First off, sorry for the long silence! Summer vacation was so very relaxing that I’ve been lying around just watching television (anime marathons!), reading books and manga, going out with friends, watching movies at that brand new theater just 5 minutes away (which used to be 40 minutes), and learning how to cook omurices. Anyway, now that I’ve got my long overdue fill of vacationing and pure bliss of relaxation, it’s time that I get back to my blog, and this time, I’ll be talking about episode 6 of the drool-worthy series, Mysterious Girlfriend X.

Now there’s something you don’t see everyday. A Polaroid camera! Photography is my passion and hobby, so you can imagine that I was extremely glad to see a retro camera used in this episode. Today’s generation may not be familiar with this archaic camera, having been replaced by cellphone cameras, compact digital cameras, or DSLRs today, but there is a simple charm to this camera. First introduced in 1948, the Polaroid instant camera at the time was revolutionary, allowing one to compose, press the shutter button, and presto, you have a picture all developed and ready in less than a minute. For some people today (namely antique collectors, photography aficionados, or older generations), you’ll get the best of both worlds; the mysterious, tactile experience of analogue film with the ‘right now’ convenience of digital.

In episode 6 of Mysterious Girlfriend X, Urabe makes it a point not to force a smile, saying it’s pointless to fake a smile for a photo and instead going with her usual enigmatic expression. This is quite understandable, since it must feel like one is being forced into a certain look and may seem unnatural. In portrait photography there are four kinds of approaches, and this would be the constructionist approach when the photographer constructs an ambient idea around a portrait — happy family, romantic couple, or in this case, an endearing, charming girlfriend. This is the most common approach used in studios or general social photography.^[1] But Urabe has something different in mind for a pose later on after this shot…

After a tender moment of sharing their own feelings about their current relationship and Tsubaki’s former crush through the bond of drool, Urabe lets loose a sweet smile as seen in the first picture of this post. Tsubaki exclaims that was the look he’d been looking for, and begs her to let him take a photo of that fleeting moment. Urabe obliges, and just when Tsubaki presses the shutter button, Urabe pulls an akanbe (あかんべえ) pose, a Japanese facial gesture where she pulls down a lower eyelid and sticks out her tongue. This playful pose gives Tsubaki a unique photograph with which to treasure instead of the usual typical smiling pose, and it also shows that Urabe is happy and comfortable enough to share such an expression out of her normal enigmatic persona. This shot is taken through the candid approach inadvertently, but it’s still quite nice and cute in its own way compared to the constructionist approach and I prefer the natural candid approach.

Another interesting aspect to note and this time, we’ll go back to episode 1 of Mysterious Girlfriend X, where Tsubaki tears up his picture of his former crush to prove and declare his love for Urabe. The thing about an instant camera is that each and every one of the photographs taken with it is unique. There is only one copy of the photograph the moment it is instantly taken. So, while Tsubaki’s ripping the photograph may not seem significant today with online copies of digital photographs, it meant a lot more back then where you only have one copy of a photograph in existence to cherish.^[2]

Mysterious Girlfriend X has an old-fashioned feel to it, and I do think that the Polaroid instant camera serves to enhance and contribute to its story and atmosphere. Now I wish I had an instant camera to play around with…

1. Here’s a link for m0re reading on portrait photography and the other three approaches if you’re ever curious.
2. I’m actually not quite sure as to when the timeline is for this series, so I can’t confirm whether there were digital photographs or not then. This is all purely based on my assumptions which I would think is sometime between 1960-1980 roughly.

Although the blogosphere may be divided, I still have a dream. A dream that, though it be ephemeral amidst the throes of the ever-changing blogosphere, is one not to be taken lightly.

Even as we reminisce and clash through the eras of anime, I still have a dream.

Even as battle-hardened mechas blasts off against the hnnngh-inducing moe, I still have a dream.

Even as otaku and fujoshi show off their undying passions, I still have a dream.

Even as we confuse Nichibros for Nichijou (no? just me? ok then), I still have a dream.

