I still haven't finished my damn profile. I should get on that.
I'm in the midst of upgrading my profile page, so it may look like a hot mess right now.
WelcometoMy Profile! My name is Matthew, but I frequently call myself BACONator1313, at least around the internet. People call me Bacon...
and that's pretty cool.
I hope you enjoy your stay!
About Me:
At first you might think I am just some guy on MAL who likes anime. And that is correct. I don't commit my life to it. I don't go out of my way to make sure I watch everything. My plan to watch list is way too long, I have too many shows on hold that I'd like to be watching, and I've dropped shows I wish I at least put up with till the end. But life is filled with things to do and people to meet, so I don't entirely focus my life on anime. I wish I could spend more time watching good shows, or keeping up with seasonal anime better, or discussing the shows I love with more people who share a similar love. But I simply don't have the time. I am a poor university student, and anime is only a hobby of mine.
I got into anime thanks to my old friend, Andrew, who invited me over to his house to hang out in Grade 10, late 2011. We watched the first 9 episodes of Elfen Lied and I fell in love. I loved the violence, something I haven't really seen too much of; The video games I played never went into excruciating detail of blood and horror. I finished that show later that night and continued to watch that one show for weeks on end. I even forced my cousin to watch it once. Once Elfen Lied started to run dry, I wanted to explore more anime. I asked some friends what to watch and I went into Rosario x Vampire with high hopes. Needless to say, I found that side of anime. But it got me interested in finding more shows. I starting looking for shows to watch on my own. I found Air and Rumbling Hearts. And then it happened.
I watched the show that would forever define my taste in anime: Death Note. And from there, there was no turning back. Anime had become a part of my life and has continued to be even to this day. I don't ever think I'll stop caring about anime. And that is a great thing.
this one should include more.
Me Outside of Anime:
So I like things beside anime. Shocker. I like music; video games; sports; board games and Magic; drawing and painting; poetry and writing; coding and designing video games and apps; and of course - anime. And this is where I talk about what I like.
Music has been a huge part of my life for a long time. It has helped me get past hard times in my life and it has enriched the greatness that I've also experienced. I have songs for almost any mood I'm in, and songs to get me out of any mood I might be in and into another. There is something beautiful about music that way. I generally prefer songs that musically sound great, but I can also appreciate good lyrics when I hear them. The music I listen often tends to be Metal and Rock. The Rock I like is Nu Rock and Hard Rock, sometimes Alternative Rock. The Metal I like is Power Metal, Heavy Metal, Nu Metal, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, and very rarely Progressive Metal. I prefer clean lyrics to growling or screamo. I really like heavy rhythms, something to bang my head to. And I love piano. The second I hear a piano in a song, it makes it so much better. I like the occasional Classical Music and will avoid Country and Rap like the plague. Although some Rap Metal is cool. My favourite instruments are the piano and the drums. I can play the drums, and I can't play the piano. One of my favourite birthday presents was my double bass pedal. I would love to learn the piano some day too, and it is a dream of mine to own a really nice grand piano one day. My favourite bands include Red, Hollywood Undead, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Rise Against, Elvenking, and A Day to Remember. Other great bands I like are Billy Talent, Breaking Benjamin, Crown the Empire, Dangerkids, Nine Lashes, Three Days Grace, and Stratovarius, to name a few.
I have a large love for video games. I mostly play console, Xbox, but I am slowly switching over to PC. I like RPGs, whether that be a JRPG or an open-world RPG or anything in between. Anything that can entertain me with its gameplay and story. I like Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age, The Witcher and a few smaller titles out there. I also like Strategy Games, more often turn based ones than RTS games. I definitely prefer Fire Emblem over StarCraft. I like some 4X games. I prefer Endless over Civilization, as Endless is so much better at presentation and story. I also play Cod, although not often. I spend most of my time on CoD Zombies. Can't get enough of it. My favourite game of all time is Pokemon HeartGold. Love it to bits. I have been a huge Pokemon fan since my first video game ever, Pokemon Silver on the Gameboy Color, and enjoy all the Pokemon games since. I even play Pokemon competitively, although I have never gone to an official Nintendo Pokemon Event.
