes from a real-life Hikikomori – the author – who still struggles with these issues. He’s admitted even now that he lives as a NEET under the book royalties.

That series is probably close to home for a few people

Ah, but I mentioned Gintama on top of that, didn’t I? The overtly silly and absurd comedy of Gintama, a sci-fi-historical series about samurais and aliens, is actually based on several different historical events. Sure, they get twisted in silly ways, but sometimes people have made lists of all the different times they referenced an important historical event. So, remember kiddies, sometimes that smile is hiding something real and not so funny.

• Jo Jo’s Bizarre Adventure – ALL the Pop Culture

 

Anime dips its toes into Western Culture quite a bit (as my Scrooge McDuck story proved). I made a post awhile back of some nifty shows that have an “east-meets-west” theme all through them. Most shows pick only one part of Western Culture to work with (hip-hop,  film noir, cowboys, etc) but how often do shows take almost all of western pop culture and just swim in it?

Well, I know of one.

SONO CHI NO SADAME!

Of all the places to start, creator Hirohiko Araki chose the near entirety of western pop culture. Several characters are named after American Bands or singers (“it was I, Dio, all along!”); villains riff on American horror films like Nightmare on Elm Street; and there are entire episodes dedicated to riffing American classics as “The Phantom Blood” did with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s a gigantic love letter to American entertainment as opposed to one small section of it, spanning several generations of characters and protagonists.

Why does this count as odd, you ask? So often we focus on how Americans may view Japanese culture through manga and anime – which usually segues into Weaboo bashing – but it never really occurs to some that Japan may be big fans of several things in western culture. Art is never made in a vacuum, and it’s inevitable that some of our favorite popular media will be the starting point for someone overseas. It really does prove what all of these shows do: good art can come from anywhere.

 

Do you know any shows with strange origins? Feel free to share below! And don’t forget to like and follow for more content just like this.

 

Five Frustrating Anime Villians

It’s rather amazing how many fiction consumers are infatuated with the bad guys. Given that the villain makes the main plot of the story, it only makes sense that we like a good antagonist to get those ripples in the pond going. But some villains don’t inspire adoration and excitement from us; some inspire so many feelings of anger and frustration that we can’t be bothered to watch them.

And when it comes to anime, that’s a delicate line to walk. It’s hard to carry a ton of seasons when your main antagonist inspires feelings of apathy every time they pop on screen. Below are my top five villain or villain-like characters that inspire feelings of absolute frustration in me, be they badly written or written just a little too well. They don’t break their shows, but they make breaking your laptop over your knee look all the more reasonable.

Oh, and a lot of these contain spoilers, so allow me to just get this out of the way:

Spoilers Ahead. Ye be warned.

5. Light Yagami– Death Note

Put your pitchforks down; I love Death Note. But any fan of the series will usually tell you that they have a very strong love/hate relationship with this genius.

Light the character is an amazing protagonist. He’s an active player in the plot, making the police run in circles, evading capture even after they have him caught, and giving the world’s greatest detective the magical slip twice. These gambits are exciting to watch and cement Light as a solid Villain Protagonist. But that doesn’t change the fact that Light The Person will make you want to punch him through the walls, Love Hina style.

That grin about sums up everything I hate about this jerk-off.

You may very well agree with Kira’s goals of creating the perfect world, or that all criminals deserve a painful death. But I doubt there’s a large group that agrees with Light’s methods for keeping himself in power because he is a stone-cold sociopath. If you weren’t mad at his constant emotional manipulation of Misa Amane and Kiyomi Takeda, then his blatant disregard for his family, later on, should do it.  He has to fight with himself about killing Sayo; He has to pretend to be devastated when his father dies; when said Father is on his deathbed he’s far more concerned about making sure his dad doesn’t think he’s Kira, and so much more. Light Yagami the person is infuriating, which only makes the final confrontation all the sweeter.

4. Sasuke Uchiha – Naruto

I won’t hear any arguments about this one being an anti-hero. As far as I’m concerned, when you join several antagonist groups and threaten to murder your friends without the aid of brainwashing, you don’t get to go to the heroes club meetings anymore.

