Whats up? I’m a new blogger here at haruhichan, you can call me the cat. I’ll probably just be writing about anything I feel about, so I thought I’d start with a quick introduction of myself and my general philosophy.
I don’t take myself too seriously, and I’m generally pretty chill. I play videogames; Super Smash Brothers Melee and DotA 2 rather competitively (steam name “the cat”, hit me up if you want to play). Since I’m writing for this website you can safely assume I like anime and manga and other facets of popular Japanese culture. I’ve watched at least 200 assorted anime movies, series, OVAs, ONAs, etc.
Unlike most people who claim to have broad tastes, I straight up like everything. Most people doubt me, but if it’s good, I’ll watch/read/listen/whatever it. I guess you can call me an “idort“. As far as music goes, I listen to gangster rap, heavy metal, smooth jazz, experimental electronic, J-Rock, pretty much everything. My specific tastes, or general lack thereof, translate into anime and all media I consume.
Thus, when my friends ask me for anime recommendations (I’m the go to guy for this sort of thing, you see), I often confuse them right off the bat. I’ll start by giving them a list of my favorite shows that I consider accessible:
Trigun
TTGL
Code Geass
Evangelion
Cowboy Bebop
Baccano
Madoka
…And other ‘entry level’ anime you already know.
Most of them love these shows. But then I get requests for my own favorite shows, and their reception is much more mixed. For reference, here is my most recent 4×4.
They outright enjoy the more mature shows: Kaiba, The Tatami Galaxy, Kino’s Journey. And who doesn’t love Cromartie? Some can appreciate Nichijou; it is pretty damn funny. But Popotan? B Gata H Kei? Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space? I’ve not yet met someone who understands that you can love the most pandering of fanservice shows and the most pretentious of artistic films. To be honest, I don’t know how I do it either. I just love something well made.
Now, up to this point I may sound quite pretentious. Am I saying everyone should love everything well made (although to be frank, Kill Me Baby isn’t the epitome of ‘well made’, I don’t know why I like that show so much)? No. I get that most people just don’t like certain things. Just as I can’t control the pleasure centers of my brain, neither can you. But I didn’t get to where I am simply by sitting at my computer and watching anime or listening to music (Well, I guess technically I did, but whatever).
Basically, I love to try new things. When a new season comes out, I watch the first episode of all the shows. When a show I’ve never seen before is mentioned on /a/, I’ll look it up and download it if it piques my interest. When a new album comes out, I’ll listen to it. I don’t think this is a product of my idortness, rather my unhealthy obsession with consuming all media possible has led to my general love of media.
This does not mean I don’t dislike things, however. I actually am pretty vocal about what sucks and what I hate, what I consider ‘overrated’. It’s a bad habit. While I’m full of praise for what I consider just good, there is also a lot of anime out there I consider just bad.
I’m starting to ramble, so I’ll close with a short anecdote (compared to those long anecdotes).
I remember a few years ago I asked an old teacher what kind of music he liked. He just said “good music”.
I’m like that to. I like “good anime”, “good books”, “good movies”. The trick is discovering what you find “good”. In my opinion, the only real way to do that is to try everything you can. If you’re not even sure where to start, just ask other people. People love to make suggestions and talk about themselves (myself included).
I’ll make a challenge right now: take your least favorite genre of anything, and try to find something from that genre you like. I think anyone can do it. If you can’t, I guess it just isn’t for you. But at least you can try.
“Let yourself be open and life will be easier.”
– Buddha
