Yeah, still here, just been buried under lots of... stuff. Yeah, stuff. Someone's body decided to try to kill someone and, of course, the medical profession (hwack-ptooie) did more to try to kill someone than someone's body did. Long story, we are alive, and, yes, we still hate the medical profession. You know, when one is ill and facing surgery, making them go every day to yet another doctor or testing center or processing center is NOT the way to encourage the someone to feel better about the process, and then to be told that part of the problem is someone someone's self. Yeah, no kidding, no, aliens made someone ill, right? Then there's the whole "You know you've been running high white cell counts for years" that makes someone's spouse think someone's doctor needs to go swimming with the fishes, or at least face a few minutes getting a swirly facial in the nearest porcelain throne. (And this is from one of the best doctors in the area. Gee, once the white cell count comes down to normal, amazing how someone's blood sugars and A1C fall almost into the normal range (for someone with blood sugar issues, that is.))
Gah. The pox on the medical profession, all.
So I've been surviving on a steady diet of worry, concern, on-line gaming, reading, watching too much TV and... reading. Yes, I know I already said reading, but that first reading was referring to reading books, you know, traditional reading. What I am referring to in the second 'reading' (dang, starting to sound like Church here, isn't it?) is reading captions on... Anime.
Yeah, Anime. Animated Japanese manga. I caught the 'Otaku Flu' (otaku being overly obsessed manga/anime fans) but only got a minor case of it. So no 'Sailor Moon' body pillows, no stacks of manga piled everywhere, no wall-to-wall posters of various cartoons and such.
Thing is, though there's a lot of, er, ah, adult themes in somewhat a badthink way in Anime, a lot of it is surprisingly mature and well written and well drawn and well animated and, well, is just darned good. Much better than your average Marvel or DC product, especially modern products from those two houses. MUCH BETTER. Like real pathos, real comedy, real characters that you can relate to, real villains, characters that are multi-layered.
Want to watch an anime about a 30ish old office worker who suddenly becomes the guardian of his 6 year old aunt? That would be "Bunny Drop." What to do with the daughter of your grandfather and his house cleaner? Who takes care of her? How does one relate to her? How does it change the guardian's life? And what questions will be answered? Bunny Drop | Anime-Planet
Want to watch an anime about the mysteries surrounding the Chinese Zodiac animals and a supernatural curse? That would be "Fruits Basket" Seasons 1 and 2. Crazy drama comedy revolving around one orphaned girl who's basically alone in the world except for her best friends and she gets involved into a large clan that revolves around said zodiac animals and... The end episode of Season 2 is rather wonderful and is more romantic and heart-warming than many 'Major Motion Pictures' or even Hallmark-ish movies. Very sweet, very sad-happy. Fruits Basket 1st Season | Anime-Planet Fruits Basket 2nd Season | Anime-Planet Fruits Basket the Final Season | Anime-Planet
College student suddenly becomes the guardian of three girls? That would be "Listen to me, Girls. I'm your Father!" Really great story about all the issues of a single guy dealing with school, adult girls and 3 girls while living in a small apartment. Listen to Me Girls, I'm Your Father! | Anime-Planet
Anime dealing with the interactions between humans and dragons in the modern Japanese world? That would be "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid" and, let me tell you, this anime deals with lots of rather deep and profound issues, alongside with silly stuff and all of it is handled rather well. Well scripted, well drawn. And the last episode of the first season ends in a rather sweet and nice ending which made me tear up (but then again, I'm one of those sappy idiots who cry over emotional movies. Mrs. Andrew makes fun of me for that.) Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid | Anime-Planet Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S Short Animation Series | Anime-Planet Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Valentines and Hot Springs! (Please Don't Get Your Hopes Up) | Anime-Planet Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S | Anime-Planet
Orphaned girl ends up being kidnapped into the alternate paranormal world of Japan because she was 'sold' by her grandfather to an ogre as a bride? "Kakuyiro: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits" Rather interesting drop into the world of the Japanese supernatural and all the weird things that go on. Being a barbarian outsider, you will learn lots about Japanese culture from this one. Tense, interesting and, yes, a sweet ending. I'm a sucker for sweet endings.
"Natsume's Book of Friends" deals with a kid getting stuck cleaning up his mother's supernatural messes, and finding the true meaning of friendship and wonder. Natsume's Book of Friends | Anime-Planet And, poop, just found out there's 6 seasons of this show, will have to watch them soonest.
Then there's a whole two-season anime that deals with how the Japanese military would deal with a Gate that leads from a medievalish-Game of Thrones type world to the heart of Tokyo. And this is where it gets interesting to some of the readers here at The Chant. There's wonderfully animated F-4 Phantoms in it. "Gate, Thus the JSDF Fought There." (you can watch it free on BiliBili at: gate: so the jsdf fought there - Bilibili search ) Really good animation, really good mature subjects handled well, really good. I won't spoil any of your fun and give you spoilers. Just go and watch and read Episode 1 and if you aren't hooked, well, that's on you. This was the 'documentary' on the JSDF and the F-4 Phantom I referred to the other day.
And so much more.
Haunted apartment complex? "Elegant Youkai Apartment Life." Elegant Youkai Apartment Life | Anime-Planet
Salary Worker who is being crushed by work? "The Helpful Fox Senko-san." The Helpful Fox Senko-san | Anime-Planet
And sooo much more.
You can watch them free on AnimePlanet or BiliBiliTV or sometimes on yousetubs.
There's a little (or a lot) of everything. Magical Girls! Cat Girls! Monster Girls! Ghost Girls! Witch Girls! And guys, too. Sucked into computer games, sucked into alternate worlds, sucked back in time, sucked up by aliens....
Enjoy!
