Representation of Yokai (Demon, Ghost, Monster) in Anime & Wuxia

Yokai/Youkai can mean a ghost, monster, demon, spirits, phantom or strange apparition. This word was derived from the Chinese kanji: Yao Guai, 妖怪 (yao means demon/monster and guai means weird).

We see lots of these monsters in various Anime, such as Yu Yu Hakusho, D.Grayman, Blood+, Shounen Onmyouji, Ghost Hunt, Inuyasha and more.



The translation for Yokai I've seen most is "Demon", or "Monster". A good example is Inuyasha, he is known as half-demon. But, is the word "Demon" the same as what we're used to? No. I believe Demons in Anime translated from Yokai are very different. They're more like monsters, than demons that burn in hell. I think by watching many Anime with the concept of demons, people have adapted a different meaning to that word.

Is Demon a good translation for Yokai? I actually can't think of a better word. Monsters also have its own meaning in English, so I don't think it would fit all the time, since Yokai can be anything that's seen as a creature, that's strange. However, many Yokai are really not that scary and can just be big looking creatures or even animals. In Yu Yu Hakusho, Yokai are

Yokai (in this case, Yaoguai) is also portrayed a lot in Wuxia as well, especially in mythological and game-based series like Chinese Paladin, Xuan Yuan Sword and Strange Tales of Liaozhai. In those shows, usually a Yaoguai is not a human (huh, of course!) and they are some form of animal spirit. Some of them may be nasty, for example - we may call it a spider demon, others can appear to be good, like a mermaid spirit.



(She's known as the butterfly spirit in Chinese Paladin, but she is grouped as a monster)

Many shows have debated whether Yokai/Yaoguai are good or evil. In shows like Xuan Yuan Sword and Chinese Paladin, those so-called Demons often show human emotions. Often, humans in the shows have impure thoughts and turn evil. That started the talk of, "if humans go down the wrong path, and demons want to be kind, then what's the difference between the two?"

This is explored in great detail with Ningke from Xuan Yuan Sword, as she was a demoness, yet she had good in her heart.

When Characters Self-Sacrifice in Anime & TV Series [Spoilers]

In Anime and Wuxia, many characters choose to sacrifice themselves for someone else. They may be the hero/heroine, an ex-villain, or even just a normal person, but their selfless decisions to put themselves in danger for someone else often makes them very noble and memorable and leaves us wondering - what motivated them to do that? What exactly was going through their mind at the moment of sacrifice?



Firstly, I'd like to split the "sacrifice" into three types: Love, Righteousness and Repayment.

Sacrifice for Love

Sacrificing for love is when a character uses their own love to protect someone they love. The person they love may be a romantic partner or a family member, but these characters regard their loved one very highly, to the point where they will do whatever it takes to keep their loved one happy or alive, even if it cost their own lives.

Example 1 is Hinata from Naruto, although she didn't die, but she jumped in front of Pain's attacks to block them from Naruto, because she loved him.



Another example is Yueru in Chinese Paladin, even though she loved Li Xiaoyao, choose to sacrifice herself so he and the girl he loved could live together because she just wanted him to be happy, regardless of who he is with.

Example 3 would be Al from Fullmetal Alchemist, who sacrifices himself near the end of the series to bring back Edward's missing arm so he can defeat their Father.

Fourth example is Yu'er sacrificing her last bit of her energy to protect Jingchou in Xuan Yuan Sword when Blood Pearl was taking everyone's lives, she said "if in this world, only one of us can survive - it has to be you."

Final example is Xiao Yao from Fairy of the Chalice, she exchanged her own life (thousand years of cultivation) to bring back the wife of the man she loved back from the dead. She had no regrets whatsoever, even though she would turn into ashes herself.

I believe these characters care so much about the person they love in such a selfless way, that they don't even spend a minute thinking about their own fate.

Sacrifice for Righteousness

These characters choose to sacrifice for someone (they may not even know well) because it was the right thing to do. These characters have a strong sense of what's right and wrong, although they may not admit it or realize it at first, but they will show it with their action when the critical time comes.



An excellent example of sacrificing for righteousness is when Yusuke in Yu Yu Hakusho pushed a small boy out of the way from a moving vehicle and then got hit himself and died.

Example 2 is when Chiyo in Naruto sacrificed her remaining Life Energy to resurrect Gaara, redeeming her part in the sealing of the Ichibi.

The third example is in Gurren Lagann, during the final battle with the Anti-Spiral, Kittan sacrificed himself to give the others a chance to win the battle. He did it because he knew it was the right thing to do, that it would give Dai-Gurren a chance to save the world.

Example 4 is Madoka in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, she makes a huge sacrifice with her wish - where is granted the ability to destroy all witches before they are born. She effectively becomes a god. However, she is written out of existence, unable to be known to or interact with anyone. The only person who remembers her is Homura.

Another example is Jing Tian from Chinese Paladin 3 willing to use most of his life to exchange for and revive all those who were killed by Evil Sword Immortal.

The final example is the epic scene in Strange Hero Yi Zhi Mei when the brocade guards realized that Li Gexiao was all along doing the right thing, even though he was framed and was sentenced to death, but the guards realized what wrong or right meant, and in the name of justice, they decided to give him to a count of ten where they wouldn't see a thing (so they could use this time to escape), even though doing this would put them and their families in great risk.



Sacrificing for righteousness may be even harder than for love. My thoughts are, perhaps these people have a very firm beliefs. Or perhaps they were inspired by someone else's sense of justice and came to a realization on what they should be doing. As what Yumeke said, Anime characters who sacrifice for righteousness may be influenced by the samurai ethos, also known as Bushido (way of the warrior) - underlines four main concepts: Law of honor, obedience, duty, and self-sacrifice. Again, this is why I say Wuxia and many Action Anime are very similar. Wuxia (Wu literaly is the same word as Bo in Japanese) means martial arts or warrior, and the concept of chivalry, righteousness and self-sacrifice are all quite similar. (That's why Anime fans should totally try out some Wuxia series - Watch Top Recommendations here!)

Sacrifice for Repayment

Sacrificing for repayment is the third form of sacrifice I've seen in shows. Usually, these characters were formally evil and undergo a great change after they were inspired by another character (usually the hero) or was saved by someone. These characters often come back and save the hero or another good character as repayment.

