anime – Page 4 – Yuki The Snowman

Hey Broke Weeaboo! Let’s Get Your Money Right For Your Next Convention.

The 2018 convention season draws near. You’re always broke from spending $500 on half-naked anime girl figurines. You love to spend $300 on anime Blu-rays, but somehow, you don’t have enough money for a convention. Do you think your mommy and daddy are going help you pay for your weeaboo dress-up festival? Of course, they’re not! You’re a grown man (or woman) now. Just like your friend whom you borrow money from for cons, they’re tired of funding your hobbies. Maybe you’re not broke, but you suck at money management. You’re the type of person to not have their priority together and splurge your cash on useless crap.

0549cc6f607b1caa3ce2fffeb18e5eb6 — Bedroom of a man who disappoints his their parents.

Because I’m a nice person, I’ll teach you how to get your money right. I’ll promise you that with my guide, you’ll have more than enough money saved up for you next convention adventures. It’s my duty and ethical obligation to help my fellow nerds stack money for their passion.

midari_money — Your friends prasing you for saving and stackin your money up oh wait you don’t have friends my bad.

My guide is not for you begging ass, broke ass nerds (who always mooch off their friends). This is not for people who refuse to make money on their own. This guide is not for skeptics who believe saving money is impossible. Go away. You’re wasting my time and yours – but mostly my time. Do you tend to blow a check, or dip into savings for wants, rather than needs and raining days? Good. Get the hell off this guide – people like you will never learn. My advice is only for those who are serious about saving and getting their money right. I only help people who are willing to better themselves.

If you’re still here then that means you’re serious about wanting to save for conventions. Let us begin.

HOTEL

Obtaining a hotel room should be your utmost priority (next to buying a badge/pass). There are two categories for convention hotels: The main hotel(s); where most of the action takes place, and the secondary Hotel(s); for those who want a cheaper option and/or avoid crowds. The main hotel’s full price can range from $230-$1500 depending on the convention, location, hotel brand, days etc. Secondary hotels range from $180-$1000.

Most conventions hotels will accept room bookings about eight (8) months in advance (before con starts). Normally, the convention’s social media team will provide an update on when this will happen. Once they give the dates for room bookings, you want to start stacking up immediately.

Let’s say that you want to book with the Waverly Hotel (the host hotel of Anime Weekend Atlanta [AWA]). The hotel will allow room registration on October 3, 2017,* (the time of this writing) and the convention starts on September 20, 2018. The total cost of staying at the Waverly for four days is $700. This gives you about 50 weeks (or about almost 12 months) to stack. Ignoring assets and other forms of income, let’s say you get paid bi-weekly. You’re given 24 paychecks prior to saving if you’re working a regular 9-to-5.

Let’s do some math.

$700/24= $29.16. $29.16/2 bi-weekly paychecks = $14.58 $14.58 is how much you need to take out of your check a pay period. Put the $14.58 in a savings account (or any other accounts you do not have normal access to). If need be, consider opening a new bank account separate from your main one. If you bank at Bank of America, open an account with Commerce Bank, and then deposit the hotel money in that bank. Destroy any and all credit/debit cards linked to the bank – you do not want to spend any money on that account. Repeat until you reach your target goal.

(Please note that many banks are different with their savings account. Some may require you to have a minimum amount of savings to keep the account open.)

What if you’re splitting a room with four people (you included in this four)? Well, that’s simple! $700/4 people = $175 per person. Take your $175 and divide it by 24 checks. That’ll equal to $7.29 a check that you need to put aside.

Regardless if you’re alone or with a group, keep taking the money out of your check and stack it up until it adds up to the total amount of what you need. Remember not to touch it until it’s time to transfer your funds into your checking account, or when you need to give the money to whomever the name is on the hotel’s bill.

With the hotel taken care of, it’s time to tackle your badge situation. Now, should you save up for a badge, or go all in and buy one ASAP? That is dependent on you and your situation.

(*NOTE: AWA has yet to accept room bookings at the time of this writing)

The Badge

Is it better to just go all in on a badge and pay for it now? Should you stack up for badge overtime and buy one in the future? Let’s go over each option and decide which is best for you.

ALL IN:

Let’s say the badge is $45 at its cheapest (usually the first tier of pricing). If you can spend $45 and not be hurt by it, then go for it. Yes, you’ll lose money, but you won’t lose time waiting for your badge in line at at-door registration. Trust me: Losing time is worse than losing money. Money, we can gain back – time, we will never recover. You’re investing $45 in extra time – extra time you can spend on panels, autograph lines, chilling with friends, etc. To be quite honest, that’s a win-win.

Losing both time and more money is lose-lose.

SAVING:

So you can’t afford to invest in a badge quite so soon. That’s okay; you can stack up to the desire tier pricing. Maybe you want to save up for the second tier that’s coming up in two months. Or perhaps you want to wait and save for the final tier before online registration ends in six months. That’s cool. I can work with you on either or.

The second tier badge price starts at $55, the price increase will start on December 3^rd, 2017. This gives you four paychecks until December 3^rd. 4 paychecks divided by $55 equals $13.75 ($55/4=$13.75)

For the six months option (October 3^rd to March 3^rd): 12 paychecks/$75 = $6.25 a check. Again, just like your hotel money, place this money in your savings and do not touch it until you hit your target goal.

Travel

How you will get to the convention is up to you, and it will be different from person-to-person. Sadly, humans cannot teleport, so you must figure out a mode of transportation. This section will be broken down into four sections: Air, Road, Rail, and Public Transportation/Ride Share

AIR:

Admittedly, I have never traveled to a convention by air. From what others told me, it’s best to book your flights as soon as your hotel and/or badge. I would personally put aside around $100-$200 a check for about 8-10 months if you have 100% confidence that you’re traveling by air. You might go a little over your target goal for the tickets, but it’s better to have more cash than what you think you need. Do not delay as airline tickets will increase their price as your departure date draw nears.

It’s not wise to wait.

RAIL:

In general, you want to book your rail tickets (such as Amtrak) months in advance. I say that you want to buy your train tickets around the same time you booked your hotel rooms and/or badge. The sooner, the better. Why? Because you don’t want to waste more money as time passes. Use the same method for booking and saving money for an airline flight as you would use for plane tickets as mentioned above.

CAR:
This will depend on how far you’re traveling, your car’s MPG, and how many people you have riding with you. A trip to STL to CHI will cost you around $60-90 in gas. From STL to ATL will cost you $90-120. Again, this is dependant on your car and the people riding/driving with you. I would start saving up for gas money about three months before the convention.

Let’s take St. Louis to Atlanta as an example. When traveling with my friend to ATL, he charges me around $40 for the trip. I put aside about $20 a paycheck a month prior to us heading to Atlanta.

I really hope I don’t have to break down this simple math for you guys.

PUBLIC TRANSIT/SHARE RIDE:
If you need to use public transit, taxi services, or a shared ride to get to a con, please research what bus, train, etc. you need to take for the convention. Bus and train fare will be dependent on the city you’re in, as well as share riding to a convention. In general, I say put aside at the $10-$30 for your choice of public transit and share ride a month before the convention (if need be).

If I know I’m doing a $20 Uber to get to my convention hotel, I put aside $5 from each paycheck about two months prior. So $20/4 bi-weekly checks = $5 I need to put aside.

Don’t forget to tip your driver. Don’t be a cheap ass.

FOOD

You gotta eat and stay fueled up. Ever danced at a rave on an empty stomach? It’s not fun. Fast, cheap food or dine-in at a high-quality restaurant? Cook your own food if you have a kitchen suite? Again, this section depends on your budget and needs. If you’re planning on eating out in fast food places, your budget should be around $40-100. Are you planning on eating out at non-fast food places? You want to save around $130-200. If you’re cooking your own food, I say around $60-200 depending on how many people you’re feeding. Before I forget, you should have about $20-40 aside for a snacks budget just in case you’re walking around the convention center all day and you need lite fuel (such as cereal bars, fruits, etc.)

If I’m planning on eating out at fast food places, I place my budget at about $60 for the convention weekend. Knowing this, I give myself a month before the convention to put aside $30 a paycheck until I hit $60.

When I’m in Chicago for Anime Central, my friend, his crew, and I go to Hofbräuhaus for one night and dine in. Knowing that he preps for this dinner, I put aside around $40 two months prior. Two months gives me four bi-weekly paychecks. With this, I put aside $10 a check until I hit $40 and keep that $40 in my savings until it’s time to transfer my funds into my checking account.

PARTY GOODS

This section is optional and you don’t need to party to have fun at cons (but it’s better that way). If you’re like me, then you’re about convention partying life. Therefore, this section is for you. In all honesty, this varies from person-to-person and their needs. If you’re just going to one party, you may need just one or two bottles, a few mixers, and a case of beer, which will run you about $35-$75. If you’re hosting a room party, then you may need to spend about $150-$1200. Feel free to check out my “So You Wanna Host a Room Party” article for more information.

https://yukithesnowman.com/2017/05/12/so-you-wanna-throw-a-convention-hotel-room-party/

I usually wait until after I check into my hotel and have everything ready before I buy my liquor. You do have those people who love to drop out of the hotel room at the last minute. That extra money could help in a situation. It does suck though.

