Social media is such a weird thing – I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. Facebook is great tool for reaching out to those with whom you might otherwise lose touch, but only if you use it right. I think most of us use it in a way that inauthentic or half-hearted, desperate or only slight attempts to keep one’s circle healthy and whole; meanwhile, we lose track of our friends’ and family members’ hearts, though we might assume otherwise.
Meeting someone in person, especially after it’s been a long time since you’re last visit, feels more meaningful than 100 Facebook likes. This past summer, I met with an old friend in Seattle after more than a decade apart, and it felt warm and personal and real. There was a heaviness in the air, but not a negative one – the weight of a friend being there, in-person, rather than represented by a at-my-best profile picture. I think there’s something significant about that feeling.
It was through Simon of Moonlight Mixtape that I considered this “weight” of family. H felt it when visiting his extended family in Korean around the same time I took my trip, and it reminded him of a character that lost her weight when detaching herself from family: Senjougahara of Bakemonogatari. Read more of Simon’s thoughts through the link below:
The Weight of Family (feat. Senjougahara)
Check out these other wonderful articles from October:
Sakura Quest takes a different route than the typical high school anime. Featuring an all adult-female cast, it tackles the issue of rural decline in Japan and follows the characters as they try to fix it. It’s realistic in demonstrating that mistakes are made and solutions aren’t always so simple. (Oguie Maniax)
You may have missed the subtle but clear symbolism of flowers in the opening episode of The Ancient Magus Bride, where the cultural meanings of roses, poppies, asters, and other blooms help emphasize a theme at the center of the show – Chise’s rebirth. (Atelier Emily)
Your Name could be the defining anime movie for this generation of fans, and with the DVD release in North America coming up in a couple of weeks (November 7), how appropriate that Tofugu provides an excellent guide to making a Kimi no na wa pilgrimage if you make your way to the land of the rising sun. (Tofugu)
In explaining the method how he rates anime, Kapodaco explores the objectivity and subjectivity of reviews, and why objectivity should be so highly valued. (The Visualist’s Veranda)
Is there a way to really enjoy over-powered main characters? Frog-gun think so, but not when light novel authors try to write their MC as both relateable and the conduit through which we experience their immense powers. (Fantastic Memes)
Episode 13 of Amanchu! reminds us of what friendship can become when it’s strained by distance, and both the insecurity that can accompany that gulf and the challenge it might present to us of how distance can make us stronger. (Anime B&B)