The blogosphere divided? No, it’s not that. After all, we’re all united under one common theme: anime/manga. Rather, it’s that the stagnating blogging landscape need new voices to change the scene. And I bring one of these new voices.

The deaf’s voices have long been unheard, and as a deaf person, I have seen and overcome many challenges and obstacles. I dream of a world where I can help to bring a new bold perspective unlike none other, from a different outlook on life. Not only do I bring a new perspective from a world of silence, but I also bring quality insightful writing as well along with some various personal musings. If I have your consideration, vote, or support, I am very grateful and appreciate it very much.

And now Misha has something to say to you all:

That’s right, Misha has something to say! Oh wait, I’m Misha… Anyway, I’ll be mad if you don’t vote for Ephemeral Dreams!

Visit the blogs and vote here!

Apologies for not coming out with another post last week. The last days of college and preparations for my long-awaited (and needed!) summer vacation have been keeping me rather busy. Because I haven’t been able to watch or catch up with any anime at all the past week, I’ll instead share my musings on a staple event that every anime fan knows of: anime conventions.

Anime conventions are large gatherings of anime fans, hosted over a series of a few days at conventions. It is in these conventions where a great trove of treasure and knowledge lies for anime fans. Anime merchandise, guest speakers, idol events, video screenings, art galleries, game arcades. All together in one location for people to gather with one common love: anime. An experience not to be missed, any anime fan would surely have a big blast at these conventions, right? Well, that’s not quite so for me…

The first anime convention I attended was Fanime 2010 in San Jose, California during Memorial Day weekend. The anime club at my high school was preparing to go to this ani-con, and I decided to go with them. There was a feeling of tension and excitement in the vans as my fellow club members’ parents drove us to San Jose. We knew we were close when we began to see various groups of cosplayers walking on the sidewalks all in one general direction: toward to San Jose Convention Center.

I’ll spare you the full details of how my day went at the anime convention, but I ended up leaving way earlier than intended. No, it was not because that I didn’t have the physical endurance needed to stay there. Rather, it was the lack of accessibility that made me leave earlier than intended. As it turns out, there were various obstacles that popped up just from my deafness alone. The convention’s atmosphere was, of course, crowded and noisy, so this made it so very difficult for me to be able to hear and understand what was being spoken. There were no use in attending guest panels or workshops as the voices simply drifted through one ear and out the other with no coherence. Contests and ceremonies were held, but I could not, for the life of me, understand what the hosts were saying at all. At least the idol event was still very entertaining with Momoi Halko singing!

Utterly confused by the noisy atmosphere, I fled to the Art Gallery and Dealers’ Hall. There, I finally had the most freedom. I went through the booths unimpeded, admiring the various artists’ works until there were nothing else to view. Off to the Dealers’ Hall I go. Now it is here where my instinct as an anime fan rose up to an all-time level high. So much anime goods! With only $100 to spare for the Dealers’ Hall, I enjoyed myself browsing through the inventories for 2 full hours. In the end, I left the convention with 2 volumes of Mahou Sensei Negima, 1 volume of Chobits, a Haruhi Suzumiya artbook, a Kannagi artbook, and various other freebies & souvenirs. Not a bad haul, I suppose.

The same thing happened to me for another convention, Anime on Display, that I attended in San Francisco a year later as well, and once again, the most enjoyable aspect was the dealers’ hall. I really have to wonder if guest panels or contests are worth attending because they’re not so easily accessible for me. I could try requesting an interpreter, but somehow I think it would end up being more troublesome since there are so many events and it would be a big burden on the interpreter. The same applies for friends, since I really do not want to have to intrude on their own fun. So, the problem here is how can I fully enjoy the true experience of an anime convention when most of the events, panels, or workshops are nearly inaccessible to me?

Nothing I can do about it, I guess.