Boy does it suck.

But you can make it not suck by stacking up six months prior to the convention if you’re 100% sure you’re hosting a room party. I’m projecting that my room party for Anime St. Louis* 2018 will run me $600 in alcohol, mixers, and other goods. Given my room party will be on that Saturday (May 5^th, 2018), I must plan on saving my money aside for the party on December 5^th. For two weeks up to May 5^th, I will put aside $50 until I hit my target goal.

Math time!

$600/6 months = $100 must be saved each month.

$100/2 bi-weekly paychecks = $50 taken from each check.

Of course, your room party budget will be different from mines. This is just an example of breaking down the math and planning.

*Disclaimer: I am not hosting a room party for Anime St. Louis 2018. Do not come up to me asking if I’m running a room party. This was just an example.

Adding it all Up

We have the numbers; now let’s add them all up. The total will be your target goal for savings. Below is an example based off my personal funds for major conventions, so your numbers will vary. Some will save more money than I. Others will save less. This is all dependent on the conventions you’re going to as well as funds and time.

HOTEL: $700
BADGE: $45
TRAVEL (Road): $40 for my share of gas money
PUBLIC TRANSIT: $6
FOOD: $100
PARTY GOODS: ~$120

TOTAL: $971
I’m going to take that $971 and divided by 11 months (until Anime Weekend Atlanta).

$971/11 months = $88.27 I need to put aside each month until the week before AWA for 11 months. By going bi-weekly paychecks I can put aside $44.13 per paycheck. This does exclude any forms of secondary sources of income. Applying my other sources of income to build up will make me reach my goal faster and earlier. This is giving or taking some items away (such as badge and alcohol)

Tips on Making (More) Money

Conventions aren’t cheap; that’s not a secret. I know people are struggling to make ends meet as well as putting towards their hobbies. It’s a cash drain, believe me. I understand. However, you can always make extra money to add to your funds. I’ll break down a few simple and easy ways to make extra money for you to use for the con.

WORK EXTRA HOURS/USE PTO

This is the simplest way to gain extra money. If you see that there are extra hours or shifts to be picked up at your job, jump on that chance. Does it suck that you have to give up free time to make more money at the job? Yes. Is it awesome to have a little bit of extra cash in your pockets for the convention? Yes. Go through some hardships now so you can have a better time later. If those hardship means working more hours at a job you don’t like, so you can go to a convention and escape from the workforce for a few days (or even work on your business AT the con), then do it.

If your job allows it, you can use your Paid Time Off (PTO) hours that you’ve stacked and use those hours on your off day. Then, when you get paid, put the PTO money into savings.

SELL/FLIP PRODUCTS ONLINE
Do you have old video games, comics, mangas, etc. laying around at your house that isn’t of use to you? Sell them on eBay to make extra dough! After you research and study the value of the items you want to sell, just create a listing for them on eBay, Amazon, Craig’s List, etc. You can either sell your own product if you have your own business or flip other people products. I personally flipped items from Loot Crates to gain extra cash for funds.

SELL DRUGS/INVEST IN A DRUG DEALER

Don’t do it. You’re not a dope boy/dope boy investor in college anymore. If you are a dope boy then all I have to say is be careful and watch out for the haters and fake friends.

…Althrough you could sell drugs to the partiers at conventions to make extra cash. Just a thought.

INVEST IN A LEGIT BUSINESS
Your homeboy is a real estate investor or owner and has a great track record of returns on investments? Invest with him.

If you need more ideas to increase your income or have a new source of income to fund your weeaboo hobbies, I recommend the following, as they have helped me with increasing my income and manage my money:

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
The 10x Rule and If You’re Not First You’re Last by Grant Cardone
YouTuber Miniory Mindset
YouTuber and Rapper Nino Brown (Find the Balance Between Having Fun and Having Funds is a great video of his on saving money for the future as well as Chapter 3 of his audiobook Mackin’ and Stackin 3)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Saving money for conventions shouldn’t be so hard. Yet, so many weeaboos struggle to do so. Sometimes, people attend conventions without a budget or money at all! Having a budget and money saved aside will help you out in the long run, as it’s nice to have extra money. Not having money at a con isn’t fun. Nobody will help you out – it’s up to you to have cash. With this how-to guide, I hope you learn how to save and manage your money for future convention events. I believe everyone should have money save up to maximize their fun at cons. Start saving now! Do not wait until it’s less than a month before the convention to save. Apply what you’ve learned from this guide for the future!
Besides, nobody will feel sorry for your broke ass. Get this money and save it.

Thanks for reading!

IMAGE SOURCES:

Otaku Room:
http://www.dannychoo.com/en/posts/slide/71664

Hotel:
http://www.monaco-denver.com/hotels-near-denver-convention-center/

Pikachu Plane:
https://nipponhamfighters.files.wordpress.com

Yuyuko and Goku eating:
https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=25590837

ACEN 2016 Badge:
https://www.facebook.com/yukithesnowman/

Midari Ikishima (girl in the featured image) and Kakegurui copyrighted 2014-2018 Homura Kawamoto, Tōru Naomura, Sqaure Enix, MAPPA, and Gangan Joker.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 30, 2017

anime 0

Inuyashiki and Taking Care of the (Good) Elders in Your Life (VIDEO)

After watching the emotional first episode of Inuyashiki recently I was given a brutally realistic reminder of how society doesn’t treat elders well. In our lives, we must look after and care for our loved ones of the older generation as they age — as they took care of us.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 24, 2017

Kino's Journey 0

Kino no Tabi: Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should. (VIDEO)

In the first episode of Kino Journey’s – The Beautiful World-, Kino encounters a man who desires to live in an infamous country where murder is not frowned upon. However, this man learns a life-ending lesson on action and reaction when he attempted to rob and murder Kino. Just because you can do something doesn’t necessary means you should go out and do it. It can cost you greatly — even your life.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 24, 2017

Dragon Ball Super 0

THEORY: Universe 6 is Doomed (Thanks Frieza!)

Episode 112 of Dragon Ball Super has me thinking; Frieza will be the one to defeat Universe 6. You may be asking “How so? How can you be so sure?” Well, this odd theory I have comes from the fact that the final warriors of Universe 6 are made up of two Saiyans and two Nakemians. And as well all know, Frieza has a fantastic history with members of those races.

Frieza hates Saiyans. I’m talking your racist neighbor getting mad every-time he sees those “illegal” Mexicans across the street level of hatred. The mere sight of those uncivilized monkeys fuels Frieza with great, furious anger. Frieza wants nothing more but to kill any and all Saiyans – even if they’re from another universe. Frieza mentions to Cabba that wants to play fun with Kale and Caulifla. Frieza, he’s a fan of games with full cooperation from others. Those are his favorite type of games after-all. Like the classic chocking game. That’s a game where Frieza wraps his tail around his buddy’s throats, and starts squeezing the life out of them until they choke to death.

He’s also a fan of the game “Shoot people’s pressure points with non-lethal Death Beams Barrages until they’re begging for the sweet release of death.” I think Kale and Caulifla will become great fans of those games. It’s going to suck when Frieza decides that he’s bored and stops playing with them. Maybe he might bring them back with the Super Dragon Balls if Universe 7 wins. Plus, having two Saiyan monkey girls just means he’s respect diversity and equal gender rights in the work place!

Diversity quotas don’t fill themselves now.

Now, let us imagine Frieza meeting the Universe 6’s Namekians. Just picture his joy! He’ll become so happy that Universe 6 has Namekians too! Frieza will get all warm and nostalgic – reflecting on his youthful days of Planet Namek. Days where he made those green people bow at his feet. Ahh, that was a great period in his life. Shooting Dende in the head. His troops hunting and killing the lot of them. Ripping that one Namek who look like Piccolo arm off. I think his name was Nail or something I dunno they all look alike. Frieza strikes me as a fellow who loves reliving his glory days of being a ruthless dictator on Namek. I mean, look how happy Frieza was when he was healing Goku. It brought back lovely memories of Namek. I hope him meeting those Nameks of Universe 6 will re-spark that happiness once more.

Here’s where my theory comes to play.

It’s strange that the final four warriors of Universe 6 include members of two races that Frieza has a past relationship with. In the past five episodes or so, Frieza was given some shine story-line wise. We can assume that Toei wants to build some focus on Frieza, the Saiyan girls, and the Namekians (whom were given a little shine in Episode 111). Before I forget, let me bring reminder you that universes who were shown to have low numbers (sans Universe 11) were doomed to erasure (as we’ve seen with Universe 9 and 10).

See where I’m going with this?

I predict that in the near future, Frieza will take out the Saiyan girls and the Nameks. Therefore, with their elimations, Universe 6 will be erased. They’ve lost their leader and strongest warrior — Hit. Their morale is low. Frieza’s hatred for Saiyans has no bond. He also doesn’t take too kindly to Namekians either. I may be wrong, but I think Toei is hinting that Frieza will be the one who will slaughter Universe 6.

