September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 29 "Do you need to ship something to really enjoy a movie/book/tv show/comic?"

I mean. Kind of...

Don't get me wrong, if it has a super interesting story line and great writing, I'm not gonna kick it to the curb, but I am definitely more interested if there is a love story I can follow.

What can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic.

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 28 "Does shipping come easily to you?"

yes...

SAO II: Episode 13

Ummmm, what, no, that cannot be okay. Rape?? Seriously dude? You couldn't have tried to win Asada over fair and square??! I think you should've tried. Although he did say that Death Gun is his brother, so maybe rape runs in the family, if so they should find a new hobby. Fo realz tho. I mean I know I should be reviewing the whole episode, but I feel like everything that happened was cancelled out after this ish.

Nerp. That ain't cool brah. Step the F off. I mean I guess that's a little difficult to say when homeboy is holding a syringe that will KILL YOU to your side, but still. Dude, get a hobby other than raping Asada.

It wouldn't make me feel calm at all to see this face. I always knew there was something off about him which one confirmed by my roommate. This boy gave me the heebie jeebies since like the second time I saw him. I gave him the benefit of the doubt the first time we met.

Oh yeah, in case you forgot. This is the face of true terror. I do not recommend staring at it longer than like 5 seconds. Seriously. 

Side note: what the hell Sinon?? He has a girlfriend. Well I guess you don't know that. But he does. And IMO, she's prettier than you. Not to hate on Sinon, I really like her. I'm just not a fan of girls that get to friendly with a taken man. 

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 27 "Is there a ship you’ve shipped for most of your life?"

Usagi x Mamoru: Sailor Moon

I've been shipping these two honey's every since I gained awareness of my surroundings. This is probably the first anime I remember watching, and I always loved these two crazy kids. So yes, I've shipped these two forever, and will continue to ship them forever. 

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 26 "Have you noticed a pattern in your shipping? Is there a romantic dynamic you’re more drawn to?"

I ship... best friends.

I ship enemies.

I ship polar opposites, mostly.

I ship fire and water. Light and dark.

I ship people who make each other change for the better.

I ship people whose personalities clash.

I ship people who fight each other.

I ship people who fight alongside each other.

I ship strength, but also strong people who show each other their weaknesses.

But overall, I ship tall and short. Short and short. Tall and tall.
___________________________________________________________________________

I do not discriminatebut...if there's any pattern, it's the one above. What can I say? There's just no topping badass opposites. My ideal pair kicks ass (probably kicks each other's ass) and falls in love along the way. They have supernatural powers, bleed a lot, have passed out in one another's arms at least once, and they most likely aren't cannon, at least not until the very end, and it's most likely due to their inability to see how perfect they are for each other...because they're simply too busy hating the other's guts and/or gunning down bad guys to notice what's right in front of them.
Yeah...*sighs dreamily into the distance* so what does that say about me? Eh, maybe I won't think about it too much.

Awesome Video Alert!

If you haven't watched Beyond the Boundary, you should. If you're undecided, then maybe this video will change your mind. Either way I love this dance. WATCH IT.

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 25 "Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs and graphics or similar?"

I mean not really.

I'm really not that active on the Tumblr, that's more of Ariel's scene, I just haven't gotten into it. And normally I get all my anime recommendations from friends or Ariel, so I typically go into all my anime's blind. And I'm cool with that.

So to answer this Q, negative, I have not.

In other news, Todd Haberkorn is NOT voicing Wilhelm in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel...*sigh*

Notice how there is no little check mark by NOT-Todd's name. That's because he is not Todd. Wait--shhhhh....

Do you hear that? It's the sound of my heart breaking.

Why Todd? Andi and I were looking forward to fighting over who gets to play Wilhelm and hear you shout random nonsense about awesome guns and loot and melting goons faces off. Now what? NOW WHAT, TODD??? WE HAVE TO REPICK AND RETHINK OUR ENTIRE CHARACTER SPECS, TODD! DID YOU EVEN CONSIDER THAT?

No. No, you did not.

Well, anyway. Here are the characters we have to look forward to, minus Claptrap: (side note- still psyched)



(Images)

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 24 "Do you mostly ship canon pairings?"

