If I recall, I started writing for this blog about four years ago.  In that time, there’s been a lot of ups and downs.  I wrote, got burned our, wrote again, and then blew up in the hanger.  Nevertheless, I’ve made a lot of memories and several good friends through this blog.  But with lvlln and Raph officially moving on, I think it’s high time I do the same.  It’s time to let go.

I’m starting from scratch and writing for myself.  I know at the very least, Space Brothers has ignited a spark that’s made me think about writing again.  Hanging out over at Metanorn has given me motivation as well.  I will hopefully continue writing under my new WordPress blog, Derivative Paradise.  Or I could be completely talking out my ass again.  Who knows?

To all of you, past, present, and future, who have read this blog, thank you for your time and participation.  Special thanks to those of you who still have this blog on your reader after all these years.  I wish you all the best.  I have no intention to allow any more posts here.  However, this blog will continue to exist as a testament to both successes and failures.  I think anything less would be a disservice to myself, my compatriots, and the readers who still continue to stumble into this space.

Until we meet again,
~Rakuen

Hey, two weeks in a row.  One more week and this might become “a thing.”  Unfortunately, that won’t happen, because I’m going away for the weekend to Ohayocon.  Ah, Ohayo.  I don’t really like the convention that much, but it’s an opportunity to see a lot of my friends from around the Midwest.  Since the next opportunity for that won’t be until the end of April, I’ll take what I can get.  In any case, my personal life isn’t all that interesting, and if you’re here to read anything, it’s my thoughts for the week.  So let’s get this show on the road.  As always, check out the Anime Power Rankings for yourself week over week to keep up with the trends in the aniblogging community!

Oh, and one more thing.  Today, 2DT announced the closure of his blog.  He capped it off with another of his fantastic posts, and you should definitely head over to the Teleidoscope to read it and wish him well.

1. Guilty Crown

Okay, how much did I love this episode?  We’ve got MISSILE KICK!, Segai’s amazing disguise, and Ayase on rocket boots.  We see not only the physical aftermath of the recent catastrophe, but also the start of the social ramifications.  People try to get away with more things, they let themselves be controlled by greed, and they suffer from isolation, uncertainty, and sooner or later, the depression.   Morale’s going to become a precious resource, to be sure.  I think I can definitively say I am finally on board with this series.

2. Daily Lives of High School Boys

Last week I felt like the show was too hit and miss, at least for me.  This week has put that concern to rest.  I am an absolute sucker for RPG parodies, and the first segment was brilliant.  I also want to see more of the butlers in the new “Daily Life of a Lady” segment.  And, what is it with little sisters and being mildly sadistic bullies?  So many unimportant questions and so much time.  The male Nichijou is definitely on my to-watch list now.

3. Chihayafuru

Chihaya lost just as predicted.  Really, losing was the theme of this episode.  Not just the pain failure can bring, but also the drive for success it instills.  Our friendly neighborhood karuta team is ready to train harder than ever to have a strong showing at the next tournament.  So is Arata as he reenters the world of karuta, and Shinobu as she works to crush the indomnitable Chihaya when the next meet.  The second half is shaping up to be more exciting than ever!

4. Persona 4

Ano Natsu tried to do the whole drunk hangout thing, but Persona 4 did it better, and they weren’t even drunk!  I thought it was pretty funny that the girls weren’t put off by Narukami’s frank observation they were staying at a love hotel, when he’s CLEARLY the biggest stud of them all.  We got even more of the friends’ escapades in preparation for next week, where things get back to the plot.  You know, the plot.  The whole murder thing.  You remember, right?  …right?

5. Future Diary

Kousaka is brilliant, and I’m glad his brilliant diary filled with brilliant accomplishments has become an brilliant Future Diary which makes him even more BRILLIANT!  It’s also about time Yukiteru’s balls dropped.  Of course, this sets up the inevitable confrontation where Deus’ and Mur Mur’s bet will conclude.  As much as Yuno wants to believe in her happily ever after, it’s got to be lost forever at this point.  I guess that’s what happens when you’re a psychotic murdering stalking sociopath.

And seeing as I’m writing something for everything in the off chance it’s left in my Top 5, here’s two more for kicks.

6. Mouretsu Pirates

I have never been so excited about absolutely nothing happening.  That’s how I felt as the girls waited to disembark from the airlock.  No, not that way you pervert.  The sense of adventure, it’s difficult to quantify, but it’s present.  Of course, a spacewalk is really nothing as the show looks poised to drop them into the fire with a potential space battle.  Now if only they’d give a little more personality to the girls who AREN’T Marika…

7. Ano Natsu de Matteru

Watching Ichika try to talk her way out of things was amusing.  The girl couldn’t lie her way out of a paper bag if any of the characters paid close attention to her.  Then we have Lemon, who’s probably more disruptive than the alien amongst them.  It seems like she’s up to more than just screwing with a bunch of high schoolers.  All that, plus a love triangle means a lot of stuff can go on at any time.  I hope the directors can keep it together.

I’ll be frank.  Times have changed.  I have a job that demands about 50 hours of my attention every week.  I’m also at a point in my cycle where I’m more interested in video games and its community than anime.  That’s not to say I’ve stopped liking anime.  I’m still keeping up with the seasons.  I also post little things I find amusing or insightful on my Tumblr.  I just lack the time or motivation to write much of anything.  However, since I was part of a recent invite for the Anime Power Rankings, I’ve found something I can hopefully spend an hour or two each week contributing towards.  My goal is to come up with at least something to say about what I vote for each week.  I don’t know if I’ll necessarily post up the text here all the time, but this week I had two of my comments featured (of which I’m excited), so why not?

While I definitely appreciate technical merits, I mostly vote where my emotions go, for better or worse, and you can probably see it in the writing.  I’m also not too finicky about style, which you can probably see in my, um, mildly confusing Chihayafuru observation.  Anyway, here’s my thoughts for the week, and I encourage you to check out the Power Rankings weekly to see thoughts and rankings from across the blogosphere!

1. Persona 4

After the Adventures of Loveline last week, we get the other half from Narukami’s perspective.  Where there was humor before, we get several crowning moments of heartwarming as our protagonist spends his summer helping people.  As much as life can drag you down, you always have to keep your sights on what’s really important, whether that be your family, your friends, your goals, or your memories.  This may well end up being my favorite episode of Persona 4, and one of the top for the entire season.

2. Chihayafuru

Although it was an admittedly weaker episode this week, I still think it needs recognition.  Faced with insurmountable odds, she sees a crack in her opponents defenses.  Then she capitalizes it by trapping her with her best card, which her defensive opponent logically puts into the back.  Given how many episodes are left, Chihaya is probably going to lose in the next episode, but this is still probably the most brilliant move Chihaya has done or will do for the rest of the season.

