Several times I've been asked about why I use the profile picture that I have and/or what my name refers to. The answer is multifaceted, and it's a bit more of an ordeal to answer than "I think x character is cool" or whatever the explanation is that most people have for their profile picture, so this is my longwinded essay about the why of it all.
The profile picture:
It's a drawing of an alien called Lam. It was drawn by the infamous occultist Aleister Crowley, and it was first published in 1919. According to Crowley, Lam is a Tibetan word for way or path, and it has connections to Buddhism. I don't care about that. Crowley, who was probably high out of his mind at the time, claimed to have seen this critter when he drew it.
What interests me about this image is how similar it looks to the stereotypical grey alien before that became a pop culture sensation. The only real difference being the much smaller and more human-like eyes, as opposed to the big black orbs. In fact, aliens were born out of the occult—notably through theosophy—before any normal person claimed to see one. Theosophists placed a special value upon various planets in the solar system, and many of them would claim to commune with aliens. Quite a number of these fake totally real encounters had the subject referring to the "alien" as an "aryan" or some other very human-like description. There were some more "exotic" alien descriptions that didn't resemble humans too much in some cases.
Anyway, the "sightings," eventually would solidify into the grey aliens we so often hear about today. If you dig into commentary from alien fanatics online, you can find speculation about other alien races, and alleged sightings do vary to some degree, though. What fascinated me about Lam is that it constitutes a kind of "missing link" between the "aryan" aliens and the grey aliens. My interest in alien/UFO history is part of why I chose to use this image.
My name:
Gsarthotegga is pronounced as sar | thought | tay | ga, I guess—whatever, who cares? The name comes from the author Clark Ashton Smith, who was part of Lovecraft's circle of friends, and while he penned many poems and also would draw and paint, he was mostly know for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror short stories that he submitted to pulp magazines. Gsarthotegga is also known as Vulthoom (please, ignore the garbage artwork on this page). The story Vulthoom can be read here. Vulthoom is presented as a deity or god, but it's also very clearly a space alien.
The name and profile picture in unison:
Okay, if you've looked at many profile pictures on here, then I don't need to tell you that most of them are of high school girls from anime. Then you have a few people who have black and white pictures of Stalin or whatever...
I have controversial views on anime (and everything else, to be honest) that often clash with other MALists, and I don't ever try to tone these opposing views down or carefully choose shows where I'll have a positive reaction. Don't care, and I gladly invite these Animefan Crybaby responses I so often receive. I've embraced that "alienation" by choosing an image and name that both correspond to fictitious aliens. I wanted a long, unwieldy, even enigmatic name. One that users might not remember or will be left to wonder about the origin of, but it stands out like a sore thumb when they see it. The picture synergizes with the name well, while also being kind of creepy and funny at the same time. It's also very memorable on a website that has a predictable pattern when it comes to profile pictures.
Perhaps it's counter-productive to choose a profile picture and name that was partially intended to mystify, but then to demystify the pair by explaining away everything, yet most people won't read this in the first place, and now I'll have something to point to when asked, instead of having to type up an answer every time.
Scores and what peons on MAL think about art doesn't matter. Like, get this, because it's pretty important: It's the art that matters. Is that revolutionary enough for you? Remember, it's not an IQ test to score your anime, retard. Before you dissect a frog, you should know what you're actually doing, and the same goes for passing judgment on my favorite anime.
Let this broken vase sink in. It's just a broken vase, you say? That light contorting and refracting has a certain awe to it that you can't experience otherwise, but you probably didn't realize that. Well, I did. Think of the symbology and how it's, like, conceptual, man. Makes me feel like Epicurus or something just thinking about it. This vase looks more beautiful than an intact one that you'd purchase at Walmart. Just like how men need to man up and learn to appreciate used-up old women, you need to accept this broken vase into your heart to understand it. I'm an aesthete, seeing beyond the surface, while you're like, "shit's broken," sweeping it into a dustpan! You might have thrown away a million dollars if the CIA could have gotten ahold of it for money laundering. You have no vision, stuffing everything into pigeonholes and whatever other holes that might strike your fancy. Who are you to baselessly dismiss this art? You got up in the vase's feng shui and tried to make it yours, insisting upon yourself because of your presuppositions, missing the point of expression altogether. Worst of all, you attempt to dismiss rather than to understand. That's right: You're a dismisser; whereas I'm an understander.
Oh, yeah, and just in case you're not enlightened enough to get it because you haven't taken as many yoga classes at the local mall as me, I also rate anime, and my ratings are explained below, so check them out.