Yes, I've mentioned this several times actually. For me, it's easier to get behind two people who clearly have (1) chemistry and (2) visible proof that they work together as a couple. I like being able to geek out at all the moments that clearly demonstrate how crazy two characters are about each other. I like to go back and re-watch/reread the gross shippy moments that led to the realization that these two are perfect together...the blushes, obvious jealousy, longing side glances with one thinks the other isn't looking, and pretty much any moment that (if set to the right music) would make it its way into a good AMV.

Also, a lot of it has to do with great writing. If the characters are written well, if their personal development and individual story lines match up, it's almost guaranteed that I'm going to ship them. Actually, this last part is a big deal for me because even if two characters have great repartee, but they don't seem like the best fit in other departments (i.e. their life goals don't match up, they haven't finished going through their big character development) then I'm not going to want them to get together until their lives do match up. Clearly it's a delicate balance. And I take fictional relationships waaaay too seriously.

Whatever. Suck it. Great writing > Great Romance.

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 23 "Which of your ships deserve better writing?"

Don't hate me.

Asuna x Kirito Sword Art Online

I wouldn't say that the writing itself is bad, but I just don't like the way that Asuna's character has been written in the last two arcs. She started out as such a bad ass character, she was able to fight and could take care of herself. She could get herself out of anything, and I really loved that because I love when people write the women characters as OP. And also, I don't like that Kirito feels he has to hide so much from her in GGO because he thinks that's the only way to protect her. I guess it's really more of I think that they need to have personality changes than new writers... but I almost never hate the writing for any anime's that I like, if I did I wouldn't watch them, thus making me not as attached to the characters. So I guess I kind of answered this question wrong. But I thought that I would take this time to air my grievances. Froggy Out!

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 22, "Which of your ships have the best chemistry?"

I'm going to have to go with my tried and true, my go-to. Guys...it's Nalu again.

C'mon you guys. They aren't together and yet everyone knows they are so going to be together. Best friendship chemistry is the best type of relationship chemistry because they are totally in love, they will protect each other at all costs, and they can hang and can make each other laugh. I love it. They will never not be my answer.

Boom. Natsu x Lucy. Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

Andi's Fave Five: Anime Ships

So this week as a part of a new series I'm trying out, I'm gonna list my current fave five ships for y'all. These may or may not be cannon, but regardless, I love them, also, these are in no particular order. No regrets. Enjoy.

Kitamura x Minori from Toradora

Usagi x Mamoru from Sailor Moon

Natsu x Lucy from Fairy Tail

Haru x Elie from Rave Master

Katara x Zuko from Avatar

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 21 "Is there a ship you just don’t get, but have nothing against?"

How I Met Your Mother: Robin x Kevin

Nothing personal guys, I just don't see it. 

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 20, "Talk about a ship you feel alone in shipping."

Look...

it's truly a challenge for me to really relish in a ship without any of the relationshippy-cute build up. Typically, big ships have a following for a reason. They've got plenty of on screen chemistry and cute moments to keep their fans feed and happy and sleeping through the night. I need the cute moments. I thrive on them. They nourish my soul.

As a result, I habitually back popular ships and popular ships only. Although I admit, I'm probably missing out. 

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 19 "Have you ever shipped something despite yourself?"

The Future Diary: Yukiteru Amano x Yuno Gasai 

Between Yuki's bitch ass whiny-ness and Yuno superior creep tactics, I should be thoroughly annoyed by this couple. And I am. Josh Grelle is very good at playing whiny good for nothing guys, and Brina Palencia is a chameleon, trick can do anything with her voice. But no, I'm creeped the f out by Yuno Gasai and want her to stay far away from me. I don't understand why Yuki would just randomly grow to love a girl who started out stalking his every move. That's creepy. I also don't get why she likes him, he has no backbone, and dating a wimpy guy only takes you so far. Plus she was totally willing to kill him. So I should be against this couple because it just doesn't make sense. 

Key word being should. I don't know why but I really like these two together. I give up, I don't understand my life. 

Is Mamoru Too Old For Usagi?

This Saturday's episode of Sailor Moon was focused around Tuxedo Mask, and it leads me to the age old question, is Mamoru too old for Usagi???

In the original anime series that came out in the 90's I thought he was a little pedo, you know since he was in college and she was in junior high, but after reading the manga and watching Sailor Moon Crystal I have come to a new conclusion. NO HE IS NOT. 

