How about that? We’ve achieved another milestone on our nerdy adventure of becoming one of the best anime blogs out there! Honestly we couldn’t have reached this milestone without the love and support of our fans and fellow anibloggers. Sure, we may have hit a few bumps on the road on the way here, but thanks to our fans we pushed and persevered through all of it!
While we’re here, we wanted to give you a brief update on how we’re going to be implementing our Premium Paid Content video posts for the blog. These short videos are exclusive only to our blog site, and starting in August we’ll be launching 2-3 of these videos a month. What they will be on is a mystery…
Also, we’ve got more One-2-One character analysis posts we’ll be doing throughout the rest of the Summer. As a sneak peek we’ll reveal the next two characters we’ll be analyzing.
Pink! Squishy! Cute! ^.^
Next Week on One-2-One: Kirby!
This pink, squishy, lovable creature has quite a history with Nintendo; from main games, spin-off titles, to being a Super Smash Bros. alumni since 1999. The lore that Kirby has is vast, and the appeal he has on the general public and Kirby fans is as massive as his appetite. Next week on One-2-One we deep dive into this pudgy pink puff and his history on how he became such a Smash Bros. main, as well as a popular Nintendo franchise.
The ‘other’ Anarchy sister
The Week After Next on One-2-One: Panty Anarchy!
With Studio TRIGGER’s announcement of a second season of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt during their panel at Anime Expo 2022, why not do a character analysis on the Anarchy sister who hogs all the screen time (even though Stocking is a fan-favorite). Panty is the more rebellious sister who doesn’t take her job of hunting ghosts and collecting heaven coins seriously; leaving Stocking to do most of the work. In her One-2-One we dive into what makes Panty…well, Panty; from her skills, abilities, relationships, and whatever else we can dig up.
That’s all we’ve got for this celebration post, and here’s to 100,000 All-Time views when that moment arrives! Stay nerdy! ๐
There is a good reason why anime has become quite popular today as there are a lot of different high-quality animated shows produced by Japan. In that regard, anime has invaded all of the other nations because of how popular it is and how different people from all over the world love watching different types of anime series. But the thing is that, while anime has a huge influence on the world today, it was originally influenced by American culture. And the influence of America on anime is what we are here to look at.
Where Did Anime Come From?
While we often look at Astro Boy as the first anime series in the history of anime, that really isnโt the case as far as the early roots of anime are concerned. In fact, anime has been around for a long time in Japan, even though it wasnโt really called anime before that. And the early beginnings of Japanese โanimationโ began in the late 1910s when Shimokawa Oten released an animated film made with chalk.
Meanwhile, in the 1930s and 40s, Japan eventually improved its technology, especially with the fact that the country was becoming more westernized. Kenzo Masaoka released Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka in 1933 as this was the first animated Japanese movie with synced voices. He eventually released Chagama Ondo, which was the first anime that was made entirely of celluloid.
In that regard, animating with celluloid became quite popular in Japan, especially with the fact that the traditional form of technology in animated films and television shows was introduced by the western world. During the 1930s, more and more animated movies were coming out of the US, as Japan was steadily embracing the different western movies and the technology that came with them.
It wasnโt until the 1960s that the first animated television shows were released. In fact, before the 60s, people had to go to theaters to watch anime. Of course, it was after the Second World War that Japan steadily embraced western technology and began inventing their own televisions as well. The rise of the TV in Japan opened the gateway for Astro Boy, which is regarded as the first animated television show in the history of anime.
Since then, anime television shows steadily evolved into what they are today as more and more studios adopted western technology and innovated them to fit the style that made anime so popular in Japan. And that was when more and more anime TV shows that were inspired by their western counterparts became more popular in Japan and all over the world.
How America Influenced Anime
The rise of anime in Japan and all over the world led to huge development in the way the writers and animators created their masterpieces. Thatโs because globalization meant that it was best for them to make sure that their creations were also able to attract the attention of global audiences, particularly those from the west, as America is still the largest market in the world. So, because of the fact that anime needed to be as international as possible, there were subtle American influences in anime.
Food
You can find subtle American influences in the way different anime shows include food in the daily lives of their characters. For example, in the popular anime Hana Yori Dango, western food like ice cream and hamburgers were quite common throughout the entire series as there was a need to make the anime enticing to western audiences as well while also exposing domestic viewers to American food culture, which is often centered on fast food.