My experiences attending anime conventions so far have been generally okay, but to be honest, I’m already starting to get tired of not being able to understand the hosts or guest speakers. This year I’ve been thinking about going to Fanime 2012, but I’m not even sure if I’d like to experience the same disappointment all over again despite the huge treasure trove of anime goods. I have no clear-cut solution for this inaccessibility problem, but I suppose it can’t be helped; I’ll manage somehow. Plus, I still have yet to meet any other deaf anime fans, so I can’t exactly compare or relate to anyone else.

For those of you who have attended conventions, I’m very curious to know: what has been the most enjoyable aspect for you attending an anime convention? And was it well worth it?

P.S. Anyone going to Fanime 2012? Now could be the best chance to convince me and you just might be able to meet with me there…

P.P.S. Don’t forget to check out my next opponent, Reverse Thieves, in my second round Aniblog Tourney match on May 3rd!

Well, this is rather embarrassing. Last night, I let AceRailgun write a smackdown post against me because it’s always nice to have a little fun and challenge in the Aniblog Tourney.

@draggle_kun @EphemeralYume If Ephe gives me permitting I will request your assistance in writing the best smackdown post to ever.—
  (@AceRailgun) April 18, 2012

And now, he is currently in the hospital having been hit by a car (no joke). This leaves me in a very embarrassing bind, because I planned to write a retaliation post once his smackdown post came out. Of course, the smackdown post came right after I fell asleep, so I didn’t have the chance to read it until now this morning and come up with a counter post.

So what does this mean for me? For now, I’ll let his smackdown post be, and I won’t be writing a counter post. I’m not sure how this will affect our Aniblog Tourney match, but I will not ask for nor give votes away. I shall leave it all up to the voters to decide on the better blog from here on.

Really, this is a tough bind you’ve left me in, AceRailgun. And I wish you all the best and hope you’re okay!

EDIT: AceRailgun is all okay, and is back blogging. That said, he decided to take down his smackdown post since it just didn’t fit his style. It was still a fun smackdown post though, and I even enjoyed it.

Don't dwell too much into the meaning of this picture...

First off, welcome! My Aniblog Tourney match against AceRailgun has arrived, and you can vote here. For those of you new-comers, you’re in luck as I just happen to have a compilation post all ready for you! Have a look at it, and do check out this post if you’re curious as to what I have to say about the Aniblog Tourney and my opponents. In the meantime, I’ll be talking about one of my top favorite yuri manga seeing as there’s not enough yuri here in these waters considering that I’m a huge fan of yuri. (i-i-it’s not like I want to rally up all the yuri fans’ votes or anything like that…)

From one of my top favorite yuri mangaka, Kazuma Kowo, we have her best known work, Pure Water Adolescence. Set in a high school (much like all other yuri works), we follow a mature, sexy school nurse, Matsumoto, and a young, pure-hearted high school student, Nanao. In addition to the main storyline, there are also some cute short side-stories with revolving around Nanao’s classmates as well, one of whom has an unrequited love and another in the throes of jealousy. However, we’ll be focusing on Matsumoto and Nanao’s relationship here.

Nanao is secretly in love with Matsumoto, and in the beginning, she responds to Matsumoto in a tsundere fashion. Soon, they starts to get involved in a secret relationship as they are teacher and student, and Matsumoto find herself starting to worrying and rationalizing about their relationship given the large difference in age and experience. This manga is fraught with internal conflicts and small sweet victories throughout the course of their relationship, but in the end, it was well worth it for a happy ending.

What makes this cute yuri manga so appealing to me is that of the sweet interactions of this age-gap student-teacher couple, with Nanao striving to become an adult to catch up with Matsumoto. Kazuma weaves a tender, pure-hearted story around these two very different partners, and yet the age difference doesn’t seem to detract from the story at all. On the contrary, this self-consciousness of the age gap bring the two closer together emotionally with a stronger bond.

It is perfectly natural that a younger teenager would want to grow up to be an adult quickly so that she can stand with her adult partner evenly. But, on the other hand, the adult partner would want to maintain her composure and maturity, having the most experience in their relationship with the thought of needing to lead her younger partner. This disparity in feelings and experience is the main conflict here in the manga, and it’s told in a great way that makes this manga one of my top favorite yuri manga.

