Shane Z. Amare

Currently Writing a Light Novel

[sz-amare]

12. Muira and Berserk

A few days ago, I woke up to the disheartening news of Miura’s passing. Kentaro Miura passed away at the age of 54 on the 6th of May. If you don’t know who Miura is, he is the mangaka of Berserk, arguably the best manga of all time. I found myself in total disbelief at first. My jaw was wide open for several minutes when I heard the news.

It upsets me that I only saw mangakas as a source of my entertainment and not actual humans. Although I have a lot of respect for Miura as a fan of Berserk, I can tell I think of him as the author of Berserk than an actual individual who happened to make an amazing series.

However, I am ever so grateful to Miura for his work and effort. Even though I had other plans for my 12th post, in honor of Miura, I would like to post a story of how Berserk changed me to create a better book and forever changed the way I look at any anime/manga. I will make a follow-up post in the next few days on the beauty of Berserk and its absolute brilliance. This post will not contain any spoilers.

Funnily enough, Berserk is the first manga I have ever read. I really wanted to get into manga, but I knew I would feel exhausted if I tried. To me, anime is like being spoon-fed, while reading manga is like feeding yourself. So, to motivate myself, I thought, why not start with a highly acclaimed manga to hopefully convince myself to get into reading. I would have read One Piece from the start, but it was still fresh in my mind. But one manga that I noticed that was praised by many was Berserk. But not just as an anime/manga, but also for having the best protagonist, best antagonist, excellent world-building, etc. It was either in everyone’s top ten, or they never read it. Considering Berserk didn’t have the greatest anime adaptations, I thought Berserk would be a great place to start. And so I did.

I was right about reading manga being mentally taxing. After a long day of school, I could only read a couple chapters of Berserk before needing a nap or moving on. Even if my mind was fresh, I couldn’t read it for more than two hours at a time. But after finishing Berserk, I realized something peculiar: there was no way I could call Berserk a masterpiece. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, but it seemed like mindless fun with some slightly deep elements to it. An A-tier manga at best. The protagonist was an S-tier protagonist for sure, but I just couldn’t understand why he was in many people’s top ten lists. I didn’t think the antagonist was all that special either. I could see some parallels and contrast between the two, but nothing that great.

This had me confused for quite some time. How could so many people call Berserk a masterpiece and one of the most well-written pieces of fiction ever created. Keep in mind; I am saying ‘well written’ and not ‘the best’ or anything like that. Many people may say MHA is the best anime of all time, but they say that because it has many hype moments, and it brings out their emotions. But you don’t see many who say MHA is the best-written anime.

Anyways, the other thing I found funny about Berserk is that it didn’t have any noticeable flaws. I can usually notice any weaknesses in most anime, but that was difficult for me when it came to Berserk. Regardless, I was so perplexed as to why Berserk was held to such high regard. I almost decided to write it off as people being overhyped by an edgy/dark fantasy manga, like the Tokyo Ghoul anime.

Maybe a day after giving up on Berserk, I watched a video by The Masked Man (A.K.A. The Asura), who was reviewing One Piece (I like drowning myself with One Piece content when I’m bored). I highly respect The Masked Man’s opinions, and I enjoy the majority of his reviews/analysis and his top ten manga lists. But he said something quite shocking. He stated that “One Piece isn’t a deep story, but that isn’t what makes it great in the first place.” Blasphemy! What was so ironic to me was that he stated many of the deep points and themes of the story, but he said it wasn’t deep. He then proceeded to give examples of stories with deep elements, such as Monster, Vagabond, Oyasumi Pun Pun, and, well, Berserk.

I haven’t read those first three, but I felt like something was wrong at this point. I couldn’t tell if he was oblivious, if he was mixing some other term up like “mature themed,” or if there was something I couldn’t see. I realized that if it was the last possibility, there could potentially be a whole new world of story writing that I have never seen. Even if that chance was small, I wanted nothing more than to learn what it was.

So I made a YouTube playlist titled ‘Depth?’ and added many analyses on Berserk and other anime/manga The Masked Man considered as “deep.” I also made a list of 25 manga and 25 anime that were widely considered masterpieces or classics. This includes Monster, Oyasumi Pun Pun, Vagabond, Gurren Lagan, Made in Abyss, Magi, Fate Zero, Degrey Man, Great Teacher Onizuka, and so on. I numbered each anime and manga 1 through 50 and used a number randomizer to decide what I would read/watch.

(Panel from Monster) 

After a month of tons of research on what the hell “depth” was and reading/watching tons of manga and anime, I finally found out why Berserk was so great and what I think The Masked Man meant about depth. From my understanding, I believe he meant ‘complexity.’ A manga like Berserk is VERY complex on many levels. I had to listen/read dozens of hours’ worth of analysis just to start understanding why Berserk was so highly acclaimed. Each analysis helped me understand an element or two on Berserk. Sometimes more. It’s a bit hard to describe all this without getting into spoiler territory, so I will elaborate more in the next post.

It would be an understatement to say a whole new world of story-writing was open to me after discovering this. After looking at what I drafted for my story, it felt like a joke. Berserk has motivated me to push myself further and to create an even better story. My original plan was to start writing my first book this month, but after seeing the intricate, complex, and well-thought-out story that Miura was able to create, I felt like I had to reach the same heights myself. Ever since then, Berserk has made it higher on my top ten list for being such a well-crafted story and because of how it inspired me.

(In honor of Miura, everyone is posting their favorite panels of Berserk. This here is mine.)

Thank you Miura. Thank you for inspiring me and changing the lives of many others. Thank you for all the effort and time you have put into a beloved story. Thank you Miura.

[sz-amare]

11. Armin or Erwin?

(Spoiler Warning!) This post contains spoilers for season 3, part 2 of Attack on Titan. Tread with caution.

Season 3, part 2 of Attack on Titan, is my favorite season by far (season 4 has the potential to overthrow it but not yet). It had everything I wanted out of Attack on Titan Season 3, part 2: more world-building, answers for mysteries, and intense action. This is also the point where you can begin to see Eren change. But that particular season was not without its heart-wrenching moments, Erwin’s death being the biggest one.

The thing is, almost everyone I know who watched Attack on Titan feels like Erwin’s death was unsatisfying and unneeded. Not only that, but it also felt like there was major plot armour for Armin. Honestly, I felt the exact same way as many others. I mean, who wouldn’t. Why would you choose a child who has potential over humanity’s greatest asset? But after watching some analyses on it, it made perfect sense why Armin was the better choice. For this blog post, I wish to help others understand why Levi made the right decision (relatively) to save Armin over Erwin and put it into perspective. But first, we must understand Erwin a little better.

Now Erwin is known as the greatest leader in all of existence. Like how do you lead an army into their deaths? However, in a way, he is also a terrible leader. Let me explain. Most of us understand that Erwin’s biggest goal in life is to learn the truth of what the hell is wrong with the world. And that is the ONLY reason Erwin is a scout/leader. 

If you can recall, one of the worst taboos a soldier can commit is prioritizing their personal gain over the advancement of humanity. Now Erwin isn’t necessarily stunting society’s growth with his goal. If anything, he is helping, but Erwin is prioritizing his goal over anything else. Erwin is selfish. He does not care (or at least does not prioritize) humanity over himself and his dream. You can consider this as one of his flaws.

So… what does this have to do with choosing Armin over Erwin? Well, you see, Levi chose Armin for two reasons. The first one was a bit weak, and the second one is more acceptable. Although, only the first one was stated and made apparent. The first reason is that Levi, as a friend, wanted Erwin to rest. Erwin was a monster: ruthless and fearless. But moreover, Erwin was the devil himself. Erwin was capable of convincing anyone to charge to their deaths. He was the only one who could twist your fears. He had a charisma that compelled all to listen. 

