A Week of Shoddy Luck, and Eromanga Sensei

Hello blog,

You probably have forgotten me after my billionth two week hiatus. I am here to point out that I am alive, thought it may seem otherwise. Rather, this post serves to highlight the vitriol and pent-up frustration threatening to make me flame up.

This week has been filled with shoddy luck, where a variety of individually minor events have coalesced into something terrible. As much as they each call out for attention, they can't wait their turn, either.

I resent this week for happening and I'm only a few days into it. Glasses that are partially held together by tape -- that's how far metaphorically south this week has gone already. My least favorite part of this week is how so many things are quite frankly my damn fault. But then why do they feel irreversible?

Amidst this aggravating situation, I have leaped into reading Eromanga Sensei, another meta work by the Oreimo author that features light novels, imoutos, and kouhais -- you could call this work the one dangling thread connecting me vertically to sanity, else I shall fall into the abyss of madness. The main character, much like Kyousuke, is a passive person, who goes about his daily business - in this case, he writes LNs for a living while attending high school. But he is exceptionally talented at describing beautiful girls, even if they happen to be a year or few younger than him. But I wonder what happened in the author's life that gave him such a bad experience with sibling situations. This series, and Oreimo, both imagine a chilly brother-sister relationship where they go without speaking to each other for over a year. Despite seeing each other everyday, Izumi and Sagiri do not get along, until some magic event happens and makes them talk to each other.

Sagiri, at first glance, seems like an ice queen hikkikomori  but her frostiness has a warmer core, a core that reveals when around her Onii-san. Megumi, classmate of Sagiri, is indeed a much more terrifying character, capable of reducing Izumi MC-kun to self-defense mechanisms -- seemingly a kind-hearted, genki girl, Megumi is secretly conniving and manipulative.

One point of keen appreciation for the work so far: I enjoy how many characters exist beyond gender roles. In fact, two of the characters are thought to be boys because of their illustrating style and writing style respectively -- but in fact, they are girls! This reminds me of how CLAMP, a team of women mangaka, wrote the teenage-boy-oriented  sci-fi/romance Chobits. It's neat how Eromanga Sensei plays with typical gender roles in an amusing yet on-point manner.

And one point of concern: how will Elf Yamada-sensei play into the story? I hope she's not used simply to prop up Sagiri and Megumi but rather gets a life of her own. I say that because she's a rather amusing character.

So far, Eromanga Sensei is very good. Much better than this terrible week, at least.

Osui, Senpai! Senpai.....Senpai. Sennnpaaiiiiii. Senpai?: The Ayaneru Hall of Fame

Ayane Sakura (Ayaneru for short) is one of the megami of anime voice acting, able to stun, dazzle, and wow even if her line only has a few lines. Ayaneru can star in a supernatural shindig (like Hotarubi no Mori e), play a demonic creature (GATE), or even be an angsty yet totally relateable teenager (like in Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso). Even her meager roles (like her role as sacrificial lamb in Gundam AGE) are exciting.

 First, below, we see Cocoa (played by the lovely Ayaneru) posing for a picture with Rize (played by the lovely Risa Taneda) - much friendship, such picture. Have fun being mesmerized by this GIF until you can't take it no more. In Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka? Cocoa lovingly looks up to her senpai, Rize - veritably, an Ayaneru role most often features an impressive senpai.

I'm sure you can see how senpai Rize-senpai is. Just imagine it. But, me and my weeb best friend enjoy making terrible puns that would absolutely murder the average denizen of Earth. Cocoa shares her name with hot cocoa, of course, which means that jokes about drinking her are par for the course.

I get to make a stupid joke every time I order hot chocolate at a coffeeshop. Go me.

But Cocoa is excited! She wants to explore the town with her Rize-senpai! So she is gonna do her >_< cute anime girl face and make her come along. Oh, I can't even resist that face. Doushio....

Now, moving on - you might be thinking "this Ayaneru only does moe stuff" but that is far from the truth. Her brilliance knows no ends. Introducing Giselle, an apostle in the show GATE. She only has a few lines, and just in episode 17.

This character wastes no time showing that she is a force to be reckoned with. Our first introduction to her comes from the defeat of Rory Mercury (who has been until this point unbeatable). Giselle is tough but she's highly charismatic, which is a difficult balance. A talented VA like Ayaneru can do it like it is nothing.

The fluid chemistry between Ayane Sakura and Risa Taneda in this scene of GATE creates an intriguing tension that was not present before: that Rory is defeatable, and that Giselle is the one who can do it.

Giselle is elevated from dark fantasy whatever to an intimidating yet charming foe. You go, Ayaneru.

She's not a moe VA explicitly, but she does an excellent job with it. Presenting, Isshiki Iroha, the true beholder of the "Osui, Senpai!" tagline. She finally appears in season two of Oregairu and steals our hearts as the venerable, adorable kouhai.

That elegant blue scarf. That cute smile. That hair. That everything. Isshiki is a present from the heavens. It's no lie.

Let's go into perennial troublemaker Natsume (from Non Non Biyori).
She (Natsume's the doofus on the left) and Hikage ate all the mochi...So they have to cook up some mochi for everyone else as punishment. They're such troublemakers they're smiling even after their evil deeds.

Such a shameful display. Truly morals going to waste.

Natsume's tomboyish troublemaking is rather endearing though, so I guess we'll let it slide. Into the smaller, Hikage. Sorry.

Lastly, have a picture of Reverie (even though she's voiced by Keiko Suzuki and not Ayane Sakura; deal with it).

A beautiful android girl is the way to end this post off. Yep.


I almost feel bad for not including more pictures. Oh well. Ayaneru is so amazing I could just give her a second hall of fame.

Well, bye.