Little Gesture
To start off this very short RTM, I would like to express my gratitude to a senior at my volunteer place for graciously giving me chocolate chip cookies. It was an amazing gesture, since you had no idea who I was, and you even had a conversation with me about hunger in your teenage years. Thank you very much for helping move my day along and curbing some of the hunger that I had.
Birthday
As you may or may not know, my birthday passed around last week. It was one of the best birthdays I had in a long time, and I want to take this chance to thank any readers who helped out in making it so. Some fantastic gifts and wishes were given, and my friends did not fail to decorate my locker in a superb fashion for their last year at Alpha. My family did their absolute best in making me feel special (not that they don't the other days of the year), and that touched me.
So thank you all for helping me in my transition to a 16 year old. I'll try my best not to stumble and trip on my way to 17, so hang on for another year. Thank you all once again, and I'll bid you a goodnight, as this is the end of a very short post.
November 23, 2015
November 18, 2015
WW (Week 6): How I Started
Last week I found out that I'm not cut out for stuff like manga reviews, so until I read some more, I'll be sticking to anime and the lot. That being said, today's post will be about how I got into watching anime. It's somewhat of a bland topic, but I don't have a lot of time tonight, so I can't do something like a full in-depth review. However you can expect something like a review next time around.
As far as my records go (and by "records," I am referring to a Notepad file), I began my dive into the anime world on July 15, 2013, with my first completed anime being Highschool of the Dead. Being exposed to an excessive amount of boobs and a sub-par plot turned me away from anime for a bit, until I gave it a second shot with Sword Art Online.
I ended up absolutely loving it, and for the first time, I experienced the void. There was a period of time where I had an intense longing and craving for more of SAO, and this eventually pushed me to try other anime. Before you knew it, I was binging series and had accumulated a reasonable amount under my belt. I carefully kept track of everything I watched (oblivious to the service that was MyAnimeList) in a Notepad file, and watched as the list grew.
During my early stages, I considered anime as a form of entertainment. It had opened up a whole new world to me, as silly as that sounded. For a long time, I was bewildered to how something I was looking for the whole time was right under my nose. Needless to say, I was hooked. Everything I watched was enjoyable, because I had no prior experience to rightly critique anything.
My very first experience with a bad anime was Amnesia. From that point on, I had furthered my understanding of what made an anime good or bad. I didn't comprehend or make an attempt to learn about genres and distinct elements of an anime, but these were things to come.
I believe it was a bit after this point that I stumbled across some really good series, namely Clannad, Toradora!, and Hyouka. By this time, the medium of anime had become an escape for me. I was glad to "live and grow" with the characters as a form of forgetting how my day had gone. It was not long after watching these heavenly series that I was introduced to airing anime. Once I had established an understanding of how the airing seasons worked, I set out a schedule and watched airing series along with completed ones.
Fast forward about a year and a half and you have me here. There really isn't too much that is different in my schedule, asides from the fact that I am watching much less completed series. However my mentality has changed a large amount. I see anime now as an escape and a side hobby. I now take my time and watch episodes in small amounts, as opposed to binging and making anime a top priority. I have also become much more critical of shows, but because of that, I am able to appreciate everything that I have and will watch.
It would be an overstatement to say that anime is one of my priorities in life. Naturally I view it important and hold it close to my heart because of what it has given me, but it has definitely gone on the back burner.
So there you have it. Not a terrifically special story, but something that I am proud of.
As far as my records go (and by "records," I am referring to a Notepad file), I began my dive into the anime world on July 15, 2013, with my first completed anime being Highschool of the Dead. Being exposed to an excessive amount of boobs and a sub-par plot turned me away from anime for a bit, until I gave it a second shot with Sword Art Online.
I ended up absolutely loving it, and for the first time, I experienced the void. There was a period of time where I had an intense longing and craving for more of SAO, and this eventually pushed me to try other anime. Before you knew it, I was binging series and had accumulated a reasonable amount under my belt. I carefully kept track of everything I watched (oblivious to the service that was MyAnimeList) in a Notepad file, and watched as the list grew.
