The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Review

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya perfectly expresses how I felt about high school when I was a kid. The show speaks to me because I, like Haruhi and Kyon, was so unsatisfied with my mundane life. That's part of the reason I think the show caught on. There's a good deal of lonely nerdy kids who just wish someone like Haruhi would walk into their lives and liven things up. Her wacky schemes and energetic passion to find something exciting out there spoke to a lot of people. Not to mention that in the world of show all these sci-fi elements actually do exist because of her.

And Kyon was essentially how I felt at the time, disillusioned and resigned to the unhappy dullness of everyday routine. Kyon strikes me as the sort who spent a good deal of his childhood reading stories of excitement and adventure, always sort of expecting that to pop up in his life at some point. Now that he is a 'mature' high school student he's felt he's had to let go of some of those dreams. But lo and behold we have Haruhi to kickstart things again. She's so excited, energetic and passionate that it breathes new life into the dull school atmosphere.
That is she spoke to bored aimless kids like me. It was the fantasy of some sort of adventure in our mundane lives coming to life in this show. And it worked because it was in the familiar high school setting, because the show was somewhat self aware and because it deliberately spoke to that desire for excitement and adventure.
So what is the story? As I mentioned earlier Kyon has given up on any sort of excitement in his life until he meets Haruhi an eccentric student in his class who still believes in aliens espers and time travelers. Together they form a club to find the supernatural and get three other club members to join. Mikuru, who is attractive and shy and more often than not the victim of Haruhi's schemes. Yuki Nagato the quiet and calm bookworm. And lastly Itsuki the transfer student. Oh and they each happen to be a time traveler, an alien, and an esper, in that order. And Haruhi is unknowingly the god-like being that caused them each to exist, maybe even the entire world as well. The show revolves around the comedic hijinks the group gets into trying to keep Haruhi from subconsciously destroying the world (often with Kyon's internal dry sarcasm commenting on everything).
All in all it's an enjoyable show that I would highly recommended. The animation is great as are the characters, story, voice acting, and music. The only problem I have with the entire show is the infamous endless eight arc which is entirely skippable. Besides that I would definitely recommend the show to just about anyone.
Rating 9/10

Blue Exorcist Manga Summary and Review (Volumes 1-11)

Blue exorcist is standard fare as far as manga goes, but it's the story's execution rather than originality that makes it memorable. Let me give a few examples.
So the story begins with our protagonist Rin finds out that demons exist in his world (unseen by most people) and that he is the son of Satan. Before he can properly process the information his father figure, father Fujimoto, is possessed by Satan and dies. Rin, understandably upset over what has happened vows revenge. So already we have a few tropes at work here. We have the protagonist finding out about an previously unknown supernatural aspect of his world. We have the struggle he feels between his demonic heritance and his good nature. And we have the death of a family member starting the character's quest for revenge. What makes this work though is how damn well it's actually pulled of. In the short amount of time we get to see father Fujimoto we instantly connect because the character is so likeable and even after his death we get several flashbacks throughout the story fleshing out his character more and making it so the sadness of his passing keeps hitting the reader.
After the initial chapter setting the story up, Rin joins the true cross academy an organization dedicated to fighting demons run by the enigmatic Mephisto. There Rin meets and befriends several other students training to be students as well as his twin brother who turns out to be his instructor and who it turns out knew about demons the whole time. The majority of the first four novels deal with introducing the characters and the class's progress towards becoming exorcists. I've arranged a brief character roster below.

Left to right (front row): Yukio, Rin and Shiemi.
Left to right (back row): Konekomaru, Shura, Izumo, Suguro, Mephisto and Shima.

Rin Okumara-hot headed and stubborn. He doesn't always think things through and he isn't the smartest but his heart's in the right place. In other words he's just like every shonen protagonist ever.
Yukio Okumara-Rin's twin brother who didn't inherit Satan's powers. Unlike Rin he is hardworking and studious. The dynamic between him and his brother is one of the best aspects of the series hands down. Their relationship feels very real and genuine in part, because they don't always get along. Despite this there is a strong sense that both would be willing to do anything to keep the other safe.
Shiemi- The ditzy love interest character. Completely useless damsel in distress that Rin has to save over and over again. Needless to say she's one of the less interesting characters.
Ryuji-Similar to Rin in temperament only not as foolish.
Renzo-Comic relief
Konekomaru-stereotypical nerd
Izumo- Token Tsundere
Shura-Boobies Mcfanservice
Mephisto-Mysterious demon who runs the academy and whose motivates aren't completely clear.

