Sunday, January 22, 2017

Cartoon Sunday: Goth Chicks In Animation

Yuuko Ichihara (xxxHolic)

How's it going my gumdrops? Did you enjoy yesterday's Song Saturday blog about The Cure and the Goth Sub-culture in general?

Yesterday, you may recall, that I explained about Goths and the sub-culture on here and on Anime League. For today's Cartoon Sunday, let's revisit the topic of being Goth.

Allow me to acknowledge some Goth female characters in animation. There appears to be more Goth female characters in animation than we have realized. So, with that being said, it's only fair to acknowledge a few of them.

In the illustration above, we have Yuuko Ichihara. The characters in the Seinen Supernatural Horror Comedy Anime, xxxHolic have freaky illustrations.

The characters normally have long, spaghetti legs like Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Like I explained last year, Yuuko Ichihara is a powerful witch, who owns a shop and grants people their wishes. I believe Yuuko is more like a cunning and opportunistic genie.

Most of her jobs consist of dealing with supernatural beings. In case you haven't already, I suggest clicking on the link above Yuuko's picture.

Next, we have Creepy Susie.

Creepy Susie (The Oblongs)


Some of you may remember Angus Oblong's shortly lived cartoon, The Oblongs from The WB. Creepy Susie is supposedly a 10-year-old character from the series.

Most people don't know that The Oblongs was based on Creepy Susie And 13 Other Tragic Tales For Troubled Children. This was a 1999 collection of illustrated short stories written by Angus Oblong.

This young, creepy, Goth Valley Girl is obsessed with death, was born on Halloween, and can tell an animal's gender by the taste of its blood.

Otherwise, there is Germaine Endez.

Germaine Endez (Neurotically Yours)

If you have been subscribed to It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns for the last 3 1/2 years, you KNOW how much I enjoy watching Goth webisodes featuring the slutty Goth-Punk protagonist, Germaine and her pet, squirrel Foamy. 

Who doesn't love Foamy?! That pet squirrel speaks THE TRUTH!

As for Germaine, she has been restyled a plethora of times throughout the decade. This character has been illustrated as fat, skinny, busty, flat-chested, constantly changes hair styles, etc.

The protagonist is a struggling poet/author desperately seeking to be published and works unstable jobs. At the same time, she has an identity crisis and Foamy The Squirrel helps to keep her grounded.

Meanwhile, here are some other Goth female characters, which have been shown in other Anime besides xxxHolic. There is my long-time favorite, Sunako Nakahara.

Sunako Nakahara (The Wallflower)

Despite the fact this homely recluse fears "beautiful people" (mostly attracive men), I love Sunako Nakahara. Sunako is a creepy Goth protagonist that resonates with me on MANY levels. She loves sitting in her bedroom and watching Horror movies ALONE. Sunako's also self-sufficient around the house.
 
I wanted to at least share a gif of The "Goth-Loli Sisters" from The Wallflower, but had no such luck. However, The Goth-Loli Sisters from this Shojo Horror Comedy are NOT  the only Gothic Lolita Anime characters in existence.

In substitution of The Goth-Loli Sisters from The Wallflower, there is Hildegarde from the Shonen Supernatural Action Comedy Anime, Beelzebub.

Hildegarde a.k.a. "Hilda" (Beelzebub)

Hildegarde is the main female protagonist in Beelzebub. She is a Demon Maid, who acts as the "adoptive" mother and nurse of Beelzebub IV. "Baby Beel" is the son of Beelzebub III and Iris and was sent to the Human World.

It has been a few years, since I last streamed this series. Too bad there wasn't another season of Beelzebub. Maybe someday it will get a decent English dub.

Last, but SURELY not the least of an acknowledgement is Saki Hanajima.

Saki Hanajima (Fruits Basket)

 

I have always loved this Fruits Basket character. I can't decide which character is creepier, Saki or her younger brother, Megumi. Both characters have psychic abilities.

When Saki Hanajima is not wearing her high school uniform, she normally wears a black cloak or a veil with her black dresses. I will NEVER forget that scene of her gothing up The Sohmas urinal for New Year's Eve.

Staring at the appalled expression on Shigure Sohma's face was hilarious. Anyway, if you would like to learn more about Goth chicks in animation, check out WatchMojo's choices for Top 10 Animated Goth Girls below.

