I think a lot of people believe that characters with too generic names can be easily forgotten. So some anime/manga names its characters with exotic names. The Book of Bantorra was one such anime. I had difficult time getting familiar with these strange names like Hamyuts Meseta or Mirepoc Finedel. But as the series progressed, I started feeling that these names sounded kind of melodic and charming. Not that I would judge anime by its characters’ name, of course.

Book of Bantorra grasped my attention almost immediately by its unique setting. It was undoubtedly a fantasy anime with healthy addition of medieval action and probably steampunk theme. It wasn’t easy to clearly define Bantorra’s universe but it was definitely cool. In this universe, when a person died, he turned to stony ‘book’ which held all that he was in it. These books were kept in Bantorra library and were guarded by the powerful armed librarians. Armed librarians were also sent out around the world on various dangerous missions, presumably as keepers of the peace and books.

The anime dealt with a large group of characters. It was separated into small arcs. Each arc focused on different armed librarian and the story arcs did not appear in chronological order. Yes, that meant the anime could be quite puzzling at first while the main plot slowly and subtly developed. Like several other sci-fi/fantasy anime, The Book of Bantorra took its time to grow and the audiences were required to pay attention to details and be patient. The only thing that kept the story moving, especially in the first half of the series, was the characters.

These characters were great! And the most awesome thing about them was that most of them were not even likable. The armed librarians were not your straight-forward fairy tale hero. They were all grey characters. Some were more honorable than others while some were downright despicable (yes, I’m referring to Hamyuts, among many others). They were all driven by their own desires and ideals. With these diverse characters, the anime could easily toy with the viewers’ feelings. We might hate the character at the beginning and end up feeling sympathetic towards them at the end or vice versa. I think it was amazing.

[SPOILER!] The final story arc dealt with the founding of Bantorra library and Hamyut’s origin. There were several great action sequences and the return of people who had died earlier. I always have a soft spot for this cliché (bringing the dead back for the last time) and this anime had portrayed this characters so well that I could not help but be happy to see them again. It was a cliché-ridden but heart-warming ending nevertheless. Iriea Kitty was so awesome in the last episode that I wish they would give me more of her back story. Despite the said awesomeness, I was not very satisfied with the truth behind the founding of the Library. To be more specific, I thought Ruruta-Nieniu arc was kind of ridiculous (to think that the world was almost destroyed because of this love couple’s quarrel). The final message from the Book of Bantorra was similar to other shows before it; the world is not perfect but there are lots of things in this world worth protecting.

Unfortunately, Book of Bantorra’s production left a lot to be desired. Animation wise, it was full of stiff movements and lazy shots. The CG sequences also fell below general standard. The music sound interesting at first but the few themes this show has is used exhaustively again and again until I get bored during the later part of the show.

Conclusion: Book of Bantorra had great concept and characterization was the strongest quality of this show. A little more polished script would have worked wonders for better continuity of storytelling between arcs. Though the production quality was a big letdown, the anime was still worth watching especially for action/fantasy fans.

Rating: B

Facts
Title: The Book of Bantorra (aka Tatakau Shisho)
Genre: action, fantasy
Released date: October 2, 2009 – April 2, 2010
Episode: 27
Director: Toshiya Shinohara
Animated by: David Production

Hello everyone! I just want to wish all of my readers and friends a Happy New Year and take this chance to share with you a few things including my new year resolution (yes, my life has finally become so chaotic that I need to make list of things to do).

A year has really gone by in a blink of an eye and yet many things happened. I know that many of us anime bloggers faced several obstacles and challenges this year (like Yi and FaS). And I believe there were others who must have gotten through lots of hardships as well but were less vocal about it (I noticed a number of people has gotten quiet lately). Whichever the case, I wish you all a Happy New Year. Of course it won’t be a smooth and flawless year but I know we will get through it together!

Moving to other (less important) things. I just noticed that my blog hits has stealthily slipped passed 200k mark, an achievement which could be easily eclipsed by Glo’s recent massive 500k hits. Still, an achievement is an achievement, however small it may be.

Now, for my new year resolution, I’ll make it short and precise and practical.

1. On anime blogging, I’ll at least post twice a month. Obviously, that’s lower than I usually did but I’m trying to be realistic. Similar to my past pattern, expect more anime series reviews and occasional editorials.
2. On anime watching, I intend to take chance more often. In 2011, I almost entirely watched older or completed series as you might noticed from the reviews I posted this year. The shows I watched were usually praised and I was sure I was watching something decent at the least. This year I’ll try to pick newer (or more controversial) shows and I may catch the currently on-air show if I am available.
3. On life, I’m planning to study more and do better job at managing my time. I never really had working schedule and it cost me a lot of time figuring out what I have to do and cleaning after the tasks I missed.

