Category Archives: anime

Have You Heard About the Yaoi Role Playing System

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It’s called “Big Eyes, Big Mouth.”

Secret Santa: Patlabor: The Movie, Where Oshii Mamoru Says, “Trick or Treat!”

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This review is a part of the Reverse Thieves’ Secret Santa Project for 2010.

Mobile Police Patlabor: The Movie is a film by Oshii Mamoru, director of Ghost in the Shell. Though it predates Oshii’s most famous film by a few years, there is no mistaking its pedigree.

In the world of Mobile Police Patlabor, mankind has embraced the use of giant robots to help with large-scale construction and manual work. Referred to as “Labors,” it wasn’t long until some people started using them for less altruistic purposes, creating a new problem in the form of Labor-related crimes. In response, the police begin deploying their own Patrol Labors, or “Patlabors” for short. One such force is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Special Vehicle Section 2, Division 2, a group of misfit officers whose ranks include a tomboy who names all of her pets Alphonse (her Patlabor being the latest), an overly aggressive gun nut, and a seemingly dull and lazy division chief. Nevertheless, they do their best to serve and protect despite their spotty reputation.

Given this scenario, you’d probably expect some combination of cop show drama and ensemble comedy with a dash of mecha, and you’d be right, normally. But while most of the Patlabor franchise falls along those lines, Patlabor: The Movie is instead a cerebral mystery. A recent string of “berserk” Labors threatens the completion of an important project and the most likely suspect, programmer Hoba Eiichi, is already dead, confounding Shinohara Asuma, the Division 2 member who has taken it upon himself to investigate. All the while, the film explores the continuing onset of technology and the eternal struggle of new vs old, with numerous biblical references strewn throughout. Given the tone and content, Patlabor: The Movie is like a stepping stone towards Ghost in the Shell and the eventual direction Oshii’s oeuvre would take.

The film still has a lot of the requisite elements of Patlabor; it has those same goofy characters (all of whom act as they should), robot fight scenes, and a personal feel to the setting. In fact, you need not have watched any of the previous material to understand the movie or to get an idea of the personality quirks and relationships of the characters. However, those aspects of Patlabor are either more subdued or less frequent in the film, instead putting the spotlight on the mysterious culprit, “E. Hoba” (Jehovah), and his motives. In this respect, it reminds me of another movie, Sengoku Majin Goshogun: The Time Étranger, a sequel to a super robot anime featuring a decidedly different tone and absolutely no giant robots, only Patlabor: The Movie is somehow both more extreme and less in its deviation. Patlabor: The Movie really feels as if Oshii (who also directed the Patlabor OVAs) was trying to push the franchise beyond the limits of its basic premise and bend it to his own personal will. It actually works pretty well overall, maintaining suspense throughout and giving quite a bit to think about, but I’m not sure if Patlabor was the place to do it.

In short, imagine Oshii Mamoru trapped in a giant paper bag called Patlabor, trying to punch his way through until he ends up wearing the bag like a Halloween costume, and you have Mobile Police Patlabor: The Movie. He’s pretty dashing in that getup.

What is Soul Society Captain Yamamoto-Genryuusai’s Favorite Sentai Series?

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JAKQ

Yes, I Heart You Too

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The Man in the Moe

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“If the emphasis in moe anime is on the female characters, where does that leave the male characters?”

I asked myself that question, and after some deliberation it turned into, “What do you look for in male characters in moe anime?” I want to turn the question to you the reader as well, provided you’re someone who has enjoyed moe anime in the past, even if you’re not necessarily a fan. Keep in mind that I don’t mean that the male characters themselves have to be “moe,” but just that they exist within those types of anime. If you want to extend the question to yuri shows as well, that is also okay.

For me, the first thing that popped into my head was Maria-sama ga Miteru, namely the all-male student council that exists outside of the all-girl school where Marimite primarily takes place. Marimite has a heavy emphasis on female characters, so when one of those male council members, Takada Megane, talks about how he loves to work out and eat meat all while flexing at the girls, it really stands out. It’s as if Takada and his muscles are inadvertently shattering the yuri-heavy atmosphere of Marimite, and the first time I saw him I thought, “Yes, you are the best male character in this show.” Applying that back to my own question, it makes me think that while I definitely enjoy Marimite for what it is (and own almost all of it on DVD), I like the idea that there exists something a little beyond the world of the girls, even if it’s not that far removed, and male characters who act kind of contrary to that setting actually serve to emphasize the feel of Marimite.

