I have iterated, time and time again, that I have been excelling in my studies once again. This is partly attributable to the absence of playing DotA, to better teachers compared to the terrorists of last semester, to the lack of anime I am currently following, and finally, to studying decently (as compared to the total lack of it in semesters past). Before last Thursday, I averaged A’s with my subjects this semester; in fact, I am even aiming for exemption with half of my subjects. Last Thursday, however, I received my first exam in Philosophy, and it was a resounding D. It was not a failure, but with the level of excellence I have tried to maintain it was an indelible stain. I am not among those people who dwell on their nadirs; nevertheless, it still affected me. Failure has never been, for all people, easy to swallow. It is more especially difficult whenever one fails on the fields one was supposed to be excellent at: I guess that was what I felt immediately after receiving my test result: one of the few things I can say I have relatively excelled at is academics. In short (and pardon the expletive), I just felt like total shit. (more…)

In NovaJinx’s post regarding True Tears and its perception by many, he stated that quite a number of people have failed to appreciate the subtlety of True Tears. He continues that people dislike ‘nothing happening’ throughout the episodes. I cannot corroborate True Tears‘s subtlety just as I will not condemn those people who dislike the series because nothing happens: for one, I have not seen True Tears yet, and I have no plans to in the near future (of course, whims can change that in an instant). However, I have recently watched something only tangentially related to True Tears (in the fact that both are panned). This something, however, deserves more discussion. (more…)

Tokyo Marble Chocolate is a great OVA. I know that I have been late to the party, but I still needed to say that. Although usagijen and Lupus, have explicated upon it and heaped praise on it already, let me add my take. Of course, I have nothing but praise for the series. I know that comparisons have arisen between this OVA and Honey and Clover: these comparisons are unavoidable. First, TMC and H&C possess similar art and animation styles: both use watercolors liberally and have the same surreal atmosphere. Second, the maturity with which TMC deals with relationships also resonate comparisons with H&C’s maturity. Third, the characters themselves from both series are also quite similar: imperfect, hurt by the past, yet are good people trying to have footholds on themselves. I could go on and on, but I think usagijen and Lupus have explained the similarities already. Hige also has his take.

Gamboling in the air

When I watched this OVA, I was reminded of the disaster epic Babel, and the somewhat epic Michael Clayton. Yes, I very well know that they are films. TMC and these two are linked, however, by the very interconnectedness of the lives portrayed, and this can especially be seen with Babel (although the parts in Japan were somewhat a stretch). Not only do the actions of Chizuru and her boyfriend affect how they acted and lived, they have also affected the lives of others: even the donkey had a profound effect to their reconciliation, and Miki, despite a minor character, was a stepping stone to the guy’s decision with regard to Chizuru later on. Babel had a gun shot by two brothers competing between themselves as to who was more manly: this simple competition, however, affected quite a number of lives, from Mexico to Japan.

I did start with the girl first. I did not check most blogs, so I did not know that one should start with the guy. The OVA was still great, though.

Well, hello again.

P.S. I was able to purchase a lot of books from a booksale held by our very own literature society. The sale was both a boon and a bane: I have even less time for doing anything else other than reading, but I am certain that I would learn more about the world, myself, and the other.