Adam

Talk about the different ways that high school has been portrayed in TV, in particular the two subsets of Idealistic (ie. Saved By the Bell, That's So Raven) and Realistic (Daria, Freaks and Geeks). Compare these two portrayals to each other as well as the real life experience of high school.

Examine the influence the JRPG series Mother has had on recent indie games, with examples being Undertale, Lisa, OFF, Space Funeral, Ib and Anodyne. Talk about how it's atmosphere and mix of quirky humor and cosmic horror has been modified and utilized by modern indie developers.

In the past few years, we've seen a shift in popularity from written media criticism to video criticism. It's becoming more and more difficult to just be a writer, as you're now demanded to a do a video or record a podcast alongside it. In this new landscape, have there been people left by the wayside? Is it still possible to become established solely through writing?

Write a retrospective on the NBC comedy series Community, including its troubled production, various cast changes, and the numerous ups and downs during its broadcast history. Talk about the individual character arcs and storylines throughout the seasons and how they changed to reflect what was going on behind the camera.

Talk about the recent yearly trend of films addressing the history of racism in America, including 12 Years a Slave (2013), Selma (2014), Straight Outta Compton (2015) and the upcoming The Birth of a Nation (2016). Examine these films in the context of the recent resurgence of racial tension in America, as well as the reaction of calling them "anti-white" that some people have had.

Examine the current state of professional writing, journalistic and/or fiction, in the digital age, and the comforts as well as the difficulties that aspiring writers may have making a living off their work. For journalism, you can talk about how modern outlets rely increasingly on easily replaceable writers repeating the news instead of defined personalities and opinions, as well as the reliance on sponsored content for income resulting in a rift between the editors and writers. For fiction, you could talk about how digital and self-publishing has made it more difficult for large publishing houses to bring on new writers and compensate them properly, while at the same time self-publishing for a living carries it's own risks of being unable to easily reach a larger audience.

Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!, or Majikoi for short, is a visual novel that is, quite simply, one of the most charming visual novels ever written. It centers on a group of childhood friends living in an bustling city populated by the descendants of warriors. It features a huge and colorful cast of characters, each with their own distinct personality and moments to shine. Utilizing a unique blend of genres including romance, action and drama, it creates something completely new the likes of which has never really been seen before.

That last part is key – never been seen before. The "harem" genre is a popular subset of anime and manga that focuses on a typically male protagonist and the multiple women whose affections he earns. It's a genre that, thankfully, doesn't take itself very seriously most of the time, but it's still awash with the same tropes, character types and storylines. Majikoi not only averts these cliches, but makes something different by building on them and specifically pointing them out. Here I talk about all the ways Majikoi differentiates itself from typical harem and ecchi tropes and storylines, and, hopefully, convince you to give it a good read.

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