Shooting Star Dreamer

Gaming comes across to some as mindless button mashing, but there's a deeper meaning to it all. Whether it's building values, connecting with characters, or learning real life concepts, there's much more going on under the surface when it comes to video games. The Super Mario Bros. Series (or any Mario game) is a game that this applies to. It's outreach spreads so far that most people who have picked up a controller have given it a try. The game outright is a pretty simple platformer, with various elements to make things more interesting. To the average gamer, collecting coins and stomping enemies is what Mario is about, but perhaps we're learning life lessons subconsciously as well. Below I'm going to list a few lessons from Mario that I picked up. Let me know in the comments if you've recognized any others or have a different take on things! Money is beneficial, but it will only get you so far! Coin collection is huge in Mario games. Wi...

Throughout our lives as otaku or anime fans, we tend to indulge in many different forms of media. Some of these tend to be games, others are anime. Recently, I've been playing a game by the name of Mabinogi. I'm currently on a hiatus, but I remember one part of the game's story  that really stood out to me.  Mabinogi is a Korean MMO based on Irish mythology. The artwork is anime styled, and the main draw to the game is basically the freedom to live an ideal fantasy life. The game also features a vast story, split into a a handful of chapters. I'm going to focus on Chapter 1 of the Mabinogi story line, featuring the conflict between Paladins and Dark Knights. The story addresses the issues between both the Light and Dark sides. We also get a few messages of advice directed towards the player character, as you are literally the protagonist of the story. Still, the contents of the story and everything that happens isn't the focus right now. I'd like to fo...

"It's just fiction, a mere cartoon. What in the world can you learn from something that's not real?" Day by day I see ecstatic fans lose their burning passion when faced with people who don't support their beliefs. It's happened to me before as I found anime that I relate to greatly. I learn from these various work of art, but they're constantly ridiculed for being "fake." So just like that, people stomp on my dream. "Don't even try relating this to real life, it's nothing like it." What do you mean? Our anime is written by real humans, so how can it not be based on their experiences? The next thing people say is "Well, in real life you can't do all these amazing things that take place in anime. Our world doesn't have these amazing conflicts and battles, it doesn't have all these fictional creatures, and humans are nothing like anime characters. You're just delusional." At this point I coul...

Do you believe in fated events? If everything in life was predetermined, from our personalities to our future, why would humans continue living? Why would we push forward when all we can accomplish is so much? The answer is simple, we're not bound by any special paths we have to follow. I think we may have a few things that push us in the right or wrong direction, but everything isn't out of our hands. In fact, we could argue that we control everything that happens to us. Even with everything planned out and perfectly suited for us, simply making the wrong decisions can lead to ruin. While I've always thought this way, this isn't the case for everyone. It's understandable to feel helpless. Even now I sometimes have doubts, especially when bad things happen one by one, it feels like I'm not in control. However, when I watch anime characters who struggle against the odds and ends life gives them, I see that life is what you make it. Not necessarily saying t...