Hi! I'm mostly a lurker here, but I've got some special goodies for everyone. Last Sunday, September 13, I attended a cosplay convention and I went as...

crossposted to talesoftheabyss & talesofcosplay

( COLOR COMBINATION WIN! )

The most evident tendency seen in the anime is the non-rationalistic way of thinking, which was evident in the recent episodes, particularly in the 15^th episode of the 2^nd season. The best example was when Lelouch’s partner, a girl named C.C.[i] had been seized by the Emperor. When she was in the process of getting harmed, Lelouch had repeatedly ordered the Emperor to stop what he was doing, even to the point of saying the following statement, “Stop it! She’s… She’s my…” and “It’s Lelouch. Your…” when the two of them met in a flashback scene when C.C. had asked who he was. The two statements about would really make the watcher of the series think about what Lelouch really meant by it. Is C.C. merely his partner, or is their relationship more than just that? In a highly-contextualized anime, it makes you wonder what he really meant. Nonetheless, it is always either up to the person’s imagination to think of what he meant, or if the person knows what he means, then you get the whole meaning of it.

            Because the anime depicts the location of Britannia in the North American continent, the next part will discuss about US-Japan foreign relations. Reischauer (1965) affirms the claim about US-Japan Relations: “Our relations with Japan have become that between equals. Fortunately, as equals we have found that we share enough common interests and ideals to be essentially partners rather than rivals.” (p. 328) Thayer (1988) agrees by saying, “World War II is over, but the American occupation of Japan still reverberates. That the United States chose to rebuild Japan rather than destroy it is the decision that still forms the basis of Japanese attitudes toward the United States. Japanese disparage the United States but are not troubled enough to change their dependency on that country.”  (p. 103) In other words, the two countries’ relations are that of allies. From the past to the present, their relationship has yet to be strained further by a trade dispute and both states regard themselves as equals, but never as rivals. In the case of the anime, it is the anti-thesis of what is going on in real life. The two countries are bitter rivals, the other wanting to dominate while the weaker state wants Britannia to go back to its country and never set foot on Japanese shores. Because of the latest episode, it seems that the two will now fight over territorial issues and the Order will do everything in its power to reclaim back Japan from Britannia.

            Code Geass is a nice show to watch, most especially if you’re into mecha, bishounen and a very interesting storyline, but if you just squint a bit, look for any hints that point to the sign of implications and take a pause to find it, you’ll find yourself watching the series again to look for more implications and realize how the anime is blatantly pointing out the tendencies to the viewers.

Note: This essay was written for a class of mine called JAPASOC (Japanese Society and Culture). Mind you, I was not particularly fond of the class because of circumstances beyond my control. For my final paper, I was to incorporate what I had learned in class in anything related to Japan, and in my case, I chose the anime Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch and uncovered the Japanese culture in the said anime.

Thesis Statement: Even if there are anti-theses, the implications are clear: no matter what anime you watch, the tendencies, the cultural aspect and the Japanese character, no matter if the character’s nationality is not Japanese, is present.

 

underlying implications of japanese culture in code geass

 

            The anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion brings wonder and amusement to its viewers because of the way it was portrayed. A fictional country called ‘The Holy Empire of Britannia’, situated in present-day America, invades Japan in an attempt to colonize it. When they have succeeded in doing so, Japan was later renamed ‘Area 11’ and all the Japanese are now called ‘Elevens’. When the series is compared to what is happening in real life, amusement would be the first reaction of the viewers, for it would seem that Code Geass is set in an alternate universe. Not only is it set in an alternative universe, but what is happening in the anime is the exact opposite of what is happening in real life. As for the characters, some of the characters are the anti-thesis of what a Japanese is supposed to be. Even if there are anti-theses, the implications are clear: no matter what anime you watch, the tendencies, the cultural aspect and the Japanese character, no matter if the character’s nationality is not Japanese, is present.

