The word NEET also includes non Humans

Introduction

NEET: A person who is, “Not going to school, not employed or in training for a job”. But how come so many non human characters get sucked into the vortex of the NEET life? Man made creations such as video games and the internet seem to take a hold on to demons, dragons and even angels! In this article we are going to discuses three main characters.

Gabriel Tenma White: The top graduate of angel school in heaven. Her mission was to live life in the human world in order to make it a better place. However, just days within landing on earth, she discovers online social gaming and has never been the same since.

Fafnir: A dark dragon who protects his treasure above all else. He comes to the human world at first believing the lives of man to be unimportant and worthless. He eventually befriends a human roommate and starts to enjoy the life of an otaku. Playing video games and listening to Japanese pop idols.

Hanzo Urushihara: A demon from another realm. He is allowed to stay at the Devil’s small apartment, just as long as he takes up little room and eats whatever they can afford. He’s addicted to web surfing, video games and buying things online. He’s also socially inept and causes the group trouble by getting scammed financially.

True Nature

Although it’s hard for me to judge if the true character of Gabriel is actually a lazy computer addicted gamer. The reason is because she was a top student in heaven and started life on earth as a productive and helpful person. At first she is seen cleaning up the neighborhood and even helping normal people.

Some parts of me want to say that the human world corrupted her. And she is simply going through what many people would call addiction. Although she says she doesn’t care about the well being of humans. She seems to still have a lot of her morals intact. In the 2nd OVA of the anime she helps befriend a blind school girl and even breaks the rules of heaven by saving her life when she is struck by a vehicle. Sometimes we aren’t as heartless as we think we are. Although helping others might sometimes seem like an inconvenience, something inside of us makes us go out of our way.

They bring something into our lives.

Despite their complaining and spoiled attitudes, they make our lives better…at least in anime. Fafnir becomes a friend to Takiya and becomes someone he can come home to. We don’t realize how lonely we are sometimes and although Takiya had Miss Kobayashi as a regular drinking buddy. The bond he has with Fafnir is similar to what brothers might have.

We accept them for who they are

Although Urushihara is somewhat on the bottom of the totem pole in terms of respect rankings for his NEET lifestyle and other troubles he brings, he is still a valuable member of the team. Yes he’s a burden most of the time and if he wasn’t so cute, maybe fans wouldn’t like him. But even so, he’s accepted life and happiness in the human world. Actually we should be grateful that an other dimensional demon finds the human world a nice place.

They make our world seem kinda fun

More on the topic of of non humans choosing the human world as their new home. I think it’s pretty special that they find our customs and behavior to be something they would want to be a part of. They choose to come here to participate in our conventions, festivals and join us in our daily lives. Maybe the thing that makes humans remarkable is the fact that we have the ability to share our lives with non humans.

Life can actually be quite fun when you mix in dragons, demons and angels who want to join in on our party.

Conclusion

I think the NEETs we love in anime are the ones who we share our lives with. They might for the most part, drain our savings and get in the way at times. But I think they give us something that we need…love. If you ever owned a cat or dog, you’ll know that they don’t give you money, advice or fame. But they share your life and love you for who you are. Perhaps we love NEETs in anime for who they are because we want someone to love us for who we are as well.

Comic Girls: The Mentors 10 years prior

Introduction

This episode primarily focuses on the story of Ririka Hanazono (Dorm mother), Mayu Amisawa (Manga editor) and Miharu Nijino (Kaos’s Teacher). 10 years prior, the 3 were part of a manga circle where their dream was to produce a story from scratch. And although things didn’t turn out as planned for them, they still keep in touch and have a strong connection to making manga. They support the 4 girls in the dormitory in any way that they can.

Meeting up for old times

Ririka calls up the old gang to a meet up after testing season is over. They talk about the 4 girls and are especially concerned about Kaos Chan. Especially Mayu, who believes Kaos has a lot of potential but just hasn’t hit her mark yet.

Looking over some old manga that they created, they begin to reminiscent about that past and talk more later at the dormitory. They talk about how their art and story writing wasn’t as good as they remembered it. But still hold a bit of pride in their old efforts.

Forever fans of manga

Even after all this time, they remain fans of making manga. And are huge fan girls themselves. Nijino Sensei is especially fond of the works of Tsubasa and even tries to take one of her rough sketches during class. Even though Mayu san doesn’t write or draw as much as she used to, she works as an editor and gives constructive criticism to Kaos, although given a bit harsh. Our dorm mother Ririka not only takes cares of the girls living day to day. She continues to draw manga, even though she doesn’t share it with anyone[ep9].