Even in the anime, The Devil Works As a Part-Timer, the series revolves around the Devil himself working part-time in a fast-food restaurant. We also see in Weathering With You that the lead female character also works for a fast-food restaurant instead of the usual traditional Japanese restaurant.
Character Appearances
The appearances of anime characters themselves already give us a hint in relation to how American culture has affected anime. As early as Astro Boy himself, we already know for a fact that the characters in this 1960s anime donโt really look like your prototypical Japanese person.
Male characters in anime are often portrayed to be tall and muscular, even though most Japanese men arenโt even taller than 5โ7โ. In fact, shojo anime often portray their characters to be large and muscular men, similar to how the characters of Jojoโs Bizarre Adventure are tall, muscular, and commanding men that donโt resemble Japanese men. Their looks, of course, were influenced by the common American male appearance as most Americans are taller and more muscular than their Japanese counterparts.
Women in anime are also portrayed differently. Teenage high school women are already given mature features that allow them to look like their western counterparts in the sense that they look like adult women that have generously proportioned breasts and buttocks, even though most Japanese women arenโt as voluptuous as American women are.
Of course, the fact that the characters all have large eyes tends to be the biggest western influence on anime character design. Allowing the characters to have large eyes makes them more appealing to non-Japanese audiences, as even the Japanese audiences themselves have gotten used to the fact that anime characters are given large eyes that resemble the ones that Americans have.
Despite the fact that people with African heritage are quite rare in Japan, more and more anime characters are portrayed to be African precisely because of the fact that a huge market of anime viewers in America are black. In fact, the English dubbing of these characters is also handled by African-Americans. Meanwhile, their Japanese voice counterparts are given darker and more imposing voices due to a Japanese stereotype regarding Africans.
Themes
There is also the fact that there are a lot of themes that are western in nature in relation to the storyline of the anime and how the characters talk and converse with one another. While Nihongo is still the original audio in anime, more and more anime series are dubbed in English to appeal to American audiences
In terms of the themes covered by anime, we often see subtle hints of the blue and white (America) vs. the red (Russians) in anime series like Gundam. It is more often than not that the main characters in Gundam use blue and white colors while their antagonistic counterparts of ten use red.
The rich vs. poor theme has also been used quite extensively in anime, as the rich characters are often portrayed to have Caucasian American features and are often dressed in western fashion. On the other hand, the poor anime characters are given common Japanese features and are often dressed in the usual clothes that the Japanese wear.
Still, despite the fact that western culture has invaded anime, there is no doubt that anime is still a purely Japanese phenomenon thatโs simply laced with American themes and subtle references to make the shows more marketable to western audiences. In fact, most of the themes covered by the narratives of different anime series tend to be quite Japanese in their nature, such as the focus on family and traditions. Nevertheless, American culture has still influenced anime due to the fact that western influences tend to be quite difficult to avoid in this globalized world we live in.
A big shout-out to Ysmael Delicana from Fiction Horizon for contributing to our blog; as all credit for this article goes to the author! If you want to submit an article or post to us, just let us know through our Contact Us page. Each article you submit will be reviewed by us before publishing, and if it passes our inspection, then we’ll publish it on our blog.
Waifus. Ask any anime fan in the community, and they will give you a list of them that they absolutely adore. We’re no exception to this, as we have our choice waifus as well; mine of course would be Stocking Anarchy from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, while Aaron’s would be Hestia from Danmachi…and for some reason Kurumi Tokisaki from Date-A-Live. Speaking of which the fourth season of the series just ended, and reviews of the show (from fans) have been a bit of a toss up between ‘okay’, ‘meh’, and ‘no’. Although I’ve only watched the first two seasons and part of the third, I STILL don’t get the full story of Kurumi; how is she the most dangerous and most malevolent out of all of the spirits, and what’s with the time-traveling powers?! Well, I had to dig deep for this one, and hopefully I’ll get the answers to my questions in this little One-2-One, on Kurumi Tokisaki.