What's that? I don't even have a ratings section on here, you say? Why should I have to prove anything to you when we live in an incredible world where Congo the Chimpanzee was making better art than you?
Wow, look at this wonderful painting! Abstract expressionism is serious business and not monkeying around at all!
In case you're too plebeian to understand the deep meaning of this painting, then remember, repeat, and all will be clear: Everything around the image is part of its meaning. Its uniqueness is part of the uniqueness of the single place where it is. Everything around it confirms and consolidates its meaning.
My man ThatAnimeSnob 2.0, also known by the totally ironic moniker rorikonfan, giving a dope-ass take on Usagi Drop, his words flowing like a cakewalk with sprinkles and sugar on a rainbow slide!:
Before I twirl into the whimsical whirlpool of thoughts, let’s sprinkle some glitter on the fact that I’m indifferent to slice of life serenades. They’re like marshmallows on a gloomy day—fluffy but not filling. Moeblobs, however, frolic miles ahead in the absurdity race. So here I am, plopping down to watch this anime because it pirouetted into the top ten on every cosmic billboard within weeks. I pondered, "How in the cotton candy clouds did this happen? It’s just another stroll through mundane-ville!"
Peeking at the plot reveals a sprinkle of nothingness. A dude unearths that his grandpa played the parent role late in the game and decides to nurture the sprout after the old sage hops off this merry-go-round. So, what’s all the chitter-chatter about? Whispers suggest it’s got a weird twist at the manga’s climax (not spilling the jelly beans—spoiler alert!), or perhaps it blooms feelings like a garden of emotions. But honestly, the storyline feels as thin as a crepe, characters are cookie-cutter cutouts, and the ending flutters away like a butterfly into the void, so my eyes aren’t glued to a masterpiece through an objective kaleidoscope.
Yet, I must admit, the presentation dances on a tightrope of finesse. It captures the essence of the ordinary with a sprinkle of magic stardust. I remember a whimsy-tastic anime from ages ago called Chocotto Sister—where ludicrousness reigned supreme! With everything from snuggly lolicons to Santa handing out nudie gift wrap to unsuspecting teens; it had a slice of life vibe but quickly tumbled into silliness, wrapped in a lame production bow that faded into forgetfulness.
Usagi Drop prances through a dreamy garden of subtly woven artsy whimsy. The visuals leap like pastel kittens, each character a dancing firefly that beckons eyes to twirl. The voice acting hums just right, never sailing over the top into the land of drama llamas. Each character behaves with a sprinkle of sense; no hopping teens with angst grenades in sight here! The hero juggles work like a circus clown, while a wistful girl seeks her treasure map to joy. This slice of life, so rare among the anime trees, sparkles like a unicorn at tea time. Most shows skedaddle past the ordinary, gift characters with sparkle coins, and toss them into school sagas that turn into accidental nudity rodeos. And remember how ‘grown-up’ parenting traipsed around in Astarotte no Omocha?
Usagi Drop sidesteps that and serves a delectable dish of realism, pouring out the bittersweet recipe of caring for a dreamy child in a world of grown-up grumbles. It reveals the sacrifices, spun with threads of sadness, and let's not kid ourselves—it can be tough for realism-dodgers, who make up around 99.98% of the whimsical media land. Heck, I juggle with realism too! Yet enchanting as it dances, this show is grounded more than any other I've snuggled with in parenthood tales. Many swear by the second season of Clannad, calling it realistic, yet its finale shouts fairy tale escape—a wishful mirage! Then there's Kurenai, where a young lad spins tales of tending to a gloomy girl, sprinkled with action sprinkles, swirling dementia, and even love’s taboo dance. Was it grander than Usagi Drop because of these? Nope, not at all!
Now hold your spaghetti horses, I’m not making a grand statue of realism here! Sure, the storytelling has its wobbly jellybeans. Like, poof! Daikichi scoops up Rin like a magician conjuring a goldfish! Home sweet home—bam! And she waltzes into kindergarten without a single treasure map or riddle in sight. The whole ‘adoption’ jazz? A cakewalk on a rainbow slide!
Nay, it’s not the tale twists or the plotty potpourri that tickle your noodle but rather the oodles of feels it flings at you! Sure, any silly fanfare/fadish/sparkly moe concoction can attempt this jig, yet none succeed by prancing in normality. Oh, they just bluster in supernova levels, splattering sex, kabooms, doom, and debauchery, then strut about claiming 'maturity' while tickling skepticism too raw! Characters? Pure vanilla, bare of quirky sprinkles, frizzy beehives, or attire obsessions. They play their roles like pros, needing no zesty garnishes! That’s my jam with this show; it dances with simplicity and realism without snoring off, even if you’re not vibing with the genre. And this comes from one who paloozed with titanic yarns like Aria, Wandering Son, and Yokohama Shopping Diary and found them snooze-fests extraordinaire!
