It’s the latest fad in the blogosphere, and so I knew I had to join in on the fun! It was a game created by the amazing Iso, and I got tagged by chikorita157 (thanks!). My answers to his questions are all after the jump! 

And just in case you haven’t heard about this game, here are the rules:

• Each person is supposed to follow the rule of fives.You are allowed to ask 5 questions, after which you can tag up to 5 bloggers by hyper-linking to their blog; 5 questions because it’s not too many to flood another blogger and occupy too much of his/her time, but yet a large enough number to ask your most important questions, and 5 bloggers to avoid spamming. Hence, prioritize your questions, and who you wish to ask!
• Those tagged are obliged to answer the questions in a blog post, and after which, they are entitled to create their own 5 questions and tag 5 other bloggers, so on and so fourth. You are allowed to tag the person that tagged you in the first place. Also, copy and paste this section on your blog so others can understand how the game goes.
• In the case where a blogger strongly refuses to answer a question, he/she must instead post a nice anime image, wallpaper or cosplay picture, et cetera in response to that question.
• To make things interesting, a blogger can include wildcards in his/her 5 questions by placing an asterisk, (*), after which those tagged are obliged to reveal something interesting about themselves that others did not previously know. There is no limit to the number of asterisks one can place (which means there can be up to 5 wildcard questions).
• Anyone can feel free to start the game; you don’t necessarily need someone to tag you. Just create your 5 questions and tag your 5 people of choice. However, the catch is that you must answer your own 5 questions as well.
• To potentially prevent an endless game, this round of games will end on the 8th September 2012, 12pm JST (GMT +9). After which, no more bloggers can tag others to answer their questions.

My Answers to Chikorita157′s Questions

1. Which anime from 2011 do you enjoy the most?

Last year had so many fantastic anime series! To see the ones I enjoyed most, you could just check out my top 10 list, but to sum it up again, my top two favourites were AnoHana and Mawaru Penguindrum. They’re both very different, but totally awesome in their own ways. I’m also happy to hear I’ll get to see more from both of them, as AnoHana has a film set for next summer and Penguindrum has Penguinbear in the works (not that I really know much at all about that, besides its name).

I can honestly make a really long list of my favourites from 2011, some more include: Chihayafuru, Natsume Yuujinchou San, Madoka Magica, Steins;Gate, Fate/Zero, Hanasaku Iroha, Haganai, Tiger & Bunny, Denpa Onna, Usagi Drop, Wandering Son, UN-GO, and Working’!!

I miss the anime of 2011 so much!! This year’s haven’t even been half as good…

2. Do you play video games? If so, what kind of games do you play? Also, what consoles do you currently own?

I do play quite a few video games. For the most part, I like games that are parts of the adventure type, like Zelda. I also for some reason, unknown to even me, love Kirby and own nearly all the games. I’m a big fan of Kingdom Hearts as well as any Pokemon Games (favourite being Pokemon Stadium), and I’ve recently been enjoying playing Assassin’s Creed. The consoles I currently own: N64 (the best!), PS1, Ps2, Ps3, xbox 360, Wii, and a Nintendo DS.

3. Do you currently study the Japanese Language? If so, what method did you take. If not, why?

Besides little phrases and words I pick up from anime (which will not help me at all), I’m not currently studying the language. I’d like to, but learning languages are really not my forte. I’ve been studying French for 13 years of my life, and apparently I’m still not bilingual enough to be employed at a bunch of places in my province. Fuck that.  Maybe I’ll pick up the language so that I can move out of Canada or something. #angst #angst #angst

4. What are your favourite Japanese singers and/or composers?

I’ll start with the obvious:

Yoko Kanno: Her works in composing anime are fantastic! She made Sakamichi no Apollon a worthwhile anime with its amazing soundtrack! I also liked her works in: Wolf’s Rain, Darker than BLACK, Cowboy Bebop, and Ghost in the Shell.

Joe Hisaishi: He composed nearly all of Miyazaki’s soundtracks, and they’ve all managed to capture the spirit of the film so well. Beautiful!

The less obvious:

Muratsu Ken: He’s only composed a few series series, but out of the series he did compose, I’ve loved them so much! Most of his music revolves around a piano, and is simple, but manages to pack a punch. The Kure-nai OST is pretty much my favourite soundtrack at the moment, and I’ve also really been enjoying his work on Natsuyuki Rendezvous.

Yukari Hashimoto (橋本由香利): The soundtracks she composed that I really liked are: Mawaru Penguindrum, Toradora, and Sankarea. She has a unique style that always feels so whimsical to me!

Etsuko Yakushimaru (やくしまるえつこ): the only actual singer on this list, and even at that, she has composed a bit on the side, is an illustrator, as well as the vocalist in a band, and a few other things. Though, I like her best for her solo work or collaborations with other musicians. she has sung the openings for Penguindrum, Arakawa Under the Bridge, and the ending for Denpa Onna. Fabulous!

5. How do you taste test shows you haven’t seen?

I usually try to watch at least three episodes in one go to get a feel of how the show is like. If I like it enough, I’ll then marathon the rest and if it interests me a bit less, I’ll try to slowly make my way through the series by watching episodes on a semi-regular basis. Unless I don’t watch an episode for a year, I probably won’t drop it.

My Questions

I suck at coming up with questions, but I did try! Anyway, my 5 tags are Yumeka, Inushinde, Chikorita157, Xana, and Feal87.

1. Which anime would you consider your guilty pleasure(s)?

If I had to choose some, I’d say: Lucky Star, Baka to Test, and Acchi Kocchi. I can acknowledge that none of them are anything truly outstanding, but they were so entertaining to watch, and that’s enough to keep me wanting to watch them again and again.

2. What is your least favourite anime? why?

Dance in the Vampire Bund and H20 ~Footprints in the Sand~. To understand why I didn’t like Vampire Bund, you can read my top ten reasons why it sucks because it most definitely does. The animation alone was just so ugly to look at. One of Shaft’s really off days. As for H20, it’s one of those series that still gets talked about today and some people genuinely like it, but it just pressed all the wrong buttons for me. It was painful to get through, and the beach episodes were some of the worst episodes ever created in any anime.

3. What was your first anime?

If we go way back to my childhood, it must have been Sailor Moon. Pokemon followed soon after, but Sailor Moon, if I can recall right, was the one that started airing before. I remember waking up at seven in the morning to be able to catch an episode! I still have a lot of the merchandise!

4. How often do you rewatch anime (if at all)? Are you rewatching something right now? If so, what?

At this point, I’m always rewatching at least one anime at a given time. At the moment, I’m rewatching: Toradora, Durarara, and Darker than BLACK. It’s just a fun thing I like to do on days where there aren’t that many new anime series to watch.

5. If you could adapt a live action show into an anime, which one would you choose? why?

I would probably choose Heroes, simply because it would probably be the most easiest to adapt into an anime. The show got pretty awful after season one, but the actual story is one that anime visits all the time. If some time was actually placed into making it, I’m sure it could be something worthwhile.