The Winner of 2013's Post Popularity Contest!

I may be slightly odd. Okay, I know I am, but everyone is odd compared to someone's idea of even, so it would be odd if I weren't odd. So, odd or not, I want to share the winners of a contest you didn't know existed - a popularity contest between over 50 posts for the position of "The Most Popular of 2013." The competition was fierce, and it was based on the sheer number of views. Newer posts got no handicaps, even though they've had less time to accumulate reads.

Current standings for the week. The bottom
three spots are occupied by some of my most
greedy 2012 posts.

As you've probably noticed (unless your observations skills are as unreliable as mine), there are always four posts listed to the right, under "popular posts." Those are the ones with the most views in the past week. I look at it as a competition between posts, vying for attention. Often, old posts from 2012 (or even 2011) take at least three of the four spots. It's completely unfair, if you ask me, especially since they get a lot of their views from people who want screenshots. It's time for them to step down and give the newbies a chance at true popularity.

Sometimes, a newer post elbows its way to the top, and stays in the top four... until 8 days after it was posted. For example, as I write this, "Rewind: the Wallflower" has first place. Second, third, and fourth places are held by greedy 2012 posts, so it's a little lonely. Unfortunately, it will probably fade into near oblivion by Saturday.

I decided to only list the top ten posts of the year, perhaps with honorable mentions. But, as of December 30, 2013, when I made this list, there were three posts tied for 9th place. They all got to be included. Lucky them.

Without further ado, the grand prize for "Most Popular of 2013" goes to...

1. "My Little Monster: Unconditional Love" - posted June 22
As I watched My Little Monster, I noticed similarities between Haru's love for Shizuku and God's love for me and others. God loves us because He chooses to, not because of anything we have to offer. Similarly, it seems that Haru loves Shizuku for no reason except that he's chosen her.

Congrats, post! As a prize, you get... well, uh... maybe a few more views? Uh... yeah, let's go with that. Moving on....

Runners up:

2. "Watamote and Feeling Left Behind" - posted Aug. 11, 2013
In which I wrote about growing up, feeling left behind, and the most angst-filled show of the year, Watamote. I didn't end up finishing the show, but that was a story for a different blog post, one that didn't make the top ten.

3. "A Soul too Big to Comprehend" - posted June 28, 2013
A post about Soul Eater and connections I made about it. First, I noted its absurdities. Like the creepy sun. Then I thought about Lord Death's giant soul, Maka's limited perspective, God, rules that shouldn't be broken, and Genesis 3. When I wrote this, I'd seen about 13 episodes. I'm a lot further along now, although I still haven't finished. I guess I'll make that my New Year's Resolution: Finish Soul Eater! And Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. That's my second resoultion... don't look at me like that! I know I should be long done with it by now! I got distracted, okay? Besides, that's not what this post is about. Pay attention to the other winning posts. They'll feel left out. 

4. "Hi. I'm a Christian Aniblogger" - posted Oct. 1, 2013
I feel like we Christian anibloggers are part of a rare breed. When I'm online, there's support. I know who many of the other Christian anibloggers are, and you obviously know me if you're reading this. But when I talk to people offline, I realize how few of us there actually are in comparison to the total population. I have to slow down, explain what I watch and write about, and define terms if they're willing to listen. In fact, anibloggers in general don't exactly have dominant numbers, even though it can feel like we do when we're all online Tweeting and reading and commenting.

5. "Naruto is Back! (again)" - posted July 19
I predict that this post will be one of the greedier ones from 2013. When those 2012 posts fade away and 2014 posts scramble for the top, "Naruto is Back!" will do its best to block the way. People tend to search for pictures of Naruto characters. This post doesn't have a ton of substance to it. Mostly, I simply dissolved into one of my rare fangirl states as I celebrated the end of another bout of fillers. Looking back at my statement about Tobi, I notice the obvious hints about who he really was. Sheesh. I can't believe I didn't see it! Then again, maybe his real identity was in one of the spoilers I read, and I was suppressing the memory.