During my early stages, I considered anime as a form of entertainment. It had opened up a whole new world to me, as silly as that sounded. For a long time, I was bewildered to how something I was looking for the whole time was right under my nose. Needless to say, I was hooked. Everything I watched was enjoyable, because I had no prior experience to rightly critique anything.
My very first experience with a bad anime was Amnesia. From that point on, I had furthered my understanding of what made an anime good or bad. I didn't comprehend or make an attempt to learn about genres and distinct elements of an anime, but these were things to come.
I believe it was a bit after this point that I stumbled across some really good series, namely Clannad, Toradora!, and Hyouka. By this time, the medium of anime had become an escape for me. I was glad to "live and grow" with the characters as a form of forgetting how my day had gone. It was not long after watching these heavenly series that I was introduced to airing anime. Once I had established an understanding of how the airing seasons worked, I set out a schedule and watched airing series along with completed ones.
Fast forward about a year and a half and you have me here. There really isn't too much that is different in my schedule, asides from the fact that I am watching much less completed series. However my mentality has changed a large amount. I see anime now as an escape and a side hobby. I now take my time and watch episodes in small amounts, as opposed to binging and making anime a top priority. I have also become much more critical of shows, but because of that, I am able to appreciate everything that I have and will watch.
It would be an overstatement to say that anime is one of my priorities in life. Naturally I view it important and hold it close to my heart because of what it has given me, but it has definitely gone on the back burner.
So there you have it. Not a terrifically special story, but something that I am proud of.
November 16, 2015
RTM (Week 4): Swing | Problems at Alpha
Swing
Last week I had gotten upset with myself because of a small thing, and it ended up affecting me way more than it should have. I had intended to send a birthday message to person and when I searched for the name, it ended up bringing up another one. For whatever reason, seeing the name set me off and I grew moody and sulky.
Obviously I've gotten over it, but I am still disappointed in myself for dropping my guard. However on a more joyful note, Monday has been great to me for once, and I feel better about myself. In a metaphorical sense, I'm on a swing and currently on a high. I have been volatile as of late, but hopefully I'll even out sometime soon.
Problems at Alpha
Coming out from elementary school, my ideal high school was Burnaby North. My ambitious eyes were set on a large and renowned school, where I would strive to claw and scrape my way to the very top. However, the hand of fate had a different path for my life. One way or another, I ended up at Alpha. Here, I have not only come to change my thoughts of North, but have even come to love and appreciate the school in its entirety.
But it is a love-hate relationship.
While I hold the people, teachers, and atmosphere dear to myself, what Alpha severely lacks is school pride and spirit. To make things worse, there is not a whole lot to be proud of. Alpha has always been terrible at promotion and social media. The largest problem is nobody knows the fundamentals of advertising. Frankly, posters advertising clubs and events are seldom designed in a visually and logically appealing format, announcements are never heard, the television systems are not being used (a true shame), and there is little to no social media presence. Actually, while I'm at it, I may as well underline fully the roots of all these problems.
Design
During my three years at Alpha, I have seen 3 attractive, professional, and attention-grabbing posters. The majority of posters are nothing more than text thrown onto a blank canvas along with some clip art. Before you start calling me out as harsh and overly-critical, I am not blaming those who created the posters. They tried, and I loudly applaud that. Props to you for trying to make our school a better place. But the thing is, nobody has taught you how to do a poster properly. Hell, I look at what some of the graphics class has made and you'd think that after a semester of being on a computer, you would have a comprehension of font and colour choice, but it seems not.
I am not asking for a whole lot. Now, I am no design prodigy, but if you threw me and the poster creators from all the clubs into a room with a single computer, they would come out knowing at least the fundamentals of design. This brings me to my next topic...
