12 Days of Christmas – Day 8 – Chained by Fashion

The characters in Hunter x Hunter make killing a form of art. We got our first glimpses of this back when Hisoka started pulling out his magic tricks, but in the most recently animated arc we got introduced to the rest of the Phantom Troupe. This is a group that could only be held together because the members are different enough to complement each other and get through just about anything. These differences even show up in their methods of killing, from the guy who massacres whole rooms with bullets that are fired from his hands to Chrollo, who likes to put as much effort into tearing apart one person as he can. But even after seeing each member show off their skills (…except Mummy Boxer…) the character who impressed me the most in this arc was still Kurapika. Through him we get to see that even if someone doesn’t want to kill, they can still make it into art.

12 Days of Christmas – Day 7 – Close Your Eyes for Five Seconds

…yeah, I got nothing. Just wanted to remind everyone that this was a thing that happened. Again.

12 Days of Christmas – Day 6 – Honor Thyself and Thy Food

As you’re watching anime or reading manga, you will eventually come to a point that defies any attempt at explanation. Between your experience with and knowledge of the series, the intensity of the events and how everything can come together, there is no easy way to summarize what the series has made you feel.

So I’ve decided to present the following to you without any further explanation or context. There’s really nothing more I can say.

12 Days of Christmas – Day 5 – Worthy of a Greek Goddess

It wasn’t until fairly recently that I managed to read all of Hayate the Combat Butler, though I’ve actually been trying to catch up for quite a while now. Got my first volume back in December 2009, if you can believe that. So I felt it was a good time to talk for a little bit about what I and most other readers consider the biggest and best part of the series.

12 Days of Christmas – Day 3 – Praise from Caesar

People like to knock shonen and call it much simpler than other genres, but the truly great ones can create interesting drama and characterization as good as anyone else. Just this year I got to see Yoshikage Kira, the Phantom Troupe, and possibly the board chairman from Assassination Classroom. The character I wanted to discuss for this post, though, is the most recent One Piece villain, Caesar Clown. Through a combination of deception and a special brand of insanity, he manages to set himself apart from his predecessors and show how entertaining a mad scientist can be.