Lastly, I hope that ‘the end of the world’ stuff is not true despite the apparent universal agreement among prophets (dead or alive). I am ending this post with my best wishes for you and my deepest appreciation for following this blog. Oh, and I’m leaving this video for you as well. It’s quite popular so you might have already seen it. But if you haven’t, then you should :)

I love watching any shows in which lots of people die a horrifying death with blood spattered all over the scene. Sometimes I don’t even care about logical explanation or reason behind such cruelty. I thought I had seen it all until I started watching Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni. Seeing cute little anime girls get slashed and chopped to pieces disturbed me more than I expected. But that did not mean that I didn’t enjoy it.

Higurashi no Naku koro Ni was one of those anime that emerged only once in a while in the world full of generic anime. First and foremost, it is a true horror story and an effective one which was a rare treat because most ‘horror’ anime only ended up being ‘violent’ but never truly scary. The anime took place in a quiet and seemingly peaceful village of Hinamizawa. But the place was haunted by the past filled with murders and, as frequently hinted, dark magic.

Storytelling for Higurashi further amplified the already mysterious plot. The series were separated into several small arcs. Some arcs were the same story told through the point of view of different characters. Some were the same story with different details and endings like parallel universe style. Cleverly, with different arcs, many contrasting details were thrown at the viewers. We had to make our mind who was the bad guy and who was the victim. What was believable and what was just fabrication or fantasy. Was it just an act of crazy murderer or a conspiracy of the village leaders or did the ancient gods also had something to do with these gruesome deaths? There was no clear answer and that made the show very suspenseful to watch. No one was to be trusted and nothing was like what it initially seemed. The sense of danger always hung in the air and there was always something hidden behind every character.

Unlike most horror flicks in recent memory, Higurashi delivered several truly scary moments. We all know that ‘build up’ is everything in horror show (the fact which everyone knows but only few could achieve). Higurashi literally did a lot of build ups. Some hints here and whispers there easily turned this quiet village into potential slaughter house full of potential psycho killers. I actually got to see blood at the end of each arc but somehow the whole series kept me at the edge of my seat all the time.

My compliment also went to the production of the anime. Though Higurashi did not boast the most fluid animation or especially beautiful design, it successfully created spooky and unsettling atmosphere. The original score was good though not distinctively memorable.

It’s been years since Higurashi was released and this anime remained one of the very, if not the most, important titles in horror anime circle. My rating seems quite trivial now because time has already proved this anime’s quality and achievement. It was a great horror anime. My only complaint would be the fact that this series were incomplete. This one was the ‘question arc’ and to find the answer, I’ll have to catch the other ones which, from what I heard, weren’t as impressive as the original.

Another thing I would like to mention is the anime’s extremely violent images and contents. Higurashi was not suitable for young children despite the majority of the characters being young children.

Rating: A

Facts
Title: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (aka Higurashi When They Cry)
Genre: horror, mystery
Released date: April 4, 2006 – September 26, 2006
Episode: 26
Director: Chiaki Kon
Animated by: Studio Deen

At first glance, Xam’d Lost Memories was very reminiscent of Eureka Seven crossed with Studio Ghibli anime like Nausicaa especially when considering character design, art works and lighting. It was a welcoming impression. The sense that something epic was about to happen was almost palpable in the first few episodes. It was simply irresistible.

Xam’d starts off with the familiar setting of Sentan Island. Here, everything looks generally like our world; the houses, school, streets, clothes, cars and busses. Akiyuki, Haru and Furuichi live normal lives (the unstable relationship between Akiyuki’s parents are also counted as normal) in this peaceful island. Then everything familiar is shattered when a strange-looking white-haired kid set bomb on the school bus and Akiyuki is turn into scary monster called Xam’d. The battle between monsters (called Humanforms) and the military erupts in the once peaceful town. With the help of Nakiami (another strange-looking girl with red hair), Akiyuki survived the battle and embarks on a journey to re-discover himself and learn about the true nature of Xam’d.

After that, the world, the setting, the people and the situation get more and more fantastic. There are a lot more monsters, magic, mecha, spirits and battles along the way.  Though it does not really make sense how Sentan Island can be so different from the rest of the world, I think it is a smart choice by the anime creators. Sentan Island is easy to relate to and it is used as a starting point for the audience. It feels like we are setting off to a journey with Akiyuki. That’s a great way to start an epic fantasy. By implication, the anime is also telling the viewers that the world we are living and believing in is just a fraction of much bigger universe full of things unknown.

