Hello and happy Monday, everyone! It’s been quite a while since I put up one of these, but my ask.fm has been increasingly active over the past few months, so I figured it was about time to put up some of those answers for your enlightenment/entertainment.

As always, if you wish to ask a question yourself, check out my ask.fm page or leave it in the comments! As you’ll see, I take questions on a pretty wide range of subjects, from my personal beliefs to thoughts on religion or various anime, so don’t be shy if you want to know something!

Q: Do you have an early rating for Shirobako?

A: Probably floating somewhere around an 8/10. I consistently enjoy watching the show, Aoi is making her way towards the top of my favorite characters of all-time list, and I appreciate a lot of the different topics it tackles on both the artistic and working realities of the adult world.

It doesn’t quite have the deeper emotional resonance I expect from a top-tier show and I sometimes feel like it can push a bit towards fluff, but I’ve never watched an episode of Shirobako I didn’t like.

Q: If you were to go on a date with an anime character on Valentine’s day, thinking realistically-(ish), with whom would you have the most enjoyable date?

A: Can there be any doubt that the current answer to this question is Aoi Miyamori? I don’t even know how well I actually think the date would go (she’s probably wayyy too good for me), but my hope would be that it would at least go well enough for me to get a second date with her.

Q: Please make a list to show off your favorite anime OP/ED/OST!

A: A favorite OP/ED list is something I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while, but a big project like that is probably something I’d want to put into a blog post or into a page on my blog. Getting a favorite characters list is a little higher up in priority than OP/ED, but these are all projects I’d like to get done by the end of the year at the latest, before the start of the summer at the earliest!

Q: Who is the moegirl that currently serves as your ask display picture?

A: Ah, yes, my new avatar! I’m actually not just using her on ask.fm, but on all my blogging-related social media—I plan to keep her around for a long time. ^_^ I was looking for something a bit more unique than just fanart of an anime character, and this image fit what I was looking for perfectly (although I’ll miss having Eri Kitamura’s voice associated with all my tweets via Karen Araragi).

I don’t know her name, but she’s the main character from Japanese kawaii music band Karasu wa Masshiro’s recent video, “Himitsu Spark.”

Note: I actually found out later that this character is an animated version of the band’s singer, who wears glasses and similar twintails in some of their other videos.

Q: Give me dating advice, iblessall-san?

A: iblessall’s Exhaustive Advice for Dating:

1. If you are desperate to have a significant other for the sake of having a significant other, you’re not ready to date.
2. If dating is a grocery store, you’re the little old lady at the end of the aisle trying to sell cheese spread (aka a relationship with you), not a kid in the candy aisle. In other words, stop thinking of a relationship as some kind of “treat” you’re getting. They’re doing you a favor by dating you, not the other way around. Put more simply, keep your ego in check.
3. Smile at people, care about them as people before you care about them as a potential romantic partner.
4. Don’t wear your sexy High School of the Dead shirt on a first date.
5. If you must wear perfume, I suggest the Kirito scent (https://twitter.com/a1pictures/status/565156931766337536)
6. Try to keep statements that begin with, “The other day on Twitter…” to a minimum.
7. Ummm…be a nice person.
8. If you have the good fortune to be a moegirl, be responsible with your power.
9. If you happen to be stuck in a romcom, just pick Best Girl/Guy right away.
10. Be a nice person, actually listen to what the other person is saying when they talk to you, don’t be afraid to talk about what you’re interested in (within reason).
11. Remember this is real life, not an anime, and that you’re dealing with real people who have actual feelings. Be good.

Q: If you were to marry, would your spouse need to be an anime fan? Or at the very least enjoy anime?

A: If you were to marry, would your spouse need to be an anime fan? Or at the very least enjoy anime?

I wouldn’t go so far as to say they “need” to have any interest in anime specifically whatsoever. I think I’d just like my future wife to have an appreciation for aesthetic value so she could at least respect the medium’s potential as an artistic vehicle.

But, really, I’m not even sure I’d really put that kind of qualification on a relationship with a person. Not “liking” or “enjoying” anime seems a pretty stupid reason to take into consideration when making a decision on the person who I want to be my best friend for the rest of my life. In the grand scheme of things, that’s a pretty trivial issue to me next to stuff like, oh, I dunno…being a good person, etc.

If they happen to like or enjoy watching anime, too, that’s just a bonus.

Q: Can you save me 15% or more on my car insurance?

A: No, but I can get you a thousand million Kotori-chans