All of these traits are much like the devil. But because he was the devil, he was required to be cruel and merciless. Levi didn’t want Erwin to suffer through that anymore, and thus, let him rest. This reason is only slightly understandable but disappointing overall.

The second reason has to do with Erwin’s dream. At the point where Levi was about to inject the serum, they would shortly explore the basement, which would expose the truths of the world. In other words, Erwin’s dream was in that basement. So the question is, if Erwin found out the truth, would he continue being their leader now that he has achieved his goal? Becoming the devil takes quite a toll on an individual. After all, that was the reason why Levi wanted to put Erwin to rest. So how can we be assured that Erwin would continue onward after he discovered the truth? It would be a major gamble.

Let’s put that into perspective. Let us say you had a choice to choose between two fates. The first fate is that you get to live only half your life (this is a representation of Armin). The other fate is that you have to flip a coin, and if it lands on head, you live a full life—tales, and there is instant death (this is a representation of Erwin). Of course, I want to live my entire life, but is it really worth risking death? I personally would go for half of my life without hesitation. Yes, I would be upset that I would die twice as fast than initially, but I don’t want to take that 50% chance of death either.

Coming back to the decisive moment, think to yourself, would you rather bet on Erwin, who would most likely give up, or Armin, who would achieve half of what Erwin could accomplish? Erwin is obviously a better leader, but Armin is the better choice.

If you have any questions or you want to discuss something, feel free to ask in the “Ask Me Anything” tab on my Tumblr page.

[sz-amare]

10. Creating Realistic Characters with Depth

For many people, characters are one of the most influential aspects of an anime. The same goes for me. There are many types of characters: the protagonist, the main cast, side characters, antagonists, villains, etc. Each contributes to the story in their own way. Making flat, bland, or boring characters can make them forgettable, and therefore, can cheapen the quality of the anime. It can also make it painfully difficult to continue watching the series. Here I will give several pointers on what I believe makes an excellent character and give examples from the One Piece-verse.

1.     Flaws

When it comes to creating characters, I have noticed a general rule to make them great and likable. The audience needs to relate to them. The way you do that is by giving your character flaws. When I say flaws, I don’t mean random negatives about their characters, like when a shōnen protagonist can’t solve a simple math problem to save their lives. I mean flaws that can make them feel weak, directly or indirectly.

When I look at Luffy, many flaws end up making him a better character. The most fascinating one to me is Luffy’s childish nature. He is an extremely idealistic kid who dreams more than anyone. He, at first, doesn’t care nor understand the consequences of his actions. Luffy is also kind-hearted and always pushes his principles before his dream. He tends to scream a lot and wears all of his emotions on his face. Luffy is also a terrible liar. If I described this type of personality to anyone, they would undoubtedly think of a child.

This childish behavior is one of Luffy’s characteristics that make him flawed. There are also several times when acting like a child, particularly not thinking of the consequences of his actions, cost him severely. We have the time Luffy almost attacked the Drum Island civilians after they shot Vivi in the arm, meaning Nami wouldn’t get a doctor for her illness. The time Luffy punched the Celestial Dragon, resulting in him almost losing all of his crewmates (although in this case, I think most people would have punched Charlos. He deserved it).

And the most recent one where he attacked Kaido after “killing” his crewmates, which he ended up losing the fight with a single blow and ended up in prison. Luffy makes dumb mistakes. It plays perfectly with his character, but he is ultimately flawed.

Now I personally don’t relate to Luffy in the way that he is childish (I am the maturest), but seeing Luffy suffer from the consequences of his flaws and understanding that Luffy isn’t perfect is enough to understand that he is a human with struggles, similar to myself.

 2.     Personality, Psychology, and Philosophy

I think personality, psychology, and philosophy (PPP) are some of the most significant ways of distinguishing characters and are the source of a particular character’s general fascination. Every person in the real world has their own unique PPP. When you are in the world of anime, not only is everything overly exaggerated, but it is also unrealistic in all sorts of ways. With these two weapons, you can explore all types of themes, topics, and ideas. So when creating characters in an anime, understand that there are no limits to unique characters. Two characters can be very similar, but there should always be something to contrast.

Not only is PPP used to contrast characters, but it can make them feel more realistic if you can manage to connect all three along with their overall character. Let us look back at Luffy. First, we have Luffy’s personality. Luffy constantly yells, loves to mess around and laughs, loves food, is very dumb, is a terrible liar, always shouts out his dreams, loves to imitate his friends, and is a kind-hearted person.

Closely related to his personality, his psychology is that of a child’s perspective. Finally, we have his philosophies. Luffy believes that everyone should chase their own dreams and freedom, no matter how difficult it is to get there. He also believes that dreams should be achieved with the help of close friends. Luffy also believes that everyone is equal, seeing no one below or above anyone else. Once again, these views and ideals are somewhat childish.

Now that we have all the three major pieces of Luffy, we can fully understand his character’s greatness. All three of his PPP are connected with his childish nature. This makes his character seem cohesive, consistent, and more realistic. All of Luffy’s traits align with his character. Everything about Luffy is connected in a way that would make sense, like a real human being.

 3.     Contrasting, Paralleling, and Mirroring

This is one of my favorite techniques in creating characters. You can contrast, parallel, and mirror (CPM) many things in the series: themes, the plot itself, certain philosophies/ideals, characters, the list goes on. This one applies more to side characters, antagonists, and villains than the protagonist, but it can happen.

Now let us think of the antagonists and villains in One Piece that relate to Luffy and his beliefs and somehow align with one of the rules of CPM. Let’s start with my favorite, Charlotte Katakuri. Katakuri is similar to Luffy in terms of his devil fruit. But Katakuri is far superior in every way: his devil fruit is better and awakened, his haki is better, and he has more experience. Here we can see that Katakuri parallels Luffy a bit, but he completely contrasts in his ideologies and motivation.

Next we have Donquixote Doflamingo. Doflamingo believes that he is the ultimate king. He truly believes he is better than everyone, classifying everyone into three basic categories: kings, humans, and lesser beings. But even in this classification, Doflamingo believes he is on top of the kings as well: he thinks he’s a god. Therefore he believes he has the right to toy with the world, as symbolized by him making puppet gestures and physically controlling people, especially because he was mistreated after Doflamingo and his family left Mariejois. Doflamingo’s beliefs all contradict Luffy’s. First off, Luffy believes everyone is equal, no one above and no one below. This contradicts Doflamingo’s god complex. Luffy also believes that everyone should chase their own freedom, which Doflamingo believes he has the right to take away.

We also have Black Beard or Marshal D. Teach. Black Beard mirrors Luffy in a lot of ways when considering their ideologies. Black Beard, like Luffy, believes in the power of dreams and ideals. When we first see Teach, we see him acting like a child, arguing with Luffy about the food and drinks, and Luffy does the same. I think this is Oda showing us that Black Beard is practically and precisely like Luffy. Both of their dreams are to become the Pirate King. The only difference is their approach. As I mentioned earlier, Luffy wants to achieve his dream with the bonds he made with his friends. He doesn’t care if his crewmates are useless or not; a friend is a friend in Luffy’s eyes. On the other hand, Black Beard wouldn’t mind using money to hire strong “allies.” He even hires some of the most dangerous prison inmates. Black Beard is also crueler and is willing to do whatever it takes to reach his goal. If you pay attention, you might notice that Black Beard became a Yonko in a flash, simply because he obtained one of the most powerful devil fruits out there. However, we always hear Luffy saying that there are no shortcuts to become the Pirate King. In one perspective, they look almost identical. When you shift that view, you realize how much they contrast from each other.

