Yeah, still here, just been buried under lots of... stuff. Yeah, stuff. Someone's body decided to try to kill someone and, of course, the medical profession (hwack-ptooie) did more to try to kill someone than someone's body did. Long story, we are alive, and, yes, we still hate the medical profession. You know, when one is ill and facing surgery, making them go every day to yet another doctor or testing center or processing center is NOT the way to encourage the someone to feel better about the process, and then to be told that part of the problem is someone someone's self. Yeah, no kidding, no, aliens made someone ill, right? Then there's the whole "You know you've been running high white cell counts for years" that makes someone's spouse think someone's doctor needs to go swimming with the fishes, or at least face a few minutes getting a swirly facial in the nearest porcelain throne. (And this is from one of the best doctors in the area. Gee, once the white cell count comes down to normal, amazing how someone's blood sugars and A1C fall almost into the normal range (for someone with blood sugar issues, that is.))
Gah. The pox on the medical profession, all.
So I've been surviving on a steady diet of worry, concern, on-line gaming, reading, watching too much TV and... reading. Yes, I know I already said reading, but that first reading was referring to reading books, you know, traditional reading. What I am referring to in the second 'reading' (dang, starting to sound like Church here, isn't it?) is reading captions on... Anime.
Yeah, Anime. Animated Japanese manga. I caught the 'Otaku Flu' (otaku being overly obsessed manga/anime fans) but only got a minor case of it. So no 'Sailor Moon' body pillows, no stacks of manga piled everywhere, no wall-to-wall posters of various cartoons and such.
Thing is, though there's a lot of, er, ah, adult themes in somewhat a badthink way in Anime, a lot of it is surprisingly mature and well written and well drawn and well animated and, well, is just darned good. Much better than your average Marvel or DC product, especially modern products from those two houses. MUCH BETTER. Like real pathos, real comedy, real characters that you can relate to, real villains, characters that are multi-layered.
Want to watch an anime about a 30ish old office worker who suddenly becomes the guardian of his 6 year old aunt? That would be "Bunny Drop." What to do with the daughter of your grandfather and his house cleaner? Who takes care of her? How does one relate to her? How does it change the guardian's life? And what questions will be answered? Bunny Drop | Anime-Planet
Want to watch an anime about the mysteries surrounding the Chinese Zodiac animals and a supernatural curse? That would be "Fruits Basket" Seasons 1 and 2. Crazy drama comedy revolving around one orphaned girl who's basically alone in the world except for her best friends and she gets involved into a large clan that revolves around said zodiac animals and... The end episode of Season 2 is rather wonderful and is more romantic and heart-warming than many 'Major Motion Pictures' or even Hallmark-ish movies. Very sweet, very sad-happy. Fruits Basket 1st Season | Anime-Planet Fruits Basket 2nd Season | Anime-Planet Fruits Basket the Final Season | Anime-Planet
College student suddenly becomes the guardian of three girls? That would be "Listen to me, Girls. I'm your Father!" Really great story about all the issues of a single guy dealing with school, adult girls and 3 girls while living in a small apartment. Listen to Me Girls, I'm Your Father! | Anime-Planet
Anime dealing with the interactions between humans and dragons in the modern Japanese world? That would be "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid" and, let me tell you, this anime deals with lots of rather deep and profound issues, alongside with silly stuff and all of it is handled rather well. Well scripted, well drawn. And the last episode of the first season ends in a rather sweet and nice ending which made me tear up (but then again, I'm one of those sappy idiots who cry over emotional movies. Mrs. Andrew makes fun of me for that.) Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid | Anime-Planet Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S Short Animation Series | Anime-Planet Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Valentines and Hot Springs! (Please Don't Get Your Hopes Up) | Anime-Planet Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S | Anime-Planet
Orphaned girl ends up being kidnapped into the alternate paranormal world of Japan because she was 'sold' by her grandfather to an ogre as a bride? "Kakuyiro: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits" Rather interesting drop into the world of the Japanese supernatural and all the weird things that go on. Being a barbarian outsider, you will learn lots about Japanese culture from this one. Tense, interesting and, yes, a sweet ending. I'm a sucker for sweet endings.
"Natsume's Book of Friends" deals with a kid getting stuck cleaning up his mother's supernatural messes, and finding the true meaning of friendship and wonder. Natsume's Book of Friends | Anime-Planet And, poop, just found out there's 6 seasons of this show, will have to watch them soonest.