Is it a show of whimsical wonder? Indeed, it dances in the realm of the unusual, and I sparkle with delight in saying this! In a sea of anime sameness, Usagi Drop leaps forth like a hopping unicorn, casting the glow of authentic life instead of a feeble 'adult' tale. Yet, one must twirl in doubt—would it jiggle its fame without 'that peculiar event' at the manga's finish (which the anime decided to play hide-and-seek with)?
Those lumps aren't gonna make themselves, Pudding!
Yeah that's a negative I have to give to the spanish dub. It's like when they translate "kokoro" to heart instead of mind in subtitles when talking about obviously psychological subjects (when the word is used for both in the language, and there are some subs that do distinguish this)
By the way what happened to Genshiken and its 1/10? XD
It makes sense that Mima would call it with a western name given he took two generations of his family to understand the traditional spiritual side of his investigations lol
Oh from TV Tropes I found this
Woolseyism: During the massive infodump in the 14th episode, Wakagi uses the word "omoi" — Japanese for "thoughts", "feelings" and so forth — to describe the substance Ajo referred to as "Gel". The Viz translation uses the German word "Geist" ("mind", "spirit", and/or "ghost"), which helps get the point of it being Life Energy across.
So this is when in the spanish dub they translated it as "sentiment" instead of calling it "gel", that's why I was so confused when I read it as geist in that subtitle XD
Lol yeah the opening of the last episode was like a 5 minute official AMV of the opening (though I prefer the ending of that same episode especially when it starts with the percussion). I mean it's feature lenght, they wanted to start with a bang XD
Yeah I thought the same, that Sakura just couldn't get better because she got the gel extracted from her and she could control it only in the climax. Also an interesting detail I remember, the scientists say, surprised, that they extracted 30 bottles from her. I wonder if it's also related to the fact she comes from a village and is more in touch with the spiritual than the people that usually reside in Tokyo they normally extract
Lol speaking of Evangelion, tell me I'm not crazy for thinking Ajo could be an older Fuyutsuki with more wrinkles and died hair XD
I've seen people saying Sakura dying in the last episode doesn't make sense because Key has her healing powers like what he did with the boy, but isn't she able to use them when they believe in her. They may be saying that, in the case of Sakura, who has her gel extracted, she should be able to give gel to someone else , though this only happens in the final scene. In there it's a bit of a deus ex machina since we never see Key giving the gel back to anyone but instead absorbs it herself, but can have a more powerful explanation about her being the kind of idol her mother was and restoring the vitality people had put in her (but was absorbed by Ajo's machine). I like that I found one english translation in YT which translated the substance to "geist" instead of gel, as in "spirit" in german.
Also come on, how come I never seen in any 90s animes edit the scene with Key in the eye of the statue, that's such an iconic visual XD
Oof imagine this scene if Miyazaki allowed Ghibli back into TV production to make it like the upcoming Akira TV anime and this was animated by Ohira
Talking about "audially" exhausting stuff, I was checking some of the latest stuff I saved here (a short that I couldn't find before but someone bumped the forum post with a link) https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3w4bzx
I even like the animation, but I gotta watch on mute.
Taku Furukawa, Takashi Ito, Yoji Kuri, Keiichi Tanaami, Nobuhiro Aihara... these fuckers are all like that
(This turned into a recount of my Konaka frustration, apologies for that).
I unfortuntely don't have much to say about Malice@Doll as of now. I watched the first ep with some friends and I don't remember anything we said cuz it was all kinda directionless. When I was given the floor I just groaned, said goodnight, and left the call haha.
The CG was horrific. The stop animation was unique, but felt as if it was giving me brain damage. Watching Kuuchuu Buranko and Kikumana are the only anime experiences that rival this pain. I was kind enough to myself to back out of the former 2 eps in, and the latter is like 5 mins long. The whole time I was watching Malice@Doll, I was thinking to myself that I could be getting on with work or playing games... the true sign of a 1/10.
I also don't understand what it's going for. I tried watching this interview and I got nothing out of it. I checked out 10 mins in. I also read this blog post but came out empty-handed -- no mention of Malice@Doll. So yeah, it was a boring waste of time, and I suspect the only personal value I'll get from it will be how it may/may not relate to Texhnolyze. As a stand alone work, idk, maybe I can eke something out of it one day out of pure obligation.