One concern I have is a possible philosophy that the male characters in such series don’t matter, as I feel that even if they’re out of the spotlight they can have a huge impact on the work itself.

So what do you think?

I Can’t Believe It All Stays Together: The “Limits” of One Piece

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Note: This post is part of the Manga Moveable Feast.

If you had asked me six years ago whether I preferred Naruto or One Piece, I would have said the one with the ninjas. At the time, I had hit a stumbling block with One Piece in the form of the Skypiea Arc, which I found to be rather lacking compared to what came previously. Naruto on the other hand felt stronger than ever. Little did I know though that One Piece would overcome this hurdle with aplomb and continue to improve, while Naruto would eventually hit a bad spot from which it still hasn’t ever completely recovered.

It seems as if almost every popular boys’ fighting manga eventually hits that point of no return, the moment where you can say a series shounen jumped the shark. Hokuto no Ken, one of my favorite series ever, has a clear defining line where it goes from good to terrible. Dragon Ball isn’t quite the same after the fall of Freeza. Yakitate!! Japan, for all its fun and humor, just could not quite maintain itself. This is all the more reason to consider One Piece is a rare feat among rare feats in the world of manga. Going strong for almost 15 years now, it has probably been the most consistently good despite, or perhaps because, of its longevity. But what does One Piece have that its contemporary peers do not? What keeps it going?

When I think of shounen series that were able to keep up their quality throughout their entire run, the first one that pops into my head is Kinnikuman. An 8-year-long series originally detailing the adventures of a comically inept superhero, Kinnikuman would eventually transform into an over-the-top dramatic intergalactic pro wrestling manga where friendship is so powerful that it is literally referred to as “Friendship Power,” leading to a final arc where the titular hero must wrestle to become king of his alien planet and defeat the evil muscle gods who conspire against him, and I think what makes Kinnikuman so consistent is that it has no real rules to abide by. Nonsensical wrestling techniques, achilles’ heels based on the most suspect logic, secret origins and an abundance of replacement limbs, all of this is as common as water in the ocean for Kinnikuman, but the series just rolls along , not allowing the reader to stop and consider how amazingly ridiculous it all actually is. Except when they do and the experience is made better by it.

Similarly, One Piece continuously rewrites the rules of its own universe, changing the meaning of “sensible” along the way. Monkey D. Luffy’s first few crew-mates are fairly normal; though their abilities might be bizarre or unique, they’re still mostly human in appearance. Then he befriends a bipedal physician reindeer. Later on he’s joined by a cola-powered cyborg in speedos and a re-animated skeleton. The Straw Hat Pirates travel the world from island to island, meeting friends and defeating adversaries. Then upon entering the Grand Line, the first big goal of the series, and what it means to be a body of land surrounded on all sides by water gets thrown right out of the window. There, in the most fierce and dangerous area of all, are islands with radically different climates and animals all within relatively short distances of one another. There’s a desert island, an island literally made out of trees, and yes, even an island in the sky. The world of One Piece continues to grow, and seemingly nothing is ever too unusual.

A good portion of One Piece‘s freedom to expand lies in Oda’s art style, which evokes a sense of fun, excitement, wonder, and comedy. It can expand its limits comfortably in a way that series more beholden to pseudo-realism such as Bleach and Naruto cannot. It makes you easily accept the fact that a man can wield three swords simultaneously with one clenched between his teeth or that an island of powerful and deadly transvestites exists.

And yet, just having a setting where almost anything can happen is not an automatic formula for success. Quite the opposite, it can cause a story to spiral out of control and to lose what made it really work in the first place, if it ever worked at all, and this is where One Piece‘s creator is truly amazing. Certainly the aesthetics of One Piece help a lot  Oda is able to take this increasingly convoluted world and focus its explosive energies into a tale that is remarkably consistent in tone, theme, characterization, and overall feel. Although the series could easily get out of hand, it never completely goes off the deep end, which is a chaos that Kinnikuman itself only avoids by embracing it entirely. It’s as if One Piece tests its own limits so often that doing so has become the standard.

