As a writer I love tropes. Tropes are tropes because they work in telling good stories. Sure. Take the “Hero-Sidekick-Girlfriend” trio, right? You can use that interrelationship to create tension i…
Aug 8, 2022 • Subscribe
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Oh, So Tropical: The Soul Girl
I don’t know how many times I’ve looked at a trio of characters and seen them forming a classic Mind-Body-Soul trio. Sure. How about Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles,…
Oh, So Tropical: The Family Princess
I started out wanting to do a character analysis of Rea Sanka, the main female character (and namesake) of Sankarea, Undying Love, but I ran into a little…
Oh, So Tropical: The Chosen One
The essence of The Chosen One trope is that there is someone out there in the universe who has been Marked by Fate (or the Gods, or whomever)…
Oh, So Tropical: The Nose Bleed
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: tropes exist because they work. If you’re a writer like I am, tropes is your friend. Here’s a question…
Oh, So Tropical: The Princess in Peril
You know that the Princess in Peril is one of the oldest tropes in film, let along anime, right? I mean, seriously, The Perils of Pauline was made…
Oh, So Tropical: Avatar: The Last Airbender
I had a date with a nice lady whose only experience of anime was Avatar: The Last Airbender. “I wonder what you think of it?” she said. Well,…
Oh, So Tropical: The Convenient Stomach Rumble
I’m a writer so I can say this: There are a lot of gimmicks writers use to keep the story moving. For instance, the great crime writer Raymond…
Oh, So Tropical: The Stupid Harem Protagonist
You’ve seen harem shows. Just admit it. Admit that you are powerless, and put yourself in the hands of a higher power. No, wait. That’s for alcohol. But…
Oh, So Tropical: The Look-at-Me Woman
You know what? I think I may have discovered a whole new trope. Okay, let’s start with this fundamental fact: Anime is a medium largely created by Japanese…
Oh, So Tropical: The He-Can’t-Love-Me Woman
In a lot of ways romance animes are some of the dumbest on the air. I mean, seriously? You have Person A and Person B and everyone knows…
Oh, So Tropical: The “Nice To Meet You, Ms. Ayanami”
There are some anime you watch – I’m looking at YOU What Are You Doing Here Teacher – where you watch it and all you take away from…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Oaf
I’ve written a bunch of times about one trope, the Soul Woman. You know who she is: She’s a main character who, when you break her down into…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Metastable Relationship
I’ve talked about metastable relationships in passing so many times it occurs that there’s something bigger going on there. And sho ‘nuf … The term metastable comes from…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Broken Girl
It sure seems like the number of anime where the kids belong to/come from a complete nuclear family with a mother and a father is pretty small. There…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Gamer God
There are certain tropes that are so obvious it’s almost a waste of time to look at them. Oh, man, what’s the point of the Princess in Peril…
Oh So Mysterious! The Mystery Blogger Award!
Well Curtis, aka ospreyshire, nominated me for this oh so mysterious award and all I can say is thank you! Check out his post HERE. Honestly it surprises…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Ugly Duckling
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Ugly Duckling Okay, you know the story of the Ugly Duckling and I know the story of the Ugly Duckling. It’s from Hans Christian…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Superhero Doctor
Regular readers know I bring a few perspectives to these posts. Published writer looking at writing. Award-winning animator looking at animation. And yeah, I can do the critic/critique…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Big Brother
For storytelling reasons heroes often have sidekicks. Sure, right? A sidekick can do a lot of things, like be comic relief, or have some skill that the hero…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Idol Girl
There are a lot of idol girls in anime. It’s almost unavoidable, right? The purpose of anime is to get eyeballs on the screen, and a key way…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Hair Bra
The point of manga and anime is to get eyeballs onto content, whether it’s paid for directly (by buying manga) or indirectly (by ad sales during anime). In…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Lovable Goofball
People love to love the goofy characters, don’t they? You know who they are: They’re people who are funny not because they are comedians or anything like that,…
The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, And Yet The Town Moves, Outlaw Star, Outlaw Star
Oh, So Meta: Excel Saga
I’ve always been interested in things that are self-referential, or meta, if you prefer. This goes back to my college days, where we studied cybernetics. Sure. The Basic…
Oh, So Trope-ical: Pinocchio
Yeah, yeah, you’re saying to yourself that Pinocchio wasn’t an anime. First of all, that’s not entirely true. In fact, there have been TWO Pinocchio anime series, one…
Oh, So Meta: Lucky Star
There’s just something so addictive about Lucky Star. I don’t know about you, but I can watch it over and over. And I have. And it cracks me…
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Sexually Aggressive Gal
Yeah, I started spelling it Trope-ical. There’s no point in a pun no one gets. But yeah, there are a lot of tropes in storytelling. That’s not an…
Oh, So Trope-ical: Pawn Queens
There’s a really great character trope out there if the writers are careful in how they deploy it. You know what it is. The title says it. I…
Tropical Rouge Precure Ep 12 Review: So that's why the Aqua Pot is so Important...