Different Ending Song

This time towards the end of comic girls, the ending is instead a remix of images portraying the younger version of the 3 women. We see the youthful hope and wonder in their eyes and melancholic coloring. The trio are still friends to this day and are going about life happily. Not everything happens according to plan, but that’s no excuse for enjoying the journey right?

Momiji meets Hotaru

Introduction

Momiji Mochizuki is introduced into New Game!! during the second season of the anime. She’s the opposite of Aoba in terms of outward personality. She keeps to herself, is blunt towards those around her and feels she must be better than her peers if she wants to progress. Her dream is much like Aoba’s, as she also wants to be a lead character designer.

Meeting Hotaru

Hotaru Hoshikawa is a name that starts to interest Momiji. After hearing that Aoba learned a lot about art through her, Momiji sets out on a quest to find Hotaru and learn from her. Although she could easily ask to meet her more formally, Momiji decides to keep it a secret from Aoba and seeks out Hotaru in her own way. She goes to the Houbun College of art with her make shift sign and stands at the entrance.

Strangely enough, the plan works and Hotaru kindly meets with our pink haired girl. Momiji is stunned to see the level of skill and various mediums of art produced. (Hoshikawa San also draws a little manga!). 

Momiji learns a strong lesson in believing in her own art. She is scolded when she calls her own artwork bad.

Further into the manga series, we notice that Momiji is more open to learning new things. Even if she won’t admit it, she respects Aoba’s skill and uses her as a guide in order to help herself improve in art.

Hotaru is a lover of art. And i’ll discuses it even more later on in this website. But for now I can say, her history of being in art club during high school helped shape Aoba become the artist she is today.

Conclusion

As  Momiji returns home. She’s envious of how Aoba was surrounded by so many talented individuals. She feels as if she has a long way to go before making it big as a character designer. I feel as though later in the manga she begins to stop seeing people around her as competition, but rather as valuable mentors to learn from. Momiji is one step at a time (Step by Step), opening up. I hope she and Aoba can become friends as well.

Keika and her dreams

Introduction

From the Anime, Ryuuou no Oshigoto! Keika Kiyotaki is a 25 year old woman, practicing to become a female shogi professional. She’s the daughter of the famous 9-dan, Kousuke Kiyotaki. Due to her being the oldest in the training group, her confidence tends to struggle. Her father is quietly supportive about her career. He knows not to talk about her performances or results. Although he doesn’t show it, he is concerned about her career.

Style

Keika is a heavy note taker. She researches players and follows the trends deeply. But she isn’t able to create her own style and suffers because of it. When asking Ginko for advice on improvement, she is told that her shogi lacks a core. She has trouble expressing her full potential during games and has a sort of mental block.

 

Putting aside formalities

In Japanese culture, formalities assigned through age or rank are well followed. Knowing that her time in the training groups are coming to a close, she decides to play with confidence and not worry about the age or rank of her opponents.

 

Sometimes we surprise ourselves

Upon opening an old notebook on her games, Keika is surprised to see games filled with imagination and bravery. Although poorly executed due to her lack of experience, she is still able to see the potential behind the games. 

Sometimes we surprise ourselves. We look back at our old ideas or things we’ve said and are astonished. We see potential, hope and perseverance. I think as we get older we tend to wall ourselves by setting up invisible boundaries. We compare ourselves to others, we don’t think we are good enough or are afraid to take on new hurdles.

A letter from the past

Have I become a female pro? Or maybe… Have I attained a title?- Keika Kiyotaki (10)

The person of our past is just a younger version of ourselves. They are unaware of how things change as time passes, what new obstacles one faces or if our original goal is still important to us.

Keika through her play is answering back at her 10 year old self. She wants to make herself proud and to play without any regrets. Even though she feels as if the person writing in her notebooks is a completely different person, she accepts the fact that she at one point had to have written them.

Conclusion

Upon coming home, Keika tells her father how she will continue playing no matter what. Her father approves and cries due to the maturity of his daughter. He knows how difficult it is to do anything at a high level and is moved by his daughter’s hard work and struggle through the years.

 

A bit on Yoshida From Watamote

Introduction

The short 12 episode anime Watamote sadly never introduced some great characters that show up later in the manga. One of them is Yoshida Masaki.

 

Yoshida looks difficult to approach, isn’t afraid to show her anger and can even get violent, especially towards Tomoko.

