Whose your least favorite overwatch hero? or at least, who do you play the least if not at all?
Junkrat, easily. Fuck that friggin' wheel.
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Colton King
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Do you like Hentai Ouji or is it just good gif material?
Just gif material. I dropped the show after an episode or so.
What do you think of Zarya? Have you played her at all?
I haven't played her once, but she seems very cool. I very much like characters whose kit lends itself to internal combos, and having "absorb damage as tank->deal more damage" be her main conceit seems like a fantastic version of that. I'll have to try her once I stop picking Roadhog and McCree and Mei all the time.
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Colton King
Related users
Hi! After years of blogging on and off when I could, I finally got a real position to publish my content regularly. I'm excited but also very nervous. Any advice?
Congratulations! Not many people get that opportunity, so I guess my main advice would be to honor that chance. Set a schedule for yourself, and try to be ahead on your work so you don't end up rushing or missing deadlines. The fundamentals of being employable as a writer are basically "be reliable, be easy to work with, and be good at what you do" - the third one is the work of a lifetime, but the first two are always in your hands, so do your best to make them your strengths. And good luck!
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Aluido
Eelz
Poyjo
Sunshine Marmot
Another Bystander
The more I watch, the more moe Okuyasu seems... help?
It's too late for you now. Once you understand moe, there is no return.
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Eelz
Sunshine Marmot
DIGITAL@MUGI
Bob, should I spend the rest of my money on more MTG cards for my goblin deck or should I get Overwatch?
If you like squad-based, kind of arcadey videogames, Overwatch is fantastic. I'm not sure how it'll work for you, but personally, it's been years since I felt such a compulsion to keep playing a game.
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Eelz
Colton King
There's a lot of things good about Boku no Hero but I really the class.. As you said, they are all high-functioning, but more importantly I love how supportive everyone (except Bakugo I guess) is. They're not afraid to show positive emotion, which is refreshing.
It is! It's just nice to spend time with those characters, and nice in general to see a show with characters who really support one another. That's actually one of the things that really elevates a lot of slice of life shows.
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Sunshine Marmot
Aquajet
Eelz
DIGITAL@MUGI
Another Bystander
What does edgelord mean?
It's a mocking way of referring to characters like Yuuta from Chuunibyou's Dark Flame Master - the kind of character who says stuff like "this power... MY CURSE," or talks about how they can no longer feel sorrow, or stuff like that. Overwatch's Reaper is another example.
"Edgelord" comes from the idea that the character is as "edgy" as humanly possible in a way that feels more like performance than truth. They're generally beloved by sullen teenage boys, so anime feature a lot of them.
"Edgelord" comes from the idea that the character is as "edgy" as humanly possible in a way that feels more like performance than truth. They're generally beloved by sullen teenage boys, so anime feature a lot of them.
Do you even lift?
Nope. I do sit-ups, push-ups, and jogging. I should diversify my routine, though.
What would be some notable examples of seinen anime that are "stories with lots of blood and guts but often even less to say about people or the world than their shounen counterparts."?
Elfen Lied. Hellsing. Black Lagoon. Terra Formars. One Punch Man.
Those examples aside, I actually learned while googling that many of the stories I most associate with this trend are actually shounens (Akame ga Kill, Attack on Titan, Future Diary, etc). And there are obviously plenty of great seinen that have nothing to do with this trend, so I agree my initial statement was much too reductive.
Those examples aside, I actually learned while googling that many of the stories I most associate with this trend are actually shounens (Akame ga Kill, Attack on Titan, Future Diary, etc). And there are obviously plenty of great seinen that have nothing to do with this trend, so I agree my initial statement was much too reductive.
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Eelz
Sunshine Marmot
Another Bystander
DIGITAL@MUGI
Damn, this week's Kiznaiver was really something. Do you think this single episode can be enjoyed by someone who hasn't watched the previous episodes, or do you think he would be missing too much, with the Kiznaiver project and such?
They'd at least have to watch the previous episode as well, and even then it seems kinda iffy. But it's not like Kiznaiver is a particularly long show in the first place. Not too hard to catch up!
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Another Bystander
I'm seeing a lot of my favorite online creators pick up Patreon accounts over the last year, is that something you'd find useful?