Finally, we have Akainu. Akainu is the exact opposite of Luffy. Luffy believes in absolute freedom, while Akainu believes in absolute justice and control. Akainu would kill his own when they showed fear or opposed what Akainu believed was “right.” There isn’t much to talk about Akainu, mainly because we haven’t seen much of him. But from what we have seen so far, it is clear that Akainu and Luffy are complete opposites.

All these different villains are excellent and make clear antagonistic forces against the protagonist simply by contrasting some of Luffy’s ideals. But remember, you can also use CPM with themes on other types of characters. Take one of the reoccurring or significant themes in your story and create a character that uses CPM on that theme.

 4.     Connecting Character Ideas to the Story

This is something I love to do when creating my characters. Basically, I grab an interesting theme or an aspect in a character I want to explore and find a way to connect it to my story. There are many cases when I think of a fascinating character, but it wouldn’t make sense if I randomly added them to my story. So I just connect an event that could likely happen in my story to the reason why my character is the way she is.

One time, I was listening to a song, and the interpretation I got out of it was fascinating to me. It had something to do with abuse, insanity, and OCD. I really wanted to add a character that explored the ideas of abuse, insanity, and OCD to my story, and luckily for me, it was pretty easy to add it into my story.

Now my character (let’s call her Miku for now) doesn’t seem out of place because I connected her character into the story by creating a backstory that was plausible in the world I had created. She suddenly became one of my favorite characters I had created.

5.     Consistency

I think one of the most essential things in a lot of characters is that they remain consistent. Of course, you can pull a 180 and make an Eren Yeager, but if you don’t want to change your character that drastically, make sure they are consistent.

 Once you have created your character, make sure you fully understand their flaws and PPP and make sure whatever type of significant actions they take, it perfectly fits their character.

There were many times in the past when I was able to accurately predict Luffy’s actions and words. I thought I was some sort of genius at first, but I realized soon after that many others could do the same. It was when Luffy rejected his grand fleet where Luffy’s consistency became clear. After fully understanding that Luffy wants to become the Pirate King, simply because he wants to chase the ultimate freedom, why would he accept the grand fleet?

He doesn’t want to become anyone important, and he wants everyone there to chase their own freedom. This is consistent with Luffy’s philosophy of freedom and his childish psychology.

In conclusion

Following any of these principles can help to add intrigue and quality to your character. A regular human is complex and deep, no matter who they are. By following these suggestions, you can create characters with the complexity and depth of real human beings. Make your characters like Pinocchio. Make them strive to be a real boy or girl.

[sz-amare]

9. “Hard Work” BS

One of the most frequently explored themes in shōnen anime is the concept of hard work vs. natural talent. It is one of my favorites, and it excites me to see how an anime portrays its message on the matter. The general concept that you can surpass anyone with rigorous and strict hard work is very inspiring to the younger demographic, myself included. However, there are many instances where an anime will try to tackle this concept but will either fail or ironically contradict their themes without realizing it. Naruto and Black Clover are the first ones that come to mind, but several others do the same. Although, there is one anime I love that tackles the idea, without really trying to, and succeeds. And that is Haikyuu.

Starting with an anime that fails to portray the message of hard work, we have Black Clover. Now I know I bashed Black Clover in the previous post, but once again, I give criticism is where criticism is due. But to make it up to the Black Clover fans, I will try my best to make an analysis/review on Black Clover in the near future, talking about what it does right and what it does better than most. Anyway, in the world of Black Clover, there are three basic regions in the Clover kingdom. We have the Forsaken Realm, the Common Realm, and the Noble Realm. Nobles in Black Clover tend to have a high affinity for magic and live in the Nobel Realm, while commoners and peasants live in the Forsaken Realm, having a low magic affinity. The Common Realm is between the two; people who live there have average status and average affinity for magic.

Asta lives in the Forsaken Realm, meaning he is a commoner. As I mentioned in a previous post, the main reason Asta wants to become the wizard king is to prove that peasants can become the most powerful mage and thus remove discrimination against them. The only way he can prove this is by working harder than anyone else. The only issue is, Asta is nothing like a regular commoner. As a matter of fact, he is nothing like your average human. He is possessed by a devil that gives him anti-magic abilities, which gives him an edge over people with powerful magical abilities. So… even if Asta became the wizard king, can we really say that other commoners have the potential to become the wizard king as well? No. We can’t. Now yes, Asta did train harder than everyone else in his respective series. Fun fact, if you look at physical strength alone and ignore magical abilities, Asta is the second strongest character in the world of Black Clover. But unfortunately, he doesn’t rely on his physical strength along, but on his anti-magic and devil abilities almost no one else has. His hard work is real and very admirable, but the theme of hard work does not play out with his character’s message, and I find that to be a major flaw.

If you thought the theme of hard work vs. natural talent was badly portrayed in Asta’s character, prepare yourself for Naruto. Before I start, I want you to understand that in Naruto, there are a couple of examples where I think the theme is beautifully explored. Lee vs. Gara is an excellent example, and in this case, hard work loses. Might Guy’s character alone is brilliant to this theme. To think that he was one of the greatest fighters the whole time, but even we, the audience, looked down on him, thinking he was not as strong as some of the Akatsuki, simply because he only used taijutsu. 

But there is one example where the series not only falls short but miserably fails to the point where I feel embarrassed. And that is Naruto vs. Neji.

During the Chuinin exams, we see Neji as one of the most powerful forces that Naruto will probably have to face off against in the future. Neji was born in one of the strongest clans, the Hyuga, resulting in him having an overpowerd ability, the byakugan. Then we have Naruto, who has been an underdog his entire life. He was also discriminated against because of the demonic Nine-Tails Fox that was trapped in his body. Naruto was one of the weakest contenders in the exams, but he believed that he would beat Neji, the second most talented contender there, through his hard work. Neji was also spouting some destiny bull crap that Naruto promised his hard work would also defy. But anyway, during the fight, nothing much was happening other than trading fists and philosophies between the two. When the fight starts to get interesting, Naruto asks the Nine-Tails Fox for chakra, giving him a massive boost, resulting in his victory.

I’m sorry, what?! How can you spout some hard work non-sense for over a dozen episodes, claiming that your hard work would trump someone’s natural abilities but end up using an overpowered ability, unique to you, to prove that point? That is completely self-contradictory. It would have been fascinating to see Naruto realize that the only way he won was because of his unique abilities, resulting in him understanding that although he won the physical fight, he lost the battles of ideals. This would spark development where Naruto now understood, or at least began to believe, that natural talent is overall superior but mixed with a lot of hard work, you could become the strongest. That is precisely why Naruto is the strongest at this point. But no, Naruto took pride in the battle he “won,” even though he completely contradicted himself. Later on in the series, we even learn that Naruto is a part of a clan stronger than the Hyuga, the Uzumaki. So technically, Naruto was never inferior to Neji. This mistake is laughable.