That or this all a red herring from Toei. The Namekieans are going to get a Toriyama handjob, the Saiyan girls are going to get a Toriyama finger bang, and get an asspull powerup and defeat Frieza and we’re all being mislead by Toei and Trollriyama.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 22, 2017

anime 4

This Anime is Faithful Virgin Trash

You only get one shot. If the first episode of an anime doesn’t impress me, it’s getting dropped. So, did My Girlfriend is a Shob**h impressed me in its first episode?

No.

It’s often said that the best way to court attention is to generate controversy. Companies and brands understand this well. Let me use some examples real quick. During the 2000s, Rockstar Games used the negative press of their Grand Threat Auto series as a positive in order to boost sales. It worked in their favor. Vince Mcmahon, CEO of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), saved the company with the Attitude Era; a controversial period during the late 90s that used politically incorrect and sexual themes aimed at adults. Hell, there’s a certain notorious cosplayer right now gaining attention through controversial lewd cosplays.

please don’t lewd the time loop lolis please don’t lewd the time loop lolis please don’t lewd the tie loop lolis for the love of Oyashiro-Sama don’t lewd Rika or Hanyuu

So, when I first heard the title My Girlfriend is a Faithful Virgin Bitch, my eyebrows rose a bit. The title alone was enough to grab my attention. “Jeez, Japan. You guys are getting bolder.” I told myself. For real, who goes around calling their girlfriend a “faithful bitch”? I’m not a domestic violence expert, but I’m sure that’s a red flag for an abusive relationship. I mean, congrats on finding a girl who ain’t fucking other dudes behind your back, but did you really have to call her a faithful bitch?

With a controversial title like that, I had to do some research on the anime. I went to My Anime List and some anime pages on Facebook to gain some knowledge on Shobitch. Fans of the original web manga were going around telling others not to panic!

“It’s not like all other trashy, horrible romcom anime out there today! Shobitch is different!” One zit face ridden weeb stated “Shobitch is not bad at all! It’s funny and cute! Don’t take the title at face value.”

For a second, I had faith in this stranger’s words. Maybe he’s telling the truth, and Shobitch isn’t like all the other romcom anime series out there. The title is just something to bait people into watching it. I should give it a chance. Just because the cover art shows the main girls looking at a banana, commonly used as a phallic symbol, doesn’t mean this anime is going to be ecchi trash. Have faith in these weebs, Benjamin!

…And then I remembered why I don’t have faith in most anime fans.

I went to my favorite source for anime, pulled up Shobitch, and played the file. The anime starts with a boy and girl in their teens in some field lookin’ stupid. The girl speaks.

“I, right here and now…will raise my skirt and display myself to you.” Joy. Oh joy. Another romcom opening up with a panty sho- hold up! Did this bitch straight say she ain’t got no panties on? Am I 10 again sneaking into the living room at 2AM to watch that Wax-a-Million music video on B.E.T. Uncut?

But seriously. This anime isn’t opening up with a panty shot. It’s a straight up vag shot. A censored vag shot, but a vag shot regardless. Or maybe not, as the dude was dreaming the whole thing. Doesn’t matter, really. As I’ve stated before in my Hajimete no Gal first impression review, if your anime opens up with panty shot, then you have no confidence in your work. So, if your anime opens with a girl flashing her vagina in the opening scene, then you should never work in the anime industry.

Just quit my man.

Dude wakes up and gets an eyeful of some girl’s ass. Great. I see where this is going now. Next, he spots his crush (the girl in his dream) and talks about her in some inner monologue bullshit that I don’t care for. Kosaka Whatsherface is her name. The guy wants to be her boyfriend. He plans to confess to her later that day. They meet up after school. He confesses and Kosaka accepts. Not only does she accepts, Kosaka tells dude that she’s gonna learn 48 different positions for him so they can have a good time.

…what?

“Benjamin. Abandon ship. Why are you torturing yourself by watching trash tier anime? Go play that Fire Emblem 4 romhack with those Touhou characters. Go watch better anime. Don’t do this to yourself.” My gut was trying to tell me to stop but I refused. It’s my duty, obligation, and responsibility to tear apart bad anime – no matter what ill results may come to me and my mental health.

I should have I listened to my gut.

The OP begins. We see Youmu Konpaku, err, Yuki Nagato, wait no, Kosaka Whatsherface (look, all silver hair, blue eyes anime, and video game girls look alike to me. I don’t care; I’m anime racist) half naked and dressing. As she leaves her house, the camera pans up to her skirt for a panty shot. At that point, I stopped watching the OP. I went on my phone to watch some fight compilation on World Star Hip Hop (WSHH) to past the time. As I’m scrolling through WSHH my eyes peep the TV screen to check if the OP finished I was greeted to Kosaka, completely naked, sitting on a cake. Oh, and she was taking a loud of white frosting on her face in a suggestive matter.

Whew boy.

The OP ends and the episode resumes. We get some annoying brunette girl screeching, running down the hall and glomping Haru from behind. She’s followed up by another girl wearing some catgirl bullshit trying to take both of them back home with her like she’s Rena off Higurashi or something. Later, Haru daydreams about Kosaka. He debates if he should talk to her about her about asking her hobbies and interests.

To the surprise of nobody, Kosaka appears. Haru gets all giddy inside. He has a chance to ask her what she enjoys face-to-face. And hey! Kosaka has the same idea in mind. She wants to get to know her new boyfriend better as well. You know, it what makes a strong, solid relationship. Communication is key in these things.

You gotta ask your new boyfriend or girlfriend things. Things such as what they’re favorite color, what type of foods they love, who is their favorite music artist, and what do they like to do for fun. Oh! Don’t forget to ask what kinda fetishes do they have in the bedroom. Yeah, Kosaka asks Haru what type of fetishes he’s into for some odd reason.

…at least she’s thoughtful. I guess.

The scene transition to a boob gag to remind us that Kosaka is well endowed (as it wasn’t obvious enough in the OP). As she helps their teacher, she places her breasts on top of the books, and carry then them out. She then asks Haru if he’s a masochist because…I don’t know nor do I care anymore. In less than eight minutes, I could tell that this anime was just going to be terrible. It was at this point I started asking myself questions:

“Do I hate fun?”
“Am I secretly a masochist and is my pain kink is watching terrible anime?”
“Is this what they mean to turn your brain off and enjoy something even though its horrible?”

Besides this anime sucking, what also sucked that I drank all my alcohol from the day before (to relieve work-related stress). That bottle of Peach New Amsterdam vodka sure would have helped get me through this trash. Maybe being under the influence of alcohol would have made this a little bearable. Wait, actually no. It wouldn’t. It would have just me even angrier that I was wasting my time on such bullshit. Then again, in retrospect, Drunk Ben is smart enough to turn off this anime so he wouldn’t have to suffer any longer.

(Goddammit angry Alcoholic Worker Ben! Was getting afternoon drunk worth it?)

The next scene shows Kosaka eavesdropping on two girls talking about their relationship issues. Kosaka butts in. She tells the girls that the best way to get their boyfriend’s attention is to say “Nyan” after each sentence. Ya know, like one of ‘em socially awkward annoying high school weeaboos who wear cat ears all day. Her next advice to the girls was to not wear any panties around their boyfriends to make ‘em happy. Yeah. This is the character of Kosaka: A perverted airhead who think sex and being a catgirl will solve everything in the world. Kosaka is a tad bit off (as her peers states) Maybe she doesn’t know how a relationship work. Maybe she thinks sex should be a priority in it. It’s her first time having a boyfriend, so I should be a little merciful. But I won’t.

At was at this point I got bored with this anime. I simply turned off my TV, went on social media and started ranting about how terrible Shobitch is. After my rant, I dropped the anime.

I’ve concluded that I shouldn’t do these types of shows. Maybe there are good, romcom anime that isn’t utterly perverted (or the perverted jokes are actually funny) but I haven’t discovered them yet. My Girlfriend is a Shobitch isn’t one of them. The jokes doesn’t make me laugh (given I’m way out of pubtery I gues). Both main characters are utter idiots, with Kosaka being an airhead, monotone pervert. Her voice is as boring as the show. The only good things I can say about this show is that the animation is decent and the girl is more sexual forward in a genre where its the male who is sexual forward. Also, I will admit it was (laughably) cute to see Kosaka work hard to be a good girlfriend to Haru.
This show is getting dropped. I have better shows to watch and review.

First Impression score: 2.5/10

+The animation is decent
+Kosaka is a pervert rather than the male lead unlike most romcom shows
+It feels a little different from most romcoms
-Jokes weren’t funny
– Jokes were obvious
– Too overly sexual
-Episode opened with a vag shot
-Obvious harem set-up
-Fanservice transition shots
-Alcohol did not make this show better – only worse
-Kosaka looks like a lame ass version of Yuki Nagato off Haruhi

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 18, 2017

Movie 0

If You Like Kakegurui Then Check Out “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Investing and stock trading is akin to gambling. Like placing all your chips into a single gamble in high hopes of winning, putting your money into an investment or stocks can mean triumph victory. You will be rewarded with massive capital gains. However, gamble and invest wrong, and you’ll end up with a crippling defeat – losing all of your hard earn money. In order to win big in both gambling and investing, you must learn how to analyze, read, and plan in around moves of your opponent and trends. Investing – and winning – provides the ultimate thrill. Investing, gambling, and money are all powerful, addicting drugs.