I, uh, have one. And yes, it is extremely useful! I wouldn't be able to keep doing my work if not for Patreon - it keeps me afloat, and I'm very grateful to have fans willing to support me. You can check it out here if you're interested:
https://www.patreon.com/Bobduh
https://www.patreon.com/Bobduh
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Aluido
Sunshine Marmot
Kittykatstar
Eelz
Bob, I've read a popular LN where the protagonist is portrayed as competent because he is emotionally detached and a self-proclaimed "rational" in a society where loyalty and faith is valued the most. I noticed that this view in general are gaining tract worldwide. Any idea why?
I'm not sure it's gaining traction worldwide so much as gaining serious visibility in nerd circles, but either way, the answer is the same.
That perspective is popular because it is comforting. The real world is extremely complicated and ambiguous, and navigating it means recognizing and reckoning with the validity of many different perspectives born of different knowledge and experience. In light of that, the idea of seeing yourself as the one rational mind who can cut through this ambiguity is inherently appealing. There's an easy certainty in that - you don't have to question your actions or beliefs based on the contradictions of others, because you are the Rational Man, above all these ambiguous squabbles. When you couple that with the fact that many people embrace the hard figures and data of nerd enthusiasm because they have particular difficulty navigating the emotive complexity of social interaction, you have an easy recipe for creating a culture that values an impossible certainty in their statements and beliefs. These are the characters they'll gravitate towards in fiction, and this is the worldview they'll emulate in social discourse.
That perspective is popular because it is comforting. The real world is extremely complicated and ambiguous, and navigating it means recognizing and reckoning with the validity of many different perspectives born of different knowledge and experience. In light of that, the idea of seeing yourself as the one rational mind who can cut through this ambiguity is inherently appealing. There's an easy certainty in that - you don't have to question your actions or beliefs based on the contradictions of others, because you are the Rational Man, above all these ambiguous squabbles. When you couple that with the fact that many people embrace the hard figures and data of nerd enthusiasm because they have particular difficulty navigating the emotive complexity of social interaction, you have an easy recipe for creating a culture that values an impossible certainty in their statements and beliefs. These are the characters they'll gravitate towards in fiction, and this is the worldview they'll emulate in social discourse.
I can't help but notice that everything you highlight in your HeroAca article, is the same you revile on UBW. Why is that? I don't get it, you even write "Idealism, optimism, and honest effort are all values well worth believing in..."
My Hero Academia is about committing to positive heroism in order to inspire others to do the same, which is the most fundamental and inspiring element of heroism. UBW is about Shiro's insane quest to save everyone himself, which I address as ridiculous in the article.
And themes aside, UBW's general storytelling is just much worse than MHA's. Bad storytelling can easily muddle a compelling message - that's why Fullmetal Alchemist doesn't really come together, for example.
And themes aside, UBW's general storytelling is just much worse than MHA's. Bad storytelling can easily muddle a compelling message - that's why Fullmetal Alchemist doesn't really come together, for example.
I'm late for this, but I was shocked that John Goodman was more terrifying than an evil alien race in 10 Cloverfield Lane. Post bunker the movie just felt like a sigh of relief from claustrophobia, and aliens were nothing compared to that. Almost to the point that it felt cheesy. How'd you feel?
Yeah, the film's last act was definitely pretty messy compared to the pressure cooker that preceded it. Not sure how they could have improved it, but I definitely felt similarly.
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Sunshine Marmot
Paul Chapman
If you could do exactly three things to fix America, what would they be?
1. Out with the bad ideas
2. Put our thinking caps on
3. Straighten out this whole kaboodle
2. Put our thinking caps on
3. Straighten out this whole kaboodle
Did you ever review A Silent Voice volume six?
Not yet, but I will.
Do you still update your MAL? Or have you moved on to other ways to keep track of your watchlist?
I update it from time to time, but it's not a priority, and I don't really go back and change old numbers.
I just want to know, putting aside all the comparisons between it and the original anime, is FM Brotherhood at least enjoyable by itself?
I've never seen it, so I couldn't say. Based on what I've heard, I think I might actually enjoy it more than the original, but I'd have to watch it to find out.
i wanna get into Inio Asano's stuff, what do you recommend? why?
Solanin's a good start, since it's relatively short and demonstrates a lot of the core strengths of his work.