For the anime I believe they tackled the theme of hard work vs. natural talent in one of the most unique ways, we have the volleyball anime, Haikyuu. One of my favorite parts in the series is when Kageyama and Tsukishima receive special training while Hinata is nothing more than a ball boy. Hinata has already proved his hard work through his jumping height and speed, but this arc proved something slightly different from the usual. While Hinata’s two rivals are getting special training, he feels the desperation to train so that he doesn’t fall behind in skill. As a result, he tries to join one of the camps to receive the same special training one of his rivals is receiving. He then understands his rudeness for joining uninvited. As a form of an apology, he starts picking up stray balls after they go out of bounds. While two of his rivals are working hard, he is a ball boy. His feelings of desperation slowly rise, but he can’t do anything about it.

After talking to a couple of people, he begins to understand that he can take advantage of his position. He spends each moment staring at the other volleyball players who are training, observing what they are doing to learn something. Basically, while his rivals are working hard in a special training program not many people get, Hinata works hard to find training – working hard at special training vs. working hard to receive training, if you will. He takes advantage of his dire situation and uses it to learn all sorts of things.

Looking now at the end of season four, we can see the fruits of Hinata’s labor finally shine. He perfectly receives multiple crucial spikes and starts to seem like a well-rounded player. After Kageyama, it felt like Hinata deserved the title of MVP for the first time.

In general, I don’t think that failing to deliver a great message through the theme of hard work vs. natural talent will make or break an anime. But when that theme is an essential part of a message you want to portray or pertains to a big part of an arc, failing to deliver can create significant inconsistencies and dial down the quality of an anime as a whole in some viewers’ eyes. Asta’s whole goal should be obtained through the means of hard work alone; otherwise, it creates cracks in the logic of his message. When hard work vs. natural talent is a reoccurring theme in Naruto for about 40 episodes and creates a contradictory ending to the theme, it will cause significant dissatisfaction to the audience who resonated with it. I love the general concept of themes, but when dealing with one, always bring a good closing to it to flesh out the elements of your story and so you don’t turn off your audience.

[sz-amare]

8. Black Clover Disappointment

Why I Found Ep. 162 of Black Clover to be a Disappointment

(Spoiler Warning) This post contains spoilers for the latest episodes of Black Clover. Tread with caution.

I am going to say it now. I find the Spade arc to be a disappointment, or at least so far. I love Black Clover. And every arc has been getting progressively better. But to me, the Spade arc fell far from my expectations, severely disappointing me. Don’t get me wrong, seeing the development of the world after the time skip was really exciting to me, but they are the build-up to the upcoming episodes. 

Episodes 161 and 162 are the primary reasons for the downfall of my enjoyment. Funnily enough, the day before airing, I heard that Ep. 162 would be the best episode in Black Clover history. Not just from a couple of random people, but from friends, YouTubers, and social media channels. Dozens of people.

With high expectations and quaking excitement, I made myself my favorite comfort food and sat through Ep. 162. And I was not happy. However, the major disappointment I felt from watching Ep. 162 was caused by the previous episode, Ep. 161.

For a quick recap, Ep. 161 was when some Spade kingdom soldiers and one of the three dark triad members invaded the Golden Dawn headquarters and killed half the squad. Now I personally think character deaths are a great way to develop certain characters and, if done right, can hook the audience to the series. Now, after we figure half the squad was wiped out, Yuno becomes disappointed with himself and will probably strive to become stronger in the near future. So now there are many character deaths, and one of the characters wants to strive for change, so all good, right? NO! Why? Quick question: Can you name a single character that died? Do you remember any of their names? If you do, did you like that character? If you did, then you have no good taste in characters. My point is that the only characters they killed-off in the Golden Dawn are nameless, forgettable, or completely unimportant characters, for which I could care less. Not only that but the one character that should have died ended up surviving – the glasses dude with the metal magic, Klaus.

Although Klaus loses almost all of his importance in the anime as time progresses, many of us end up loving him. He also has a very close connection to both Yuno and Asta. Now imagine if he died. Although I don’t feel all that connected with Klaus, I would feel like a piece of myself has fallen off. This would allow us to relate to Yuno’s, and in this case, Asta’s rage towards their own weakness and the Spade Kingdom. Their need to change and to become stronger would be understandable. But looking at the reality of what happened, Yuno’s emotional breakdown doesn’t feel warranted. I did not feel that sadness that i should be feeling. 

But there is one more issue that killing only nameless characters has caused.

Looking at the end of the next episode, Ep. 162, Gouche is fatally wounded by the leader of the dark triad and thus sparking Asta’s rage. Because of the stunt they pulled in the previous episode, not killing any significant characters, I immediately knew that Gauche wasn’t going to die. Now, he hasn’t been healed yet, but my friend and I predicted that the feeling of uselessness that Grey was feeling would cause her to develop and heal Gauche. If the author was too afraid to kill-off characters with any slight significance, then what would make me believe that he would kill one of the main characters of the series. And even if he does end up dying, the emotional high I was supposed to feel in the moment of him being stabbed has already been ruined. So when I saw Asta become enraged and started losing himself, I saw nothing more than a generic moment I have seen many times before but with no emotional highs. One of the best moments in Black Clover was ruined because Yuki Tabata was too afraid to kill-off his good characters.

Please know, I don’t want to send hate to Tabata. I love the man. I am very grateful for the series, Black Clover, which has brought me and many others abundant joy. However, I will give criticism where criticism is due. I am mainly pointing out these flaws simply because I want others to learn from these posts of what to do and what not to do when crafting a story.

If you have any questions or you want to discuss something, feel free to ask in the “Ask Me Anything” tab on my Tumblr page.

[sz-amare]

7. My Top 15 Anime List

I have watched a lot of anime in the past four years, but one thing that gives me great enjoyment is ranking my top anime. Here I will rank my top 15 favorite anime, along with some honorable mentions that couldn’t make it. However, I won’t be going too in-depth on the analyses; I just want to give you a general idea of why the particular anime is where it is on my list. In general, I rank my anime depending on a combination of factors: 1) how brilliant I find the anime to be written, 2) if the themes resonate with me, 3) if it is categorized in my favorite genres, and 4) my general enjoyment level. Anyway, to the list.

 Number 15

One Punch Man

When I first watched One Punch Man, it seemed nothing more than a mindless comedy anime. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed it and laughed a lot, but I found it to be forgettable. But one day, I heard that the genre of One Punch Man was seinen, which made no sense to me. It had no dark and mature themes, and as I mentioned, it was nothing more than a senseless comedy. But then one day, on a whim, I watched One Punch Man again. And I REALLY enjoyed it. I still laughed a lot, but something felt different to me this time. I actually felt like I had a deep connection with each of the characters. The story seemed to be more structured and enjoyable this time, and finally, I could actually see the themes that One Punch Man was trying to explore. It made sudden sense to me that One Punch Man is indeed a seinen and that it had a lot more to it than on the surface. Of course, the difference in experience is because of my new understanding of anime and the experience I gained.

Number 14

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is probably one of the most unknown, underappreciated, and underrated anime on this list. Someone recommended it to me, and I had never heard of it, so I assumed it was a mediocre anime. But when I watched it, I had so much fun which I hadn’t felt in many months. It is a training shōnen anime where the main character tries to learn martial arts. That is all I want to say for now because I don’t want to spoil anything, so go watch it. I highly recommend it.

Number 13

A Place Further than the Universe

I don’t see many people talking much about A Place Further than the Universe. But, I must say, it is absolutely phenomenal. It is, hands down, the most inspiring anime in existence. The basic premise is a high school girl wanting to do something significant in her high school life. I won’t say anymore because, again, I don’t want to spoil this anime, and I recommend you check it out if you need inspiration in your life. Let me just say that it is now an aspiring goal of mine to visit Antarctica.