Hi, Everyone! This is my Short review of Tropical Rouge Precure Episode 12 and my thoughts about the episode. This episode is the introduct...
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Infantilized High School Girl
The Law of Tropes #1: Tropes is tropes because they work. Right? Certain characters/situations/relationships are common because users recognize them and understand them, and because they do somethi…
Oh, So Trope-ical: Raised by Wolves
Well, no, I don’t literally mean raised by actual, you know, wolves, since, you know that doesn’t really happen, the myth of Romulus and Remus aside. But what…
Tropical Rouge Precure Ep 33 Review: So Precure on Drugs?
Hi, Everyone! This is my short review of Tropical Rouge Precure Episode 33 and I know I have not been doing any reviews but it is due to…
Oh, so Trope-ical: Too Cool for School
One of the things you typically look for in kids’ media … and remember, the target audience for most anime is slightly nerdy Japanese high school boys ……
Oh- SO CLOSE. Black Clover Chapter 317 BREAKDOWN
THAT reference comes from everyone’s Favorite whipcracking Flash animated show- Johnny Test. Maybe I’ll do a “Nostalgia Corner” on it someday. But don’t hold me to tha…
Oh So Trope-ical: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Tropes are one of those things that I’ve mentioned about a zillion times but never actually talked about. There’s probably a formal definition, but a trope is basically…
Tropical Rouge Precure Ep 6 Review: The Tropical Club!
Hi, Everyone! This is my review of Tropical Rouge Precure Episode 6 and the girls' club is finally set up but what exactly are they suppose ...
The Pre-Evangelion GAINAX
“I guess you could say it was Nadia that gave GAINAX its name recognition in mainstream Japan – up until then, only hardcore fans knew the company. This…
Oh, So Trope-cal: I Can’t Say “I Love You”
Look, if you’re writing a popular romance manga, or an anime made from a popular romance manga, you often have a big problem: How do you keep the…
Tropical-Rouge! PreCure Episode 29: Excellent Tropical Style
The twenty-ninth episode of Tropical-Rouge! PreCure is a real treat, and even then I might be understating it. PreCure face their most powerful foe yet.
Tropical Rouge Precure Ep 10 Review: The New Power! Precure Mix Tropical!
Hi, Everyone! This is my review of Tropical Rouge Precure Episode 9 and the girls faced their first challenge with the new Zenzen Yaranade! ...
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This week: Saji “docks” his “riser” on Setsuna from behind. Setsuna’s balls drop (pictured).
Tropical-Rouge! PreCure Episode 20: Premium Tropical Melon Bread
Melon bread goes missing in the twentieth episode of Tropical-Rouge! PreCure, but it is not just your garden variety melon bread. No, it is Premium Tropical Melon Bread.…
“Viva! Spark! Tropical-Rouge! Precure” — Tropical-Rouge! Precure OP
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AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline EP 18 – Oh, So They Aren’t All Cartoon Villains?
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Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2
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