Guess Aaron likes the crazy ones! XP
I’m late to the party on this series, but there was a point in time where there was a fair amount of cosplay of the main cast from season one of Date-A-Live at anime conventions. Basically massive ‘spacequakes’ are being caused by these ‘spirits’ and Shido is the one who has to seal them up; the first of which being Tohka. As the series went on Shido sealed these spirits by going on ‘dates’ with them, while keeping their emotions and feelings at high levels. Sure, it seemed like a walk in the park for ol’ Shido after he got the hang of it (sealing spirits and all), but when Kurumi came into the picture, everything changed…
She’s reported to be the worst spirit to ever try and seal, and is near-impossible to do so. Kurumi’s also the only spirit with a lot of blood on her hands; 10,000 pairs of hands to be exact. When it comes to female anime antagonists, there are just some things that they’re better at then male anime antagonists. (That is a hill I’m prepared to die on! XP)
Part 1 – The Worst Spirit: Who is Kurumi Tokisaki?
So, what’s Kurumi’s deal? Why is she the most deadly out of all of the spirits Shido has sealed? Why does she have sexy music playing every time she appears? (Like another Sonic character we all know.) To try and figure her out we need to go back to the time before she became a spirit. Kurumi was a human girl who came from a rich family (that’s usually how these origin stories start), but on her way home she was attacked by a monster known as a ‘Spirit’. That monster was killed by a girl wearing a dress made of light, and revealed her name to be Mio Takamiya; claiming herself to be an “ally of justice”. She told Kurumi if she wanted the same power she has, she would have to absorb the Sephira Crystal and bond with it thus turning Kurumi into a spirit.
Both Kurumi and Mio were taking on other spirits and everything seemed to be going fine, until Kurumi discovered that Mio killed her best friend; causing her to inverse (which I found out is actually a bad thing). She managed to stop herself from transforming by using her ‘4th bullet’ to reverse the inverse, but afterwards Mio came clean about her motives. She was using the Sephira Crystals to bond with humans while turning them into monsters before they kill them, in order to refine them. When it was all said and done, Mio thanked Kurumi for ‘her service’ and caused her to blackout. The rest of course, was history…
She’ll kill Mio…even if she has to kill 10,000 people to do it.
Part 2 – Personality, Skills, and Abilities
Kurumi is difficult to read, and most of the time with characters like this it’s so easy for them to manipulate others because of that. Right off the bat Kurumi dislikes humans (while Goku Black loathes them entirely) to the point of not trusting them at all, and somewhere along the line she’s also got acting chops; which plays into her difficult-to-read personality. While she may put on a cute facade from time to time, underneath is a mad woman who will disregards all human life and only sees them as ‘food’ to help restore her time. I know there’s some Goku Black x Kurumi fan fiction out there, and God help us if those two got together.
Though she has a twisted sense of justice, a majority of the people she’s killed were animal abusers and rapists. (So maybe some of her actions may have been justified…some.) Kurumi’s ultimate goal is to go back in time to kill the first spirit (Mio) and prevent spacequakes and the appearance of spirits from ever happening in the first place. Of course if she did that, she’d also wipe out Kotori and all of the other spirits that Shido helped to seal as well from existence. Kurumi does not think of herself as a great person by any means, and has shown Shido (and Phantom) that she’s the worst kind of person. However, Kurumi likes cats and is kinda embarrassed about it, so I guess she’s not all bad…but she’s pretty bad.
Her skills and abilities as a spirit are on another level. Living up to her reputation as the ‘Worst Spirit’, Kurumi is a brutal fighter who will stop at nothing to ensure she comes out on top. She’s able to amass an army of clones at a moments notice to overwhelm her opponents; making it impossible to even land a hit on her. Kurumi is also quite the unique spirit because she possesses two Sephira Crystals which allows her to call on two ‘Angels’; one of them being Zafkiel which takes on a large clock with roman numerals with a pistol and musket that serve as the hour and minute hands respectively. Kurumi also has Time Manipulation abilities that she uses through her powers of her shadows, Reiryoku, and time itself as fuel.
The type of effect her time bullets have will depend on the number her Angel as well as her flintlock. The downside to this ability/skill is the fact that these bullets consume her time (or life force), and depending on the number of the bullet, it may consume more time than the others. Her first bullet accelerates her target’s time, and can increase her speed in battle. Her second one does the opposite and slows the enemy down, and Kurumi can save a little time this way. Her third bullet speeds up the aging process of her target. Her forth bullet restores injuries on its targets. Her fifth bullet allows Kurumi to see into the future (like Epitaph from JoJo). Kurumi’s sixth bullet sends the target’s consciousness back to their past self, which also puts the amount of time and Reiryoku into a loop.