            When it comes to the characters’ attitudes, many could be noted and observed. As said by Singleton (1991) in The Spirit of Gambaru: “Exclusive group solidarity and commitment are part of the real (or hidden) curriculum of the educational process. The assumption is that commitment to exclusive groups is a necessary individual choice.” (p. 123) In the anime, groupism was first seen in the first episode of the first season when a group of Japanese banded together to fight for the same cause, which was to liberate Japan from the hands of Britannia. The small group failed in that attempt, but when Lelouch Lamperouge, the main character of the story, creates The Order of the Black Knights, the results of their rebellion are paying off. Not only were they successful in creating chaos, but they also managed to win the support of the people. This action is reaffirmed in the book of Lebra (1976): As Shintaro Ryu writes, the Japanese individual seems to feel really alive only when he is in a group. He wants to go wherever others do; even when he goes to the beach to swim, he avoids an uncrowded place but chooses a spot where people are practically on top of one another as if in a public bath. (p. 27) This is actually what had happened when the Order became much more successful in their missions, for it is the only time wherein everyone felt like their efforts are finally paying off. In the past, any attempt of theirs to regain back Japan always ended in failure, but now that they have a strong leader, they were now winning. In the recent episode of Season 2, groupism is seen through the recent move made by the remaining states that have not yet been colonized by Britannia by forming the United Federation of Nations, consisting of 47 nations, to rival the Holy Empire of Britannia. Countries having a common cause and banding together is truly a Japanese tendency.

             Two amusing implication found in the anime is the fact that those who ratified the Constitution of the United Federation of Nations are to renounce their military force forever. This is very much similar to present-day Japan, who had to renounce war as an instrument of foreign policy and had to rely on the US for their security. Another implication is that Japan is now referred to as the ‘United States of Japan’. It is probably because the origin of the Order of the Black Knights came from Japan that many view Japan as the counterpart of the US, most especially because the Order is now acting like the US, providing military support for the member states.

A group tendency that is not at all positive is also seen in the anime and the Elevens are at the receiving end of this suffering. Murakami (1991) stated the following: One feature appears to be prominent in virtually all bullying cases: classmates and playmates close their eyes to the victimization of one of their fellows. They pretend indifference unless they are victims of the injustice of violence themselves. (p. 196) There is a academy setting in the story, but this time, it is not the students who are getting bullied but the adult Elevens. In one of the earlier episodes of Code Geass, a vendor of hotdogs was bullied by a group of Britannian students just so they could show their superiority. Instead of retaliating, the Eleven simply tolerated it because he knew that if he resisted, he would lose his livelihood. He had no choice in the matter, and the only thing left to do is to endure it all.

A sense of propriety is also observed in the anime. Fukue (1991) stated this, “Rank consciousness permeated traditional Japanese society and exists today in interpersonal relations and in business organizations.” (p. 68) This tendency was observed by the Order when it came to ranking all their personnel on how their combat abilities, loyalty and the like have been faring, as well as the Britannian Army and the whole of the Empire. In the Empire’s case, all princes and princesses were ranked according to their mother’s status. Also, a special force of the Empire called Knight of Rounds had this setup as well, ranking the skills of the knights with one being the strongest while the twelfth knight being the least powerful. This is being observed in order to preserve the harmony of the group.

With regards to having absolute devotion towards the leader, Rohlen (1991) says this, The superior finds his authority strongly limited by the general expectation that he will look after the best interests of those who work below him, that he will be their guardian or patron. The subordinate, on the other hand, finds that he should be submissive because of inexperience and out of gratitude. (p. 24) In the Britannian side, all of the Emperor’s subordinates are loyal to him because they either fear him or they are doing this because they want to. This is one of the few tendencies seen in the anime that has an anti-thesis. While Lelouch does look out for his men, he does not hesitate to use them like a pawn in order to achieve his goals. In turn, some of his subordinates, particularly during season 2, were angry at him because he had abandoned them in the middle of a war. Only two of his subordinates had chosen to believe that he had other important reasons as to why he would suddenly abandon them and remained hopeful that they will be rescued by Lelouch in time. Fortunately, Lelouch had indeed rescued them just in time before they got executed and had redeemed himself to his men by proving to them that he was very much serious to get back to his plans of liberating Japan and defeating Britannia.

Earlier, I slept at 4:30 AM.

( Reasons why )
 </div>

Okay, so I was bored... and I decided to romanize a favorite song of mine. Minna, kyun kyun shiyou ne?! (ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ
From the videogame: 快盗天使ツインエンジェル (Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel)


Romanized by: peachy_cakes 

Lovely☆Angel!!
ラブリー☆えんじぇる!!
Ave;new Project: feat. Saori Sakura & Miyu Inoue


Let’s Go Fever Time! (A-Fua♪)
Lovely Angel✩(CHUCHU✩CHU!) WOW!
Ave;new Paradise! (CHUCHU✩CHU)
Come On!

Haruka kanata kimi ni koi no arashi o todokemasu☆(Go!)
Neratta mono! Takaramono wa nigaseruwake naishi♪

Aoi hikari tsutsumi komu yo koi no yaneraimasu
Doko made mo oikake LOCK ON! Enryo hairimasen♪

Tenshi ga sono yasashii hitomi mabata kisuru mae ni
Zenbu matomete itadaichaukara ne! (>_<) yeay☆

ANGEL TORNADO de WAKU WAKU ♪
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉkyun kyun
Kimi no HEART o nusumeru no ka na? Dakishimeraretara
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ hai hai!
Kono mama ubawarechau yo!