3. Mouretsu Pirates

I’m falling in love with this show for the same reason as Chihayafuru.  We’re presented with a likeable protagonist, and the series immediately vests our interest in her success.  I not only want to see how she progresses as a character, but I also want to see how the world around her plays out with her becoming Captain.  At least, it seems like the world is pretty interested in her, and I sure hope they don’t drop that thread and leave it hanging.

4. Ano Natsu de Matteru

I’d say this series has one of the best crash-into-hellos I’ve seen since FLCL.  That said, Ichika seems like the polar opposite of Haruko.  I checked this out on a lark, and I’m sticking with it because of how it presented the premise.  Yes, the kids are shooting a movie, but as Kaito mentions, the film and the drama had already begun.  The film exists for the sake of the plot, and the plot exists for the sake of the real film, the lives of these characters.

5. Guilty Crown

Guilty Crown and I have a love/hate relationship.  At least to me, the show seems to get completely lost in itself up to the halfway point of every episode.  Then, somehow, it punches its way out into an explosion of awesome that keeps me interested for next week.  In this case, it was an explosion of tragedy.  Gai was just like Kamina before him: too cool to live.  I just hope Shu can be like Simon and take a level in badass quick, especially because this series once again has no clear direction.

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere seems to be a show you either love or hate.  Or maybe you hate to love it, or love to hate it.  I don’t know.  In any case, it can also easily be one of the most confusing shows out there.  It seems a bit busy for nothing to actively progress, doesn’t it?  At least, until we hit episode 5 and finally achieve some semblance of a plot.  A perfectly logical reason exists for this and it all boils down to the “insane professor’s” plan to blow up his own town.

For those who didn’t pay much attention to the synopsis the synopsis on MAL, go back and read it again.  The key here is the Testament and its associated Union.  The Testament is used to reenact “history.”  It is the be all and end all of all major goings on in the world of Horizon.  At least it used to be.  In the year 1648, the Testament suddenly stops recounting history.  Now, a logical problem arises.  When all the major decisions of society and the world are determined by a book, what do you do when you suddenly lose your seemingly omniscient guide?

You see, people have become complacent.  The first four episode highlight this fact.  Despite the very serious problem of the end of “history,” people simply go about their business.  No one seems to have a problem with it.  We have our plucky students going on plucky adventures and chasing tail.  To quote an especially apt Bible verse: “pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare” (Luke 21:34-35a).  Complacency has certainly snared the people, and this is where the “insane professor’s” plan comes to the fore.

He has realized the people’s current attitude is not sufficient for forging a path into the future.  When you want to wake someone up, you might shake them.  If you want to wake the entire world up, you have to shake them with an equally large and suitable event.  What better event than the complete and wanton destruction of a major city?  Especially when the holy Testament said nothing of the event!  If you have any doubts to his strategy, pay attention to his speech.  He outright offers to abort the destruction of Mikawa if anyone can present him a sufficient plan for preserving a future for humanity.

Of course, no answers are forthcoming.  Maybe five minutes isn’t long enough to come up with something.  But the event will certainly make them think.  Maybe the pluckiness and the tail can wait until after the world is saved…

First off, yes, I know, I haven’t posted much recently.  Or rather at all.  Life has become quite hectic over the last few months, and it shows no signs of letting up.  I’ve turned to Tumblr to microblog.  Most of it is image caps or animations of highlights in the games and anime I consume, but I’m sure I’ll write a few short posts as well.  You’re welcome to follow me if you want.  I may still make intermittent, longer posts here, but like most things in my life right now, that ability can change on a weekly basis. ^_^;

With that out of the way, please read 2DT’s very interesting analysis on Okabe’s actions in episode 19.  Don’t worry, I’ll wait.  Now, this post originally started as a response to Morgoth’s comment.  However, it got really long and I figured it deserved a post of its own.  The subject: Should we root for Okabe?

I don’t think we’re supposed to root for Okabe, per se.  We’re supposed to identify with him.  We all understand what it’s like to lose someone close to us in death.  Just the thought of it scared Okabe so much that he adopted a brand new persona because he thought Mayuri would disappear otherwise.  And now she’s dead, or rather, she will die, over and over again.

In the real world, we can get closure.  Once you die you are dead.  There’s no coming back.  We struggle with the pain and the grief for a while, but eventually we move on with our lives.  Well, most of us do anyway.

Okabe doesn’t have that luxury, because he has the power of time travel at his disposal.  He has the ability to change the outcome, if only he can figure out how to do it.  You know, we romanticize time travel a lot.  See the past!  Change things you regret!  But we don’t think about the consequences of those actions.

Okabe has suffered a lot of pain over the second half of the series.  He’s watched his best friend die hundreds of times.  He’s to the point that it doesn’t even phase him when Kurisu calls him to tell him Mayuri has died.  He’s been forced to seek out the consent of his friends to take away the happiness he gave them.  And now he has to face down Moeka, the original cause of all this in his mind.  It’s a wonder that he didn’t react with more anger and violence.

Yet, he’s still a human being.  When he flashes back to the time Moeka spent with the lab, he realizes something very important.  Something that deflates his antagonistic attitude.  She wanted attention.  She wanted friends.  At one time, Okabe considered her a friend.  He calls her a fool for believing no one wanted her.  At the same time, he realizes he was a fool for pushing her away.  If only he had paid attention to her.  If only he figured out why she pestered him all the time.  If only he learned why she was so awkward.  If only.  If only.  Maybe this could have been prevented.  But this, too, he can prevent, if only he can figure out how.

We can try to sit on some moral high horse and judge Okabe for his actions.  You shouldn’t have taken her phone, Okabe.  You shouldn’t have hit her, Okabe.  You shouldn’t have yelled at her, Okabe.  Yet, can you honestly say you’d react differently if you were in the same situation?  Honestly?  Honestly.  I have a tough time saying I would.

That is why we like Okabe.  We understand what he’s going through, and on some level we know we’d react the same way he would.  He might just be a character in some anime series.  Yet, he is undeniably human.

Time travel.  It’s enough to drive you mad.

This past week has been another whirlwind of activity.  I had my final two finals, followed by my commencement ceremony on Saturday.  Pending a final review, I graduate summa cum laude (with highest praise) from university.  I also started work at my first real job, which has been going well.  Making the transition to a 40-hour+ work week isn’t the easiest thing in the world.  Fortunately, I’ve still had time for anime.  This week, I want to share highlights from Nichijou, Deadman Wonderland, and Sket Dance.

Nichijou – He Wrestled a WHAT!?