I haven't seen Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, Kino: Land of Sickness, Armitage III, Alice in Cyberland, The Big O, or Paradise Dolls yet. I'm unsure as to where Konaka contributed to Ghost Hound specifically (as opposed to Shirow), and it's been like 3+ years since I saw that. And it's been even longer since my Lain rewatch. Furthermore, I have barely thought about what it was trying to say. I just trusted what people said about it being meaningful and ahead of its time, revisiting scenes here and there for vibes. This is all to say that I don't have a strong enough handle on the play-by-play in Konaka's sci-fi titles, nevermind what they're trying to say in the final analysis. I'm either unable or unconfident in comparing/contrasting Malice@Doll with anything, and doing so with other works that are also difficult for me to parse would take a 40k word thesis of evaluating possible interpretations then weakly backing some of them.
Of course, there's big boy Texh, but that thing seems to be in a state of superposition even amongst its fans -- even when it comes to basic things! You know, like: is it life-affirming in its presentation of Ichise? I currently, maybe, tentatively, perhaps... hold the show to be a downer. The idea of Ichise's observation that "the people of Lukuss are at least alive" brightening my day is fkn alien to me considering that the states of affairs he's comparing are incomprehensible.
I've found Konaka's work nothing but impenetrable. I have to devote a lot of energy to reach momentary clarity with this man's writing. As soon as I begin thinking about dinner, my train of thought "slips" and we're back to square one: "ah it's just hair-brained nonsense and that's why we love him!"
Forget Malice@Doll, whether there's anything worthwhile or not in all of this has yet to be seen. Ughhhhh.
I have no idea in what direction to begin speculating, but it sure deserves so much more insult and rage from fans. Maybe it's because it's just a weak middle season and a lot of re zero remains for the fans and for the not so hardcore fans, many don't care anymore, a lot got filtered by S2, and S3 kind of isn't a hot topic in general for most stuff. Fans would insult more if it was more consequential to their expectations and others would rage more if it was S2 probably lol.
Okeanix thinking he can avoid getting shamed and questioned if he jsut stays away :P well too bad for him, he's getting an interview from me the moment he's back even if it's in an year.
The trailer made it seem so :P fuck i hope there's no more of the bro squad next season to jerk him off too, I don't want this whole ram ranch experience minus ram :P fucking blobs, cowboys, subaru's whip ewww. I haven't seen the last couple eps, i have to go for it sometime XD I'll see what this avatar form is all about.
She may or may not be but otakus need to be to sell merch, cameltoe time :')
Yeah, you're not going to get anything from it in any ways. I might probably check out an ep more but i don't think i should finish it too.
i think it's exactly the kind of "it's anti coomer and novel" fiction that he'd be into, as long as they keep the romance out :P im looking forward to that rev at least, so okay, i take it back.
Oh i am sick of the haircut development thing too. Just today i saw the sakura hair cut development thing from naruto again as a reel on insta and got annoyed lol have been suffering this for some time now. Funny how every monogatari chick looks worse after the haircut, no exceptions whatsoever :P
All Comments (5416) Comments
By the way what happened to Genshiken and its 1/10? XD
Oh from TV Tropes I found this
So this is when in the spanish dub they translated it as "sentiment" instead of calling it "gel", that's why I was so confused when I read it as geist in that subtitle XD
This guy already destroyed your troll and pointless hate review:
https://charlemagnefig.substack.com/p/why-mal-reviews-are-critically-worthless
Shows again and again why Evangelion fans lack any media literacy and their reviews stupid as fuck.
Cheers:
https://charlemagnefig.substack.com/p/why-mal-reviews-are-critically-worthless
By the way, anyone else who tries to spew garbage of the same caliber will meet the same fate.
https://youtu.be/ZOJvhzDE04k?si=R6ROWNFKhGB1KdO_
Oh for example here they use geist but it's a very old sub so it must be kind of obsolete
Yeah I thought the same, that Sakura just couldn't get better because she got the gel extracted from her and she could control it only in the climax. Also an interesting detail I remember, the scientists say, surprised, that they extracted 30 bottles from her. I wonder if it's also related to the fact she comes from a village and is more in touch with the spiritual than the people that usually reside in Tokyo they normally extract
I've seen people saying Sakura dying in the last episode doesn't make sense because Key has her healing powers like what he did with the boy, but isn't she able to use them when they believe in her. They may be saying that, in the case of Sakura, who has her gel extracted, she should be able to give gel to someone else , though this only happens in the final scene. In there it's a bit of a deus ex machina since we never see Key giving the gel back to anyone but instead absorbs it herself, but can have a more powerful explanation about her being the kind of idol her mother was and restoring the vitality people had put in her (but was absorbed by Ajo's machine). I like that I found one english translation in YT which translated the substance to "geist" instead of gel, as in "spirit" in german.
