Random Thought (September 22, 2013 at 11:44PM)

Random Thought 472



Okay, so we get our weekend extended yet again since tomorrow's classes are going to be suspended due to the current heavy rainfalls. Not sure if I will be delighted or not since we don't have full day classes tomorrow anyway since my classes are supposed to start at 11:30 am.

The Best of Summer 2013

Right, so after all those season finales over the past week, I now have a disturbingly empty watching list in preparation for the upcoming Autumn season - so it is time to pick my favourites of the Summer season!It has been a pretty damn good season, normally I only list 5 shows from an equinox season and consider that a decent showing, but this time I have enough good shows to compile a top 10!It has been a while since we had such a strong summer season.



10. DANGANRONPA

Bakemonogatari

Disclaimer: I do not own Bakemonogatari



Note: Spoiler alert! Read at your own risk

2009: The Internet Finally Takes Over

Feeling rather humbled by participating in the project, Raindrops (@) is a relatively new blogger from the UK who has been a fan since the early nineties. She spends most of her free time watching anime and speculating furiously about the future of the industry overseas. Choosing 2009 was originally a thinly-veiled excuse to mention her favorite show, and you can follow all those opinions on her blog, .As we draw closer to the fifty-year milestone for anime on television, we've seen the medium moving from monochrome to color and from cel animation to digital. Along the way, it's inspired a vast global audience and survived several new home video formats. 2009 ended up being a year bursting with the same rich innovation as anime continued to explore new approaches both on screen and behind the scenes. While I'm not sure whether any will end up as future classics, there were so many interesting projects on offer that I was forced to make some tough choices in selecting the series I wanted to introduce.



The first title on my list, however, should surprise nobody who was active in the fan community four years ago. Its sequels are still selling well today, its theme songs have become anthems and the script was often rumored to be "untranslatable" by fans trying to rationalize the length of time it took to appear in the US. The series I'm talking about is Shaft's BAKEMONOGATARI.

Gashapon! collection

The first time that I tried a gashapon machine was more than 10 years ago, when street fighters and bomber-man were the much sought after third party gashapon series. What I meant by third party is the non-Bandai and non-yujin series that can be bought for 50cents or 1 dollar a piece at those third party gashapon machines that could be found just outside our neighbourhood mama-shop and stationary shops. Today, these third party gashapon machines still exist in neighbourhood convenience stall, food court etc. (A quick search at wiki will reveal that gashapon originates from Bandai Japan, so unfortunately I will refer to those non-Bandai and non-yujin gashapon as 'third party' ones although they were the ones that really accompanied my early childhood) Today, I decided to share some pictures of my street fighter collections. I have kept them all in a plastic contain somewhere in my room and I fear that they may degrade if I continue to keep them hidden somewhere that is warm with no flow of fresh air. Indeed, most of the figures have already a bit sticky. I guess I will have to give them a good wash... My whole street fighter collection These third party gashapon figures differ greatly in quality. Well, the chun lee at the extreme left looks kind of.... On the other hand some pieces such as the ones shown here are of better paint quality Especially Guy(3rd from left, counting the yellow unknown character). Guy was my prized collection since it has a very good paint quality and is the only one that my elder brother did not have :D The two Ken in the above pictures are actually brought from a stationary shop at slightly higher prices, and it seems that they are not third party pieces. The above collection nicely stored in a mooncake box belong(ed) to my elder brother. You can see that they are a few pieces that I did not have ..., which looks very cool. But then, this whole box belongs to me now anyway... :D Next moving on to the main topic of this post - my Bandai and Yujin gahsapon collections that I have been keeping since around 7 years ago. If you remember, there used to be this space on the top floor of suntec city mall, where there were seemingly unending rows and rows of gashapon machines. That was when I started my Bandai and Yujin gahsapon collections. Of course, that gashapon holy land was eventually removed after renovations, where the whole storey became a youth zone. I remember quite a few toy shops closed down after the renovation, in fact only hobby point remained. But then again, today, suntec city mall is undergoing yet a second phase of renovation and hobby point has since moved out.. The bleach gashapon series by Bandai is the really the first Bandai series that I started collecting after I chanced upon the gashapon holy land at suntec city around 7 years ago. It is sad that I didnot managed to collect the whole series. When the first bleach series came out, I still wasn't very keen on gashapon collection, so I just give it one or two tries. However, series after series of bleach gashapon began to be released and at some point I was quite sure that Bandai was going to release all the characters in the future. My interest grew and I especially like the 13 sereitei captains pieces. By the time I decided that I should collect at least each of the 13 captains, most of the first few series has already been sold out... As you can see below, some key member that I am missing includes Aizen, Tousen and Unohana. I tried to buy the whole set from some toy shops but they were all out of stock... Lining up the captains in a line really gives me a sense of achievement. Ukitake, Toshiro, Shunsui, Bykuya, Soi fon, Genryusei Gin, Komamuura, Kensei, Zaraki Kenpachi, Mayuri, Urahara, Ichigo and Rukia Ukitake(second fav piece), Toshiro, Shunsui (my fav piece) Bykuya, Soi fon, Genryusei, gin Gin, Komamuura (4th fav piece), Kensei (this is not a gashapon piece, actually a banpresto keychain, Kensei is one my favourite bleach character), Zaraki Kenpachi, Mayuri (3rd fav piece) Urahara, Ichigo and Rukia Next up will be the Rurouni Kenshin Series. Managed to collect the whole series, including the 2 color variants of kenshin ;D Apparently the pink kenshin is rare I have 1 extra aoshi and infact another Kaoru that I kept mint in the capsule :DRurouni Kenshin is one of the few anime series I really like. The following Bakemonogatari series were bought when I visited Japan in 2010. Gashapons in Japan are very much kept in the same type of capsule as what we have in Singapore.