Infamous stockbrocker and fraudster Jordan Belfort show us how exciting and dangerous the drug of money can be in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Similar to how the villainous student council members of Kakegurui cheated to win, Jordan Belfort uses manipulative tactics to earn capital with his stock trading and investment schemes through penny-stocks scams and pump and dump moves. His suckers victims do not know any better. They’re chasing money in high hopes of getting rich fast, and Belfort takes full advantage of their stupidity. Kinda like how Mary had high hopes of escaping debt through gambling with Yuriko’s Life or Death game — only to end up in more debt.

As Belfort wins and wins, we see his fruits of his victories such as his business growing, wild parties at his office, and his yacht. Yet, his greed became his downfall. Jordan is placed under investigating by the FBI for his fraudulent schemes. Eventually, a federal case is built against him and he loses everything.

If you enjoy the wild gambles of Kakegurui and how horrible the cheaters of the series did their thing, then check out The Wolf on Wall Street.

(Disclaimer: Do not attempt to emulate what Belfort did in the movie and real life. You will be sent to federal prison or possibly shot.)

I hope you enjoy this recommendation! I’ll be doing more of these for the Facebook group Kakegurui FanClub. If you want to connect and network with fellow gambling addicts and desire to debate against them on who’s the best girl (spoilers: it’s Ririka) is, then please join us!

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 17, 2017

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When Do You Drop an Anime? (Video)

Not all anime will have the honor being great and watchable all the way through. There are many shows that you will wind up dropping due to the low quality of the show.

At what point do you drop a show? I usually drop an anime on the first episode I can sense and predict it won’t be great beyond that point.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 15, 2017

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How-To Get Your Non-Anime Watching Friends and Family Members into Anime

Your father has finally given in! After years of belittling and disowning you for it, he wants to watch those weird, girly “Chinese cartoons” with you. Your football jock buddy has been curious about those anime cons you attend often. He wants to bang him a hot, but depressed/mentality disturbed cosplay girl. But he wants to watch some anime first (so he won’t appear like a total tool). Your African-American youth pastor just heard about this Bible Black anime and wants to know if it’s about Black people going to church (spoilers: it’s not). Your entry level weeb girlfriend has finally grown some taste. She doesn’t want to watch Dragon Ball Z or Sailor Moon anymore. She wants something more deep and artsy.

Suggesting anime to newcomers and casuals alike can be a difficult task. The world of anime is full of diverse shows begging to be watched. The effort to suggest a show to your normie friend might be overwhelming; as there are millions and millions of anime out there in this world. You can’t choose one over another to start them out with. You may be thinking “Well, I can show them the classics! Everyone loves the classics!”. You’re right. You can show them a classic anime series. Good luck with that though. Some people don’t have the time to watch 100+ episodes of a “classic” series (whatever that means). Your friend might not like a classic anime series like Fist of the North Star. The violence and length of the series might them him off.

You could try a short and sweet classic series. Like, let’s say High School of the Dead. It has that 1970s grindhouse movie influence with the violence, gore, and sex appeal. Yeah! That might work. Then again, you don’t want to show your dad an anime full of fanservice and big tiddy animu girls (it’ll give him clues on why you’re such a kissless virgin).

“But Benjamin! I can suggest Cowboy Bebop to my normie dad, right?! It doesn’t have high school girls being sexualized like HSOTD! It’s a modern classic!” Sure! You can do that. But what if they hate space adventure sci-fi series? They’re gonna be bored with Cowboy Bebop and drop it after five minutes.

(And you wonder why you’ll never have a great relationship with your father. No wonder he’s more proud of your sports playing older brother than he is with your Chinese cartoon watching ass!)

Now, do you see why it’s hard to suggest anime to non-anime fans? Many of you assume that they’ll like an anime because it’s a classic. No son, it doesn’t always work like that. But don’t fret! I, Benjamin “The Greatest of All Time” Snow, will use my oh-so-superior, borderline arrogant, and elitist anime wisdom to great use. I myself will help you suggest great anime to your non-anime watching friends. You can trust me; you guys already know my tastes are great (and if you don’t know, now you know). So, how do you go about suggesting new anime? Well, it’s real simple and easy.

Check this out.

The best way to suggest anime to non-anime fans is this: show them anime based genres, TV shows, movies, etc. they already like. That’s it. Seriously. It’s neither complex nor deep. Your dad, he loves the sport of boxing, right? He loves boxing movies such as Rocky and Million Dollar Baby. Get him to watch the classic boxing series Hajimete no Ippo by Studio Madhouse. Simple. Very simple.

Your brother, he’s a kung-fu film fan, no? He spends hours emulating spinning kicks and karate chops in front of the mirror. He idolizes Jackie Chan: the legendary martial arts master and actor. The classic martial arts adventure Dragon Ball is right up his alley! Dragon Ball was inspired by many kung-fu movies that Toriyama (a major movie fan) watched in his spare time during the development of Dragon Ball. Your brother might catch some classic kung-fu movie references in this epic series.

Is your friend a sci-fi nerd who loves long-running, story-driven space epics like Star Trek? Have him check out Legend of the Galactic Heroes; a series with vivid characters of various backgrounds. He might even enjoy the military and political narrative themes of Galactic Heroes.

Now, that wasn’t so hard, right? You just need research anime series that will match non-anime friend’s interests. Don’t suggest shows that you like – your friend may not like them. Remember: one bad experience with a show could turn them off from all anime forever. You don’t want that.

Now, what if your friend or family members are already casual anime fans? They have a few popular series under their belts such as Death Note or Naruto, right? Yet, they want to branch out to other series but don’t know where to start. I gotcha, it’s just as easy as suggesting anime to non-anime fans.

Since you have a general idea of what shows they like, you can suggest new series based around their favorites. If they like Bleach then, they may like Yu Yu Hakusho. If they like fanservice, have them watch Monogatari. Your little sister enjoys Sailor Moon? Have her watch Card Captor Sakura or Madoka next. Over time, you can show your casual friends more artistic, deeper anime such as Paranoid Agent or Ani*Kuri 15. It will take some time for your casual friends to get into series that aren’t considered mainstream. Be patient.

Before I go let me say this: Do not get offended if your non-anime or casual anime fan friend or family member doesn’t like the shows you do. If they like a show you don’t, let them enjoy it. Attacking shows that they like, or getting upset that they do not like the shows you enjoy only makes you an insecure little bitch.

Don’t be a little bitch.

(Note: The Shit Art Online image is for clickbait views only. Never suggest such a trash series to anyone it doesn’t deserve money or more fans.)

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 11, 2017

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First Impressions: Just Because!

You only get one shot. If the first episode of an anime doesn’t impress me, it’s getting dropped.

So, did Just Because! impressed me on its first episode? Boy, it was truly impressive.

Let me ask you older folks a question: Do you remember your final dayss of high school?

Reflect on this period of your young life for a moment. After years of dealing with bullshit from normie peers, popular kids in their cliques, preppy rich kids, obnoxious football jocks, and teachers who never taught you shit, all of that was coming to an end. You were deciding if you should stay in your hometown for college. Perhaps you desired to relocate to a new, unknown city to expand your education and see something different. Maybe you didn’t want to go to college. You were in school for twelve years of your life; adding four or six more years of school through college and university would drive you crazy. The very thought of more schooling right after high school pissed you off, so you just went straight the workforce, military, or whatever.

During these four years, you had a few people in your circle whom you grew close with and you formed a bond. Throughout these four years, you and your friends hung out after class. It’s possible that you might have skipped class to visit your friend. Hell, some of you even skipped an entire day of school to kick it with your friend all day a few times. Your crew were tight. As graduation drew near, you dreaded if bonds you made will soon break forever; as you and your friends aimed to go your own paths in life.

That’s Just Because!: Pine Jam’s original anime about four third year high school students entering the final period of their high school career. Eita (the main character) is one of these students. What makes him unique from the others is that he recently transferred to their high school (rather late, as it’s the end of the second semester). Yeah, he’s yet another typical anime high school student transfer into a new school. That’s nothing new in anime. However, what makes Eita, different from other “mysterious transfer students” in anime is the fact that this guy knows a few people at his new school – including his old friends, Haruto and Mio. With that fact, he isn’t that mysterious.

From left-to-right: Hazuki, Haruto, Mio, Eita, and Ena

Ten minutes or so into Just Because!, we’re introduced to the cast, as well as insights to their lives and motives. We have Mio; a studious girl who spends her free-time prepping for her college entrance exams (much to the dismay of her less studious friends). Next, there’s Haruto; the school’s baseball captain. He’s deciding if he should stick with baseball after graduation, or enter the job force. Then there’s Eita (whom I’ve already talked about) Next, Hazuki; a third year band student who spends her time practicing with her fellow band mates. Finally, there’s Ena; a second year student fighting to keep her Photography Club alive (which is doomed to be disband by the school).