Bullet number seven freezes the target’s time for a short time. Bullet number eight creates a clone of the target, which might explain why Kurumi has so many clones. Bullet nine allows her to share her senses with someone on a different axis of time. Bullet ten peaks into the object or target’s past, which is how Kurumi regained her memories. Bullet eleven sends the target into the future, while bullet twelve sends its target into the past. This is the bullet Kurumi wants to use on herself and has been experimenting with the most in order to go back in time and kill Mio. Kurumi is able to devour her victims through Shadow Manipulation (which she uses for quick escapes), and her ‘City of Devouring’ (which ‘devours’ the time/life force of those caught in its barrier).
Okay, that was a lot of information, so let’s get to the final verdict. >.<
She seems nice, but…
Part 3 – The Legacy of the Worst Spirit
Kurumi is just as strong as the first spirit (Mio) and has struck fear into the hearts of those she encounters due to her reputation. Her sense of justice can be seen as sick and twisted from a moral prospective, but there’s a small sense of heroism inside of her – even though she doesn’t want to be called a hero. Kurumi is the kind of character who knows she is evil in her own right; much like Evangeline A.K. McDowell from the first Mahoru Sensei Negima manga, and Junko Enoshima from Danganronpa. Most of the time anime characters like this don’t appear to have any redeeming qualities whatsoever; whenever they commit mass genocide or other unforgivable crimes, but in Kurumi’s case, the only way she believes she can redeem herself is by killing the spirit that turned her into a spirit – saving millions of lives in the process.
Characters like this who believe humanity has no redeeming qualities can be quite fearsome and terrifying, and in some cases can (and will) expose humanity’s shortcomings at any moment it serves them. Anime protagonists like Shido try to tell them that not all humans are totally evil, and can redeem themselves (even her), but Kurumi and characters like her are not trying to hear it. She’s proven that if she wanted to cause worldwide destruction, she can and she will. I’ll never understand why despite her reputation of being the ‘Worst Spirit’, Date-A-Live fans find her alluring, captivating, sexy, and waifu material. Kurumi has redeemable qualities, but will not embrace them because of who she is.
Kurumi is a character that is hard to read. Its hard to understand what she’s thinking most of the time, or even why she’s the most provocative out of all of the spirits. At the end of the day, she is who she is; a malevolent spirit with a sadistic disposition and alluring charm, who hates humanity and doesn’t like being called a ‘kind person’. She will achieve specific goals that she’s set for herself and will do whatever it takes to accomplish those goals. Although her role in the series as shifted to that of an anti-heroine, Kurumi retains her sadistic and cruel nature to those that dare oppose her, or get in the way of her ultimate goal. If looks could kill, her name would be Kurumi.
That’s all we’ve got for this One-2-One, so until next post, stay nerdy! ๐
Officially, my first anime was the original Pokรฉmon. That introduced me to the franchise and the idea of anime. However, it would be another anime that affirmed my lifelong passion for the medium. That anime was Yu-Gi-Oh!
I was obsessed with Yu-Gi-Oh! as a kid. I dressed up like Yami Yugi for Halloween. I watched almost every episode, played the games, and spent my allowance money on card packs. It felt like the coolest thing Iโd ever seen up to that point in my life. And while I would move on to other works, Yu-Gi-Oh! has always held a special place in my heart.
Which only made it harder when I woke up on a Thursday morning and learned that Kazuki Takahashi, the mangaka who created Yu-Gi-Oh!, had passed away. He was 60 years old.
Like many fans, I mourned his passing. This man gave me a big part of my childhood and created one of the most popular franchises in the world. More than that, though, he was a man who loved games and how they brought people together.
Beginnings
Born on October 4th, 1961, in Tokyo, Japan as Kazuo, Takahashi had two great interests growing up: manga and games. Takahashi loved games because he considered them a chance for the players to become the hero. For a little kid who canโt do much regarding the world around them, thatโs extremely appealing.
When Kazuki left high school, he knew he wanted to become a mangaka. However, there was a problem with that in the 1980s. The Shonen demographic was bursting with fighting manga, leaving little to help him stand out. As a result, success eluded him for over a decade until he got his big break with Yu-Gi-Oh!
Itโs Time to Duel!