An example is Gaara, after battling with Naruto and realizing that true strength came from protecting those he loved, Gaara began to realize his mistakes, and thus changed. In a later episode, he came back to save Rock Lee as he was about to be defeated. Although Gaara didn't die, he used up almost all his energy to help Rock Lee, which signifies that he was ready to sacrifice his life for it.



Another example is Vegeta from Dragonball Z. Even after he was spared by Goku after their fight on earth, he was still evil for a while but there were several times when he saved or helped the good guys. When he went to earth and lived there for a while, he gradually became good and if not for him, Gohan would have never defeated cell. He stumbled again when he accepted the Majan Power but realized his mistake and sacrificed himself (by blowing himself up) to try and save the world and his family from Buu.

My Thoughts on Sacrifices

I find self-sacrifices in both Anime and Wuxia very appealing, because I love seeing characters think for others. Also, it's something that I feel would be hard to imagine in real life, as we're not even in these situations, so it would be impossible to know what we'd do, but in a fantasy world, it's always nice to know that such nobel and selfless characters exist.



(Yu'er's sacrifice in Xuan Yuan Sword, giving her last energy to Jingchou)

Blast from the Past: Trigun - Episode 1

Oh God, I almost forgot how much I love this show and the main character, since it's been so long since I saw it (about 4 years), I really wanted to reminisce on all the things I love about this Anime. Sadly, I really don't remember much except that Vash was wanted! So, it will be amazing to rewatch this and remember all the things I love about this!



The atmosphere of this Anime is really cool - feels like the outback areas! The series opening tells you straight away that Vash was wanted, as there were a lot of posters about him. Also, I wonder how he must feel when he was listening to all those people talk about him, especially when they have the wrong idea about him. I also adore the artwork, the character design is freaking amazing.

The fact that Vash is the biggest wanted bounty reminds me a bit of Strange Hero Yi Zhi Mei, when the main guy was also wanted for a lot of money, and people have the wrong idea about him. It's really a mystery to why Vash is wanted for 60 billion double dollars (what's the difference between regular dollars and double dollars?). I wonder what he did to be wanted.

Wow, Vash's outfit look so damn amazing, I love the red coat, glasses and he looks so badass, though because I've seen this series before, I know what kind of personality he has. I REALLY love that a hero can be the way he is, not wanting to hurt anybody.

I LOVE THAT CAT! It has such an awesome expression! I'm always crazy about cats in Anime, especially when they're cute as this one!

So, there are two girls after him or at least they want to find him. Sadly, I don't even remember what they wanted, even though I've seen this Anime before. I feel sorry for Vash that people keep thinking he's this evil guy, and when you see him for the first time, his head pops out from the ground in the cutest way. You can immediately tell how nice of a person he is.



I love how Vash is so clever, when the guys were shooting off the guns, he was just behind there letting all the bullets come out. Then, he even had those shooters make a picture of his head.



I call that CLEVER. He freaking rocks! I just also love how he's so cheerful! He would definitely be a character I'd want to be friends with. Also, what really makes me admire Vash is we can absolutely tell that he's really strong, and good at what he does (guns) - he took down those 2 guys in a matter of seconds. But, he chooses not to make himself seem tough, and he almost acts as if he's afraid and dodging, and screaming out for help, but in reality, you know that he's good and he can kill you in a matter of seconds if he wanted to. Those characters are just so freaking admirable and AWESOME that they choose not to!

I think I've seen characters like that before as well, who are so good at what they do but they choose not to reveal it or make a big deal. A Wuxia series I saw when I was young had a character like that, he was this tiny old man who seemed to not know any martial arts, who's always getting scolded because he "doesn't know anything" and is a muddle head, whereas his knowledge surpasses almost everyone there will be, but he made a choice not to ever reveal that because he regretted that he killed someone by accident, and he never wished to kill someone again. (Another reason why Wuxia has so many similarities to Anime!)



(Vash pretending that he had a big problem, whereas he really came back for the girls, and even though he looked like he was scared out of his wits trying to dodge the bullets, you know he's doing as easy as a breeze)

I found it hilarious when the bounty hunter showed up and there was another really big guy and they both were after each other, thinking each other was Vash the Stampede (while the real Vash is just sitting there pretending he doesn't know anything), and the two girls were all like, wait, he's the guy with the Mohawk, no, he's.... (Oh crap, the rumors don't match) HAHAHA, that was so hilarious.

I think I'm getting an idea about how those rumors were created, about Vash being the worst womanizer (and if you were like me and wondered what that meant, it's a selfish, narcissistic, nefarious character who needs to manipulate and use woman to feed his own childish, self serving ego) and humanoid typhoon, is because there's all these fat and nasty guys who want the bounty and accuse each other as Vash. It's just so interesting that nobody really seem to know exactly what Vash even looked like.

And I can imagine why the girl didn't even think Vash was really Vash the Stampede, because of all the rumors flying around about how scary he is, and Vash is just adorable, especially when he had the kitten expression.



I also want to comment on how much I love Vash's english voice. Johnny Yong Bosch does such a AMAZING JOB with him, making him so sound so funny and lovable at the same time. That just shows how talented he is, because his Ichigo (Bleach) has a completely different personality and he does them both in such a brilliant and believable way. I really love this voice actor and enjoy hearing the shows he's in! If there's ever more Trigun series/movies, I really do hope he can be Vash again. It would never be the same without him!

Watching this has totally rekindled my love for this Anime! I love it so much! Especially Vash's personality and the way he handles situations. Gotta love a guy who is more interested in eating and peace than anything else.

Ways to Piss off or Drive a Character Completely Mad in Anime/TV Series!

Ever seen those characters who may seem calm normally, but one little thing just cracks them? Here are ways to easily piss off or drive a character crazy!

Rukia - Bleach



Rukia loves to draw really cute pictures describing how the soul reapers work, and unfortuately, her artwork is always criticized by Ichigo as bad, which is something that really ticks her off. Poor Rukia, her art is so cute!