In the front, the story of Akiyuki and Haru are the main driving force of the anime while the international and interracial war serves as the background of the show. Akiyuki’s storyline is your typical coming of age story spiced up by fantasy elements. He must learn to control Xam’d, learn about his connection to it, find the meaning of his life and ultimately find his way home. Haru, on the other hand, is a bit more dramatic and interesting. She tries her best to get along with the new environment and blend into the society plagued by war. And at the same time, she also holds on to her one true love and goes as far as leaving everything behind and sets out to find him. It is quite romantic to see Akiyuki trying to get home and Haru leaving home to find him. The scene in which Akiyuki and Haru meet in mid-air still never cease to impress me to this very day.

Can Xam’d be counted among mecha anime? I am no mecha expert so I am not entirely sure. But these Xam’d really look like mecha. Whatever the case, I think Xam’d provides nice and refreshing take on conventional mecha/monster genre. Xam’d boasts distinguished production quality with excellent fluidity of movements and detailed animation. It makes other averagely animated anime look cheap. The color and designs of Xam’d makes the show very Ghibli-looking.

Xam’d’s secondary storyline concerning the long-standing war involving several nations and species provides the epic aura surrounding the show and could have lead to an impressive finale. But unfortunately, it is far too confusing that it becomes the show’s biggest flaw. Xam’d spend too much time (and effort) to stylishly shroud the truth about the monsters and the war in mystery. And when the finale arrives, there is no time to properly sort things out. The ending is unforgivably rushed. Some climatic events feel too sudden and forced which greatly dampens the emotional impact for the audience. In the end, I didn’t really know what’s going on. Many characters were devoid of background and sensible explanation. It would have been better with less complicated script or longer runtime.

Conclusion: Xam’d Lost Memories is a strong entry in the rather short list of mature epic sci-fi fantasy anime series. Despite suffering from the rather incomprehensible ending, it is obvious that much work, money, dedication and probably love have been invested into making this show. I am certain that fans of the genre will find Xam’d a pleasant experience at the least.

Rating: B

Facts
Title: Xam’d: Lost Memories (Bounen no Zamned)
Genre: fantasy, sci-fi, mecha
Released date: July 16, 2008 – February 3, 2009
Episode: 26
Director: Masayuki Miyaji
Animated by: Bones

…but love always remains

I would have to admit that the fourth year anniversary of Canne’s anime review blog landed on a rather low note. Many things, good and bad, happened this year which resulted in my routine anime blogging and anime blog reading getting pushed down my priority list. The fact that the actual anniversary was November 4^th which was yesterday only further emphasizes on that sad fact.

Since this post is partially obligated, I will just write about things I would talk with my RL friends if I actually had any.

About recent and current season anime

I kept falling behind. Right now I am more like anime collector than anime viewer. I download anime and keep them in my extremely well-organized hard drive. When I have free time, I will find myself facing a long list of newly released episodes and I’ll spend what time I have left getting them, managing them and taking quick sneak peak at all the newly acquired anime episodes. Then I get tired, fall asleep and fail to actually watch any new episodes. (sigh) I’ll have to do something quickly to reduce my growing list of must watch anime.

About anime blogs

I read blogs about two or three times a week. I am quite happy and somewhat surprised to learn that most of my long standing anime blogger friends remain active. I would be a liar if I told you that those people did not have a part in keeping me here writing about anime. Thank you for being my inspiration, everyone!

About work and how it consumed me

Work has literally taken over my life right now. The fortuneteller said that 2011 would be a busy year for me in terms of career and the fortuneteller was right. As if the routine job plus obligatory night shifts were not enough, I am currently handling two addition research projects as well. I am a co-investigator in one project and principal investigator in another. It was very challenging but also time consuming. Plus, the first board exam is only six months away. I can see it looming in the far horizon like dark storm clouds. I seriously need to stay calm and sort things out one at the time.

About my disaster-infested life

Early this year, the earth quake frightened me for a few days. But since October, my country faces the worst flood in half a century. Luckily I am not one of the victims because I lived in the northern part of the country. My house was nearly flooded in late September because of heavy rain but thanks to the high terrain of my city, the rain water quickly moved south. And now all the water from the north and northeast has reached the central part of the country trying to go out to the ocean. The only problem is that Bangkok, the capitol city, is located exactly where the water is supposed to go out to the ocean. Today, nearly half of the metropolis is invaded by water (and also by fish, snakes, frogs, centipedes and crocodiles). You wouldn’t believe how many people have died of electrocution in their houses so far. If only flood could be as magical as in Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea.

