If you read the previous post, you will have noticed that the ever-amazing Chelsea has joined our team! I'm so so so so so excited about this!!! She will definitely be a worthy opponent in the battle for the Internet!
Who knows who will join our team next? Maybe someone who hates video games, or maybe even (gasp) a Republican! That's why I love the Internet so much- it can bring such different people together for reasonable discussion on a whole huge multitude of things!
I'm gonna cut off my rant on how much I love the Internet right here... before I get into how much it supports free speech... and how I think it should be allowed to form its own laws... (engages in intense battle to free self from topic)
Let's talk about something I haven't yet touched on- anime. Specifically, Naruto. Now before I get booed off the blog, let me say that I do not like Naruto anymore, but I used to be a pretty big fan. So I can talk about it in a sort of detached manner, but with the experience behind my claims. Ok. Let's start this.
In my opinion, Naruto is the perfect first anime. It has enough violence to be interesting, enough romantic tension to be awkward, and enough comedic moments to be amusing. It was my first anime, and it was an obsession for many years.
It is great for someone who isn't really sure if they like the medium of anime yet, and a good way to get used to common plot devices, transitions, flashbacks, weird powers, funny-looking hair, weak-but-secretly-strong-when-they-don't-need-to-be female characters, and all of that. From this base, a viewer can reach up to anime that is considered more sophisticated, perhaps something more artistic or thought-provoking. (Black Rock Shooter, which we recently watched in Anime Club, comes to mind. Sure, it was based on a Vocaloid song, but it also raised questions about how far you would go to save a friend, the nature of friendship in general, and how time plays a role in our perception of events, to name a few themes.)
The series was actually pretty good on its own in the first few seasons, as well. Orochimaru was a nice little villain with easily mocked lines such as "I want Sasuke's body", the battles were fairly interesting, and the plot made sense. The filler arcs were pretty awkward and plotless, and then Shippuden came along. While the character growth there was nice, the battles became prolonged, there were more flashbacks, and it just sort of became... boring. It would be hard for a newbie to get into it because there is just so much backstory. If you look at the manga series on a bookstore shelf, it's a little daunting- there are something like 53 volumes.
I think the time is long past when it coould have ended gracefully as a classic, but the series does need to end in a dignified manner. Have all the cute couples get married, retire, and live happily ever after- there's a textbook ending.
One last thing before I conclude this post- I've been looking at the blog stats since I started it, and every day there are a few views. I'm guessing that there are a handful of people who check the blog regularly, and I would like to thank those people. Thanks so much, you guys, and happy Thanksgiving! ^_^
~Pigeonmeister
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