Debuting in Shonen Jump in 1996, Yu-Gi-Oh! was an example of โwriting what you knowโ done right. Working on his love of games, Kazuki gave us Yugi, a weak and friendly boy who gained the ability to create โShadow Gamesโ where the winner could punish the loser. Initially, the manga would feature different games with each new arc. All of that would change, though, when Kazuki introduced a card game called Magic and Wizards. Western audiences would know it as Duel Monsters.
Takahashi meant for the card game to appear in only two chapters. However, Shueisha got so many fan letters about it that Takahashi chose to make it the main focus of the series. From that moment on, Yu-Gi-Oh!โs popularity would explode. Within two years, Toei picked it up for its anime series
Yes, thereโs a Yu-Gi-Oh! made by Toei in the 90s. Unlike its successor, though, this focused on the pre-Duel Monster days and never got exported out of Japan. However, the following year, Konami agreed to make Duel Monsters into an actual card game. Thus, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game was born.
International Phenomenon
The following year, the second anime adaptation came out. This time, it exclusively focused on Duel Monsters. Once it became licensed overseas, nothing would stop Takahashiโs creation. It became an international phenomenon on par with that of Pokemon.
By the time the manga ended in 2004, Takahashi had gone from a struggling mangaka to the creator of a franchise beloved the world over. Movies, video games, and a successful card game he helped to create. Whether fans knew his name or not, many knew the name of Yu-Gi-Oh!
After Yu-Gi-Oh! came to an end, Takahashi continued to help oversee his creation as the anime and manga continued with the ongoing sequel series. In between then, Takahashi worked on a few one-shot and limited series manga. One included a two-chapter manga written as part of this collaboration between Shonen Jump and Marvel in 2019. All of that came to an end, though, with Takahashi’s passing.
On July 6th, Kazuki Takahashi was reported by a passing boat to be floating a thousand feet off the coast of Okinawa. The Japanese Coast Guard found him not long afterward. Heโd been dead for several days.
At the time of this posting, there’s an ongoing investigation into Takahashiโs death. He was found wearing snorkeling gear, and it was confirmed he arrived several days earlier on his own. As the authorities continue investigating, though, the world mourns Takahashiโs passing. Fans young and old, and those who worked on Yu-Gi-Oh!, have taken to social media to mourn his passing, myself included.
Thank You, King of Games
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Famed manga creator of the #YuGiOh series, Kazuki Takahashi.
His impact was felt throughout the world with millions. Everything you have given us will stay in our hearts forever. You were truly the King of Games. pic.twitter.com/3kszUcJiED
While Takahashiโs passing deeply saddens me, his legacy will last for decades. Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the most successful franchises and will likely continue for many more years. Of all his contributions to the world, though, Takahashiโs greatest is the trading card game his manga created. Played by millions worldwide and constantly added to, the gameโs become a staple of pop culture. In 2009, Guinness named it the top-selling card game in the world, and Konami shows no signs of stopping it.
I never could get rid of my old Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards, even though I’ve long since moved on from the franchise. I’m glad I didn’t. Yu-Gi-Oh! was my childhood. Takahashi created Yugi, and his alter ego because he wanted them to embody the idea that when you play a game, you can be the hero you aren’t in real life. That’s a powerful concept, and it’s made the world a much better place for it. Takahashi may be gone, but fans will forever remember him as the King of Games.
Shout-outs to Roderick J “Jay” Friz for this awesome article about Kazuki Takahashi. His work has touched the lives of millions of childhoods all over (including ours). May he Rest In Peace.
The last six years have been nothing short of awesome for our blog, but as we continue to expand our reach throughout the anime community and anime industry, many goals that we’re longing to accomplish acquire…a little bit more. We’re now in a unique position where our workload has expanded along with our brand and our reach. That’s why we’re opening up the door for volunteer contributors for our blog. We’ve been a two-man operation since 2016, but every captain needs a crew; ask Luffy!
He couldn’t find the One Piece without a crew!
For those that wanna contribute to our blog, there’s a few ground rules that we have before we publish your article; make sure your grammar game is on point (no misspelled words), your article has to be between 500-1000 words (we average around 650), your article has to be relevant to the content that we have on the blog (although we’re anime and manga-centric, we also talk about video games, conventions, Japanese food and music, and other nerd stuff), and lastly, make sure you do all research needed to elaborate any key points you want the readers to get out of reading your article.