With the characters and their goals presented this early, we are given a chance to care and know a few things about about them. That alone hooked me in into Just Because!. I want to see the characters grow and evolve overtime. I must note that it’s highly possible that this anime will have a solid amount of characters. Given that there were at least six through ten main and supporting characters introduced in episode one, I can assume that there will be more as the series progress this season. I for one cannot wait to see these characters interact with one another; especially Eita, Haruto, and Mio (as they were friends back in middle school). Ena seems pretty interested in Haruto and Mio’s baseball game. She spends most of the episode snapping away at their one-on-one game.

This brings me to my next point: the music and amiation.

The animation of Just Because! isn’t horrible. It is fine for what it is. The visuals aren’t on the levels of say Kakegurui or Made in Abyss, but it’s not bad. Some characters’ faces did look weird in shots were they’re not moving or interacting. I do not know if they’re off model, or if the animators purposely made them look weird. It’s isn’t jarring but it’s noticeable (after maybe two or three rewatches like I did for this review).

The animation does however shine during Haruto and Eita’s one-on-one baseball game. From Eita’s building power for his pitch and throwing his body weight into it, to Haruto’s attempts to hitting the ball as his body swings with his bat, the animation feels fluid and even realistic. You can visibly see the momentum in their actions – may it from the speed of Eita’ pitching or Haruto’s foot digging into the ground as he twists his body into his bat’s swing.

I cannot forget the amazing brass and string music that carries this scene. The song is a strong, proud brass fanfare in B-flat Major (with a key change to E-Flat Major). It starts with horns playing the melody with flare and pride as it slowly fades. As the brass backs off, snares and band drums As Eita and Haruto’s game builds up, so does the music with crescendo in sync. The brass section backs off, letting the percussion section carry Eita’s and Haruto’s silent stare down. The brass melody returns after four measures of rest as Eita pitches furious strike after furious strike. This continues on for about twelve measures

The brass sections backs off once again and the strings are introduced during Eita’s and Haruto’s final stare down. Haruto steps and grinds his feet into the ground with confidence. Eita winds up his pitch, matching his opponent’s confidence. As the cellos and violas plays the melody, Haruto hits the ball with great force, sending it over the field. The piano finishes with gentle arpeggios an the strings holding a chord in unison as the cast watch in awe of Haruto’s out-of-the-park come-from-behind home run.

I love how the music helps tell the story of Haruto and Eita’s game. It enhances the scene’s emotion of two good, old friends recently reunited as they go against one another in a friendly batter vs. pitcher one-on-one game. There is much to be praise on how well the music went in sync with the game (such how the music build up as the game grew intense to the strings playing as Haruto landed a home-run). The music played in this scene should serve as a reminder on why it’s important to use music as a story telling tool in anime.

The first episode of Just Because! has me execited for the series throughout the Fall 2017 season. Its hard for me to be sold on most high school anime series in which the main character is a transfer student. However, given this transfer student knows a few people in his school alreay, this kills the cliché “mysterious transfer student” from the get-go. I’m also digging the premise of the main cast being seniors in the last few months of school as they plan their lives after high school. I have yet to see an anime that does this personally. Character motives where clear from this episodes, therefore you start to care for them a little bit. The animation, while a little weird at some points, isn’t bad. If they animators use more expressive, fluid animation for more scenes just like the basegame scene, then I’ll be happy. The music is this anime’s strongest point. It’s well produced, light-heart just like the anime itself, and it has shown its usefulness in carrying a story.

vlcsnap-2017-10-09-19h42m20s967 — Note the details that went into this sheet music, especially where the eighth rest are circled to indicate where the performer must rest in beat.

While I’m on the subject of the music, I must say that “In Unison” is the perfect song title for this scene (assuming that’s the name of the track). Haruto gets inspire to resume his baseball practice against Eita after he hears Hazuki and her band play the trumpet parts. There are shots of the school band playing the song, which gives the illusion that they’re playing in unison. Then we have Mio watching the two boy play the game, but more so she’s fixated on Eita (it’s theorized that she has an unrequited crush on him; a crush she held since middle school). Finally, there’s Ena as she snaps the action on her camera.

Truly in unison, especially since this scene connects our five main characters, directly or otherwise.

Overall, the first episode of Just Because! is highly positively impressive. It has everything I look for a first episode that makes me want to stick around for the series run. I really wish Pine Jam dropped the entire series on Netflix or something so I can marathon the show in one sitting to gain the full experience of the story. I can’t wait to see what they will do with their original anime.

First Impression Score: 8.5/10

+Transfer student won’t be totally mysterious
+Great musical score
+Great insight on the cast of characters and their goals
+Fuild animation in the baseball scene
+Has students as seniors, not freshmen
-Minor Animation issues
-Off model characters
Just Because ©2017 Pine Jam

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 10, 2017

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Just Because: A Warm Hearted First Impression (Freewrite)

Gave Just Because a second watch recently and it was just as great as my first run through. There is something about it warm, mellow and almost melancholic tone of the first episode that males me appreciate the hard work and love that was put into it.

Plus, for some reason this anime that for real makes me feel pretty nostalgic about my last year of high school nearly ten years ago (given this anime explores the final semester of 3rd year students). How the show explore students and their journey of their final months in high school is its strongest point story wise given its through many different students, not just one. Also I got a give respect to Pine Jam on making the cliche “Mysterious transfer student” gimmick new with the transfer student knowing some of his classmates since they went to the same middle school.

If Pine Jam don’t fuck up, I can see this show being one of the top dogs of the Fall 2017 anime season.

Expect a first impression review soon!

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 6, 2017

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Itasha At Anime Weekend Atlanta 2017 (VIDEO)

Itasha (lit. Painful Car) showcase at Anime Weekend Atlanta. Taken from my live stream on my Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/yukithesnowman/

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 6, 2017

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Kana Ueda Fan Q&A Panel @ Anime Weekend Atlanta 2017 (VIDEO)

Sample of Voice actress Kana Ueda (Rin Tohsaka, Yumo Fukuzawa, Rachael Alucard) fan Q&A at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2017.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 5, 2017

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First Impressions: Love is Like a Cocktail

You only get one shot. If the first episode of an anime doesn’t impress me, it’s getting dropped.

So, did Love is Like a Cocktail impressed me on its first episode? As an alcoholic anime fan, yes. Yes it did.

(Warning: I was drunk when I wrote this)

Let me start out by saying that I feel personally attacked by this anime. I swear, this anime was created for somebody like me: a hardworking 9-to-5 employee with an addiction appreciation for liquor and spirits. I can relate to Chisato Mizusawa –the main female lead of this show. When somebody suggests going out to drinks or invites me over to their house for a fine cocktail or some beers, I get excited. Like Chisato, my lips parts as if I am about to sip on some Hennessy on the rocks. Mention alcohol and hanging out and I’m down for whatever. I match you a bottle or a case of beer.

Honestly, which hard working adult doesn’t enjoy an after work drink? May it be at a bar with a few friends, at the homeboy’s crib, or coming home to see your husband or wife treating you to a cocktail that they created themselves? Sora (Chisato’s husband) knows what he’s doing. This dude is a real husband. He treats his wife to a fine cocktail and dinner each time she comes home. Fellow men: this is the type of husband or boyfriend ya need to be, especially if your mate is a hard working woman. Real talk, if I ever get married, I want to be like Sora, man. Helping my wife feel better after a long day of chaos at the office or the gig.

Sora, you’re a real man.

Anyway, remember how I say I feel attacked by this anime? Well, like Chisato, I’m not really good with alcohol myself. Despite my love for booze, my alcohol tolerance is shit. A single cocktail can get me drunk? Yeah. That’s me. I can respect a tasty drink like Chisato. I mean, just look how happy she looks when she drank her husband’s cocktail, the Plum Splet.

Man, I gotta give props to this sho. They even go the extra mile by showing the viewers how to make the drinks so you can make them at home. That’s awesome to me, given I have a hobby for mixology. My only complaint is that they don’t tell you if you need to shake the shit in a cocktail or go into details on how to make it.

I also like how they show Chisato’s true personality show when she drunk with her “I get weird when I drink” line. And like Sora said, there are some people who can’t be themselves unless they’re drunk.

Kinda strange how alcohol work that way.

To conclude, I’m looking forward to this show. Chisato’s a cute female lead character whom I can relate to and I love her interaction with her husband so far. The mixlogy information is a nice ad that I did not expect and personally, its gonna help me out with my hobby with that. If you love a sweet romantic comedy and alcohol, then I recommend you watch this series.

I have high hopes for this show.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 4, 2017

Anime Analysis 1

Higurashi and the Power of Friendship FINALE: Satoko (And The Unity of Hinamizawa)

‘I won’t show pain.
Never…

I’m not crying…I don’t cry…
Hide my feelings…smile!’

“Sukizuki Nii-Nii” by Mika Kanai (Satoko’s image song)

With all the hardships she went through, I’m pretty convinced that Satoko is Higurashi’s punching bag (and it’s pin cushion). To say that her young life is rocky is an understatement. To start, she killed her own parents (whom she believed were trying to kill her) by pushing them off a deck. The village of Hinamizawa treats her like an outcast. Her uncle Teppei abuses and belittles her. Finally, her beloved brother (who would protect her from the abuse) is missing – leaving Satoko all alone in the world. Well, she has Rika, her best friend. The two are for each other greatly; as if they were sisters. The hardships they’ve suffered in young lives drew them closer to one another, creating a everlasting bond between the girls.