Jing Tian - Chinese Paladin



In Chinese Paladin 3, Tell Jing Tian how awesome, amazing and powerful White Tofu/Changqing is (since he sees him as a rival) and Jing Tian will snap. Believe me, if he was talking to White Tofu at the time, he'll throw his communication device into a pig pen covered with shit! Then, take about an hour to retrieve it again.

Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist



Call him a shrimp, short, small, tiny or anything like that, he'll fly into a rage! And I mean, a rage! He'll make an entire town run in fear. Ed hates being called short, and unfortuately, almost everyone who sees his brother, Al would think that he was the Fullmetal Alchemist, since Al is covered in metal and Ed is just this short guy on the side.

Gongsun Ling Long - Qin's Moon



Gongsun Ling Long in Qin's Moon is rather a fat but she think of herself as this beautiful, sexy lady. When we first see her, she's covered in a mask, which made me people think she was a beauty, but, let's just say when she took off the mask, even the horses grunted. Of course, Tianming is very direct and he refers to Gongsun Ling Long as fat aunt, which pisses her off greatly whenever he calls her that.

Tadase - Shugo Chara



Tadase is usually seen as a very quiet and shy type of character, but as soon as you mention the word "Prince", he will go absolutely CRAZY and want to rule, take over the world! Of course, a mere prince isn't nearly enough. He needs to be the KING! Mwhahahhhaha! (Love these characters who want to take over!)

How Humor is Portrayed through Expressions in Anime/TV Series

I've been watching a lot of Anime and Wuxia, and I noticed that most Anime and Wuxia I love are ones filled with humor. Then, I started thinking. What makes these shows funny? Why do we find certain things funny? What exactly makes us laugh? I didn't really know the answer at first, so I decided to take a couple of scenes I thought were hilarious and deconstruct them, to find out exactly what I thought was funny. One of the things that distinctively stood out was expressions/voice.

I am aware there are many more ways to portray humor but this article will be just focusing on expressions and voice.

Humor through Expression and Voice



(Hilarious angry expression from One Piece)

One of the major ways to convey humor in both Anime and Wuxia is through expressions. In Anime, expressions may be an exaggerated face, or funny looking eyes and teeth that looks completely different from how they usually look. Their teeth may be huge and in zigzags and so on.

I think one of the main things that make us laugh is when something unexpected happens. That also applies to when someone says something unexpected. That also explains why we don't usually find something as funny (or we don't laugh as much) the second time. That's because we already know and was expecting it. Perhaps we find these expressions funny because we usually don't see them.

An equivalent of that in Wuxia would be when characters have funny voices, expressions on their faces and just act completely crazy or random. That can be perceived as really funny, especially if we're not used to a character acting this way. An example of that would be Jianchi in Xuan Yuan Sword. After his souls got removed, he turned into a crazy madman. Probably one of the funniest characters I've seen a long time, Jianchi's humor comes from his voice, facial expressions and madness.

Here's an example of that on an MV I made:



Sometimes, we may be expecting a character to say something, but the character says something completely the opposite (with a funny face), and if that manages to catch us off guard, we will probably find it very funny. Also, the other character's reaction can also play an important role in how funny the scene is. Sometimes, you can just tell naturally, that a reaction is funny. As you do when you tell a funny joke and you can tell how people felt with their reactions.

A great advantage of humor through expressions is that you don't need to have any prior knowledge, as jokes often reference something that requires knowledge beforehand. Watching funny expressions in Anime is like watching Mr Bean and laughing to his silliness - you don't even need to know English to get the humor. Although in Anime, you will need to know what they're saying, but at least you don't need to have knowledge about something beforehand to understand the joke.

Scene Analysis

I'm going to be analyzing a scene from Bleach, which you can watch here.

In the first scene, Ichigo was asking Urahara why didn't he tell the truth in a very serious tone. Then, Urahara unexpectedly said "exactly right", with "GUILTY happy" face! Then, Ichigo elbows him and says, "that just pisses me off". I thought the build up of comedy began with Urahara replied, then it got funnier when Ichigo reacted the way he did (with the angry face and saying it pisses me off in that tone).



Let's also look at the One Piece example. Sanji and Zoro are sleeping on the ground. They hear Nami calling them to wake up, and Sanji was being all flirty towards Zoro (asking for a kiss hahaha!), thinking it was Nami. Then the both of them wake up, and of course, Sanji was the first to call Zoro a bastard with a disgusting face that scared him half to death. Of course, Zoro returned that hilarious expression.

I'm a huge fan of funny expressions like that and I think what makes them so funny is that we weren't expecting them.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2 - That Sounds Wonderful

Continuing with the awesome Madoka Magica series, which I really love!

Madoka is still having dreams about everything and wakes up to find Kyubey! That makes me wonder, exactly what kind of animal is Kyubey? She almost looks like a fox and cat combined.

And seriously, this is like one of the cutest sights I've ever seen.



She's relaxing in... WAIT, HIM?!!!! Nooo! It's not a him, but a her, because Kyubey has a girl voice.

While they're at Mami's house talking more about the contract (by the way, she has a really nice looking house!), I actually thought Madoka said "Mommy", I was wondering. Where's her mother? HAHA! Damn, they always have delicious food making me crazy.

So they explain that Soul Gems are created when you make a contract with Kyubey and is the source of magic. That does look like a beautiful looking gem.



Since they skipped straight back to Madoka and her mother in the bathroom, it makes me wonder if the scene before was just a flashback or did it happen?

"Magical girls are born from wishes, witches are born from curses. Magical girls bring hope to the world. Witches bring despair." That's a really interesting quote. I think it may be more complicated than that, especially about the witches. Maybe this is one of those concepts that will really make people think.



Now they have me all curious about witches. I want to know how they came to be. It's interesting because I've seen quite a lot of show where witches are seen as good, rather than evil. That's why I am not sure if the witches here are really that evil as Kyubey makes them out to be. "Death is part of that deal". I'd be stressed too!

I have to say, the music and color of the scene (changing from yellow/gold) really gives the right mood! It brings a sense of mysteriousness.

I love how Kyubey now goes to school with Madoka and sits on her shoulder. They can even communicate in the mind!



What a great idea to communicate through the mind, so they don't look like an idiot when they speak to something invisible. That reminds me of shows where a character sees a ghost and is talking to her, and everyone else's got that "WTF" look, as if she's gone insane talking to herself. But I think even when you think to each other, you still act a bit strange.

