This world

I think it is utterly hilarious seeing the reactions of people when they find out that I watch anime , or read sci-fi.

Hell, I was at my mum's shop (probably rotting away due to boredom ) and I was out eating at this chicken rice shop, while reading my warhammer 40k book, Ultramarines (with a very obvious picture of a guy clad in power armour with a chainsword in his hand - don't ask). Then I noticed this girl with her boyfriend , looking at me.

Or more precisely, at the book. You could see the fucking contempt on her face as she turned away and started whispering conspiratorially to her boyfriend, and I swear to god, I saw this look of disgust and "What the fuck are you doing?" written all over her face.

Meh.

*mouth turned into a sneer, nose held up, "Oh, you watch anime?"

Hahaha. Why , yes, I do. Of course, came the usual "but it's for children!" Hrm. Yes, the majority of the anime out there is braindead, yes, a lot of them are incredibly childish and what not. But to call all of it childish, is like calling hip hop shallow due to fucktards like 50 cent. But hell, the only series I've watched and read so far are

Honey and Clover
5 cm per second, She and her cat, Voices of a Distant Star, The promised place (all Makoto Shinkai works)
Saikano
What a wonderful word, Solanin, Ninijonho Holograph (All by inio asano, another mangaka I seriously admire)
Welcome to the NHK

And a few other ones. Yes, I've read about 3 braindead manga, but the rest are anime/manga that aren't childish, that don't deal with elves, or lolis, or whatever.
In fact, all the above are portrayals of what it being human is all about, about loss, about pain, about love, happiness, moving on, and hope. They're slice of life mangas, and they're reflections of human nature, and the problems we go through. I love that stuff. Issues about moving on, about growing up, about owning up to past sins, about courage to break out of your shell.

In fact, one of the biggest things I've learnt is to love the world for all the small beautiful things it has to offer. Most of this is probably due to the works of Makoto Shinkai. His drawings are absolutely breathtaking, but my favourite ones are of him painting normal mundane thing we take for granted, the clouds above us, the sun, the passing scenery from a train window, convenience stores...it goes on. I love him for that, and some of the things in his scripts (in his movies) really strike a chord.

One of the ones I remember the most is "I...and probably her too...this world...we like it" from she and her cat. From what I interpreted, the story was about this girl, who seemed really lonely, with only a cat as a friend, and for all the pain she went through, the hardships of life, at the end, she still loved life for what it was. I absolutely loved it.

Or the one in 5 cm, where Kanae and Tohno sat on a hill, staring out into the view. Or the time when Tohno smiles at the end, shedding away his regrets and finally building up the courage to move on. Or...I could go on forever.


Maybe that's why I love watching the sun, watching the clouds move. Maybe that's why my favourite moments with friends are at a mamak, talking the night away, or on the LRT back home, talking as the scenery speeds by, or the near-daily wan tan meen sessions, or laughing so badly when I'm playing at a CC with them that my sides hurt, or taking a walk in the park, or lying on the bed talking to one of them on the phone.

I think, for all the crap in the world we go through, for all the loneliness, the pain, the anger we feel, this world...it's beautiful. For all its small things, for the beauty of the sun rising behind the clouds, of a city bathed in lights, of the quiet rumbling of the bus as the roads speed past, of hanging out with a group of people you like, and stopping for a moment from laughing, and thinking everything's going to be all right.

This world...I think I like it.

*This post was inspired as I was sitting on the LRT on the way back from shopping (and failing miserably) for clothes for OB with a friend, and I noticed the sun setting, and the sky painted crimson red and purple. Needless to say, it was an incredible journey back home, with me staring out the window at the skies as 9 crimes played in my earphones =D