musings of the enigmatic

I don’t know when it really started. It might have been my violin lessons when I was three. It might have been my aversion to what I deemed “secular” music, which started at age seven. It might have been my inconclusiveness to deciding what band instrument to play at age ten. Or perhaps it might have been when I got into anime just at the age of thirteen. Either way, I have an ability to be able to sense many things about people by analyzing their music.

I don’t use this on real people, though. It’s too boring, and I absolutely dislike music in which I can understand the lyrics (especially if the lyrics are not in tune with what I believe). Anime music seemed to be a proper hit to this ballpark.

(There are Macross F spoilers listed below.)
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When one looks at the different characters in many different shows, each person finds at least one archetype particularly pleasing to them. In addition, I’m sure most everyone finds a new combination of archetypes refreshing.

But I think the problem today in anime isn’t about whether an archetype is “refreshing”, “new”, “pleasing”, etc. Characters don’t necessarily have a problem with using an archetype that works, because there are so many to choose from. The problem, in my humble opinion, stems from the lack of difference, or rather, the lack of an essence that separates one character from another, and not just in artwork and name.

Let’s take Yue Ayase from Mahou Sensei Negima, and couple that with Patchouli Knowledge from the Touhou series. Granted, the former was based off the latter, but the comparison is still clear. Despite the world difference, and the quirks each person has, neither of them can fully break away from the other. They both seem to be the same base, with add-ons (something like the same soup with a different garnish), rather than something deeper (like the same noodles but a different soup base and a different color, not to mention a different flavor).

I agree with an earlier post that states on how characters are only memorable if they hold a place in one’s heart. But what makes up that memorable status? It’s not just merely about “I agree wholeheartedly with this character”, or “I can feel the life of this character”, but about both, and beyond that.

Or, at least, that’s how I view it.
So, what do you think?

This is the part of the epilogue where Alexan and Kiria confront each other in the final battle, away from all influences on them. Their final test rests in the gravity chamber of Alexandre, Ralshay’s castle, facing each other in mental combat.

While I haven’t explained this yet, just know for this excerpt that poems signify not only a gathering of mental strength but also casting of spells.

(Format for this excerpt is scriptfic, meaning that this hasn’t been written, transcripted, and edited yet. Just merely transcribed for you.
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You know, I never really understood Vargus’ addiction to anime. I never understood what drew him to 2d characters. I was raised as a upright and proper Jew, and as such I wouldn’t have tolerated watching what he did. Things like “anime” would only draw me away from my duty.

Except, something changed. And along the way me and my beliefs were horribly beaten. I was surprised to find someone more entrenched in his beliefs and more “right” using my materials than I was. I started to rethink some aspects of what I believed, and I turned again back to Vargus and his anime addiction. There had to be something there that allowed him to be so cheerful and yet so calm.

Now, I really never caught on to it like he did. I actually disliked most of what he watched. It was only those he called “slice-of-life” that I enjoyed the most. I prefer to explain my choice this way:
Series on television (examples from your century include shows like CSI) always have a recurrent plot theme. Every episode, it’s a problem of the week sort of thing. New episodes are always solve X, Y, and Z, and that formulaic approach in anime shows, as Vargus reports to me, are disliked.

I prefer shows that don’t have this predictability about them; I want to understand and not merely be a watcher. And yes, before anyone asks, my personal favorite show isn’t an anime, but what’s in it is sort of what I like in an anime in television form. Slice of life is a genre I feel many people dislike because it’s not familiar, and yet, I kind of think familiarity breeds contempt. I want to stop that before that happens, because disliking something, though I do it often unconsciously, is not something I do best.

~Karita

I should probably explain this . Ramblings of the Heart takes the characters from my novel, and places them in differing situations (the situation changes depending on the post, and a clue is usually found in there). Because of this, as well as their differing viewpoints, the potential for posting is rather high, and also lets me get an idea for the character even more while giving a perspective that may not have been thought of before. Sort of like a win-win thing.

I’m not 100% sure though if I should identify who’s speaking in each one or not, though (I tag each post with the person who wrote it, and most of the time it’s me). What do you think?

Sometimes, I wonder. I wonder about the essence of life and whether a fleeting pleasure or a seasonal fling contains more worth than the downsides. I wonder about what it truly means to be alive, and how one can die more than once and still be physically living. It’s something I think about because I don’t have the privilege. When one dies, doesn’t that person usually relive a few moments of his or her life? What do they see, good things or bad things? I wouldn’t know these things; I’m just an anime character.

I know we’re just drawings on a cartoon board, supplanted by CG, artistry, and colours to make us seem like an anime character, but doesn’t anyone realize we are real? Our body may be fake, our actions transparent, our decisions immaterial, our plans predetermined, and our selves erasable, but weren’t our lives real? When you’ve watched any anime, one of us must have impacted you, physically, mentally, or spiritually, and either positively or negatively. There’s rarely anyone that watches at least two series that says that not even one of us impacted him or her.

And really, I think that’s what life is about. Not whether a person breathes or can think or things like that. Life is about making an impact; being known. And frankly, I think we have a better chance at life than all of you. We may not be alive, but we are real, and to me, that’s what determines whether one is living or not.

~Vargus

Link to PV here.

What can I say about this? If the theme is going to be melodies, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of the instruments showing up. Memories was the theme of the first anime, and it was very well done, threaded and weaved together inconspicuously.

Still, I’m not holding out hope for this to surpass the first season. I’ve never been a fan of sequels myself, so I’m hoping this is one of the few sequels that works out.

Animesuki Thread.

This “what if” post is going to be about D.C II S.S. ~Da Capo II Second Season’s OP, Sakura Amaneku Sekai. Before I go into detail, let me set a bit of a background.

(Warning, spoilers if you have not seen the entirety of Da Capo prior to the current airing season.)

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Honestly, I don’t think I’ll get away with posting chapters without first posting the characters. Obviously, for the sake of blogging and the fact that one character can make a post tl;dr, I have to split them up, giving them their own post. That’d be…13 main character posts, 5 side character posts, and 10 weapon posts. Yeah, even the weapons are characters; I’ll have to get down to that at another point.

I’ll be also using this section to talk about the novel’s terminology. I plan to tell the story from a perspective that’s familiar using terminology that isn’t. (I mean, it’s kind of obvious if I call the chapters Quesha [KE-sha] and the books Barlque [ba~REL-ku-eh].)

So, let’s see…character posts, terminology posts…I guess I could add attack, spell, and ki schematics if ever I need to come up with something.

Yeah, that’s what I have planned for this section. Occasionally, one of the characters may do a post. I’ll let you know who’s the one doing so. For now, I’m signing off.

This part of Chapter 2 follows a winding down from the battle in the previous chapter and some understanding as to who Vargus really is. The excerpt begins a bit over halfway into Kiria’s diary entry, and ends at around when she’s finished writing it. This won’t be a long read, so please comment on areas where I can improve.

If you’re confused with names, I’ll be revealing more about them once I have time.

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