We’re right in the middle when it comes to facts and opinions, so if you are going to cover topics that might just be a little controversial, make sure you have key points to help elaborate your claim. The biggest ones we’ve covered so far were “Sub v. Dub” (which is still an on-going debate to this day), and fanservice. I don’t know what the future may hold for D&A going forward, but somewhere down the line we’d like to hold some kind of 10th anniversary event powered by a kickstarter campaign. (Maybe something with a con-like atmosphere.)
Well, that’s all we’ve got for now, so if you’re interested in being a contributor to our blog, hit us up on our Contact Us page. Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐ย ย
Although we didn’t go to Anime Expo this year, we got something even better! After 12 years since their debut in 2010, the Anarchy Sisters are making a comeback thanks to Studio Trigger. The animation studio is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and what better way to celebrate then to announce that a cult classic is FINALLY getting a second season! Right now we don’t know when the next season is dropping, but rest assured, we’ll be doing a podcast episode on this bombshell news real soon. In the meantime check out last week’s episode along with our sneak peek of our new Nerdz intro. Until next post, stay nerdy! ๐
It’s the Monday before the 4th of July, which means another recap of all of the content we shot and uploaded onto our youtube channel; D&A Studios Entertainment! Our 30th Nerdz of the Decade episode is currently in production; as we’re trying out a brand new format for our podcast (which also includes a new intro), so in the meantime we’ve got our 29th episode and an after video from our 23rd episode. That’s all we’ve got for now, so until next post, stay nerdy! ๐
Being a 90’s kid comes with a lot of things; childhood nostalgia, exposure to the online world, graduating high school and going to college only to find yourself back at your parents place a year later because rent is too freakin’ high! (Like $1600 a month, bro! For what?! Extra roaches with a side of mice?! Nope!) Despite the many headaches that come with ‘adulting’ as a Millennial, being a 90’s kid did have some perks – one of which being Toonami. The GREATEST ACTION CARTOON BLOCK EVER CREATED; has brought me through some tough times growing up, and out of all of the shows that made their debut, there was something special (and weird) about this one in particular. Space Dandy made its way into the block around 2014, and when it comes to a show like this, just be prepared for some “what the hell just happened?!” moments in the series. Now it’s time for our One-2-One with the booty-lover himself, Dandy! ๐
Dandy’s an ass man! (Not literally! XP)
If you told me that this series takes place in the same universe as Cowboy Bebop, I probably would’ve asked you what kinda drug trip are you on? But its true; Space Dandy does take place in the same universe, but at a much later time. So what is this show about? Well, its about Dandy being a dandy guy in space who happens to be an alien bounty hunter with his crew; consisting of an anthropomorphic cat, and a robot with T-Pain’s autotune. His mission is to visit all of the intergalactic locations, indulge in his fetish for booty (like most men), and chill at his favorite ‘breastaurant’ “BooBies” (or Space Hooters). Every episode is an adventure, and because I’m not one to spoil, you’ll have to watch the series yourself to see just how crazy and zany it is.
Part 1 – So What About Me, Baby? (Origin Story, I Guess?)
Honestly, there’s not much to his background other than the fact that he’s an alien bounty hunter who’s about 27-ish but could be older. As far as origin stories go; this is one of those “he’s just here now” situations, so there’s not much else to him. Sure, he’s got a hairstyle like Fonzie from Happy Days and talks like one of those disco dudes from the 1970’s, but despite his boorish attitude and lax disposition, Dandy can be…well, a dandy guy.
Part 2 – I’m Bad, And It Feels Good Baby! (Personality & Skillset)
Get this; Dandy is actually…an anti-hero protagonist. If you’re not surprised by that, don’t worry, we figured that out upon first glance. Dandy’s kinda lazy when it comes to menial tasks and usually dumps the workload on QT, and also complains about Meow (yes the anthropomorphic cat is actually named after the sound a cat makes) being useless. Dandy can be a jerk sometimes and contradicts himself, but he’s never above helping the opposite sex; and occasionally men if it helps with his interests. When it comes to combat, well…Dandy’s good at improvising. Dandy is capable of taking out large aliens that are bigger than his mecha pod; Little Aloha, and is also a professional surfer. (Didn’t know that was on his resume.)
Somehow Dandy knows the secret to warping, and due to his genetic makeup; may be the only person that has the power and capability to travel between universes while maintaining his form – human or otherwise. He also is aware of the many different ‘versions’ of himself across multiple universes. Yes, Space Dandy has a multiverse; Marvel, I don’t wanna hear it!