LOL "Girls can't love girls!" Oh dear, I think she has the wrong idea... When the friend figured out they were talking through the mind.

Those desks at the school, for some reason, I thought they looked like a bunch of treadmill. I was wondering why they went in a room full of treadmills. Haha!



Right now, they're making Homura Akemi (the girl with long black hair) seem evil. But for some reason, I just don't think she is...

See that's an excellent point they brought up, that Akemi was trying to stop Kyubey from making a contract with Madoka, but if they're all fighting the same enemy, wouldn't it be good to have more? This is where I definitely think something's going on there. I feel that it's more complicated than just magical girls fighting each other.

It must be strange and awesome at the same time having a full blown convo in the mind. Especially when someone else is talking from another room.

AWWW, feeding Kyubey, SO ADORABLE! I'm gonna melt in cuteness.



It's really interesting too, I find, with Sayaka's hesitation of accepting. It makes me think she has some type of story!

I almost feel sorry for Homura, I just feel that she's trying to do the right thing.

OMFG I LOVE Madoka's costume ideas for the Magical Girl thing! I wanna see her in it. So they're off to a witch hunt to get some ideas of what it's like before they decide if they want to be Magical Girls. Things are starting to feel dark. Music is done so well, seriously! Whenever this music plays, it almost feels like this is a different show.

"I wonder, is she really a bad person?" - Madoka, about Homura. That's what I've been thinking.



I really love the way they transform into magical girls.

Now, we get to see some action! This world looks amazing, I love it's made up of such randomness (shows, scissors, random cotton heads with a mustache). That's what I call creativity! Okay, that witch... Looks quite disgusting!

That was a great fight! A grief seed (witch's egg) looks really interesting. I love all these items they have in the show. So the grief seed can restore the fight. That's the reward she was talking about!

I'm on Madoka's side on that one about wanting to be friends with Homura.

I definitely think Madoka's going to be making that wish soon because she loved the idea of saving people. Here, I end you with Madoka's adorable outfit!

A Blast from the Past: Digimon Tamers - Episode 1

Digimon is one of the first Anime I ever saw and truly loved for its story, character development and values. To this day, it's still a show I cherish and love, and I've decided to rekindle this love by rewatching Tamers, one of my favorite seasons.

Poor Calumon is being chased. I remember the first time I saw it, I was absolutely blown away by the cutness of this DIgimon! I still love him to death today, because of how little and adorable he is, and his voice fits so well.

Straight away, you can see something huge is happening with the huge Digimon chasing after Calumon and how he was blown away... To the REAL WORLD!



OMFG those Digimon cards that Takato is playing! I got ones exactly like that. I love how they were able to make Digimon card merchandise that looked exactly like the ones in the show! It would make you feel something awesome when you got them in your hands.

Oh dear, when those deck of cards all fall on the ground, that reminds me of when something just drops out of your hand and fly EVERYWHER! How embarrassing, especially in public! Oh, I see the blue card! THIS IS WHEN THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!



Takato scans the blue card in the device. Sometimes, things like this makes me wish Digimon was real! (Not the ones who wanna take over the world, of course!)

I have to say, I really love Takato's voice. It fits him so well! He has that softness in him.

Whoa, I'm feeling deja vu when Takato walks into his class and his teacher speaks. I think this was a coincidence but Mrs Asaji is voiced by Lara Jill Miller, who also did Kari Kamiya's voice. I know this has been brought up before but some people, including myself, wonder if she's Kari. I would say no, because she seems to be a bit more stern and serious, and Kari always seemed happier. But anyway, it's nice to feel those familiar feelings! It's kind of strange that she even looks a little like Kari! I think if she had more of Kari's personality, I would so think it's her.



I'm loving Takato's drawing of Guilmon!

It's so amazing that he references Agumon! Argh damn, I would hate it if my teacher crept up behind me and made a comment on my drawing! Haha, Takato was like... "It's a Digimon, don't you know anything!" That's so brilliant! Poor Takato.



ROFL Reddinofiremon! That would've been one kickass name used for the Digimon! Guilmon has to be one of the most clever names! It sounds cute!

We see Jeri for the first time here too. She has a cool looking puppet on her.

Now, there's an organization that I forgot the name of, who are investigating Digimon activity.

A little surprise is waiting for Takato when he gets back to his tree house! His card machine thing turned into a DIGIVICE!!!!! Looks like a storm is brewing up and poor Calumon is so sad! He wants to play!!!! I love this little guy!



Seeing the bakery reminds me of the awesome pictures I found of a real bakery in Japan that this was inspired from! I love how in Digimon, locations are based on real places. That makes me want to go there and stand in the bakery and dream of the show I love, and take plenty of pictures!

LOL the father "Hi son, what did you learn", I'd say that too! Who tells their parents what they learned at school?

When I hear Takato saying "it's not from this world" about the Digivice, I got a shiver up my spine! It was this thought-provoking! I wonder how I would react if this happened!

AWESOME, GUILMON IS GONNA COME ALIVE! (The digivice is scanning the information from Takato's drawing). Then, a digiegg appears in the Digivice. ("TAKATO!!!" - his mother yelling. I sure know how that feels)



It's amazing seeing Guilmon coming alive and Takato's dream of Rika and Renamon. I love her voice too, she has such an elegant voice!

A person in this world who owns a Digimon is called a Digimon Tamer. Takato is dreaming, but it's not just a dream I can tell you! I love the concept here that Digimon was a TV Show in their world, and for some reason, it was real.

It must be cool seeing your parents work on bread downstairs! Takato's looking outside from the balcony!



I love Calumon's innocence, he doesn't know what's going on at all!

As to be expected, Takato's friends would not believe him when he's trying to tell him about the Digimon. GUILMON'S DIGIEGG HATCHED!

Whoa, another hit of Dejavu. The lady reminds me of Yolei! Probably because of the voice and the way her hair is shaped with the glasses. She'll probably look different if she takes the glasses off.

OMFG TERRIERMON! I never knew Henry already had his Digimon in Episode 1. LOL Suzie calling him Hendwy. Though I would've really loved to see how the other two first got their Digimon!

