Monster is a fictional masterpiece that can be interpreted from many different angles – from an exploration of personal identity to a theory on the creation of “monsters”. Its historical context (beginning from 1986 with many references to post-WWII Germany/Chezhoslovakia and the Fall of the Berlin Wall) grounds the story in reality, with many realistic […]

“Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy’s first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world’s one and only truth.” – Alphonse Elric FMAB is a masterpiece steeped in themes from science, religion, war, […]

“Because I was bored.” It has been over two years since I watched Death Note, and so my review will only be limited to my own sense of what the show aimed to do, albeit without the substantiative plot details. Death Note is the anime I recommend most often to friends who aren’t as familiar […]

I want to apologize to myself for the long wait on my FAVORITE anime of all time – Hunter x Hunter (watched last year). This is without-a-doubt, one of the best shounen ever made. I thought long and hard how to convince others to watch it, but I think it serves others best to highlight […]

Parasyte is a philosophical masterpiece masquerading as a gore-filled horror anime. The anime explores questions like, “what is the human species?”, “is speciesism justified?”, and “is environmentalism just human self-gratification?” Add a riveting plot and touch character interactions – and that’s here’s what we end up with. What is “the maxim” anyways? Ironically, for a […]

This is the best masterpiece I’ve ever watched. Prior to watching Code Geass, I had thought the protagonist character was no longer an area of storytelling innovation. In classic shounen, the protagonist is designed to champion the viewer. Through his/her falls and triumphs, the viewer is able to grow vicariously alongside the protagonist. As such, […]

Despite appearing unrelated from the latter in every category, Psycho-Pass tackles a similar set of moral dilemmas as Shinsekai Yori. This one hits much closer to home as its setting is a near-future cyberpunk tech dystopia (so close to home China banned it). The society of Psycho-Pass has perfected the use of cymatic scans to […]

Dear non-existent readers, I better start writing on this blog again to justify my annual subscription renewals. Even though I can’t count how many years it’ll be until I’m unabashed to actually include this on any public profile of mine, there’re recurring times I’m reminded of the purpose this blog serves: a canvas for me […]

One of the life lessons that have accompanied me most consistently throughout my life is to maintain a very pessimistic outlook on life. I think of life as a losing battle. All the forces can one day work against me, except the forces emanating out of myself. I take the quote, “Work like there is […]