3×3 = Fun: Shirobako and the Love for Anime

Anime was always an important part of my life. When I was a kid me and my sister used to watch the latest DBZ episode as soon as we arrived home. I remember wanting to be like Goku, and eventually other popular shows like Naruto caught my eye. I don’t think I knew it was anime… I probably thought it was just a cartoon or something, but I’m ok with that. Around the end of 2017 I started watching anime in a “serious way” – more like I was fascinated by it – and after 600 completed shows, and over 9000 episodes I think is pretty safe to say I love this medium. I can attribute this love to a lot of factors, but at the end I think it just resonates with me, and that’s more than enough.

3×3 = Fun: K-On!! S2 & Movie – My Loving Thesis

Getting to know people is easy, but making friends is difficult; I’ve come to that realization through out the years. Since I was young I’ve had trouble with relationships, but I’ve always tried my best and because of that I’ve also had great friend groups, best friends, and now a wonderful girlfriend. It’s a difficult topic, and while others have an innate understanding, I think a lot of people struggles with it. No matter where you stand I think we naturally gravitate towards interaction, and we always strive for a good relationship.

3×3 = Fun: K-On! S1 – My Loving Thesis

I’ve always related to the feeling of wanting a place to belong to. It’s a hard thing to find, especially nowadays with so many things to check and ways to connect. It got even more difficult when I realized you can have multiple places, or that it doesn’t have to be a “place” to begin with. It can be a niche you connect with, a hobby or passion project, or even a person that makes you feel happy. It’s the sense of belonging that makes this thing or place special.

3×3 = Fun: New Game! and a Comforting Feeling

Everyone has bad days. It can be something that bothered you through out the day, or maybe something is going bad in your life. I’ve been there myself, and in my opinion there’s nothing better than some kind of distraction. Maybe go for a walk, get your favorite food for dinner, or even play a game you love. For the longest time I had nothing specific, it could be any of the things I just described but nothing felt right.

I remember coming from school one day. I was sad for a reason I don’t recall; all I wanted is to distract myself but nothing was working. I came to the conclusion that maybe rewatching some anime would be nice. I thought about my favorites but nothing caught my eye, until out of nowhere I remembered a show called New Game!. It was short and I remember having a good time with both seasons, so I ended up choosing that. I clearly remember how I started to feel cozy, I forgot whatever stressed me, I sat comfortably and binged it until I went to sleep.

3×3 = Fun: Boku no Hero Academia and Unique Emotions

“Top heroes have stories about them from their school days. Most of their stories have one thing in common: Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think.” When I first watched BNHA this quote made me tear up a bit.

I don’t cry easily; not with movies, TV shows or even real life events. I have to care a lot about something for it to make me cry, or at least resonate with me in a unique way. So even though I didn’t think a lot about this show the first time I watched it, BNHA got stuck in my head for a long time. I knew it had great qualities, after all I’ve been into heroes since I was a kid, it had stunning animation and very well designed characters. Those definitely helped but that’s not why it suddenly got to my absolute favorites. After I rewatched it a couple of times I realized it’s one of the most touching and creative action shounen I’ve watched so far.

3×3 = Fun: Sora yori mo Tooi Basho and the Courage to Change

Change is a constant struggle to a lot of people. Sometimes you want it, but internal or external factors are on the way; other times it comes inadvertently without you asking for it. In my case I’ve always struggled with change, but I like it and I try my best to keep improving myself. That’s why from the start I knew Sora yori mo Tooi Basho was going to resonate with me on a deeper level.

3×3 = Fun: Hajime no Ippo and the Meaning of Strength

What does it mean to be strong? is one of the main questions and themes that Hajime no Ippo presents to its viewers, and I think it’s the perfect question to ask in a sports anime.

3×3 = Fun

I find it really entertaining to do lists; it can be about anything, from a to-do list to a favorites list. But if I had to choose one type it’d be the latter one. There’s something really enjoyable about thinking why I like a piece of media and then based on that ranking it.

In my opinion, a list alone lacks the visual aspect I really crave, and that’s why I used to be obsessed with doing 3×3. So, on this series of posts, I’ll talk about my favorite two mediums – anime and videogames – and present my 3×3’s to you, explaining each one of the entries.

I think when an anime is well done each season is important; that’s why I like to take into account all seasons while ranking my favorites.

Videogames are bastly different from each other even if they belong to the same franchise, so I won’t talk about previous/newer games.

Arknights: A Masterclass on Caring

Arknights is a great game. I’ve been playing it every single day for almost a year now, and everything about it seems polished to the extent where I sometimes forget I’m playing a mobile game. So why is that? What differentiates this game from the vast amount of gacha that are being released, or from the old established ones? The answer is as simple as the amount of care that the game has been given.

Revisiting and Discovering Media

Nostalgia is a powerful feeling, we all know it can change our perception of how good or bad something really is, a deceiving and beautiful feeling that we all can relate to, yet sometimes I think the joy we get from revisiting media is more than that.

I love to revisit stuff, if you check my MAL it’s pretty clear, but I think more than wanting the adrenaline rush that nostalgia gives I just wanna experience something I know is good, and that I know I will enjoy. A good example would be K-On! (including season 2 and the movie), which I consider not only my favorite anime but probably one of my favorite pieces of media. In fact I’ve rewatched it every year for the last couple of years.