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It’s been a while since I got to post something like this, but it’s my honor to accept the Sunshine Blogger Award, courtesy of Christian from AniBProductions. Thanks, Christian! And I highly recommend others check out his animation blog, which posts great character pieces and reviews of animated shows, both East and West. According to the rules of this award, I should:
- Thank the nominator and include a link to their blog
- Answer the eleven questions they asked
- Nominated eleven more bloggers for the award and ask them eleven questions as well
- Comment on one of their blog posts to alert them to their nomination
- List the rules and the Sunshine Blogger Award logo (that’s two already done!)
So on then to the questions!
- What’s one animated show you’ve watched that you didn’t expect you’d like going into the watch, but wound up really enjoying? (It can be anime or Western animation.)
I suppose this could apply to a show that is outside my usual preferences, which typically involve sci-fi. I’ve always steered clear of zombie movies, so I was hesitant about the series Gakkou Gurashi, or School Live! Yet I ended up loving it and even crying by the end. Likewise, I wasn’t much interested in the ultra-violent gangster trappings of Baccano, but its story and characters made it a surprisingly fun watch.
- Sports fans are everywhere, so if you’re a sports fan, who’s your favorite team and if so, why?
Sadly, I’m not much of a sports fan. In fact, the Super Bowl and the Wimbledon finals are basically the only sports I actively watch all year. What football teams I favor were inherited from my parents, so I typically root for the Redskins, Steelers, Cowboys, and Dolphins, although I’ve also cheered for the Seahawks for no other reason than to be different.
- What’s the best thing you ever ate?
Boy, that’s tough. There was a corn and trout chowder I had in the North Georgia mountains that has always stuck in my head as truly exceptional, and I still pine after a horseshoe sandwich I tried in Chicago. (For those who don’t know, a horseshoe is an Illinois delicacy of toast, meat, fries, and cheese sauce; pardon my drool.)
- Name a popular series that you disliked, contrary to most people’s opinions?
I’ve had a pretty good record of watching shows I at least somewhat liked, but I was definitely disappointed in the anime Angel Beats. It has this huge reputation as an all-time favorite tear-jerker, yet I was annoyed at how rushed the series was. It certainly has its strengths, but not enough of its huge cast got any kind of real character development, and the gut punch twist at the end just left me confused at its lack of logic.
- Is there a city, place, or a country you’d really like to visit on a vacation?
I’ve always dreamed of doing a tour of Europe, from England to Germany to Italy to Switzerland and France. Oh, and I’d love to do the Lord of the Rings tour down in New Zealand and visit all the filming locations.
- What’s that one show or movie you always intended to see or watch, but never got to yet?
I’ve actually got my Blindspot series to catch up on movies that fit this description, and there are plenty more for future years, though I’m making progress. As for series, I have yet to see why Code Geass or Breaking Bad are so popular. One of these days…
- Books or video games?
I’ve got barely enough time for blogging, so both have fallen by the wayside recently, but, as a lover of literature, I tend to make some time at least for books.
- Since I liked this one from TPAB a lot, your guilty pleasure movie/anime/series?
For anime, that would have to be Girls und Panzer, which is ridiculous fun combining high school girls and tank war games, but I also could mention the English dub of Ghost Stories, which has become famous for its parody-level sense of humor and ad-libbing, like if the characters from Mystery Science Theater 3000 wrote the official dub. It’s highly politically incorrect, and whether you’re black, Jewish, Christian, gay, or dead, there’s bound to be something that will offend you, but it can also be darn funny.
As for movie, a Canadian comedy called Roller Town also fits that description. So bad, you feel guilty about it, but laugh anyway.
- If you had a dream job, what would it be? (And if you already have it, share it!)
I recently settled into a tech job that I honestly love doing more than any job I’ve had thus far, but my biggest dream job I think would be an actual film reviewer for an official website or publication.
- Ok, one fun theoretical setting question: A school relay competition is held between Kunugigaoka Junior High’s Class 3-E (Assassination Classroom), U.A. High School’s Class 1-A (My Hero Academia) and Luna Nova Academy’s girls (Little Witch Academia). The objective is to use teamwork to move a baton about a mile and a half (or 1.6 km) to a finish line, and the course is lined with dense forest. Who wins, and why?
I think my vote would go to U.A. High, simply because of the many unique skill sets in My Hero Academia, which have been used in races before. Keep in mind that Kunugigaoka’s class members are entirely normal humans so that puts them at a disadvantage, and I just think that superheroes would edge out magic users.
- What inspired you to be a writer and/or a blogger?
I’d always enjoyed movies and lists and writing poetry, and even compiled a list of my top 365 favorite films long before I considered blogging about it. After a failed attempt at starting a hot dog cart business (trust me, it’s harder than it looks!), it was suggested that I try my hand at combining all the things I loved into a blog and counting down that top 365 with a poem and a review over a year’s time. That was back in 2014, and while my productivity has waxed and waned over the years, I’m still here, enjoying this creative outlet with so many others.
