“If you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be… A tragedy.” -Ken Kaneki

Recently, I got an opportunity to finish one of Japanese’s highly anticipated animations of the summer, Tokyo Ghoul. Quick synopsis: Tokyo Ghoul focuses on the story of an ordinary student, Ken Kaneki, who lives in a world where society is split between humans and “ghouls.” Ghouls are the creature who must feast on humans in order to survive. Ken Kaneki’s life turns around when he gets involved in an accident with his local friend, Rize Kamishiro. Put into a dire situation doctors replaced Ken Kaneki’s organ with Rize Kamishiro; however, this operation led to the result of Ken Kaneki turning half ghoul, half human.

http://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/5/64449l.jpg

In “Blogging as Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog“ by Carolyn R. Miller and Dawn Shepherd, one of the key focus were self expression and how it is executed through the blog. Similarly, Ken is put into a situation where he lives as half human, half ghoul. To protect his identity from his friends at school and the general public, Ken has to carefully choose how to express his emotions and actions in his community. Ghouls are not seen as friendly citizens in society, rather they are seen as hunger driven animals who’s only purpose is to binge eat humans.

One of the main dilemmas Ken faces is whether to fit in his community as either a human or ghoul. Resisting the urge to eat another human being, Ken confronts the difficulty of adjusting to the lifestyle of ghouls. The immediate question poses to audience, “where will he fit in society?” Living on both sides of the spectrum, Ken is caught on the line of separation. It is interesting to see a character’s freedom ripped apart and having to force them to adopt a separate identity. Similarly, this situation could be related to present day where many people have to act out of their norm to fit into a particular group.

Nevertheless, the story has yet to finish and the second season has already been announced for January 2015. Hopefully in the next half of the story it will further explain in detail which path Ken has chosen. If you were turned into a ghoul, how would you choose to place yourself in society?

/Vinson Tam

References:

Ishida, Sui. Tokyo Ghoul. Shueisha, 2011. Print. 

R. Miller, Carolyn, and Dawn Shepherd. “Into the Blogosphere: Rhetoric, Community, and Culture of Weblogs: Blogging as Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog.” Into the Blogosphere: Rhetoric, Community, and Culture of Weblogs: Blogging as Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogging_as_social_action_a_genre_analysis_of_the_weblog.html>.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16087

Although reading online articles isn’t always the type of activity I get myself involved into, there is one special exception for my favourite blogger, Danny Choo.

Started out as computer engineer, Danny has worked himself up through multiple executive jobs until he achieved his own blogging company. Through his own website, dannychoo.com, Danny has captivated many readers by sharing his experiences in Japan. Depicting Japanese culture and lifestyle in his blogs, it appeals to many Japanese lovers such as I.

http://www.animefestival.asia/afa13/img/img_sp_danny.jpg

At first glance, many may ask, “Why Danny Choo?” He seems like the everyday blogger you would find elsewhere on the internet; however, Danny is much more than just sharing life narratives. By including multiple large-scale pictures to go with every post, Danny’s blog lean towards a more visual presentation. Utilizing this method, it captures the reader’s attention and puts them in the point of view as if they were visiting Japan. Referring to his Japan Supermarket blog (http://www.dannychoo.com/en/post/27190/Japan+Supermarket.html), the pictures almost represent that of an in store walkthrough. Accompanied, by a couple lines of text here and there, Danny summarizes the point of the topic.

By consistently blogging his experiences in Japan, Danny eventually became an icon in his community. So I ask myself how can an average person blog his way to the point of being recognized by the Japanese Government. All he had was a dream of spreading Japanese culture globally through his website.

From the beginning of his posts in 2004, Danny’s website has accumulated what I would perceive as a collection of culture knowledge. From all the marvelous destinations to the cultural events, Danny has an interest for all reader’s alike. If I were to begin a blog and record all my experiences, how could I follow the trail of Danny Choo and appeal to my readers? To produce quality stories in a unique way is something I hope to be able to portrait if I ever begin a blogging career.

/Vinson Tam

Note:

Welcome readers, bloggers and fellow students alike,
With this being my first scholarly blog, the content may not have lived up to your expectation. To follow up, I wish you, as the reader, to provide any feedback or comments regarding my article. I appreciate it and hope to contact you all soon !

References:

http://www.dannychoo.com/en/post/25018/Danny+Choo.html 
http://www.dannychoo.com/en/post/27190/Japan+Supermarket.html
http://www.dannychoo.com/

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