Twelve Days: Ten Lords-a-Leaping

Or: On Late Discoveries

On the whole, the fellows at Yen Press are fairly decent chaps. They have recently completed their occidental publication of all Haruhi Suzumiya light novels written to date. Book Girl^[1] is silly but fun, and is set to similarly conclude it’s main story early in the new year. Nor can we forget their publication of Spice and Wolf^[2], A Bride’s Story, Bunny Drop, Kobato, Olympos, Inu x Boku SS^[3], Thermae Romae, or Yotsuba.

Aside those mentioned above lies a style of manga one would not immediately assume anyone in their right mind would publish on this side of the world. Yet they have, and I’m immensely happy they do.

Twelve Days: Eleven Pipers Piping

Or: A Discovery of Forbidden Scrolls

The discovery of a certain manga is usually not a story to be passed down through the generations. Indeed, the specifics of how I fell across Forbidden Scrollery are so forgettable I appear to have forgotten them myself. Regardless, the reading of the aforementioned series takes but a moment for it is so terribly short^[1].

Twelve Days: Twelve Drummers Drumming

Or: Tae Scootland Wi’ Ye!

Irrespective of the tendency for members to drop like flies, the anisphere has picked up a few habits. The re-hashing of old arguments, the rise and fall of anime- or manga-centred websites, the incessant need to rank things, and a love of hyperbolic proclamations, are just a few.

Whilst these things might be considered a consequence of our mortality rate, there are habits that are nevertheless derived from the longevity of a few, and Christmas has a certain propensity to attract these like moths to a flame. One such habit, or tradition if you’ll permit me, is Reverse Thieves’ ‘Secret Santa’. Another is that of CCY’s Twelve Days of Anime, albeit now helmed by the Grand Old Duke of The Cart Driver.

The Guilt of Consumption, the Responsibility of Dominion

source: stracciatella

Grace. いただきます. Bismillah. Cultures across the world have developed means to express gratitude for what they consume. This is possibly borne out of an innate quality, as recent studies suggest, that rituals before a meal may alter our perception of its taste. The idea of gratitude being expressed serves another ancillary function: it staves off the guilt of consumption.

In this season’s The Eccentric Family (Uchōten Kazoku | 有頂天家族), we follow a family of shape-shifting Japanese raccoon dogs. Yasaburō, the narrator and main character who poses as a young human, spends his days avoiding and cavorting and playing with Benten, the powerful and dangerous psychic woman seen in the image above. The dialogue between the two is brisk and spry, with a back and forth that moves at a nice clip. But none of that is remarkable on its face to me, until we understand that she ate the young raccoon dog’s father in a year-end ritual meal and that it is common knowledge in their community.

The Future of Little Witch Academia

source: ピロアキ*

Something almost unbelievable happened last night. Trigger Inc. set up a campaign to crowdfund the next episode of their 2013 Anime Mirai title Little Witch Academia, and in less than five hours, they met their $150,000 goal and more.

Freestyling about Free! – Lap 1

I have never loved swimming.

“I’m ok with just being ok.” Monsters University and Pixar’s Talent Manifesto

source: OxyG3n at Confessions Of a Disturbed!

Pixar’s poetry lies in the mixing of pain with sweetness. What I love about some of their films is that there’s a true sense of heartache that fuels them underneath the mirth.  Across fourteen feature films there have been several narratives they’ve explored, occasionally more than once; love and loss, parenthood, religion, self-improvement. The theme that strikes me as the most inherently interesting—and the most unusually brave considering its status as children’s fare—is the ongoing musing of talent vs. mediocrity.

Reinvention in HenNeko

source: ミサ

Throughout our lives we are constantly reinventing ourselves. It’s human nature to evaluate what works and adjust accordingly. This is no easy task, and we are all fallible creatures, so we make mistakes. This is the story of Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko, or HenNeko, and it is our story as well.

Aku no Hana is Good.*

I like Aku no Hana. I think it’s good*.

That asterisk is what you’ve come here to read about, isn’t it?

Goodbye, Tamako Kitashirakawa. We Hardly Knew Ye.

art by ajthefourth

“I don’t want to change. I want to change. We all hold in our hearts conflicting feelings, each back to back.”

-Dera Mochimazzi, Tamako Market, Episode 11