Number 12

Plastic Memories

I made a whole analysis on the previous post so go check it out. But for a quick recap, the life lesson I learned from Plastic Memories has permanently changed my behavior for the better. I found it to be the saddest anime I have ever watched.

 Number 11

Steins; Gate

Once again, I have already made an analysis on Steins; Gate, but this time I only covered the first episode. I also ranked Steins; Gate a 10/10 so that must mean that the rest of this list must contain masterpieces. But to be honest, that is not really the case. You see, to me, even if I consider something a masterpiece, the enjoyment factor plays the most significant role in ranking high on my list. For example, I found Death Note to be brilliant, but I really struggled to enjoy it and therefore, it is not ranked that highly. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed Steins; Gate, but I just enjoyed the rest of these anime way more. Anyway, if you want to see why I loved Steins; Gate so much and why I find it so brilliant, check out blog post 4.

Number 10

Berserk (Manga)

Almost everything I found In Berserk is brilliant (except its adaptations, that’s gas station toilet). Guts is a 10/10 protagonist, Griffith is a 10/10 antagonist, the cast is a 10/10, the story is a 10/10, AND THE ART!!! Holy shit!!! I can actually picture an entire museum dedicated to each panel of Berserk.

 Again, the only reason this anime is not any higher is simply because I enjoyed the others on this list so much more. However, I am yet to review any analyses on it so there is a possibility that it will bump-up several places higher when I truly understand the brilliance behind it. Great read though!

Number 9

Haikyuu

I LOVE Haikyuu. Each season gets progressively better and better. It has a lot of controversy around it because of its fan base and because it’s a sports anime. But to be honest, I find Haikyuu to be a better shōnen than My Hero Academia, Black Clover, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and most other modern shōnen anime. It has its amazing moments, its cast is amazing, the character development is amazing, the themes are amazing, and the antagonists are amazing. I am not bluffing when I say that the antagonists in a Volleyball anime are better than the antagonists in many shōnen anime (I’m going to develop haters before I can even develop fans). I plan on making an essay on what most shōnen strive for yet fail to achieve, and Haikyuu somehow delivers.

Number 8

Oregairu

Best romance. Hands down. Oregairu, or SNAFU, or My Teen Rom-Com is Not What I Expected (yes, so many titles) is a masterpiece in its own right. If you are a guy and you watched Oregairu, don’t act like you didn’t imitate Hachiman a couple times. He is a beautiful protagonist, which most of us guys relate to. His inner monologues result in us treating them as gospel. The sub-text is confusing as fuck, but end up making sense in all sorts of ways once decoded. Yukino is best girl, but man I love Yuigahama almost just as much. The general enjoyment I got out of Oregairu is so far through the roof that I once forced myself to stop watching it so that I could savor the show a little more. It is a little difficult to get into at first, but you will most likely end up enjoying it.

Number 7

Re Zero

This is the most recent addition to the list. I often don’t add anything new to my list; I just switch the places between some of them. But ever since season 2, Re Zero jumped significantly in rank. It is the best anime of 2020 (including sequels), and I enjoyed each episode to the max. I was considering adding Re Zero to my top 10 since the first half of the second season finished, but I was a bit hesitant because I am easily affected by recency bias. But my love for Re Zero would just not die down: my love for it grows after each episode airs. It is the only anime on this list that I watched weekly other than One Piece. I actually prefer watching a series I love weekly rather than binging it all, except for One Piece, pacing is constipation (slow and painful). Other than the vast enjoyment I got out of Re Zero, the main reason it made it to this list is because of the light novel comparisons I watch. Aninews is my favorite source. He compares the episode to the light novels, mentioning what was left out and further describing the emotions and thoughts of the characters. He tends to release the “Cut Content” videos a week after the episode airs, but the content and quality are incomparable. I found the videos to be so amazing I am basically just as excited for the weekly videos as the Re Zero episodes themselves. If you love Re Zero, the Cut Content series is a must watch.

The fantastic details and emotions the light novels are able to portray are stunning. I decided to read the light novels recently, but the only issue is that I am very short on time. But for each novel I complete, I will release a post on it.

Number 6

Mob Psycho

Although I said I found Haikyuu to be better than most modern shōnen, Mob Psycho is hands down the king. Its quality far surpasses all modern shōnen and a lot of older generation shōnen too. Funny thing is, I believe Mob Psycho’s primary genre is slice of life, not shōnen. I also believe it to be the best take on an overpowered protagonist. One of my favorite things is that Mob, who is the strongest esper we have seen, seems to be so weak. That is exactly how he should be portrayed; he is still a child with mental challenges that he is constantly trying to overcome. The themes that Mob Psycho explores are some of my favorites. The animation is a bit weird at first, but after watching it, you suddenly realize how brilliant it is.

(Honorable Mentions)

Attack on Titan

I am going to get a lot of hate for not including this in my top 5, let alone my top 15. Attack on Titan is still releasing episodes, so that opinion may change soon but let me be clear about one thing: Attack on Titan is a masterpiece. It is absolute greatness. The hype and enjoyment I get out of Attack on Titan are out of this world. But, a) the enjoyment feels a bit short-lived for me personally. It is a fantastic week after airing, but I tend to forget about it the next. b) Attack on Titan is simply not my type of show. Again, I do love Attack on Titan. Again, it is a masterpiece. And again, it may bump up a bit after a few episodes release, but as of now, Attack on Titan isn’t in my top 15.

(Honorable Mentions)

No Game No Life

Similar to One Punch Man, I thought No Game No Life was an anime for senseless fun and enjoyment. But then I watched the movie. The movie is canon to the light novels, but it is irrelevant to the plot and only contributes to the understanding of the world. However, since I watched that movie, I felt the world of No Game No Life to be more realistic. Of course, a world where games resolve all sorts of conflicts like war is ridiculous. But after watching the movie, that ridiculousness somehow turned to reality. The world of No Game No Life became fascinating to me, and what seemed like dumb games began to turn into political machinations.

(Honorable Mention)

Magi & Yona of the Dawn

All I have to say about these two anime is that they seemed to be very fascinating premises and concepts, but the anime sadly stops for both. I am considering reading the manga for both of them sometime soon, so this list may change once I do.

Number 5

Hunter x Hunter

If you like shōnen, I don’t see why you would hate Hiatus x Hai—I mean Hunter x Hunter. The only thing it slightly lacks is a strong main cast, which many people like anyway. Otherwise, absolute perfection. They have most of the best villains in all of anime: Hisoka, Chrollo, Meruem… How can you not love Meruem? And the way he parallels with Gon but in the opposite direction: just perfection. The arcs are hard to rank because they are all perfection in their own right. The best power system in anime is nothing short but perfection. If it weren’t for the Hiatus, it would be ranked fourth. I doubt it would scratch my top three.

Number 4

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I know I kept saying perfection when talking about Hunter x Hunter, but I actually believe that Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the perfect series (Note: I am not saying that no one can love it and that it has to be your #1; obviously there are preferences. I’m merely saying that it perfectly crafts what it is trying to portray). The only two arguments you can bring is that the beginning is weak. But if you watch the 03 version, there are no issues whatsoever, in my eyes. Keep in mind, when I say it is the best, I mean from a narrative standpoint. Yes, the animation isn’t the greatest, and the gags are kind of bad, but from a general narrative standpoint, it is the best writing I have ever seen. The plot was brilliant and well-crafted. The world is beautifully bound by their power system: alchemy. The philosophical discussions and themes it explores always have you thinking. The characters are very likable and are all top tier characters. The mysteries keep you in a cycle of confusion and excitement. Since I love science and chemistry, alchemy was so fascinating to me. This show is definitely well-deserving of the number one rank in My Anime List.