Rika and Satoko are inseparable friends.

Expect for that one timeline where Satoko was a bullying bitch to Rika.

One day, Satoko went off on her own without telling Rika (which alarmed her) and haven’t return since. She fears the worse – her Uncle returning to the village; therefore forcing Satoko to move back with him. Acting on this fear, Rika decides to confirm or deny her worries, and makes her way to the Houjou’s house. Rika arrives, with Satoko showing up behind her (who was returning from an errand at the “request” of Teppei). While Rika is relive to see Satoko “safe” and alive, she is shocked at her physical and mental state. Satoko appears drained. She’s not her normal, happy, and cheerful self.

Alarmed, Rika hits up Oisihi’s line. She requests to get in contact with her friend Mamoru , hoping he can save Satoko. However, Mamoru was away on vacation, ending her plan before it could start. Rika then decides to visit Dr. Irie and Miyo at their clinic. Rika figures she could convince the two to mobilize their personal militia (the Yamainu) to kill Teppei (in order to save Satoko, or at the very least, rescue her without violence). The two decline the request; stating that the Yamainu couldn’t move to attack due to the police investigating Teppei (he was the pimp of Rina, who was found murdered days prior). At best, they would have to wait until after the Cotton Drifting Festival to attack Teppei – which by then would be too late (due to the time loop).

Rika snaps.

The next morning, Rika’s classmates are asking why Satoko hasn’t shown up to school. Rika (who is visibly depressed) ignores them, but decides to inform Chie-Sensei on the situation. Chie-Sensei figures she should contact Child Counseling Center (an even worse version of the terrible real world child protective services [CPS] ) to see if they can intervene. Rika see this as hopeless, since Satoko filed false reports of abuse on her previous step-fathers, but Chie decides to take action regardless.

Chie visits the Houjou household in an attempt to talk Teppei into letting her speak with Satoko and get her back to school – which fails. Chie returns to the school, telling The Club about her lack of success. Shion goes off, demanding answers on why Chie backed down against Teppei. In her rage, Shion decides that rather than wait for the legal system to make a move, she would kill Teppei and rescue Satoko herself. She doesn’t want Satoko to suffer anymore hardships.

Shion attempts to leave but is stopped by Keiichi. He tries to talk sense into her, telling the girl that she’ll only regret killing him later. Shion ignores him and threatens to kill him first (if it means getting to kill Teppei). Mion tries to stop her but is quickly stopped by Rena. Rena has faith that Keiichi will calm Shion down and convince her to see the errors of her idea. Shion picks up a chair and smashes Keiichi’s head with, which calms her down. As Hanyuu attempts to cheer Rika up (since they’re able to prevent their friend from killing Teppei), Rika refuses to believe that things will resolve in a happy ending.

Rika’s depression and doubts reminds.

Later, Mion, Rena, and Keiichi discuss strategies to save Satoko without bloodshed. Rena mentions that she was scared that Keiichi was going to mimic Shion’s actions and ideas of killing Teppei. This is funny, given Keiichi actually did kill Teppei in a timeline before (which Keiichi tells the girls he had a feeling that she once did kill the him) They come up with the conclusion that it is best for them to fight without resorting to harming Teppei.

The next morning, The Club visit the CPS office to influence them to rescue Satoko. CPS tells everyone that they’re working on it, but Keiichi calls them out on their bullshit; Stating they failed to act upon the first reported case of abuse. He tells the case worker to not believe Satoko’s words, as she hasn’t shown up to school.

Reflecting on the situation at hand, Rika breaks down in tears. She starts to beg Keiichi to save Satoko and not give up. His words gave Rika courage and inspiration to fight.

Rika’s hope is restored.

‘Gift of the silver tongue. They say it’s the mark of a good officer.’
-Revolver Ocelot, Metal Gear Solid 2 (2002 Konami video game)

The next morning. Keiichi and The Club rally their classmates save Satoko. Keiichi – the magician of words – utilize his talents to convince everyone to save her. He reminds the class of Satoko’s suffering, unhappiness,and how much she needs them. Keiichi ends his speech by informing the class that CPS weren’t taking the matter serious. It’s up to them to fight for Satoko.

With his zeal, Keiichi is able to successfully recruit his classmates into his army.

With his unit, Keiichi marches forth to the CPS offices to negotiate against them. The two groups go back-and-forth, with Keiichi’s unit not backing down. Despite their efforts and emotional appear, The Club loses. Yet, they will not give up hope. They must regroup and try again. They can not give up. Keiichi’s unit needs the support of everyone, no matter what.

Keiichi gathers new allies from all over Hinamizawa.

After a successful night of enlisting new recruits, Keiichi and the others go over their new battle plan against CPS. As they talk, they’re surprise and relive that Satoko has returned to school. However, Satoko looks like hell: She show signs of physical, emotional, and mental abuse. Everyone surrounds her, happy to see her again, but thigns don’t seem right. Satoko lies about having a fever. Cleary a cover up for abuse given nobody asked if she was sick.

Keiichi questions Satoko, asking her if thing are hard for her, which she denies. Satoko then mentions her brother; Telling Keiichi while it’s hard for her, she must stay strong for Satoshi’s sake. Keiichi gives Satoko a friendly, yet sorrowful smile and praise her for her hard work. As a reward, he pats her on the head. Satoko starts to weep as Keiichi and everyone else reach out to her. They want to help their friend; they don’t want her to think that she has to suffer alone, but she refuses the help.

Until she has a trigger.

Satoko hears footsteeps in the distance. This alone causes her to have a panic attack (as she thinks her uncle was coming to hurt her again). They manage to calm her down with injections (to combat her HImiizawa Syndrome) and let her rest. Rika and Keiichi talk about what they should do. Rika reveals that Satoko was forced by her uncle to stay with him; as he threatened to burn and destroy Satoshi room. This enrages Keiichi, who now wants to kill Teppei. Rika manages to talk sense into Keiichi by calming him down. Keiichi regains his focus. At this point, they can’t afford anyone to lose it this far – victory draws near.

The Club regroups with new allies. They march back to the CPS. While talking to Hanyuu, Rika analyze the events leading up to this point. She realize that while she has been rooting for her friend, it was just at the sidelines. Rika was just a mere spectator, refusing to take center stage . She takes it up to herself to fight at the front lines. She plans to convince Satoko to admit to the abuse.

She can no longer just stand by and watch her best friend suffer any longer.

After the meeting, Keiichi receives word from Chie that they have stir up ill will from the elders who still hold a grudge against Satoko’s family (as they opposed the village during the Dam Wars). The villagers believe that Oyashiro will curse them for allying themselves with The Club, but Keiichi continue to fight undisturbed.

Keiichi stands up and steps up to the elders. He outs them for bullshiting around, preventing Satoko’s resuce, and letting the conflicts of the past impact the present and future. He gets bold – demanding the elders to tell him if they are his foe or ally. The rest of The Club then expose the elders’ connections with the government (as they were getting favors from them). They know that the elders don’t wanna lose that connection. Using this to their advantage, the Club forces the elders to play with their cards. Keiichi’s relentless spirit and logic works: He successfully recruits the elders to his side.

With the elders and youth in his army, there’s one more person whom Keiichi must convince to fight in his war – Oryou Sonozaki – the head of the Sonozaki clan: The elder who still harbors hatred towards the Houjo family’s past sins.

Keiichi confronts her. He presents his case to her in hopes that she’ll let go of her anger towards the Houjous for just a little bit to help Satoko. When she doesn’t bulge, Keiichi threatens to kill her and make Mion the new head of the family. This isn’t a smart move on our talented magican of words as Oryou threatens to kill him. Keiichi tries again, begging her to change her mind. She still won’t buldge but it isn’t hopeless. Shion and Mion’s parents seem supportive of helping Keiichi’s cause, which pisses Oryou off. Keiichi goes off on her once again, which doesn’t piss off Oryou but her daughter, Akane. Akane tells Keiichi to fuck off and return once he matured.

Keiichi’s effort (and perhaps his stupidity) pays off: Oryou agrees to join his side and save Satoko.

The next morning, CPS is bombard with phone calls from the villagers of Hinamizawa. The pressure and heat is on and the CPS office can feel it. Supporters from not just Hinamizawa, but other villages and towns join forces to express their concerns of CPS delaying efforts to investigate the case. Somebody even pulls up on the rally with a protest van equpired with speakers. The CPS director starts to freak out. He’s corner and knows it.

Victory is in sight…or so it seems.

Oishi pulls up on Keiichi’s protest. He informs them that their assembly is illegal and they must stand down and break up, or risk arrest. Keiichi refuses. They cannot give up. They’ve come so far and worked effortlessly. Surrender means defeat; not only for theme – but as Satoko well.

