Canon or Not

I've been browsing through the Fairytail Wiki and I'm getting the impression more and more that I'm
vastly missing out by not reading the Manga.

It's not like I'm actively avoiding the Manga or anything, I just discovered the anime first. When I'm not derping around on this blog, or instagram and pinterest, I actually do have a job that I do full time. So it's not like I've got a lot of time in my day to day life to fit in a lot of stuff.

I usually unwind with a couple episodes of anime, staying up much later than I should, and then head to bed.

But, I was reading that the Key of the Starry Sky Arc wasn't actually canon. And there've been a couple of characters I've read up on where they wiki has mentioned events that were never covered in the anime and we're already well past the point where they could happen in the timeline of things.

So I feel like story wise there's a lot I'm missing out on.

I'm also wondering just how canon some of my ships are according to the manga (no one tell me I want to read it for myself!).

But it means tracking down somewhere to read the manga (which isn't that hard I know). I'd much rather have actual physical copies of the volumes (Wouldn't we all?), but right now that's not really an option.

Anyway.

It just kind of irked me that there was a whole story arc that I'd watched that wasn't canon while there's apparently plenty of canon material that never even got covered. Aside from the fact that I really liked Michelle and the twist near the end of the arc made me sob bitter tears.

I guess that's enough ranting for the moment.

I'm sorry this post isn't anywhere near as inspirational and full of wisdom as my last entry, but I didn't want to overdo it on the "inspiration and motivation" front. Apparently this is only going to be a weekly blog for now. I hope to update it more frequently in the future, but I find that if I do the daily updates thing I don't really have a lot to say.

Alright, that's it for the moment, I hope you all visit my blog again next week!

Anime Wisdom

Over the years, I've learned a lot from Anime. A lot of very powerful wisdom is handed down by some of our favorite characters in scenes that usually stick in our minds as being incredibly badass. And yet, very rarely do we actually take that wisdom and apply it to our every day lives. 

So I've taken a moment to collect some of my favorite anime quotes and share them here. Ones that I feel we would all benefit from if we took a moment to apply them to ourselves. 

 First up, Gildarts Clive from Fairy Tail gives us some incredibly powerful words to mull over.
"Fear is not evil. It tells you what your weakness is and, once you know your weakness, you can become stronger, as well as kinder."

That quote is pretty much self explanatory, up until that last little bit. How can fear make you kinder?

By understanding that if something makes you afraid, it makes someone else afraid too. If you gain the power to overcome that fear then you will be more understanding of those that are still trapped by that fear, and maybe you'll even be able to help them.

This next quote is also on the subject of fear, and it comes from Maka Albarn from SoulEater.

"We might be scared, but that's what makes us stronger."

Both Maka and Gildarts believe that fear can make you stronger, but how is that?

Gildarts believes that it's by identifying your weakness and learning to overcome it. That's part of it.

However, I think that it's more than that. I think Maka's quote leans more towards the famous (non-anime) quote by Nelson Mandela:

I learned the Courage is not the absence of fear, but triumph over it. The brave man is not he who is not afraid, but he who conquers that fear. 

Being afraid, but still mustering up the courage to go ahead and do it anyway. Whether it's talking to someone you've got a crush on, standing up for your beliefs, or going sky diving for the first time. Being afraid is natural. Doing it anyway is courageous.


 This is another Fairytail quote. I tried to mix things up a bit, but I've been binge watching Fairytail lately in an effort to catch up, so please forgive me.

This quote from Lucy is one that I feel a lot of people would really benefit from.

"There's nothing fortunate about having your fate decided for you. You have to grab your own happiness."

Now how does this apply to someone who isn't the daughter of a wealthy man trying to arrange a marriage you don't want?

It's all in that last line. "You have to grab your own happiness." If you want something from life, go get it. Screw the circumstances you're currently living in. You're only as happy as you allow yourself to be.

Sure, there's shit in the world and it makes life difficult, but if you sit around and do nothing then your fate has already been decided for you. Get up and make something of yourself, don't take no for an answer. Grab your own happiness.

 I was a kid when the original Pokemon Movie came out. I went and saw it in theaters with my sisters and cousins.

At the end, Mewtwo said some pretty inspiring things that were, unfortunately, lost on my young mind.

Thankfully, my love of pokemon endured into my adult life and I was able to rediscover that wisdom.

"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."

You might have been born into the poorest, most down on their luck family in the world, but that's irrelevant. Just like with the quote from Lucy above, what you do with your life is up to you. You are not where you were born, or who you were born to. You have the ability to decide and change everything about your life.

