#inuyasha is first anime I ever watched and rewatched so many times in my childhood

[okurrroye]

In an Inuyasha frenzy and it’s eating me alive

[vanilla-blessing]

Stray; or, The Paradise and The Palisades

A personal essay about Wolf’s Rain by Karin Malady (@SweetNAwful)

Rewatching a series has always spoken to my sense of time. Most of the time it seemed pointless - why watch something again when I could experience something new. To me, it was more exciting that way than going through the same emotional loop. Repeating a series over and over was the same as being trapped in the past. But, over time, I lightened up on that. I watched some of my favorite series a second time, often with a friend who hadn’t seen it before. Not only did having a fresh pair of eyes expand my view of the work but so did my accumulated experiences. After years had gone by, I’d realized I was a different person than when I first saw it. I had more of a grounding point for my experiences and knowledge. So, I was getting to see something I loved in new ways, which was important to me in itself. Last year, one of my girlfriends and I were trying to think of things to do to spend time together, as we were separated from each other by distance and a pandemic. This led to a weekly anime night of ours where we started by making our way through some of the Adult Swim sci-fi and cyberpunk shows. We started with Ghost in the Shell and moved on from there. A lot of these shows I only remembered in flashes - glimpses of random episodes fluttering through my childhood memories. I didn’t really understand how much of a connection I had with Wolf’s Rain until we got to it.

There was always something mysterious about the Adult Swim anime block. The promotion of these shows often involved cryptic phrases and stylish clips. When I was around ten, I would watch random episodes of things with my dad. I would see bits of Fooly Cooly, Inuyasha, Wolf’s Rain, Cowboy Bebop, and so many others out of context. I was deeply drawn in by the style of it all. The sense of space and action. The skeletal remains of Toga, Inuyasha’s father, loomed over the landscape much like mine did over me - giant. He was very important to me at that time in my life, even though he was someone who often scared me. My mom had just been in an accident and came back different. Something - maybe the result of an injury - changed and she didn’t seem like the same person anymore. It scared me, I felt like I lost her. So my dad got a lot of my attention - he was a jolly, funny, talkative. But he could also take things seriously and talk about deeper subjects. Not that it was all good times with him but he was more familiar. It didn’t make me sad in the same way. When my brother and I were allowed to stay up late, we watched Wolf’s Rain with him.

This is basically my father.

There was something about Wolf’s Rain that drew my dad into it. His eyes lit up so much more when he was explaining the story compared to Inuyasha or other anime. A pack of wolves wandering a desolate future, searching for Paradise - a place foretold in myth where all wolves will be free. I honestly don’t know why that idea appealed to him so much. Was he also a wounded wolf looking for Paradise? His life was told to me through a series of bar fights and near arrests. His actual arrest, his childhood, these are huge blanks in the story he told about himself. All I can really be certain is that he hurt a lot and that he never learned what to do with it. When Wolf’s Rain ended, he was disappointed with it. I don’t think he wanted the finality of death from the show. It could be because that hurt he carried was a threat to his life. I can never really know at this point in time. As I got older, our relationship got worse and recognized his abuse. I stopped talking to him after my parents got divorced and long before I started transitioning. Sometimes, however, I think back on the strange and mysterious feeling of watching Wolf’s Rain with him. There was something about the glow of the screen late at night, my dad sitting in his La-Z-Boy as a giant, lit by the blue of the TV screen.

Naturally, this means that revisiting something you’ve already seen is a form of time travel. Just thinking about the first time I experienced this anime has pulled me back into the past. But it also creates a bridge to the present as well. On my second watch, I was struck by the ways the anime could also relate to queerness. The way they form a pack and have to pass as humans to survive gave me a sense of found family and transness. And obviously Tsume is a leather daddy. We don’t see this directly in the story, of course. But, there is a possibility space where I can allow these characters to become queer. The way they are rejected can become my rejection and the way their search for safety, for a world that accepts them, can become my very same search.

Nothing will ever convince me he is straight.