Fundamentals
Clubs and councils do a terrible job of teaching publicity how to advertise themselves. Even Students' Council doesn't do much to guide and teach our publicity guy. But this is only one example of a fundamental flaw. Another is prevalent in the social media. The account holder is either a) a staff member, or b) a student. With case a), the content of the account is always too strict and dull, or a cringey attempt at being hip and relatable. In case b), the student is given complete control and represents the school. As you can see, multiple problems spawn from this, especially if the student is not completely trustworthy. How do we solve this?
Communication
There is a clear absence of communication and coordination among all the respective clubs and councils, but an even larger one between the students and administration. I am but only a grade 11 representative, and as a such, I am not classified as an executive member (it is kind of ironic considering I have been in council the longest). To my understanding however, there has not been a single executives meeting (a meeting consisting of exec. members from all clubs and councils). If I am correct in this, it makes me severely depressed and anxious about how we will run our events this year.
There are a lot of problems at Alpha, but I hope that I can get a head start on them this year by taking on more of a leadership role in Students' Council and establishing groundwork for future years to come. Hopefully in my senior year there will be enough done by me so that I can pass the torch down and leave it to the next year. What they decide to do with my work is up to them, but my end goal is to leave an imprint or mark by the time I leave.
Last week I had gotten upset with myself because of a small thing, and it ended up affecting me way more than it should have. I had intended to send a birthday message to person and when I searched for the name, it ended up bringing up another one. For whatever reason, seeing the name set me off and I grew moody and sulky.
Obviously I've gotten over it, but I am still disappointed in myself for dropping my guard. However on a more joyful note, Monday has been great to me for once, and I feel better about myself. In a metaphorical sense, I'm on a swing and currently on a high. I have been volatile as of late, but hopefully I'll even out sometime soon.
Problems at Alpha
Coming out from elementary school, my ideal high school was Burnaby North. My ambitious eyes were set on a large and renowned school, where I would strive to claw and scrape my way to the very top. However, the hand of fate had a different path for my life. One way or another, I ended up at Alpha. Here, I have not only come to change my thoughts of North, but have even come to love and appreciate the school in its entirety.
But it is a love-hate relationship.
While I hold the people, teachers, and atmosphere dear to myself, what Alpha severely lacks is school pride and spirit. To make things worse, there is not a whole lot to be proud of. Alpha has always been terrible at promotion and social media. The largest problem is nobody knows the fundamentals of advertising. Frankly, posters advertising clubs and events are seldom designed in a visually and logically appealing format, announcements are never heard, the television systems are not being used (a true shame), and there is little to no social media presence. Actually, while I'm at it, I may as well underline fully the roots of all these problems.
Design
During my three years at Alpha, I have seen 3 attractive, professional, and attention-grabbing posters. The majority of posters are nothing more than text thrown onto a blank canvas along with some clip art. Before you start calling me out as harsh and overly-critical, I am not blaming those who created the posters. They tried, and I loudly applaud that. Props to you for trying to make our school a better place. But the thing is, nobody has taught you how to do a poster properly. Hell, I look at what some of the graphics class has made and you'd think that after a semester of being on a computer, you would have a comprehension of font and colour choice, but it seems not.
I am not asking for a whole lot. Now, I am no design prodigy, but if you threw me and the poster creators from all the clubs into a room with a single computer, they would come out knowing at least the fundamentals of design. This brings me to my next topic...
Fundamentals
Clubs and councils do a terrible job of teaching publicity how to advertise themselves. Even Students' Council doesn't do much to guide and teach our publicity guy. But this is only one example of a fundamental flaw. Another is prevalent in the social media. The account holder is either a) a staff member, or b) a student. With case a), the content of the account is always too strict and dull, or a cringey attempt at being hip and relatable. In case b), the student is given complete control and represents the school. As you can see, multiple problems spawn from this, especially if the student is not completely trustworthy. How do we solve this?