About the future

Like everything else, anime blogging has its ups and downs. The real challenge is keeping it alive during the ‘down’ period. The pace of my blog may change according to the rhythm of my life but be assured that blogging is still one of my most important non-academic project that I intend to keep. And I’m still looking forward to the second aniblog tourney next year.

Again, I would like to thank all of my readers and fellow bloggers for your support and inspiration. I don’t know how 2012 will turn out (with all the popular end-of-the-world prophecies floating around). But I have a good feeling about it. May be it’s time to confer with the fortuneteller again.

As we all know, movies should be experienced in theatre, not on small screens or laptops, except only those really crappy ones. Some good movies are even worth risking contact with airborne diseases from people sitting next to you in the cinema. This is also the case for anime.

I have recently posted my review on Doraemon: Nobita and the New Steel Troops. I did not tell you that I watched that movie on the big screen. So now, I am writing about one of those rare occasions in which I got the chance to watch an anime in theater. And though the movie was not exactly what I expected it to be, the whole experience was nothing less than magical.

In addition to frequent flood, occasional earthquake, a few tsunamis, political turmoil and human rights problems, Thailand has always been plagued by ‘anime ignorance’ crisis. In my entire living memory, I had seen only a handful of Doraemon movies getting released nationwide, few Studio Ghibli films getting limited release (the most recent being Arrietty) and only one Macross movie. Anime is for kids with attention span less than 30 minutes and deserves no more than the time slot right after morning news on weekends. So for me, anime was almost equivalent to laptop screening in my dim lamp-lit room at 1.00 am in the morning. You just can’t imagine my delight when I found out that the latest Doraemon movie hit local cinema, the digital one for that matter!

Despite my work-related exhaustion, I rush to the theater the very next day. I bought a ticket at the box-office and almost failed to notice the strange looks the box-office staff gave me (I knew I should have brought some random kids with me). The theater was, to my surprise, half filled. More than half of the audiences were kids and the rest were probably the kids’ parents or older siblings. I must admit that I spent too much time observing these people during the movie. Doraemon was simple and delivered clear emotions and messages. I heard the children’s laughter every time the anime tried to be funny and felt deep silence whenever the sad part emerged.

The most emotional moment of the event was at the anime’s climatic scene. I was not only because the anime was poignant (It really was) but also because I was moved by the audience as well. The silence in the audience was absolute when Lilulu said goodbye to Shisuka. I saw the woman sitting beside me raised her hand and wiped tears from her eyes. At that moment, a large clump of emotion surged up inside me. I felt my skin getting Goosebumps and my eyes became watery. At first I didn’t understand the feeling I was experiencing. I already knew this ending by heart so it should not have such emotional impact on me. It took me at least a few hours after I came back home to understand my own feeling.

When I saw that woman wiped her tears, I knew I was not alone. I was not the only one in the world covering in my dark room in the deep of the night watching some anime that no one cared about. At that moment in that theater, we were all in it together. We were watching anime at its best form. We were moved and we were impressed, together. Anime, if done right, could reach to all of us just like everything else. I was shaken by the movie, by my love of anime, by the memory and above all, I was moved by the people around me. The magic cannot be made by only the film but the people must help making it together.

My passion had been revitalized somewhat by that event. I think watching anime from your laptop can be tiring after a few years. Watching it with other people will certainly help and going to the cinema is an irreplaceable experience. Now the only problem that remains is that I have no idea when another anime will be released in theater around here. (sigh)

What’s with the excessively long name? All it does was to remind me that this is another remake (the fourth, to be exact) from this long running series of Doraemon movies. As the name implies, this is the remake of 1986 movies, Doraemon: Nobita and the Steel Troops. Be warned that you are about to read the most biased review from me because not only did the 1986 version was my favorite Doraemon movie but also one of my all-time favorite anime.

Nobita accidentally runs into giant robot’s parts in the North Pole. With Doraemon’s help, he complete assembling it and hides it in the world in the mirror. The robot is called Santa Clause. Later, a strange girl named Lilulu appears in town looking for her lost robot. The real adventure begins when Nobita and friends learn why Lilulu and a giant robot are sent to Earth.