If you read any of the synopses at the beginning of the year, you might have noticed Nichijou made a few promises.  We’ve already seen the robot hiding a rollcake in her arm, thanks to Nano.  We still hadn’t seen the principal wrestling any deer though.  Well, Yuuko got front row seats to the big event, thanks to her penchant for never finishing her homework.

Nothing says "badass" like a bald guy in kevlar lifting a deer.

You could use this to make some statement about animal cruelty, but it would only make you a prude.  Let’s just face the facts.  The deer was an honorable opponent.  The principle of this school is a freaking beast.  The German suplex was beautiful.  Microsoft Word doesn’t think the word suplex exists.  Finally, Yuuko reporting all this as normal says an awful lot about the school and their tolerance for the bizarre.  It was a pretty satisfying sequence if I say so myself.

Deadman Wonderland – Tag!

It’s still hasn’t surpassed Mnemosyne, but Deadman Wonderland is a solid second for most brutal anime I’ve ever watched.  Yes, I have little tolerance for brutality, and I haven’t succeeded at watching an entire episode yet.  I hadn’t seen anything memorable in a “good” way, though, until this week’s episode.  Little Ganta really doesn’t want to die, and you know what they say about cornered cats…

And you are it! No tag-backs!

He bled himself out pretty well just utilizing his power, and Senji’s furious assault leaves him broken.  His opponent shows a bit of mercy, but Ganta wants to win.  He drags himself up off the floor and switches things up with an indirect assault.  Senji quickly defends himself against the falling microphone, but the small gap is enough.  The kid quickly closes the distance and unleashes a focused attack at point-blank range.  He even targets the same area he injured the previous day.  With that, Ganta wins the award for tactic of the week.  In the end, Senji rather gruesomely loses an eye, but it means he can come back with a cool eye-patch!

Sket Dance – You Gotta Have Friends

I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but I love delinquent characters.  It gives the writers a lot of latitude to play with the character.  Sket Dance has been a rocky series up to this point.  Sometimes it presses all the right buttons, but other times I really wonder why I’m still watching the show.  Well, Momoka’s puppet show fell solidly in within the first group.

D'awwwww, it warms the heart! I loved those kids in the audience.

Many times, we view bullies as some sort of monster.  How dare they harm our friends or family!?  Some probably do it just for the sake of doing it.  On the other hand, you can’t forget they have feelings too.  When people shun you all the time, you can easily start to lash out at them.  Pushing people away is easier than bringing them close, after all.  The more you lash out, the more you increase that reputation.  Turning the tide around might seem like an impossible task.  I’m not saying bullies shouldn’t be punished.  I’m saying, rather than jump straight to the conclusion, maybe we should try to learn why they act they way they do.  I’m sure Momoka and her posse are glad they finally have a group of friends who accept them.  Their performance was glorious in my opinion.

Well, that about wraps it up for another week.  If you have any highlights you’d like to share, please feel free to do so in the comments or in a post of your own!

You know, I had several highlights lined up to talk about this week.  However, at this time I’m going to get a bit personal with you and focus on one scene.  I’ve never written a post for the Diary of an Anime Lived project, so this is my first crack at an entry.  I feel like Moshidora failed in several respects, but it did one thing remarkably well.  You could say it even knocked it out of the park.  You can see this particular scene coming from a mile away, but if you really wish to avoid spoilers, then I suggest you finish episode 9 of Moshidora before continuing.

Before we get to it, you need to know a bit of backstory.  In the middle of 2008, round abouts August, my father was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.  The surgery succeeded.  Yet, it was too late.  The next scan showed what we feared most.  The cancer metastasized and spread to his liver.  The last few years have been a rollercoaster of emotional stresses.  He had chemotherapy treatments over a span of two years’ time.  They left him physically exhausted and emotionally drained.  He would often recover enough of his strength just in time for another round of chemicals to invade his body.  After his third surgery, we were hoping they had excised it completely.  About two weeks ago, he had his fourth surgery.  No such luck, I suppose.

Yuuki’s last moments will easily reside in the top emotional scenes of the entire year for me.  Yes, the scene is meant to pull on your heartstrings, but I don’t think you can fully appreciate it until you’ve been there yourself.  You have to sit there and watch someone struggle for his life for years on end.  Every time you go to the doctor’s office you hope for a clean bill of health.  Sometimes, you’ll get it, and you breathe a sigh of relief.  Other times… there might be preparations for yet another surgery.

It’s a hard life.  There’s a lot of pain and misery and tears.  Perhaps I’m fortunate.  So far, my father has survived.  But in the back of my mind, I know there’s a chance.  A chance that no matter what happens, it just won’t be enough.  The specter of death is ever looming.  If the cancer ever shows up in his lungs, it will be terminal.  He might live a year, he might live ten, but it will kill him eventually.

Yuuki fought her fate fiercely.  She survived a whole nine months past the doctor’s predictions.  She still fell short.  Was it worth the struggle?  All you have to do is watch the scene.  Every member of the squad stands at her deathbed, and they all grieve in their own way.  Some have streams of tears rushing down their cheeks.  Others try to keep up a strong front, but you can still read their emotions through the sniffling and shaking.  She certainly touched the lives of the team she loved.

Perhaps more importantly, Yuuki guided Minami toward becoming a stronger person.  Minami became a manager because of her friend, and a damn good one.  She strengthened the entire school with the baseball team as a central point.  By the end, Minami has also rekindled of her love for the game.  Yuuki was a fictional character, but she accomplished more in a year than many people in the real world might do in a lifetime.  She lived vicariously from her hospital bed, and in the process affected hundreds of people.  Watching the series culminate to this point reminded me of a particular scripture:

I have fought the fine fight, I have run the course to the finish, I have observed the faith. – 2 Tim 4:7 NWT

Without a doubt, Yuuki fought a fine fight.  She could die satisfied.  I cried like a fucking baby.  I’m crying as I write this post.  Judge it how you will.  I have a good idea of how Minami felt.  How Yuuki’s mother felt.  How the team felt.  I know the difficulties they must have gone through, even though they may not have shown those moments from years past.

Take away at least one lesson from it.  Life is fleeting.  Live a good life.  Make things happen.  You never know what lives you’ll touch until you try.  You never know what a difference it might make, for yourself or for others, even after you’re gone.  My father has similarly left a good life.  He’s well-respected by those who know him.  Even when he’s weak, he still goes out of his way to help others.  He gives even when he has nothing to give.  I know he’ll be dearly missed, should it ever come to that point.  I honestly don’t know how he manages to keep it together as well as he does.  I envy that ability.