One Piece‘s approach to world-building and the comedic art style that supports it are certainly not the only reason that One Piece succeeds, but I think it is a good window into its real core strength, which is its ability to stay fresh and exciting, and to make it feel both comfortably close and yet also dramatically distant while also continuing to push those boundaries and distinctions. Much like the human body, One Piece constantly renews itself and grows stronger as a result.

Crush Them, Giant Pluto

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Before I actually talk about what this post is about: If it wasn’t clear from my blog anniversary post, I am thankful for everything going on in my life.

I recently finished Urasawa Naoki and Nagasawa Takashi’s Pluto, a widely acclaimed series which has people hoping it might some day meet its brother Monster in being adapted into anime. The likelihood of this happening is way up in the air, but as I was reflecting on the series, I decided that if Pluto were to indeed become an anime, I would want Imagawa Yasuhiro as director.

Pluto is loosely based on a story from Tezuka Osamu’s Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy, taking “The Greatest Robot on Earth” and turning it into a suspenseful mystery. One of the themes in the series is the “human” element of robots, particularly how the Greatest Robots on Earth (and those somewhat less great) are affected by war. In many cases, while they might not be outright traumatized, it’s clear that fighting and killing their fellow robots by the scores has an impact on how they view and value life. This in many ways resembles the Imagawa-directed 2004 Tetsujin 28 anime, which took a manga title from Tezuka’s contemporary/rival Yokoyama Mitsuteru and gave the series the benefit of hindsight by having it be primarily about weapons of war both mechanical and biological and their place in a post-war environment. It’s quite a good show and gives a lot to chew on, and it’s this anime’s success that has me believing that Imagawa would be the best fit for a Pluto adaptation, though he might have to tone down some of his typical stylistic choices.

Besides, a series like Pluto wouldn’t run the risk that Tetsujin 28 did with its retro character designs and would probably be more marketable as a result. Or I guess you could just go around that almost entirely.

Vistas: Comipo! and the Constructed Definition of “Manga”

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I’ve got my first post up at the Vistas Asiascape blog, where my fellow PhD’s and I will be posting our thoughts on various things related to the fields of East Asia and media and fiction and such. Take a look, feel free to comment, and if English isn’t your main language, you are actually welcome to post in whatever language you feel comfortable.

Marvel vs Capcom 3: English vs Japanese Profiles

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The other day I was looking through the Japanese Marvel vs Capcom 3 website when I noticed that a lot of the profiles were actually quite different from the ones on the official English page. I’ve translated them below so that you can compare. Though not an absolute rule, the Japanese profiles tend to talk more about personality and origin, while the English ones focus on powers and abilities.

Do note that the DLC characters do not have any Japanese profiles yet, so I’ve left placeholders for them until they do.

Amaterasu

English: The wolf incarnation of the Sun Goddess. She uses her power to restore peace and beauty to the lands.

Japanese: 100 years ago, she triumphed in the battle against Orochi, but was injured and lost her physical form. Afterwards, using spiritual energy she resurrected herself as a guardian deity, but lost all of her miraculous power. Amaterasu now travels out into the world, slowly regaining her power, in order to restore her life.

Arthur

English: Sir Arthur is a brave and valiant knight who goes into hell to save his love Princess Guinevere.

Japanese: He is the legendary knight who traveled to the demon world alone in order to rescue his princess from the Demon King. He has a courageous personality, pushing forward in spite of fiendish monsters and dangerous traps, but he also has a cute side, as shown by his favoritism towards strawberry-print underwear.

Captain America

English: A scrawny fine arts student who grew up during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers was injected with the Super Solider Serum, giving him superhuman strength and agility.

Japanese: The one and only super soldier born out of the “Super Soldier Project, his strong feelings of patriotism for his country and unmatched sense of justice earn him the highest respect even among other heroes. He works as leader of “The Avengers,” a team formed in order to protect the world.