With Tomoko And Yuri

Although she doesn’t suffer from social anxiety like Tomoko. Yoshida is distant from her classmates and chooses to not associate with them until Yuri Tamura forms the (sort of friend circle) with her and Tomoko.

Although Yoshida’s bond with the other two girls aren’t yet concrete, she supports them when they are in need and seems to not hate hanging out with them. She admittedly doesn’t join the class’s after party stating that there would be no reason without the other 2 girls. She initially doesn’t believe she needs friends in her class, but later accepts that it would be more fun to spend time with others instead of being by herself.

Yuri acts as the straight man in between conflicts between Tomoko’s unconscious annoyances towards Yoshida. And seems to want to bridge both of them to become closer classmates.

She likes cute things

Surprisingly, she’s interested in cute things such as theme park characters and crane game prizes. Although people find it shocking at first, Yoshida isn’t afraid to show off her enthusiasm for cute items. Perhaps her persona of being a “delinquent” is from her natural intense glare.

Conclusion

It’s really exciting to see the comedic bond of Tomoko’s new circle of friends. Yoshida is a character who isn’t afraid of what others think. She can be a bit too direct with people, but she’s honest and takes care of those around her. I hope she can teach Tomoko to be more open about her interests and also more expressive with her feelings.

 

 

 

 

Playfulness in Anime

Introduction

Playfulness is a wonderful thing. It allows us to act out of character at times in order to surprise or confuse our friends. Timing and setting are key factors which can determine the success of jokes. I think it’s best shown in the anime Nichijou. Sometimes the nature of our favorite characters can perplex us, but it gives them more dimension and helps us relate to them on a deeper level.

A sign of deep friendship

In the anime Comic Girls after Kaos accidently defeats Tsukasa, we’re given a playful remark. Although we’ve never seen Kaos try to stir up conflict, her action is still believable. Not only is it funny and cute, it’s a great indicator of the growing bond between the two friends.

The difference with bullying

Suzukaze Aoba from New Game!! is known by fans to be subtle joker. She melts snowmen on purpose, makes fun of Nenechi for looking like a middle school student (although she looks like one herself) and even asks Yun, if she’s a person who goes on diets in secret.

Conclusion

Either joking with your friends or not, just try to remember to use common sense. We don’t want to go beyond boundaries or actually hurt our friends for the sake of a joke. I think the reason we love anime girls playing around with each other is because no one actually gets hurt in the process. Even though I think it’s super cute to see anime girls sulking.

 

Demi-Chan wa Kataritai: The tale of two sisters

Himari Takanashi

Himari is an ordinary human who is twins with Hikari Takanashi. Himari is a conservative, studious and hard working individual. But at times can be hot tempered due to her sister’s personality. Aside from the many disputes between them, Himari cares deeply about her sister.

Relationship with her sister

Himari is the responsible younger sister between the two. She helps Hikari with her hair in the mornings, which has gotten her repeatedly late. She lends her textbooks at school. And she disciplines Hikari by not approving of her negligence, however this is usually futile.

When explaining to Takahashi Sensei how she doesn’t approve of her sister’s irresponsible behavior, he asks if Hikari is able to see herself in the mirror. Upon hearing this, Himari quickly rushes to to find her sister and apologize. Of course in the end we learn that the reason for Hikari’s need for help in the morning is due to her laziness.

Personality

Himari’s life isn’t 100% devoted to school. She attends festivals with her school friends, enjoys pudding(which Hikari steals at times) and spending time with her sister. She and her father purposefully lighten their hair due to Hikari’s hair color, in order to quell any questions on her relations to the family.

She’s suspicious of strangers trying to take advantage of her sister. This can make her appear as cold. However, she quickly apologizes when she jumps to conclusions.

We can notice more of Himari’s carefree and childlike personality when she is alone with her friends. She chooses not to wear a yukata to the festival knowing her friends wouldn’t be wearing one. It’s a running gag for her friends to compare Himari to her sister’s when she becomes extremely excited.

Himari seems to not like it when others try to take her time, especially in her leisure. She becomes annoyed when some local boys ask her and her friends to view the festival together. However, she feels obligated once they give her and her friends cotton candy.

 

Conclusion

Many people may see Himari as the reason why Hikari can live a carefree life. She’s responsible and quick to forgive others. Although she doesn’t openly admit it, she loves her sister. She wants Hikari to grow up to become more independent and less intrusive onto other people, especially on herself.