The art style is strikingly distinct, which I love very much. As for the characters, they really are so cute in their own way, with Matsumoto suppressing her adult love for the sake of pure-hearted Nanao. One main caveat I have with this manga is that it’s just too short with only 1 volume. I really would have liked to see more of Matsumoto x Nanao, if only because of the cute interactions!

Like most people, I once dreamt of becoming an astronaut. The prospect of blasting off into space to go boldly where  no man have ever gone before is thrilling and a magnificent worthy goal, to say the least. Space Brothers offers a fun and realistic look into the trials undertaken by aspiring astronauts, and at the end of the trials, the dream would be realized by only a select few.

Unfortunately for me, that dream was crushed so easily and quickly by a single remark from a hearing childhood friend,

How are you going to be able to talk with other people in space?

- childhood friend

My dream, having only survived a mere two months in elementary school, has been smothered ever since then, but I’ve still continued to yearn for the opportunity to at least journey to outer space. However, the harsh reality of being a deaf person is that there will be limitations to what we can achieve, and becoming an astronaut is beyond our limitations. There is still an opportunity to, at least, travel to space as a passenger, which was actually nearly achieved by a fellow deaf person by the name of Eric Shear. He was in a voting competition (closed) with the prize being the chance to experience a spaceflight. But he recently lost to another person who, strangely enough, had fewer votes than him. There are so many thoughts I have about this, but I’ll not bore you with my admittedly dark opinions. But this does serves as a reminder that we still have much to overcome and go further before beginning to realize the dream of going into outer space.

But for Nanba Mutta, this dream was revitalized after being fired from his automobile company. Now emboldened by his sibling rivalry with his younger astronaut brother, Nanba Hibito, Mutta is making an effort to beat his younger brother to reach the moon and Mars^[1]. And so, he is taking the astronaut exams at JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploratory Agency), successfully maneuvering himself to the second exam with 44 other candidates out of 1,225 applicants. Out of these 1,225 applicants, only two or three applicants would be accepted, meaning that a first-time applicant would only have 0.16~0.24% success rate of being accepted. Against such astronomical odds, the road to being an astronaut is a long and tough one! But of course, this serves to explain why a career as an astronaut is well-respected enough worth pursuing.

Astronauts are admired for many reasons. They get to experience the thrills and wonders of spaceflight. They are well-educated and experienced enough to be able to operate and maintain a spaceflight within the deep vacuum of outer space. They also must be very careful and observational of their environment to ensure that everything goes smoothly enough and to prevent major disasters, like Apollo 13, Challenger, Columbia, etc. This is a viable quality necessary and well worth testing for, as seen in the second exam interviews when one of the screws on the interviewee’s chair is deliberately loosened in episode 2. Attention to detail is key, and only three applicants noticed this out-of-place detail, Mutta, Ito Serika, and Makabe Kenji^[2]. Just from this foreshadow, it’s quite obvious that these applicants will become astronauts, but remember, it’s the journey that counts, not the end destination!

Perhaps the reason why I enjoy Space Brothers so much is because it affords me the opportunity to see the trials of an aspiring astronaut and to foster a sense of hope for my short-lived childhood dream. For me, it is a poignant reminder to keep working hard and to reach for your dreams. Well, there’s no use lamenting about being unable to fulfill this childhood dream of mine after all these years, so all I can do now is to at least keep dreaming of a day when I can finally launch into space.

1. I can relate to Mutta about needing to be ahead of his younger brother, as I’ve also been one step ahead of my younger brother. Such is the role of the eldest son in the family!
2. I just want to say that I think Mutta and Serika are so cute together!