Chris Redfield

English: Part of the S.T.A.R.S Alpha team, Chris was one of the first to see the horrors of the Umbrella Corporation. He is also one of the founders of the B.S.S.A, designed to deal with Umbrella-like threats.

Japanese: Ever since the incident in Raccoon City and the destruction of Umbrella, he has taken on biological weapons all over the world. However, as he continues to fight, more and more questions come up. He is searching for his former partner, Jill, who disappeared without a trace.

Chun-Li

English: An undercover Interpol detective with lightning fast kicks, Chun-Li seeks to avenge her father’s death.

Japanese: Clad in a China dress, she spends her days searching all over for the criminal organization Shadaloo in order to eliminate it. Though notable for her strong conviction to her professional responsibilities, she also has a contrasting feminine side; in her heart is the wish to “live like a normal girl.”

Dante

English: Dante is a mercenary dedicated to vanquishing demons, which were responsible for killing his mother and corrupting his brother. He is also half demon himself.

Japanese: Born from the union of the demon Sparda, a legendary dark swordsman, and Eva, a human woman, he is half-human and half-demon. As a child, his mother was killed by a demon attack, so in order to search for his enemies he opens up a demon-hunting service. Indicative of his skill as a Devil Hunter, his shop is named “Devil May Cry.”

Deadpool

English: The Merc with a Mouth…while he is incredibly silly, Deadpool is one of the most effective mercenaries out there

Japanese: In order to cure his terminal lung cancer, Wade participated in an experiment to grant him artificial mutant powers. As side effects, his skin gained the appearance of being covered in burns and his mind was warped. Though he enjoys running his mouth, he is absolutely and profoundly mad, making him often difficult to comprehend.

Doctor Doom

English: Victor von Doom is a genius and ruler of Latveria. Often thwarted by the Fantastic Four, he uses his incredible mind and vast resources in repeated attempts at world domination.

Japanese: He is the masked genius scientist plotting world domination. Although his physical abilities are ordinary, he uses his brilliant mind to invent a vast number of super-science weapons. Utilizing them in his elaborate operations, he has tormented many superheroes.

Dormammu

English: Dormammu rules the Dark Dimension, using his mystical powers to try and conquer other dimensions.

Japanese: Originally an energy-based lifeform from another dimension known as the Chaos Dimension, he obtained a physical form made out of metal, aspiring to enter our reality and conquer it. Currently, he is king of a mysterious dimension known as the Dark Dimension.

Felicia

English: A cat woman raised by nuns, Felicia left the convent and is on a quest to become a star.

Japanese: A cat woman found and raised by kindly nuns, she has a cheerful and gentle personality. Relentlessly pursuing her dream, she works splendidly towards granting her own wish of becoming a musical star. In order to take care of children who have experienced the same difficult circumstances as her, she also works as a nun at an orphanage.

Hulk

English: When Bruce Banner was exposed to radiation from a gamma bomb, the power of the Hulk was unlocked. Now, whenever Banner gets angry, he becomes the massively strong and powerful Hulk.

Japanese: Once a brilliant physicist, while testing a bomb he was bombarded by high doses of gamma radiation. Now, when his anger and frustration rise, he transforms into a green-skinned being possessing a power well beyond human. Hulk’s overwhelming power is the point of reference by which all other strength is compared.

Iron Man

English: Billionaire Tony Stark fights the forces of villainy in the high-tech Iron Man armor. He is one of the cornerstones of the Super Hero community and a founding member of the Avengers.

Japanese: He has the brains and the technical ability to be able to develop and modify his very own battle suit. As Iron Man, he is equipped with a variety of weapons and has mastered the ability of flight.

Jill

English: Jill was one of the members of the S.T.A.R.S Alpha team. She was also one of the few people to escape Raccoon City before it was destroyed.

Japanese: N/A

Magneto

English: With almost complete control of magnetism, Magneto is one of the most powerful mutants alive. He uses his massive powers to fight for his own mutant agenda at any cost.