Number 3

Kill la Kill

After listing a lot of the best anime/manga with the best stories and narratives, I can see why someone would be upset that I brought up Kill la Kill. This one is certainly the odd one out. However, remember me mentioning that the enjoyment factor is the biggest decision maker in my list placement? Kill la Kill gave me the most enjoyment out of all the anime on this list, even more significant than the obvious #1. I didn’t find anything to be all that brilliant in Kill la Kill, and I can completely understand if someone hated this particular show. But there was something about Kill la Kill that made me feel nostalgic in a weird way. It also gave me one of the weirdest yet most immense feeling of satisfaction I have ever felt. I love Kill la Kill.

Number 2

Konosuba

           Okay yeah, this one is also the odd one out, but it is a little more acceptable. I find Konosuba to be the best comedy anime of all time. Not necessarily because it is the funniest anime (I think it is the funniest but comedy is subjective), but instead because, unlike most comedies, like Nichijo, the characters in Konosuba are absolutely brilliant. Kazuma is one of my favorite characters of all time, Megumi is best girl, but I still love both Darkness and Aqua. Their interactions are absolutely entertaining on both a comedic scale and a general enjoyment scale. Their assholeish-type relationship reflects my relationship with my friends (we are complete assholes to each other, but we also love one another).

Not only that but from the comedy focused anime that I have watched, the plot in this one is actually delightful. The Konosuba movie is my favorite movie of all time, right after A Silent Voice.

Number 1

One Piece

If you read a couple of my previous posts or recognized my profile picture, you probably knew that One Piece is my favorite anime of all time. My love for One Piece is so extensive that I would rather forget all my experiences with anime than forget my experience with One Piece. One Piece inspired me and changed my life. Not in the typical way where I learned a life lesson from the story like Plastic Memories, but simply because I found the writing to be so brilliant. So it was more that Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece, inspired me. The characters are the best I have ever seen, the villains are well crafted, the world-building is literally the best in all of fiction, the build-up is fascinating, the questions from the mysteries somehow keep piling over, the symbolism fleshes out aspects of the anime even more, the backstories make characters more relatable and understandable, the general dynamic flow of the world feels like reality, the themes it explores are great learning experiences, the originality never ends, the hype moments keep you energetic for more, the foreshadowing is so phenomenal to the extent where it shouldn’t exist, and the general planning of the story makes it obvious how amazing of an author Eiichiro Oda is.

This series has been airing weekly for nearly 22 years now, the manga for 25. How in the world is Oda able to create this monster of a story, planning certain elements a decade or two in advance? This is brilliance. This is beauty in writing. And I want nothing more than to create a masterpiece of my own.

Final Notes

Emotional, I know. I believe my list here is a bit diverse in terms of genre: shōnen, seinen, romance, comedy, sports, slice-of-life, and mystery. I think it’s a great thing to widen your horizons a bit by exploring various types of genres. Anyway, there are many anime I haven’t watched that could easily replace and dethrone some of the anime on this list. I plan on watching and reading Hajime no Ippo, Gintama, Vagabond, Oyasumi Pun Pun, I”s, etc. I heard these anime/manga are considered the best for their respective genres by many people, and I will probably finish reading and watching these anime/manga in about six months. So I will make a top 15 anime list once again around that time.

If you have any questions or you want to discuss something, feel free to ask in the “Ask Me Anything” tab on my Tumblr page.

[sz-amare]

6. Plastic Memories

The Devastating Cruelty of Time

(Spoiler Warning!) This post contains major spoilers to Plastic Memories. If you havent watched it yet, make sure to do so before reasding this post.

Plastic Memories is my favorite tragic anime. It’s one of few that have managed to make me cry. Keep in mind; I watched Your Lie on April, Violet Evergarden, A Silent Voice, Angle Beats, SukaSuka, and Anohana, yet none of them have managed to make me shed a tear. But something about Plastic Memories made me sob in absolute despair after the final scene. Even though the anime has many flaws, I found it to be the saddest among the rest.

When I started watching the series, there was something apparent to me: Isla was going to die (Yes, yes, Isla doesn’t die but loses her memories instead, but potato tomato). The thing is, I have a certain issue in that if I know of a character’s death in advance, it significantly reduces the impact for me. From the beginning, the story makes it almost perfectly clear that Isla is the love-interest, and she will lose her memories. In the first episode, we understand that Giftias lose their memories, and since Isla is a Giftia, she will eventually lose her memories.

Because I knew of her “death,” I was certain it would ruin the final moments of the anime. Rather, I found the obviousness of Isla’s death to be one of Plastic Memories’ strengths. But this only plays out when you look at Tsukasa’s and Isla’s relationship.

In the second half of the anime, Tsukasa and Isla finally get together. Tsukasa decides to form a relationship with Isla despite the fact she will lose her memories in the near future. He realizes if he dates Isla, the pain it will bring him will be immense. But he figures that spending time with her would bring her happiness at the end of her life. They begin to try their best to enjoy every moment together, exploring all types of experiences. On their final day, you can see pure happiness evolve into crippling despair as the day passes by. He is happy for the whole day, but the second he perceives the orange color of the sunlight and his stretched-out shadow, he knows that it’s sunset, which means Isla has only a few hours left. Time proceeds to flow with such cruelty, and Tsukasa can’t do anything about it. Then, Isla finally loses her memories, leaving Tsukasa in a pit of misery.

When I tell you cried, I could probably provide enough tears for a shower. To me what makes Plastic Memories so brilliant is what Isla and her relationship symbolized for me. She is the embodiment of everything I love – my family, my friends, my pets, my free time, my high school life, my youth, my life, my everything. It will all eventually disappear. My family that I love will eventually separate from me through death. The time I enjoy with my friends will eventually end. My very life will eventually come to a halt.

Putting things into perspective with Plastic Memories, Tsukasa and Isla savored every last moment they had, more than anyone. But no matter how much you love and enjoy your time with something, it will end. All good things must come to an end. Now that I still have all my friends and family around me during these last months of my senior year in high school, like Tsukasa, I realize that life as I currently know it will soon end. The devastating movement of time is beautiful, but it is also the cruelest of all.

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5. Importance of a Character’s Dreams and Motivations

One thing in common with almost all shōnen protagonists are their dreams and their motivations for chasing them. I think this is one of the most important aspects of a character. It helps them feel more three-dimensional and realistic. It is hard to make a great character with no dream or motivation, but it can be pulled off, as shown in Nux Taku’s video on The Genius of Villains without Motives.

 Anyway, to understand and love a character, it is important to grasp an idea of what makes them tick. Here I will provide a couple of examples of characters with ambitious and idealistic goals backed up by a great and understandable motivation. I will also provide an example where a character’s motivation doesn’t feel convincing, and therefore, doesn’t draw as much emotion or commitment to the characters.

Luffy is one of the greatest shōnen protagonists and is my favorite character in anime. His dream is to become the Pirate King. Even though he is a fictional character, we somehow have a deep connection with Luffy.

Oda has managed to portray Luffy as a great man in the series. I don’t think it is merely because he is strong or because he follows his principles, but rather, we can actually feel that only Luffy can be the Pirate King. I believe we feel this way because we see the Pirate King’s title fitting perfectly with Luffy’s character. But to better understand his motivations and character, we need to look to his past.

