Shooting Star Dreamer

Happy Easter anime fans and otaku! Although Easter means different things depending on where you come from or what you believe, let's focus on the usagi (bunny or rabbit) part of the holiday at this time.  Who knows, maybe you can learn a little bit of Japanese along the way? As you know in anime, the presence of animals in the form of cute anime girls or boys is very common. We have cats and dogs that appear in anime like Dog Days, donning nekomimi and inumimi. (Which is translated to cat ears and dog ears. Inu and neko are dog and cat respectively, and mimi is the Japanese word for ears.) Going even further would be someone who is the actual animal, which is then labeled as neko musume. This translates to cat girl or cat daughter, and characters usually possess many animal-like traits. Examples of such would be Felicia from DarkStalkers, or Shizuka Nekonome from Rosario + Vampire. However, the common cats and dogs are not the main topic. Today we are focusing mostly on b...

While there are many anime that exist in this world, very few reach the ultimate level of popularity. We have anime such as Dragon Ball Z , which is known and liked even by celebrities. Other newer examples include Sword Art Online and Attack on Titan . These anime are immensely popular, and have seemingly amassed their popularity out of nowhere. Examples like these then raise the question: what in the world makes an anime so popular? Although there are many reasons, there is no clear cut answer, mostly due to the fact that anime is so immense. There's definitely a lot to consider when looking at animation, as its a project that consists of many different parts, each being very important. There's voice acting, graphic design, character design, and more. An anime's popularity could be made from any one of these important pieces of the final product. So instead, let's take a look at a few general similarities we can find in popular anime! They Take Stereotypes...

Hajime mashite! Watashi no namae wa, Rekari desu! Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu! I've been practicing my Japanese!    Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've had the time to sit down and write. I've been having a great time at college, and I'm learning a lot, but there's a few things I've picked up. While college is not as judgmental as high school, you still get talked about, criticized and the like. Through my encounters I've learned quite a bit about myself and others.  So today I'm creating a new category of the blog, known as the The Learning Process. Yep, you guessed it. I'm going to discuss all the things I've learned (and still learning) throughout my otaku life. If you can relate, have feedback, or anything else, just comment below. I'm all ears! "Do you like anime?"    Like I mentioned, I've been struggling with a really big story. I want it to be amazingly good, but I just couldn't make it flow. ...

Learning Japanese Hello everyone! I've been learning Japanese for a good amount of time now and have made little progress. Before I thought learning focused on memorization of certain words and phrases, but I realized that's not the case. I've been doing some reading, looking up a lot of Japanese learning sites, and it's hard to get much guidance on where to start. So many places to learn, but are they really teaching you the right thing? I just took Japanese wherever I could get it. The site might be shady or fan made, but I desperately wanted to learn. Yeah, that obviously wasn't a good idea. I didn't learn much, and the few things I did learn were either rough phrases or incorrect. If you're stuck in an area like mine, there aren't many opportunities to study Japanese under an instructor. Most of the things I learned have been through anime or my own teaching. Visiting the local Barnes and Noble was also pretty useful. Yet with all...

Moe, Moe, More to Share! Moe, Moe, Everywhere! "Moe  is a Japanese term used in connection with manga or anime to describe something precious, usually (but not always) the ideal of youthful and innocent femininity. Written with the kanji for "to bud or sprout" (萌), the concept covers a range of ideal behaviour for youthful female characters in manga or anime. To be  moe , a character can be eager or perky, not overly independent, and call forth a desire in the viewer to protect them and nurture them. The term is also used to describe any preciously cute item; there is an animal mascot character store in Tokyo called Moe." ~Anime News Network To some the whole Moe Genre is what defines anime. To others, it's the bane of the anime world. While Moe has changed the outlook of anime, is that necessarily a bad thing? I'm sure you all have heard different things regarding animation. "All anime is for kids!" "Why are you still watching cartoon...

  Also known as the bane of anime, fillers are episodes hated by viewers. They are considered to be a complete waste of time and distraction from the original plot. Sure, that's what the majority has to say, but I actually like fillers. Before you write me off as crazy, hear me out.     They actually add more to the story .   Sure, they may not be considered "canon,"(a term that means part of the real plot.) but a few are pretty interesting. Have you ever picked up a really good anime or manga? Did you immerse yourself in the story until you reached the end? You're sometimes left with that empty feeling, a want for more.     The fillers provide me with a way to fill that emptiness. They draw out the story and show us parts of the character's everyday life that we wouldn't usually get to see. Maybe the things that go on aren't to your liking, or you might not  care. Still you shouldn't rid yourself of them, you might actually...

Even if you haven't seen Bleach, you need to hear this. Title ~ Hitohira No Hanabira By ~ Stereopony Lyrics ~ Japanese/English About Stereopony Stereopony was a  pop rock  band that formed in  Okinawa ,  Japan  in 2007 and disbanded in 2012. The three-girl band consisted of Aimi Haraguni ( lead vocals  and  guitar ), Nohana Kitajima ( bass guitar ), and Shiho Yamanoha ( drums ). They were signed to the  Sony Records  music label.  The band released 11 singles and three studio albums. Stereopony? Too bad they're no more...

Here's some of the cool stuff I picked up at KhaoticKon! Wall Scrolls Was searching for a Sage Mode Naruto scroll, but unfortunately I was unable to locate one.  DVDs B Gata H Kei is a slice of life anime. Instead of focusing on a male protagonist, the story revolves around a girl known as Yamada. She is a fifteen year old high school student. The story turns into a romantic comedy, and is quite funny. Quite a change from the usual high school plot. Case Closed is a detective anime. The main character is a hotshot seventeen year old detective who is transformed into a young boy. He searches to find the criminals behind his transformation while solving cases despite his small posterior.  Figures Nendoroid Miku and Kaito. My brother absolutely loves Kaito. The parts swap out and you can change the faces and even body parts of the figures. It's quite interesting seeing Kaito's head on Miku's body. Miscellaneou...

/> No seriously, stop it. Last time I promised to show a bit of my convention merchandise, but I would like to do a more serious post for the time being. Pretty much everyone online knows about trolling. If you've never heard of it, trolling is basically the art of making fun or tormenting others for ones own enjoyment. No, it has nothing to do with trolls you see in storybooks and fairy tales. It's something that's become the norm in the online world. Hold on a moment and replay the previous statement. Trolling is a norm in the online world. So it's pretty much normal to treat others badly? I don't know about anyone else, but to me that's not a good sign. We shouldn't belittle others for our own satisfaction. What does that say to us as a whole? Then again, trolling is supposed to be for fun and enjoyment. It's not supposed to be serious. There's been an increase of these antics especially in online gaming. The video below show...

   At a glance the otaku community seems completely united. Everyone comments on how "it's all the same." Apparently there are no differences between the fandoms. Sorry, but that statement is completely wrong. While it's hard to tell via the internet, I was able to compare and contrast each fandom in person. I began to notice minor differences between the actions and mannerisms of the members. One of the best conventions I've attended.    Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend Khaotic Kon . I had a fantastic time, meeting tons of new people. Of course I attended panels, enough to get a glimpse of the different fans that were present. One thing that I  noticed, aside from the lack of certain groups of people, there was little intermingling between the sections. (Again, this is just from my point of view, I'm no convention expert.) I was one of the few people to travel between different genres of panels, going from gaming to anime trivia to Pok...