But if you want to be ambitious and learn two things, the second is as follows.  Look at your family history.  If there’s a history of colon cancer and you have the means to do it, get yourself checked.  The cancer in my family is hereditary.  After observing my father’s siblings, the doctors have classified it as aggressive.  I’m supposed to be checked when I turn 25.  The procedure might sound a bit embarrassing, but the physicians are trained to do it.  It might save your life.  Don’t put yourself or your loved ones through what I and my family have suffered.  Please.  Get checked.

The past week has been absolutely crazy.  I haven’t had much time for myself between throwing myself at my senior project and visiting my relatives in the neighboring state.  However, I did manage to watch most of the shows I’m following this season.  I still have a bit of catching up to do, especially with Moshidora’s slightly unique airing schedule.  It hasn’t stopped me from compiling another list of personal highlights for the week.  This week, I’m highlighting Denpa Onna, Dog Days, C, and Hanasaku Iroha.

Denpa Onna – Losing Control

So Makoto has come up with this brilliant idea to shake Erio loose from her alien theory.  He’s going to scare the hell out of her by riding down a hill on his bike at top speed, then swerving at the last moment.  Unfortunately, either he doesn’t understand physics, or he has no common sense.  It’s already difficult to stop the bike normally, but now he’s got another person’s mass to overcome as well…

For the love of God, ABORT!

When he realizes his mistake, he freaks out.  Then, he figures his only option is to go completely balls to the wall and jump his bike.  Even when you’ve lost control of the situation, charging straight through it might be the best option.  They get soaked, but at least they’re not dead!

Dog Days – _____ Has Entered the Battle!

To me, Dog Days resembles Dynasty Warriors.  If you’ve never played the game, I mean it’s technically terrible but highly entertaining anyway.  They also both rely on Hero characters who can completely dominate the battleground (like Sengoku Basara).  Whenever a new Hero enters the battle, they can’t help but show off their abilities.  This week, we got three!

Please welcome a trio of Femme Fatales.

Of the three girls, Yuki is easily my favorite.  First, sorry pirate lovers, but ninjas are awesome.  Second, she’s not a fan of being interrupted, as the unfortunate nameless captain found out the hard way.  Third, she can team up with Rico to rain destruction from the heavens.  I hope she sticks around for the rest of the series.

C – He Wept Bitterly

CPAnime on this blog has covered the info dump aspects of the episode, and Thoughtcannon at MSIUD thoroughly covered the morality aspect.  I latched on to the resolution of Souchiro and Kimimaro’s conversation.  Souchiro found out his father used to visit the Financial District as well.  He was initially successful, but eventually lost everything and resorted to suicide…

I miss you... dad...

When someone seemingly abandons you, it’s easy to demonize them in your mind.  He pursued his own interests.  He was selfish.  It’s not my fault.  I can wash my hands of it.  Kimimaro’s explanation really gets to the kid.  Losing someone because they wanted the best for you is so much harder to accept.  It shattered Souchiro’s closure.  He dismisses Mashu, sits down, and weeps.  If C does nothing else right for the rest of the season, at least in that instant, it moved me.

Hanasaku Iroha – Oyasumi Ohayo

I’ll close the post out on a lighter note.  Ohana has struggled to get Minko to like her.  I don’t think it will ever happen, given the great lengths Minko has gone to to hate her.  It certainly didn’t help when Ohana insulted her crush without even realizing it.  That unfortunate exchange led to this brief but delightful scene…

If it didn't work the first time...

...what makes you think the second will be better?

You have to admire Ohana’s drive, even when it comes to making friends.  I kind of hope she never succeeds in this case, especially if the tension between them keeps making scenes like this happen.

That wraps up my thoughts for this week.  If you’ve got any comments or highlights of your own, please, feel free to share them!

When you watch anime there are always little moments that stick out to you.  Maybe the actors delivered a particularly funny line, the animators drew up an amazing action sequence, or the writers tug hard at your heartstrings.  In the interest of getting out of my writing rut, I’m going to share a few of my highlights from the last week.  Who knows, this might become “a thing”.  Over the past week, I particularly enjoyed some moments from Gosick, Nichijou, Steins;Gate, and AnoHana.

Gosick – Mighty Victorique

Some of you who went to school might have had those desks with the seat connected to the table.  If you ever tried to pick one of those up, you’d discover they’re a pretty hefty piece of furniture.  When they replaced the wooden desks at my school with new ones, they actually got heavier.  You would also find these desks to be a rather awkward lift.  None of this seems to matter to Victorique though…

My, how strong you are!

See, this is what happens when you make the cute one angry.  She lifts a desk above her head that probably weighs as much as she does.  Then she throws it at you.  So what if Victorique could never really lift a desk?  That Avril also got hurt in the process is a nice bonus.  Geez, she’s annoying…

Nichijou – The Afro of Holding

I tend to wear pants all the time, and I prefer ones with really deep pockets.  I don’t carry a lot of stuff most of the time, but when I do, I like the convenience.  In particular, the pants I wear to conventions have large enough pockets to hold my camcorder.  Nichijou seems particularly proud of the hyperspace arsenal, which puts my pants to shame.  But none of them can hold a candle to this…

Bet you can't pull a rabbit out of there!

I firmly believe that afros are inherently funny, so this short scene was already off to a good start.  Not many people think about other uses for the ‘fro, though.  Just think of the convenience.  You can carry things in your hair!  On the other hand, try not to think about where that pancake has been…

Steins;Gate – Dirty Minds

Most of the time, sexual innuendo doesn’t give me much amusement.  It always seems like the lazy way out of a joke.  The situation or the story isn’t inherently funny, but if you plug sex into the equation, suddenly it’s hilarious!  Yeah, not really.  However, when a writer puts some effort into setting the joke up, even requiring past events to make it work, you can end up with this little gem…

This really speaks for itself.

If you don’t understand that line, then congratulations!  You’re innocent.  Of course, I might have just totally boned your innocence, and if so, I apologize.

AnoHana – Simple Pleasures

I’m grown up now.  I’m 22 years old, I’m about to graduate from college, and I’m gearing up for my first long-term professional job.  It’s time to enter “the real world.”  Life and its stresses can easily bog you down, especially under pressures to succeed and make ends meet every month.  Occasionally, you just need to relax…

We did it, we did it, we did it, YEAH!

Several of us in the aniblogosphere have written posts about Pokemon in the past.  Personally, it reminds me of carefree days when I’d sit there with Gameboy in hand, tracking down Pokemon with my Venusaur while waiting for the next episode to air.  It’s a silly little game, pointless even, but it’s comforting.  And sometimes, like in AnoHana, it’s the silly little victories with your friends that can mean the most to you.

With that, I’ve wrapped up my thoughts for the past week.  If you’ve got any highlights of your own, feel free to share them.  Hopefully, I’ll be back with more next week!

