Nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award

This week I was lucky enough to be nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award Twice! I thought I’d answer both sets of questions in one post, so there’s twice the sunshine.

Thanks so much to WeeabooOtaku for the nomination for this award! You should check out their blog, they’ve got the same sort of love for comic anime series that I do, and also talk about Japanese culture and J-dramas.

Thanks also to Japanime Talks for the nomination! Their blog has lots of collated lists related to anime things, and the occasional review.

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write then 11 new questions.
4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

And here’s WeeabooOtaku’s questions

What made you decide to start blogging? – A friend suggested blogging to me as a way to work on writing skills (with the view to possibly being able to market these). I picked anime because it’s a subject which I’m interested in and there’s no shortage of things to write about.
What is your favorite non-anime TV series? – I don’t watch a lot of non-anime TV to be honest. A few years ago I would have said Doctor Who, but I’ve cooled off on that a bit. I have a real fondness for Peppa Pig, despite the fact that it’s obviously aimed at the under 5 demographic. The show embraces silliness in a very enjoyable way.
What do you think would make for a great anime adaptation? – I’d be all for seeing the sequels to Howl’s Moving Castle adapted into anime, Castle in the Air, and the House of Many Ways. Diana Wynne Jones is a great author and I enjoyed the film adaptation of Howl very much.
Least favorite scene from your favorite anime? – That would involve me having decided on a favourite anime. That’s hard! I have a few that I really like but it’s very difficult to pick out a number one.
Fictional character you have/had a crush on? – At age 10, I had a huge crush on Frodo Baggins. I can’t explain why, but I remember thinking he was pretty great.
Favorite opening/ending theme for an anime? – Possibly Again from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I love it because it’s musically appealing, and both the lyrics and the visuals tell us something about the story. It has such a beautiful haunting sound.

Favorite source of anime news? – Crunchyroll normally has good things going on, but to be honest I mostly rely on my Twitter feed now, as it’s likely if there’s something anime happening, one of the people I follow will be talking about it.
An anime cliché you have experienced in your own life? – I’m married to someone who I knew for a long time as a friend first. While we aren’t ‘childhood friends’ in the sense that we’d known each other since we were young children, we had known each other for years before we started dating. Maybe the adult version of childhood friend. An anime cliché I’d like to experience? Running out of the house with a piece of toast in my mouth. Maybe I should do that one day.
Most interesting premise for an anime? – As far as something I’ve seen which got me most excited, Wakakozake – A young woman enjoys eating out at a variety of different places. Watching other people really enjoy food is almost as good as enjoying the food myself, and is both cheaper and less fattening. On a more serious note, Princess Tutu – A duck is transformed into a girl and helps people through the power of dance.
Anime you dislike but have to admit it is good? – Clannad, specifically Clannad After Story. Finishing that was an exercise in self will as I don’t gain any particular pleasure from things that make me feel exceedingly sad. I recognise that it’s beautiful and very moving, but my enjoyment level was extremely low.
Do you collect any anime related merchandise? – I have a few nendoroids (Mio, Asuza and Saber), although these were bought several years ago and I haven’t been actively collecting anything for a while.

Here’s Japanime Talks’ questions

Hisoka or Chrollo? And why? – I had to look up who these people were. I haven’t actually seen Hunter X Hunter.
What was the most thought-provoking anime / manga you’ve watched/ read? – Maybe Gatchaman Crowds. It was a really interesting look at the power of the internet and networking, and how it can be used both for very good things and very bad things.
What was the most overrated AND underrated anime series you’ve encountered? – Evangelion. Oh… you mean I wasn’t supposed to answer both questions in one go?
If given a chance to rewrite a part of the Naruto series, which character death would you have prevented? Why? If none, why? – Confession time: I actually haven’t ever watched Naruto. So I really can’t weigh in on this one sorry! I have huge commitment phobia these days when it comes to series over 26 episodes as well, so I don’t know if I ever will watch it. If I was going to watch another long-running shounen series, I’d probably pick Inuyasha, Gintama, or Hunter X Hunter.
Have you done something uncharacteristically hilarious in the name of anime? If yes, what is it? – I’d like to think of myself as characteristically hilarious (actually I am a huge dork both on and off the internet). On reflection, I think it’s hilarious that I ended up buying all those 4-episode DVDs of FMA plus the collectors tins, meaning that I spent around $400 on owning the series. I couldn’t strictly say I have buyer’s remorse, but if I’d seen the future with widely available anime streaming and fat packs, I could have spent this money on something else (maybe more anime?)
IF, by some astronomically thin chance, anime and manga gets banned, what would be the FIRST THING you’ll do? – What a weird world we would live in. I’d probably just go open up a favourite book to both enjoy that and forget my stresses.
Who’s your favourite FEMALE anime character of all times? Why? – Favourites are hard. Possibly the (unnamed) protagonist from Humanity Has Declined. I like her because she’s thoughtful and hard-working, and tries to interact wisely with the fairies who she is in charge of working with. I also like that when she makes a mistake, she’s happy to own up and make amends. As a bonus, she has a charming, very dry sense of humour.
What’s your primary motivation for blogging? – Improving my self-expression. I find expressing myself in writing to be difficult, and having a chance to try and write about how I feel about something like anime will hopefully help me be able to express how I feel about other things better!
If given a chance to team up with another anime blogger for an awesome blog post, who will it be? Why? – There’s lots of experienced bloggers out there whose writing I admire, though I think one person I wouldn’t mind collaborating with one day is Aria Cross of Fujinsei. Fujinsei has been running for a while and always has interesting things to write about, and also has such an engaging writing style.
What’s the most exotic food you’ve tasted so far? – I’m always game to give new foods a go even if they seem a bit weird (except for baked beans. Ewww). I’ d say maybe bitter melon? Just like the name suggests, it’s really bitter, but if it’s prepared well it’s not bad. As a bonus fun fact, it’s also a natural source of quinine.
What was that thing you did that you’re most proud of? – I can think of things which are conventionally important achievements, but I think the thing which I’m most proud of actually would be going to a group therapy class and sticking it out for the full 14 weeks. Being able to admit that I wasn’t coping on my own and being able to talk about how I felt to other people as well as supporting them was massive. It was both very confronting and very rewarding.

I really wasn’t sure who to nominate for the award as I think all the active blogs I follow have already received this sorry! Thanks again for the nominations.

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