BOOM! Homeboy's in high school. Soooo, under 18 and their relationship is not illegal. That's all I needed. Just for Mamoru to not go to jail if he accidentally grabbed a lil something... but now that I know he wouldn't it's all good. Well I mean it's not ideal, but he's not trolling the junior high schools tryna find a lady, they were destined to be together.  

Cardigan aside, he's not as old as he looks. 

Also, with the new art style all the girls look older anyways. So it's all good brah. 

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 18 "Talk about a moment which made you question an entire ship"

The Mindy Project, Danny x Mindy

Another question I don't have an anime pair for. Sorry.

(P.S. Shout out to those of you whose interests crossover like this. I don't know how many of us are actually out there who will binge watch both The Mindy Project and Fairy Tail in one sitting.)

Anyway, back to the ship. Mindy and Danny. Danny and Mindy. They've been so obvious from episode one. Some characters just have the chemistry right off the bat and Danny and Mindy were totally MADE to be endgame. I hate it.

Why? Because Danny is a jerkass jerkface.

He's always been the douchebag character. The kind you can tell was supposed to have a gradual change in heart (and character) over the span of the entire series. I get that. Usually, I even have a soft spot for the Jerkass character type. However, the moment I started doubting them together as a couple was in season two, in an episode entitled, "Danny C is My Personal Trainer." We get this amazing body positive episode wherein Mindy decides that she looks great even without a stick thin figure (not that there's anything wrong with that) and yet...still it's not enough until we get tack on the "validation" from Danny...right at the end.

The big soundbite we get is when he says, "You're a woman and that's good, look like a woman." UGGHHHH. Really? We couldn't just let her love her body because it's her body?

It's supposed to be super positive and reaffirming the beauty of all body types (Don't force yourself to look a certain way only be objectified. Don't lose weight just for some guy.) but all I could do was flash back to episode 1, "You know what would look really great? If you lost 10lbs." Who said that again? Oh, right. Danny

I realize this is kind of a weird moment to make you question a ship. I mean, it's supposed to be a moment where you realize he accepts all her flaws and thinks she's beautiful just as she is, etc. But that's not the case for me. All I see is how much he hasn't really changed, and except for this one instance, you don't see Danny being any less shallow or judgmental. So you see, I don't buy his character development, mostly because there hasn't been any. All that's changed is now he is aware of his feelings toward Mindy.

This ship is ruined for me.

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 17 "Talk about a pairing you’ve stopped shipping romantically."

Soul x Maka: Soul Eater

I'm sorry. But I said it from the beginning. These two just seem like really good friends to me. I never really saw them as people who liked each other. I mainly just saw them as really good friends who were growing into best friends. I think it's easy to just throw the romantic label on two people in an anime if they are a boy/girl friendship because everyone wants to believe in love, but it will forever be my opinion that these two love each other like friends, and nothing more. 

30 Questions We Have After The Latest Fairy Tail Chapter

1. Why won't people stop bringing up Freed's runes? It's super annoying. (YES, we all noticed the reason that Natsu and Gajeel couldn't get past them. Obviously)
2. Where the hell is Jellal?
3. Where the hell is Makarov?
4. Where's Gray's tattoo?
5. Where's Lucy's tattoo?
6. How is Juvia still alive? (didn't she intake the most poison?)
7. How come Acnologia wants to fight E.N.D.?
8. Wouldn't it be better just to let Acnologia do the dirty work and THEN take down Acnologia? 
9. Wouldn't that save time? Total 2-for-1 deal.
10. More, importantly, who's going to take down Mard Geer? I hate that smug, one emotion having bastard.
11. Are the dragon slayers reacting to Acnologia because their dragons are inside them (and the dragons themselves are reacting) or just because they are dragons slayers? If it's the former then...
12. How come Sting and Rogue went down? I mean...
13. Aren't their dragons dead?
14. Where's Grandeeny and Metalicana?
15. (Is Gajeel going to punch Metalicana in the face when he sees him?)
16. Are they going to fight Acnologia too? Speaking of which...
17. HOLY SHIT, IGNEEL???
18. Igneel, why did you choose to hide inside your son's tum for 14 years?
19. Really, why?
20. So could you see everything that Natsu did this entire time?
21. Do you ship Nalu too?
22. Is the reason Atlas Flame sensed Natsu's relation to you because you were literally inside Natsu? 
23. Natsu's definitely going to fight END, right? Igneel told him too, so...
24. Are people going to finally stop saying that Nastu is E.N.D.?
25. Is Igneel going to die? (I mean it seems like he's definitely gonna kick the bucket)
26. Does this mean that the whole the dragons-disappeared-in-X777 had nothing to do with Lucy's mom? Because I was kind of hoping the dragons' disappearance was going to have something to do with Lucy's mom. 
27. What's going on with Lucy's mom?
28. Am I to believe her death, which was conveniently at the same time of the dragon's disappearance, JUST a coincidence?
29. Are you telling me that all of this, that is everything that I've experienced over the past, like, six months, has occurred over a mere 10 minutes?
30. What the fuck is going to happen next?

