This came from the same text-book as Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, and they both totally happened
However, this love of country has also instilled in me a sometimes narrow viewpoint of the world. I'm definitely no Imperialist, but I like what I like and often think that things from other countries are strange. Especially Asian countries. And especially Japan.
And with toilets like these, can you really blame me?
To me, Japanese culture is a whirlwind of the strange, bizarre, and downright confusing. This doesn't mean that I dislike Japan, it just means that the bright colors, high squeaky voices, and interesting cultural fads don't exactly fall in my spheres of interest. Chief among this list is anime. Ever since I was a kid, I was weirded out by shows like Dragonball Z. There was so much screaming and spiky hair, and I didn't ever have a clue what was going on. That's why I stuck to the comfort of Thomas the Tank Engine. But that's material for a future article...
Anyway, the point of this article is to admit that my staunch view that anime is weird and dumb is not right. I know! I know! I was just as shocked as you are! Now I'm not saying that I've become a complete anime junkie, in fact far from it. I still think it's weird. But, thanks to my good friend and new full-time blog partner, Matthew Thelonius Webb, I have found one that is entirely worth my time. And yours. I speak of Death Note.
Doesn't it just look intriguing?
Once upon a time, Matt Webb came back from his adventures as Provo-Orem's favorite pizza delivery boy clutching a mysterious black book. Even the leaves of the pages were dyed black. He proclaimed it his favorite Manga of all time, and implored us all to read it. As my other roommate J-Stahr Bethers spent the next 8 hours devouring it, I decided that anything worth his time was worth mine, and made the choice to read it next.
It took a while to get used to reading from right to left, but once I adjusted I was hooked. This was a smart, fast-paced, and completely shocking story that I couldn't put down. I finished the book, but then realized that it was only parts one and two of twelve. It was then that Matt made the glorious announcement that the rest was in anime form on hulu.com. Thus we embarked on a glorious marathon. Many hours later, I can't help but post my feelings on this blog so that all seven of you readers can broaden your horizons.
Death Note is the story of a boy who finds a notebook predictably called the death note. He soon finds that if he writes someones name in it, they die of a heart attack. He uses this new power to begin to cleanse the earth of evil, and essentially becomes judge jury and executioner. Meanwhile, the world's greatest detective (in this case not Batman) stays even with him, slowly inching closer to discovering his identity and stopping his crimes. What makes it so good is the Sherlock Holmes-Moriarty like relationship between the two main characters. Just when you think one has the advantage, the other pulls some incredible feat of genius and evens the score. It's like a game of chess, only way more exciting.
The best part is the frequent mind-blowing moments. It seems like every few episodes, something happens that makes you jump off the couch and scream in disbelief. The man who wrote this has crafty a complicated, yet totally smart narrative that draws you in and won't let you quite. Any fan of shows like Castle, The Mentalist, Sherlock, and My Little Pony will certainly not be able to resist the allure of this show.
But now, just to prove that my feelings haven't changed that much, I give you this;
Yep. Still weird.
Also a few announcements: as I mentioned, Matt is joining the blog. You can expect a renaissance of sorts from this old rag, including a redesign, new name, and hopefully more consistency now that I don't have to write quite as much for school. Until next time.
bump
ReplyDeletethis article is what it's all about