Now on to my questions!
- If you could prevent any single Hollywood/entertainment tragedy from occurring, which would it be?
- If you’ve seen any anime (series or film), which is your favorite?
- If you could live in any cinematic world, what would it be?
- If the world was ending and you could only save three songs in the history of the planet, what would they be?
- What’s a movie that you absolutely hate while others love it?
- What’s a movie that you absolutely love while others hate it?
- Are you more of a dog person or a cat person?
- With what animated character do you most identify?
- Someone tells you that animation is just for kids and shouldn’t be taken as seriously as live-action. How do you respond?
- Plain water is suddenly the only liquid available to drink in the world. How do you and the world respond?
- If you could break any Guinness world record, what would you want it to be?
And lastly the lucky victims bloggers who get to answer the above questions, if they so choose, and accept the Sunshine Blogger baton. (I wouldn’t be surprised if they already have a few awards to their name.)
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)
Not quite eleven, but I’m aiming for quality over quantity. And of course, anyone else who wants to is welcome to answer them as well. I’d love to hear as many answers as possible! Thanks again to AniBProductions for kindly bestowing this award on my humble blog!
Rhyme and Reason 
Awesome post, S.G.! As always, appreciate the shout-out and the kind words, but I’ll do you one better and give a detailed response to your answers, since I sent the Sunshine Blogger Award your way in the first place 🙂
1) School-Live! is a really, really neat show. I actually have an unfinished draft of a review I was going to do about it, but in short, it’s brilliantly subversive, psychological, and with a small, memorable cast that is developed thoroughly, I 100% agree with this pick!
2) I think I mentioned my fandom before a while back on my own blog, but it’s all Bills and Sabres here- a true blue diehard of Buffalo sports. Your folks definitely grew up in the 70’s-80’s considering that list of teams- they all won Super Bowls in that span! Wimbledon is also just wonderful. What a match between Djokovic and Federer yet again this year.
3) The horseshoe sandwich sounds delicious; over in this corner I’m a big believer you should always check out the local specialty when taking a trip. Food can be a fantastic adventure!
4) Funny you mention Angel Beats. It’s a show I watched a while ago and rated highly after watching it, but its impact faded for me over time especially to comparably high-rated shows. I might revisit it at some point for an updated evaluation, but what you said makes a lot of sense actually.
5) Fantastic travel ideas. Europe is always a neat place, but New Zealand would be incredible, I bet.
6) I share the unusual circumstance of not seeing Breaking Bad yet. So you’re not alone there! Code Geass though, is something I have seen, and without spoiling it, something I most highly recommend, despite not having a formally published review on the series yet!
7) You and me both. I’ve got at least one book going right now though…reading is a wonderful thing 🙂
8) Are you reading my mind? Girls und Panzer is a blast- between the historically accurate tanks, the uniquely fun premise and a cast and story that makes it go. It’s another one sitting in the draft pile for when I’ve got some more time. And Ghost Stories’ English dub? I’ll make a note- there’s definitely always time for an irreverent comedy in the plans.
9) Great to hear on the tech job! But like yourself, it’d be a dream to write about the movies (or in my case, animation) more professionally. It’s good to have dreams, and better to have good plans!
10) Ah, the fun question. I think your logic is sound here, though I think you could make a compelling case all three ways. U.A.’s Quirks are very strong, versatile and cover a wide range of situations for sure-and the kids have been training.
11) Great answer! One of the most interesting aspects about blogging is that I don’t think any of us started at the point of “I’m just going to write a blog!” but rather, it was a mix of things that led us here eventually, and then we decided to continue writing all for our own reasons. Personally, I think the enemy I’m fighting the most on here is time (or lack thereof) and exhaustion, but it’s a worthwhile endeavor. And you have a fantastic blogspot here yourself!
(Thanks for reading my long response; besides, I haven’t been around a lot lately with a difficult course on my plate currently- but this post was awesome! Here’s to a lot more wonderful years of writing!)
-Christian, aka “AniB”
Thanks, Christian, for the nomination and the detailed response! Great minds think alike, as they say. 😉
Don’t work too hard, and just do what you enjoy when you can. (BTW, I will be checking out Code Geass soon.)
Busy so haven’t got time to do the whole award post myself but thanks for the mention! That chowder stew sounds tasty, I recently ate homemade chocolate cake at a restaurant which was exceptional. On the other end of the spectrum, my most disappointing new taster of the year was Guinness Draught Beer -very bland and overrated. Never tried a horseshoe sandwich– if I visit Chicago I will. We’re in the same boat with Breaking Bad-though I have netflix so who knows. To answer your question #5 Inherent Vice-hate it. And #6 A View to a Kill-love it
No worries! Thanks for responding at all. If you ever visit Illinois, the horseshoe originated in Springfield, so I bet they have the best ones. I just got lucky that a single restaurant in Chicago had it too. 😀
Right there with you on A View to a Kill. Classic Bond!