Anime and Other Topics

So what do you do when you have messed your knee up so that you can't go hiking like you planned? You turn your attention to your other interests that's what :-)

I never thought I would be the type of person who would get bummed out if I couldn't exercise. Well, I have been depressed this last week because my training schedule is all messed up. It was all topped off by the fact that I wasn't able to go to Yosemite today for my test hike up the Yosemite Falls trail. WHAT A BUMMER!! The waterfalls are supposed to be running really high right now. It is all for the best though I guess. I don't want to risk a serious injury so close to the Half Dome hike. The doctor seemed to think that nothing serious was wrong with the knee - just prescribed some physical therapy and told me to keep icing and taking advil. My trainer told me to rest it also. So here I am, listening to the experts. Good thing I have a lot of stuff to keep me distracted.

Today has been dedicated to ripping CD's and watching movies/anime! So far I have seen the Da Vinci Code, a few episodes of one of my favorite Anime series - Fruits Basket, and Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

For those of you who may not know what anime is, I have included a link from wikipedia below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime

This is a really good explanation of what anime is all about. I have been collecting anime DVD's for quite awhile to varying degrees of dedication. The last time I updated my inventory spreadsheet (which was about a year ago I guess) I had enough anime to sit down and watch it straight 24/7 for 46 days. I think also that at that point I had watched 60% of my total inventory. Yes, yes you guys can tease me all you want about the spreadsheet. I won't deny that I am nerdy when it comes to spreadsheets and weird calculations - random facts are cool!

I have always liked all different types of animation. I was a big Disney fan when I was younger (I still like Disney stuff, but I am around a lot of Disney haters so I have to keep it really toned down). My favorite animated Disney movies are Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. My first introduction to Anime was with a series called Star Blazers. I used to rush home from school so I wouldn't miss it. I would get so engrossed in the story that I would get very upset when something bad would happen (besides I had a huge crush on one of the main characters!). I was hooked. The other series that I really liked was Robotech. I didn't really get back in to anime until I started dating Louis. After watching some of the classics like Record of Lodoss War, Oh My Goddess, and Nija Scroll I was hooked again in a big way. I tend to favor stories in which I can lose myself (that is true of anime, movies, and books). Some of my favorite anime titles are as follows (list in random order):

Fushigi Yugi - beautiful artwork, travel to another world, cool martial arts, a lot of likeable characters
Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars - cool storyline, good lovestory
Tenchi Muyo - likeable characters and some really funny storylines
Oh My Goddess - Really beautiful artwork, great lovestory
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust - this is perhaps the best artwork of any anime series I have seen so far. I tried to get a cel from this anime to add to my cel collection but they are very hard to get. I also like this one because I have a thing for vampires :-)
Boys Over Flowers - great soap opera and a good ending that is so rare with anime series
Fruits Basket - this is just a sweet story that makes me feel good to watch

There are more but I will go on about them at another time I am sure!