Kenshin_sama

Yeah, don't let yourself fall into an even greater state of madness! I don't think humanity needs something like that. Ya know, I also used to have a thing going on that I felt obligated to carry out. Please don't ask me what it is; it was such a horrible time sink and I still regret having ever done it at all. But man, it was so liberating when I finally gave it up and freed up more time to spend enjoying the things I want to do.

Yeah, I'm all for the flexibility option. As long is the story does what it sets out to do, I could give two shits about the length. Having to set a limitation like that takes away from freedom of expression and hinders the quality (kinda like what happened with Death Note).

@Clephas, congratulations on another year of skillful death evasion!

Ooh, hello. I guess that managed to slip under my radar since I don't pay much attention to console games (or anything outside this forum, really), but I'm interested now. Not enough horror VNs translated to English if you ask me.

She was able to sit through It in theaters (I am so proud of her), I think she can handle horror.

It's almost like we've been trained to derail stuff!

Eh, I'm actually kinda jealous even though I didn't like Grisaia that much. That is a damn nice box set! Shame it has to be locked behind KS like everything else these days. Wish I could just buy this stuff outright without having to wait forever and a half for a KS purchase to come in. But hey, I guess this is what we get for having a super niche hobby.

Actually, now that I think about it, Goku also wasn't terribly popular with the people of Earth, either, as is showcased in his fight against Kid Buu. In the end, he had to rely on Hercule in order to get the energy he needed to win the fight. Yeah, I think you've got a better interpretation of the public opinion aspect than I do. One other detail I picked up from SEW's video (at 23:35) is that the author might actually have a real connection to the protagonist due to how his art might have been received (before Murata started drawing it, that is). Yeah, I don't disagree with you here. OPM isn't a shallow anime, but it's not the most thought-provoking either. The reason I cherish this anime as much as I do is that it hits all the right cords with me.

Huh, that's a peculiar viewpoint. I feel that the author wrote the story like that to keep Saitama's character humble and relatable despite his absurd level of power. Because, seriously, while I don't particularly dislike Goku in DBZ, I do feel a bit detached from him because of how frequently celebrated he is by just about everyone. Plus, it further drives home the point that society is mostly superficial. I don't think the author hates him as much as you might think he does. Oh, I see what you're getting at here. Yeah, you're right. I don't particularly dislike that about OPM mostly because I value presentability, depth, and intent above everything else. But yeah, it doesn't really add much in the way of novelty in the later episodes.

A big part of what made the series so engaging to me was its interesting take on the removal of conflict, and how Saitama reacts to it. In OPM, our protagonist doesn't get any kind satisfaction from his hobby, and that's because he's too damn good at it. Not to mention, the contrast between the protagonist's lackluster motivation and everyone else's does make for an interesting parody setup. The anime spends more time developing the side characters than it does Saitama, and to me that just makes for a much more interesting story when all their hard work and motivation is trumped by the mundane (especially with their ridiculous reactions, lol). I do see where you're coming from on the repetition, though. I don't particularly mind it myself since it does serve to reinforce a point that is used later on to magnify the final battle. But the thing about OPM that probably doesn't suit all audiences is its frequent depletion of of catharsis through a conveniently-placed super hero. It seems that every time OPM is about to hit a climax scene--one with a lot of potential for high emotional payoff--Saitama shows up and completely ruins the mood. This can be especially off-putting if you find yourself growing attached to and sympathizing with the characters this story spends time developing. There is a reason why Deus Ex Machinas are such a dreadful concept for most entertainment consumers, and most authors are forced to either avoid it like the plague or bury it in distracting/emotional details as much as possible (the SAO LN comes to mind). But OPM fully embraces this storytelling convention in the most blatant manor, and that's something I actually really like about it. But what interests me especially is the portrayal of a character whose life is completely devoid of conflict. It highlights the importance of conflict and its relationship with happiness. In the anime, Saitama isn't just a horrendously overpowered character that spoils the moment; he's a horrendously overpowered character who is on the brink of insanity. The one recurring theme we see throughout the series is how bad it is to have it easy. Every time Saitama finishes a battle, he always comes out of it completely disappointed because there is no room for growth through conflict. Human beings cannot be happy if they aren't growing, so for him to have reached his threshold of performance must have been a serious blow to his motivation. So yeah, I get this isn't an anime for everyone. Though I do appreciate the anime's abuse of conflict spoilers, I can understand that it's really just part of my preference. Or maybe the hype just lead to heightened expectations? I wouldn't disagree with that either; hype really can be a bother. But due to my less-than-ideal experience with FMAB, I've learned to take fan hype with a grain of salt and go in with regular expectations. One strategy I've adopted to counteract the affects of hype is to wait for my own excitement to dissipate before I watch or read anything. That said, I do think the anime is a bit overhyped (and this is coming from someone who has the anime in his top 5%). I do happen to think it's a fantastic anime with a refreshing and unique experience, but the reactions to it do seem a bit absurd. It might have something to do with the massive confirmation bias fans get from big-name anitubers praising the anime (especially Super Eyepatch Wolf). Oh, that's really interesting. I've heard about Mob Psycho on several occasions, but never actually knew what actually made up the series (I like to go into things with minimal investigation). Thanks for the rec!