Alright, so we’re pretty much on the eve of the start of the Spring 2011 season, which means it’s time for our previews. Below, you’ll read what each of the 4 of us think of the many many shows that are coming up. It seems that noitaminA is creating great anticipation again with its financial thriller [C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control, and the much hyped urban fantasy/scifi thriller Steins;Gate has caught our attention. We fork in our interests quite a bit from there, which is expected given the huge number of shows next season, but studio Shaft’s works seem to be on all our radars, a sign of the respect it’s earned over the past 2 years.

Rakuen

I would like to start by saying there is entirely too much anime airing this season. This is both good and bad. On the positive side, with at least 48 series listed on the latest guide I found, there’s a little something for everyone. If you can’t find a show you’re remotely interested in here, anime might not be your thing. On the negative side, it also makes it very difficult for me to watch everything I want to see. Right now, I have 15 series on my list. I am a little enthusiastic about 7 of them, while I’m definitely ready to try out the remaining 8. I expect to see this number dwindle rapidly. 7.5 hours of anime viewing per week is almost impossible to keep up to date, let alone remembering all the characters, plots and so on. Enough of my kvetching. I should get into the meat of my little segment.

I decided to order my lists by airing date, starting with the series I have a little interest in watching. Dog Days occupies the earliest spot on the list. I expect this to quickly devolve into harem territory, but I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for the summoned hero bit. Next up is the new season of Kaiji. The titular character participates in a gambling event where the stakes are his life. Joojoobees piqued my interest in his post about the first season, but I haven’t gotten to it. So, this go on the Want to Watch list by default. Then, we have Hidan no Aria, which gets a first episode watch based solely on adorable girls with lethal weapons.

A Channel seems to be going with a typical four-girl band for a school comedy, but it is a school comedy, so I’ll give it a shot. The little one, Tooru, also has a baseball bat that shows up all over the promo art… so it could be interesting. Next, we have Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko, or in shorter terms, a new Shaft show. I loved Soredemo, but didn’t like Arakawa. This seems to lean more towards the latter, what with the main girl insisting she’s an alien. Ao no Exorcist continues the “son of Satan will fight his fate” trend. I wonder if this theme comes up because many people have a desire to fight their own fates. What better example is there than the son of evil trying to do good? Finally, The World God Only Knows rounds out this portion of the list. I went back to finish the first season, which means the series did hold some interest for me. I just don’t know if it can do it for another 12 episodes.

The rest of my list comprises of shows I have stronger interest in, and Moshidora has the “earliest” airdate. Giant Killing got me into sports anime, and Big Windup has continued to strengthen my view of the genre. Like Big Windup, we have a female manager trying to lead a baseball club to victory. However, its airdate has been postponed, so it might have to wait for a later season. KyoAni’s Nichijou also airs this season, but I didn’t even realize they animated it until I started writing this. The synopsis itself got me hooked. A principal might wrestle a deer? This is a school comedy I’ve got to see! Hana-Saku Iroha kind of reminds me of Love Hina with the hot springs centric plot, but that’s where the similarities end. It looks like it completely lacks the male lead, meaning no harem, and the plot sounds more focused on drama. I think both of those aspects are Good Things. Showa Monogatari adds another drama to my list with its family orientation and historical setting. This is a more tentative entry on my list, but the Olympic setting piqued my interest.

Now we’re to two of my most anticipated shows. First, STEINS;GATE, which just looks phenomenally awesome in both the artwork and the synopsis. It has the whole time-travel thing, as well as the struggle for survival with the SERN organization on their tails. I get a little Persona vibe from it too, but it might only be me. Sket Dance is yet another school series, but this one stood out from the pack. The premise reminds me of Haruhi, except with less aliens, time travelers, and espers. Unlike the rest, this has the best chance of a strong overarching plot, which I’m really hoping happens. If someone who’s read the manga could confirm it, it’d be much appreciated. Returning to the outlier series on my list, there’s C, plus its long title. It’s got an economically crapsack Japan and a main character who gets sucked into the shuffle. Sounds interesting, and with its noitaminA slot, I’ve got hopes for it. Last, but not least, is Deadman Wonderland. The fight for survival premise fittingly relates to the old Coliseum. It could have a bit too much violence for my tastes, but want to give it a good shot.

Looking back at my list, there’s plenty of comedy, action, and drama with a variety of premises. This could very well be my most anticipated season since I first got into currently airing shows. I hope school and work don’t kick my ass too hard, so I can have the time to watch all these shows.

Top 3: Steins;Gate, Sket Dance, C

lvlln

There sure are a lot of shows coming out next season, but somehow the only ones I’m looking forward to are the sequels: The World God Only Knows, Maria+Holic Alive, and the Kampfer specials.

Just kidding; besides those 3, We Still Don’t Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day (AnoHana) on noitaminA’s block sounds like it has potential, simply for being a real-life drama on noitaminA. Oh, and it also contains a character type that’s near and dear to the hearts of everyone here on this site, a hikikomori. Then again, noitaminA has been really hit or miss lately, with the trainwreck that is Fractale and the hugely disappointing Kuragehime, even if AIC’s Wandering Son is absolutely knocking it out of the park this season. AnoHana is being made by A-1 Pictures, which is responsible for some pretty poor shows such as Kannagi and last year’s Anime no Chikara duo Sora no Woto and Occult Academy, so I’m very prepared to be disappointed. Still, the director has A Certain Scientific Railgun on his resume, and that didn’t suck too much, and I’ve heard his Toradora! did drama well.

Besides that, only 2 other non-sequels have caught my eye: Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko and Steins;Gate. Denpa Onna because it’s Shaft, even if it sounds just like another version of Arakawa Under the Bridge, which turned out… alright. Steins;Gate because I’ve read some other people really excited about it. Plus, I like modern-day scifi stories.

But really, the sequels are what I’m looking forward to.

The World God Only Knows was a surprisingly entertaining show for which didn’t have a bit of faith in going in. But Keima’s cynical, almost nihilistic personality combined with his occasional outbursts made for good comedy. A show that was as meta as that could have been a lot more meaningful, sure, but it was a fine source of dumb laughs. The 1st season ended on a planned cliffhanger, and though I doubt the pickle Keima got into will last more than an episode, I look forward to seeing how he will continue to add to his transient harem.

What I liked about Maria+Holic was Asami Sanada‘s Kanako, the perverted lesbian man hating protagonist. Her smooth, soft voice is unique, and seeing her character constantly abused somehow didn’t get old. Didn’t hurt that it was Yuu Kobayashi as Maria doing the abusing. She plays male characters well, and she does crazy well, too. Then there’s Marina Inoue as Matsurika. I like to think of it as a gay Stalker-tan being forced to live with an abusive Kaere and her snarky maid Symmetrical-tan. What more whacky antics will these 3 and the rest of the cast get into?