I have complicated feelings about Naruto the show but I am clear on how much I can’t stand Sasuke Uchiha. I have no patience for ungrateful brats, especially brats who waste infinite second chances from their peers.  Every attempt to show him kindness and concern is met with cold rejection and murder-attempts, and yet somehow everyone falls over themselves to bring him home. Even after he joins two different organizations bent on the destruction of Konoha, even after he tries to kill his two best friends, both Naruto and Sakura feel they have to “rescue” him. It’s infuriating to see Kishimoto’s attempts to make us like a character who has no redeeming value to his personality and who, ultimately, does little for the plot.

But, and I say this begrudgingly, he did have one use: it was infinitely satisfying seeing him fail.

I could watch this all day

Sasuke has a purpose – to fail. He’s the power-hungry revenge seeker who is clearly in the wrong for the show, thus you’re supposed to be sad but secretly satisfied when he gets the snot kicked out of him. It’s a nice idea and full of potential, but it’s buried under a pile of induced apathy from a fanbase that’s tired of watching him betray just about everyone who trusts him.

3. Ali & An – Sailor Moon

Oh God, how I hate filler.

I understand that sometimes you need to buy time in anime production. Sailor Moon especially needed more time since Takeuchi was already buried under her manga work and couldn’t get season two started. However, that does not change the fact that filler is annoying, wastes everyone’s time, and needs to be kept to a minimum. Now, imagine an entire section of a season being filler, with two of the most bratty villains ever… and they’re doing it on purpose.

Ali and An, or “Allan and Ann” if you saw the dub, were two alien lifeforms raised by the ethereal, magical being called the Makaju, or the “doom tree.” Because it fed on energy and gave them energy, in turn, these two would routinely summon “Caridan monsters” which stole human energy. When they weren’t doing that, they were pretending to be human and attempting to break up the main couple despite claiming to love each other. It was a vicious cycle of them cheating, getting caught by each other, and apologizing, and then starting back at square one.

Furthermore, because of their “tragic” backstory, they were supposedly given excuses for believing they could force people to love them. But even “annoying on purpose” is a fail in my book. When the plot of the season is supposed to involve evil child-murderers from the future, a side-plot about two, petty adults who piss each other off just doesn’t cut it.

2. The Noah – D Gray Man

Yes, I’m cheating. But, in all seriousness, The Noah were the worst part of the entire anime just for the sheer amount of attention they got.

In the grim-tastic world of D. Gray Man, where living dolls, magic clocks, and piano-guided magic are the norm, The Noah were an interesting group of baddies. The Millennium Earl was and continues to be a terrifying character, making machine skeletons out of the dead and stuffing them into the skin of their loved ones. And his merry band of evil misfits were equally worrisome; immortal, spiteful beings with no qualms about murder will certainly do that. But, as much as I enjoyed Tyki Mikk being a monster and Road being the resident Creepy-Child, they wore out their welcome too fast.

Yeah, Tyki, I went there.

I like a good villain as much as the next writer, but I hate it when they distract me completely from the main plot. Far too often I was eager to move onto the next point with the exorcist’s group and had to wade through too many scenes of Road being creepy, Tyki being a sadistic bastard, and the Earl’s umbrella needlessly freaking out. The Noah’s appeal quickly wears off as the anime lingers on their antics. It turns out there is such a thing as too much villain exposure, and The Noah are guilty as charged.

1. Envy – Fullmetal Alchemist 2003

Our last entry is my biggest pet-peeve: a character who used to work, no longer works, and still receives adoration he doesn’t deserve. I can’t understand why anyone in the world would find this creature attractive – especially in his first anime form.

Now, I’m neither stupid nor insensitive, so I’m aware there’s an attraction to bad men for some women; I’ve had my fair share of bad-guy crushes. But I was especially baffled at the fanbase Envy has, especially first incarnation Envy. Let’s ignore the fact that the real Envy is a sadist who will happily kill humans like insects, started an entire war out of sheer boredom, and murdered a man by pretending to be his wife. I can easily understand how fangirls can completely ignore all of that, though I’m less impressed at some trying to excuse it.

I like to remind them of this lovely creature

But I would never understand why anyone would like “Envy, the whiny child who just wanted daddy to love him.”