ANGEL ARROW de DOKIDOKI ♪
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉkyun kyun!
YuCHU☆ni sasete ne sono egao kimi o miagetara
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉhai hai!
Mabushisugite yappari suki deshita!! (>_<)
(kyun kyun kyun kyun) Yeay☆

Omoi wa haruka tooku kimi ni todoitara nagai no ni (GO!)
Ijiwaru na kamisama onegai!! Kono koi kanaete ♪

Sou ne! Kitto aoi sora ni kumo hitotsu mo nakute (WOW!)
Harere ya ka na kibun tomadou koto nakute tenmei matsu ♪

Ii kagen na koi no mahou yori ubaimasu yo!
Kono te de! Kimi no kokoro washizukami! (>_<) yeay ☆

ANGEL WINK de WAKUWAKU ♪
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉkyun kyun!
Itsumade tatte mo furi mukanai!! Hitomi o tojitemo
Senobisuru natte warau

ANGEL TOUCH de DOKIDOKI ♪
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉkyun kyun!
Yasashiku sotto dakiyosete mite (WOW) kagami ni utsutta
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉhai hai!
Kuchibiru wa zutto kimi dake no mono!! (>_<)

Let’s Go Fever Time! YEAH! (A-Fua♪)
Lovely Angel  (CHUCHU☆CHU!) WOW! (WA-I!!!)
Ave;new Paradise! (A-Fua♪)
(CHUCHU☆CHU) Come On!

Tenshi ga sono yasashii hitomi mabata kisuru mae ni
Zenbu matomete itadaichaukara ne! (>_<) yeay ☆

ANGEL TORNADO de WAKU WAKU ♪
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉkyun kyun!
Kimi no HEART o nusumeru no ka na? Dakishimeraretara
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉhai hai!
Kono mama ubawarechau yo!

ANGEL ARROW de DOKIDOKI ♪
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉkyun kyun!
YuCHU ☆ni sasete ne sono egao kimi o miagetara
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉhai hai!
Mabushisugite yappari suki deshita!! (>_<)
(kyun kyun kyun kyun) Yeay ☆

Lovely Angel! (ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉHaihai!
Ave;new Here We Go!
(CHUCHU☆CHU) (ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉkyunkyun
Ave;new Paradise! (ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉHaihai
(CHUCHU☆CHU) Come On Everybody DANCE!
WOW! (ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉKyunkyun (La-La-La-LaLa)
Ave;new Here We Go! Yeah!
(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉKyun kyun kyu kyun! X3
Let’s Go Fever Time! Yeay ☆

(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ Kanji and English translation to follow~

Mediafire:Download

Major thanks to my Japanese friend, Takafumi-san, for helping me read one kanji~ :3333

Preview pics for my cosplays before I write the whole thing:

PREVIEW:



Tear Grants



C.C.

Nation's name: Lietuvos Respublilka (Republic of Lithuania. Poland calls him "リト," which is "Liet.")
Capital: Vilnius
Language: Lithuanian
Birthday (Independence from Soviet Union): February 16th
National flower: Rue (personal note: its flower language is "regret")
Human name: Toris Laurinaitis
Height: Unknown
Age: 19 (appearance. The nation will celebrate the millennium in 2009)
-Exists as the eldest brother of the three Baltic states,
-Used to be a member of the Teutonic Knights, but established independence as the Kingdom of Lithuania after a rebellion against Christianity
-But was often pursued by German knights hoping to convert them into Christianity. (Note: Lithuania was the last pagan nation of Europe)
-After that, became a commonwealth with Poland and peacefully converted to Christianity.
-But was taken over by Russia after a fight over the annexation/partition of Poland.
-A good-natured person who likes to take care of people, and even though he has the Baltic attribute of being introverted, is the type who will take one into his heart when he gets used to that person.
-But, perhaps it is because of this sort of personality that he holds the infamous record of having the highest suicide rate of the world.
-Loves martial arts and literature. Also, his car is definitely a second-hand car. Is particular about taste, and is known to use many flavours of ketchup and mayonnaise in a day.
------------------
Ahh, sweet little Liet! Lithuania is a people-pleaser, and seemingly a bit of a doormat due to his unfortunate history with Russia. But Lithuania is quite a strong, loyal fellow! (And such a sweetie, ohmygod ;_;)
-----------------------
The translation above belongs to the Hetalia LiveJournal community, which is like Candyland to me. Visit it! http://community.livejournal.com/hetalia/

