Ouch.

So long, wisdom tooth. That’s right, my assumption of being a superior kind of primate was proved wrong last week, with the discovery of the cause of a recurring toothache: third molars were on the way. Since I’m sumurai-spirited, I decided to deal with the matter in a drastic way, and make war on them, expatriate them and vanish them into oblivion. During the surgery, the two inferior molars started their self-destruction sequence when they became aware of the dentist’s liberation forces attack. The other two came out with relatively little struggle and now face charges for crimes against mankind. Right now they are kept in a Guantanamo-style plastic bag.

Now, the epic battle against my third molars came with happy and unhappy consequences. They will hurt no more, that’s the highlight. Also, they gave me a valid reason to stay home all day watching anime. Sadly, my face got terribly swallowed (I am, per se, round faced) and the pain kept me from shaving, so I developed the look of a kiwi fruit, round and hairy. A kiwi with glasses watching anime. Picture it, it will make you smile. On the down side, the surgery’s cost is almost exactly a month of my salary. And a day I don’t work is a day I don’t get paid.

Anyway, the whole ordeal took place Friday, and I’m a lot better now. My face returned to it’s natural, beautiful proportions and the wounds are almost completely healed. Luckily, I am head-to-toe made of military-grade solid steel, so this kind of pecata minuta does nothing to me.

And what anime did I watched?
Amongst a myriad of mediocre and overly cute anime, it is truly refreshing to see some old-fashioned, hardcore, die-hard, plot orientated show. Honouring the cyperpunk tradition of Akira and Appleseed comes Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. How do you relate to a sentient battle tank that behaves like a child? Well, it takes some seriously genial writing, like that of Masamune Shirow. Surprisingly high production values, a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno (of Cowboy Bebop and Wolf’s Rain fame), and a smart plot make this show a must for all interested in the genre of sci-fi and political intrigue. Cell-shaded CGI blends amazingly well with the richly detailed backgrounds, and the character design is truly superb.

In an industry increasingly plagued by rip offs and jiggling tits (not that there is anything wrong with jiggling tits) and panty shots instead of character development and quick witted dialogue, I can only hope we see more like this in the future.

Also, Tachikomas are the coolest thing ever.

TA! CHI! KO! MA!