This movie is family sci-fi story in its most fundamental form. It contains several classic elements like time travel and parallel universe (the details of these topics had been extensively discussed in my old post published last year – link1, link 2). I am somewhat grateful that most of the essence of the original film, along with the majority of emotional moments, remains intact. But the problem arises from the fact that the original was already a perfect movie in its own way.

This remake half-heartedly tries to be different by altering a number of trivial things or adding more details to certain characters. Personification of Santa Clause is probably the most conspicuous addition into this movie. In the old movie, Santa Clause was largely a machine controlled by either Lilulu or Nobita. Lilulu took central role and she was the sole representative of the conscience of the invading robot army. She was the focus of all the drama and the connection between robots and human. In the new movie, this role is divided between Santa Clause (in the form of cute little yellow monster) and Lilulu. The addition proves to be redundant with two characters playing the exact same role. Consequently, the number of emotional scenes is doubled and they are too forced. The overly cuddly Santa Clause did not work too well with me either, though I suspect that this wasn’t the case for young audience.

With that said, Doraemon: Nobita and the New Steel Troops is still a satisfying entry into Doraemon franchise. Young children who have never seen old Doraemon movies have the opportunity to witness the brilliance of classic Doraemon stories through these remakes. And I have to admit that the animation is fantastic to look at. I felt good watching it because it brought back lots of good memories. I felt good because the original made me feel good. This movie is good because it is smart enough to be faithful to the original. In the end, the credits still go to the 1986 movie. I told you this is a very biased review.

Rating: B+

Facts
Title: Doraemon: Nobita and the New Steel Troops: ~Angel Wings~
Genre: action, fantasy, sci-fi
Released date: March 5, 2011
Running Time: 108 minutes
Distributed by: Toho

It’s always good for any anime producers and directors to possess a little bit of a child’s heart when making anime so that the anime contains wild imagination and enough craziness to amaze us viewers. Shonen anime needs this kind of treatment. Mecha and sci-fi/fantasy anime need it even more. Heroic Age is a Mecha/sci-fi/fantasy anime with a boy’s heart. The problem is, in Heroic Age’s case, the boy has taken control of the series while the adult has apparently left the building.

Heroic Age tells the story in the scale of stars and galaxies. It’s your typical old school space opera in which the decisions by handful of people determine the fate of the entire race and star systems. It makes me feel kind of nostalgic. The series is based loosely on Greek Mythology or Hercules’ Twelve Labors, to be exact. Population of the galaxy consists of the Golden Tribe which is the former ruler of the galaxy, the nearly extinct but extremely powerful Heroic tribe (or the Nodos in this show), the elvish-looking Silver tribe which is the current ruler, the apparently hostile insectoid species called the Bronze tribe and finally, human or Iron tribe. The whole anime is mainly about interstellar war and power struggle between human, Bronze and Silver Tribes after sudden departure of the Golden tribe.

According to Golden tribe’s mysterious scheme, Age is one of the last remaining five Nodoses and the only one given to mankind. He is believed to be the key to restoration of peace and balance in this feudal universe.

First half of the series follows Dhianeila on her voyage aboard the ‘Argonauts’ which ultimately leads to discovery of Age and his incredible destructive Nodos power. The later part of the show is all about battles; battle between Age and the Bronze tribe, human Starfleet and Bronze tribe, human and Silver tribe, Age and other Nodos and so on. One thing is certain; the space battle sequences are nothing short of spectacular with very high production quality, nice blending of 2D/CGI and eye-popping details. It’s not every day one get to see Starfleet of thousands of ships clashes with millions of space monsters in all its glory and scale. Heroic Age deserves all the credits in that department.

Nevertheless, as the series progresses, these exhaustively long battle scenes increasingly become rather problematic. No matter how magnificent the production is, it eventually gets old after a few episodes without real depth or conclusion. Heroic Age literally becomes obsessive with fight scenes. Age has a chance to fight with every tribe and every Nodos, multiple times. The viewers hardly see him in his human form, only his berserk mecha form. The battles are long but they lack emotional punch or significant meaning. To put it simply, no one actually dies or loses. They just fight each other in gigantic space battles that expand in several episodes each time but ultimately lead to inconclusive and indecisive results. It was just sad because it looked so good and it had so much potential.

Converse to the long action sequences, the drama parts are reduced into periodic short scenes between the big battles consisting of few supposedly heartfelt conversations (along with frequent arguments, hugging, teary eyes and scenes in which someone gazes thoughtfully to the sea of stars). The human characters are unbelievably one-dimensional; they are either very good or very rotten. Fortunately, the characters from the Silver tribe are much more complex and diverse.

