Seeing things through: A Hikkigaya case

      Perhaps one of the more interesting animes, albeit underrated, is "I knew my high school love comedy isn't real."  The anime follows the life of a self-proclaimed loner extraordinaire, Hikkigaya and his experiences in high school.  The other characters that played a more prominent role in this anime were Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, they provided a clear contrast between a loner, an egoist and a vocal person.  Throughout the anime, we could see the gradual change in Hikkigaya as he embraced the idea of being a group person but towards the end, we could see that Hikkigaya's compassion towards others simply wouldn't allow him to do so.  Don't get me wrong, in terms of cognitive ability, Hikkigaya outshined all the others and because of this, he could give valuable advice and opinions in the most crucial moments.  However, all these were done at the expense of his own reputation.

     The anime's usage of background music, setting and cast was excellent!  All these gave the anime a very humble atmosphere while maintaining its vigour.  The anime doesn't contain any action scene, so if you're a fan of action animes, then I'd suggest you sit this one out.  Nevertheless, a few valuable lessons could be reaped from this anime and perhaps the most important one is "you have to see things through", like literary.  Hikkigaya truly portrayed that quality as he helped those in need and saw to that he kept all his words.  This may be less important to some people but to me, this quality defines a person whom you can truly confide in.  We could also see in this movie that sometimes the most outgoing person may not be the most helpful, endless facades and enactments in society could be observed in this anime as it exposed human's most derogating behaviours.  

      The plot by itself was very solid too.  No sudden "power up" or "misconduct" was visible throughout these 12 episodes and I must say, for an anime veteran like me, I was truly impressed.  If there's one complain, then I guess it would be the one where the main character didn't get the recognition he should have gotten otherwise in the end.  It is truly disheartening to see that people who stood by their principles get shunned by the society and not even given a chance to explain himself.  Then again, this anime is based on the Japanese culture, so whether it holds true to the other cultures in the world is still a question mark.  

     All in all, I would definitely recommend this anime for anyone who wants to watch something that is close to the heart and has excellent story telling.

"Some scenes from the anime"

Worth of a person

    Every so often, I hear people condemning others in front of me and not surprisingly, usually those who hold a higher position in society are the greatest offenders.  Just the other day, I heard someone of such status comparing and derogating the worth of my friends and I.  At that time, I thought to myself that this person probably doesn't understand the phrase "worth of a person".

     Every person's worth is different, depending on the circumstances and the environment the person is in.  For instance, a burger may cost around $10 in any fastfood outlet but, try imagining you are on a plane and suddenly, you have this craving for a burger.  You find one on board but it costs $20.  Most people will not think twice before purchasing the burger just to satisfy their desire but at that time, the worth of the burger has changed.  Although this example is quite clumsy and not very detailed, but I think you get the picture here.  As educators whom I believe everybody here is capable of becoming, we must not commit ourselves to the sin of depreciating a person's value, especially our children's, so that we can properly harness the potential in each individual.  Even the gangsters on the streets have worth, because of them, people understand the true value of peace and harmony.

      I will not dwell much on this subject as I believe that this is something we all need to experience before we can draw our own conclusion.  I just pray that you will not end up becoming one of the villains who undermine a person's worth.  Think critically, observe objectively.

New anime season

I will hold off posting about Chihayafuru for the time being as I found that the competition's focus is mainly about how Chihaya and Arata are fast.  I am now more keen on the upcoming animes that will be released this season.  Some of the more notable ones, harems especially, are ore no imouto season 2, date a live and  the one about a kid joining a club with many cute girls.  The other, though gory and dark, that should be nice is the invasion of the giants.

And, another thing, I have gone back to playing Yu-Gi-Oh!  Woohoo!  Good times.  I am now only playing one deck though, which is dark world feat. archfiend!  Waiting to see the new archfiend releases in the judgment of the light.  Hoping that the set would provide more firepower for dark world.

Stay tune for the next releases. :)

Chihayafuru 2 episode 7

   Once again, I am dumbfounded by how much this episode presents in terms of its character development.  On one hand, we see how Chihaya's sister is influenced by her younger sister, and on the other, we see how Chihaya's mother wants to make up for all the time she has not spent on Chihaya.  Then again, that just comes to show how influential Chihaya's frank nature is.  However, better scenes come in the second half of this episode.  We see how a club that just popped out of nowhere gave their utmost support and gratitude to Chihaya and co after receiving their kindness.  Only after watching that scene, I realised how Chihaya and her friends never got any support aside from their advisor and karuta society's colleagues.

    Now onto the two main catches of this episode.  The first one is probably the one where they head off to the nationals.  We can see how much this means to them since they did not make the cut last year (from Chihayafuru 1st season) and how they are all prepared to face the hurdles.

    The second one is probably the part where Chihaya discovered she liked Arata.  It may seem foolish but more often than not, those around us have a better view of how we behave and what ticks us.  Then again, my heart goes out to Taichi.  How I see it, he will never secure a spot in Chihaya's heart.  She does not even realise the affection Taichi has been showing so obtrusively.  I seriously can't wait for next week to watch the next episode as they are going to participate in the competition and perhaps we'll see more of the queen and her relationship with Arata.

Chihayafuru Episode 5 & 6

     Have you ever experienced a feeling that is so powerful that it can be compared to having an orgasm?  If you haven't, then watching these two episodes will provide you with such an ecstasy tantamount to the experience described.  Now, on to the pictures:

     So, what makes these 2 episodes so nice that I had to post them side by side?  You see, these two episodes have to go hand in hand if they were to present a clear picture.  On one hand, we see how the true aces face off each other in a battle of wits; on the other, we see how each character progressed in the past year they had been training.  Out of all the characters, Chihaya and Taichi showed the most improvements, especially Chihaya who transcended to a totally new level!  The battle between each character was demystified so clearly that you will be glued to the screen literary to find out the result of the battles.

    However, a good anime should have another element that gives it an edge over the others.  For chihayafuru, nothing could be better than pure honest romance.  To be honest, it breaks my heart to see Taichi continuing his unrequited love.  Chihaya must have sensed the affection emanating from Taichi and yet, she shows her adoring face whenever Arata's name is mentioned.  In that sense, I really admire Taichi for being so fixated on one person only and not showing off despite his popularity with girls/women.

   Chihayafuru sure keeps me on the edge of my seat as I await the next episode and see what it brings to the current development of the story, especially the relationship between Arata and Shinobu.  Until next week, cherio.

Chihayafuru Season 2 blogging

      It has been quite some time since I sat on the edge of my chair while watching an anime.  Chihayafuru S2 blasted off with the introduction of the lovely and memorable members from Mizusawa Karuta Club as well as some new faces.  However, after coming so far, this episode nailed the development of one of the main characters perfectly!

       For those Chihayafuru fans out there, it does not come as something new knowing that Taichi has been struggling to get into the A-class players list.  However, as pointed out in this episode, he does not lack the skills, he simply lack the conviction that he is great!  Towards the end, he was brought to full realisation by his teammates as well as his friends that he is not alone.  The part where Chihaya offered her handkerchief to Taichi was simply magnificent, considering that Taichi has had an eye for Chihaya since he was young.  That must have given him a huge boost in mental support.

      As far as the character development goes, we can see that Oe is very particular about the rhythm of poems and Shimizu has found another new passion for Karuta if she ever wants to win the favour of Taichi.  Chihayafuru was good but Chihayafuru is even better!  I am looking forward to reviewing the subsequent episodes this anime has to offer!  Take care guys.