Where are you Guilmon? It's funny from what we see of Guilmon so far, he almost looks evil! But we all know that's not the case as he's the most adorable thing ever! Takato arrives at a place and something's happening! I think it's going to be the birth of Guilmon!



OH MY GOD HIS VOICE! SO ADORABLE! He's damn well perfect I'll tell ya! He's sniffing like a little puppy. Seriously, he is adorable. I love Guilmon so freaking much. Oops, Guilmon just breathes fire. He looks at Takato in such a cute way. Damn, we'll have to wait till episode 2 to see how they interact. He's so playful and cute.

What Unmotivates you from Anime Blogging & Ways to Overcome It

A lack of motivation for the continuous effort of maintaining a website or Anime blogging can be the worst enemy! I'm going to talk about some of my personal experiences so they can help you! Firstly, I've composed a list of reasons that might be causes for demotivation.



Website Design looks Bad

This is a a major reason why I personally get unmotivated. When I think my own website sucks in terms of looks, I just don't feel like trying to add contents. It's like - why bother when it looks horrible? And weirdest thing is, we usually change our opinions over time. I've lost count how many times when I first make a design, I really love it, then over time, I gradually don't like it as much and sometimes, it may even end up looking horrible in my eyes. I've no idea how it happens or why, but when that happens, it's time to focus purely on your design. To fix this problem, I believe you need to find a good design you're happy with. If people are using wordpress and such, there are tonnes of good premium layouts out there. Some may be really cheap and others may even be free! Just keep looking. Many of the gaming templates look amazing and can be adjustable to fit your own scheme. For example, I'm currently using Gamefusion template and edited it to become my own.

Rude People - Disagreements and Critiques

This is something else that may be a big reason why people lose motivation. Hopefully, that won't come up often. Occasionally, let's say if you're happily writing and think your work is amazing, and suddenly, some rude asshole comes and says your site should go die in a hole, and immediately, you feel that rage and want to punch the living daylights out of that person!



That was an exaggeration there. But let's say if someone strongly disagreed with you and made you feel stupid, or was just plain rude about something that may have seemed obvious to them but not you. It may make you feel that you're just a crappy writer.

Let me tell you, this may be the hardest thing in the world, but DON'T GIVE UP! How? You may ask - I've lost the motivation, why bother? You can get it back by focusing on how to improve it even more. If the person has a point, try and see where they're coming from. Some critiques may sound immature, but on the long run, they may actually help you become better. It's completely normal for us to start out with mistakes and ideas that may not work with general people, but if we can improve, wouldn't that be better? And by improving, I do not mean change your opinions to fit them! Your opinions and ideas should forever be yours and you shouldn't change because of other people!

One thing I always do is imagine that, okay so we have 1 rude asshole who made a comment but there's still MANY people who read/visit my site and don't comment. How many times have we visited a site we loved, read their stuff thoroughly but didn't leave comments to say how great it was? Perhaps these people are the same. They do love your work and visit it but just don't say anything. It may just be, a rare few who really don't seem to like your work that are actively talking.

Lack of Visitors



If you feel that you're putting all your heart and soul into your Anime Blog and nobody visits (let's say you've installed statcounter to help you know exactly how many visitors you get), this is when I will say, give yourself some time! Don't read your stats for 6 months and see if you improve over a period of time. I use this anaology with losing weight. I think when you're trying to lose weight, you should weigh yourself the same time each day, perhaps not even every day, but once a week, to see if you lost weight. If you weigh yourself at 8am, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 10pm, 12pm (after you drank bottles of water, after you did a shit...) your weight will change. Sometimes, you probably thought you gained a few pounds when it's really because of that darned water. This works the same. Website stats change each day, you may get 300 hits today but 200 tomorrow and 600 the next day. But you should focus more on the overall stats over a period of time, not daily!

It's important to set yourself both short term and long term goals that are achievable (no million views per day blogs). Try and achieve that slowly. Look up information on how to improve blogs. Many websites have very useful information on how you can get more visitors like here and here.

Losing an existing Interest because you Picked Up Another!

This one happens to me all the time. I have so many interests that just shifts back and forward. I also have several websites that I crazily update for a period of time and desert the other ones. Say if you lost interest in blogging because you found a new interest, my suggestion is, don't force it! Do what you can, take it slow and try and find what may help bring your motivations back. Also, make sure you save up plenty of drafts during your hyper blogging mode so you can still slowly release articles during this time. If you are super motivated at one point in time, I do not suggest you hold back the writing. Give it all you've got, write until you can't write, because moments like this is very rare! If you don't use this wisely, you may not feel this way for some time. But writing is writing, don't post them all on your blog at one go! Save them as drafts and/or schedule them over the month so that an even amount of posts are made each day/week.

From my experience, you can't use force to bring a lost interest back, but they always do come back. The more you were once interested in this, may leave you with a 360 turn where you completely lose all motivation. If you have no idea why, or feel it's completely because you're totally obsessed with something else, then just wait it out and don't stress. Also, you can see if it's possible to combine them. Example - Say if you got into a new game and can hardly put it down, see if you can write about what you loved about it or summarize what you can.

Not enough Time!

Nooooo, time is of the essence and there's not enough of it! Not having enough time is painful! I know the feeling, especially when you really want to do it but can't, sometimes motivation vanishes like that. The best thing I can suggest is make time, at least 20 minutes for it each day, and believe me, if you can schedule your day well, you can always find 20 minutes! Also, use your time wisely. If there are times when you're waiting around, traveling or something, have a pen and paper with you to write down ideas. I do an hour of exercise on the treadmill each day and ALWAYS love using this time to think of more ideas. I hate it when I've got an idea and gotta walk downstairs to write it down though, so having paper/pen beside you would help!

Things in Life that May Cause you to Lose Motivation



Things in life often contributes to a loss of motivation, for example - depression, illness, grief, arguments, etc. Those things are unavoidable and I think when things like that happen, it's more important to solve your real life issues than to force motivation back. If something is making you depressed, find out what's the cause behind it. Once you can solve the core problem, you'll find that motivation will come back. I've had times when I've lost complete motivation because someone I love was ill, and that's alright. When that happens, go and focus on life and don't worry about the site. Tell your visitors that you need some time off. Spend time to recover because you need it!

