Armplay
by Denise Sawicki on July 24, 2011

So, It seems like our frequent thunderstorms have programmed me to become wide awake at bizarre times even when there isn't a storm. I am definitely going back to bed. First I wanted to comment on a strange trend in anime. I have not watched all that much anime, but something weird always seems to happen to people's arms. I will try to avoid spoilers for anyone who cares by just using generic words such as "someone"...
Someone borrows or steals someone else's arm and uses it as if it were their own:
-Fullmetal Alchemist (two important cases)
-Trigun
-Claymore
Someone has a mechanical arm:
-Fullmetal Alchemist
-Trigun (frankly I don't know if they are animal, vegetable, or mineral but "mechanical" seems to describe the arms in question reasonably well)
-Cowboy Bebop
-Gankutsuou (Someone's arm seems to be composed of a canister containing a special pen. There is no word as to why or how this is the case)
Not *as* weird, but someone loses an arm:
Most of the above, plus:
-Gantz
-Le Chevalier D'Eon
In contrast, anime I have seen in which I can't remember anything weird happening to anyone's arms:
-Evangelion (there is a leg lost)
-Eden of the East
-Fruits Basket (something weird happens to people's entire bodies but it's not specifically about their arms except for the hugging bit)
Two Replies to Armplay
Denise Sawicki | July 25, 2011
Hand-gun, I love it... Maybe he gets a lot of iron in his diet.
Prayer for the Paranoid
Denise Sawicki posts whatever she feels able to post without serious consequences Read more »

Haircuts and dandelions
So I cut off all my hair this weekend, about 16 inches of it. Now it is above chin length. I like it better this way but can't be bothered to get it cut more than once a year (I think I went 2 years this time). Go »
Annoying
Darrell tells me that people actually care about *my* approval and they think I am rejecting them when in fact I am trying to keep away from them to protect them from my insanity. You guys are all awesome by the way... Wish I wasn't too insane to interact comfortably with anyone... Go »
More about the coat obsession
I know I already put the pictures on Facebook but I have such an infatuation with this coat that I need to post about it a bit :P. Here is the real dude in the real coat: Here is Darrell in our coat we just bought: Here's me in the coat: Here I am in the coat again (brighter shot): Anyhow, generally when you find pictures of this guy he has on the suspenders and no vest. He does wear a vest sometimes though! Go »
False Hope
So the guys' band had a show on Saturday and it went really well. A bunch of people came up to say they did a good job, and the headlining band (another local act) really liked the music and wants to do other shows together. And they even got paid! Go »
Bablyon 5 vs. Little House on the Prairie
Darrell is checking out a lot of Babylon 5 DVDs from the library lately. I watch it too when I get a chance. Anyway, perhaps it's because we're nuts, but we think that show has a bizarre number of parallels with Little House on the Prairie. Go »
Scott Hardie | July 24, 2011
For some reason I'm reminded of the game Final Fantasy VII, as steeped in anime influence as any other in the series, in which a character has his severed hand replaced by a machine gun. The weapon has a life of its own, sometimes firing when he gets angry, which he seems to be often. It never runs out of ammunition or needs to be reloaded, and indeed there isn't even a place to insert bullets; it just has an endless supply. Even in a fantasy game, the implausibility of that hand-gun always bugged me. But, this is a game where an entire town transforms into a cannon, so I probably shouldn't overthink this.