Quent Yaiden stumbles around a broken world drunk and hateful. He is a bastard carried by sentimentality alone. This is a man who hunts wolves for revenge, after he believed a pack of wolves set his home town on fire and killed his family. A fire that was actually caused by the Noble’s soldiers. He spends his days wallowing in his pain, ignorant to the truth. However, he isn’t entirely alone as his trusty pet dog, Blue, guides him. It is because of him, people like him, that even brief visitations to the past become scary. If I linger here too long, I might become him. Of course, most people don’t want to become their parents. I see through Quent the ways my father had been swallowed by the world and how he could be a person who hurt me as much as he did. The truth of Quent’s tragedy isn’t the only thing obscured from him - Blue herself is half wolf. She gets scared he might find out and hid a precious part of herself from someone she cared deeply for, out of the fear that he would reject her if discovered. And he does - but this rejection is replaced by acceptance on his deathbed. I don’t know if it’s possible for me to forgive my father. Again and again, we’re told Paradise is for wolves. And Quent isn’t a wolf.

He is much better at drinking than he is hunting.

What does Paradise mean for me? Would it be a happy family, to correct my past? Or would it be something I built for myself? What Paradise was my father looking for? I’m glad that I can acknowledge his pain better, and see who he was a little clearer, even if I don’t like that person. Yet, at the same time, I don’t feel any closer to any answers. Maybe if I replayed the events again and again I could come to some new conclusion? Perhaps - and I say this treading the fear of revelation - perhaps he has already been trapped in his past, behind a palisade, and inventing a Paradise was simply the way he could escape from that. I’m not sure I will ever know. The most I can do is try to imagine a world in which people can heal and in which I can heal, and then hope to find my True Paradise. 

[sailorshadzter]

Hi, hope you’re having a great day! I want to ask if you have any anime/manga rec? I haven’t watched any for years, but your blog made me nostalgic

hi anon!!

i definitely do!! i mean, im not sure what you’re into so ill give you a great long list with lot’s of different options!!! this will mostly be anime but at the end ill include a few manga. i tend to watch anime vs read manga. 

violent/horror/gore/supernatural (& i mean it. skip this first set if you cant handle gore or graphic content)

berserk. both the 90s / new remake are great. there’s also movies that go through the entire story arc. but this one is VERY dark & very graphic. 

attack on titan. AMAZING. 

goblin slayer. so fucking good. 10/10. still waiting on the next season.

blood+ great story with a great love story. 

elfen lied. creepy and fantastic. 

another. i dont think this one was as graphic, but creepy. i havent seen it in a while though so i could be wrong. 

re:zero. a thriller sort of anime with some graphic content. 

boku dake ga inai machi / erased. HOLY SHIT SO GOOD. main character can reset 7min before accidents happen & he sets out to find out what happens to a childhood friend. 

higurashi no naku koro ni kai. cute killer girls. kind of dated, but still worth the watch. has amazing music. 

kiseijuu sei no kakuritsu 

slice of life / chances are it will destroy your life & make you cry 

 koe no katachi / a silent voice. it’s about bullying & the aftermath of it.

kimi no na wa / your name. this one is a movie. boy and girl wake up in each other’s bodies.

ao haru ride. SOOOOOOO GOOD HOLY SHIT. incredible love story. incredible characters. fantastic all around

ano hi mita hana no namae wo bokutachi wa mada shiranai. be prepared to cry many tears. a story about friendship & ghosts. 

your lie in april. i wasn’t okay for hours after finishing this one. truly a beautiful story. also, lots of tears. 