At the end of the fourth volume Rin's secret (that he is the son of Satan) is revealed and his friends are shocked. The next volume sets up the first real arc in the manga. That of the impure king. And it's one of the few sections I have a couple of gripes with. So someone steals one eye of the impure king (and an attempt is made on the other). We get introduced to a new villain and the students, now exwires, are sent to a temple where the second eye is guarded. This also happens to be the place where Ryuji, Renzo, and Konekomaru's families live, introducing us to a new source of conflict. My problem with this arc is that there's way too much going on at once. We get introduced to a whole slew of new characters. We have a new set of conflicts and we see all the characters struggling to deal with the knowledge that Rin is the son of Satan. With emotions ranging from anger and hostility to outright fear there's a good deal of emotional turmoil along with all this new information the reader is given. Thankfully by the next volume the story smooths out and there's actually a good deal of tension as it is revealed that their may be a traitor in the midst and that Ryuji's father is keeping secrets. Eventually the arc ends in a giant fight and is, for the most part, resolved. We're then introduced to another weak point in the story a short pointless arc dealing with a Kraken demon. The only saving grace here is a good deal of conflict between the Okumara brothers and the introduction of Yukio's insecurities and self doubt which made for some interesting segments in an otherwise dull conflict.

After this the students return to the academy. We get to see Yukio continue to struggle with his own personal issues and Mephisto finally has a good deal of time delving a little bit into what makes him tick. These are without a doubt the highlights of the arc. We also get introduced to a new threat (an expanding portal to the demon world). Rin and his friends have to deal with several demons (the seven mysteries of true cross academy) my least favorite segments in the series so far. And the eleventh volume ends with a bit of suspense that I won't ruin for those of you who haven't gotten that far.

In short I've enjoyed what I've read of the series so far. It's not perfect but the characters are well developed and the story seems to have a bit more restraint than most shonen choosing storytelling over mindless action most of the time. The components that make it up may be familiar but it's well executed and enjoyable. I have a few gripes here and there but they're relatively minor. For the most part it's a fun read and I'm excited to see where the story goes from here.

Why WataMote is Awesome

WataMote (or No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys' Fault I’m Not Popular!) is a show that would appeal to you entirely based on your taste in anime. Even though I really enjoyed it I could easily see someone saying it just isn't their cup of tea. The majority of the show focuses on Tomoko and the anxiety she feels with social interaction...And that's essentially it. There are a few other characters but they're in it so little they're barely developed. For the most part all we really see is Tomoko's struggles to interact with other people. I could easily see this getting old with people and even though I enjoyed it I did think it was wise to keep the length to a mere twelve episodes.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I'm here to talk about Tomoko and why she is possibly one of my favorite anime characters of all time. And that's not a title I bandy about lightly. Before I begin though I should mention that I, like Tomoko, struggle with a great deal of social anxiety so it's entirely possible that I'm biased here. 
What makes the show work for me is the way her social anxiety is portrayed which is to say, very realistically. There were dozens of scenes that, having experienced something similar myself, I could easily relate to. I think the show does a fantastic job of displaying the thoughts and feelings that people with this form of anxiety tend to go through. So without further ado here is a short list of some of the brilliant scenes that made this portrayal seem so realistic to me.

1. Tomoko almost always has some inner commentary on the things people around her are saying. It's a classic response of someone who wants desperately to contribute to the conversation but is unable to out of anxiety. Even the way her inner commentary sometimes bitterly lashes out at these people seems like a realistic example of frustration she feels at her impotence in the situation. A lot of the time Tomoko has a bit of a sour grapes response to being unable to socialize, again most probably, out of sheer frustration.

2. There's a scene in one episode where Tomoko takes shelter from the rain under a pavilion only to have to two other people take refuge there as well moments later. Her instant response is a strong desire to leave, but she cant bring herself to because she's worried it will come off as rude or weird. First of as someone who suffers from social anxiety it is also my instinct to want to leave a room as soon as someone else enters. Secondly why would they think anything of her leaving and even if they did what would it matter? The answer of course that they wouldn't really notice or care, but Tomoko's anxiety, which operates as a sort of hyper awareness of the people around her, is certain that all eyes are on her, weighing her up so to speak. This so perfectly illustrates the perspective of people with social anxiety that I can't help suspecting that the author either has it himself or knows someone who does.

3. In one episode Tomoko's class is preparing for the culture festival. Everyone is finding some task that needs doing except Tomoko who is too shy to ask for something to do. Eventually she does manage to get something to do (cutting some paper) and she immediately starts thinking of a way to drag it out so she'll have something to do the entire time these preparations are happening. As long as she is at least seeming to do something she feels comfortable, but standing around with nothing to do has her anxiety start to build up. Truth be told I found myself in this sort of situation more than once during high school.

Honestly I could go on and on, but I think I've made my point. It's an enjoyable show that I could relate to all to well. It's the first depiction of social anxiety I've ever seen anime that seems to really understand what it's talking about. And while I don't think the show is perfect by any means I appreciate it for going the extra mile and doing something a bit out of the norm.