The source of conflict (Revisited)

Very few visitors to this site know who I am in real life since this is not my main website. I consider that a good thing because then there are no strings attached to what I write here, and I can write about topics thinking the audience is no one yet everyone. Some know who […]

Mental health

I keep a dreams log. I forget all my dreams, so I write them down the moment I wake from them. Here’s some of what it says. I’m actually a pretty normal person in real life (I think). I don’t actively think about any terrible thing, yet they always revisit me in my dreams. My […]

Character flashback: Killua Zoldyck

These days, I keep replaying certain scenes from Hunter x Hunter that tries to lift my spirits. What am I doing? Did I do what I wanted to do? What do I want to do? What do I want? I can’t really answer any of these questions, hence it’s time to imagine what my favorite […]

Anime Review: Monster

Monster is a fictional masterpiece that can be interpreted from many different angles – from an exploration of personal identity to a theory on the creation of “monsters”. Its historical context (beginning from 1986 with many references to post-WWII Germany/Chezhoslovakia and the Fall of the Berlin Wall) grounds the story in reality, with many realistic […]

Anime Review: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

“Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy’s first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world’s one and only truth.” – Alphonse Elric FMAB is a masterpiece steeped in themes from science, religion, war, […]

Anime Review: Death Note

“Because I was bored.” It has been over two years since I watched Death Note, and so my review will only be limited to my own sense of what the show aimed to do, albeit without the substantiative plot details. Death Note is the anime I recommend most often to friends who aren’t as familiar […]

Anime Review: Hunter x Hunter

I want to apologize to myself for the long wait on my FAVORITE anime of all time – Hunter x Hunter (watched last year). This is without-a-doubt, one of the best shounen ever made. I thought long and hard how to convince others to watch it, but I think it serves others best to highlight […]

Anime Review: Parasyte: The Maxim

Parasyte is a philosophical masterpiece masquerading as a gore-filled horror anime. The anime explores questions like, “what is the human species?”, “is speciesism justified?”, and “is environmentalism just human self-gratification?” Add a riveting plot and touch character interactions – and that’s here’s what we end up with. What is “the maxim” anyways? Ironically, for a […]

Anime Review: Code Geass

This is the best masterpiece I’ve ever watched. Prior to watching Code Geass, I had thought the protagonist character was no longer an area of storytelling innovation. In classic shounen, the protagonist is designed to champion the viewer. Through his/her falls and triumphs, the viewer is able to grow vicariously alongside the protagonist. As such, […]

Anime Review: Psycho-Pass (Season 1)

Despite appearing unrelated from the latter in every category, Psycho-Pass tackles a similar set of moral dilemmas as Shinsekai Yori. This one hits much closer to home as its setting is a near-future cyberpunk tech dystopia (so close to home China banned it). The society of Psycho-Pass has perfected the use of cymatic scans to […]