A Simple Truth
With the start of a new year and the new decade, I wanted to kick everything off with a more informal post than I normally do. To remind myself and others of a simple truth.
With the start of a new year and the new decade, I wanted to kick everything off with a more informal post than I normally do. To remind myself and others of a simple truth.
Kimetsu no Yaiba claims to slay demons.
But the only thing it really puts to rest are its chances at being a worthwhile anime.
As some of my readers and followers may know, I’m an avid fan of the metal genre of music.
It’s a major part of my life: I listen to it every day, I collect physical vinyl media from underground groups, I discuss it on the various platforms I’m found on. From the technical skills to the filthy riffs, its intensity and diversity knows no bounds, so I have found myself drawn to its amazing musicality.
Metal also gives me the chance to think about and look inwards into myself, contemplating those harsher, more suppressed thoughts and feelings that tend to get bottled up. Given features a band more akin to pop-rock rather than metal, but their own personable journey still demands self-reflection.
Whether direct or not, we all eventually learn of a biological truth: “the birds and the bees”.
And for the ladies of Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo., evolution chirps and buzzes.
The girls of Yuru Camp△ are quite adventurous.
In comparison, I wouldn’t deem myself as an outdoorsy person. I prefer listening to my metal music in my comfy room, streaming challenging video games on my consoles, and of course watching my favorite anime at my desk. For the most part, these activities take place indoors, and I relish the solitude they bring.
Yet there’s more to life than just being cooped up inside all the time as I like to do. Indeed, the five laid-back campers of this anime promise a firsthand look-see at the wonder and the happiness that can only be found when taking that first willing step.
Marriage often binds both parties with a single phrase: “until death do us part.”
Mahoutsukai no Yome chooses another phrase instead: “doomed to fail.”
The phrase “drawing a line in the sand” is used to represent the spot or the threshold that somebody should not cross for fear of consequences.
Garo: Vanishing Line, true to its name, brushes the sand away to pretend as if that line never existed. All so that it may go where it wishes and do as it pleases.
The anime was under the false pretense, though, that nobody would notice its transgressions.
Citrus embodies its namesake; the ever-present sweet-and-sour fruitiness captures the title well.
But, like a theater troupe booed off stage, it must dodge the oranges and the limes hurled in its direction for the poor showing it offers.
My uncle has a quote which not only has stuck with me my whole life ever since he first said it aloud but also perfectly captures the spirit of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san without any troubles.
“If we ain’t teasin’ ya, then we don’t like ya.”
It may seem counterintuitive, but it’s true. Most people are not comfortable being playful with complete strangers, and even more people avoid interacting with those whom they dislike. So, teasing is, in a way, another term for caring.
My family and I tease each other all the time whenever we have get-togethers, yet Nishikata and especially Takagi take the medal for teasing champions as their relationship plays out in kindhearted fashion.
“It’s always calmest before the storm.”
This phrase is known and used for those situations when the good times must surely predate (or even predict) an encroaching ugliness. It’s succinct in usage, and it’s easy to understand. But it’s also rather pessimistic. A doom-and-gloom approach to what life brings on the horizon.
Because that which follows a storm can have a balanced sense of optimism. The warmth of sunshine. The colorful image of a rainbow. The smell of fresh nature. So, those ugly times may arrive without remorse, but goodness can prevail. If nothing else, Koi wa Ameagari no You ni adheres to this stance, promising a phenomenal anime containing a similar happiness.