Some other random gashapon pieces that I collected when I sometimes randomly give a few tries on series that I like or have watched before in animes... Kagome from Inuyasha, the first anime that really got me into watching anime and stuff! Remembered that I watched in on kidcentral on Friday nights some 10 years ago. Back then, internet was expensive and there was no way I could have watched anime streamed online with the kind of internet speed and cost of internet... This Nanoha and Mio figures are the typical 400yen gashapon that I bought when I visited Japan in 2010. They are now one of my prized possessions. And how can we forget the Gundam next series by Bandai, which was very popular with Gundam fans. Gundam Next is the series that are usually sell out fast. In fact, most of the totally empty gashapon machines are those that contain gundam related stuffs. I simply adore the figures as they have good articulation and paint qualities. I was diligently collecting each gundam next series until I ran out of time and budget. Bandai simply keep releasing the Gundam Next series like nobody's business. Today, I think the series is in its 13th or 14th run in Singapore? ex-S, Knight, mk-V, Char's Zaku Sazabi, Sinanju, Kshatriya banshee, unicorn, delta plus rx78, GP01, GP02, ZetaZeta, Double Zeta, Gundam OO series...

While gashapon series are often sold as sets in some toy shop, I have never brought them in such a way. I prefer turning the knob on gashapon machines and then slowing opening up the capsule to see what I get. Sometimes when you get the pieces that you have been hoping for or the rare variants, it just make you feel happy and worthwhile to have given the machine a try. Of course at times you get repetitive pieces, and there is really no one whom you can trade with..., at least none of my school friends are into gashapon. But I consider myself quite lucky most of the times since I rarely get repetitive pieces. Well, after trying out gashapon machines, it is easy to figure out the trick - remember which capsules contain which character and try to figure out which coloured capsule will be coming out next by glaring into the transparent gashapon machine. Of course this can be quite time consuming and when there are no other people waiting to try out the machines, you cant really do anything although you know that the piece that you are waiting for will be coming out in the next 1 or 2 tries... and you never know when you ever have the chance to pass by the Gashapon machines again, which are usually located in town. Also, there is a risk of the Gashapon selling out if they are really popular. In retrospect, gashapon really brought me a lot of fun, as a child and even as a teenager or a young adult. Be it the third party or the Bandai ones, they have always brought smiles to my faces and become part of my fond memories of my childhood and early adulthood.

Lemme See Your Narrative: Imagery, Aesthetic, Beliefs

One aspect I think makes my anime blog distinct from most is that I'm so vocal about my values, so open about their level of influence on my choices, so actively hyperfocused on figuring out what I think about something and why that it can seem I kill any desire I have to negotiate those terms. And from time to time, this makes my tastes seem more schizophrenic than they actually are.



For example: I genuinely dislike NisiOisin's work. I don't think he takes genius, sexual and social perversion very seriously at all, for all his thematic obsession with them. I readily understand the veneer effect of seeing text and repetitious scene splayed all over the screen, the cocky jauntiness, the constant feeling that things are happening, even if one can't understand them. I can appreciate some of the questions he asks, like maybe in Zaregoto (maybe), or a bit of Katanagatari. I don't think he really wants to take a hard, careful look at and through a construction of what is named "shittiness" and figure out thoroughly, meticulously, how it is that values, destructive or affirming, are constructed. Ergo, I find his--as opposed to Shaft's--stuff morally unhelpful and menially entertaining. The single (and I mean single) reason I haven't closed the book entirely on his work is because light novel translatoractively appreciates him.

[Music Monday] Platinum Disco

I watched all of Bakemonogatari shortly before the Season Season started airing about seven weeks ago and I'm having trouble remembering a time where I have fallen so hard for a series like I did for Bake. Of course, I didn't stop there and I have now finished Nisemonogatari (it is interesting how it gets easier to spell the names of each series as you watch them. Who knew?) so I have no doubt anyone who has seen it will know this week's song!



. . . As if the title wasn't spoiler enough. /)-