Communication
There is a clear absence of communication and coordination among all the respective clubs and councils, but an even larger one between the students and administration. I am but only a grade 11 representative, and as a such, I am not classified as an executive member (it is kind of ironic considering I have been in council the longest). To my understanding however, there has not been a single executives meeting (a meeting consisting of exec. members from all clubs and councils). If I am correct in this, it makes me severely depressed and anxious about how we will run our events this year.
There are a lot of problems at Alpha, but I hope that I can get a head start on them this year by taking on more of a leadership role in Students' Council and establishing groundwork for future years to come. Hopefully in my senior year there will be enough done by me so that I can pass the torch down and leave it to the next year. What they decide to do with my work is up to them, but my end goal is to leave an imprint or mark by the time I leave.
November 13, 2015
TRF (Week 2): Spooks 'n Stuff in A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond
A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond is an intriguing little game. Created by scriptwelder, the Flash game starts off with you waking up in a futuristic room. Disorientated, you discover that the only other thing with you is a computer. The AI explains the situation to you, but something about what it says and the environment doesn't quite line up. The rest of the game is up to you.
One of the coolest things about this game is how you play it. The left-hand side of the game is a console that allows you to communicate with the AI, and the right side is the room. Instead of selecting a choice of what you say, you actually type out whatever you want. However there are troubles with this feature, the most obvious being that what you say always doesn't get though.
This may not sound like a enormous problem, but in actuality, it made A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond much more difficult to clear. What was a thoughtful and creative implementation became the biggest problem for the game. If you were one word off from a recognized sentence, the AI wouldn't register and you would be left stumped. Eventually this got to me and I ended up consulting a walkthrough.
Putting the game content and play aside, the pixel art was nice to the eyes and the theme was set up well with chilling music and ambiance. Considering that scriptwelder is a single guy (who supposedly doesn't speak English a whole lot), there have to be huge props given to him. Like any good text adventure, there are multiple endings; some dead ends and two or three actual endings. All of the actual endings were (heart-tearing ultimatum included) a fantastic twist and revelation of the whole thing.
Ultimately you can overlook the problem of player input and play the game. A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond takes little to no time to play, but leaves you wildly questioning yourself after. So if you have a few minutes of your time to spare, why not?
Play It: Armor Games
One of the coolest things about this game is how you play it. The left-hand side of the game is a console that allows you to communicate with the AI, and the right side is the room. Instead of selecting a choice of what you say, you actually type out whatever you want. However there are troubles with this feature, the most obvious being that what you say always doesn't get though.
This may not sound like a enormous problem, but in actuality, it made A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond much more difficult to clear. What was a thoughtful and creative implementation became the biggest problem for the game. If you were one word off from a recognized sentence, the AI wouldn't register and you would be left stumped. Eventually this got to me and I ended up consulting a walkthrough.
Putting the game content and play aside, the pixel art was nice to the eyes and the theme was set up well with chilling music and ambiance. Considering that scriptwelder is a single guy (who supposedly doesn't speak English a whole lot), there have to be huge props given to him. Like any good text adventure, there are multiple endings; some dead ends and two or three actual endings. All of the actual endings were (heart-tearing ultimatum included) a fantastic twist and revelation of the whole thing.
Ultimately you can overlook the problem of player input and play the game. A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond takes little to no time to play, but leaves you wildly questioning yourself after. So if you have a few minutes of your time to spare, why not?
Play It: Armor Games
November 9, 2015
RTM (Week 3): Importance
It's been a while since the last Real Talk Monday post, and maybe this unexpected (or maybe expected, who knows?) post will make you even the tiniest bit happier. Don't misunderstand, I have been trying to push out a RTM lately, but every time I start, I always find a reason to quit. But it's been a whole month since the last installation, so I figure that it's about high time that I get around to finishing one of these posts. Here you have it folks, RTM Week 3: why I feel unimportant.
Maybe it's the just ever so slightly pessimistic mood. It could also be the lack of achievement lately, and if anything, underperformance in multiple areas. You could also go out on a limb and say that it's just a phase, but ultimately, I feel pretty low and insecure right now. Few things carry value to me, and it is getting increasingly more difficult for me to get through the week.
