Angel Beats has shown itself to be adept at being funny, with plenty of physical (absurd) humor. In many ways Angel Beats is more humorous than our Best Show Ever pick. My only issue with Angel Beats: it does not show the same skill in conveying the emotion in its characters as it does with comedy.

Take Kanade, for instance. She is a fairly standard “silent character” following in the footsteps of others like her (Haruhi’s Yuki, NEG’s Rei, etc). There is only so much that can be conveyed through physical expressiveness, especially with such a blank expression. This means that the viewer is left to fill in the missing pieces, due to the lack of story-emotional context.  It’s a relatively simply ploy and an easy way to draw the viewer into the plot and characters (are anime fans self centered?). It means the character is limited by the viewer, as long as the character refrains from talking.

Otonashi is another story. His emotions are given in extremes with short bursts. Take compassion. It’s not unusual for a protagonist to show great compassion. The prevailing trait of the typical anime’s hero is compassion. It’s another matter for the viewer to keep up with the fluctuation in intensity.

Although, the manic nature of his compassion may be more natural to the younger audience. Maybe, I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be a teenager. On the other hand, I don’t really know what it would be like to die and then find myself back in high school with a cute silent girl trying to kill me. Hell, I’d rather have the cute silent girl trying to kill me than go back to high school.

The truth of the matter is that I feel it could be done better. Still, there is enjoyment in seeing the characters experience some form of deep feeling, even if it is a bit overplayed.

In the heart of every soul there is a tumultuous storm of memories and emotions. In some cases this chaos is unmanageable, leading to unending sorrows.  It is important that one bend this energy and form it for one’s own will.

Perhaps, I’m painting too bleak a picture. At any rate, the mind is a vast territory. How do you use your H-ness to conquer your self-imposed limitations?

Others may recommend a martial art or possibly some form of meditation to center one’s mind. That won’t do, our focus here is H. Therefore, we will be recommending something to center the individual’s ero-power. Sometimes it is referred to as the H-power. We won’t be referring to it as H-power because that’s kind of stupid.

The absolutely best way to flex one’s ero-muscles (hehe), is to remove the factors in one’s life that are restraining them. You have to free yourself of the confines of those restrictive covenants of chastity and modesty. You must let free repressed quarters of one’s form that are hidden away from the prying eyes of others but for the simple idea that they shame you somehow. What is shame? To be shy, in the face of the world. It is something to overcome and run from.

Of course, I’m talking about going commando. Not in the military sense but in the lack of undergarments sense. What could be more “freeing” than letting it all hang loose. Let thy loins be free.

Although, there is always the chance that society will not be ready for your newly freed loins.

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More How to H next week.

It looks like our How to H series is growing. In our last How to H we talked about improving stalking skills. You’ll be able to put that to the test when you start looking for possibly people to date.

At some point in your life, you will start craving attention from other people.  I know, I know…that sounds odd, but it’s that, one day, twelve hour anime marathons fueled by burritos and booze just won’t do it for you anymore.  That’s where dating comes in.

Dating is a common courtship ritual in societies that allow male and female mingling (or MM or FF or MFM or MMF…etc…).  It’s a surprisingly complex endeavor, but if you follow our simple H-dating rules, you’ll have no problems navigating the in’s and out’s of the dating world.

Getting that first (possibly only) date:

It takes two to tango, as they say. So, your first task is finding someone that you would like to date. Preferably, you should find this person attractive. Physical attractiveness is important, but it isn’t the most important quality that you should be looking for. You want someone who you like, can put up with you, and who likes you, too.

You’re probably wondering who this marvelous individual could be. Chances are that person has already made their feelings known, but you’re just too dense to see it. Don’t worry, you’ll eventually realize that they were dropping clues the entire time. The only problem is that this realization will probably come about ten years late.

Suck it up and find somebody else.  There are common ways of doing this for males and females. In short, the easiest thing to do is just to ask someone you like out.