5 centimeters per second. story of friends who are forced apart due to family moves. fantastic. 

kimi no suizou wo tabetai / i want to eat your pancreas. MANY TEARS, SOOO GOOOOOOOOD. also a movie. 

nagi no asu kara. beautiful animation, wonderful story. about people who live under the sea and on land. 

fruits basket 2019 reboot. this is my first time enjoying this series. i love it. cute animation, awesome story. 

action anime (could have hints of violence but not like the first list)

akatsuki no yona / yona of the dawn. SO GOOD. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW GOOD THIS ONE IS. it only has one season, but the manga? read it if you enjoy the first season. it’s about a spoiled pampered princess & her forever loyal bodyguard + the loyal “dragons” that come to follow her. lots of action, romance, and amazing relationships between the entire cast of characters. 

seirei no moribito. female lead character protecting a royal boy. fantastic.

the rising of the shield hero SOOOOO GOOD. 

demon slayer. brother sets out to save his sister. it’s a nice story. great animation. 

fate / zero. lots of seasons + a movie or two. has a touch of history. 

sword art online. just the first two seasons. 

is it wrong to try and pick up girls in a dungeon? on the side. this one is the same story as  this one  just from another point of view. both are good. 

classic anime that everyone should watch just because 

sailor moon / sailor moon crystal. crystal has done through infinity arc & the dream arc is coming next fall. it follows the manga a lot closer than the 90s anime ever did and even if a lot of people didn’t like the animation, i loved it. especially for the second season / r arc. 

inuyasha. fantastic story, amazing love story. the characters are great. and despite being older, it doesnt feel dated. the final arc was fantastic & tugged at my heartstrings over and over again

trigun. i havent watched this one in YEARS but i always enjoyed it. probably a little dated by now.

yu yu hakusho. also a little dated, im here still hoping for a reboot someday. 

chobits. really cute!!

naruto shippuden. literally no reason to watch naruto (220 episodes lmao) because a quick google search would explain the story. just watch shippuden but for the love of god skip the filler  there’s also a bunch of movies. dont bother with boruto. also has amazing openings/endings. 

rurouni kenshin / samurai x. you can honestly jsut watch the movies. ESPECIALLY TRUST & BETRAYAL. that movie is one of my favorites. i actually rewatched this series… two summers ago? its held up well despite being older. 

avatar the last airbender. 

anything studio ghibli. 

manga 

sailor moon, the manga is so fucking good. ive read it so many times, it never gets old. it’s my favorite canon of the series. 

akatsuki no yona. i cant even with this manga. again, 10/10. its one of my favorites. if the first season of the manga interested you, watch it and continue the manga. it’s still ongoing. 

love so life. age difference romance. a high school student is the babysitter for two adorable twins that are being raised by their uncle. literally so good. 

faster than a kiss. another age difference romance. a teen girl and her baby brother are orphaned and eventually alone. her teacher takes them in. another amazing story. 

sorry this got kind of long, i hope you find something here you like!! let me know if you do!!!! 

[recentanimenews]

OPINION: The Life and Times of an Indian Otaku

  Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You marked a historic first in my anime watching career. Contrary to popular belief, being the first anime to be released in Indian theaters is not the historic first in question (that honor goes to Shinchan: Bungle in the Jungle). Rather, Weathering With You would become the first film I'd ever watch on opening day — "first day first show" as we Indians call it. In the mad scramble to get tickets, I'd emerged a winner. Was it worth the struggle?

An emphatic yes. It was so good I went on to rewatch it twice.

    To fans in India: I’m so happy to tell that ‘Weathering With You’ (Tenki no ko) will release in India this October! We have licensed the Indian distribution rights to PVR Pictures and BookMyShow backed company Vkaao.