And bottom of the sequel list is Kampfer. Now here’s a show that was pure guilty pleasure. Looking for things like action, plot, character development, or meaningful relationships was a fruitless endeavor. I just loved seeing Natsuru and his/her thick head be dragged around by his psychotic harem. And this show’s cast is pretty much a who’s who list of female voice actors right now. I wish they’d do a 2nd season instead of just a couple episodes, but I suppose they’ll do.

Top 3: The World God Only Knows, Maria+Holic Alive, We Still Don’t Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day

Raphael

Pleasantly, there’s a good bit of original anime in this crop. Tiger & Bunny is among them and has received more press for the large amount of product placement it’ll employ than for the fact that Sunrise is doing a superhero show. I’m hoping it will be fun and won’t drag. Another of these original shows is Dog Days by the team behind Nanoha. The setting and premise don’t appeal to me, but I may well give it a whirl; it’ll probably at least look nice. The most promising of this lot in my eyes is C. Strong staff, very interesting premise, noitaminA. Unfortunately, the trailer didn’t meet my expectations, with the wonderful character designs not translating as well as I’d hoped and the animation looking a tad under par. It’s still the season’s series I’m most eagerly awaiting. The last two original anime, Hana-saku Iroha (which, judging by trailers, will look stunning) and AnoHana seem to fall squarely into the slice of life/drama genre zone. They also have the same head writer in Mari Okada. Both could be enjoyable if done well, but I feel like both could also try my patience, especially given that Hana-saku Iroha is reportedly 26 episodes. I’ll give them a go.

Moving onto the adaptations, we have manga-based slice-of-life comedies in A Channel and Nichijou. I’ve read the source of the former, and I was expecting to discard it quickly… but I found myself really enjoying it. It’s nothing new, but the humor has a slightly mean bent and I got several good laughs out of it. I’m curious to see how it translates to anime, as there’s a fairly new studio on board but also the director and series composition guy who did Saki. The latter is Kyoto Animation’s spring offering and, like Hana-saku Iroha, is supposedly two-cour. I found the prequel OVA nowhere near as funny as I do A Channel’s manga, but I definitely felt it had charm to it. I’ll give both of these series a try. Other comedies include Xebec’s entries Hen Zemi and Softenni. I’ll be watching Hen Zemi because I liked its OVA for its disgusting humor, but I do wonder if things will get cleaned up for TV. In addition, the OVA’s director will not be returning for the series; instead he’s been replaced by the director who did Rio – Rainbow Gate! and To Love-Ru. Meanwhile, the man behind the OVA will be working on Softenni, which I get big Saki vibes from. I’m also a massive tennis fan, so – though I’m sure I’ll feel silly for thinking there might be actual tennis-playing involved – while I really, really doubt I’ll enjoy it anywhere near as much as Saki, I’ll give it a shot. Hopefully I won’t want to be shot because of it/need several shots of something to get through it. (Punning is hard, give me a break (ha!).) Shaft will also have two comedies airing: the sequel to Maria+Holic, and the bizarre enough for me to check out Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko.

To the action/adventure side of things, Steins;Gate stands out as having potential to be very entertaining and entertainingly technobabble-filled. Premise sounds great, art looks great, and Jukki Hanada is at the writing helm. Really looking forward to this. We also have Ao no Exorcist, Deadman Wonderland, and Hidan no Aria. The first has good buzz and the director of Darker than Black going for it, and it could be interesting. As for the latter two, I’m up to date with what’s been translated of the manga of both. Deadman Wonderland is packed full of gore, action, good characters, and plot twists, and I love it. I’m unsure whether it’ll get the treatment it deserves, though, as Manglobe will be dividing its efforts between it and the second season of The World God Only Knows. But I’m hoping for the best. Hidan no Aria has been less fun for me to get through. I would’ve dropped it very quickly (for its mix of mostly-loli fanservice, poor art, and storm of cliches) if I hadn’t found the concept of a school for armed detectives so enticing. I plan to be watching the anime too, even though Rie Kugimiya as yet another flat-chested tsundere should’ve deterred me, and – despite my grumbling – I’m sure I’ll have some fun. Interestingly, this (along with Gosick) will make two shows airing simultaneously that focus on a foreign-loli-Holmes/Japanese-high-school-boy-Watson duo.

As for the rest? Moshidora‘s unusual premise has piqued my interest, and I plan to check it out; Hyouge Mono, Toriko, Sket Dance, and Showa Monogatari don’t appeal to me; OreTsuba (We Don’t Have Wings) and HoshiKaka (A Bridge to the Starry Skies) look very similar and similarly uninteresting; and Astarotte no Omocha! does not exist. And finally, though I’m almost certain I’ll be unable to get through an episode, I feel obligated to check out Sekaiichi Hatsukoi because BL anime adaptations are just so rare.

Top 3: C, Steins;Gate, Deadman Wonderland

CPAnime

Despite the overwhelming amount of new anime coming out, it feels like most of the stuff out there is either for teens or a generic (adult) drama. Thankfully, there are enough shows out there that choosing which anime I will be watching will still be a difficult task. The following are a few of the anime that I have the most interest in for varying reasons.

It has been about two years since I started watching anime on a season by season basis, and one of the first shows I watched in this way was Maria+Holic. So, with the benefit of two years of full time anime watching experience, it will be interesting for me to see if I find Alive anywhere as interesting as the original was in 2009. Sometimes I wonder if the only reason I tuned in on a week to week basis was to see the OP and ED, so it will be interesting to see if my tastes have changed, or if this show is actually as awesome as I remembered.

I am also pretty interested in the other Shaft show, Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko, but mainly because I don’t know anything about it. Shaft has built up some serious street cred over the past few months with Madoka Magica, but there is also the possibility that this could turn into an Arakawa under the Bridge 2 situation, especially given the synopsis. Another thing that worries me is that Shaft is doing two shows this season, and seeing as how they can barely manage one most of the time, I think the quality is inevitably going to suffer. Still, girls with mysterious pasts are kind of one my things, so I’ll be checking this one out for sure.

C is another interesting show for me, but for some different reasons. It reminds me a lot of Madoka in that there is a contract being made, though I doubt that the main character will be naive as some of the characters in Madoka, as the show doesn’t seem to be hiding its cards. From the previews I’ve read up to this point, it seems like the show might have a difficult time with its first few episodes as there looks to be a lot going on. Hopefully, a deeper understanding of economics or business won’t be needed for this show, as that could turn off some viewers. Personally, I have confidence that this shouldn’t be a problem as it is part of the noitaminA time slot, but even that is no longer a guarantee.