Not enough Ideas for Blogging

You may lose motivation because you've no idea what to blog about. You have rattled your brain trying to come up with unique ideas but still can't. GO READ OTHER BLOGS! Especially blogs with unique content that can give you an ocean of ideas and imagination! Sometimes, just reading something random on someone else's website sparks up a new idea. You can totally look for those as inspiration! You can respond to one of the most, extend it or even make a spin off! Like, think of something new that relates in some ways!

If all things fail, you can always ask a friend for blogging topics! If they can't think of any, then google it up and see what you can find.

Also, get a twitter account and watch lots of Anime related twitter accounts. You can get lots of news/headline and information and may help you get ideas.

Conclusion

My conclusion is that yes, there are so many things that can force take your motivation away from your website you've spent so hard building. When that happens, the important thing is to find out exactly what's causing it. Sometimes, you may not be able to, and that's fine. It's alright to take a little break and come back, I've done that heaps of times. But when you are motivated, it is important to store up as much content you can and not stop releasing them. Whatever you do, keep blogging and do what you love to do!



Image Source: yamaguchihoshiko, theshadowfallen

Fascinating Similarites between Anime & Wuxia - Set Costumes [Mini Series]

Ever notice that in most Anime, characters have their trademark outfit which they wear throughout the entire series or most of the series? Let's look at a few examples:



(Nia - Gurren Lagann)

Usually, a costume may change at the beginning of a new arc or perhaps part 2 of a series, or when the character go through some kind of time skip. The major reason why I believe Anime characters have one set of clothes is because it defines who they are. Not because they don't wash it! With one costume, it makes characters stand out and easier to tell apart. Also, it can serve as a trademark.

This is exactly what it's like in Wuxia series! Characters are usually given about 3-4 costumes throughout the overall series.



(Xiao Xue's outfit in Xuan Yuan Sword)

Another example -



(Yu'er - Xuan Yuan Sword)

This was Yu'er's main outfit during the Kongtong Seal arc.

In some cases, Anime characters do get a change of wardrobe. For example in Bleach, Ichigo and the other characters often change clothes. Ichigo sometimes wears a soul reaper uniform and he also wears normal everyday clothes.



Characters go through about 3-4 wardrobe changes in every Wuxia Series. Usually, changes happen during a new arc.



(Yuwen Tuo - Xuan Yuan Sword)

One of the reasons why I believe Wuxia uses the same costumes is to define the character as well. In Xuan Yuan Sword's case, the same actor played both Yuwen Tuo (who had some evil traits) and Jianchi (a pure version of himself that had all his evil removed). He had different costumes for them, for us to identify with the character. We automatically know he's Yuwen Tuo when he has that hairstyle with the braids.

Some say that it's really easy to identify with the character in Anime if they remain familiar. It becomes rather iconic too. Let's take, say, Cowboy Bebop. Even if they're only silhouetted, you can STILL tell which main character it is.

Find the top recommendations of Wuxia and watch these series online.

Judging Impressions - What Makes a Good Anime?

After spending some time thinking about what exactly makes a good Anime, I did some research on the internet and thought about my own preferences, I came up with a list of important things that people are looking for when judging Anime.



Artwork/Graphics

People tend to be attracted to things that look good at first. This works well for first impressions and most people tend to first look at how appearances are than the quality of it inside! How many times have we gained interest of a series by just looking at its poster or cover? The saying "judging a book by its cover" is true, and a lot of us do it without even thinking. Just think about it. Have we ever liked a villain because he/she looked sexy or hot? Have we not liked a character as much because we thought they were ugly? Have we particularly liked a character because they look beautiful? Although not everyone judges like that, a fair amount will tell you they are attracted to a character because of the way they look. This is not wrong, because it's as if we're programmed to like things that look aesthetically pretty to us. This is similar to when we judge new Anime, we will look at how it looks. For anime, people are likely to judge on how good the artwork looks. For live action, people will probably look at how the main characters look. This is what I call, the initial excitement/glow, where we are draw to something we think looks good at first. This is not to say later on, we wouldn't get tired of it, because good looks fade over time. We're going to eventually be after something more. This brings us to the next point --

Story

The story of the Anime is crucial. Having good artwork/great looking people is not enough if we want to capture people's attention for a long time. Perhaps people may be draw by looks at first, but it won't be long before they'll be judging by the story. Story can also be broken down in parts:

Concept - Firstly, people may look at the concept of the plot and see if it's fitting got their taste. The concept is just the overall story idea. Some may feel particularly unique, others may seem more cliched. Concept gives people an idea what the entire story is going to be about. Series can do extremely well even if there are many cliched concepts, as long as there's something particularly unique that defines this series.

Evolution of plot/Pacing - Has things progressed and are moving forward or are they kind of stuck in one place? Is the show paced fast or slow? Here, we look at how much happens in each episode. A slower paced show may not work for people who wants things to happen quick, fast, instantly - with a lot of action. Not saying slower paced plots are bad, but people generally like to feel that things are happening and story is progressing. If an Anime is story driven, having pointless things in the series that don't contribute to the story would not be a good idea.

Depth/Values - This is an important trait for me personally. I know it also appeals to many. If a story talks about values and philosophy about life, love and what it means to be a hero, that automatically makes the show special. Shows that really touch on core values and the importance of one's action makes a huge impact on some. Those are what makes a series extremely memorable.

Understanding - Is the series easy to understand or is it extremely confusing? Of course, many people love very complex stories, but some people like myself find those hard to understand, and when the mind gives up trying to understand, we automatically lose a bit of interest. I think having a series told in a very easy to understand way is very important. This reminds me of when we read these textbooks we read - words are so long, proper and professional sounding, but in reality they're confusing as anything and I really just want to understand what they're talking about! As for series, people would definitely want to understand it. Spending a long time to comprehend its meaning may become a reluctance for some to continue watching.

Traditions - Series shouldn't be afraid to break traditions. Examples include: Relationships doesn't have to start at the end of a series. When a character in that position is always portrayed a certain way such as being mean, it's not wrong to make them nice for a change. All of those traditions could be challenged and broken, making the series seem more unique.

Characters

Characters is extremely important to judging a show. We all do it - we form an opinion about what we think of the main characters because they drive the plot.