— 新海誠 (@shinkaimakoto) August 10, 2019

  The Indian theatrical release of Weathering With You in 2019 marked an important moment in the history of the Indian anime fandom. The story of how Shinkai noticed (and fulfilled) an online petition by Indian fans asking for its release here is already the stuff of legend. Because access to anime (especially in theaters) was so scarce in India, even in 2019, fans sought to have the film legally released in theaters. And thanks to Shinkai, it worked. To Indian anime fans, this represented the moment Japan — and the rest of the world — recognized our existence in the fandom. But Indian otakus didn't spring up overnight. Anime has had nearly three decades of history here. It just looks a little different than the rest of the world. The origins of anime in India go back to the '90s. Prior to the economic reforms of 1991, we had one — yes, only one — TV channel, the state-owned Doordarshan. The post-1991 wave of private TV channels brought with it a flood of international TV shows, among them anime like Robotech (which aired on the newly-created Star Plus). Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, the anime adaptation of the Indian mythological epic of the same name, was released in 1992 and had a long and troubled production history, but the end product was a grand success, with its all-star Hindi cast and catchy songs turning it into a TV fixture for well over a decade. It even received a US release, with Bryan Cranston voicing the lead role. The remainder of the '90s would see various anime achieve varying degrees of success, from Nippon Animation's 1989 adaptation of The Jungle Book — which became a nationwide hit — airing in India starting in 1993, to late-night anime like You're Under Arrest and Gunsmith Cats. Despite this, there wasn't yet an actual fandom surrounding anime at the time. That would all change upon the turn of the century.

  Cartoon Network revolutionized the Indian anime market when the channel arrived in 2001. The launch of dedicated anime programming block Toonami brought with it two anime that would permanently shape the future of the fandom: Dragon Ball Z and Cardcaptor Sakura (albeit in its heavily-edited Cardcaptors form). While I never watched Dragon Ball Z (compared to all my friends at school), I did watch some Cardcaptors with my sister, which would actually be the very first anime I watched. My own viewing habits notwithstanding, DBZ was very much the anime of the moment. Schoolkids would frequently shout out famous lines from the iconic English dub. We'd even invented various hand games based on attacks and moves from DBZ. In 2003, another monumental shift would come as the childhood classic Pokémon hit the small screen, followed closely by Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Beyblade. The merchandise associated with these franchises turned them into smash hits with a younger audience. All the cool kids had Pokemon cards and Beyblade tops. Battling with them at school was the stuff childhood was made of. To this day, these toys continue to sell well. Beyblade tournaments are still very much a thing. While many of my schoolmates were avid fans of DBZ, there were other trends in anime that could be observed, trends that had to do with language. From my experience, certain anime were only available dubbed in Hindi — a language spoken largely by the northern half of the country. Coming from a south Indian city with a significant north Indian population, I could observe a clear trend wherein Hindi-speaking north Indians grew up with these Hindi-dubbed anime, while people in the south (who spoke other languages) largely grew up with titles that were available in English (or Tamil, as fans of DBZ's Tamil dub can testify). Interestingly, these Hindi dubbed anime tended to be ones that were popular in Japan but not so much in the West — stuff like Doraemon, Shin-Chan, KochiKame, and Case Closed. This gave the north Indian anime scene a rather unique flavor. An even more interesting case is that of India's northeastern region (comprised of states like Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya). Being culturally different from the rest of India, these states have had a history of consuming Korean and Japanese media, and they embraced anime and manga in a way the rest of the nation had not. Anime-related cosplay is huge in the northeast, with some of the best cosplay conventions in the nation taking place there and becoming a part of the local fashion scene. The general acceptance of otaku culture in the region continues to be high.

