My relationship with my long time friend, ANIME.

During the Writer's Strike, I relied heavily upon downloaded episodes of my favorite television classics for sustenance. Granted, I am almost always satiated by shows such as Arrested Development and Seinfeld. However, I always found myself looking for fresh stuff. During this time, I sort of went back to an EX-girlfriend.

When I say "Ex-girlfriend," I mean "Anime." For the uninitiated, anime is Japanese Animation. Starting from my high school year, I began on a spiral toward loving practically EVERYTHING japanese. Trigun Chocolate Bars? Check. NERV notebook? CHECK. Action Figures? DOUBLE CHECK. However, as Anime grew in the United States, I became more distanced and noticed all her little flaws. Although she sometimes looked pretty, she almost always ended up being predictable and boring. Worst of all, she always had a really bad ending. God, what terrible endings. In fact, the best part of Anime is actually the CLIMAX. The actual SHOWDOWN always made me reevaluate our relationship.

With the Writers Strike, I went back. Surprisingly, she was still attractive to the eye. The lineup has been good. Most of my favorite shows won't be coming back till April so I'm still watching these shows. I decided it would be cool to highlight my picks. In order to not create an overly long post, I'll just pick a few to mention every so often.

MAJOR

"See this dynamic pose? This animation pops up at least three or four times in a single episode. Gotta love Anime."

I love BASEBALL anime. Hell, I love Baseball movies. I don't want baseball on a regular basis unless teams are in the playoffs though. I think I love this shows (now going into Season 4) because the characters are easy to cheer for. Although the show has become more SHONEN (a term referring to Boy's Comics) in terms of learning a new move or just surpassing one's limits, the environment is just a beautiful playground. I don't find myself recommending this show to people because it is a particular kind of show that appeals to me. I don't watch it for animation (mediocre at best), the incredible storytelling (actually pretty generic at times, or the ladies (mostly testosterone). This is a guilty pleasure. PURE and SIMPLE.


Mmmm...Racism. I also love how Americans are perceived by the Japanese public. Fun Fact. Japanese people think all Americans drink every night and carry at least ONE firearm. I'm just Chinese though. It only gets awkward when that darn textbook issue comes up. Luckily, you can always ask for ice cream to calm both sides down (or buns with paste). On a side note, "Yellow Monkey"? Really? C'mon, Japan. That was SO World War II.