I also play sports. I play Hockey, Lacrosse, and Curling. I've played hockey since I first put skates on at the age of 4. I love playing the game. I would consider myself a Single A Player as far as skill goes, but I play in lower categories because the politics of hockey at higher levels of play is too much for me. My position is Goaltender, as I love to stand in front of frozen rubber. I may have been dropped on the head as a kid. I played hockey for 14 Winters straight, and I have also played several years of Summer Hockey and 3 on 3. I've gone to goalie training camps and have also had personal goalie training. I took a year off once I turned 18 and Rep stopped unless I wanted to play for the Junior team, which is too high of level for me. I then took up the pads again once I entered university and now I play on an intramural team. I also get asked to play net for some other teams here and there, and I always go to shinny whenever available. I also play Lacrosse. Only Box Lacrosse because I never liked Field. I played for 5 years, several of them being on Rep teams. I was really good on my Rep team too. I was like 3rd highest scorer. I played Pointmen. My favourite part of the game was whenever I completely wrapped my stick around someone. I went through at least two shafts a season due to having being bent too many times. Good memories. But I played American Football for one year to try it out instead of playing Lacrosse, so when I went back to Lacrosse year after, my 5th and final year, I found I lost most of the skills I used to have. So I stopped playing. But I invested in a very nice shaft and head when I stopped so that I can still have a stick to throw a ball around. I played curling for 2 years because my Grade 8 teacher chose me in Grade 7 to join the team. I had no idea the sport existed at the time, but I joined anyway. I loved it. I got really good by Grade 8, but still worse than all the other schools who took their team way more seriously than mine, but I was happy being the best on my team. My final position I played was Vice, which was my favourite. I certainly don't watch nearly as much sport as I play, but my viewing diversity is larger than my playing one. Beside the sports I play, I also watch American Football and Baseball. I have some favourite teams. In Hockey, and in the order of favourites, I like the Detroit Red Wings, Les Habitants, and anti-Leafs. For anyone unsure of what that last one means, it means I favour any team that plays against the Toronto Maple Leafs. My favourite player is Steve Yzerman. I don't watch Lacrosse. I only watch Curling when I happen to come across it on TV (p.s. I don't watch TV) or during the Olympics when I cheer for Canada. In Football, I like the Houston Texans. I don't have a preference on baseball teams; I just like to watch it. Keep in mind I never purposely watch TV.
My favourite Board Game is Go. If you don't know what it is just look it up. It is kind of like chess, but nothing like chess. I am having my own personalized wooden Go board crafted and will post a pic here when I receive it. I also enjoy some party games like Cards Against Humanity and Ultimate Werewolf. I play Magic The Gathering. My cousin somehow got me into it and I hate him for it. But I am also thankful as I have made some great friends because I play the game. I am not that great though; I mostly play casually. I have gone to some Pre-Releases before and had a good time, but I enjoy just playing casually with a bunch of friends into the wee hours of the morning when I have a midterm the next day.
I like to draw. I first started to draw when I was in 7th Grade. I was particularly good at it and I liked the praise. I didn't really start to like drawing until Grade 9, when I found a lot more emotion in me, which I was able to communicate nicely in art. My drawing crave ended in Grade 12, a couple of years ago, but I still pick up a pencil to draw here and there. I prefer to use a 2H and a 4B for almost all my drawings. I have several sketchbooks filled with pictures which bring back both good and bad memories, which I like to reflect on every now and then. I also took part in drawing competitions and paper and ink clubs in school to occasionally share my work. I tend to stick with pencil drawing, but I will sometimes paint if I feel like it. I have made a huge aerosol painting that I am very proud of that I hang on my wall.
I don't read too much so it is hard to really find the types of writers I like. But what I have found is that I really like spoken word, free verse, and rhyme. I sometimes find great enjoyment out of satirical writing. I like to write my own poetry, too. My favourite writer is Shane Koyczan, and my favourite poems include anything by Shane Koyczan and "I'm Sorry I'm a Christian." I also like to write. It tends to be a byproduct of all the anime I consume. I get creative urges to write my own stories. Often too. I am currently writing my first novel and have plans for a second, my magnum opus, or so I would like to believe. I am not too worried about getting it finished any time soon, as it is just a pastime to quench my creative thirst. But it is fun and I enjoy writing so I can see myself becoming a novelist by night.