Inside the office, the director is planning to escape, but is thwarted. Central office is calling. Elder members of the Sonozaki clan have reached out physically to the central offices. Learning this, the director surrenders to the demands of the people. With the pressure on, he decides to take action and calls the Houjou household.

Meanwhile, Satoko is assaulted by Teppei…

After beating her, Teppei answers the phone. The director requests him to speak to Satoko, which he agrees to. Before handing the phone to Satoko, Teppei violently grips her shoulder and tells her to tell the director that they’re a happy family. He threatens to burn Satoshi’s room down if Satoko betrays him.

Satoko speaks with the director while Teppei behind her, installing fear in her. Keiichi speaks to Satoko first. He tells him how the village is rallying for her. He promises her that nobody will ever bully or harass her again, even if she is a Houjou. The same village that once outcast her and her family is now rooting for her. They want to see her safe and sound. For a second, Satoko ponders if there is any hope for her to live a happy life in the village that once rejected her.

Keiichi then puts Rika on the phone to talk to her best friend.

Rika reiterates Keiichi’s statement. She promises her that nobody will mistreat her again. Rika tells Satoko that she almost gave up, until Keiichi show her otherwise. Rika then tells Satoko that she knows that she was doing all of this to atone for her sins. She tells her that if she wants to make up for that the sins, t she must also ask for her friend’s help. It is the job of Satoko to reach out like her friends did for her. Rika hands the phone over to the director.

The director asks Satoko if there have been any problems with her and Teppei since she returned to live with him. There is a tense pause followed by stuttering from Satoko.

“He…He-help me!” At last, Satoko admits she needs help. She stands up to Teppei, telling her abuser that this is her and her precious “Nii-Nii” (older brother) house; she will do anything to protect it – even if it means forcing him to leave.

Teppei snaps. He slaps her, knocking the girl to the ground. He then picks her up from her hair and slams her to the ground, threatening to kill her. Before he can do further damage to her, the police force their way in, arresting Teppei and saving Satoko.

Satoko steps out of the house, greeted with the sight of her friends: friends whom all joined forces to save her. Satoko spots Rika, runs over to her arms and break down crying.

Satoko is finally free. With her courage, Satoko was able to stand up to her abusive uncle and confess she needed help.

Satoko has finally reached out to her friends.

Series concluded.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on September 26, 2017

Anime Analysis 1

Higurashi and the Power of Friendship Pt. 2: Rena

‘Oh I get by with a little help from my friends.
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends.
Oh, I’m gonna try with a little help from my friends.’
–“With a Little Help From My Friends” by The Beatles (1961 rock single)

Rena, despite her naive and ditsy nature, has a rough past. She harbors hatred towards her mother (who cheated on her father and tore apart their family). Her “friends” from middle school tried to rape her. She fought back however, savagery beating them with a baseball bat. Following that, she went on a rampage at her school, smashing all the windows in it. Following, Rena was admitted to a mental health clinic (due to the stress of the incidents). After recovery, Rena and her father moved back to Hinamizawa in an attempt to continue their lives as normal.

Rena managed to move on, regaining her happiness and enjoying the company of her new friends, Rika, Satoko, Mion, and Keiichi. Together they formed “The Club”, a clique created from their friendship; spending many happy days with one another.

Yet, Rena’s happy days would come to an end thanks to her heinous acts of murder.

‘I do you one better and slay these niggas faithfully.
Murder is a tough thing to digress
It’s a slow process
And I ain’t got nothin’ but time.’
“Dead Presidents II” by Jay-Z (1996 hip-hop single)

Discovering that Mamiya Rina and her pimp Teppei Houjou entrapped her father into a badger game (with Rina pretending to act as her father’s boyfriend and Teppei coercing him into a payment plan), Rena decides to take action. She lured Teppei and Rina into her hideout (the garbage dump). First, she barbarously smashed Rina’s skull in with her lead pipe. Later, she cleaved Teppei’s head with her billhook – taking their lives.

The next day, The Club decides to check up on Rena, who was absent from school. Upon arrival at her hang out spot, they see Rena dismembering the bodies of her victims. Keiichi goes off on her; demanding Rena to explain why she committed such acts. He also asks why she didn’t ask for help before killing the two. Rena tells him that they couldn’t help her. She only sees friends as people to only have fun with – not as an outlet for emotional support. Because of past betrayals, Rena fears that she can’t disclose painful information to her friends. She doesn’t trust them to help her. She believes by murdering Teppei and Rina, she made the best choice for her life.

Keiichi calls her out on her bullshit; telling her that she crying and suffering. He presses the question of why won’t t trust her friends. Despite her crimes, he wants to forgive and understand her. The Clubs shares his idea, as they too want to still remind friends with her and help her (including helping her burying Teppei and Rina’s remains). They assure her that they’ll never turn their backs on her – and that they’ll still be friends. Rena thanks everyone for helping her out and understanding her actions. Rena feels that she no longer has to bare the cross of her sins alone. She can trust and rely on her friends.

And yet, this period of trust and reliance wouldn’t last for long.

Time has pass since the Cotton Drifting Festival. Oishi visits one classroom school of Hinimizawa, requesting to speak to Rena. The two have a little chat in his car, with him informingthe girl that Tomitake is dead and Miyo is missing. As the two talk, a flashback plays. Rena and Miyo are chilling at the library, speaking about Oyashiro’s curse and the influence it has on the village and Rena herself.

We learn from this flashback that Rena “broke the taboo” of leaving Hinamizawa. Rena believes that the cause of her being cursed by Oyashiro was in relation of her family leaving the village years ago. The incident at her school and her parents’ divorce was punishment brought upon by the resident god to her to suffer from. Rena then tells Miyo that she the god spoke to her, telling her she must return back to Hinamizawa.

“Believing” her story, Miyo gives Rena her bullshit “research” scrapbook. (Granted, Miyo only gave her this to agitate Rena’s Hinamizawa). Upon learning about Miyo’s disaperance, grows paranoid. With Tomitake’s murder and Miyo’s disappearance, Rena believes she’ll be targeted next. She hits Keiichi’s line up, informing him on the situation, and theorizes that the Three Great Family had Miyo (and the rest of the Cotton Drifting Festival victims) murdered in order to revive the Oyashiro curse.

Rena’s paranoia worsens. The following day, members of the Yamainu unit visit the Hinamizawa School for an “inspection”. Rena takes notice and investigates. Going over the information left behind by them, she calls their business number, only to discover that the company doesn’t exist. Rena thinks they’re after her , decides to leave school early, and goes into hiding. Worried about Rena’s behavior, Keiichi decides to search for her.

Learning that the both the police and Sonozaki clan are after her (given she stole money form the later), Keiichi grows concern about Rena’s wellbeing. Assuming that she’s hiding out in the dump, Keiichi searches for her there.

Meanwhile, Rena is indeed hiding around in the dump – with the police nearby. While evading them, she overhears a dispatcher (from the radio) telling the field officers that she has been spotted at a warehouse near the Sonozaki land, thus making the police leave the dump to confirm this information. This should relive Rena, but she’s freaking out. She thinks that she has been clone (thanks to Miyo’s bullshiting Rena in her scrapbook)! It doesn’t help that Rena’s paranoia has gotten worse and the Hinamizawa Syndrome is screwing with her head.

Rena attempts to leave the dump (and the village) but she is caught by Keiichi. He tries to convince her to return to the village but she refuses. She’s pretty pissed off at Keiichi. Earlier, she had went to check on the burial site of the victims and discovered that their bodies weren’t there. Keiichi tries to explain to her that Mion had her family exhume the bodies from the original burial site to their secret mass grave site (due to government deforesting). Rena doesn’t believe this. She feels betrayed by Mion (despite Mion was covering Rena’s ass for her own good) and snaps on Keiichi.

Keiichi begs Rena to trust The Club and Mion’s action but Rena is blinded by rage. In her anger (and derange fits of laughter) she tells Keiichi a little secret – a secret that Keiichi hidden for years. Before Keiichi moved to Hinamizawa, he was facing legal issues. Due to stress, Keiichi hunted down young girls and shot them with a BB Gun (with one of the victims losing an eye). In her normally sweet voice, Rena taunts him with this reveal, calling him a shameless pervert (for attacking little girls) and that it must had been fun for him to install fear into young girls for his actions. She finds joy in making Keiichi cry and forcing him to beg her to stop, but Rena keeps at it. Rena finish her sadistic taunting by telling Keiichi that she’s not his friend and for not telling The Club about his past.

She leaves Keiichi alone in his pitiful state.

‘I think we all have stories we don’t want to share of misery, sadness, mistakes, or even memories we don’t want to recall.’
-Mion Sonozaki

The morning after, Keiichi reveals his past to the Club. When questioned by his friends on why he’s revealing such things, he tells them that he doens’t feel right about it from them. To his surprise, Mion and Rika tell him that he shouldn’t feel shame from it. Satoko follows suite, telling her friend that he’s a good person now.

His friends’ words of forgiveness and kindness trigger yet another seemly forgotten past: his distrust towards his beloved friends – and of him killing Mion and Rena in another world.