Envy is not anyone’s child in the manga, or in Brotherhood. But the 2003 anime decided that he needed extra wangst and made him the son of Dante and Hohenheim. They decided that this sociopathic monster was better suited to hating Edward specifically because he felt like Hohenheim cared more for the Elrics than for him. As far as I’m concerned, this completely ruins anything about the character that made him scary. It’s an attempt to add empathy to a creature who’s shown it to no one. In fact, Envy has been downright predatory to people capable of empathy and emotion. 

Envy to me is the sum of what makes the must frustrating villain. It’s a character pulled in a direction that doesn’t make sense for them, or just plain misses the point of their role entirely.

 

Who are your most frustrating villain characters? Feel free to comment below!

 

The Top 5 Dark Anime

 

Not all art is a shiny happy place.

Entertainment has to be, well, entertaining but it doesn’t always cover content that makes us happy or feel good for watching it. Sometimes it goes into places we don’t talk about very much and forces us to ask some difficult questions. This kind of media is usually called “dark,” where the subject matter is serious and the visuals often disturbing. This doesn’t necessarily mean horror but, rest assured, horror and dark do walk hand in hand.

Since anime is one of the more artistic mediums out there, it naturally has its fair share of dark shows. Since I am eager for Halloween and other such spooky materials, I decided it would be fun to recount a few shows that did an excellent job of taking us to those unmentionable places. These are the top five dark anime because Halloween cannot get here fast enough.

Honorable Mention: Berserk

I can already hear the cries of “heresy!” from the original anime’s fan base. Rest assured, this is not a slight against the grandfather of all dark, gory anime. This is a recognition of the show’s importance and an admission that I haven’t watched it. I likely never will,  meaning I won’t ever have a fully formed opinion on the matter. But just because I don’t have the guts (heh) to finish it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t at least be brought up.

From what I have seen of Berserk – the original anime that is – the show is unapologetic in its dark subject matter. Violence, gore, rape, and abuse are all on the table and none of it gets censored. But, and this is the key, it also boasts well-written characters and a good tragic plotline. So, while I may think it’s an endless void of suffering, someone else will enjoy the rawness of it. It’s not my taste, but I do applaud it.

5. D-Gray Man

Losing a loved one is never easy. The sorrow that comes can be so overpowering that you’d do anything to bring them back. Well, there’s a being out there who would gladly prey on that weakness with a solution that’s too good to be true. The Millennium Earl will promise the return of your beloved, but at the cost of your life and that loved one’s soul. These poor spirits are turned into Akuma, mindless machine demons who help the Earl conquer humanity. It’s up to priest-like fighters called Exorcists to stop him, using an ancient substance called Innocence to fight and cleanse these poor tortured souls.

Some may consider D Gray Man’s plucky story and tendency towards comedy as de-qualifiers for this list.  But make no mistake; this anime has moments of pure evil about it. From one of the generals being tortured to the point of insanity to watching an Akuma slip on the skin of someone who used to be their loved one, this story knows how to turn up the freakishly horrible when it wants to. That being said, most of the action is pretty standard shounen, so it gets the highest spot on the list.

4. Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)

Number four is another one that I have yet to complete. However, having seen a significant chunk of this unfinished marvel, I have a much better grip on it than I do Berserk. Besides, watching just a small section of season one will give you more than enough hints to just how dark this pit of despair can go.

Imagine the world where humanity has been driven to hide like cattle behind thick stone walls. And then, to their horror, those walls are knocked down like sandcastles by the very creatures they were hiding from: Titans. They are disturbing, monstrous creatures that are driven to mindlessly devour humans and are near impossible to kill. But it’s up to the army to rise up and protect what’s left of humanity from the rising Titan menace, even when it seems like there isn’t a way to stop them. 

I know it seems a bit overdone to mention the show here, but you cannot deny that even an early view of AOT showcases a shocking amount of deep story and psychological trauma. The show relies heavily on the Uncanny Valley but also on some pretty animalistic wills to live by the characters themselves. Eren is the embodiment of humanity’s will to fight and shows the rest of his crew that survival is possible, but only if you refuse to lay down and die. Plenty of characters are not gonna make it but that doesn’t mean we, the audience, should give up.