I like to code and program. It is what I am mostly going to university for. I find great satisfaction being able to solve Computer Science problems. The algorithms and such that go into programming I find fun and creative to make. I like to think of interesting ways to solve coding problems. I like being able to create an application that someone wants or think could be fun to have. I like it when people have ideas that they don't know how to make happen and come to me to turn their idea into an app. Creating games is also fun, but a lot more time consuming. It also requires a lot more skills in different areas in order to create a game. I like to make simple games from time to time to try and grow some of my skills as a programmer. I also get to add in my own drawing for sprites and designs for the game, use my writing skills for cool scenario making in a game, and my love for music to create sounds for the game. Although I am much better and prefer to only code, I have experience in a lot of areas for making games, which allows me to make my own simple games by myself as a freelancer and personal creator. I am fluent in Java, fairly fluent in JavaScript, C# and Python, and know a bit a C++, HTML, Scheme, and Racket. I prefer Object Oriented Programming to Functional Programming, although capable of both.
done. need pictures still.
What I Like in Fiction:
Although I could limit this to just anime, I won't because I believe my preference applies to all mediums. So what do I like? What kind of story do I appreciate above all others? What are my favourite genres? There are a lot more questions than just these when considering someone's taste in fiction. I will try to go and explain mine.
Before getting balls deep, allow me to list my favourite genres: Psychological, Thriller, Drama, Fantasy, and Romance.
So over the past years of my life, I have had anime that I like and anime that I don't. Knowing what I like about an anime can be hard, but knowing you like an anime is easy. So I started like most others and found shows similar to the ones that I liked. I found Monster because I liked Death Note. I found Toradora because I liked Rumbling Hearts. You tend to find good shows you like because of stuff like this and find better shows because of stuff like this. I found my favourite anime because I couldn't get enough Death Note. And I have favourite shows that I watched early and after watching everything similar to it, it remains a favourite. This is how we start to understand our taste. Over time, I have been able to understand what about a show makes me like it. And I can see the patterns between the shows I like with correlating themes. So what are my preferences?
I like my fiction with strong themes. If there is topic that I find interesting or if it is highly controversial, then I am interested in how the show dissects this topic and delivers its themes. Obviously I have topics that I prefer over others. Of course. My favourite topic to see humanization / dehumanization. When a show can talk about a species, that obviously resemble humans, but talk down to them based on the laws of society as if they have no human rights. I like seeing this. These shows tend to build up two sides, the humans and the non-humans, whether that be vampires, ghouls, parasytes, or monster rats. And then the major conflict resides in how these two sides deal with each other. It often comes at the cost of war and rebellion. One side or both losing countless numbers. Although you can already see lots of other topics that tend to come along with this kind of show, the main strong point that I love, is when they show how humans act like monsters and the non-humans act more human than the humans: an example of dehumanization and humanization, respectfully. If a show can nail down this topic and give a good message about the themes that come along with it, and deliver it effectively enough, then it generally hits my favourites list.
There is a huge diversity of strong themes in fiction and I like a lot of the more philosophical kind, but besides strong themes, I also like fiction with characters with strong character motives. These are typically stories where a character gains some kind of motivation to do something. This normally comes with an emotional backstory where they have gone through troubling times. Now these characters are going about their lives trying to accomplish this goal. Whether this goal be morally sound or not, if the story gives me a solid reason to believe in the character, I love to see them face against everything in their way and the struggle they go through to get there. If this character is also broken and full of flaws, I find it extremely enjoyable to see them get through it even more. Seeing a character dealing with their problems, whether that be doing it well or desperately struggling, it makes them more human and relatable. And I like that.
For the types of stories I described above, the bulk of character development comes from them overcoming the internal conflict and personal problems as they pursue their dreams or goals. But I also enjoy a show with character development based around having a character try and find who they want to become, or growing up. This typically comes in the form of a coming of age story. I enjoy these. I like to see how small and unimportant a character can start out as and see them become something great that even they never saw them becoming.
I also have a bit of guilty pleasure. Allow me the honour of explaining what I like about the Romance genre. I like romance when paired up with a very specific sub-genre of drama: Melodrama. Now before you head off and type out a comment on my profile about how I could possibly like melodrama, I will correct you in your thinking. I have explained this on a forum and I believe I did a fantastic job of explaining myself. Here is the link to the forum if you want to give it a read. I will copy my thoughts from there below:
Melodrama is two things. It is it's own thing with it's own definition. And it is also what the internet has made it out to be.