WatchMojo's Top 10 Animated Goth Girls (2016)

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Song Saturday: The Cure Block

How's it going my gumdrops? Sorry for my lack of presence. These last 3 weeks have been brutal. As you already know, I have been recovering from a minor head injury. In addition to my head injury, my right hand is swollen.

Let's all hope and pray that I don't spend this entire year enduring injuries. I'm already hating this new year. Hopefully, 2017 will be better than 2016.

Aside from my injuries, I joined another forum earlier this month. Tomorrow I will explain more about this forum for Cartoon Sunday. However, I will say that this particular forum has sub-forums for general topics outside of Anime.

Someone posted a thread on that exact message board about being Goth. Apparently, some of the posters have very little knowledge about what it is like being a Goth. For people, who knew and still know very little about me, I have always been Goth.

There is more to being Goth than wearing all black clothes and liking certain bands. If you are somebody with a dark, morbid, and creepy personality and interests, you may be Goth. Although, you're NOT  required to only like something with the "Goth" label attached to it.

Something everyone should understand is that being Goth is NOT easy. Since the time of the Columbine High School Massacre on April 20, 1999, the mainstream media has been demonizing and condemning Goths and the Goth Sub-culture.

Everyone should take most the negative stereotypes and depictions of being Goth in the media worth a grain of salt. Not all Goths are depressed, suicidal, and homicidal maniacs worshiping Satan, sacrificing anything and everyone, while ONLY dressed in black attire.

Yes, even though some Goths are Satanists, they do NOT  purposely go out their way to hurt innocent humans and animals like sociopaths. The same most definitely applies for Wiccans, who are Goths.

Yes, there are some of us Goths who generally have serious baggage. We are not any different from the average person with baggage. Also, Goths are NOT  required to be Pagans. 

We can be Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Muslim, Pagan (Wiccan or Satanist), etc.

Because we may look and act differently and don't always share the same interests and views as most "normal people" do, we're automatically ostracized and condemned for not conforming to everything in society.

As I was saying earlier, we can like whatever we like whenever we like without having the "Goth" label. Goths are normally the most well-rounded, open-minded, accepting, and nicest people you will ever encounter in public. This cannot always be said about "normal" people.

If you would like to learn more about the Goth Sub-culture and its community, you may want to visit the website, What Is Goth?  This will give you a better explanation about what it's like to be Goth.

Last year, I published a blog about me being morbid, since childhood. If you would like to learn more about my "dark and morbid history," you can read it right HERE.

Speaking of being Goth on the latest forum I joined, I introduced that same group of posters to the pioneers of Goth Rock. 

It's amazing. Over the last 3 years, I already published Song Saturday blogs about bands such as Bauhaus, Siouxsie And The Banshees, and other Goth Rock bands.

All the while, I have never published a Song Saturday blog about The Cure. All this time and not a single Song Saturday blog about this Classic Goth Rock band!

For The Cure fans, today is your lucky day. This band has been around for nearly 4 decades and their sound has changed a lot over the years. Between 1980-82, they were more of a Goth Rock band in the sense that their music sounded darker and more ominous.

The Cure's albums, Seventeen Seconds and Pornography sounded much better than Faith, in regards to the the band's darker sound. Faith wasn't that enjoyable. I feel the best song on that album is "Carnage Visors."

To warn you in advance, "Carnage Visors" is literally close to a 30-minute song. It sounds like a really long Horror film score. If you'd like to listen to "Carnage Visors," go for it!

After 1982, The Cure evolved and crossed over as being Alternative and Pop-Rock. Most people don't hear the band's older and more obscure songs from the late '70s and early '80s. 

Therefore, I am sharing some of The Cure's older and more obscure songs with you for today's Song Saturday, including their song, which was originally featured on The Crow Soundtrack in 1994.

1) The Cure "The Final Sound" Seventeen Seconds (1980)

2) The Cure "A Forest" Seventeen Seconds (1980)

3) The Cure "Carnage Visors" Faith (1981)

 
4) The Cure "One Hundred Years" Pornography (1982)

5) The Cure "The Figurehead" Pornography (1982)

6) The Cure "A Strange Day" Pornography (1982)


[BONUS SONG:]

The Cure "Burn" The Crow Soundtrack (1994)