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Sunshine Marmot
Just read your writeup on The Room from a few months ago - do you think Mayoiga/The Lost Village this season is similar to some of the examples of uncomedy you gave in your writeup? Or if not, how would you differentiate unjokes and uncomedy from the comedy present in The Lost Village?
The Lost Village is a perfect example of exactly what I was talking about. There's a reason the show is so popular within my twitter circles - it is a paragon of this exact moment's school of modern comedy, where things like Kaufman's playing on expectations at the expense of anything resembling a conventional joke becomes the joke itself. If weird twitter were anime writers, they'd probably come up with something like The Lost Village.
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Eelz
Sunshine Marmot
Do you consider Haruhi from Haruhi Suzumiya to be a good character? I'm trying to get through your more positive scored anime, and really confused how you can give it a 9, considering the fact that it's all centered around a character which I can't see the appeal off. Am I the odd one here?
I haven't watched it for almost a decade. Can't really say what my feelings would be now.
Would you call the Monogatari series a romance anime?
No.
So should we expect some small, minor, ultimately trivial and not at all multi-day delays once Overwatch comes out?
I know this is a joke question, but don't worry! My obsessive compulsion to work means that even if I dropped dead today, there'd still be enough completed Current Projects articles to last a month.
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Aluido
Sunshine Marmot
Eelz
Another Bystander
What's your experience with learning and/or using other languages? And, on a related note, do you consume much media from outside the English-speaking world and Japan?
I spent a good nine years of school vigorously refusing to learn Spanish. Seriously, it was impressive - early on, when we were learning it in 4th and 5th grade, I would often ask to go to the bathroom early in Spanish class and just sit there for forty minutes. It was a combination of not caring about learning Spanish and finding learning languages really difficult compared to my other classes, but either way, that pretty much set the tone for my Spanish education through middle school and high school.
And it's not like I just continuously hid from and failed the classes - I studied, I took tests, I even went on a school trip to Costa Rica for a couple weeks, where immersing yourself in the language was allegedly going to make learning it easier. Nothing worked. I never found the language fun, I never saw a reason to learn it, and most importantly, it never stuck with me the way it seemed to stick with other students. Rote memorization is one of my absolute worst skills, so all I could ever really do was cram enough vocab in my head for a test, do marginally acceptable on that exam, and then lose all that information by the time the next one arrived.
The fact that I'd avoided so much Spanish in high school meant I had to take a year of a language in college, where I could fortunately at least take a language I wanted to learn. So I signed up for a year of Japanese, and that went... well, better, because I wanted to learn the language, but I still sucked at /learning languages/, and so I still just naturally fell behind while my classmates seemed to pick up vocab no problem. I can vividly remember coming into class after a night of cramming for some vocab quiz, seeing classmates go "oh right, we have a quiz today," watching them briefly scan the list, and then seeing them get the same or better scores than I did. It was not a rewarding experience!
As for consuming media outside of English and Japanese, I read a fair amount of world literature back when I was reading more, but these days I'm too occupied with writing and consuming stuff for review to do much reading on my own time. I should get back to it - reading from a broad catalog is one of the best ways to expand your own perspective.
And it's not like I just continuously hid from and failed the classes - I studied, I took tests, I even went on a school trip to Costa Rica for a couple weeks, where immersing yourself in the language was allegedly going to make learning it easier. Nothing worked. I never found the language fun, I never saw a reason to learn it, and most importantly, it never stuck with me the way it seemed to stick with other students. Rote memorization is one of my absolute worst skills, so all I could ever really do was cram enough vocab in my head for a test, do marginally acceptable on that exam, and then lose all that information by the time the next one arrived.
The fact that I'd avoided so much Spanish in high school meant I had to take a year of a language in college, where I could fortunately at least take a language I wanted to learn. So I signed up for a year of Japanese, and that went... well, better, because I wanted to learn the language, but I still sucked at /learning languages/, and so I still just naturally fell behind while my classmates seemed to pick up vocab no problem. I can vividly remember coming into class after a night of cramming for some vocab quiz, seeing classmates go "oh right, we have a quiz today," watching them briefly scan the list, and then seeing them get the same or better scores than I did. It was not a rewarding experience!
As for consuming media outside of English and Japanese, I read a fair amount of world literature back when I was reading more, but these days I'm too occupied with writing and consuming stuff for review to do much reading on my own time. I should get back to it - reading from a broad catalog is one of the best ways to expand your own perspective.
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