But this post isn't about all that stuff. This post is branching out on one of those areas, which is my latent insecurity.
It's not anything major, simply a lack of confidence. There's been a bad streak lately and naturally, I feel worse about myself. I've been looking to more people for assurance that they care and that they value me highly, because at this point, it doesn't seem that way. However I have found some positive reinforcement by trying to justify my emotions with the fact that others also are this way, and that it is natural.
Everything's hard to put into words. It's an obnoxious and hateful ball of emotions that keeps lashing out and biting me. My vocabulary suddenly seems to disappear, and I'm left with unsatisfactory words to describe how I am feeling. Actually, emotions and non-tangible things are always difficult to translate into words.
That's all. You are now free to go. Thanks for visiting.
Maybe it's the just ever so slightly pessimistic mood. It could also be the lack of achievement lately, and if anything, underperformance in multiple areas. You could also go out on a limb and say that it's just a phase, but ultimately, I feel pretty low and insecure right now. Few things carry value to me, and it is getting increasingly more difficult for me to get through the week.
But this post isn't about all that stuff. This post is branching out on one of those areas, which is my latent insecurity.
It's not anything major, simply a lack of confidence. There's been a bad streak lately and naturally, I feel worse about myself. I've been looking to more people for assurance that they care and that they value me highly, because at this point, it doesn't seem that way. However I have found some positive reinforcement by trying to justify my emotions with the fact that others also are this way, and that it is natural.
Everything's hard to put into words. It's an obnoxious and hateful ball of emotions that keeps lashing out and biting me. My vocabulary suddenly seems to disappear, and I'm left with unsatisfactory words to describe how I am feeling. Actually, emotions and non-tangible things are always difficult to translate into words.
That's all. You are now free to go. Thanks for visiting.
November 4, 2015
WW (Week 5): Why You Should Read Onanie Master Kurosawa
Hello all! I'm back from my mini-hiatus and you can expect posts to start rolling out now. Anyhow, for this edition of Weaboo Wednesday I'll be trying to persuade you to try out Onanie Master Kurosawa, a short and sweet manga that provides an insightful view on high school life. What separates Onanie Master Kurosawa from other manga of its category is its unique premise and characters, and by unique premise, I mean the manga is about masturbation.
Story
Alright, I'll come clean: the manga isn't totally about masturbation. Onanie Master Kurosawa sets itself up to be interesting and different through this move, and this is the largest reason I kept reading. Our main character is Kakeru Kurosawa, and he is the same archetype as Hachiman from Oregairu, in that he does not make contact with anybody and disdains others. However the difference is that Kakeru has a routine of masturbating in a rarely used girls bathroom on the third floor.
Oh boy.
You can guess what happens next. He nearly gets found out and his life is changed from that point on. It becomes a dramatic high school story that centers on bullying, loneliness, revenge, and misunderstanding.
There isn't a whole lot else I can say without spoiling large events in the manga, but it definitely does draw away from the whole masturbation thing (which was only a hook after all) and really becomes a great work of art. Onanie Master Kurosawa is, put simply, a story of growing up.
Characters
It's been a while since I last read the manga, but I can say that the main characters left (and still have) a strong impression on me. To quickly run over the characters, we have Kakeru, our resident masturbator, Maiko Sugawa, a tsundere girl of sorts, Magister Takigawa, an all-around perfect girl, and Aya Kitahara, the girl who stumbles upon Kakeru that one fateful day.
Kakeru shows a great and heart-warming transformation from coldness and indifference to somebody who seems to have finally found a spark in life. The other important characters also go through dynamic changes, and by the end of it all, you're left with some slightly more mature young people.
Art
Alright, now for the art. Like most other independent manga, Onanie Master Kurosawa is in grayscale, but the actual art itself is average. At times, the faces definitely look a bit skewed, but that did not affect my reading in any way. There are some quite well drawn scenes, and they look great, but for the most part, the art is simple.