The day after Ephemeral Dreams‘s birthday, a bracket was released. This bracket, the object of a great many affections and fears, will bring back together several anime blogs to compete in a prestigious tourney. That’s right, it’s the 2nd Aniblog Tourney bracket! Two years ago, psgels from Star Crossed Anime Blog overwhelmed the competition, continuing on to become the champion of the 1st Aniblog Tourney. In this new improved tourney, we now have new additions and some noticeable absences of previous competitors. And I shall be one of those new participants. Here in this post, you’ll not find any trash talking, but you’ll certainly see some commentaries, teasing banter, and a bit of a personal momentary conflict on my part.

The Aniblog Tourney is a tournament pitting several anime blogs against each other with the sole express purpose of encouraging higher exposure and readership for anime blogs. What counts in this tournament is not up to the bloggers themselves, but rather, the readers who will decide which blog appeals to them the most in terms of quality (not quantity!). There is no prize here, but the benefits from just participating in this tourney are great and well worth it.

Now before I give my own opinions and whimsical predictions for the AniBlog Tourney, I must ask that you, dear readers, at least visit both competing blogs in each round to read through their posts and then decide on your vote. And to the bloggers whom I speak of, I do hope that you won’t mind my opinions and criticism of your own blogs. After all, one of the tourney’s purposes is to allow for criticism and advice on improving your blogs. With that said, let’s get down to it!

In my first battle in group 8 of Green Bracket, my designated target will be Ace Railgun from AceRailgun, a blog of the same generation as mine. This blog deals with episodics and some occasional commentaries about blogging. Although there are some minor sentence structure and punctuation errors in his posts (nothing to worry about with a little proofreading), they are extremely short and straight to the point, which is one of his greatest points. Direct and quick opinions for readers. Another thing he got going for himself is that he has his own site mascot. I don’t have a mascot for my blog, but surely, every blogger must dream of having his/her own ideal site mascot, no? Although younger by 6 months, he does have some potential for growth. AceRailgun, I look forward to seeing your best shot!

Should I beat AceRailgun, my next opponent up for investigation would be Reverse Thieves, a unique detective-themed team blog with two bloggers, Narutaki and Hisui. At first glance, they have a great streamlined theme with a variety of posts and podcasts that covers anime, manga, conventions, and news. While I cannot comment about their podcast since it’s fruitless for me to listen being deaf, I can at least say that their posts are more along the lines of news, information, and reviews. That is not to say that it’s not all raw information; this niche blog has a unique dual style of writing that makes the content quite interesting, though I do wish they’d interact with each other more in these posts. To be perfectly honest, I do believe that this blog will probably be much more of a challenge for me or AceRailgun should he beat and shoot me down in our first match.

On a different interesting note, I’ve actually won a holiday giveaway contest on their blog before. As much as I absolutely love all these great anime merchandise, don’t just expect me to let you slide on through, ok? Well… I could hold back out of gratitude and courtesy… Hmm, never mind. Narutaki and Hisui, I’ll not take my chances and instead go all out and dig up any dirt to use against you! (I jest, of course)

This is everything that I won from the holiday contest from Reverse Thieves. ^_^ http://t.co/14QBMrF8—
Ephemeral Dreamer (@EphemeralYume) January 13, 2012

The Aniblog Tourney II will certainly be a sight to behold, with several prominent veteran bloggers returning and new rising stars participating for the first time. My most optimistic prediction about my performance is seeing myself advancing to the third or fourth round before being knocked out. As to who the champion of the Aniblog Tourney II will be, I honestly have no idea who it will be since the competition will be fierce and widely varied, though I’m fairly certain that psgels has the best chance of becoming the champion once again. And as a warning and cautious note, there will most certainly be drama again in this competition, so do please be careful of the effects and consequences.

For now, take your time and visit all these blogs, and who knows? You just might find some new favorites out there. The tourney will begin on April 15th with my match set for April 17th, so until then, go visit the blogs!

Today, April 2nd, is the first anniversary of Ephemeral Dreams‘s birth! On this special occasion, I have chosen 10, in my humble opinion, note-worthy and memorable posts for you to peruse. These posts have been the ones that I’ve had the most fun writing, not to mention the great positive and warm reception of these posts. So, will you join me on a journey through Ephemeral Dreams?