Staying on the business end of things, the one show I am looking forward to the most this season is Moshidora. While its broadcast schedule kind of seems up in the air, I’m looking forward to watching this during the baseball season. Since I’m a business student and a baseball fan, this show is kind of a no brainer for me, and I can potentially see myself blogging this. Still, I do have my doubts as to whether this will work, despite its popularity in Japan. Mainly, I am concerned that the translation of the material into an anime will fail to jump off the page, if you will, and just become another boring class lesson, though I doubt it.

Finally, the one show that will undoubtedly be my guilty pleasure is Hen Zemi. I recently watched the first episode of the OVA and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The only real criticism I could levy against it, besides the obvious, was that it took too long to get to its punch lines. I am a bit concerned that the TV broadcast will be impeded by those god forsaken censors (Kiss X Sis‘s OVAs, for example, were and are infinitely better than the censored TV broadcast), but as long as the staff is witty enough, it can probably work around this. Though, it is XEBEC. So… that could be good or bad, depending on your preferences (btw, where is my LxB sequel?).

Top 3: C, Moshidora, A Channel

And that about wraps it up. Which of the dozens and dozens of shows are you looking forward to this spring?

We all know what’s happened in Japan over the last few days.  Everything I could say has probably been said a thousand times over by now, so I won’t add my voice to the echo chamber.  Instead, I come bearing some artwork for you this evening.  I saw this on Nina Matsumoto’s Twitter, and immediately retweeted it myself:

@spacecoyotl – to lift their spirits, a high school teacher in Japan drew portraits of graduating students on the blackboard http://twitpic.com/49kkms

The original post came from @tarourakami just a few short hours ago, and in the time it’s taken me to write this short blurb, it’s already gained another 8000 views.  Not only is the artwork damn good, but it’s the kind of thing that can just make you happy.  The kids in his artwork are smiling.  They’re happy, despite or perhaps in spite of adversity.  That’s my message to you tonight.  No matter what happens, you’ve always got to keep your spirits up.

Mistilteinn, Treesea’s other name.  If you’ve spent a lot of time watching anime or playing video games, you’ve probably seen the name appear in a few places.  For example, in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, it’s one of Hayate Yagami’s attacks.  Of course, if you know anything about etymology, you know this word didn’t originate in Japan, or even in our modern English.  You can trace the word back to Old Norse, where it meant mistletoe.  Of course, back then mistletoe didn’t have the connotation it has today.  Rather than being part of a Yuletide tradition, it was a god slayer.  Gather around, children, because I’ve got a story to tell.

Well... she certainly looks the part.

Some of you have probably heard of one important figure in Norse mythology: Baldr.  For those of you who aren’t, he was the second child of Odin and Frigg.  Baldr presided over the domains of light, joy, and purity, among other aspects.  Once upon a time, Baldr had a terrible nightmare.  He dreamt of his own death.  Alarmed by this, his mother, Frigg, tried to make a pact with everything in existence.  I do mean everything: plants, animals, objects, and forces of nature.  She pleaded with them to spare her son.  Frigg received oaths from all but one, the mistletoe.  I’m sure you can see where this is going.  When you make a foolproof plan, you had better make sure it covers everything!

What with his new invincibility, all the other gods had great fun using Baldr for target practice.  Whatever hit him would just bounce off without a scratch.  Loki, the trickster god, decided to take advantage of this.  He approached Frigg and asked if her son were truly invincible.  Without thinking, she told him his one weakness.  Loki quickly crafted a weapon made of mistletoe.  Some accounts refer to it as an arrow, while others call it a lance.  Loki gave the weapon to Hod, Baldr’s brother, and convinced him to throw it.  Sure enough, the mistletoe shaft pierced the god, and shortly thereafter, he died.  Another of Odin’s sons puts Hod to death, and the gods ultimately bind Loki for his actions.

Most of you would probably see this as a Very Bad Thing.  You don’t know the half of it.  Some accounts point to this event as the ultimate cause of Ragnarok, the Norse end of the world.  Everyone can pat themselves on the back for breaking the world now.  However, it wasn’t all bad.  Odin goes to consult the wise jotunn (giant) Vafpruonir.  Odin wins a battle of wits with the giant, and besides gaining insight into Ragnarok’s outcome, secures a promise.  As Baldr and Hod are already in Hel’s embrace, it will conceal them during Ragnarok.  After the end of the world, they will rise again.  Their deaths before the inevitable end of the world allow them to be one of the few remaining deities to lead the world.  Yes, it sounds arbitrary, but to an extent, that’s mythology for you.

All that said, I doubt Baldr's death looked this cute...

So why did I present all this information?  Etymology in itself can be pretty interesting at times, but on top of that, let’s think about the character’s name.  It’s possible the writers might have chosen it simply because it sounded cool.  On the other hand, it’s a suspiciously specific name to pick.  At face value Merry Dream Eater’s Mistilteinn is a malevolent being.  She not only kills, but also seems derives pleasure from it.  However, characters have had their motivations turned on their heads constantly.  It’s possible Mistilteinn has a greater purpose than meets the eye.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

Well, I’ve managed to couple my lateness with getting a post up with my interest in the ideas and questions posed by other bloggers.  Maybe this’ll be a trend for the rest of the series.  For episode 7, I’m going to take a look at the prophecy the old guy gave to Kujo.  Flareknight wonders what it means for the couple.  I think he’s right, it very clearly points to their separation somewhere in World War II.  I also want to believe he’s right about the strength of Kujo’s character.  I don’t think he’d go back home to join the war effort despite his heritage.  So what else could possibly separate the seemingly inseparable pair?  Well, let’s expand world events in the war years.

Okay, seriously, why are all old people in this series creepy?

You need to know a little about geography and world history in order to assemble the Chaos.  Sabure (or Sauville) is portrayed as a fictional country.  This can make it easy to forget it still has to sit on a map somewhere.  After all, they bill this series as occurring on planet Earth with the geography and time line seemingly intact.  If you recall, the anime places the territory “between” France and Italy.  That’s all well and good, but pay close attention to the map when they show you it at the beginning of the series.  Now look at a real map.  Do you see the problem yet?  They didn’t add land to Europe, they just redistributed it to make allowance for a new country.  The fictional land of Sabure is really the western border of Italy.  If you know anything at all about World War II, feel free to use the expletive of your choice now.

Yes, that’s right, Italy sides with Germany to form the Axis powers.  Specifically, they join as France starts to retreat into itself in the face of German advances.  Italy’s very first move is to try seizing some territory from their neighbors.  They aren’t very successful, as the resisting forces stop them at the Alpine Line.  For our purposes, it doesn’t really matter.  For Italy to reach the Line, they would have to roll over Sabure, where Kujo and Victorique live.  We already have a problem, and it only gets worse.