Japanese: A survivor of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp and genocide in the Second World War, he strives for the salvation of mutants while embracing the idea that “mutants, being superior to humans, should lead mankind.” Ruthless, he will go to any length for his agenda.

M.O.D.O.K.

English: M.O.D.O.K., the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing who leads Advanced Idea Mechanics, is gifted with super intelligence and psionic power, using these powers to vex the world’s Super Heroes.

Japanese: Though once a normal human, his body was experimented on and he became “M.O.D.O.K. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing).” Possessing the abilities of superhuman intelligence and psionic power, Modok refers to himself as a “supreme scientist” and has buried all of the researchers involved in his experiment.

Morrigan

English: A fun-loving succubus, Morrigan is very powerful and prefers to neglect her duties and spend time in the human world.

Japanese: Known as a “succubus,” or a demon who seduces men with her charm, her notable characteristics are her outstanding proportions and her bewitching outfit. She is the head of the House of Aensland, one of the three great families in the demon world, but hates the everyday tedium that comes with the position.

Ryu

English: Ryu lives only for the fight and seeks opponents stronger than himself. He fights using the art of Ansatsuken as taught to him by his master, Gouken.

Japanese: Having fought the Emperor of Muay Thai and won, his name became widely known by the warriors of the world. However, fame is of no concern to him; he travels the world, trading fists with others in order to become a “true warrior.”

She-Hulk

English: When Jennifer Walters received a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner, she gained the power to become She-Hulk.

Japanese: Cousin of Robert Bruce Banner (The Hulk), in the past she suffered a serious injury and received a blood transfusion from Dr. Banner and gained the ability to transform into She-Hulk. The transformation applies not just to her body but to her personality as well; she stops being hesitant and becomes more self-condident.

Shuma-Gorath

English: Shuma-Gorath is an ancient and terrible being who wants to enslave humanity with his supernatural powers and ability to shapeshift.

Japanese: N/A

Spencer

English: Spencer is a bionic operative for a special branch of government. However, the government betrayed him, forcing him to go rogue.

Japanese: Once a great hero from his active service in the war against the Imperial Army, he was charged with treason, imprisoned, and given the death sentence, anticipating the government’s extermination of all Bionic technology. But when the Organization for the Revival of Bionics appears, he is dispatched to resolve the issue, choosing the path of warfare once more.

Spider-Man

English: When a radioactive spider bit Peter Parker, he gained the proportionate strength and agility of the arachnid, which he now uses to fight evil.

Japanese: When a young Peter attended a science exhibition and was bitten by a radioactive spider, he gained super powers and became Spider-Man. After experiencing the murder of his beloved uncle by a burglar who he had once let escape, he took to heart the words, “With great power there must also come great responsibility.”

Super-Skrull

English: The Super-Skrull (also known as Kl’rt) was given all of the powers of the Fantastic Four. He uses these powers as a champion of the Skrull Empire.

Japanese: After the Skrull invasion of the Earth was thwarted by the “Fantastic Four,” he was created as a super warrior, genetically modified to oppose them. His choice of words and his enormous pride indicate a disdain for other lifeforms; however, this stems not from any belief in personal superiority, but a cultural characteristic common to all Skrulls.

Thor

English: The God of Thunder wields the mighty hammer Mjolnir to fight the forces of evil. He is also a founding member of the Avengers.

Japanese: Son of Odin, the king of Asgard (the land of the gods), he is referred to as “Asgard’s Greatest Warrior.” Though once arrogant, he matured greatly after being reincarnated as a human as a form of discipline. Currently, he acts as a member of Earth’s Mightiest Hero Team, “The Avengers.”

Trish

English: A woman created by a demon to seduce and destroy Dante. However, she ends up aiding Dante on his quest to vanquish demons.

Japanese: Though once a demon created to seduce Dante, she was charmed by Dante while with him and betrayed the demons. Currently, she works at Dante’s shop as his partner.

Tron

English: A pirate and mechanical genius, Tron Bonne uses her servbots to do her bidding.

Japanese: The only daughter of the Bonne family of air pirates, she is prideful and absolutely hates to lose. However, she shows adorability in her inability to be honest with those she loves, as well as a gentleness when it comes to her family. Though she goes around the world in the hopes of obtaining wealth in one shot, she always fails and only ends up increasing her debt.