The definition of melodrama is drama that has been exaggerated to some degree. There are most commonly two ways to do this kind of drama. The first is through character interactions being over-exaggerated and the second is the plot being over-exaggerated which leads to drama.
The first kind happens mostly by miscommunication or differences in opinions/way of life. Either way, it leads to arguments, crying and all the good jazz. Bad drama tends to lean more into the miscommunication bit. Miscommunication is easy to write, and therefore simple drama. Good drama tends to come more from differences in characters. This drama is harder to write, but also flows better and comes off as more natural and not as ass-pulley. Good and bad drama can come from either category though.
The second kind of melodrama is the plot being exaggerated. This is the kind of drama where people die, get hurt, or get mixed up in accidents. There are generally two ways to do this kind of drama. The first is when bad things happen in the middle of drama or is caused as a result from the drama. An example being someone getting mad from an argument and getting into a car to drive away from it, then getting into an accident. This can easily be used to cause quick drama. The result of this kind of drama is that people forgive the person when they get hurt, or they get over everything, or things get worse and cause more drama. This often comes off as bad drama. Contrived. The second way is to have the exaggeration come before the drama. This writing is what creates the drama. When drama is made from someone getting hurt, the writing that follows CAN come off as more natural and easy flowing. But it is harder to write and easy to get wrong.
So before I get into what the internet has done with the term, allow me to explain what makes melodrama good or bad. There are hard examples of what tends to make better drama, like having the exaggeration cause the drama, rather than having the drama be exaggerated. But trends don't always determine what is good and what is bad. As you could tell from other posts here, some people can find one show to have good melodrama and that same show have bad melodrama to someone else. So what determines it. Well it comes from the connection we make to the characters. If we truly care about a character, then we will care about all the hardships they go through and want to see them come through it somehow, no matter how exaggerated the situation gets. The other contender is our extension of disbelief. Everyone's is different. Some people can take more bullshit than others. If in our head, everything followed a logical path and no matter how messy things get are now, we believed that it happened naturally, then it will come off as good drama. When we lose our extension of disbelief, everything that is exaggerated from there on out will come off as contrived and the biggest ass-pull you've ever seen.
Which brings me into what the internet general refers to melodrama as. It has come to be known as simply drama that didn't resonate with the viewer. It can be just regular drama, but if it seems bad, they will call it melodrama. I personally dislike how people group it together. Melodrama is a sub-genre of drama. It can be good and it can be bad. Not all bad drama is melodrama. Not all melodrama is bad.
Now that you hopefully have a better understanding on my thoughts of melodrama as a sub-genre, I will go into how I got a liking for this specific sub-genre. I at first thought I liked Tragedy. Which is true to an extent. But I came to realize that it wasn't the tragedy itself that I liked, it was the drama that it caused. It brings an exaggerated twist to the drama as most of the time, someone's life is on the line. This tends to bring out both the best and the worst of people. So as I failed miserably at trying to find good Tragedy anime, I looked into why I liked the shows with Tragedy as a main topic. Once I found the cause, I started to enjoy lots of shows with good drama and good melodrama more often.
So these are my tastes and preferences when it comes to finding shows I like. I don't consume much media besides anime and visual novels, so if anyone knows good books or live action shows / movies I might like, be sure to let me know and I'll be sure to check them out.
done. needs pics.
My Favourite Anime:
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My Favourite Characters:
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My Favourite Creators:
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How I Rate:
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Random Places You Should Go To:
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I like anime with strong themes. Highly controversial themes are really great to see strong opinions on in an anime. Shows that focus heavy on themes, story/plot, narrative, and/or character development (sometimes world-building if it can really pull me in) are normally the ones that I get the most enjoyment out of. I have an innate pleasure for shows with themes that come with humanizing beings that society has claimed to be non-human.
I have a guilty pleasure for a good romance anime. Typically one with well thought out melodrama. [Melodrama done right: Rumbling Hearts; Melodrama done wrong: H20 Footprints in the Sand] It's a bonus if it can make me cry.
My Fav Anime of all time:
Code Geass
Steins;Gate
AnoHana
My Fav Anime with Strong Themes:
Shiki
Tokyo Ghoul (strictly season 1)
From the New World
Fate/Zero
Evangelion
My Fav Anime with Character Development:
Hunter X Hunter 2011
Gurren Lagann
Magi
My Fav Romance Anime:
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Toradora
Rumbling Hearts
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