Luffy is significantly inspired by Shanks, greatly appreciating Shanks’ freedom and the principles he follows. Luffy also has a large amount of respect for his older brother. Sabo decided to sail the seas without money or power, trying to escape the nobility life that imprisoned him. But his journey ended before it had a chance to start due to the Celestial Dragon shooting down his little boat. Here we can see two of the people Luffy respected the most chased their own freedom, and the only thing that opposed that freedom is the world government

Luffy also wants to chase that freedom, but he can’t since the world government is preventing him from chasing that dream. However, Luffy had made this connection that pirates are the freest people on earth; they get to do whatever they wanted with no consequences as long as their strength can back it up. They were also considered enemies of the world government, the very thing Luffy despises. Luffy didn’t only aspire to be like Shanks and Sabo; he didn’t only want to be a simple pirate; he didn’t only seek freedom; he wanted to be the freest man in the entire world while respecting others and following basic morals. If pirates were free and the Pirate King was the greatest pirate, the Pirate King must be the world’s freest man. Therefore, Luffy decided to peruse this freedom by becoming the Pirate King.

Another great example is illustrated with Naruto and Asta. They have very similar dreams of being the most powerful and respected man in their respective country. But, their motivations differ from each other. Their aspirations play a perfect part in their characters and their pasts. Naruto was considered the “devil child” since he was possessed by the Nine-Tails Fox, the deity that once terrorized his entire village. The Fox was to be feared and very dangerous. So the whole village discriminated against him, terrified of him attacking the village at any moment. 

He had no friends, and on top of that, Naruto’s parents died when the Fox was trapped in his body. He wasn’t just discriminated against; he was lonely and wanted respect. Naruto realized that the Hokage is the most respected person in the entire country. So, he aspired to be the Hokage; Naruto just wanted respect and acceptance.

Asta was a commoner with no magic. That’s an absurd thing to think about, simply because there isn’t a single person in the Black Clover world who has no magic. In the world of Black Clover, there are different levels of magic ability: the nobles having the most magic, the middle class having an average amount, and commoners having little to no magic. But Asta has no magic. This means that he is not only disrespected by the nobles and middle class but also by other commoners. Asta wants to prove that with no special abilities, he can be the Wizard King, the most powerful mage in the kingdom. If he accomplishes this, he can prove that even commoners can reach such high standards. With this, he can strive for equality.

All these examples are brilliant. Each example follows on their pasts and makes sense of why they have such high aspirations. Luffy’s goal is to be the Pirate King, and his motivation is freedom. Naruto’s goal is to be the Hokage, and his motivation is respect and acceptance. Asta’s goal is to be the Wizard King, and his motivation is equality and recognition. All of their pasts put them in a situation where their motivation makes sense. This allows us to sympathize with them, understanding them on a different level.

But there are a couple of characters whose motivation I find a bit bland. The biggest offender of this is Itadori Yuji from Jujutsu Kasien. His dream is to become a very strong individual in order to help others. His motivation? His grandfather’s last words.

Now I understand that Itadori had a very close relationship with his grandfather and that his love for him alone is good enough motivation to follow his dream. But first off, it doesn’t even feel like it is Itadori’s dream. He seems to be following someone else desire. If maybe this was something that was ingrained in Itadori’s mind as a child, and we got to see it, his dream would feel a lot more like his own. His motivation would also make more sense. As an example, my parents have always told me to be kind to others, but now it feels more like it’s my own principle, not theirs. I don’t get that same feeling from Itadori’s grandfather’s motivation. Secondly, we don’t even understand Itadori’s connection to his grandfather. If we had a couple of episodes dedicated to showing us their bond and relationship, this would be a different matter. Now, every time I hear Itadori talk about others and how he couldn’t save someone, I end up staring at the screen with a blank face and saying, “Okay…”

To me, his dream is to be strong so that he can help others (I think) and his motivation is his grandfather’s final words which felt nothing short of dumb and ridiculous. We don’t even get to see his past and fully understand if this is something that Itadori always believed. Jujutsu Kaisen only aired 16 episodes and still has time to unfold, so I can understand if there is something that is yet to develop. But so far, Itadori, along with his dreams and motivations, suck.

In my book series, I want to make each character have convincing and understandable dreams and motivations, and I hope to make it similar to Luffy’s, Naruto’s, and Asta’s. You should be careful when making characters.  Having their motivations fall flat can really turn off an audience. I hope to create realistic-feeling characters with dreams and motivations that seem to align perfectly with their character.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the “Ask Me Anything” tab on my Tumblr page.

[sz-amare]

4. Steins; Gate

Beginning of the Ending in the Beginning

(Spoiler Warning!) This contains minor spoilers and describes most of the significant details of the first episode. If you want all the events to be more exciting and you would like to experience Steins; Gate the ‘proper way,’ I recommend watching the series first. But at a minimum, watch the first episode before reading this analysis.

For quite a long time, I have heard that Steins; Gate is a masterpiece and that it has one of the most well-crafted plots in anime. I have to say; it didn’t fall short. After watching Steins; Gate, I felt an odd satisfaction that I don’t typically get from other shows. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is. However, what I think gave me this feeling is just how well-crafted all the components of the anime felt. I had a deep connection with the characters; the mystery aspect kept me hungry for more knowledge; the cinematography was spot on; and finally, the foreshadowing worked perfectly with the plot’s final events to wrap-up everything in the series.Although the last couple of episodes take all the credit for the amazing plot, the first twelve are responsible for the build-up. I personally think that the first episode, in particular, played a substantial role in this build-up.

The first episode of Steins; Gate, or at least the first half of it, is probably my favorite of the entire series. Of course, first-time watchers wouldn’t understand how truly significant it is; simply because everything in the first episode makes sense after watching the final two. But there is a lot more to the first episode than simple foreshadowing. Every scene contains valuable information to understanding our characters, environment, and context to the entire series.

A great example comes in the metal Oopa scene. One of the characters, Mayuri Shiina, is looking at a toy dispenser, desperately wanting one of the toys called an Oopa. She asks the protagonist of the series, Hououin Kyou — I mean Okabe Rintaro, to give her a 100 yen coin to get an Oopa. Okabe puts on a cool guy act and laughs, telling her, “Even though I’ve known you since we were kids, I’m not lending you any money.” 

He then proceeds to buy the toy Oopa for himself to “show her how cruel the world can be.” Okabe realizes he got a metal Oopa, which Mayuri explained is the rarest type of Oopa. After hearing this, Okabe gives the Oopa to Mayuri.

There is a lot of information contained here. We learn of Mayuri’s childish and adorable nature; that Okabe and Mayuri have been friends since they were children; and they have a close bond.  We can see that Okabe’s behavior seems more like a façade than his actual mannerism. And finally, we can see his kind-heartedness towards Mayuri. All of this information unpacks in 30 seconds. Not only that, but the Oopa plays a major role at the end of the series. With each passing scene, I feel like I have a better understanding of the characters as a whole.

While we are unpacking all this information, many questions come to mind. Why is Okabe’s phone displaying static? Why did the building shake just now? Who is the suspicious-looking guard on the roof? Why is a redhead telling Okabe that they met 15 minutes ago when we don’t remember such an encounter? In my mind, and surely in many others, I knew it had something to do with time travel, considering that time travel is mentioned early on and seemed like an important theme. 

We especially get this suspicion when the redhead, who we later learn is Makise Kurisu, told Okabe that they met 15 minutes ago while Okabe had no recollection of it. Questions continue to collect in the viewer’s head, climbing in significance.  However, as the episode progresses, new questions emerge causes the prior questions and suspicions to be forgotten. All our previous questions disappear as we begin to ask who stabbed Makise, and why did everyone just disappear from the streets. The last two questions are the most significant and confusing, taking our attention and forcing us to forget all our previous questions.