 

Elma and her Improvement

Introduction

Joui Elma is a dragon introduced later in the show, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. At first she is seen to be clumsy, clueless and high strung. She’s part of the harmony faction in the dragon world. Meaning her group is geared more towards cooperation, synergy and compromise. Although when she first enters into the human world, she causes a bit of disruption.

 

After learning that she isn’t able to easily go back to the dragon world, she finds work at Miss Kobayashi’s company. She soon learns that humans have to perform difficult tasks in order to survive on a daily basis. Because she’s never seen a computer, she has no idea how to type or even turn it on. The things she notices about the human world can be quite funny. Such as when she acts out how certain salesman beg on the floor. Or when she holds up a line at a restaurant due to the her difficulty with choice.

Willing to learn

Elma is curious and willing to learn new things. She’s willing to help others such as taking Kanna, Shouta and Riko fishing. And taking charge as the director of the Christmas play. She does have the ability to lead and take things seriously even though she may appear useless in the beginning. She becomes annoyed when the people in the the Christmas play don’t follow her instructions. But as it goes on, she accepts the input of those around her. She considers their view points and implements them. Although seemingly chaotic, everything works out and their presentation becomes a success.

 

In chapter 35, Kobayashi and Takiya notice some well written computer code. After asking around, Elma replies that the code was made by herself. Elma explains that she had studied the material given to her. This comes as a surprise since it was believed that Elma had already solidified her place at the office as the unofficial tea server. Soon after, Kobayashi presents Elma with her true share of work.

 

Falling in love with the Human World

Just like Tohru in the begining, she viewed humans as inferior and ignorant. But Elma soon realizes the many pleasures of daily life such as food choices, product choices and holidays. She comes to respect humans for having the ability to choose between many options. From her perspective, the difficulty of choice comes when every option is seemingly perfect.

Although not as popular as Kobayashi at work, she is given chocolate during valentines day . When wondering why Kobayashi receives more chocolate than anyone, Takiya explains that the people around the office are simply showing their gratitude.

Later in the manga,  she even becomes more involved at work. She even creates a union and leads speeches in order to change certain practices. Although in the end it was food related, this shows her passion and ability to harmonize with those around her.

Conclusion

Elma learns to enjoy the human world as well as work with them. she enjoys the many pleasures of man and develops close bonds with her friends. She’s dependable yet clumsy, she’s passionate but sometimes misdirected. Willing to always learn, Elma continually improves herself and allows others to contribute. She’s definitely a dragon from the harmony faction. She is similar to Tohru in many ways because of her interest in living among humans. They both come from different backgrounds, yet they both yearn to improve themselves and are willing to learn new things.

 

K-on! Origins of Musicianship

Introduction

The members of After School Tea Time are fantastic musicians. Their music isn’t just cute and fluffy, it can be fast and aggressive at times as well. But even these girls were beginners at one point in their lives. And even after forming the club, they still had to develop their skills together.

Akiyama Mio
The bass player of the group. Although it’s noted that she can play the guitar at a decent level, she chooses to play bass because it doesn’t attract as much attention. She’s able to teach guitar to Yui in the begining of the series. Going over things such as chords and techniques.
She most likely started playing the bass guitar a little bit before Ritsu began learning how to play drums. Mio is quite knowledgeable about classic rock musicans, which we can see when asking Yui about her favorite guitarists. She’s able to compose music and write lyrics as well.
She utilizes advanced techniques such as slap/pop and bass walking.

 

Tainaka Ritsu
As you an imagine, the most energetic member of the group plays the drums. After watching a performance of, “The Who”. Ritsu becomes obsessed with the high energy drumming of Keith Moon. Begging Mio to form a band with her, she saves up enough money to buy a used Jazz drumset.
Much of her intricate drumming comes from styles such as jazz and rock n roll. Most likely due to Keith Moon’s influences being Tony Meehan and Gene Krupa.

 

Kotobuki Tsumugi
Being from a rich family, it makes sense for her to play something like the piano. She’s won a few competitions and started playing at the age of 4. Although she mainly played classical piano before joining the club, due to her willingness to learn new things, she was able to play more in the style of rock and pop.
She later incorporates things such as synth effects and piano rolls into her playing as the band develops. Mugi has the ability to gain influences from anywhere. When Ritsu plays with her keyboard, Mugi gets inspired to create her own song.
She mainly uses sound pads such as: Square lead and rock organ.