They do have the option of fleeing, but none of the options is particularly good.  If our heroes flee to France, they immediately end up in enemy territory.  Shortly after Italy’s stalled offensive, France surrenders to Germany.  They could alternatively head north to Switzerland, but the Swiss had very strict refugee policies during the war years.  They even turned some people away.  It’s possible the couple would have better odds in enemy territory.  Kujo’s background could also play against him.  The Pacific War theatre opens in 1941, and Kujo is a military man from Japan.  He’s not the most welcome person in Neutral or Allied territory, and there’d be a lot of pressure to contribute to the war effort in Axis territory.

Try not to think about it, and enjoy it while it lasts, buddy.

The series would likely never get to this point in the time line so all we can do is speculate on what separates them.  However, there’s guiding point here.  Victorique and Kujo have no control over their situation.  They really can’t do anything in the face of the world around them going to hell in a hand basket.  With the open nature of this conclusion, I open the floor to you readers.  What do you think happens to split the couple?  Additionally, if you have a greater understanding of WWII than my admittedly amateur research, feel free to share it as well.

Well, I’m feeling well enough to get up to date on my anime and actually make a post, so here we are at week five of Gosick.  Last week, we had the addition of a mysterious transfer student, and this week, we find out her motivations.  It turns out she’s a fake, after a treasure stolen by a thief about eight years ago.  The treasure in question is Penny Black.  Supposedly, it’s a very rare stamp, and naturally the misprints go for even larger sums of money.  It’s the opportunity of a lifetime!  Or is it?  I’ve got a bit of research for you, so hold on to your hats and let’s get on with it.

Here's the stamp in question.

Unlike the Queen Berry in the first arc, Penny Black actually exists.  In fact, it was the first stamp ever used for public postal services.  Back in the old days, the person receiving a letter would pay the postage.  Obviously, this didn’t sit well with some people, and so Sir Rowland Hill proposed a reform.  He suggested the person sending the letter should pay for it.  In 1840, he rolled implemented the stamp system, starting with the Penny Black.  The stamp featured the visage of Queen Victoria on a black background, and as the name implied, it cost one penny to purchase.  When you sent the letter, they would imprint a red void pattern on it to ensure people couldn’t reuse the stamps.  Lo and behold, modern postage is born!

However, this design had a fatal flaw.  If you’ve ever tried to put red on black yourself, then you would know stacking colors that way doesn’t work.  It’s really hard to see the added color.  Not only was it unnoticeable, but it also made tampering with sent stamps easier.  As a result, they stopped producing the stamp one year later in 1841.  They succeeded it with the Penny Red, which inverted the scheme by using red on the stamp and black for the void pattern.

See, it's got to be worth something! Right?

Now you might think, “Wow, this stamp was only in production for such a short period of time, and it’s really old!  It must be worth a lot of money!”  Yes, you and everyone else might think that, if the British Antiques Roadshow is any indication.  That’s where you’d be wrong.  You see, they printed off a lot of stamps within that time period.  I mean a LOT.  Estimates peg the total production run at about 68 million stamps.  They further estimate 1.5 million still exist.  This is a problem.  For a stamp to be worth anything, it also has to be rare.  The latest rate I could find is about 3500 USD for a single, unused stamp, as was shown in Gosick.  I don’t know about you, but if I had another $3500, I’d be pretty happy.

However, this is the year 2011.  Gosick takes place in 1924.  Between now and then, inflation has increased the value of the USD by 1175%.  Every $1 then is worth $12.75 today.  We can reverse this calculation to guesstimate the value in the anime.  If everything remained perfectly stable, the stamp would be worth $275.  You could probably assume the price would be even lower, because collectibles like this also appreciate over time.  Now let’s put it into perspective.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics has some data on earnings during the 1920s.  I decided to figure it off the typesetter wages, to be generous.  In a year’s time, a typesetter could earn $2725.  A little more math tells you this stamp was worth a slightly over a month’s wages.  Not quite the windfall you might have in mind.

The one thing I wish I could find is the value of a misprinted Penny Black.  Absent information doesn’t mean misprints never existed.  It could potentially increase the value significantly.  However, consider a rare stamp that definitely went for quite a sum of money.  The Treskilling Yellow is a Swedish stamp from 1855, and it has a very valuable misprint.  Instead of coming out green as intended, it came out yellow.  The last recorded price comes from 1996, when it sold for around 2.3 million USD.  I don’t think I need to convert for you on this one.  Several other stamps exist with higher returns than Penny Black.  So why use it?  I don’t know.  Maybe it rolls off the tongue better.  Or, maybe it’s just the latest in a long line of fallacies that the first stamp is of necessity the best stamp.

Oh noooooooooo!

For some other reading on period appropriateness, check out 2DT’s post on Victorique’s pipe.
For some actual review of this week’s episode, I’d suggest Emory Anime Club’s coverage.

Today I bring you a brief post with some recommended reading.  On this past week’s episode of Gosick, we found out the purpose of the Queen Berry.  Rather than working as a social experiment as I predicted, instead it served as a divination tool.  They used the results to predict which nations would band together and succeed in World War I.  Naturally, because this is an anime, they were right.  Some among you might scoff and reason that no one should ever put their faith in such things.  You’re probably right.  However, fortune-telling and its ilk were quite pervasive during the war years.

I doubt it was quite like this though...

You see, we have a saying.  “There are no atheists in fox holes.”  The aphorism means that in times of great distress, and few things are more stressful than a war, all people will seek aid from a higher power.  A blanket assumption is a bit unreasonable.  However, I think we can say a large portion of people will look somewhere.  People want to know everything will turn out okay.  Some need reassurance while others may wish for guidance.  If “ordinary” people can’t give them the answers they want, then they would naturally turn to the extraordinary, whether divine or occult in origin.

Interest in the occult actually increased during World War I.  In their largest concentrations, police estimated over fifty practitioners of fortune-telling occupied a single metropolitan area.  The widespread adoption of it had authorities concerned.  It wasn’t just ordinary citizens turning to divination either.  Soldiers and high-ranking officers also paid them visits.  As I said, people wanted reassurance, and overall these fortune-tellers provided it exactly as advertised.  If you’d like a little more in-depth information, you can check out a passage from Witchcraft, Magic, and Culture by Owen Davies, pages 266-269.  It’s available as a free preview from Google Books.

As for Gosick’s next episode, I’ll be out-of-town all weekend at Ohayocon, so it’ll have to wait until I get back.  Have a nice weekend everyone!