I’ve hit the 400^th milestone, so let’s do this Q&A. Last week, I ask people to send in their questions and I’ll do my best to answer them all. I’m mostly doing this to change my blogging pace, and to distract from the fact that I should’ve hit my halfway mark by now. After five years, I’ve only done 400 reviews. I am disgusted of myself, and 400 in 5 years doesn’t sound that impressive. Five in five sounds a lot better, and it’s a better bragging right. I’ve lost topic though, what was I talking about?

Oh yeah. I’ll answer some questions. I really didn’t expect to receive any questions, since I’m not really that sociable in the internet. I’m trying to change my pace though. I’m trying to frequent other people’s blog, and I leave comments to posts that I like. That’s actually the reason to how I met a bunch of the people that posted their questions. I like their blogs, followed them, and I would often check out their stuff. Anyways, I didn’t expect a big turnout. I just wanted at least ten questions, and I’m glad I got them before the week ended.

I’ll split this into two parts though, since the answers are very long. I’m very sorry about that. I just tried my best to answer the questions as sincerely as possible. Thank you to everyone that posted their questions on my previous post.

So… ever eaten soybeans prepared by yourself (from the dried version)? It was the first thing that came to mind as I’m making what I think is a soup with them.

This was sent in by Izanagi-no-Okami, and I also want to thank him for introducing me to Rewrite. It was sh*t. For the question though, I have never seen soybeans in real life. We have soy sauce, which is made from the beans, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen soy beans themselves sold in the local market.

I make soup out of mung beans though, because they’re cheap. It’s also a good substitute for rice when you can’t afford oatmeal. Eating healthy is tough. Thank you for the stupidly random question, Izanagi. Give me an update of Little Busters when you’re finished with the game.

If you had to work for an anime studio and actually help it create a second season/sequel of a show, what show would you choose? Basically, what show would you sacrifice yourself for?

Thank you Glasses-kun for the question. I wish good luck on all your translation duties. *salutes*

Oooohhh, this is an interesting one. If it’s for a second season of a show then I would like to work for Studio Deen, and I would like to help them produce the second season of Fruits Basket. I do not understand why Studio Deen has not opted to produce another season of this show. It’s a f*cking cultural touchstone at this point, since it’s one of those influential generational anime to come out of its time. With a lot of old shows getting revived, like Cardcaptor Sakura and Hunter X Hunter, I feel like Fruits Basket deserves the same love. We’re in a new generation of anime now, so there are new audiences waiting to realize that a riceball does not belong in a fruit basket. I would even take time to meticulously find a singer with an angelic voice like Ritsuko Okazaki. She’s dead now, and it was creepy hearing her voice in an anime (Sukiite Ii na yo) long after her passing. No, for a new generation, they need their own Ritsuko Okazaki as well.

As for a show “I would sacrifice myself for”, but not necessarily a second season of an anime, then I would like to revive a lot of Mohiro Kitoh’s work. He wrote both Bokurano and Shadow Star Narutaru. His style mostly involves kids being mentally, and physically, raped. It’s graphic, but it represents the buildup angst of rebellious kids that appeals to his twisted story. His works are waaaayyyyy ahead of their time, since his brand of violence is just too much for an anime studio. Parasyte got a respectful adaptation though, despite being released in 1988, and a lot of people rejoiced over it. I feel like Mohiro’s works needs a comeback too. I am especially in love with Bokurano, since Mohiro’s style of nihilism is just fantastic. You will see people squirm before they die, and it’s more of a psychological terror than anything else. The early 2000s has no idea how to properly do his works, but I think we can do it now. I would love to see the world in awe as Mohiro shines a flashlight to the depravity inside their heads.

What’s your most favorite pants taken off so far?! In other words, what show have you enjoyed reviewing?

Thank you for the question, Shokamoka. Can you believe the first post I read in his blog is about hearing a voice actress moan, while playing a video game? XD

I love reviewing awful shows, since I still reference M3 The Dark Metal and Zettai Bouei Leviathan in my newer reviews. I enjoy reviewing thought provoking anime the most though, since there is so much to unpack when you talk about shows like this. It’s often a challenge to deliver a good review for shows that requires so much of its audience, and I love accepting that challenge. Shin Sekai Yori is a good example, since there are so many layers to the story. There’s also Lupin III: A Woman named Fujiko, which is a beautiful noir take on an anime classic. So far, the best one would be Mouryou no Hako though. I even gushed about how much I love this anime in my review of it, but I also adore talking about its themes, plot structure and the cinematography. Ryosuke Nakamura is one of my favorite directors, and he did a fantastic job adapting the novel.

Let’s see.. oh, here’s one — What’s your take on “otaku” and otaku culture?

Hi, Leap! Well, growing up in a culture where everyone watches anime, there is really no big stigma towards otaku culture here. I personally have never taken any backlash or negative sentiment about watching anime, so I can’t really comment much on it. I even got some of my good friends to watch anime, and I have met good people while chasing after cosplayers for some pictures. Even the older generation grew up with anime, since Yu Yu Hakusho has been aired in Philippines TV a total of ten times in five different stations. They kept bringing it back, because a lot of kids watch it. I know some people have experience bullying though, because of their love for anime. I have students that are bullied because of their fandom, like a K-pop fan group hating on another K pop fan group which I don’t understand exactly, so I do know it can be a big problem sometimes.