It's not nearly as bad as the Unlimited Chat Works thread. But yeah, we did kinda hijack the confessions thread, and I do remember OriginalRen getting a little fussy about it too. Oh well, that's just how it goes. The Coliseum of Chatter is a very unforgiving place.

Sasuga Madhouse getting me hyped already! If Shoumetsu Toshi turns out as good as I hope it does, I might be willing to forgive this studio for not animating OPM S2. I'm still seriously let down that J.C. Staff is continuing the series, though (especially since they didn't care to hire a more experienced director). Isekai Quartet's probably gonna be AOTS. No, I take that back, it's definitely going to be AOTS. AOTY even. AOTD (decade) is a realistic stretch. What a wonderful time to be a Fruits Basket fan! It seems this is gonna be a fairly different take on the source since the mangaka had issues with the original adaption's direction. I didn't think it was all that bad, truth be told, but I'm curious to see how they handle this one differently. Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san, you've caught my attention with your 800-year-old loli fox. This'll either be a pleasant surprise or a guilty pleasure. I'm fine with it either way, so I'll give it a go. :3 Oh shit, YU-NO got an anime? Sheesh, I really am bad at keeping up with anime news. >.< Can't help it though; I always seem to be getting distracting by Trump's shenanigans. But yeah, I'm probably gonna hold off on this. The trailers don't look bad at all (especially with that retro segment), but I don't wanna risk spoiling the source if I can help it. What the hell is Sarazanmai trying to pull here!? Damn, I think we have some real visionaries behind this one. Hey, Duel Masters is still going! I only vaguely remember this anime since it wasn't that good, but I used to play the TCG all the time with my brother way back when. Kinda nostalgic seeing the name come up again. Not something I plan to watch, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone else, but I figured I'd write about it anyways and waste everybody's time. TL;DR: I'll likely be watching Shoumetsu Toshi, Isekai Quartet, Fruits Basket (remake), Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san, and Sarazanmai. Liking this lineup.

Shite, where has this been all my life. The art alone is enough to nudge me towards buying it, and I'm really happy to see a (seemingly) strong female protagonist here too. This looks promising; I'll add it to my backlog.

Yeah, Muv-Luv Extra isn't the most exciting story in the world, but it is necessary for MLA. However, unless you have some kind of interest in the other girls, you only need to read Sumika's and Meiya's routes before moving on to Unlimited and Alternative. Personally, I didn't find Extra all that tedious. It did give me a few laughs here and there, and I couldn't help but admire the joy and creativity that went into Sumika's ahoge.

https://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=1502038

I'm a little late on this (been a little busy), but "my dude" isn't something I'd consider a poor choice of words here. I've even heard it from my own sister, lol. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekai_Project "Sekai Project is an American video game publisher."

ftfy As for me, I prefer them without. Although I'm not too bothered by it since the nips are already uncensored.

I bring this up because too much sleep can be just as harmful as too little. The average human being sleeps between 7-9 hours. If you do sleep on the further end of the 8-9 spectrum from 23, that's 10 hours. Those issues are further compounded when you take an extra 3-5 hours to nap. Also, you may not want to base your opinions on common sense when it comes to sleep since most people have the wrong idea. At the very least, it should warrant a conversation.