Chi (土), Ka (火), Fuu (風), Sui (水), and Kuu (空) in Cowboy Bebop

My very first editorial post, this post explores the theme of Japanese classical elements in Cowboy Bebop, an old well-known classic anime series. This was one of the most fun posts I wrote very early on in my blogging career, and the responses have been well-received even if there were few of them early in my blogging career. As a matter of fact, the administrator of The Cowboy Bebop Attic contacted me to ask about including this post amongst the hosted essays! Well worth reading, I’d say.

Mawaru Penguindrum 12 ~ Mary Had a Little Lamb

This episodic post is from a time when I decided to try out my hand in episodic posts, experimenting with several different blogging formats. Although I’ve stopped doing episodics and moved toward to editorial posts largely now, it was a nice experience for me to see the hard work and stamina needed to keep up these kind of posts. As for Mawaru Penguindrum, sadly, I started blogging this series quite late, and I could not keep up the pace with only 7 episodes blogged. Of course, Mawaru Penguindrum is a difficult series to blog, but even so I still enjoyed it. So, do enjoy this post which gave me my first taste of shockingly large views for the first time in my blog.

Twelve Days of X’mas

Now who could ever forget this fun “Twelve Days of Christmas” ani-blogging project? This series of twelve posts looks back at the twelve top most memorable anime-related events of the year, 2011. A large project involving several other bloggers, I’ve enjoyed this quite a bit and hope you’ll enjoy these merry festive posts!

Aoi Hana ~ An Adorable, Sweet Yuri Story!

If you didn’t get the SonoHana Christmas reference by now, then you’ll know that I’m also a huge fan of yuri as well! To whet my appetite for yuri on my blog, here we have a review post of Aoi Hana, one of the sweetest and gentlest anime series I’ve ever seen. If you’d like to know my thoughts on this yurilicious lovely series, do check out this review.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée ~ A Tale of a Fragrant Flower in a Garden of Iron & Glass

Another one of my well-received reviews, Ikoku Meiro no Croisée is a lovely series that see the French and Japanese cultures clash together. I’ve truly enjoyed this series very much , if only because of the adorable relationship between Alice and Yune-chan. And of course, I had a great fun time composing and writing this review post.

Uzumaki ~ A Mesmerizing World of Spirals

My first manga-centric post, this review post explores the Lovecraftian horror elements of the fascinating manga, Uzumaki by Ito Junji. A dizzying manga, this will haunt you with images of eerily beautiful and mesmerizing spirals along with the terror and misery of afflicted people. This manga is one of my top favorites, and I’d encourage you to read this, especially if you need to stay up at night. And as a person who usually gets very scared easily by horror, I have this to say: this is a very good manga to check out if you’re curious about or haven’t checked out horror. It’s seriously great.

The Sound of Life in Mushishi

Can you hear?

Now, here we come to a post that explores a topic that I had great pleasure in writing, more so because I could relate to the themes in this particular episode of Mushishi, sound and silence. This episode was extremely enjoyable, and as expected from Mushishi, it had a superb storytelling element to it. I’ll not tarry any longer; read on to hear the sound of life, one that I may very well never be able to hear in my lifetime.

Katawa Shoujo ~ Coping and Living With Our Disabilities

A special collaboration post, Foshizzel from Metanorn joins me in sharing our own personal experiences relating to a visual novel that swept the anime community through a storm. Katawa Shoujo is a unique, free visual novel developed entirely by fans with its heroines being disabled. You might think that disability issues are a bit touchy here, but in reality, it’s actually very successful and the disabilities aren’t as big of an issue at all. So, I encourage you to take a look at this collaboration post, and also do check out Metanorn’s team post where I briefly jump in with my thoughts about this great visual novel.