In the case of my students, I would always just mediate and let them talk it out. Their reasons for hating are often just petty “this is better, f*ck you and your opinion”, so a few exchanges and a couple of youtube videos is enough to find some common ground between them. I think this is really where a lot of the problem roots from: they don’t talk. Some people would shout their standards about what’s right and wrong, but they would not take time to listen to other people. Being “wrong” is often taken in offense, like we’re a bunch of kids, so it’s better to brand someone as wrong before they do it to you. The otaku culture is like that. Some people think its wrong, so they call you out for it. They think they are better than you, because you are seen as “wrong” now. By that logic though, being a “sports fan” can be wrong, being a “comic book fan” can be wrong too. So, I guess we’re all wrong until we stop, talk, find middle ground and realize it. I know I’m speaking of an ideal bullsh*t though, but unless I get beat up because of my love for anime then I can’t really weigh in much.

With that being said, what the hell is up with bronies? I have seen an episode of MLP, and I do not get it. I don’t think it’s that special, and I don’t understand why people are so worked up over it.

What was your favourite pants off moment?? In other words, your favourite moment when blogging, about an anime or favourite moment when, watching an anime.

Hey, thingsiveseen. Thank you the question, and it’s a two parter. Let’s see.

My favorite blogging moment would be a non-TPAB thing. Before I started my 1000 anime journey, I was first doing my anime posts on myIGN. It’s a gaming site, but you can post about anything there. The community is also very close knit, so people comment on everything you post. When I got enough clout to be known as “that anime guy”, then I decided to do a big community project where we list down “100 anime you should watch before you die”. It was a big success, and years later, the blog post is still getting some good views. Later on, IGN editor Scott Collura, commented on my profile. He wanted to thank me because of that big community post. He told me his daughter thanked him for the list, but he was puzzled because he never published a 100 anime list like that. IGN has their own top 100 list series, and that’s kinda the inspiration for my own project, and Scott personally thanked me for the list. It felt really good.

As for favorite anime moment, then it’d have to be the big reveal about what happened to the father in Uchouten Kazoku. He died, but the family never knew why or how. Later on, it was revealed that the father’s own brother set him up to be eaten by humans. He was a tanuki, and a bunch of humans gather yearly to eat one for their hot pot. The father never moved in his cage, and it was almost as if he has accepted his fate. When a human asked him if he was scared of dying, he simply said “I hope I taste good” as the impending moment happens. It was such a powerful moment, because the father never grew hatred towards his brother or to anyone else. He just sat there content with his life. No regrets and no lingering vengeance. He just simply wished that he tastes good for the humans that will consume him. I cried. Lots. Given how much anime I’ve seen with the same predictable formula, I never expected to be so caught off guard. It’s not a heart wrenching moment too. It’s very subdued, but powerful in its execution.

As for the question, I’ll be easy and unimaginative and ask roughly how many episodes of anime you watch per day.

Thanks for the question, D Talks. Now how can I convince you to watch Diabolik Lovers 2? XD

As for anime episodes, if it’s really good, like a solid 8 or 9, I can finish the anime in two days. Since I marathon my shows and I don’t re-watch them, I often watch 1 new title a week. So when I have the time and if it’s a really good show, then I can watch six episodes a day. If it’s a bad show, like a solid 2 or 3, then it’ll take me longer. I would often eat up the entire week to finish it. So, one or two episode max for really bad shows. Back when I have too much free time though, I can finish a really good anime in one day. I can still do it, but I like to pace my viewings now to keep my life balanced.

“May anime review ka na bang nagawa na paulit-ulit mo siyang inulit kasi di ka kontento o nasiyahan sa pinal produkto (yung para bagang nganga ka lang sa nagawa mo na parang ‘bakit ganito ang nangyari?’) at bakit?”

Darkdaemonpk2, as you can see, is a fellow Filipino blogger. Thank you for question.

Is there a review you kept editing because you’re not content with the final product? (Like you’re often just dumfounded at what you’ve written, and you ask yourself “how did this happen?”) and why?

I don’t edit my final works, because they serve as lessons for future reviews. While I know I have some really bad reviews in this site, I often don’t touch them and I just learn from my mistakes. I am often easily tripped up by overly Japanese shows, which often relies heavily on Japanese folklore or Japanese history or even important Japanese figures, which a non-jap like me would ever understand. Shows like Utakoi, Joshiraku and Houzuki no Reitetsu would often leave me stumped. I don’t know what to talk about, my review would be about Japanese references I didn’t pick up immediately, and it’s just so intertwined with the Japanese thing that I would often feel embarrassed reading back while knowing now what exactly the reference is. I also exactly ask myself “how did this happen” while stopping myself from deleting it from the site. I do consider these kinds of anime as challenges though, and I know how to properly do them now, so I await the next extremely Japanese anime I cross path with. Seriously though, when Joshiraku came out, I did not give a f*ck about Rakugo until I saw Showa Genroku.

Who is the cutest mascot character ever?

Thanks for the question, Krystallina. If I wasn’t such a bum when it comes to manga, I would’ve read a lot of what the manga you reviewed by now.

And this question is easy, it’s GISS.

Shut up. This is a new computer, and you GIF files are probably long gone by now. I didn’t back it up, but I never really thought I’d have to. I also bit too much when I realized lip synching is too time consuming for me. I can do it, but not with my schedule.

Gawd, why are you so mean? It’s not like I neglected you for years? Oh wait.

Seriously though, the cutest mascot character for me would have to be Nyanko-sensei. For such a fierce character, I also want to hug him….and brush his fur.

And Part One is done! Really enjoyed answering all these questions, and I hope you check out the next post.