Personality - Characters should not just be empty vases to look at. Characters who simply has a gorgeous look but no depth would not truly enter someone's heart, except for those who are just after some pleasure! Whiny and useless characters are a big no-no, unless they truly go through great development. Firstly, are there anything unique about the main characters? I stress main characters because that's the most focused on. In well developed characters, there's always a trait about them that defines this character and instantly makes them unique. In addition, characters should be three dimensional, with many sides of them. Sometimes, certain traits about characters may also annoy people, which can be a problem in hooking new watchers. Most people don't like it when a character is portrayed as an absolutely perfect and flawless. That to most audience, they may see this character as unrealistic in almost every way as nobody is capable of being this perfect, predictable, not interesting, one dimensional and so on. Perfect characters may also suffer development and change. Finally, all characters should get pretty equal amount of screen time and not have one completely overwhelm the others.

Development - We like seeing depth in characters, their past, conflicts and changes. Character development is extremely important - If a character begins a certain way, is her attitude explained well? This is important because we often don't like it when characters are mean just for the sake of it, but if it's explained that she is mean because of a horrifying experience of her childhood, that usually makes it understandable. Same with if a character is evil, we want to know why they're evil, how they came to it. If a character is always depressed, we also want to know why, especially if things around we see don't seem to be causing it. Not only that, development throughout the series is very important. Seeing them change throughout the series is really satisfying for many, especially in a positive way. Back stories are really important in developing characters.

Strength/Ability - Is this character strong or weak? In many series, females tend to be portrayed as weaker and needing men to finish their fights. This may automatically turn some people, especially females off, if they are looking for a kickass and independent female, they'll probably not be happy if the female character can't fight well and need to be protected.

Relatable - Audiences are likely to really love a character if there's something about them to connects to them personally, like an emotional attachment - whether it's their personality, beliefs or experiences. If one can relate to another, they would feel that they're no longer alone in the world, that someone is going through what they are. Connections like this usually makes a long impression on the person. However, this may be hard to achieve because everyone is different, with unique experiences, so no one character will ever relate to everyone.

Secondary Characters - If there are lots of secondary characters, they should have a purpose and not be forgotten after a while. If someone's wondering why on earth this character even exist, then it's a problem.

Genre

Is the genre portrayed well? If it's an action series, are there plenty of cool, awesome battles? People would be pretty WTFing if a comedy show is nothing but horror. That's a little extreme, but think about it: If there's two stories, one meant to be scary and one meant to be funny - but the script was done so badly you don't know which was meant to be funny or scary, then that's a huge problem. If people are expecting a certain genre, that genre should be written out well. For example, horror stories should be frightening. Comedies should be funny, romance stories should explore love in depth, adventure stories should have plenty of adventures and action and so forth. I also think it's not wrong to mix a few genres together, if they can fit. If done well, adventure, action, romance and comedy can go extremely well together.

The Anime can be completely filler driven and still be good and loved, if that's the way it's meant to be. But, don't give people the wrong impressions! That's the important part. If someone is expecting something, they probably won't be happy if it turns out very different.

Humor - An element that can be used for many genres. Funny scenes/comedy is something that can be implemented in almost any genre, except for horror and highly suspenseful stories. When something is humorous, it will help relax people and make them laugh. If humor is done well, it can be a big attraction. Remember when you took a lecture at college and those professors that bored the shit out of you cos they were talking on and on in a monotone and made you fall asleep? And then, there was the rare few that made their speech extremely funny, that an hour felt like 5 minutes and left you wanting more? This works exactly the same in shows. If done well and put in the appropriate places, comedy can be a major strength in people's judgement in shows.

Other Factors

There are many other factors that also contribute to how well a series does.

Music - Music should be used appropriately, so don't put a love song when someone's battling. Sad scenes should have sad music and so forth. Also, having good OST/background music is a bonus and will make people remember the show more.

Acting - Acting or voice acting can be important. Is the character's emotions portrayed well? If they are meant to be sad, are they sounding sad? Can they make you feel sad as well?

Fight Choreography - Fight scenes, if choreographed well, can be really exciting. Many people are looking for some good action, and seeing unique battle movies can really draw them in.

Color - Lots of colors matter, as many who love Anime enjoy its bright and shining colors. This goes the same with live action, having many colors just makes it happier to watch. I personally don't like it when TV Shows/Movies attempt to create a really blue/dark color scheme if the story isn't meant to be really dark and horrific. There's really no need for that and just darkens my mood. It may do the same to others as well.

Adaptation - If the Anime is an adaptation of a manga or novel, it should stay as true to the original as possible.

Filler - If an Anime has a story and people watch it for the story, having fillers will likely to turn people off, unless they are done extremely well, and not those fillers where an extra character is invented just for the purpose of fillers and almost the same thing happens in every episode.

Ending - For some people, a bad ending can ruin the entire series. Endings should be planned out carefully. That's not to say endings should be happy or sad, but it should serve the purpose of the show. Say, if a show is about learning a certain lesson - and this lesson comes with death, and if the Anime ended with death, that would serve its purpose. However, if the Anime is about one character working towards a goal for a very long time, they should achieve it in the end! Overly tragic endings where everybody dies is unnecessary and would probably enrage a lot of people, especially if the bad guys won and the good people had to die.

Opening/Ending Themes - Having a gripping opening with a really catchy song is likely to get people's attention!

The First Impression Matters!

First impressions matters so don't make the first 10 freaking episodes boring! Sorry, just had to get that out. Many people these days judge on the first episode. Heck, maybe even the first 10 minutes. It's always a problem if the first episodes start out slow or confusing. It would be even greater of a problem if the first season/s start with very poor graphics. Because some people can't look past the initial impression, I think it's crucial to make at least the first few episodes as interesting as possible. I will never understand why some companies produce one of the moat awesome shows ever, but give it a super slow start for the first 2-10 episodes. People generally aren't that patient, unless they were previously a fan of something similar. A long back story in the beginning of the series about the previous generation may also not do that well, especially if it's 2 episodes long in length, because those are usually trying to explain a tragedy that happened and overall has a very different feeling to the rest of the series. Filler episodes for the beginning of the series is a serious detriment. However, just because there's a strong start, that doesn't mean it should have a weak end. It should stay consistent as much as possible.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, everyone has their preferences, but most people tend to judge on animation, story and characters. Put care towards them, the anime should be good. That will never mean everyone's going to like it, but at least it can guarantee a big group of people.

