Blog Assignment 5: Things I Like

 こんにちわ！

わたしはガムとおんがくとあにめとえいががすきです。

As I said, I like video games. I would say that my favorite franchise is the Halo series. My older brothers introduced me to it, and I think that its gameplay is very fun. Additionally, they have a sandbox mode where players can design their own mini-games that add a new dimension of gameplay to the game. I would have to say that my favorite part of the series is its complex story which spans across not only the main games but also books, comics, and movies. 

I also like music a lot. I don't have a specific genre or specific song that I like most. I am in the marching band, so I end up listening to a lot of instrumental music. I also like a lot of Japanese music. Since we talked about the particle が in class, I dug up a song called 好き好大好き （すきすきだいすき）that I hadn't listened to in a while. It's a pretty interesting song on a musical level. I don't know anything about it other than the title being something around "like like love," so if it is offensive or inappropriate in anyway, I apologize. On top of Japanese music, I like a lot of older American music. Recently I have been listening to a lot of folksy stuff by artists like Don Mclean, Bob Dylan, and Simon and Garfunkel. Although a lot of the songs I listen to from these artists are not the most musically interesting, they tend to carry an interesting story which is why I like them. 

I have been called a nerd for the number of anime that I like, but I am not ashamed of it. Recently I have been interested in some of the historically interesting anime that have inspired the currently popular trend in anime. Recently I watched all of Mobile Suit Gundam （機動戦士ガンダム　（1979））which is prolific in the mech genre. Although it is not the original mech anime, it popularized it to a large, international audience. Currently I am working my way through Fist of the North Star （北斗の拳（1984））which inspired a lot of modern shonen and seinen anime including JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Those are just what I am watching currently, though. My favorite anime are Space Battleship Yamato, Legends of the Galactic Heroes, and Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind. 

I see myself as a bit of a movie buff. I really like all kinds of movies. My favorites are ones with deep stories that a little extra thought to unpack. My favorite two examples of these are Interstellar and The Exorcist. Interstellar has an interesting ending that requires one to think through some of the science as well as the relationships set up through the film. I am sorry that's a bit vague, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone. The Exorcist is really cool to me because it is the quintessential horror movie, and many people see the demonic possession aspect as scary. Although I won't deny that the demonic possession is scary, I think its really interesting that they instill this sense of existential fear by showing a child who clearly has something wrong with her but science can't explain it. I also really like Japanese とくさつ films which use a lot of mechanically interesting special effects. My favorite, and the most notable example, is the Godzilla （ゴジラ）franchise. 

I hope you enjoyed hearing some of the things I like. Sorry if I rambled. 

またね！

Sean