Despite his poor hand-to-hand combat skills, Dandy makes up for it everywhere else (including being a straight shooter during long-range combat) due to his godlike biology, and the ability to travel to different universes other than his own. Again, I’m not one to spoil, so if you want to know what happens with Dandy’s godlike ability, you’ll have to watch the show. (All two seasons of it.)
Dandy and crew!
Part 3 – What’s The Verdict, Baby?
I think anti-hero anime protagonists are probably some of the most interesting characters in any anime genre. They don’t follow the same heroic protocol that your usual main MC would, and while their actions (some of the time) may be deemed ‘antagonistic’, they also aren’t fond of villains either. Anime anti-heroes have a specific goal (or goals) that they’re trying to achieve, and if any hero or villain gets in the way of that goal, they are dealt with in the most ‘loose cannon’ way possible. In Dandy’s case, he just wants to indulge in his booty fetish while hanging out at “BooBies”. His mission to visit other locations around the galaxy was just molded around that.
Dandy is just one of those guys where at first; he’s a dim-witted moron who’s lazy, serviceable at best when it comes to his alien hunting job, and only cares about booty, but can be a hero when he wants to be. He’s not a deep thinker, but he’s self-aware of his ability to travel through different universes, and when he sets his mind on a specific goal, there’s nothing that’s gonna stop him from achieving it. I guess when you look at it we’ve all got a little Dandy inside of us; there are moments where we may be lazy, lax, and boorish, but there are moments where we spring into action to help out our fellow man (or woman). Dandy’s just a dandy guy in space just trying to live life to the fullest; whatever that ‘fullest’ may be, but at the end of the day, he’s Dandy. Whether he’s fighting aliens and saving maidens from certain doom, or complaining about Meow’s freeloading behavior, Dandy’s just being…well, dandy.
That’s it. There’s not much else I can add. That’ll d it for this One-2-One on Dandy, so until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐
Hey gang! So although we don’t have an official recap of what we’ve uploaded to our youtube channel last week, we can give you a recap of the last two Nerdz of the Decade podcast episodes that are uploaded! We’ve just shot our 29th episode this past weekend, and it’ll be up on our channel this Wednesday at 5pm. That’s all for now, but stay tuned; cuz we’ve got another One-2-One coming tomorrow! ๐
Listen. For every anime title deemed “overrated” by a fraction of the fandom, there’s at least 10 titles that a majority of the fandom deems “underrated”. Such as the case for these unsung heroes of anime; as they’ve been “Luigi’d” (overshadowed) into the background to make room for the ‘A-listers’ (or “Mario” titles of the world). Even when some of the story arcs from the popular titles are low-balling it, they’re still shared among the fandom; and still praising the overall experience of the product and its franchise.
While many don’t see that as a bad thing, you kinda miss out on potential diamonds hidden in the rough. That’s why for this One-2-One character analysis, I’ll be looking into a series that is REALLY underrated. Kirito and Asuna aren’t the only sword-welding couple in anime; because there’s another! Get ready for the scorching-hot crimson-haired beauty with a fiery tongue to match known as Stella Vermillion from Chivalry of a Failed Knight!
She’s strong as she is beautiful! ๐
Honestly this series doesn’t get talked about enough. When it comes to sword-welding anime maidens, many of them have a personality as sharp as their blade. (Other times they’re either Tsunderes or Yanderes with weapons. I’m lookin’ at chu’ Future Diary!) Stella may seem like the ‘high-and mighty’ type upon first glance, but in reality she’s actually quite the skilled swordswoman.
So Chivalry of a Failed Knight is a 12-episode series about the main male MC known as Ikki Kurogane, as he attends a school for students with extraordinary skills known as Blazers. Basically he and the other students are either modern-day knights, samurai, archers, or spellcasters; and participate in a tournament to select the top-tier fighters to be in the Seven Star Sword Art Festival. On paper it seems like just another generic anime school-life action/fantasy drama, but the reason this title hits different…is because of the character development of the two main characters; Ikki and Stella. There’s SO much more to Ikki, but we’ll cover him in a later post.
“And that’s how I met your mother!” XP
Part 1 – The Origin Story: Why Should You Care About Stella?