3. Pet Shop of Horrors

 

I want you all to remember this old show from way back in the day: the famous serial called The Twilight Zone. The show usually centered around a self-contained narrative that takes a strange and unusual turn towards the end, usually to pass on some kind of moral. Imagine that, twisted, and exposing some of the nastier, selfish aspects of being a human.

My friends, that is Pet Shop Of Horrors in a nutshell. The enigmatic figure known as Count D has a quaint little pet shop set up in Little China, a cute place with exoitic animals, exotic food, and an air of danger. He sells pets and all manner of hopes and dreams, but there is almost always a catch. Follow the rules of the contract and you’ll be happy in your purchase. But humans break those rules – it’s only natural – and the horror that follows only goes to show the petty, ugly truths that those people worked so hard to keep hidden.

Even though this series only lasted a few episodes, I was so thrilled with what I did see. The show displayed the themes and beauty of the manga near perfectly, encapsulating the gritty horror aspects as well. Very bloody and disturbing, give all four episodes a go before you try the manga; because it holds back even less.

2. The Gregory Horror Show

What’s this, 3D and a distinctly un-anime look? How dare you put this cult-classic on your list, Helain, shame on you!

That’s what I thought, originally. But – surprise, surprise – The Gregory Horror Show is indeed a CGI anime, or at least it’s defined as such. Originally produced in Japan, the show centered around an unfortunate Japanese Businessman who finds himself at a strange hotel in the middle of nowhere, run by a wrinkled, wart-covered mouse by the name of Gregory. Something is off about Gregory from the get-go, who somehow sees everything and knows far more about you than he should. His guests aren’t much better, stalking you and screaming at you to get out while you still can. But you quickly find that there is no way out of this madhouse of the broken; even insanity won’t save you from Gregory and his prisoners.

The biggest draw to TGHS comes from its first person perspective. We are thrust into the role of this poor salesman, trapped in a prison-like hotel ready to drive him up the wall. Along the way, we’ll not only meet a variety interesting characters but explore some inconvenient truths about our dear protagonist. Extra points if you guess the big twist at the end.

1. Death Note

This one is, and I admit it, predictable and overplayed – but so, so very true. Death Note, both in anime and manga, is the ultimate morality play on justice and crime, and an impressive character study.

Have you ever wished you could do something about the rampant crime in the world? Have you ever just been beyond bored with the ugly world and wished you could make a real difference? That was the biggest wish of Boy Genius Light Yagami, a pampered perfect student who discovers a notebook that can kill anyone with the stroke of a pen. So, he decides he’s going to kill all the world’s horrible criminals and be the new ruler of a perfect world. But not everyone sees his work as heroic; in fact, enigmatic private detective “L” denounces him a murderer, and dedicates himself to tracking Light down. 

The show sets up two very distinct sides and takes great pride in showing them clash. Furthermore, as the show explores the real morality behind killing the accused (and I must stress, it is the accused and not the sentenced), it also lets us watch a boy of decent morals slowly spiral down into sociopathy thanks to the immense power he’s gained. You might need a flow-chart to keep up with the plot, but anyone watching this show will eat up the hard questions it asks, all while basking in the dark and gloomy atmosphere all around it.

In short, Death Note is the standard for dark anime. It isn’t really gory or all that scary, but it explores some uncomfortable places of the human mind with a story that is gripping and entertaining. And at the end of the day, that’s really all you can ask from any dark anime.

 

What’s your list for for dark anime? Feel free to share it below and don’t forget to like and follow for more content just like this.

Top Four Misuses of Anime

So hey, anime is pretty damn popular.

Sarcasm aside, the medium has cemented itself firmly in popular culture throughout the years. Thanks to the talents of several animators and producers – and the beautiful smuggling job that was Toonami  – we have a behemoth of an industry that ain’t dying anytime soon.

But, where there is popularity, there is a cringy misuse by outside forces. Much like the cornucopia of weird flash games where Elsa gets pregnant, there are plenty of anime oddities from a third party attempting to leech off that popularity. Whether it’s PSA’s or merchandising, anime has been mishandled in some truly wacky fashions. These are my top four favorites in no particular order because, quite frankly, these are too bizarre to be buried on the internet.

By the way, since I normally try to keep this as family-friendly as possible, small mature themes warning here.