Then there's a whole two-season anime that deals with how the Japanese military would deal with a Gate that leads from a medievalish-Game of Thrones type world to the heart of Tokyo. And this is where it gets interesting to some of the readers here at The Chant. There's wonderfully animated F-4 Phantoms in it. "Gate, Thus the JSDF Fought There." (you can watch it free on BiliBili at: gate: so the jsdf fought there - Bilibili search ) Really good animation, really good mature subjects handled well, really good. I won't spoil any of your fun and give you spoilers. Just go and watch and read Episode 1 and if you aren't hooked, well, that's on you. This was the 'documentary' on the JSDF and the F-4 Phantom I referred to the other day.
And so much more.
Haunted apartment complex? "Elegant Youkai Apartment Life." Elegant Youkai Apartment Life | Anime-Planet
Salary Worker who is being crushed by work? "The Helpful Fox Senko-san." The Helpful Fox Senko-san | Anime-Planet
And sooo much more.
You can watch them free on AnimePlanet or BiliBiliTV or sometimes on yousetubs.
There's a little (or a lot) of everything. Magical Girls! Cat Girls! Monster Girls! Ghost Girls! Witch Girls! And guys, too. Sucked into computer games, sucked into alternate worlds, sucked back in time, sucked up by aliens....
Enjoy!
F-4s vs dragons....now how does that w..... Hmmmm......wait.......12 episodes?!? Wut? .......Hmmmm.............
ReplyDelete24 if you include Season 2.
DeleteLike I needed ANOTHER time sink. Good stuff Beans!
ReplyDeleteTime sinks are good if you need to do something other than twiddle one's thumbs.
DeleteWell, alrighty then ...
ReplyDeleteNot sure what to think, but, as always, interesting.
Hey, if LL can watch Anime, so can I. I like the story lines, the comedy and tragedy, the drama, the artwork and the pacing. All good. Beats playing World of Tanks.
DeleteNot judging, just never figured you for an anime guy. There are some good ones out there, just never got into it myself.
Delete+1 on the anime Beans. Japanese Anime can deal with some amazing things - and it also has the virtue of being based in a different culture, so it is a different view of amazing things.
ReplyDeleteOne of the few almost reliably good things on Netflix is their anime selection. Expelled from Paradise deals with the concept of living forever as a construct versus living (and dying in the real world and Artificial Intelligence. Blame deals questions of humanity and technology in a post-apocalyptic world. The Godzilla remakes are actually very entertaining. And of course, all of the Hayaoi Miyazaki movies. Good stuff indeed.
I especially like Anime because it's delightfully not Woke. The alternate lifestyles are played as normal people, whether half-humans or alternate sexuality, and perverts are called out and dealt with on a regular basis. Just finished "Kotaru lives alone" from Netflix (watched on BiliBili) and it handles the actual phenomena in Japan of parents abandoning their children or not being able to touch children and how people deal with it.
DeleteWow, Beans. Haven't seen a better example of stream of conscious writing since Mrs. Rice's 12th grade English Class. When we weren't fighting of Pterodactyls, we were writing stories. One nine weeks was dedicated to that artistic method. My brain was (is) more oriented to computer program style writing, so not my favorite.
ReplyDeleteTo change subjects. again, not a fan of Anime. First encountered it when assigned in Okinawa. Lived off base for a while, and had a Japanese housekeeper/baby sitter for little J. She would watch that all the time while we were gone. Guess who began to like it. Sneaky those folks influencing our kids at an early age. Again, my computer programming trained brain, just never got it.
But, hey, if it works for you...
Mrs. Beans is on our prayer list, has been for a while. As are you. Hang in there!
I don't watch certain anime. I tend to be drawn to ones with complex and deep subjects and how the characters deal with said issues. I find them to be more adult and serious than a lot of current tv programming.
DeleteThanks for the prayers. Right now the doctors need it more than she, as they tend to piss her off and do stupid stuff. Seriously, how hard is it to treat a patient as an individual rather than as a cog and follow a script? Grrrr...
There are good doctors and bad doctors (and doctors who think they’re good doctors). We have Medicare and Obamacare and insurance care (not all the same thing). We have “good” medical schools and bad ones, we have “good” teaching hospitals and bad ones; we have physicians who graduated with top honors who just can’t “see” the patient they’re treating: they treat scans and the results of lab tests. I’m lucky: I found one of the great ones – I should have been fertilizing daisies five years ago
ReplyDelete(Either He must love me or has much worst things planned for me; I agree with Iago’s plaint: “E credo l'uom gioco d'iniqua sorte”); one of the few who treats the patient: not the disease, not the textbook.