Viewtiful Joe

English: Sucked into Movieland, Viewtiful Joe fights for truth and justice using the time altering powers of his V-watch, which is activated by the magical phrase “Henshin

Japanese: Before transforming into Viewtiful Joe, he’s a 17 year old guy who loves heroes and movies. He has a strong childish side to him, which make his girlfriend Sylvia get mad at him quite often.

Wesker

English: Albert Wesker was part of the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team. However, he was secretly working for the Umbrella Corporation. He has since betrayed Umbrella and is now working for Tricell.

Japanese: Extraordinarily cool-headed, he is a dangerous human being who will not hesitate to use others if it benefits him or his goals. He plots to complete the Uroboros virus and release it into the world, creating a new world where only he and a chosen similar few exist.

Wolverine

English: This Canadian member of the X-Men is the best there is at what he does, with his healing factor and adamantium claws. But what he does isn’t very nice.

Japanese: Often mistaken for a berserker devoid of civility, he has an extremely chivalrous personality and cares greatly for his friends and loved ones. However, he also has a dry side. He gives no mercy to his enemies and will not hesitate to lift a hand, regardless of time and place.

X-23

English: A female clone of Wolverine, X-23 has all of his powers in female form.

Japanese: She is a clone created from Wolverine’s genes. Having never been named since birth, she possesses a storied past, driven to a life as a highly-trained killer. Spending every day training for battle, she was named “Laura” by the scientist she considered her mother, she is prepared to cut open a path to taking back her life.

Zero

English: Despite being created by the evil Dr. Wily, Zero fights for good and righteous causes throughout his robotic existence.

Japanese: A male reploid discovered within some ruins by Sigma, since then he has worked as an Irregular Hunter. While ordinarily cool, he has an unusually strong hatred of evil; in combat with Irregulars, his fierce and decisive blade can annihilate his opponents in an instant. He is good friends and allies with X in the 17th Elite Unit.

Ogi 3, Gooooooo!!!

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Today marks the 3-year anniversary of Ogiue Maniax. Looking back at all that’s happened to me and this blog since last November, it almost doesn’t feel real.

These days, I generally update Ogiue Maniax twice a week, but for over two years I posted daily. It was a signature of sorts for this blog, and I was dedicated to constantly thinking of new areas to explore, questions to ask, and bad jokes to tell. I was fairly proud of keeping up this pace, and swore to myself that only the most drastic circumstances could possibly derail me from my schedule. Even when I was working seven days a week, I still maintained it. But as I sit here in the Netherlands, a country I’ve never visited previously on a continent I had never set foot on, knowing that my purpose here is to focus my passion for anime and manga and penchant for analysis into a doctoral thesis, I know that life answered my challenge. Or perhaps it might be better to say that I challenged life. I hope you’re still enjoying this newer, slimmer Ogiue Maniax.

So if it weren’t for that big change, the most significant blog-related event would have definitely been the revival of Genshiken. It was December when I found out about the one-shot sequel known as Genshiken Chapter 56. Wanting to share it, I spent my Christmas Eve translating it so that all could enjoy one last Genshiken hurrah, not realizing that there would be another follow-up months later. With Genshiken 56 appearing last December and Genshiken II having started in October, the series almost acts as a bookend for year 3 of Ogiue Maniax. It’s more Genshiken than I could have possibly asked for. Not that I’m complaining, of course.

Then there were the panels at Otakon, my trips to play real mahjong with real people, and so many other things. It’s been exciting times, to say the least.

Really though, I am grateful for everyone who’s read Ogiue Maniax, whether you’ve commented or not. I simply can’t take that for granted, and if I do then something must be terribly wrong. Although I’m far away from my friends, my family, and those I cherish most, I still take great joy in being able encourage others to take a closer look at the anime they love and to deepen that passion a little bit more.

From the moment I found out I was moving to when I arrived here, I had this constant feeling that my life was entering a new stage. But when I think about it, my life’s been moving forward for a while now, and I have you to thank.