Eventually, anime would become a little more accessible to all. The launch of dedicated channel Animax in 2004 represented another watershed moment in the fandom. The shows Animax brought over were unlike anything we'd seen in the medium. Shows like Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Inuyasha, and K-On! redefined what anime meant for Indian audiences who had previously seen anime as a childhood interest and no different from other cartoons. As the channel slowly began to shift its focus to the older teen/young adult demographic, more mature anime like Cowboy Bebop, Hell Girl, Akira, and Welcome to the NHK challenged our conservative notions of what was acceptable to air on TV, especially considering these shows aired in daytime slots rather than late-night. This honeymoon period did not last. Animax was delisted by service providers in 2012. The years to come would be some of the most frustrating for us anime fans, as availability was at its most inconsistent and uncertain. While the channel attempted to make a comeback later on in 2016, it eventually disappeared for good in 2017. Despite all these problems, I look back on Animax fondly. Thanks to it, we became aware of the existence of the entity known as "anime." We began to actively seek out anime over other forms of animation. In short, it resulted in the formation of an actual fandom centered around anime. Anime fan clubs began to pop up in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Kolkata. Widespread conventions outside of the northeast region came next. Anime Con India was started in 2010, followed closely by Delhi Comic-Con in 2011. Anime conventions in India are a curious thing. They are very unlike the sprawling, sophisticated conventions of the West. The funds simply aren't there for that sort of thing. I don't recall a single Indian anime convention that was attended by a voice actor, animator, or the like. So what are Indian cons about? In an interview with The Citizen, Anime Con India founder Nitesh Rohit talked about his reason for starting the con: "like any other belief and faith they all needed a temple to congregate (at)." This statement really resonates with me, and sums up what Indian cons are about. What they lack in scale and facilities, they make up for in intimacy and a feeling of togetherness. They are more or less small-scale events for anime fans to find other fans, to network with them, and basically feel less alone. Because feeling alone was part of the original Indian otaku experience. The early fandom was largely an urban phenomenon, as going to cons wasn't an option for everyone and the internet wasn't what it is today. So, you had these disconnected pockets of fans. People around you were unlikely to share your interest in anime and may have even judged you for it. The general consensus in India was (and still is) that animation is a medium for children. And remember, for a long time, anime accessibility varied by region. So, if you were lucky enough to find a kindred otaku, there was no guarantee they were into (or had even heard of) the same titles as you. This meant that we hadn't really had the ability to develop any sort of unique culture or traditions of our own. Things like going to cons, renting anime DVDs, memes and in-jokes — these things didn't exist for the vast majority of early fans who were school-going kids or college students of little means. A culture of our own wouldn't arise until much later — when that generation grew up.

  Of course, it wasn't just us who grew up — technology did, too. The internet became more ubiquitous. Social media and forums enabled us to network with each other regardless of location, in ways we'd never have imagined. To the scattered fandom of the early days, this has been nothing short of a blessing. The other big change ushered in by the internet was the era of streaming. Until then, most of our anime viewing took place on television and as previously stated, was not always very consistent. Accessibility improved greatly with the launch of Netflix in 2016. In today's India, Netflix is a household name, with a significant portion of young adults having access to a subscription. With a catalog of over 200 anime, Netflix has been responsible for pulling in many new fans. Plenty of people "come for the movies, stay for the anime." Series like My Hero Academia, Death Note, and One-Punch Man have become mainstream successes in this fashion, with a significant following even among non-anime fans. Another streaming service that is beginning to make inroads into the Indian market is Crunchyroll, with simulcasts like Boruto and originals like Tower of God, and the fact that it is free makes it accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Most Indian anime fans I know of have heard of Crunchyroll, and as more titles get licensed it is inevitable that its popularity will rise. And us otakus are doing plenty to help it do just that.

The success of Weathering With You is a shining example of the tight-knit nature of the Indian anime fandom. All it took was one person (an anime fan named Divishth Pancholi) to create a Change.org petition asking for its release in Indian theaters. The petition went viral, getting over 50,000 signatures and attracting the attention of Shinkai and the producers, resulting in its release here. Today, that event is seen as a smaller part of a greater Indian anime movement that is pushing for increased availability and acceptance of anime in India. Hashtags like #IndiaWantsAnime frequently make their presence felt on social media. This fandom isn't without its problems — it isn't the most inclusive when it comes to non-male fans, the "animation is for kids" specter hasn't been fully shaken off, and I'd love for anime BluRays/DVDs to be more widely available here. But I am grateful for the fandom's existence for getting me into anime in the first place. Without them, I'd have never been sitting in a movie theater on October 11, 2019, watching Weathering With You.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[empty-dream]

Suddenly long post about why I love re-watching

One of the most mundanely magical thing ever for me is revisit works I’ve enjoyed in the past. Be it re-watching, re-reading, or re-listening. But I’ll talk more about manga and anime here, bringing up Kara no Kyoukai, Umineko and One Piece.

