Help Manabi In Saimoe 2007
まっすぐGO!!
Let Japan know people in the world care about bringing a piece of angelic goodness down! Vote Manabi today! (You have about 17 hours left!).
A guide on how to vote and all about Saimoe is available here.
Mugi-Choco’s Cream Filling
Or, No Wait, I Mean Message, Yeah That’s It.
I think I’m finally hooked on Japanese-style text-only 2ch-style Shift_JIS UI-Gothic what-the images. Damn you Saimoe, damn you to hell! It’s like 1994 all over again.
But jokes aside, I think now it’s a good time to talk about Mugi Asai and Hitohira. It’s particularly insightful once pinned next to Manabi Straight. Because, you know, I wuuubs Manabi Straight.
To cut to the chase, Mugi Asai, the main character in Hitohira, experienced a transformation from a shy, introverted person to someone who has gotten over herself, with the help of someone else who was in her place a year before. Within the span of a school year, she bonded with this sempai and, well, drama happens. It’s a nice little piece of 12-episode anime that elaborates on Mika’s dilemma from the last 2 episodes of Manabi Straight.
But I watched Manabi Straight before Hitohira, and I suspect if you had your experience flipped chronologically, it may be just the same, with some words flipped. Which, after all, explains why Hitohira (which means petal) is the image I picked for this blog post (well–it sort of looks like 5 petals of a cherry blossom). And why it’s there to be picked as an eyecatch from the actual show, as a reasonable guess.
With her latest victory from Saimoe, it seemed that a lot of people got good vibes from her. And I can see why. Definitely a highly-recommend for those of you who can withstand high school drama in its finest amateur moment.
Convention of the まっすぐ GO!! Generation
Next time I blog I’ll be in Baltimore attending Otakon. The Baltimore Convention Center does not have free wifi despite a city-wide initiative. However, some of the surrounding areas do. In any event I will blog from the hotel room at the very minimum.
I pray that the mid-summer Baltimore weather will beat upon us no worse than that is necessary, and I can find time both to relax and to be excited about life, universe, and everything. It’s not just to celebrate anime with friends and share a good time, but in a conscious way to deepen my relationship with God in a familiar but shockingly strange environment, in preparation for the thing that have yet to come.
As the “straight ahead-Go” generation that we are, I think that anime fans are some of the best types that 21st century geekdom has to offer. In some ways this means that some external forces may take advantage of us more so and we’ll cause problems with our straightforward mannerisms, but on the flip side it also shows some degree of tenacity that the long-time fans possess. In any case, rain or shine, we will be there and entertaining our favorite guests at this anime convention. If you are going, I pray that you too will do it share this enthusiasm at this mutual geeking-out.
Manabi Strikes Back
Unfulfilled, overbearing desire breeds moments of idiocy. But sometimes, it can be confused with the muffled cries of the Muse, opening doors you were too afraid to open for one reason or another.
This post has turned from vision to creation. Hosanna (work in progress preview, 39.5mb Xvid). My first AMV EVAR zomg.
Manabi Straight Banzai!
Cherry Blossoms United
This is just a list of really neat things that I’m putting together (with help from many others; you know who you are) that makes Manabi Straight’s ending such an awesome experience. It’s proudly a contender for my Best Ending Evar.
Needless to say, SPOILERS. But such good, warm, fuzzy spoilers.
- Loli’s in a Mini.
- The realization that the outfits they wore in the OP are the same as the ones in Mikan’s return, and Mikan’s outfit was the same with her outfit in her dream from episode 7. Plus that the OP actually took place in the show’s continuum!
- The most awesome and meaningful Victory Pose.
- The guitar riffing with Mikan’s feet.
- The guitar riffing + special ED + what happened to everyone afterwards
- Momoha’s publication.
- A Happy Life.
- Mucchi and Mei fussing in traffic on the way to the airport.
- The scene on board the train; not just Mikan’s tearful reprise, but how it answers the question implied in episode 1.
- Manabi’s hovercraft.
- “Sempai” talk.
- The allegory of a cherry flower in bloom (see picture below–configured like a cherry flower), how in episode 11 (which is where that picture comes from) was the blooming, and episode 12 they part (in which you see plenty of fallen blossom) like cherry blossom in season (see episode title).
- It’s still extremely cute.
- A lot of Momoha lines.
- Merorin Q!
- Completing the humanist message.
- Mei and Takako in the credit roll.
- Tagging up their alma mater.
- Resolving Mika’s dream in episode 7.
- :3
- The sweet sorrow of parting.
- The clapping.
- “Do you enjoy your happy life?”
Damn you Funimation, better get on with it!
Feel free to add your own to this list in the comments or anywhere!