good luck with that...

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 16 "Talk about a ship you initially disliked"

Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me, but...

Ouran High School Host Club, Tamaki Suoh x Haruhi Fujioka

My first go-round, I was solidly on board the Haruhi-Hikaru train, but here I sit, months and months later, and I finally get the appeal of the show's lead pairing.

I don't completely take it back, mind you. I still love me some Hikaru Hitachiin, but the real question is how did we completely overlook Ouran's true treasure? The hottest of the hot. That is...

Mori-senpai. Amirite, tho? Why didn't she end up with him?

What's On Andi's Playlist? Anime Edition

So here is a list of the next few anime's that I will be watching! Let us know if you've seen any of these or if you want to watch them! I'm super excited to start watching these!

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Mainly because this one looks so cute, I'm a sucker for cute animes. 

Black Butler

I have actually been wanting to watch this for a while, especially since it's ongoing, but I just keep getting distracted by other shows or things in my life. I think I've seriously started this show like two or three times already, I just have to make time to finish it, it'll happen. 

Naruto

Yes, I know, I'm way behind and should've watched this forever ago. But it's all good because I'm going to start it soon, maybe right now. 

A Certain Scientific Railgun

This one was recommended to me by Ariel, so that means I'll probably like it, because for some reason I always like all the anime she ever recommends to me. 

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

This is another one that I have tried to watch a couple of times but keep getting distracted, and then lost in what has happened. So once again I just need to sit down and finish this one, I really want to because Ariel was so kind as to spoil the ending for me, and I want to see it happen. 

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 15 "Have you ever “shipped at first sight”?"

Yeah bruh!

Luna x Artemis from Sailor Moon. They were made for each other! And no it's not just because they are both cats.

And Mirai x Akihito from Beyond the Boundary. They just look super cute together. Not to mention every good relationship stems from one person trying to kill the other! Okay maybe not... But they're still so cute together! 

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 14 "How do you feel about Will They/Won't They?"

I LOVE IT!
MOSTLY
USUALLY, I LOVE IT.

Okay, so ...I do like it, but mostly it's because sexual tension is fun and exciting and it's a great time while it's happening. However, my problem with this trope is that once the couple actually gets together it's almost always disappointing. Like, there is just no satisfying me. I know, no matter when or where this couple finally hooks up, I'm probably going to be unhappy with the results.

Because we all know the schtick, right?

1. Sexy dramatic tension
2. Do they hate each other? Do they love each other? 
3. Sexy, sexy, cute, cute, sexy, yada yada
4. They FINALLY get together 
5. The story loses a lot of it's dramatic tension
6. You realize the couple is cheesy and weird
7. Show becomes a lot harder to watch. 

And that's if the couple actually gets it together before the actually conclusion of the whole show. The other option of course is the simultaneous ending-hookup, which you might view as a bit of a cop-out but personally I find it to be (usually) the only palatable choice.

Another concern is that a will-they-won't-they runs the risk of having the story become heavily reliant on the romance. And you guys know how I feel about the show becoming all about the relationship (if you don't, you could say I see it unfavorably, to say the least). Of course, in a story intended for the romance genre, that's kind of the point, so I won't argue with you there. Overall, ships that blossom from a will they/won't they plot device, while they're fun to root for, typically won't be topping any of my OTP lists any time soon.

Will -they-won't they? Example: Nisekoi, Raku x Chitoge

(they're my favorite)

(also, I love her hair) 

September Shipping: Tumblr Challenge, Question 13 "Has a ship ever broken your heart?"