It's not easy. Things will be difficult and there will be times when you want to give up, but remember that you are ultimately in control. No one can decide your fate for you unless you let them.

And finally, our last quote is another Fairytail quote. This time from Mirajane.

"When people realize how lonely it is being on their own, they will become kind."

This one is a little less obvious, and kind of cryptic in its wisdom.

I believe that ultimately what it means is that people who are unkind or mean-spirited will ultimately change their ways if they find themselves alone and ignored.

People who don't bring positive things into your life don't need to be in your life. Don't associate with people who bring you down or make you feel badly. I don't care how long you've been friends for, I don't care what memories you share in your past. If they're unkind to you then they don't deserve the kindness of your friendship.

Don't be mean to them. Don't fight them. Don't yell or argue. Just leave them alone. If they value your friendship and find themselves suddenly cut out of your life, then they will find a way to change and make things right.

If more people cut the toxic people out of their lives, there would be fewer unkind people in the world. But too many people tolerate the mean behavior of people around them because they themselves are afraid of losing that friend.

If someone treats you badly, they're not your friend. You lose nothing by cutting them out of your life. And so long as you're kind and genuine you'll attract new people who want to be in your life and value your friendship.

What about you? Is there any anime wisdom that has spoken to you and helped to change your life?

Oh the Many Ships I Sail

It's inevitable, if you're a fan of Anime/manga you're eventually going to find yourself (willingly or
not) sailing a fleet of ships and quite possibly heading into battle against someone else's fleet. Because your fleet is the one true pairing and by gawd everyone else better get on board or be crushed!

If you're confused, then I'm sorry. True Otaku are already in the know.

Haha, I'm just kidding. There's so much stuff floating around the internet these days, it's entirely possible for someone to have been gleefully piloting their own ship, all alone in the great vastness of space that is the Anime universe and have absolutely no idea that bloody battle is being waged over something as innocent as love.

Yes, that's what this is all about. Love. More specifically it's about the ships created by fans, and how different shippers may find themselves at odds.

So, a little vocabulary before we continue. Follow these links to TVTropes for some pretty accurate (and somewhat funny) descriptions of Shipping and OTP, then come back here to finish reading.

Anyway, all that is to say, if you've got two characters that you truly believe should be together (canon or not) then you're a shipper.

More often than not, you'll find yourself sailing many ships and maybe even ships that cross entire fandoms. Usually this isn't even a conscious process. It just happens. Our brains pick out two characters that we really like and then decides that they would be awesome together. The rest is history.

Over time, however, I've noticed that all of my ships have something in common. For me to actually get behind a pairing I have to have some sort of inkling as to whether or not the characters might actually like one another. Nothing imagined either, it's got to be something outright. And it has to be mutual. They have to like each other.

Like I said in an earlier post, I'm still catching up on Fairy Tail. I'm currently on the 4th day of the Grand Magic Games. I've never read the manga (something I plan on doing).

Based on what I've watched so far though, I just can't ship Gray and Juvia. While Juvia is very open about her feelings, Gray (at least so far) has never really said anything one way or the other. He supports Juvia the way he would any other member of the guild, and jumps to her defense without question, but I believe he'd do the same for Natsu or Wendy or any of his guild members.

I'm not saying the Gruvia shippers are wrong. I'm just saying that I personally can't get behind it.

However, during the Oracion Seis arc there's the scene where Gemini impersonates Gray and reveals that he "has a thing for Lucy." I'm not sure if this is canon, and it hasn't been touched on again so I'm assuming it was no big deal. It doesn't matter anyway, because Lucy herself repeatedly tells Juvia she's not interested in Gray and has never shown anything other than friendship towards him.

So GraLu is out for me as well.

Natsu and Lucy have several moments that might be defined as showing "interest" in one another. Lots of blushing. I think there's attraction there, but it's subtle. I haven't nailed them together as OTP. Things can shift really easily, especially with Lisanna obviously still harboring feelings for Natsu.

There are, however, two ships that I'm pretty much on board with 100%.

The first should be pretty obvious and I expect that most fans of Fairy Tail will agree with me on this one.

Gajeel and Levy. There's lots of mutual attraction there. They work really well together and I think ultimately would make an amazing couple.

The second one doesn't get a lot of attention by the fans. I'm not sure if that's because it's one of those things that goes without saying and doesn't need repeating, but I've fallen in love with this pairing.

Elfman and Evergreen. I hated Evergreen when she was first introduced. I seriously disliked her character and her personality, but that was probably because the Fighting Festival arc had left a general bad impression of all the members of the Raijinshuu.