6. "Phases of Fandom: Enjoying Cheesiness" -  June 2
I'm only really talking about the top five posts, but I wanted to comment on this one, because it was sort of a new beginning for me. It was my first post in five months, but after this, I blogged with renewed energy. Since June 2nd, I've rarely gone more than a week without posting, even after school started back up. That's a new record!

7. "Dear Extroverted Friends" - Nov. 10

8. "Chihayafuru 2, Friendship Changes, and Finishing Thoughts" - July 9

9. "Rewind: Hetalia" - Oct. 4

IX. "Advice from Anime: Join a Club" - Aug. 25

九. "Rewind: Lucky Star" - July 25

10. "Gargantia: What it Means to be Human" - July 11

Well, that was fun. Please join me in congratulating the lucky posts. Round of applause, everyone!

Seriously, though, 2013 was a great year for blogging. Or at least, the last six or so months were. I've enjoyed posting more regularly. It's encouraging to realize that I can (sort of) consistently meet deadlines and quotas I set for myself as a writer. I've enjoyed meeting new anibloggers this year, too, and reading more from anibloggers I knew before. I haven't had as much time to read blogs or write posts as I might like. Fiction writing has been pushed aside, too. I'm learning about balance and priorities. But I've made progress in how I juggle various responsibilities and hobbies. By this time next year, I hope to be doing even better.

Thank you for a great year of aniblogging, everyone. I look forward to seeing what anime and blog posts come in 2014. Happy New Year!

A Soul too Big to Comprehend

After reading two positive reviews of Soul Eater, I decided to give the show a solid try. It took a few episodes for me to get into it, but once I did, I started to make connections between the show and real life. One connection involved Lord Death and God, as ironic as that sounds, and other involved the temptation to break rules. The first thirteen episodes of this wacky-looking show managed to evoke surprisingly deep thinking.

Still, if it hadn’t come so highly recommended, I probably wouldn’t have made it past the first few episodes. There were too many things to adjust to. For example:

1. The scenery: The creepiest moon and sun I’ve ever seen, a school that looks more like a weird birthday cake, and too many jack-o-lanterns.
2. The names: Lord Death, Soul Eater, Black Star, Death the Kid... mixed with just a few normal sounding ones like Maka and Tsubaki.
3. The blasphemous Black Star. That kid... sheesh. I’d heard he was annoying and over confident, but the blue-haired meister is delusional. He thinks he’s bigger than God. I cringe every time he says that. If this show’s premise were different, I’d expect lightning to strike him. As it is, I kind of hope that does happen. He deserves it... No, wait! If he survives the lightning strike, he’ll get worse! He’ll yell things like, “I’m the man who beat lightning! I have surpassed Zeus!” Ugh...
4. Lord Death. The top gun in this anime is a character named Death. He doesn’t seem to be based on Greek or Roman myths I know, such as Hades, nor on Satan. He’s just a shinigami headmaster with Scythes. In fact, he seems like a pretty nice guy with a giant heart... or rather, a giant soul, big enough for all his students. Literally. I’ve had to adjust to the fact that, name aside, I like this dude.

As usual, I’m drawing comparisons, especially now that I’ve detached Death from the evil connotations that come with his name. For example, in one episode, Maka tries to see Lord Death’s soul. She can see other peoples’ souls - round, transparent things. But she can’t see his, and she shrugs it off, thinking that perhaps he doesn’t have a soul. He’s a shinigami, after all, and not like humans. 

Maka is wrong. The scene zooms out so we can see the school, the city it’s in, and Lord Death’s soul, which encompasses it all. In this show, such an impressive soul indicates impressive power. But I think, in this case, it has a double meaning. Lord Death cares deeply for his students - for everyone, really. He’s set up rules to protect humanity and oversees their wellbeing, even if they can’t always see it.

Maka can’t see Lord Death’s soul. It’s too big for her to comprehend. It reminds me a bit of God’s heart and soul, which is infinitely greater. Yes, I’m comparing God and Lord Death. It sounds weird, but roll with me, okay?