Like the production value, the original soundtracks for this anime is simply amazing. It is actually one of the few things that make Heroic Age worth my precious time. There were several moments that I thought the music of this greatness deserved better anime. Even now, I still listen to the original scores when I am free. It’s just that good.

Conclusion: I admire this anime for its ambition and technical achievements. Heroic Age excels in the production and music department but almost completely falls apart in storytelling.

Rating: C+

Facts
Title: Heroic Age
Genre: action, fantasy, sci-fi
Released date: April 1, 2007 – September 30, 2007
Episode: 26
Director: Toshimasa Suzuki
Animated by: XEBEC

I have been kept away from my computer last week. I couldn’t go online. I used to think that as I became older I would not be forced to do things I didn’t want to do. Apparently, I was wrong. Like I said, last week I was trapped in a temple. The assignment was for me to find my inner peace. (No, this post has nothing to do with Kung fu Panda 2 in which Po finds his inner peace and deflects cannonballs)

Someone in my department came up with an idea that lots of us (me, included) were too stressful on works (of course, there were no mention of the awfully too frequent nightshifts and excessive workload and the complete lack of holidays). They thought that the everyday life was harmful to the minds and spirits. And that the only way we could have our spirits and minds healed was to extract ourselves from the chaotic world. As a result of that idea, I and several of my colleagues were sent to the temple somewhere far from the busy city (I fell asleep in the bus so I didn’t know where I was taken exactly).

The routines

During my stay in the temple, I had to wear only white clothes, walk around bare-footed and refrain from talking. Cell phones and laptops were strictly forbidden and I was not allowed to pack my own extra food supplies. The daily activity was simple enough. I woke up at 4.00 am (for heaven’s sake! Why didn’t they just shoot me in the head?) and spent a few hours before dawn praying and then meditating. When the sun appeared, I had to do some cleaning around the temple area before breakfast. Then the meditation resumed, I mostly meditated in sitting position but sometimes I meditated in standing position or in a slow-walk manner. After lunch, no more food was given to me. I was allowed to drink fruit juice until the next morning. In the afternoon, the monks gave us lectures and speech about how to nurture my minds and spirits along with my body, how to incorporate Buddhism into daily living, how to control my thoughts from going astray and how to keep myself from different kinds of emotion. In the evening, I meditated some more and before going to bed, there was a religious Q&A sessions with the monk. God, I was so hungry.

The Rules

There were 8 rules that governed my life in the temple.

1. I could not kill anything. Not even small insects or grass

2. I must not steal. This one is not so hard.

3. Refrain from any sexual activities. This one was somewhat obscure but since men were not allowed to touch or even stayed too close to women, I supposed everything was literally forbidden.

4.  I must not tell lies or speak badly of others. Did sarcasm count? If so, this one was impossible to comply

5. I must stay away from alcohols and illicit drugs. This one was easy.

6. I could not eat after noon time. That meant I had to eat my lunch like it’s my very last meal.

7. Any kinds of music, cosmetics and entertainment were prohibited.

8. I could not sleep or sit on soft bed or seat. That meant I had to sleep on the cold, dry floor.

 Wa…wait! No entertainment?! So now, movies, music and anime are all sinful?

The logics

The whole point of this training was to make me gain better control of my mind. They said that regular daily life was full of temptation, distraction and emotion. The mind was pulled this way and that by these stimuli and the mind could not rest. Unfortunately anime, as well as movies, TV shows and music were all emotional distractions. Anime flew my mind to the distant worlds, to different emotions that I didn’t normally experience. It’s not always good to have your mind wander around. Meditation was supposed to help me keep my mind right here in my body by focusing the thoughts only at breathing. That’s a pretty good concept. If I could keep my mind at one place for longer time, I would be able to do everything more efficiently. I would not worry so much about what had happened and what might happen next because my mind stayed at the present.

So there you have it. I am somewhat torn apart. I love wandering around mentally. I often create my own universe and drift in and out of it. I love doing that. What about the power of imagination? Will I ever find peace if I were a fantasy novelist or anime fanatics? I think I will have to find balance between the two scenarios; letting my mind go wild and keeping it at home where it can rest just a little bit.

Again this post is more about me than anime but I hope you enjoy it to some extent. If you want to know whether I found my inner peace during my stay at the temple, the answer is no. But I might have a glimpse of it or glimpse of the path to it. I am too sinful and too normal to let go of everything just yet. I still cannot let go of anime afterall.