What should be the tagline for our S2T?
	When Love and Hate Collide
	An Angel's Sin
	Troublesomely in Love
	Dark and Bright
	Moonlight Love
	To Grow With Love
	A Handful of Love
	Lost in Love
	Lost in the Chamber of Love
	When Blue meets Purple
	Opposites Attract
	Darkness Over Day
	Hatin' But Lovin' You
	A Different Kind of Chemistry
	When Dark meets Light
	Darkness and Light collide
	Loving and Hating
	Past, Future, Present...?
	Maybe Blue and Violet
pollcode.com free polls

If you can't view it, go here instead: Take my poll!

http://poll.pollcode.com/RkdU

XD

Will you?

How to bruise a man's ego: beating his ass in fighting games.

Specifically, Dead or Alive 4 on Xbox 360. XD

Anyways, exactly last week, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to join him in a DoA 4 tournament. I agreed...

...until I found out that I was the only girl who joined the said event. O_O

Yeah, very creepy.

Anyways, we waited until 5PM or so to start, and, as usual, I'm the only girl in the area for tournaments. Reverse harem, yes?

XD

My friend was numbered 5. I was numbered 15.

First match, I got beaten up. I used Kokoro, since she's a big boobed lady. (earlier, I told my friend that I'll only be using big-boobed girls. Didn't go for Kasumi, because she's always being used and Ayane's breasts looked small in her ninja outfit. Kokoro is the way to go!!! :D)

Second match, everything looks interesting...

The tournament goes like this, by the way. Player 1 and 2 will have a match. If player 1 gets defeated, he will be replaced by player 3. Challenge the winner.

In my case, if I get beaten up, I'll be replaced by player 1.

Anyways, my second match...

... I won.

I won?

I WON?!

I WON!!!

Oh yeah. Sweet victory.

That continued on until player 3 or 4, then it was my turn again.

Then, I beat people up until player 5, who is my friend. XD

And yes, though at that time, I didn't want to sound so arrogant, I do think I have the right to say that it is nice being a girl.

If you get beaten by a guy, its okay. Guys will only say, "Ah, she's a girl. Girls aren't even supposed to play with consoles like Xbox 360. They should just stick to girl stuff."

HOWEVER

If a girl beats a guy...

The guy will go like, "OMFG!!! SHE BEAT ME?! HOW?!?! THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!!! I SHOULD HAVE OWNED HER!!! WHY?!?! IS THE CONTROLLER BROKEN?!"

I failed to mention another fact: I beat a guy, using Kokoro, with my health bar full.

HAH.

Where's your l33t DoA 4 skills now?

And yes, almost all the guys got pissed at me. They didn't show it, of course, but it was very much obvious, for it was evident in their facial expression that they didn't like it when a girl in a gothic outfit beat the crap out of them in DoA 4.

Ah, the joys of being a female in a machismo society~

Egoist Mode: OFF.

(cross-posted in my blogspot journal as well)

Sorry for not posting earlier.

I've been busy with school, and tomorrow will be the third week of classes.

Eleven weeks to go before the term ends.

So many things have happened, but I'll only elaborate on the first three days. This post can also be found in FC.

"First day:

First day was on May 23, and we only had three classes, which was English Research, Citizenship and Governance and Japanese Language 3. We had an early dismissal for the second class, so we all stayed in the amphitheater to watch the swarm of freshmen/frosh.

FYI: Frosh have a notorious reputation of sticking together, so 40 people walking in hallways = not good.

Let's just say this day went with no events...

Second day:

I wanted to kill someone because the first class that we have got dissolved! Only seven people were enrolled in that class, wtfudge! >___<

The whole day was spent lining up outside the Dean's Office to have the schedule changed. Thankfully, we got that damn schedule changed, except for demfae, who forgot her enrollment form at home.

Third day:

We lost the tag to claim our bags in the library, so we paid PHP 50 for it. @_@ The reading for Citizenship and Governance class was photocopied at 11:30, and we got the reading by 4:30... @__@

We didn't eat lunch, because we stayed at the library looking for the tag and getting the reading photocopied. The librarian looked like he wanted to eat me alive because the book was returned very late. @__@

At least demfae got her sched changed... XD

Still...

What an eventful start of classes... O_O"

Add to that that we've also met Judith's alter ego Azalea (as she calls herself now) because of stress. NKK duties are alright, except for Judith, whose stupid VP abandoned her.