I literally grew up from toddler with manga and comic books. Had a library of full Naruto, Inuyasha, Detective Conan, and even some copies of obscure old Chinese-originated comic. Watched Cardcaptor Sakura on TV and cried when I couldn’t. I thank my dad for all of these.

Therefore, since I was a kid, I secretly watched animes that I probably should not watch at that age. Something like, uh, When They Cry series and Kara no Kyoukai. I was probably driven to be ‘cool’ for doing that. I don’t think I was wrong, but then again during that age, I missed a lot of things simply because I wasn’t old enough to understand. I mean, dude I watched Apocalypse Now when I was like 9 did I understand anything? Sure as hell not except that it was bloody.

For example, I knew for 8 years that Caren Hortensia wears a blouse and stockings with no skirt or pants. Only recently it hit me that goddamn that is naughty as fuck?

On more serious note, I used to think Murder Speculation 1 was the most boring movie in KnK. I mean, sure Oblivion Recorder wasn’t much about anything but it’s got magic explosions. Years later I re-watched the series, and discovered how excellent of a mystery Murder Speculation 1 is. The way the tension builds up, how actually fucked-up the murder cases are, the clues show up more and more, Shiki becomes even more suspicious, and it all leads into… well you know the truth. All of that is incredible I was actually on the edge during my re-watch. And it put my understanding of Mikiya and Shiki’s relationship into a whole new light. Like, I do think so highly of their relationship since the first time I watched KnK but hell now that I understand the whole deal in Murder Speculation 1, goddamn they did go through a lot. It’d take a new post just to explain why lmao.

I won’t talk much about 5th movie because lots of people have written about it. I knew it was amazing from 1st watch, but just how and why amazing it is, I only got it during re-watch. Aside from the back-and-forth timeline and how everything is tied together in the end, what hits me the most is Enjou’s story. I only understood how fucked up and unfair it was for him when I rewatched, to the point I cried right when he said “My family didn’t deserve any of that!"

This probably had to do with the fact that I don’t play it (and the anime is trash), but I miss a lot in Umineko. By the time the manga comes out, I don’t have so much time to read it from page 1. But after reading it for a couple pages from each chapters, man this story is so META. It hits me in the gut with the line of ‘The enjoyment comes from sorting and thinking to reach the truth, not demanding it.’ Like, damn that’s me when reading anything. And also u know how people, including me sometimes, always go for the result and don’t care about the process? Yeah, that too. And best one is when diary concerning Rokkenjima truth is closed for public and the public goes wild and Hachijo just sneers at them, saying they have no right to expose incidents and throw the rumors of the dead for the sake of themselves. Way to go, jabbing at reality.

Side note, thank God I read Higanbana in an appropriate age.

And then One Piece. I don’t think it’s weird for a child to read it, but a lot of the underlying theme are lost for kids. I read up to Enies Lobby arc, then I stopped because I didn’t have the physical copies and actually wasn’t very invested into it as much I was into Naruto. Even when I finally got my hand into online manga sites, I didn’t pick up where I left except for the time Ace dies. Yeah you can guess I got traumatized because I love Ace and I didn’t pick it up again. Only recently I read it again, starting both from Pirate Alliance arc (because, ahem, Law), and from chapter 1.

And man, do I miss really a fuckton lot. I knew Nami’s and Robin's childhood were incredibly screwed up but how everything fucked them up and the true extent of emotional and physical damage done didn’t register to me. The theme of slavery, oppression, and genocide weren’t fully understood by me. Back then, I only knew ‘hey, it’s real bad you shouldn't hurt or kill people.'

Similarly, I thought the Strawhats were brave to fight against Arlong and World Government for each of them. But I didn’t realize what’s the consequences and what’s at stake here, and when I do, I lost any words for the Strawhats. Now that I read it again and keeps up with the new chapters, it just continues to baffle me how one person can be responsible for an utter destruction of a country, or how an entire body of organization could be so manipulative and hiding lots of the truth.

TL,DR: I love re-watching. So many things were lost to me as a kid and I’m glad by picking up again, I learn a lot about them. For what it is worth, I do grow up even if a bit.