Nakano Azusa
Azusa comes from a musical family. She states that both her parents play in a jazz band, which make her almost join the jazz club at school. But later decides not to join, stating that it wasn’t the style of jazz she was accustomed to.
Like Mugi, Azusa most likely started playing from a very young age. She owns several guitars and is able to size the skill of other’s very quickly.
She’s a very serious musician and expects those around her to be just as serious. She’s able to play many advanced techniques, beyond Yui’s ability. But she is humble at her craft and feels she still has much more to learn.
She primarly plays the harmony and solos of the club’s songs.

Hirasawa Yui
Out of all the members, Yui learns how to play music the latest. She has no musical background other than playing the castanets in Kindergarten. Before the training camp, she was only able to memorize chords and play 3 note songs. Yui also had to have her sister Ui, decipher reading chord charts and basic TABs.
Yui has perfect pitch, which means she is able to distinguish and remember the names of tones without a musical reference. When tuning her guitar, she corrects the strings without using a tuner. She is also able to memorize certain complex musical phrases, but has a hard time with technique.
However, much of her skill in music comes from practice and the occasional lesson from Azusa and Sawako Sensei. She at first struggles learning certain parts in songs. But is able to learn them when told to slow down and break down sections.

 

Conclusion

The members of After School Tea Time are great musicians, but they weren’t always like that. Just like everyone else, they had to learn their craft. But what makes them even more amazing is when they put together their skills and play as one band.

Blend S: Hinata Kaho character overview

Introduction

Hinata Kaho is an energetic, friendly, cheerful and….healthy waitress at the Cafe Stile. She is a fan favorite for many reasons. She plays the tsundere archetype at work, although at times she drops character. Kaho is a hardcore gamer who frequents arcades, plays games on her phone and reads manga. She prioritizes playing her games over studying and finances, which cause her too suffer later down the road. Her happy aura helps make new members feel welcome and is a valuable worker at the cafe, going along with any crazy idea the manager may have.

Interests

Kaho is interested in a lot of gaming culture. She plays DDR and other rhythm games at the arcade, which usually draws large crowds. The money she receives from working is put back into buying new games and anime merchandise. Although she’s very outgoing and full of energy, she’s quite introverted. When the crew decides to have an outdoor BBQ in the mountains, she along with a couple of Stile workers are seen focusing on their hand held games. Her personality is able to find the fun in anything however, as we see her get excited about eating grilled meat outdoors.

When her funds become low, she worries about not being able to buy more merchandise. Sometimes her thinking becomes clouded and defies common sense. When she becomes too focused on her games with Akizuki, the two don’t even notice the lights being turned off. When they later find out that they are locked in the cafe, Kaho worries about her phone running out of power to play games, instead of using it to call for help. She’s a bit irrational when it comes to the consequences of her gaming passion. A lot of people probably can relate to her because sometimes our passions prevent us from even thinking about the future.

Friends

Akizuki is probably Kaho’s most closest friend and potential love interest. When Kaho becomes saddened by being locked out of her gaming profile, Akizuki tries to cheer her up with a parfait. However, because of Kaho’s ability to change moods quickly, he’s unable to present it to her out of embarrassment. When the two get locked in at the cafe, Kaho clings onto Akizuki as punishment for scaring her.

He’s able to hit Kaho on the head when she makes dumb remarks or is unwilling to act for the better good. The two are most likely very close due to them both starting their jobs at the same time and having to interact. Because prior to their meeting they had very little interaction with the opposite gender. In the flash back, they are both seen as being extremely shy and polite. Their views on what characters in their games are the best, cause them to have arguments but regardless still get along very well.

Seeing Kaho in despair, Mafuyu offers to tutor her in math. As the sessions progress, Kaho begins to respect Mafuyu more as a senpai. Mafuyu tends to also punish Kaho for her irresponsibility, gaming addiction and her…curiosity. Towards the end of their study sessions, Kaho becomes saddened due to the possibility of not being able to meet Mafuyu outside of work. However, she is able to work up the courage to ask if Mafuyu would want to meet together just as friends in the future.

When Maika begins working at the cafe. Kaho makes it her job to welcome and to teach her the ins and outs of the restaurant. She enjoys teasing Maika but can also get scared of her intense glare. Regardless, the two are very playful with each other and develop a closer bond.

Conclusion

Being the opposite of an actual tsundere, she openly shares her true feelings to those around her. She is your bright and cheerful high school girl. She can be a little rash at times due to her inability to consider the future. But she makes it her job to make everyone feel welcome. She brings out the best in people and can find the fun in any situation. Her open personality helps everyone around her, comfortably express their feelings without holding back.