The Tenrou island arc really helped to show a different side of all of the Raijinshuu and highlighted positive qualities that each of them had. Most notably, however, it showed that Evergreen wasn't just a cold hearted bitch and actually worked really well alongside Elfman.

The Grand Magic Games arc brought Elfman to the forefront and gave us one of the best examples of mutual attraction we've seen so far in the series.

My still ultimate favorite pairing is Bisca and Alzack. Before the time skip I got all butterflies-in-the-stomach giddy every time their awkward romance got screen time.

You have no idea how loud I squealed when I learned they'd gotten married and had the most adorable kid ever.

With them officially hitched though, I think the Elfman/Evergreen pairing is meant to replace their sappy romantic tension and give us another pairing to look forward to. I don't mind it one bit to be honest.

I sail, far more ships than this, and in many different fandoms. I think naming them all would be a novel sized undertaking, haha.

But anyway, the point to this post is that we all have ships we love. We have ships we dislike. We have ships that we abhor. There are pairings we simply cannot fathom(I still don't quite get the Eren/Levi shippers from Attack on Titan), but that's okay.

You don't have to agree with everyone. You don't even have to like what they're saying. But you don't have to entry into life-or-death combat over which ship is the TRUE ship.

I had a friend when I was in College. We both shipped different things. She preferred yaoi pairings and I was a more traditional shipper. We got along just fine. Sharing our ships with one another, talking about the pros and cons of the relationships and why or why not so-and-so would make a great couple.

Even though we didn't agree on the characters all the time, we took time to understand and recognize why each or us valued a certain pairing. In the end our friendship was stronger for it.

If more people in the fandoms took the time to do something like this (instead of blasting each other to pieces) then each fandom would become infinitely stronger.

If you want the blank version of the shipping chart I posted, you can find it here.

Otaku Test

I've always felt weird about calling myself an Otaku. Am I really? Do I have the right to call myself that? I know there are a lot of factors and a lot of different types of Otaku, but I think this picture here should serve as an adequate test of my abilities.

The picture doesn't specify, but I'm going to stick to shows and not movies. It would be too easy to list all the Miyazki movies and knock out a huge chunk of the test. I'm also knocking out Attack on Titan and Fairy Tail, since those are pretty popular these days as well.

Also, I know it's hard to prove because this is the internet and this is just a blog post, but I'm not going to look anything up. All of these are going to be off the top of my head.

Alright, here we go. 20 Anime other than Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Fairy Tail, Attack on Titan. They must be shows not movies.

1. Vampire Knight
2. Rosario Vampire
3. Norgami
4. Last Exile
5. Darker Than Black
6. Blue Exorcist
7. Devil is a Part Timer
8. Strike Witches
9. Simoun
10. Sword Art Online
11. InuYasha
12. Soul Eater
13. Blood +
14. Wolf's Rain
15. Elfen Lied
16. Eureka 7
17. Fruits Basket
18. Witch Blade
19. Ah! My Goddess
20. This Ugly Yet Beautiful World

Bam! I know I've watched way more than that, but those are the ones I remember off the top of my head. I avoided Pokemon since I felt like that was kind of cheating as well. I also only included anime that I'd actually watched instead of ones that I've been meaning to watch or have only head of. 

There are a few that I haven't finished (Ah! My Goddess, Eureka 7, Wolf's Rain and InuYasha). And one that released a sequel that I haven't seen yet (Sword Art Online). With Wolf's Rain, I've actually seen most of it (including the end) but I missed out a lot on the beginning episodes. 

I have a terrible memory when it comes to names as well. So even though I remember the anime themselves, trying to remember the names of all the characters is brain meltingly difficult. I am, however, confident in my knowledge of their plots. 

So if anyone doubts me, feel free to ask me plot specific questions and I'll do my best to answer. I know this doesn't definitively prove that I'm an otaku. At the very best it means I've got an obsession with anime.

But I think being an otaku is more than just how much anime you watch or how much manga you read. It's really just about how obsessed you are with the manga and anime that you have watched/read.

I do believe that if you're a true Otaku then you're naturally going to branch out into other anime/manga/VNs/Light Novels, but I don't think any other person can actually define whether or not you're actually an otaku.

What do you think?

It's so Fluffy!

I was browsing pinterest earlier today and I came across these awesome slippers that took me for a ride on the nostalgia train. They look just like the Dust Bunnies from My Neighbor Totoro which means they also kind of bear a resemblance to the Soot Sprites from Spirited Away.


I mentioned in my first post that My Neighbor Totoro holds a great deal of personal significance to me. So I went on a quest to figure out where the heck I could buy these from.

