Oh, we do love a good tag.

We also love a clear drafts list. That’s why I was so surprised to see this post still in my drafts from January. (Then again, it’s running theme for tag posts to be left in my drafts for a few months so I’m just sticking with my brand at this point.)

Regardless, I really love the Real Neat Blog Award. I’ve been nominated for it a few times now, but every time I get nominated, I also get some really unique questions that I just love answering.

This time around, I was nominated by Geeknabe. Nabe really does have an incredible blog. Every time I see it, I’m in awe at how beautiful it looks. Nabe actually coded it from scratch themselves, so I really want to emphasise the fact that you must check out their blog if you haven’t already. There’s some quality writing on there, waiting to be read! (And let’s not forget about the fact that they also coded a web app for players of Fire Emblem: Three Houses to use which is available there as well!)

Before I answer Nabe’s questions, I want to thank them for nominating me. It was an absolute pleasure to answer these questions. Some of them were genuinely really hard to answer, so thank you for also making me think these answers through!

Answering Geeknabe’s Questions

It’s going to be 2020 soon, so what’s YOUR No. 1 anime of the decade?

This is such a hard question, mostly because my exposure to anime in the past decade has been tremendous. I only started watching anime in 2012, after all – the vast majority of all the anime I have ever watched are from the 2010s. That being said, there are a number of shows I could nominate for this. I could nominate Love Live! and Your Lie in April for this due to the personal impact they had on me. I could nominate Kiznaiver, The Promised Neverland and Haikyuu! for just being the great shows they are.

However, I am going to say that my number one anime of the decade is JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and not simply because I have somewhat caught the bug for JoJo. Sure, it’s a mighty good show, but the impact that this show has had on the anime community over the past decade has been incredible. Although I can only appreciate what the show has done now that I’ve seen it for myself, it truly has managed to bring the entire anime community together in one way or another this past decade and I do think that that needs recognising.

JoJo isn’t my favourite anime of the decade by any means, but the societal impact really does make it stand out for Anime of the Decade.

What character (anime/manga/games, take your pick) has left the strongest impression on you?

Honestly, there’s quite a few characters in anime/manga and games that has left a strong impression, and they’ve all managed to leave such an impression in different ways. That being said, I’ll try and pick a character from each medium.

For anime, there’s a plethora of characters for me to choose from. Without a doubt, anime is my main medium. However, I will have to stick with a character who I’ve admired from the moment I watched the show – Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket. Tohru is such a lovely girl and I really do relate to her in more than one way. Similarly, I always try to make people happy and I tend to put other people before myself. The fact that Tohru is able to do this for so many different people with completely different personalities really does make me admire her. Fruits Basket itself has a lot of stories to take away and reflect on, the majority of which are told by Tohru herself. There really is no wonder why Tohru has left the strongest impression on me.

For manga, at least from 2019, I’d have to say Shishigaya Sakura from Beast Children. For those of you who aren’t aware, Beast Children is a very short rugby manga from Shounen Jump. Sakura is very similar to Hinata in Haikyuu!!. Neither of them are deemed to have the right physical appearence for their sports, but they practice every day and are so determined to prove people wrong. If I’m honest, I could have used this comparison if I had picked Ahiru no Sora‘s protagnoist, Sora, for my anime choice, but Beast Children is so short and Sakura’s optimism shines throughout. I absolutely love characters like this, even if they are somewhat cliché.

Game-wise, this turns a little challenging. I’ve been out of the gaming world for a long time and I’m only just returning. 2019 saw me playing a lot of League of Legends (or Teamfight Tactics, I should really say), but I also read the Ashe: Warmother comic. Ashe has always been one of my favourite League champions, but her backstory really did stick with me. I think both her and Ryuji from Persona 5, another game I only picked up last year, are the game characters that stick out for me personally, and I do think that these two are more similar than people might realise.

Who’s your waifu/husbando?

I really wish this was an easy question! With every show I watch, I seemingly fall in love with another character, after all. That being said, for my husbando choice, I really would have to stick with my ultimate favourites – Austria from Axis Powers: Hetalia or Kyouya Ootori from Ouran High School Host Club. I swear I don’t have a type.

Waifu-wise, I definitely have to go with someone like Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon or even Lisa Lisa from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency. There’s something about the strong, independent types that I just fall for…

What is your take on fans’ acclaimed Top 3 (Naruto/Bleach/One Piece)?

Oh, here we go. Honestly, I haven’t watched these three series (I don’t count the ~5 episodes of Bleach and the one episode of Naruto to be enough to judge the series as a whole), so I can’t exactly speak for the quality of the shows.

However, no one can dispute the impact these three franchises have had on the anime industry. Even today, thousands of people enjoy watching the adventures of Naruto, Ichigo and Luffy and thousands more are enjoying other series because of the success that these three had. I find it incredible to think about and I really do think I should watch at least one of them at one point. Quite frankly, as controversial as this point may be for some, I don’t think we will have another Big 3 like this again.

What advice do you have for new bloggers?

Advising the new generation of bloggers is something I still feel ill-qualified to do, as I never practice what I preach, but there is a lesson that I want to share with those who may be just starting out – don’t treat your blog like it’s your job.

This is exactly what I did come September last year. At the time, it was fine, as I was unemployed (excluding a six-week stint working at a pub) and it was propping my CV up somewhat. However, come February when I actually was working a full-time job, moving away from home again and settling in to a new city, it wasn’t okay. It was exhausting. It demotivated me just looking at a list of blog post ideas. It’s taken some time for me to realise this mistake and I’m glad I did, because now I can actually sit back down at my laptop after work and do the hobby that I love again without feeling stressed out about meeting my target number of views for the month. Ultimately, if you start a blog as a hobby, make sure it stays as your hobby. It shouldn’t become a chore.

