Saturday 6 March 2004

Pic of the day: Sakaki-san, dream hero. (From same flash animation as last two days.)

"Heroing"

This was the day when I was so excited about something else that I forgot my journal. It wasn't that I didn't have time for a few words, really, though I certainly wasn't bored as it was. I wasn't too sick to write, and I certainly wasn't depressed. It just slipped my mind. That mind was rather full with new impulses (and old impulses it was trying to remember). And once again it was far into the night before I fell asleep. (It had also been far into the day before I got out of bed.) So, well, that's my excuse.

Today's topic is "heroing". Or perhaps "heroine", those Japanese can do unspeakable thing to the Engrish language if you don't watch closely. Sakaki-san from Azumanga Daioh, the girl that is cooler than a boy while still having the largest breasts in class, is the hero of her classmate Kaorin. I deliberately did not write "heroine" here, because it is pretty clear that Kaorin feels for Sakaki-san what young girls normally feel for boys that are special to them. In short, she is infatuated. She blushes like mad and gets totally confused when Sakaki looks her way. In one hilarious scene at the anime (volleyball practice), Kaorin stands very close to Sakaki, completely immobile, with red spots in her face and an expression of total dreamy bliss, oblivious to all around them.

On New Year's night, Kaorin dreams that she is taken captive by classmates turned into gangsters, then Sakaki-san shows up on a white horse and rescues her, carrying her away on her horse and comforting her ... After this, Azumanga Daioh fans will first think of Sakaki-san when they hear the word "hero". ^_^

Of course, being a hero feels nice too. Who don't want to hear at some point in their life: "You're my hero!". Even a "thank you!" can be pretty uplifting at the right time. My co-worker tells me a proverb: Praise the fool and he'll work himself to death. Heh. Of course, being thanked for doing something you like is the best.

I know I pointed out back when I played Pharaoh (the game, not my general megalomania) how the game put in small comments from time to time like "The people love you" when you were on the right track, or even "The people idolize you as a god"! I suppose that's why people have dogs too. Even a villain is a hero to his dog ... And unlike kids and crushes, they don't grow out of it.