Spoilers - How important are they to you?

When watching Anime or any show with heavy storylines, there's often one thing we think about - spoilers! I've met plenty of people with different thoughts on spoilers. Here are some in particular I've noticed about how people are with spoilers:



1) Love spoilers to a certain extent
2) Detest spoilers and finds that any spoiler will ruin the series
3) Don't really mind them
4) ME: WATCH THE WHOLE DARN ENDING BEFORE I WATCH THE BEGINNING, GET TOTALLY LOST AND... -- To the general public, try avoiding this, cos it does take away the excitement of watching the show!

Love spoilers to a certain extent

Those type of people usually enjoy a certain amount of spoilers, they will look up information sometimes and don't mind when someone spoils them. Perhaps, they would even read a spoiler website or detailed summary or skip a little ahead. Usually, these people are happy to know about what happened in the ending. To these people, spoiler actually gives them something to look forward to. Usually, people who enjoy spoilers are also those who are impatient to wait and find out for what happens in the story. That insanity of not knowing drives them to their early grave. So, in order to satisfy them, they must know some spoilers!

Detest spoilers and finds that any spoiler will ruin the series

Those people hate spoilers! Detest it with everything they've got. They will avoid reading anything that might potentially contain spoilers, because spoilers ruin the excitement of the story for them. To these people, spoilers truly mean spoilers - it will literally spoil the show. The whole point of watching a show or anything similar (book, movie, game) is to find out the information yourself. Those people will immediately tell you to stop if you start talking about spoilers. To these people, I feel that they watch the series and enjoy that mystery of not knowing and finding out at the appropriate times. These people usually are much more patient.

Don't really mind them

Some are in between, they don't like to be spoiled too much but don't mind knowing a tiny bit - no major spoilers though! For these people, they usually like to know who died in the series, but they don't want to know if something really unexpected or exciting happens.

The Conclusion

I believe spoilers are good or bad surprises in the series that we don't see coming. When we don't like being spoiled, it usually means that we'll get a much greater reaction if we don't know what will happen because sometimes, a good surprise makes us become overjoyed, excited and jumpy!

For people like me who has to watch the end before I even the series, well, that's just me and I'm a madwoman so people shouldn't take me seriously and don't try and do that cos it does get rid of a lot of excitement knowing what will happen. HECK, I'VE EVEN WATCHED A SHOW BACKWARDS because I wanted to know what happened. It truly is a unique experience. Also, I always like to know who will die in a show because dying is a bad surprise and I like to be prepared. Despite my madness with spoilers, believe it or not - there are times when I don't like to be spoiled!

However, I think it's rather cool and interesting how all of us have different feelings towards spoilers, some like it and others don't! I still think the good old spoiler tags are important.

Image Source: animeyourway

What are your reasons for Anime Blogging?

After reading a couple of posts on acerailgun and kaminarianimeit about blogging competition, as well as thepantlessanimeblogger's goal is to reach 1,000 Anime reviews. That had me thinking. Why do we start an Anime Blog? What are our goals and will competition help us or ruin us?

Reasons why people start Anime Blogs



I've seen many reasons why people start Anime Blogs. Some love it because they have a passion for writing and analyzing, they love to share their ideas and thoughts. Others start it to reach certain goals (perhaps they want to watch and review a certain amount of Anime.) But I believe all serious Anime Bloggers have one thing in common: We love Anime and we want to share our thoughts and ideas.

I started this blog because I really love a lot of Adventure/Fantasy Anime, and although I had two websites: ancientchinese and digimonspirit, I really didn't have a place where I can share ALL my thoughts about all my interest. These sites are limited to one specific type of show, and I was sick of leaving shows I loved out! I wouldn't call this a completely 100% Anime Blog, since I do include articles about Wuxia, Games and Music, which I also love. The main theme of this is "Adventure" because that's where my greatest area of interest is.

What are our Goals to Anime Blogging?



(Thepantlessanimeblogger's Goal - Write 1000 Anime Reviews)

Do we have a set goal for our website? As I mentioned, The Pantless Anime Blogger's goal is to write 1000 reviews. I think that's an excellent goal, because I believe achievable goals can really motivate us. Other goals I've seen are, "I would like a set amount of hits/views and comments".

My goal for this website is to share all of my favorite shows and help people discover new things they may not have known. To elaborate, I like to connect interesting similarities between different types of show (for example: Wuxia and Anime) and point out things they have in common. I want people who love Wuxia to check out the Anime I love, and for Anime fans to check out the Wuxia I love. My goal is to help people find more shows they can enjoy. Another goal I have is to make this place resourceful for others and myself. I like to remember and reflect, and want this to be my ultimate reflection room for when I want to go back and read things I enjoyed.

I think the important thing about setting goals is not to make them hard to achieve. The goals must be realistic and something to be worked towards.

Will competition help us or ruin us?

Competition - That evil thing where we're either a winner or loser. I hate that! If everyone thought that, then I believe competition will ruin us. It will create barriers between bloggers, make one hate another or view them as threats. This reminds me of the whole "Show 1 vs Show 2" fiasco where one has to be better than another. It just turns around and brings hate. WTF is the point?



(Legend of the Condor Heroes 2008)

Competition done the right way is when people see another website as motivation to help them improve. Perhaps seeing the frequency and content of another site makes you want to work harder on your own. It's friendly, it does not make one person feel stupid and inadequate. It does not mean you go around saying yours is better or you get pissed off if your site had 500 and they had 501. It's wanting to improve yourself because they are a great example. It's being able to treat them as friends, not threats. You're not freakingYang Kang stabbing a dagger into Guo Jing because he's jealous that Guo Jing is more powerful (or Sasuke at Naruto for the same reason). It's the friendly "puppy fight" between Chai Hu and Li Gexiao, or Kuwabara and Yusuke.

My point is, good competition is done with love, you're aiming to be improve yourself, and not being the best. I guess the biggest question is: Are you viewing your competitor as a friend or foe? If you're viewing them as a friend, it's good competition.