Small talk:

We date to get to know each other, at its most basic level that is what dating is about. Humans use language to communicate. Language is so fundamental to the human species that learning to speak is literally hardwired into our brain. Basically, talk, you absolutely have to talk. The “what” is the issue here.

Talk about yourself. Your date obviously wants to know about you. So, just spend the entire time letting them know how awesome you are.  Also, tell them about all the anime you watch.

First kiss:

Most humans kiss. It is an entirely natural thing to do. It’s also natural to be a bit nervous about the “first” kiss. Don’t worry, even if you haven’t kissed anyone before, you’ll pick it up rather quickly. If this were a non-H “how-to,” I’d probably make a few recommendations like: start off slow, don’t use too much force, avoid breathing through your mouth, close your damn eyes, don’t lean too much, avoid tongue usage.

However, this is an H how-to; therefore, I’m going to make this one easy on you. Tongue, use the tongue.

Aside:

–Warning–

Listen well, this is very important. Under no circumstances are you to let your date turn into a sports anime.

Intimacy:

At this point, you both have gotten to know each other a little bit more. You’ve shared your first kiss. There are only two courses of action after that. Attack each other like animals in heat or end the date and go home.

Again, this is a easy one.

Conclusion:

Follow these simple rules and you’ll find that your date was a fulfilling experience. Like filling that empty space in your heart you’ve had for so long but were not sure of the cause but only a little.

Dating is intense.

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Okay, more next week, hopefully.

In our last How to H we laid out three steps to better H’ing. To review: admit, study, and light-touch, which we choose to wrap in the acronym ASLT. An easy way to remember the ASLT is to remember the phrase, “and stuff like that.”

Stalking:

You need to work on your stalking skills. Don’t get me wrong. Stalking isn’t necessarily an H activity. Although, it is recommended that it be in one’s H skillset. Basically, expand your horizons and acquire/improve your abilities. This all falls under the “study” part of our three steps to better H’ing.

Some of you may be asking, “but isn’t stalking illegal?” Well, it depends, really. But, nobody ever got anywhere by following all the rules. Rules are meant to be broken.

Some of you may be asking, “but isn’t that just rationalizing the illegal activity?” Well, yes…moving on.

There is one major issue with stalking. It’s very hard to do without being noticed. That is unless you are a ninja. (as a quick observation, there are three ninja in the above image) As it is that you are not a ninja, there are some simple rules you can follow for better stalking.

You can’t stalk using the entryway to a room. This leaves your rear unguarded. That’s 180 degrees where you may be noticed. walls and corners are your friend. Additionally, you may find yourself noticed because people pay attention to the entry to any room, expecting others will enter through that point. At a basic instinctual level, people will keep track of their environment because they are wary of predators. Knowing this, you should pick a place that isn’t usually trafficked: ceilings, trashcans, bushes (a bit overused, if you ask me),

When “tailing” your target, the idea is to blend in. I cannot stress this enough. Don’t, absolutely don’t, do that tippy-toe sneaking around thing. It’s a dead giveaway. A lot of amateurs do this, and it is entirely irritating to watch. Yes, we can see you. It’s obvious what you are doing.
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That’s it for today. We’ll have more How to H next week, baring any unforeseen events.

One of the rules of the BSE (until I change my mind) award is that it must be chosen early in the airing of a show. I decided to make this rule, just now, because it seems to fit with what I had done for previous award winners.

B Gata H Kei was in the running against Angel Beats!, but pressure was being put upon the committee to make a decision, because of the rule mentioned earlier.

It may be a little too early to make a clear decision between the two shows. The committee had strong opinions about Angel Beats!. They felt that it had a very good chance of developing a seriously engaging story. Especially, after the excellent showing in episode three. On the other hand, BH has better comedy in all respects, and it has the inept horny female lead angle going for it.

Plus, there is a little god of nookie that is cheering for Yamada all the time. We just loved that.

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Think of the BSE as the Nobel Peace Prize of anime awards. It’s not necessarily given on merit but in the hopes that it will be earned in the future.