I’m going to sneak some self-promotion in here, actually. Although not advice per-se, it does relate to the question. In December, I wrote some blogging confessions that new bloggers might find useful to read, especially as I talk about my experiences with blogging and the lessons I’ve learnt along the way. If you’re interested, feel free to read it here.

What anime would you recommend to your friends that have never seen a single episode in their life?

Realistically, if I was to recommend an anime to a friend who hadn’t seen anime before, it would probably be a movie. A lot of my friends are more familiar with animated movies than animated series, after all, plus I do believe that movies are a lot more newbie-friendly. Is that just me? Something like Boy and the Beast, or Howl’s Moving Castle, I think would be a good choice. Although they might not be as well known as anime movies such as Kimi no na wa., they both have stories that aren’t too complicated to follow – something which I think is crucial when first starting out.

If I had to choose a series, however, that would honestly depend on the friend. For the more action-oriented, probably something like My Hero Academia. For the more drama-oriented, perhaps something like Orange. Comedy? Saiki-kuso. I really should think about this a little bit more and make an Anime for All post about it – I haven’t done a ‘complete newbie’ edition, after all.

What’s your opinion on fanservice in anime?

This all depends on what you mean by ‘fanservice’. If it’s a subtle hint to things shown in the source material, brilliant. I love it when studios take into consider the source material of the series they are producing and take into consider the fans of that material.

However, if it’s the type of fanservice typically present in ecchi shows, for example – I’ll take a pass, thank you. I don’t need that extra panty shot just for the sake of it. It’s to be expected in ecchi and, honestly, I do believe that my resistance against this sort of fanservice has lessened in recent times, but don’t get me started on shows like Highschool of the Dead or Keijo!!!!!!!!. There is still a line when it comes to fanservice and they managed to cross it.

Nominating Other Bloggers

This is usually the hardest part of these award tags for me. That being said, as I’ve been on hiatus for a few months, I’m going to tag a few people who I have in mind to answer the questions below.

Of course, as I always say, you don’t have to participate! I just take these opportunities to tag you, show you off to others and to thank you for producing such great content. You guys deserve all the praise you get and, after being away for a couple of months, I have a lot of praise to give out!

Now, if you do want to participate, you gotta follow the rules!

  1. Display the logo
  2. Thank the blogger for the award
  3. Answer the questions from the one who nominated you.
  4. Nominate 7 to 10 bloggers.
  5. Ask them 7 questions.

And here are your seven questions!

  1. What was your favourite anime moment from 2019?
  2. A lot of people have spoken about their favourites from the previous decade, but what would be your worst anime?
  3. Have you been playing anything lately? If so, what would you recommend?
  4. What are your hopes for the anime industry in this new decade?
  5. Are you watching any seasonals at the moment? If so, what’s your favourite?
  6. Would you rather be in the world of Attack on Titan or the world of Sword Art Online?
  7. I know things are tough at the moment, so here’s a simple one – how are you?

And that brings us to the end of this Real Neat Blogger award! Thank you once again to Nabe for nominating me and I shall see you all again soon!

Until next time!

– Amelia x

Published by Tinselia

2 thoughts on “Somebody thinks I’m cool!: Real Neat Blogger Award”

  1. Aww thank your for the nomination! I have made a post about taking a break from this tag for a while though since I kinda feel it is time for a new tag to rise in it’s place.. as people I usually see are already at their 3rd or 4th round.

    This would be the sixth round for me I think? So instead I will answer you the questions here.
    I noticed you liked a recent pos of mine (the update one) that already answers your questions 3 and 7.
    Seasons I am watching would be not a lot, BNA and Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens.. are now part of my Saturday Morning Cartoon Program and BNA I like a lot more than the YGO one.

    Fruits Basket or Astra would probably be my anime pick for 2019 but there was nothing that I have seen that I absolutely was crazy about.

    As far as the worst anime of the last decade is hard. I know these are not the worst but Rolling Girls and Myriad Colours Phantom World both really let me down. The latter more than the first.. but the first bummed me out more. As far as the actual worst goes.. I’d go with Soul Eater NOT! That was just a horrible idea and I hated every minuted I saw of it.

    As far as where I’d want to live. Neither seems fantastic. I’d probably go with Sword Art.. I have very little money so In AoT I’d immediately die. But eating actual food.. I’d prefer over eating fake food. So if I could live “comfortably” in each world I’d probably go with Titan. I really REALLY dislike Kirito and should I survive and he is my saviour I’d really have a bad taste in my mouth. I kinda rather be eaten by giants than owning Kirito anything.

    As far as hopes and dreams for anime in the next decade goes.., No Game No Life returning. Dragon Ball returning, and to find something I’d fall in love with as much as Tengen Toppa. As far as the cultural changes I want is to come an end to these non controversial controversies.. like people not able to call a genre Moe or CGDCT less walking on eggshells and people just appreciating anime for the amazing medium it is rather than finding nitpicks with every single amazing product!

    Reply

    1. I totally understand about taking a break from this tag – I think a lot of people have done several rounds of it by this point. However, this was in my drafts since January so I thought it was only right to publish it!

      But thank you for taking the time to still answer the questions and sharing your thoughts!

      Reply

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