Keiichi freaks out, weeping in front of the others. He remembers his delusions of Rena and Mion plotting against him. In reality, they were only trying to help him get better. Especially Rena whom, even at the final seconds of her life (of that world) literally reached out to him to tell him that it’s everything is okay – to believe in her.

Keiichi laments over this. He questions himself on why he couldn’t see the fact that his friends wanted to help him. Rika calms Keiichi down and tells him that she forgives him. She knows that he’s a good person now. Fully aware and understanding what Rena is going through (and awared of the multiple worlds), Keiichi is inspired to fight against fate and save his friend – and to atone for his own sins.

The following school day Rena, who hasn’t shown up to class in a while, finally shows up! To celebrate her triumphant return, she decides to take everyone hostage! Yea, she pretty much went completely insane. She forces Keiichi to join her side, as he was the only one who “believed” her story( along with Oishi) As time passes, things get worse. Rena starts to spread gasoline around the classroom. You know, just a simple insurance policy, just in case things go south.

It’s normal in hostage situation trust me.

Rena takes her anger out on her best friend Mion. She beats her with the blunt end of her billhook, screaming at her. “I trusted you!” She yells, slamming her billhook downwards on to her friend’s forehead and busting her open. Keiichi tries to stop Rena but she threatens to blow up the school right then and there. Despite Keiichi telling Rena that Mion only had the bodies moved to a secured location; Rena still neither trust nor believe her friends.

Observation: It can be theorized that Rena does not trust her friends because she experienced mistrust and betrayal from people she once trust in her past. Remember: three of her former male friends attempted to raped her years ago, friends that she probably trusted. Additionally, her own mother lied to her father about her having an affair with a coworker. This coworker impregnated her. The mother tried to convince her to leave her father, which she refused. Perhaps in Rena’s head, Mion and Keiichi’s acts against was yet another betrayal.

Her so-called friends violated her trust – therefore, they must be punished.

The day passes. Keiichi (through an earpiece provided by the police) is informed about a homemade bomb crafted by Rena, which is hidden in the school. Keiichi sneaks out of the classroom in search of it. He encounters Satoko, who concludes that the bomb was hidden away in the school’s storage room. Satoko then gives Keiichi a weapon – her beloved brother’s baseball bat.

Observation: This scene can be considered a full circle of sorts. During the events of the first arc Keiichi “borrowed” Satoshi’s bat. Keiichi was planning to use the bat for self-defense Rena (during his bout with paranoia). This made Satoko upset. Flash forward to the Atonement Arc. Satoko trust Keiichi. She trusts him so much that she allows him to use her brother’s bat – one of the few items she has to remember him. After giving him the bat, Satoko is staring at Keiichi, quietly saying “Nii-Nii”.

What we can take from this is two things:
1. Keiichi reminds her of Satoshi
2. Satoko sees Keiichi like an older brother.

(This is very important for the finale of this analysis series)

Keiichi finds the bomb and disarms it (with a second to spare). As the hostages escape and the police charge in the school to capture Rena, she encounters Keiichi on the rooftop. The two talk some shit, mostly with Rena speaking about aliens and Keiichi calling her an idiot. She then challenges her to a fight to prove who’s right. During their clash, Keiichi jokes about making Rena his service maid if she loses. He brings up that their rooftop battle is like their old fun water gun fights and other past club games and ask if her she wanna go back to those days.

The two fight again but then stop when Keiichi thinks of all the fun things he would do to Rena if she was his maid. He then asks what she would want if she wins, which are the same rewards of the battle he requests. Rena tells Keiichi that regardless of the winner, they will still be together and happy. Rena will still have her friends – something she truly wants.

Before they prep for their final blow, Keiichi brings up that this was fun, which Rena plies that it was fun for her too. The two charge at each other, with Rena wining it by disarming Keiichi of his bat and knocking him to the ground.

“The fight’s over now, right?” Rena asks him. Keiichi replies once she swings her weapon towards him for the finishing blow. Rena – regaining her sanity – breaks down crying. She doesn’t want to hurt her friends. She weeps as she questions herself on why she cause her friends to suffer and shaming herself for not believing in her friends who only wanted to help her and ruining the happy, fun days they had.

Keiichi then tells Rena that she was right to be suspicious when she sensed something was wrong – anyone would have done the same. He then follows up with that if there was something painful going on in her life she needs to talk to her friends about it. Reazling this, Rena starts t ocry uncontrollably in Keiichi’s arms.

It is then that Rena realized her mistake – she needed her friends for support.

‘Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
Buy if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on’

-“Lean on Me” by Bill Withers (1972 soul single)

Series continued in part 3.

Rena and Keiichi’s fight video source:
https://sakugabooru.com/post/show/18796

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on September 23, 2017

Kakegurui 0

FREEWRITE: Kakegurui: It Shouldn’t Inspire You to Gamble

(Lewd Midari for dem clickbait views)

Oh Kakegurui! You were an amazing and fun series! In fact, you were maybe like, one of four shows of the past Summer season that didn’t disappoint me (unlike say Hajimete no Gal). In four months, you created a cult following of dedicated fans with superior quality episodes and entertainment. Expect for that atrocious episode 9 with that pointless Idol show (I give that trash a 2.5/10). Anyways, fans from all over the globe illegally streamed tuned in to watch 24 minutes of deranged, spoiled rich kids gamble their money and lives away. All in the sake for power and…money I guess.

They also gambled for body parts as well.

The support and love towards Kakegurui was felt online. The flashy fans showcased their cosplays – dressing up as their favorite character. The artsy ones use their visual talents to produced fanart of their favorite girl. The musically included fans gifted the fandom with the sound of music – remixes and piano covers of the OP were poppin’ up on YouTube. There was even an ero doujin staring Yumeko having sex with some guy whom she poked holes in his condom (because Yumeko loves her thrills and risks)! Hell, some fans were even inspired to gamble or challenge others to gambling matches because of this show.

Yea, you heard me right. There are some fans out there whom believes that they should gamble because of this show.

Earlier today while I was doing my usual shit posting on Facebook, I shared a post from the Kakegurui fanpage to my own page for this blog. The post was simply news about the new Kakegurui cell phone game coming out in Japan soon. Within a few minutes of me posting it, someone commented.

“Care to gamble?” This fan said. I started to laugh. Maybe its’ an idiot fanboy who thinks they know how to gamble because they watched a few episodes of Kakegurui. At first I ignored this nerd, but then I figured I should entertain this just for more laughs.

“1v1 me in blackjack at Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) if you’re going! Back that internet talk up IRL.” I replied, calling his ass out. I went through his profile and discovered that he was going to Anime Weekend Atlanta (which I too am also attending). I assumed that he was just some weeaboo nerd talking mad shit online. He is probably a giant pussy outside the internet. He even had an anime profile picture; people with anime profile picture tend to talk the most shit on the internet. Based on my findings, I concluded that he wasn’t about neither about gambling life, nor was he going to meet me up at the convention.

Or so I thought.

“Bet.” He responded back, posting a photo comment of him flashing several hundred dollar bills.

‘Well shit…He IS about that life.’ I said to myself. I was dumb struck. Not only did this dude back that internet talk up, he was also totally one of those rich (or well off) weeaboos who could buy the special edition of every Summer 2017 shows on Blu-Ray and not even be hurt about it. Me? I can barely buy a $10 bootleg waifu figurine after paying the bills and investing into my brand (this blog, the FB page, etc.). I mean shit, I was just trolling; trying to get a reaction out of the dude. Well, I got my wish.

Boy I got my wish.

That aside, this made me wonder: will Kakegurui inspire fans to gamble against one another? Perhaps this guy flashing his cash and challenging me to a gambling match at a nerd convention is simply an outlier (and an idiot for posting his money on the Book). But still, it doesn’t hurt to be a little concern. It’s possible that ignorant fans will make a trend of gambling within the fandom. It’s not uncommon for fans to create trends and tributes to their favorite series.

Back in the mid-2000s, Haruhi fans were doing that Hare Hare Yukai dance at anime conventions and for YouTube videos. Recently, fans of the Dragon Ball series have gather at public landmarks, parks, and colleges to scream like Goku for the hell of it. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Kakegurui fans gamble against one another at anime conventions. Shit, people already gamble at room parties when they play card games or money match in Street Fighter or Smash Bros.. With a popular gambling series like Kakegurui, it won’t be too long until weebs think they can gamble for cash.

And they will get utterly destroyed and lose all of their money.

A Mary cosplayer losing her money at a room party.

In my personal opinion, Kakegurui glories gambling. To start, Yumeko makes gambling seems like a fun time (which I confess it is). The consequences of losing a match aren’t too extreme (sans having your life mapped out through the Life Schedule Plan). We do not see the harsh realities of having a gambling addiction either. Yumeko, who calls herself a gambling addict, thinks nothing of it. She seems well off mentally. Gambling addicts in real life have ruined their relationship with love ones and annihilated their bank accounts.

Gambling isn’t really that great when you break down the horrors of it.

If this show inspires you to gamble and you never gambled before, well, good luck to you and everything. Just know that you’re an idiot and it’s your fault if you lose. Go watch/read Kaiji or something so you can learn that gambling ain’t really all that amazing.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on September 21, 2017