All in all, I'm doing okay, I guess.

I need to rest a bit though. The stress is getting on to me. x___x

I'm back in LJ. :3

I'll be using this web log, as well as my tabulas.

Ciao.

Today, I told him how I feel...

He was shocked.

Too bad, I was rejected by him...

That's it. If I like someone, I'll keep my mouth shut and I'll never tell him how I feel.

That way, I won't get hurt...
Currently Feeling:

I can't believe it! Earlier, I had the guts to tell my crush that I like him then... BAM! I lost my courage! Wah... help me, please...

Donna's urging me to tell him during computer time, first period but I can't! I'm too scared! >.< Worst, his computer partner knew my secret but actually, I told him and he was dropping hints...

Nice... but good thing he didn't notice. My crush was having too much fun.

After that, I kept telling my crush that I was heartbroken until he told me to tell 'my crush' about my true feelings.

For god's sake, if boys weren't so clueless, alam na niya dapat yun no!

Time passed by and dismissal came... Donna urged me again but I couldn't... I'm too scared...

Help me... please...
Currently Feeling:

Darn, I'm an evil girl... I didn't go to mass... Too much homework...

Anyways, I just got home after that shooting... We'll be having a final one this Saturday... Damn it...

I took this quiz...

Argh, gumising nanaman ako ng maaga!!!!!!!!!! Bweset!!!!

We have another shooting in Ainslee's house. Footek...

Esther teased me about "raping" Carissa (she's playing Laura, I'm Adolfo) in the scenes. Damn it, no one dare tease me of being a lesbian or else I'll kill them all!

Ayoko na mag-shooting... I wanna sleep and rest.

Pero mas kawawa yung kabilang group... They can't leave early even if their role is finished... >.<

Wah... sayang... sana ka-group ko siya... T__T
Currently Feeling: sleepy

God damn!

I failed the Math LT by 1 damn point!!! Argh!!!!!!!!!! I HATE YOU, MR MATH TEACHER OF MINE!!

Bwiset...

Anyways, nothing good happened today. Guggles pissed me off and some kid tried to photocopy K-Zone's Guide to Comodo in Ragnarok Online...

Damn that kid... When I see him, I'll punch him in the face.

I mean, walang kwenta pinapaphotocopy niya tapos mga taong may kailangan, hindi makakagamit! BWISET!!! GO TO HELL!!!!!

Gawd, I need to calm down... Later na lang, I'm REALLY pissed off.
Currently Feeling: pissed

Walang magawa so I'll enumerate my boy buds, a.k.a. "Boylets Ko."

Boylet # 1 - Theo
Boylet # 2 - Carlos
Boylet # 3 - Alvin
Boylet # 4 - Ed
Boylet # 5 - Paul
Boylet # 6 - Virgil

I'm really bored kaya sorry na lang sa mga people na involved sa 'list' ko.
Currently Feeling: ditzy

I went to my classmate's house at 9 AM for a shooting in Filipino. Believe it or not, my role is a guy. Adolfo.

Oh, what the hell. So what? I just hope no one in class will tease me a lesbian.

Especially them... If they ever do that, I'll kick them in the you-know-where so they won't have any children in the future. EVER.

Anyways, when we got there, my male classmate was playing SIMS in her room. I asked him what time he got here and he replied, "7:30."

Wow, early bird nga... >.<

We waited for a while until Miren and Carissa came. Miren began to tell us about how hot the lead singer of Sponge Cola was.

Its a good thing ane knew him in person. ^_^ They're friends.

To kill some time, we all indulged in heavy gossips about everyone in class.

I learned so many gossips. Oh, my naive and perverted mind... >.<

During lunch, Tyron came and he joined us. ^_^

After lunch, we started shooting the chapter wherein Florante was tied in a tree. It was funny 'cause there were lots of bloopers. Tyron talaga...!

In the afternoon, at around 2, Alex and Steph came. Alex played Floresca while Steph became Flerida.

I won't elaborate more coz it was really boring. The only scene I did is during their play wherein "ang kasamaan ni Adolfo ay nalaman na!" GASP!

Whatever... It was weird coz Tyron was feeling ala-Samurai while I was feeling ala-Dynasty Warriors.


Anyways, what's done is done. Now for my message...

Yo, dude! Sorry I can't finish that damned chapter. I'm not feeling so angsty today... I'll try next week, okay? Its so damn hard to write angst fics... konti lang kasi romance/angst na maganda coupling eh... puro yaoi kasi!!! >.<
Currently Feeling: accomplished