Also come on, how come I never seen in any 90s animes edit the scene with Key in the eye of the statue, that's such an iconic visual XD
Oof imagine this scene if Miyazaki allowed Ghibli back into TV production to make it like the upcoming Akira TV anime and this was animated by Ohira
I even like the animation, but I gotta watch on mute.
Taku Furukawa, Takashi Ito, Yoji Kuri, Keiichi Tanaami, Nobuhiro Aihara... these fuckers are all like that
Also, your Texh notes have been interesting to read!
I unfortuntely don't have much to say about Malice@Doll as of now. I watched the first ep with some friends and I don't remember anything we said cuz it was all kinda directionless. When I was given the floor I just groaned, said goodnight, and left the call haha.
The CG was horrific. The stop animation was unique, but felt as if it was giving me brain damage. Watching Kuuchuu Buranko and Kikumana are the only anime experiences that rival this pain. I was kind enough to myself to back out of the former 2 eps in, and the latter is like 5 mins long. The whole time I was watching Malice@Doll, I was thinking to myself that I could be getting on with work or playing games... the true sign of a 1/10.
I also don't understand what it's going for. I tried watching this interview and I got nothing out of it. I checked out 10 mins in. I also read this blog post but came out empty-handed -- no mention of Malice@Doll. So yeah, it was a boring waste of time, and I suspect the only personal value I'll get from it will be how it may/may not relate to Texhnolyze. As a stand alone work, idk, maybe I can eke something out of it one day out of pure obligation.
I haven't seen Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, Kino: Land of Sickness, Armitage III, Alice in Cyberland, The Big O, or Paradise Dolls yet. I'm unsure as to where Konaka contributed to Ghost Hound specifically (as opposed to Shirow), and it's been like 3+ years since I saw that. And it's been even longer since my Lain rewatch. Furthermore, I have barely thought about what it was trying to say. I just trusted what people said about it being meaningful and ahead of its time, revisiting scenes here and there for vibes. This is all to say that I don't have a strong enough handle on the play-by-play in Konaka's sci-fi titles, nevermind what they're trying to say in the final analysis. I'm either unable or unconfident in comparing/contrasting Malice@Doll with anything, and doing so with other works that are also difficult for me to parse would take a 40k word thesis of evaluating possible interpretations then weakly backing some of them.
Of course, there's big boy Texh, but that thing seems to be in a state of superposition even amongst its fans -- even when it comes to basic things! You know, like: is it life-affirming in its presentation of Ichise? I currently, maybe, tentatively, perhaps... hold the show to be a downer. The idea of Ichise's observation that "the people of Lukuss are at least alive" brightening my day is fkn alien to me considering that the states of affairs he's comparing are incomprehensible.
I've found Konaka's work nothing but impenetrable. I have to devote a lot of energy to reach momentary clarity with this man's writing. As soon as I begin thinking about dinner, my train of thought "slips" and we're back to square one: "ah it's just hair-brained nonsense and that's why we love him!"
Forget Malice@Doll, whether there's anything worthwhile or not in all of this has yet to be seen. Ughhhhh.
But i don't expect Evangelion fans to comprehend masterpiece like Re:Zero.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DHD8cFvJEFZ/?igsh=dDFzOWpoMXU2NWk2
Okeanix thinking he can avoid getting shamed and questioned if he jsut stays away :P well too bad for him, he's getting an interview from me the moment he's back even if it's in an year.
The trailer made it seem so :P fuck i hope there's no more of the bro squad next season to jerk him off too, I don't want this whole ram ranch experience minus ram :P fucking blobs, cowboys, subaru's whip ewww. I haven't seen the last couple eps, i have to go for it sometime XD I'll see what this avatar form is all about.
She may or may not be but otakus need to be to sell merch, cameltoe time :')
Yeah, you're not going to get anything from it in any ways. I might probably check out an ep more but i don't think i should finish it too.
i think it's exactly the kind of "it's anti coomer and novel" fiction that he'd be into, as long as they keep the romance out :P im looking forward to that rev at least, so okay, i take it back.
Oh i am sick of the haircut development thing too. Just today i saw the sakura hair cut development thing from naruto again as a reel on insta and got annoyed lol have been suffering this for some time now. Funny how every monogatari chick looks worse after the haircut, no exceptions whatsoever :P