They’re out there; they’re far and few between (don’t believe me? re-watch the “Dance of the Marionettes” orchestrated by Antonio Fauci), but they’re out there. It takes a lot of diligence (and luck) to find them (and sometimes pleading and a referral for them to take you on as their patient).
We have a great family doctor. Even then, 'normal parameters' tend to be the issue. I mean, how normal is someone with a totally dead thyroid and other issues?
DeleteAs to surgeons, very tired of having to get corrective surgery to fix the issues from the first surgeries. Seems to be a common trend. Do something, then have to go back and fix more stuff.
"From Up On Poppy Hill". One of my favorites. Funny and interesting as the youngsters discover who their fathers were...
ReplyDelete-Barry
Added to the list of "Must Find" anime. Thanks!
DeleteGiant robots, piloted by 14-year-old kids, that turn out to not be robots, but are actually containment suits for giant humanoid monsters, one of which contains the soul of the main character's mother, and ... well maybe that's kind of a spoiler?
ReplyDeleteDangit, TITLE PLEASE!!!!
DeleteNeon Genesis Evangelion. I think it’s still on Netflix?
DeleteThanks kindly.
DeleteHey! Winders never cease...
ReplyDeleteAnother anime fan is me.
Started with the awesome cyberpunk series Bubblegum Crisis, followed by steady diet of better or worse quality series.
Some of m,y faves were on the Beans list
Others are spread over the years:
Some of my faves:
Visioon of Escaflowne - Dragons, Stealth-Mechs and fortunetelling girl taken to alternative world.
Slayers: DnD-ish heroicomedy. where fireball often solves most problems and more difficult ones are solved with well, magical tactical nukes...
Black Lagoon - Sin City on shores of S.China Sea,
Inuyasha: Girl travels to feudal Japan and befriends half-human, half demon dog.
Legend of Galactic Heroes. Imagine Star Wars but spanning centuries, and much more epic space battles.
and probably my fave of them all:
Ghost in the Shell (both movie and SAC series)
cyber-crime unit of Japanese secret services visits their own brand of justice on various evildoers, some of them within own government
All added to the list of stuff to find. Thanks, Pawel. "Slayers" sounds especially fun, kind of like "Konosuba." Which is another multi-season series I highly recommend. Aqua is such a ditz.
DeleteMegumin was partially a homage to Lina Inverse... And yes, I love konosuba as well. Nothing beats Aqua being dragged, kicking and screaming, as the Perk for hapless Kazuma. Karma is perfect.
DeleteI especially like the little details like the technicolor and full of sparkles barf that Aqua and Eris expel when barfing.
DeleteThanks for all the great Anime Beans. Much appreciated. Found some of it on Roku. Been dealing with medical Dr.'s since I was 19 (VA). I've only found a couple decent ones. I'll keep your wife in my prayers. Semper Fi. Catfish Brody
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of service. And what makes you think I was referring to my wife? I did say 'someone' several times. Of course, there's me and I have no problem talking about disgusting things, much to juvat's displeasure, and my dog, whom has no opinion other than "feed me, pet me, let me under the covers" so that does leave Mrs. Andrew as the only potential subject. Hmmm... maybe I was toooo obvious.
DeleteMy apologies Beans.
DeleteJuvat said "Mrs. Beans is on our prayer list, has been for a while. As are you. "
So I thought it was Mrs. Beans currently ill.
Being the FNG around here and one of the few males with a Dr's excuse for CRS. (lol), I haven't begun to keep up with the regulars health issues and their family lives. But I'm learning.
As a chronically ill person myself I'm well aware of the thrills and excitement of dealing with the medical profession. Weather it was the VA, which I've given up on, Or my latest 30 yr health crisis, which took them 10 years to diagnose (Yeesh!), the fun never stops.
Since chronic illness affects the whole family I shall keep you and dog in my prayers as well.
And when have you posted anything disgusting? (To a crayon eating Jarhead? LMAO)
Have an enjoyable weekend.
Semper Fi. Catfish Brody
Sorry, was just being a weisenheimer. Yes, Mrs. Andrew was ill, now she's not, it's all good. Once we stopped having to go to this appointment and that appointment and do this and do that, the world is much better now.
DeleteAs to disgusting, I mentioned watching zit-popping videos on yousetubs and I heard juvat heave.
Beans, sorry about the medical issues. That coupled with insurance woes and approvals and all the bureaucratic stuff can definitely cause stress and anxiety. And that just exacerbates the problem sometimes. Hope things work out for you both.
ReplyDelete