Personal Enjoyment
I liked Onanie Master Kurosawa an incredible amount because of how much I could relate to it (not so much the masturabting parts... nevermind), and how profound it ended up being. The manga gets really deep and stuff hits the fan at one point, but the ending is warm and happy (not to mention, there's a sort of "light novel" epilogue). Additionally it has a special place in my heart as the first manga I ever completed (not saying much, since I don't have a lot under my belt). So give it a shot, and who knows? You might just find your next favourite thing.
Solid 8.8/10.0 would recommend to anybody looking for an amazing read.
Story
Alright, I'll come clean: the manga isn't totally about masturbation. Onanie Master Kurosawa sets itself up to be interesting and different through this move, and this is the largest reason I kept reading. Our main character is Kakeru Kurosawa, and he is the same archetype as Hachiman from Oregairu, in that he does not make contact with anybody and disdains others. However the difference is that Kakeru has a routine of masturbating in a rarely used girls bathroom on the third floor.
Oh boy.
You can guess what happens next. He nearly gets found out and his life is changed from that point on. It becomes a dramatic high school story that centers on bullying, loneliness, revenge, and misunderstanding.
There isn't a whole lot else I can say without spoiling large events in the manga, but it definitely does draw away from the whole masturbation thing (which was only a hook after all) and really becomes a great work of art. Onanie Master Kurosawa is, put simply, a story of growing up.
It's been a while since I last read the manga, but I can say that the main characters left (and still have) a strong impression on me. To quickly run over the characters, we have Kakeru, our resident masturbator, Maiko Sugawa, a tsundere girl of sorts, Magister Takigawa, an all-around perfect girl, and Aya Kitahara, the girl who stumbles upon Kakeru that one fateful day.
Kakeru shows a great and heart-warming transformation from coldness and indifference to somebody who seems to have finally found a spark in life. The other important characters also go through dynamic changes, and by the end of it all, you're left with some slightly more mature young people.
Art
Alright, now for the art. Like most other independent manga, Onanie Master Kurosawa is in grayscale, but the actual art itself is average. At times, the faces definitely look a bit skewed, but that did not affect my reading in any way. There are some quite well drawn scenes, and they look great, but for the most part, the art is simple.
Personal Enjoyment
I liked Onanie Master Kurosawa an incredible amount because of how much I could relate to it (not so much the masturabting parts... nevermind), and how profound it ended up being. The manga gets really deep and stuff hits the fan at one point, but the ending is warm and happy (not to mention, there's a sort of "light novel" epilogue). Additionally it has a special place in my heart as the first manga I ever completed (not saying much, since I don't have a lot under my belt). So give it a shot, and who knows? You might just find your next favourite thing.
Solid 8.8/10.0 would recommend to anybody looking for an amazing read.
November 1, 2015
Have a (Late) Spooky Halloween
Happy (late) Halloween everybody!
Sorry for the late-ish post. I was out the whole day and thought that I would get home in time to write this before midnight, but as you can see, that's not the case. Hopefully you have had a fantastic Halloween night, even though it has been raining most of the day (and it's really pouring now). However even if you have had a relatively terrible Halloween, what has happened has happened, and it's time to gear up for another month. We're now officially on day number one in November, so throw away your razors and grow out whatever facial hair you're rocking.
Here's to unkempt beards, spooky things, and not getting cavities from any Halloween candy or food. Until next time.
Sorry for the late-ish post. I was out the whole day and thought that I would get home in time to write this before midnight, but as you can see, that's not the case. Hopefully you have had a fantastic Halloween night, even though it has been raining most of the day (and it's really pouring now). However even if you have had a relatively terrible Halloween, what has happened has happened, and it's time to gear up for another month. We're now officially on day number one in November, so throw away your razors and grow out whatever facial hair you're rocking.
Here's to unkempt beards, spooky things, and not getting cavities from any Halloween candy or food. Until next time.
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