So what about Stella? If she’s an A-rank Blazer and the second imperial princess to the Vermillion Family, how did she get this strong and this skilled? Well that answer to that is…she was born with it. I’m not kidding you, Stella was literally born as a prodigy; having 30 times the base level of magic most Blazers have, which means that during her childhood she had to work extra hard to even master any type of control over her abilities. Being the second princess of the Vermillion Kingdom, and the daughter of Sirius and Astrea Vermillion, Stella is pretty much living the dream. However, after mastering her abilities she left her country and made her way to Japan because she didn’t want to be labeled as a ‘genius’ by the people around her. Sure, Stella may have been born as a prodigy and given the life of luxury, but its quite humbling to know that she’ll never really flaunt it nor boast about it because she genuinely doesn’t want to be labeled. And many of us know what that feels like…
Part 2 – Skills and Personality
Stella has a feisty and hot-blooded personality, as is the case with many red-haired anime girls. In this case however, its because of her sheltered upbringing. This is seen in the first episode of the series when Ikki walks in on her changing; not even realizing that he was her roommate. Though her temper was hot in the beginning, Stella later admits her mistakes and even starts becoming much friendlier around others and wants to be the one to make Ikki happy. She loathes being called a prodigy; stating that everything was given to her and never had to work hard for anything, and wants to prove that there’s more to her than meets the eye – and sword.
Also because of her sheltered life, she never got to experience what a man’s body looks like. Which explains that she has a bit of a perverted side when it comes to Ikki. (Not that I’m judging or anything.) Her relationship with Ikki was a bit platonic at best in the beginning, but eventually they became girlfriend and boyfriend. I’m not gonna spoil too much because there’s more going on in their relationship than what I’ve told you so far, so let’s get into Stella’s moveset!
Stella is a freakin’ powerhouse when it comes to her moves; as she has an immense amount of durability and strength due to her magical powers being 30 times that of a normal Blazer. Her base level of magic is on the same caliber as Kaio-ken x30 Son Goku. She is a Master Swordsman and has the Imperial Sword Style as her main method of offense and defense. Her device (or sword) is called Laevateinn and is used as her main weapon in battle. She has a noble art known as Dragon Breath, as it covers her in a flame barrier to protect her from projectiles and incoming attacks (as seen in the third episode of the series). Her other technique; Dragon Fang, allows her to strike her opponents from long-range with a flame-like serpent. Many of her attacks are flame-based and resemble the flames of a dragon, so its no surprise that she has a fiery personality to match her fiery skills! (If you read the manga, Stella actually has a LOT more moves.)
Our flame-broiled beauty
Part 3 – Overall Analysis
Stella is an individual who despite coming from a noble family, doesn’t believe anyone should get treated differently or ostracized because they don’t have family wealth. She herself doesn’t like the idea of being called a ‘prodigy’ or a ‘genius’ because she was naturally strong, instead she saw who Ikki was during his battles. She knows what it like to strive for a goal and to work hard at something, which is why she hates that people treat Ikki like he’s worthless; like he’s nothing compared to her. There’s more to Stella than just her beauty and looks, as she’s one of the most humbling main heroine characters in anime.
Although she wasn’t too fond of Ikki when she first met him, she saw a little bit of herself inside of him. While he didn’t have the same level of magical prowess that she did, she saw the driving spirit deep within him. To her; Ikki was more than just her boyfriend (and eventually fiancee), he was a man who wasn’t gifted at all, and was cast aside by his own family accept for his sister Shizuku, who sees him as more than a failure. Stella would be the kind of person to stand up for the weak and fragile, and has a hatred for cowardly acts of violence. (As shown in the third/fourth episode of the series.)
Ikki and Stella’s dynamic is something rarely seen in anime, and represents two sides of the same coin; what it means to be gifted and deemed by others as a ‘prodigy’ in a particular field, while the other was shunned for not having any sort of talent or gift at all. Some parents even raise their children the same way; with one of them being the successful one while the other is the ‘black sheep’, or even suffer the ‘middle child curse’ if there’s three or five children. Chivalry of a Failed Knight is a love story centered around Ikki and Stella’s challenges, relationship, and what they strive to accomplish together. Stella never saw Ikki as less than, instead she saw him as a part of herself that wants to prove that she’s more than what others saw about her. When its all said and done, Stella and Ikki are one in the same.
That will do it for this One-2-One, until next post stay nerdy! ๐
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