Messing Up A Performance

Just an interesting fact about me: I actually have a fervent passion towards acting and because of that, I actually took up English Drama (Theatre Arts) as my Co-Curricular Activity for the next two years ^^ I don’t have much experience with acting in front of a huge crowd; I have only done a Romeo and Juliet role-play and a Macbeth role-play, both just to my classmates.

Clannad

I know many people are fearful of performing in front of masses. And that fear would also lead to break-downs or mind-blanks some times. One of the reasons is because we are too conscious about what others think of us. Some of us are too afraid of screwing up; some are too afraid of the consequences that come after it. Some are simply worried that the audience will not enjoy their performance.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie In April)

Sometimes, we mess up in performances… It is something totally undesirable and we would feel indignant after putting in so much effort. People would then come and console us, by saying, “It’s okay.” No offence, but I don’t entirely support the use of these words. In my opinion, screwing-up is NOT okay. It is something that you have done incorrectly and should be admitted outright.

Hanayamata

All I am saying is that if we slip and fall, we should strive to stand back up on our feet by giving our best for the rest of the performance. As punishment for messing up, we need to work harder for the rest of the performance in order to rectify it.

In life, we can never predict what will happen next. As a result, what determines our future is not what event that happens, but how we deal with the events. When life gives you lemons, you can either look at it, in which nothing will happen, or squeeze it, which will make a refreshing lemonade to drink.

If you’re simply crying over spilt lemonade and constantly dwelling on past errors,

No pun intended 😉

But really, what has happened has happened, and we have no ability to change history. Don’t let past traumas dampen your current spirit! History is indeed important, so let it be a lesson learnt, and instead, do your best to write better stories in the present and future! Remember your mistakes and how you felt, so that you will never want to feel the same way again.

We have the power to mould the future, by deciding on our current course of action. Utilise the time moping around, to reflect on why the mistakes happened and work on it for subsequent performances. This will definitely ensure a smaller chance of screwing-up!

tl;dr Be afraid of messing up, but at the same time, work hard in order to curb that fear. And always pick yourself back up after you mess up, because nothing’s going to be accomplished by lying in the mess you created.

Thank you very much for being a wonderful audience!

*lights out, curtains fall*

Do Anime Even Impart Knowledge?

For non-otakus, it is typically thought that anime are merely fantasy-oriented shows that do not have much relevance to reality. For anime viewers, we also tend to get too absorbed into the plot, and miss out on the educational aspect of anime.

Anime has definitely imparted moral values to me. But has it taught me anything else, other than just life lessons?

Science

• [One Piece] Clima-Tact (Mirage Tempo): Nami uses the “Cool Ball” in a dry and hot environment to change the air density and create a mirage of herself. The extreme difference in temperature causes major light refraction, allowing Nami to disappear and create an illusionary copy of herself. To be totally honest, this was one of my favourite fights in One Piece, entirely because physics was used to defeat a much stronger enemy, and intelligence triumphed strength in the end.
• [Terra Formars] The DNA of various animals, mainly insects, have been incorporated into humans, giving them the abilities of the organism itself. For example, Marcos gained the powers of the Huntsman Spider, attaining great strength, ferocity and incredible speed. Likewise, many animals and their characteristics have been portrayed and described in the manga.

Sports and the Arts

• [Kuroko no Basuke] + [Haikyuu!!]: Inform viewers on rules and regulations of sports, like Basketball and Volleyball, and display certain strategies and tactics commonly-seen in real-life competitions.
• [Hanayamata]: Informs viewers on a Japanese cultural activity, called Yosakoi dancing, and showcases Yosakoi performances.

General Knowledge

• [Zankyou no Terror]: Made references to several historical events, one being the 1960 protests against the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan. Also, the anime includes Greek Mythology, informing viewers on certain aspects of the story of Oedipus.
• [Amagi Brilliant Park]: Informs viewers on Fermi Questions, which is basically the estimation of physical quantities to arrive at a rough answer. An example would be: Determine the length of an average red ant divided by the radius of a helium atom. For Fermi Questions, the exact physical quantities are usually unknown, and so people often work with just estimated values and logic. To try out some Fermi Questions, click the link here.

Of course, the list is non-exhaustive. These are but just a few examples found in the wide world of anime. All I want to prove is that even though certain anime may be all about action or fan-service or what not, there are still instances of education and knowledge. Regardless of the anime, there is always something that can be taken away from it 🙂

Hanayamata

When I first knew about Hanayamata, I had the typical impression that it would be excessively feminine and would contain frequent fanservice. Oh, how absolutely erroneous was that mindset. Hanayamata is literally one of my most favourite anime all time and I can truly say, it is the epitome of magical beauty.

The entire anime had perfect animation, but I shall only focus on the final episode, which one could identify it as the Mount Everest of fascination. The Yosakoi Club was about to perform for their performance. Recently, Hana had to leave Japan and return to America with her mom. Thus, the originally 5-member group had one of its component wrenched out of their system, which resulted in the rest of them experiencing a difficult time when trying to rehearse properly. Little did they expect, Hana called at the eleventh hour, and telling them that she is in Japan and will try her best to join them. But due to time constraints, the Yosakoi team started performing first.

And halfway into the performance, Hana finally reaches the place, and does a spectacular jump onto the stage, joining her friends in the performance. Finally, the team is complete and with all 5 of them dancing together, the performance suddenly became even more beautiful, even more complete.

The opening theme song, also the song that they painstakingly put together for their performance, just blends so nicely with the joyous performance.
Link to OP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQiLX_RNgsk

As the performance is reaching its end, my eyes welled up with tears, as Naru looks back on her journey of Yosakoi.

At the end, the anime closes the curtains on a sweet note, with Hana determined to stay with the rest of them. I can only imagine the 5 of them, continuing to dance yosakoi, continuing to have fun with one another, continuing to create much more lovely memories…

Overall, this anime has been a fascinating experience throughout. It is really heartening to see people of different backgrounds and characters, being connected by a similar interest, through which, they develop strong covalent bonds with one another.

((And looking back, if I can remember accurately, Hanyamata had only one brief scene with them being in a sauna. Just let this fact sink in for a moment. An anime that is extremely female-oriented, has significantly less fan-service than countless of anime that include “Action” as one of their genres. And another thing. The producers could actually gain higher profits, due to a larger audience, if they were to have included more fan-service. BUT THEY DID NOT! How miraculous is it to find an anime that prioritises quality of content, over profits?))

Anyways, HAnaNAruYAyaMAchiTAmi is one of the most enchanting anime that I have ever watched and it is definitely one of my all-time favourites. And now, it’s time to let the ending theme song play once more~
Link to ED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CdKItk-OCM

For Your Own Sake

Hanayamata Episode 12

Your parents may have high expectations of you. Your teachers may have high regards for you. Your friends may have high confidence in your academic abilities.

But the effort you put in, should not be for them. You may make them happy and proud of you, but will you be happy and proud of yourself?

We should all work hard, but we should also know why we are working hard for. It is a fact that grades do not define oneself. If your ambition is totally unrelated to the things you learn now, at least they may serve as a backup plan; they are the basic knowledge for certain jobs.

So think of studying as a prerequisite to achieving your dream, and not something mandatory of your society.

Work hard, not for others to be happy, but for yourself to feel a sense of joy.

Work hard, not for others to be proud, but for yourself to be proud of yourself.

Pick You Up When You Fall

Hanayamata Episode 9

You may fall to even the deepest trenches, but true friends will pick you up no matter how difficult it is. After they finish laughing at you, of course. But if they can’t pick you up despite how hard they try, they will just give up and jump into the trench to accompany you 🙂