3-Day Quote Challenge – Day 3

Thanks again to Kuro Sama for the nomination!  This was an interesting trek into memory lane, remembering all the little gems of wisdom I’ve picked up from anime.  I’ve saved the best for last.

RULES:

• Post one quotation a day for three days (they can be from other sources or one of your own).
• Nominate 3 other bloggers to participate per post.
• Thank the blogger who nominated you

There’s always the question of whether Avatar: The Last Airbender is anime or not.  If there were a line between “anime” and “cartoon,” I’d probably put Avatar on the anime side because of its uniquely Asian approach and classical Eastern themes.

Uncle Iroh… is everybody’s uncle.   He’s an example of an exceptional character, standing out in all ways.  Whenever someone asks the question “if you could meet anyone, real life or fictional, who would it be?,” I immediately think I would love to have tea with Uncle Iroh.  Pretty much everything from this guy is both quotable and contains lessons of wisdom.  The quote I have selected I have found to be an excellent guiding principle, based on my experiences here and abroad.

“It is important to draw wisdom from different places. If you take it from only one place it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, the other nations, will help you become whole.  It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful too.” – Iroh

It’s a fascinating quote.  What I find striking is what it doesn’t say.  It’s not telling you to adopt those beliefs or become one of another element.  Rather, it’s saying to learn from them to bring completeness and balance to yourself.  Interestingly, balance comes through wisdom learned from a variety of perspectives and people.

MY NOMINEES:

Anime Madhouse

Medieval Otaku

The Anime Analyst

3-Day Quote Challenge – Day 2

Alright!  Day 2 of the Quote Challenge!  Thanks again to Kuro Sama for nominating me.

RULES:

• Post one quotation a day for three days (they can be from other sources or one of your own).
• Nominate 3 other bloggers to participate per post.
• Thank the blogger who nominated you

My second quote comes from something of an oddball character.  His name is Kaiki Deishu, from the Bakemonogatari series.

“The fake is of far greater value. In its deliberate attempt to be real, it’s more real than the real thing.” – Kaiki Deishu

This really speaks to me at my odd crossroads of psychology and philosophy.  Of course, the fake has to have a desire to be real, or as close as possible to the real.  Then, it has to make the effort to be. Essentially, it’s saying that a combination of desire and effort is what is valuable, and more real.   The real just is.  It doesn’t require anything more than mere existence.  In that sense, it’s easy.

When applied to work life, it brings another quote to mind – “fake it until you make it.”  If you pretend to be competent and that you know what you’re doing, eventually you will be. When you fake it through intention and effort, eventually it will become real.

My Nominees:

Takuto’s Anime Cafe

Aniwhat? Aniwho? Anime.

Unnecessary Exclamation Mark

3-Day Quote Challenge – Day 1

Thank you Kuro Sama for nominating me to do this challenge.  I happen to have a soft spot for pretty words, so this works out quite well.  I’ll try to remember some of the quotes that have struck me from my wanderings in anime.

Rules:

• Post one quotation a day for three days (they can be from other sources or one of your own).
• Nominate 3 other bloggers to participate per post.
• Thank the blogger who nominated you

My first quote is a little bit of cheating.  I did first see it in an anime, My Neighbors the Yamadas, but it’s borrowing a rather famous haiku from Taneda Santoka.

“A lone figure / back turned / receding into the mist.”
うしろ姿のしぐれてゆくか
Ushiro sugata no shigurete yukuka

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a Studiio Ghibli film.  It’s a rather fun, yet irreverent look at a Japanese family.  This particular anime I find can resonate with families from many cultures.  This quote comes at the end of a somewhat sad scene.  The father wants to take a picture with his family to commemorate the first snow of winter.  Meanwhile, the family is enraptured by a drama playing on TV.  His solution – to set the camera on the TV and take a picture in a way that made it look like all of them were together outside.  Of course, there’s a ton of symbolism in the scene, but it’s greatly enhanced by this haiku.

Since I went to Japan to learn both language and culture, I have gained a tremendous appreciation for haiku.  Some of the best haiku are so very descriptive, they create a clear image in your mind’s eye.  Translating haiku is an exceptionally difficult task, so I can appreciate the effort that went into this translation.  In the translation above, they went to encapsulate the feeling of the haiku.

One of the odd things about the haiku is its little か at the end, which makes it contemplative.  Santoka was reflecting on how Santoka appeared to his friends as he left them.  If you add in his really tragic past, it makes the phrase quite somber in tone.  That’s what I really like about the quote – it’s a quiet reflection on how you appear to others.

My nominees:

Mistakes Cheerio for Chesto

Caraniel’s Ramblings

Anime Vios