Eight Minutes of Fame

So sorry to borrow one post from the “Twelve Days of X’mas” series, but this post does include some comments from me about a podcast I’ve starred in, hosted by 2DT. This podcast discusses about watching anime with other people, and here, I talk about my experience watching Code Geass with my younger brother. Although 2DT has stopped blogging, he still leaves behind a great wealthy trove of posts worth checking out.

An Act of Love ~ A Gripping Connection!

Hosted by the lovely Yi, this post of mine looks into the act of hand-holding and love. I’ve had a great time writing this post for Yi, and I wouldn’t hesitate to write another guest post for her! Go check out her blog, will you?

… And here ends the journey through Ephemeral Dreams. I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey, but it’s not over yet with several other hidden gems of posts and future posts! It’s quite interesting to see just how far I’ve come in my blogging career, as I have done quite a bit in just one year. So far, I’ve already starred on a podcast, wrote a guest post, hosted a collaboration guest post, appeared briefly on a team blog’s collaboration post, and even sang for a post. Makes me wonder what more I have left and yet to do in the future!

I know you’d just love to see the cold hard blog statistics, so here you go:

• Total views: roughly around 33,000
• Average post views per day: 150-170 (On a good day, can be 250-300)
• Total post count: 90 posts (this makes the 90th post)
• Total number of comments: 670 comments (390 comments excluding my own comments)
• Total spam comments blocked: nearly 1,500
• Most views by country: 1st – USA, 2nd – Canada, 3rd – Thailand/Britain

P.S. I shall be in the ani-blog tourney. ;)

When it comes to playing karuta, in the end, it all comes down to the fastest player with precise, calculating movements. One critical skill for karuta is hearing, as players must go for a matching card upon the certified reader’s rendition of the karuta card drawn out. As hearing is very important, the reader must take care to recite the poems with care and timing so as not to interrupt the flow of a karuta match, and thus the reader is critical to karuta.

Hisashi Suo, the reigning Master of karuta, gave a splendid display of his swift movements, overwhelming his opponent with ease. When interviewed, he had this to say about his sweet karuta cards; for him, there are 28 one-syllable cards for him including the real 7 one-syllable cards. This means a greater chance of successfully matching a card with the reader’s drawn card. How did he achieve this rate, one might wonder? For him, it’s all about how the reader recites the poem. Even if one syllable has the same phonetic sound, the nuances of the reader’s emotions and image of the poem will carry in the recital. This is poetry, a timeless art.

Poets expresses themselves through timeless words. Not only do they just compose and write poems, they also have to consider the rhythm of the poem for them to recite. It is important to be able to give emotions to these poems, else they become mere words. And over time, their history begins to become meaningful as well, as is the case for the anthology of all 100 poems used in karuta, also called Hyakkunin Isshu. Hyakkunin Isshu is an anthology of 100 poems composed by 100 poets compiled by Fujiwara no Teika, a poet and scholar of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. Also often called Ogura Hyakkunin Isshu, it is said that in one of Teika’s diaries, his son asked him to arrange one hundred poems for his father-in-law, who was furnishing a residence near Mount Ogura. For Chihaya, her sweet card is poem 17, one of the most famous and recognizable poems in Hyakkunin Isshu.^[1] The history and interpretation of the Hyakunin Isshu is quite fascinating and well worth exploring for anyone interested in karuta, or the anime, Chihayafuru.

As for karuta itself, I have to admit that reciting the poems appeal to me far more than sitting on the tatami mats and swiftly capturing the cards.^[2] This may be because I simply wouldn’t be able to play karuta as easily as most people due to my loss of hearing. However, I can still speak well enough, thanks to speech therapy. Plus, Japanese has a simpler phonetic system than English. Japanese has a smaller inventory of sounds, compared to English with a much larger inventory of sounds and nuances. Japanese has 5 pure vowel sounds, and the syllable structure is simple, generally with the vowel sound preceded by one of about 15 consonant sounds. This is partly the reason how Engrish come into being; Japanese learners of English sometimes have difficulty pronouncing the nuances in English that are not pronounced in Japanese, such as strength, Christmas, hot dog, etc.^[3]