It didn't take long, haha. I found them on Amazon, which has me stoked.

They're one size fits most, made for adult shoe sizes 6-9. At least that's what it says. I wonder if they realize that Men's size 9 is quite a bit bigger than a Women's 9. I was kind of worried about the size, since I'm a Women's 9, but one of the reviewers says she's the same size and they fit her perfectly.

Soot Sprites from Spirited Away

Speaking of reviews, it has a lot of 5 star reviews and an overall rating of 4.2 out 5 with 136 total reviews. Which means most people really like them. Reading through the comments there are a few negative/low rated reviews, but these mostly seem to be people who are nit-picky.

I'm personally struggling with whether or not to just buy them now, or subtly drop hints to my family that these would make a really awesome Birthday present.

At the time of this writing they're on sale for 69% off. So if you're a Miyazki/Studio Ghibli fan then you're probably going to want to pick up a pair of these fuzzy little guys before it's too late!

Never Ending List of Anime and Manga

I think I must've been Yomiko Readman from Read or Die in a past life, only with anime as well as books...

I've come to the realization that I'm never going to be able to watch all of the anime that are on my "must-watch-this-shit-sooner-rather-than-later" list. Especially now. Thanks to Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram I'm exposed to a constant stream of memes, pictures, and gifs from dozens (if not hundreds) of different anime.

On my current "must watch" list is:


Tokyo Ghoul
Sword Art Online II
Psycho Pass Season 2
Fate/Stay Night

And there are more, but those are kind of at the forefront at the moment. I've also developed a budding interest in sports anime. I've never actually gotten into them before, but I keep seeing references to them on Instagram and I'm thinking I want to try at least one.

I've also got several different Anime that I need to finish watching:

Naruto
Fairy Tail
Bleach
Wolf's Rain
InuYasha

I've got several different manga that I've been wanting to read, but still haven't gotten around to. At the forefront is Shingeki no Kyojin (aka, Attack on Titan).

Then I'd like to finish Bleach and probably read Fairy Tail as well.

I've been meaning to read the Light Novel for Howl's Moving Castle. A lot of people have said it's drastically different than the Anime, which I don't mind really. I just want to read the story that inspired everything.

There are literally not enough hours in the day for all the stuff I want to read/watch while still doing things I need to do. Like chores and eating.

Catching up on Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail is one of those Anime that I started watching a while back, then I got really busy and stopped watching. But once I started getting active on social media I realized that everyone else is way ahead of me, which means that I'm probably going to be spoilered at every turn.

So I've been making an effort to catch up to current episodes. I've still got a long way to go.

I just finished the Infinity Clock story arc and let me tell you, the feels were real.

Spoilers beyond this point, so be wary.

When I was a kid I had several stuffed animals who were more real to me than some people. I told them all my secrets and they went pretty much everywhere with me. Even now as an adult, a few of them still have a place of honor on my bed.

So when I finally made the connection between Imitatia/Michelle and Lucy's past I found myself choking back tears. Especially once Brain II "killed" her and turned her back into a regular old doll.

If you didn't have that kind of relationship with a stuffed animal or doll as a child, then this story arc might not have made as much sense to you. But to me, it basically punched my childhood in the face.

Everything Michelle had done and said up to that point suddenly made sense. And while I've never felt much kinship with Lucy, I felt closer to her in those last few episodes than I ever had before.

I'm curious if I'm the only one that felt this way. How about you?

Anime is love, Anime is Life

I've been obsessed with anime for as long as I can remember. It started when I was just a wee little kid back in the 90s. My uncle bought me a copy of My Neighbor Totoro. I watched the crap out of that thing.

Then it was Pokemon. My parents never indulged my desire to "catch 'em all" so I would sit in my room and make construction paper Pokemon and battle them with my sister.

In High School one of my friends and I would have sleepovers every weekend so we could watch Inuyasha on Adult Swim. I introduced her to the world of manga as well.

As I got older, I started to consume more and more anime. A friend of mine introduce me to Naruto (both the anime and the manga), which I still haven't finished (yes I know, I suck).

Another friend bought me the first several volumes of Ranma 1/2 and I bought myself a couple volumes of Bleach. I still don't have a huge manga collection, but it has expanded a bit since then.

Thanks to various streaming websites across the web, the number of Anime I've been able to watch in recent years has skyrocketed.

Since anime has been such a big part of my life for so long, I've decided to share my thoughts on Anime, what I've been watching, and things I find interesting about it. I've got accounts on Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram where I share images from my favorite anime and fun things that I find on the web.

So thank you for visiting my little website!