Hope you have a very moé Christmas!


(You might have to open it in a new tab to see the full image, sorry, I'm not sure how to resize them)

Merry Christmas!

@Your comments on this year in anime:

With regard to Re:Zero, I simply did not expect it to rise so high in the piles of isekai anime that have come out in recent years. That said, I am also not sure if I would count SAO as an isekai in a classic sense so much as it's own related sub-genre, the "virtual reality" anime, which has gotten group of very similar anime (Log Horizon being the most notable).

As I have stated, the isekai anime I have most enjoyed have generally been the more unconventional ones, such as Grimgar and GATE, ones that still fit in the mold, but have some unconventional elements, such as the darker nature and character deaths in Grimgar and the fact that the interaction with the isekai is not on the scale of one person, but really the entirety of the world, albeit Japan-centric in GATE.

I have not finished Re:Zero, but the thing that I think stood out about it was not the unconventional plot, but, for some reason, the characters were simply highly likable among the anime fanbase. Part of it I think might have to do Subaru having a personality that works well with both Emilia and Rem, and thus leading to massive shipping wars. As for KonoSuba, while it is not stated to be inside a video game, the number of game mechanics give it very much the impression of a parody on an MMORPG- I suspect part of it might be riding off the popularity of the game genre.

Also, on an a semi-related note I remembered from your mention of KonoSuba and Grimgar, while the isekai and VRMMO plot type are technically two different sub-genres, I can't help seeming like a lot of the isekai are definitely copying off the RPG concept to the point that sometimes it isn't clear if it is an actual isekai or inside a video game. Grimgar is a classic example of this- I remember a lot of debate on the whole concept of "parallel world or video game".

Yes indeed...Kuon WAS a great character ... but then somehow she faded into the background and slowly morphed into something a bit different than the first half of the series. I think the series was a bit of a disappointment for me partly because I felt it had such a strong beginning.

And that, Fox, is why there will never be one clear, concise definition "moe" that everyone can agree on! XD

As for your comment about moe being that "warm feeling" a character evokes, as well as a series of tropes and styles, I think that definition is quite valid as well. Quite frankly, I think the definition of moe has evolved to encompass a variety of feelings of emotional attractions to and connection with a character, including the "general warm feeling" and the "protective instinct", as well as tropes and styles of art and presentation designed to illicit such as feeling. Of course, the way these feelings impact people vary from person to person.

As for my whole taste in characters, TBH, "deredere" was a term I threw in there as part of an attempt to cast a broad net over a group of characters whose personalities I find entertaining. However, I would say Sakura Chiyo would probably qualify based on descriptions. To be honest, I that list of tropes was just an attempt to describe some of the tropes that some of them belong to. Really, what I was trying to say was that was a catch-all category for other characters I like. Some of them fall into the tropes I listed (deredere, genki girl, etc) but in these examples, it's really more an example of attraction to an individual character than a trope. Some examples I listed in another thread included Shirobako's Aoi Miyamori, Euphonium's Asuka Tanaka, Gokukoku no Brynhildr's Kazumi Schlierenzauer, and Kokoro Connect's Himeko Inaba and Iori Nagase. While some of the fall under specific tropes like "genki girl" etc, in their cases, my liking them is less connected to liking a trope.

I suppose these complexities are what allows moe to become such as topic of pretentious scholarship!

Just a random comment based off something I found from a few weeks ago while browsing the archived threads of RRRound Table. Namely your question about my thoughts on Kanon.

You are indeed correct that the thing that I enjoyed by far the most from that anime was Mai's arc, no doubt something to do with my taste for badass kuuderes! As for my thoughts on the rest of it, I thought Makoto's arc was a very well-done tearjerker arc, and Shiori's arc also was also quite emotionally stirring.

I think the reasoning behind those two being the next most memorable has to do with my comments with regard to how moé effects me- a simple moe character in an ordinary "slice of life" situation does not trigger that "protective instinct" that moe is arguably supposed to trigger. But put a moe character in a situation where she is facing some definite threat, be it violence, disease, or some supernatural contrivance, then the protective instinct is triggered- the case with Kanon's Shiori and Makoto. For some reason, Ayu and Nayuki's arc just didn't memorable at all to me, even if Ayu did have her occasional moments.

Also, an aside I just randomly decided to include given your proclivity to moe scholarship, with regard to moe, it definitely most strongly effects me in situations where a character is facing a very real threat, but it also can work for me if there is simply some context to trigger the "protective feeling", but that would not really qualify as "danger". The sad, lonely girl in the snow, for instance, does still make me wish I could climb through the screen and give her a hug.

As for my character and anime tastes, there are a number of things:

-Badass females

-Kuuderes

-Other characters that I interesting, funny or entertaining- includes some tsundere characters (Makise Kurisu from Steins;Gate, Hitagi Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari, for example) whose tsun side is more "smartass" rather than abrasive or violent. Also included in this are a number of characters that you just get the feeling would just be fun to hang around with or perhaps even date- includes the mischevious types as well some genki girls, derederes, and the "lovable pervert" type.

-As for anime (rather than characters), anything that has an interesting plot, which may be in a wide variety of genres, but is often difficult to classify.

I could keep rambling on for much longer, but I think I put down enough for now. I would of course be happy to discuss the minutiae of my tastes further.

Happy Halloween!

Girlish Number ep1 was bloody hilarious.

That is all.

Thanks for the concern. It is working again. New power supply and replaced RAM with previous sticks. Bit of a strain operating on only 4GB of RAM but things are stable.

Hope things are going well on your end, work-wise, relationship-wise, health-wise and anime-wise.

I'd chat current anime with you, except I think we're watching very different titles, so that would be difficult.

Yes. The Stalin's Singing Schoolgirls part was actually part of the series for realz