*stares in wonder* Panini has licensed Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and shows it on a Youtube channel? With Swedish subtitles! We're not getting screwed and locked out as usual? That's definitely not something I had expected!

I have had surprisingly little to complain about over the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series this far. Even if I still think the first anime was a little more shiny for some reason, but that could just as well only be random rosy memories. And the voice changes that I really feared could make me react negatively haven't actually made me cringe very much at all. I do miss old Envy a little though. In any case I like that they seem to have decided to make the best of the opportunity and give us new scenes animated with no more overlap than absolutely necessary. Still, it does have a rather high speed in its storytelling, and I can only imagine how someone who hasn't read the manga must feel sometimes. But for me, I can hardly wait until we get into new manga storyline-land.

Since I'm in fanboy mode, something about the rest of my current anime spring season. Something new, something old. As usual for me:

Hetalia Axis Powers. It's hardly surprising that I find the anime shorts entertaining I suppose. The concept is so weird-cute and something only a Japanese could have come up with.

Shangri-La. Nothing really fantastic, but not that bad either this far. After reading about it, I just had to see what it was going to be about. Not really what I expected, but I guess I continue watching it for a while.

Full Metal Panic. Not a new one at all, I know. But it was something that had been on my "maybe watch someday" list for a looong time, and now there happened to be this combination of stumbling over it, and at the same time remembering that someone with usually very good taste seemed to have liked it, so... And this far I don't regret it. It is nice entertainment! Much better than the short synopses I once read made it sound.

Making screenshot posts isn't my usual thing, but why not?

And I know, I shouldn't be as ridiculously amused over these as I am. My humor is SO bad sometimes.

( Might be considered spoilers for Gundam 00 2nd season episode 20 )

One of the more amusing episodes in a while I think, partially thanks to this. Which probably says something about me... And given the ending, I'm not sure my reaction was what the script writers intended, really.

Meme task from dzioo and such a good excuse for me to talk.

Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given. (You may also comment without committing to doing something of your own, I'm nice today.)

( Ramblings on Cagalli, politics, fanfiction, shadow, and shyness )

Why do my ramblings always turn out feeling so dull and serious compared to others when they do this? Oh well, I suppose it's a personality thing...

Time for another year to end, and as has been usual lately I have problems making up my mind if it's been a good or a bad year. Anyway, happy new year to all of you!

( Short and random list of Best of 2008 )

Also, a while ago, a surprise small package from Japan turned up, courtesy of spherehunter who I am greatly indebted to now!

( I could have gotten an Asuka in a nice aerobics outfit... )

I suppose I shouldn't be very surprised that I get unusually interesting dreams after having watched Paprika in the evening.

Actually, the dream that apparently was my main feature dream for the night was quite nice, so I'm not complaining. And I'm kind of impressed how my subconscious works - if you're my subconscious dream producer and need visuals and scenery for a distinct geographical area which you have no experience of in real life, take the geographically closest place I have been at and extrapolate from that. My mind is apparently a clever one when asleep.

As for Paprika, it was a somewhat surreal but good experience, and a good example of the kind of animated movies that only Japan can produce.

Because dzioo had it, and it was too tempting not to bite. I still can't make up my mind about how the sometimes somewhat extensive lack of knowledge from my side should be interpreted. Good or a bad thing? (It could, of course, also be seen as lucky (for me) that the selection of titles here seem to be somewhat odd...)

And to improve my standing a little at least, I let the Escaflowne one stay on too. It was after all there when I first started to write my answers on the version nicked from Dzioo ;P

( Looong anime/manga meme follows here )

Four episodes into Gundam 00, and this far no sight of anything to make me feel anything particular for it. In other words, it's already proven itself to be no Seed, and no Wing. No Cagalli, no Duo, no Athrun, no Heero. Just four annoying gundam pilots that I couldn't care less for. I really hope it is in the staff's plan to make Celestial Being come off as the bad, irritating ones here. Someone needs to defect from the organization soon, or at least get in some angsty mess. I'm feeling slightly uncomfortable finding myself more interested in the success of the side characters than the main ones here.

The Shinn wannabe Setsuna once again make me wonder what organizations deploying gundams have against psychological aptitude tests by the way.

And can someone please give Mr Erde the sex change operation that he so obviously wants! Or just kill off the smug bastard already.

Watched a part of SVT's "One night for anime" broadcast while breakfasting (because I for some odd reason prefer to sleep during nights, so yesterday I gave up after having rewatched the latter half of Spirited Away and left the rest for the video recorder). Anyway, the choice of SVT to choose to show a Canadian mini-documentary on anime's growth in the world felt in my eyes very much a documentary on anime fandom in North America, and I don't know how much it has to do with the Swedish version of the fandom. Especially not since I'm not very familiar with it's local versions. All I can say is that for a boy who once grew up on Super Channel/Sky Channel/various random European TV-channels and then rediscovered it by German TV, I have trouble identifying with the American anime history. Just like I have a very hard time identifying with the American view of comics history. In some instances I can feel I'm very much an European. (If isolated Scandinavians can be considered Europeans, that is.) I also, as usual, feel I'm a very bad, laid-back fan in this area just as in everyone else. I'm just not cut out to be really obsessing over things I fear. Not that I know if that's really a bad thing. Lots of interests, bad at obsessing and being a total nerd. That's me. (My old Swedish teacher preferred the label "renaissance man" for that. And I think she had a good idea there.) Without going into the finer points of semantics, I feel - rightly or wrongly - comfortable with the geek title now and then though.

I don't know if I have said it before, but Simon Lundström - who is for Swedish manga and anime fandom what Stefan Diös is for the Disney duck and mouse fandom - is in my opinion very good in his role as anime ambassador. It's unfortunate that I never can get really comfortable with his manga translations, even if some comes off better than others. Not knowing Japanese for real I have no possible way to judge them in that aspect, so it's more of a choice of word things that bothers me every now and then. Maybe it's just my classical upbringing on Diös, Emond, Janzon et al translations that shines through.

I don't know if it's a bad or a good sign that my current anime watching habits have a clear leaning toward the cracky side. First it was "Princess Princess" (mainly thanks to maeander), then, less than a week ago, it got company on my entertainment list by "Ouran Koukou Host Club" (maaya1x2 and dzioo are responsible for that one. When two of my friends independent from each other starts talking about a show, I can't take it as anything else than a good sign.) So boys crossdressing as girls, and girl crossdressing as boy it is. At least I'm sort of gender neutral, I guess. And please don't try to analyse my mind too closely, thank you.

Oh, and both of the above are just wonderful! If "Princess Princess" is crack, "Ouran High School Host Club" is super-crack! And that's exactly what my mind needs now and then.

And, for the sake of my reputation, I at least have ".Hack//Roots", "Digimon Savers", "Kyou Kara Maou" and random old Gundam eps to counter-balance with.

The short series "REC" was pretty cute too, by the way. And its mini-format made it fit nicely as short break entertainment, which I needed.