A Visual Culture Otaku Comes Clean

Now that everything seems to have sorted itself out with School Days, I haven’t felt much like focusing much on blogging. For now, I’ll just show off my stash that is just sitting in a corner next to my bed. My room is too small to display any of it; thus the reason why I used my bed.

This is everything that I bought at Otakon, was handed to by a cute Japanese woman in a maid outfit for free (the DLSite stuff), and what I bought while visiting New York City this past Saturday combined. I would approximate that this totals about $200. Why spend so much, you ask? Not only was it my first time at Otakon, but my purchases at Otakon made up for attending AnimeNEXT, but not really attending much of anything. That includes me having not stepped foot into their Dealer’s Room. Having bought everything in full confidence of getting the best possible deals for my money, I was satisfied. However, I will not be splurging like this for a long time, as I have more important financial needs to attend to.

click for larger size…

::gasp:: “More important financial needs than sedating one’s Japanese visual otaku culture needs?! Blasphemy!”

Yes. I need to obtain my own place as soon as possible. There is a certain gorgeous and very moé woman of over eight years knowing and six years mutual loving onward of whom I want to whisk away and spend the rest of my life with. The sooner I can budget my finances, the sooner I can confidently go ahead, rent an apartment, and make the two of us happy in our own space, which will include being able to properly display my plunder.

::doublegasp:: “You’re no otaku! What kind of otaku puts a female before their hobby?!”

The logical, responsible, realistic kind who understands that one’s happiness should not based around one’s menial, material possessions, but rather keeping the people that matter as close to them as possible. My lover happens to be the most important person in my life. She will always come before my visual otaku culture interests and hobbies. Period.

By the way, that picture of Heero Yuy and Sailor Moon…I bought that with my lover in mind. She happens to know all there is to know about Sailor Moon and I think Heero Yuy is truly the most memorable Gundam pilot ever created. Eventually, that will be framed and hung somewhere special in our home. My lover may not be an otaku, but at least I can say she is a Sailor Moon expert, is a combination of Chii from Chobits, Misuzu Kamio from AIR, and Ritsuko Kettenkrad from Kujibiki Unbalance, and is 100% otaku over me.

With her, I am complete, not only as an individual, but as an otaku in love.

This went in a completely different direction than I had planned. Oh well. <3

[UPDATE]: Teen Ax Killer Prefers Guillotines

UPDATE:

Moetron has reported that the final episode of “School Days” will be shown in its entirety tomorrow evening (9/27). Thank goodness. I’ll be skipping Makoto’s guillotine party, as I will finally get to see who done it.

Source: Teen ax killer says she gave her father the ‘guillotine’ over his affairs

Many in Japanese visual culture fandom have heard of the murder that caused the indefinite cancellations of the final episode of School Days and the next episode [12] of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai. Though the Higurashi episode has been televised according to Moetron, the news of this killing is still making waves. The sixteen year-old girl responsible for attacking her father with an ax was questioned about her motive. She responded…

“I had been suspicious about my father’s relationships with women for several years. I thought I’d give him the guillotine.”

Well, at least the girl had the right idea in direct relation to the tumult of violent emotions I believe many have had towards the male lead, Makoto Itou, in School Days. I’m sure that there were hundreds of viewers hoping for Makoto’s violent death when all was said and done. In all seriousness though, despite the anticipation of how the series would end (rumors based off of the source H-game have become fairly concrete truths, however), the cancellation of School Days Ep. 12 was a reasonable reaction towards this real life killing. What I do find amusing is the choice of wording the girl uses. I don’t think she was influenced by anime like Higurashi or an ending that has not aired, but perhaps she has been reading too many light novels about the French Revolution.

I really wanted Makoto to see die though. Someone should shop or draw Makoto getting guillotined by Kotonoha, then circulate it around 2ch and 4chan. I think that would satisfy everyone for a time.

Oh, and one more thing. Nice boat.

Thoughts on Live-Action Negima trailer

Source: Moetron

Fans of the young, determined, and unknowingly charming British magician in training, Negi Springfield (who would obviously be fans of Mahou Sensei Negima) will be overjoyed to hear of a live-action drama series airing on October 3rd. Well…overjoyed if you currently live in Japan…or follow the J-drama scene.

I have to admit to not being a follower of either the original Mahou Sensei Negima nor the remake follow-up Negima?!. After watching the trailer and having seen an episode or two, I’m wondering if maybe I should look into the series, or at least the first DVD of Negima?! The anime isn’t bad and very popular, but just didn’t perk my interest after a few episodes. I suppose I have a limit to how large of a harem cast I can stand fawning over a male lead. Also, because this is anime, I am ignoring the fact that Negi hasn’t even reached puberty yet, while some of the girls appear to be well on their way.

Ironically, it wasn’t the live-action trailer that perked the desire to perhaps give Negima a chance, but a comment over at Moetron that mentioned that the budget for the series appears low. To be honest, I’m not a complete noob to the world of Negima and I wasn’t all that impressed with the trailer. There wasn’t even a sign of Negi’s talking ferret, Camo, or many distinctive hairstyles like for Asuna. Speaking of hair, that wig that Negi actor is wearing is horrendous! I’m going with the thought that the screenplay writer and director wanted the characters of the L-A to be represented and set apart by their personalities rather than their appearances.

Suddenly, I’m starting to agree with that comment…Perhaps Negima should have just stayed immortalized in Akamatsu Ken’s artwork and in anime…?