Chihayafuru ends off on a good note, and I’ve enjoyed watching it very much. Let’s hope there’s a second season, and in the meantime, I have a treat for you! Here is a poem from Hyakkunin Isshu that I’ve taken a liking to for its clever Japanese wordplay and images of nature.^[4]

吹くからに Fuku kara ni
秋の草木の Aki no kusaki no
しをるれば Shiorureba
むべ山風を Mube yama kaze o
あらしといふらむ Arashi to iuran

Translated to English:

As soon as it blows,
the autumn trees and grasses
droop, and this must be why,
quite rightly, the mountain wind
is called “the ravager.”

I wonder if there’s another way to become a certified reader that doesn’t involve becoming and staying as a Class-A player for 5 years…

1. Here’s the original and translated poem by Ariwara no Narihara. This blog is an ongoing translation attempt for all 100 poems, so it’s worth checking out!
2. SnippetTee’s post on body movement in karuta.Though I must admit that I’d like to be able to capture a card swiftly and smoothly. That’d be very handy. ^^
3. I can certainly relate to this, though in my case, I am deaf. I usually have trouble with those accursed silent sounds (“th”, “s”, “z”) in English.
4. A translation and interpretation of the poem by Fun’ya no Yasuhide.
5. Chihayafuru now has the prestigious honor of becoming my 300th completed anime. ^^

The number, 3, is a unique number. It is the smallest balanced number, a rigid number from which one can begin to form an enclosed shape, most notably a triangle. This triple concept is very useful for structuring storytelling (beginning, middle, end) and enhancing the story making it inherently more satisfying or effective. Interestingly enough, you will also see many myths, legends, or religions in our world that involves trinity as opposed to a simpler, yet complex dual system, such as yin and yang.

The legend retold in Rinne no Lagrange about the Voxes, giant robotic aircrafts, revolves around this trichotomous concept as well. The legend goes:

An old tale, from ancient times.

The giant green demon will rip the heavens…

The giant blue demon will devour the stars…

The giant orange demon will spew out darkness…

Through countless sacrifices, they will rule the land.

Feeding off a tainted heart, they awaken from within the mind.

The demons shall then rise.

This legend has prompted fears or fostered intrigue amongst the forces in Rinne no Lagrange, especially when a strange reaction happened with Madoka’s Vox, Midori, in the form of a rain of green, ethereal flowers. As a result, Madoka was blocked from piloting her Vox, affecting her comrades’ performance dramatically in battles. Youko, Madoka’s mentor, speculates on the legend’s origin as perhaps being different than previously thought, and she goes on to give her theory that the Voxes may have a different purpose than intended.

One is not enough to sustain.

Two would split apart.

With three, you finally have balance.

Youko suggests that the faction of people who left Earth a long time ago, feared the Voxes as demons and passed down this legend through generations. As for the faction who stayed on Earth, there were no records or remnants that even remotely suggests that the Voxes were demons. Youko believes that the Voxes did not go out of control at that time, but there is no evidence to suggest otherwise, unless Madoka proves it. In real world terms, correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe that this would be likened to a schism, a promotion of a new sect or body formed by a division in religion. An example of schism is the division of Hinduism into several denominations such as Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and Smartism.

As for the Voxes themselves, described as demons, they are a prime example of triple deities, a very common archetype throughout the history of religion. Also taking into account the word, rinne (輪廻) from the series title, it can be translated into samsara in English. Samsara is a concept found in Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions that describes the endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth. We could assume that the Voxes makes up one entity as a whole with three aspects, and that those three aspects are life, death, and rebirth. However, what constitute or symbolizes these aspects in this series thus far, I do not know but I think I can guess as to what these might be…

It’s certainly interesting seeing all these religious nuances in this series, and although I may not be the right person to turn to for questions about religion, I have to admit that I’m enjoying this series very much for its amazing quality oceanic scenery, likeable characters, subtle yuri tones, and its story thus far.