Yes!!! Haru x Elie: Rave Master

Words cannot describe the emotions that were swimming inside my person when I finally got to this part of Rave Master. There was so much build up to them finally saying I love you but I didn't want Elie to have to destroy Haru in order to save all of humanity. That tore me up inside, I was actually tearing, and that doesn't happen to me all that often, so that's sayin something. **SPOILER ALERT** I know they end up together but it was so heart breaking that not only did she have to use her magic to indirectly destroy Haru, but why did she have to lose her memory?? It did save her from probably the most intense heart break she would ever have experienced, but it just didn't seem fair that if Haru had actually died that she would have absolutely no memory of him. He was such an important part of her life, we got to watch them grow closer and closer together until they were forced to admit their love for each other by Musica and Julia, and I grew to love them so much. But then, in an instant, it was just gone. Etherion destroyed Haru, Elie, and my heart. It was fortunately mended in the final chapter when everyone went to visit Haru's grave one year later and he miraculously appeared exactly as he was the day that Elie had to blast him with Etherion, but I unfortunately couldn't make myself read the last chapter for like an hour after I read the heart breaking one, so I had to live with the pain for an hour before my soul was repaired, and that was not something I was prepared to live with. I think it came as even more of a shock to me because after all the hints that were given off I thought that Elie was going to be the one to die, and that would've wounded my soul too, but Haru's death took me by surprise, and I was really hoping that he would've been able to escape from Endless. I think in the back of my mind I knew it wouldn't happen, but I am forever hopeful whenever it comes to love. So yes, Haru and Elie broke my heart. They broke it real good. 

Sword Art Online II- Episode 11

After a lot of exposition, we are finally getting down to the meat of the arc, THANK THE LAWD! But seriously, most of the episodes up until about two Saturday's ago were still pleasant to watch, they just we're clearly setting up for the main event. And if they hadn't done proper set up I would still be bitching, but I really enjoy watching the main event, Kirito taking down Death Gun. We all know it's going to happen, but it just hasn't happened yet.

Despite Sinon's warranted break down in the cave, you know because Death Gun's accomplice was in her apartment damn near ready to kill her, which is allowed to happen, but I just loved how fearless her character was and I don't really tend to like when people take an otherwise badass female character, and turn her into a dainty girl, even if it's just for one hot minute.

Finally we're getting some screen time for Kirito's other friends, you know, the one's he left back in ALO so he could make himself some cold hard chedda defeating Death Gun. But yeah, I wish that they could've helped him, but Saguha did make a good point that he was fighting hard to protect them from someone who tormented them in SAO, and I agreed with her, but I still feel creeped out whenever she talks. Gives me the heebie jeebies.

Now, please enjoy these images that I have found and have garnished with my own commentary.

Here we are... chillin in a cave, not romantic at all. Seriously, I got a little nervous, not that I think Kirito would cheat on Asuna, but because he has a bad habit of being super smooth with the ladies, so I keep getting afraid that Sinon is going to fall in love with him. I wish he would just tell her he has Asuna, I mean it wouldn't make sense if he did, but he should. 

I'm actually pretty glad that Asuna finally started doing things, I hate that after the first arc she has kind of gone on a downward spiral of being super useless. She was super badass in SAO, but between ALO and GGO she has either been a damsel in distress or just useless because she didn't know what exactly was going on. I know that Kirito just wants to keep her safe, but I still think it would be pretty cool if she somehow helped him take down death gun. Also, creepy cousin go away. Just sayin. 

You know, I really liked that they made Sinon's character super strong and self assured and did not so much appreciate that she had to have this mental breakdown from the time that she shot that robber guy when she was young. It may be a difficult thing to get over, but I think that she could've found some other way to come to terms with her actions that did not involve a crying into Kirito's chest breakdown. Also, was staring at her ass crack really necessary?? I think not. But you did it anyways didn't you. You nasty pervert (oh Hikaru).

I'm so glad they finally figured out Death Gun's plan, I have been wracking my brain for weeks trying to hammer out the specifics, but honestly nothing came to mind! This explanation was so simple but didn't make me think "seriously guys??? THAT'S how he did it????" So bravo SAO, bravo. 

Overall: not a bad episode, not bad at all, 3.5 out of 5 Andi Buns. I am super excited for this Saturday's episode and you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be tuned in for SAO Saturday at 12:30! Luckily Crunchy Roll gives me a count down so I know exactly how many minutes are left until I can watch this show again :)

My Sketchbook: "Lucy Heartfilia" Process Post #2