Sometimes, we’re so focused on the moments in our small lives, good and bad, that we miss the big picture. We see the good in the latest superhero movie, and the bad in the burglary down the street. We see the joy in the birth of new life, and the sadness in death. The things we experience are real and notable, but when we see only the moments, we miss the big picture. We don’t see God’s heart, and it’s easy to assume that perhaps He doesn’t have one, or that if He does, it doesn’t touch us. If we’re willing open our perspective to bigger possibilities, we might see that not only does God have a heart, but it’s big enough to hold us all. Each celebration and each heartbreak are cradled in a soul too immense for us to fathom... just as Maka couldn’t fathom Lord Death’s soul in that early episode.

Another comparison came up as I watched the thirteenth episode. Newly escaped immortal, “Free,” aka “The Man with the Demon Eye,” is fighting with Maka, Soul Eater, Black Star, and Tsubaki. He’s not on good terms with the witches (the enemy) or Lord Death. In fact, he seems to have a problem with rules in general, no matter how high of authority they come from. He says of Lord Death’s rules, in place to protect humanity, “Those arrogant rules. I don’t care if he’s a god or not. Where is your guarantee that you’re correct?” 

Free’s wrong, of course, and we know that if our hero, Soul Eater, gives any credence to Free’s words or any similarly tempting jargon, he’ll end up in a heap of trouble. Lord Death’s rules were made for good, and it’s a bad idea to break them. Regardless of Free’s thinking, the guy with the biggest stick (in most stories, that’s a divine being) gets to decide what’s good, what’s evil, and what the rules are. In this case, it’s Lord Death. In the real world, it’s God. No matter what we think about His rules, He’s still God, and there’s not much we can do about it.

Personally, I’ve decided to accept that. I don’t always understand His rules, but I do have faith that His commands and guidelines are set out for my good and the good of those around me. If I have questions about what He’s done or commanded, I write them down. Sometimes, I end up returning to those questions within a few years to write the answer I’ve found. It’s much healthier than taking “Free”’s route and disregarding any rules I find unpleasant to follow. It might sound weird, but I feel more free placing myself under God’s authority than trying to escape it.

Ironically, Free named himself that after the witch Medusa broke him out of prison, but he’s actually being manipulated by her. She gives him a chance to fight back against The Man by fighting Lord Death’s students, and he leaps on it, unaware that he’s already entangled in her web. Just as, when we listen to Satan’s smooth talk, it can temporarily sound like the more freeing choice, but we eventually find we’re trapped in a web of darkness, and we don’t know how to get out.

No. Bad idea. Don't listen, Soul! (ep 13)

Shortly before this episode, Soul began having a dream where a little demon tells him to break the rules in order to become stronger. As long as I’m making comparisons, I may as well bring up Genesis 3 and the Garden of Eden, where Satan told Eve to break the only rule God had given them: don’t eat the fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan says, basically, “Eat it. It will make you stronger, and God doesn’t want that.” Okay, his lie, to quote the NIV translation, was closer to this: “God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” but knowledge is power, so same deal. Either way, it was a load of baloney sandwich, because figuring out that you’re naked and learning how to blame other people for your mistakes doesn’t exactly make you God. If I were reading Genesis 3 for the first time, I’d probably say the same thing I’m saying as I watch Soul Eater for the first time: “Don’t do it. Don’t break the rule. The rule is there for a reason, to protect you. You can get strong without breaking the rules. Please, please, please don’t listen to that demon! You’ll hurt yourself and all of humanity if you break this rule! Don’t fall into the bad guy’s trap!”

And, sure enough, Soul falls for it, just like Eve did in the Garden, and he gets a little more tangled in Medusa’s web. Much like Free did in his attempt to be his own man. Yup. This ain’t gonna turn out well. Thankfully, this is a shounen anime, so it’ll all be okay in the end, no matter how much pain comes before that. Unlike the reality, where... wait. Yeah, that turns out okay, too. There’s a lot of pain, epic battles, bloodbaths, and the whole world’s destroyed and remade, but in the end, it looks like things will be even better than they were before Eve made that dumb choice to eat from the wrong tree. 

It comforting to know that, in the meanwhile, God is still here, and his heart is big enough to hold all our joy, all our pain, and every moment in between. Even if we our perspective isn’t always wide enough to see it.