This first half of the first episode plays the most prominent role in the build-up to the finale. It introduces many “loose-end strings” of questions and irrelevant-seeming elements that feel unrelated to the overall plot and story. Only until the ending do we realize the significance of the first episode. A feeling of satisfaction encases you when you realize you can finish the series without the discomfort of a non-concluded story. All the forgotten questions are remembered and answered. All the irrelevant elements are reintroduced and made into significant roles. All the “loose end strings” lead to one massive and beautiful tapestry. It is the definition of a smoothly flowing plot that brought me that feeling of satisfaction.

Of course, any well-crafted story is never without its plot holes, but the only plot holes I could really point to were very minor and related more to the science aspect than the plot itself. Other than that, I found the series to be absolutely perfect. However, some people argue that the first 12 episodes are slow-paced and boring. But I really enjoyed them. I found them to be more realistic and essential to the world-building, similar to the first episode.

Overall a wonderful series. I rate it a 10/10: a beautiful masterpiece. It made its way into my top 15. The only reason it’s not any higher is because I enjoy more fantasy and shōnen elements in a story, but 15 is still pretty high. 

I recommend this to anyone who has a bit of experience watching anime, I would say after watching 50 or so. I don’t think you would enjoy this as much if you are looking for constant intensity, fights, or action. It is a slower-paced show, and the target audience is aimed more at people looking for an amazing story. But otherwise, a great watch!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the “Ask Me Anything” tab on my Tumblr page. 

[sz-amare]

3. How I “Thought-Dump”

When you decide to make a story, whether it is a light novel, manga, movie, etc., it is best to plan out your story’s basic composition. Planning will help make your story a lot better, making it feel more fluid, creative, and unique. It can also help you avoid plot holes, inconsistencies with your characters, and writer’s block.

My favorite way of planning out my story is to do a “thought-dump.” Thought-dumping is taking any idea or thought and writing it down. The idea can be good or bad; just dump your thoughts onto a document. For example, I wanted a floating castle in my story, but it seemed illogical to add it. It just ruined some of the elements in the world I created. I ignored my brain and just added it anyway. After some thought, I found a way to add that floating castle. I tweaked a few things in my story, changed some characters, added some history, and made the castle significantly relevant to my arc and the whole series’s main plot. What I initially thought was a mistake ended up being one of my greatest decisions.

The best way I thought-dump is through a tool called Milanote. Milanote does not sponsor this post, but it is simply my favorite website, and I had to share it. Anyway, Milanote is a tool I use to organize my ideas and put them on a board. This board helps me better visualize my thoughts.

 You can add folder-type boards to organize your ideas.  You can also select a category for your board to use pre-made cards. For example, I created a new board and categorized it as “characters.”  This allowed me to use template cards specially made for characters.  The character cards allowed me to upload a picture for my character profile with a description of their goals, personalities, habits, and looks. I have made nearly a dozen characters to get a better understanding of them.

You can do the same with other card templates such as the novel plan, story outline, world-building, and story map. It is a really effective way to develop whatever I want in my story.

For my thought-dumps, I use an empty board and randomly place note cards to write my ideas. I can color-code these note cards to understand better what relevance they have. I now have about 50 note cards, some of which have up to 300 words. These thought-dumps can be anything: describing a character or his/her actions, an idea of a plot twist, outlining the power system of the world, anything you want. I am still in the planning/thought-dump phase, but once I’m near the end of it, I will connect all these notes in chronological order. This will assist me in reviewing which bits of information work, which ones don’t make sense. It will also help me check for plot holes within my ideas.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the “Ask Me Anything” tab on my Tumblr page.

[sz-amare]

2. Blog Contents

Before I get into the actual content, I want to describe what you should be expecting from this blog in terms of scheduling and the kinds of blog posts I will be releasing.

I plan on posting twice a week. The posts will come randomly throughout the weak because my free time apears at random times. Occasionally, if I have a lot of free time on my hands and I’m feeling extra, I will release an additional post on one of my free days. This posting schedule will begin next week.

When it comes to my posts, I will be releasing five main types of content. The types of content include:

Reviews/Analyses

My book and writing process

Essays

Top # list and mini analysis

Light Novel Study

Other

 Reviews/Analyses

This type of content will be coming out the most. I will be breaking down, reviewing, and analyzing an anime, manga, or light novel. It could be the series itself, a character in that series, the themes it explores, etc.

 My Book and Writing Process

Here I hope to give updates on my book and talk about my writing process and thinking. I will sometimes provide sneak peeks too. 

Essays

In the essays, I will explore more general elements that are common across many series. For example, I will be looking at the idea of a character’s “dream” and motivation. This is common with many characters in a broad spectrum of anime.

 Top # List & Mini Analysis

Out of the other three, this one comes out the least frequent. As a matter of fact, it comes out every 7th blog post because I said so … Here, I list my top (insert number) of anything: anime, characters, villains, anime op & ed, etc. However, as I list them, I will be providing a mini analysis of my reasoning why it’s on the list. Pretty self-explanatory.

Light Novel Study

Reading light novels is one of my favorite pastimes. So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone by reading my favorite light novels and giving a quick analysis for each volume I complete. I will be starting with Re Zero as it is one my favorite anime based on a light novel series. Posting this type of content will be more difficult as I don’t have a lot of time to read. But, whenever I do, I will try to release it on one of my free days.

Other

Every once in a while, I may post some other type of content that are not the ones I mentioned above. For example, before a new season begins, I will post about seasonal anime line ups on MAL, talking about which ones I am excited for. Every mid-season, I may give a short review on which anime is doing well, which anime is a disappointment, or an anime I may have missed in the seasonal line-up post. It can be completely different from the norm.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the “Ask Me Anything” tab on my Tumblr page.

[sz-amare]

1. Journey to Craft a Masterpiece

My name is Shane Z. Amare. Although I was born in the United States, I moved to Ethiopia when I was two and a half years old and lived there for the rest of my life. I am currently 17 years old and am about to finish high school. I love physics, cooking, practicing volleyball, and playing video games.  But little did I know that one of the things I like to do for fun would inspire me to become an author –watching anime.

I have been watching anime for several years and have watched hundreds of different anime and thousands of episodes. Through this process, I fell in love with one particular anime called One Piece by Eiichiro Oda. I was captivated by the remarkable depth and thought that Oda put into One Piece and have enjoyed digging deep into the analysis of the hidden beauty it holds.

After consuming every last bit of One Piece, I felt compelled to craft a brilliant story of my own. I can’t draw to save my life, so I decided to take the Light Novel approach. I spent a couple of weeks researching story elements and the contents of a book. I began writing but soon realized how incompetent I was. I still needed a lot more experience and understanding in order to make a story as brilliant as One Piece. So, for the next seven months, I spent hours and hours reviewing analyses of anime to learn how to craft such an amazing work of art. After internalizing every analysis of One Piece I could find, I reviewed other anime analysis, including Berserk, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, Hunter x Hunter, Mob Psycho 100, etc. I researched their themes, villains, characters, plot points, symbolism, and so on. I also watched analyses of other anime genres, such as romance, to learn how to convey emotions better.

Building on this experience, I began my planning phase. I am devoting a lot of time to this phase, which I know will help me through the writing process.  As I come up with ideas, I write them down, outlining my arcs and stories, developing my characters, building my world and history, and so on.  In this blog, I plan to share my planning and writing process.  Follow my blog as I go through my journey to reach my goal of crafting a masterpiece.