• Condoms (Sailor Moon)

Because really, when you wanna promote protection against sexually transmitted infections and diseases, what better mascot than the fourteen-year-old soldier of justice?

Ew.

So, to be clear, warning to promote safe sex is never a bad thing. That was the idea behind this odd creation in the first place, according to an article from Japantimes.com. In order to raise awareness of STDs, Japan was going to distribute condoms, wrapped in heart-shaped plastic Sailor Moon plastered on the cover. The Japanese Health Ministry even planned to distribute leaflets and posters alongside these peppy rubbers that feature such slogans as “I will punish you if you don’t get tested!”

“Muh childhood!”

I cannot tell how they expected this to work. Their intentions were certainly not bad but their choice in mascot reeks of exploitation. Next time, it might behoove them to pick someone older and not associated with childhood innocence for their sexual education programs.

• Selling Cars (Sailor Moon and Miku Hatsune)

They just can’t seem to leave my childhood alone, can they?

It’s no secret that popular cartoons are used to push products. Even the West isn’t innocent in using favorite cartoon characters to push adult products. The idea is to appeal to them when they’re older through nostalgia, I think. Or maybe Winston thought the parents would take a shine to their kids watching Fred and Barn use mom and dad’s smoke sticks, who knows?

“Hey kids, look, cool people smoking!”

But I’d have thought we were past that kind of scummy marketing – I was wrong. There’s been a recent campaign for the Ford Fusion that popped up around the time Viz was kind enough to rescue and resurrect the sailor-suited-soldier of justice. Now girls like me are expected to see our childhood hero dream of Ford Fusions because… reasons.

But oh, my fellow Otaku, don’t worry if Miss Tsukino was never your taste. Toyota has you covered with none other than Miku Hatsune, peddling product like a true American Celebrity.

There’s something really underhanded about using characters like these two for pushing expensive cars. It feels like the dealers are trying to tap a niche vein or reach the Otaku crowd. Either way, the cringe is real.

• Horrible Eva Merchandising

Speaking of cringe, you all remember Neon Genesis Evangelion, right? That mega-popular anime that spawned two movies that went from zero to crazy in a nanosecond? The show that slowly descended into madness and bad writing when the director had a breakdown midway through?

You know what it was missing? Brand deals.

“Suffering from emotional breakdowns and itchy red eyes? Try Asuka’s eyedrops!”

So, front and center, I was never a fan of Eva. But I don’t think a fan could forsee a show like this producing campy tie-in products on the side. After all, when you’re watching a man hallucinate about strangling the clone of his dead mother, or a giant head bleeding from the eyes, you’re not exactly inspired to buy.

But several brands jumped on the popularity of the Eva Train and never looked back. Schick made razors using Shinji’s insane jerkwad of a father; they have a giant blow-up doll of Rei you can climb up and slide down. Because what sounds more fun than scaling a giant clone of Shinji’s mother and then sliding down her leg?

 

And, my personal favorite, a body musk inspired off of Shinji himself. Because when I think mainly musks, I think of the shame, failure, and insanity Shinji Ikari.

 

“Ladies, please! No seriously, I’m just a kid! T_T”

• TURN YOURSELF ANIME!

Our last entry is more of a group entry. If you ever browsed an app store on an iPad, Droid, or other such devices, likely you have been assaulted by free anime apps. These companies are looking for those clicks after all, and nothing is more profitable than animated women in skin-tight skirts and long hair.

And so they make cheap-to-produce apps that run ridiculously and bombard you with ads. But oh do they make some pretty enticing promises. They promise to turn you into an anime character, no drawing required, only for it to be a picture app that you put stickers on. Or, if they’re feeling especially frisky, they’ll promise a virtual waifu that you can love and cuddle, and it turns out to be a simple dress-up game for a Miku Hatsune clone.  

Don’t get too excited; she just stares at you all day

This is some heavy swindling, especially when it asks you for a little money upfront. By presenting generic anime, these developers are hoping to trick anime newbies and those who are truly desperate. It really is a despicable misuse of anime as a whole, and something to keep in mind when browsing for your next time-waster.

 

Do you know any misuses of anime? Feel free to comment about it or anything else below! Feel free to like and follow for more content just like this.