What did your doctor have to say about it?

Remember the conversation we had a while back regarding sleep? At the time, I was unaware of the tiredness you're describing, so I'm now even more inclined to believe that you could benefit from proper sleep techniques. Well, I've kinda lost the paper I was referencing at the time I made that post, but I did find a video guide that basically covers the same strategies if you need a refresher. His information on naps is a little dated though. Naps used to be considered unhealthy, but now sleep science is saying that it's beneficial to take an afternoon nap. You will, however, need to take that nap on a daily basis and keep it within 10-30 minutes to get any kind of benefit.

Hmm, I should probably rephrase that. Better to say I start off my day exercising so I can wake myself up before moving on to some of the more strenuous tasks like doing homework. Although if you're getting the right kind of sleep, you shouldn't be waking up tired.

Ya know, I'm glad you said that. I never thought to question this idea before since it was a convenient way to justify my burnout, but it turns out the conventional willpower science I'd put so much faith in is a load of bullcrap! Granted, it's still really easy for me to get burnt out while studying, but that's probably due to my sleep issues (which I have a plan to fix soon!). See, this is why you need to be careful calling it an addiction. I'm not a specialist, so I really can't tell you for sure if it's addiction or not (it really is hard to be certain), but if you can think of it as something other than an addiction, you will have so much more control over it. Thoughts are powerful. With these two statements here, I'm 60% positive you don't have an addiction. My therapist explained that when you can actively restrict the time you spend on something, it's not an addiction. At least that was the case for me. If it was an addiction, you likely would not have been able to exercise on a daily basis. What kind of risky situations are you putting yourself in!? Other than the second one, these questions are really broad, and there could be several other underlying factors coming into play and affecting your mood. The last two are probably the most misleading to the untrained mind. The reason you might be feeling anxious when you stop gaming is because you've lost your escape, which means you are now in a situation where you have to acknowledge your worries. Do keep in mind is that these are warning signs. It does not necessarily mean you have addiction. Granted, it's definitely worth bringing up to a specialist so he/she can properly diagnose you, but it's not a surefire thing until they do. And if hiring a professional is not a possibility for you (consider moving to Canada?), then I think it's better to err on the side that makes you think more positively. Also, it might be worth noting that the rate of addiction among gamers is somewhere between 0.6-6%. Consider reading this article on Psychology Today about the misconceptions of gaming addiction. It may give you better insight into what it actually is, and what you can do to counteract your predicament. Btw, this site can be a great alternative to therapy if you don't have access to one (although definitely not as advantageous). There were a few occasions where I've been corrected by my therapist for getting the wrong idea from one of their articles, so be careful how you interpret them if you ever plan to use them as a means of self treatment.

What would you say is the extent of your addiction? Are you sure games aren't just something you use to cope? I once thought I had an addiction to video games, but my therapist told me otherwise. Basically, if you play to the point where you can't pull yourself off for absolutely anything, then video games are addicting. It's very easy to confuse the subject because people who use escapism as a coping mechanism tend to stress about practically everything. Since this state of being can occur frequently, it makes sense that you'd regularly turn to your source of escape in order to find your release (especially if it's something as easily accessible as a video game). If it is an addiction, then there's not much I can help you with there. You may want to consult a mental health specialist about your problem since quitting cold turkey might not necessarily be the right approach here (that usually only works for alcoholism). If not, then you should be fine to play games for as long as you need to. However, if you want to address the underlying issues that come with your anxiety, it might be worth investing your time on personal improvement. I suggest starting off with something small and manageable like going on a 15-minute walk or cleaning your room every day, and then just continuously build on those habits with even more productive habits. I've been experimenting with self improvement techniques quite a lot last year, and I've even managed a few major breakthroughs in the past month. My anxiety is nowhere near as bad as it used to be, either. Edit: Oh, and make sure that whatever habit you pick up is something you start as soon as you wake up. It gets a lot harder to go through with it as the day goes on (your willpower is at its peak in the morning). Make sure you wake up early enough to do it, too.