Introduction:

Well, we have yet another theme week here are Mahou Tofu. It is May, so it is time to celebrate our moms. Unless they beat you or something like that, our moms really need to be appreciated. What do I like about my mom? She likes a lot of the same things that I like. This is something that has a lot of advantages. First off, there is the whole introduction to things at an early age thing. My mom was big time comic book fan growing up and that meant that I got to read a lot of the really old stuff early on. Next, you have acceptance. When I come home with a bunch of stuff from comic book stores or I order stuff from Japan, my mom doesn’t tell me that I wasted a bunch of money. Lastly, it is very easy to request certain things as presents. I wasn’t stuck with clothes for Christmas when I was a kid because my mom liked video games. She is the kind of parent that will buy games for her kids because she wants to play them too. This made for a really cool childhood for myself, but not so much for my siblings. They don’t really like comics and fantasy stuff, so they did not benefit as much as I did. Over the years, I had starting watching and reading things that were made during my generation and my mom started to latch onto some of these things. It is because of this that I decided to go through the types of things that we cover on the site and make a list. A top three list of things that my mom likes more than I do from our major categories.

• Anime
  

This is probably the form of media that we don’t have a lot of shared interests in. Not because she doesn’t like anime, but because my mom doesn’t watch a lot of things on the internet. Most of the stuff she has watched has been in dub form on Cartoon Network. That isn’t horrible because Toonami is a great thing. Well, here is the top three in order of level of surprise, rather than level of interest.

3). Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist is a great series. This may not be Brotherhood, but the first series was great in its own regard. My mom really enjoyed the dark themes in the series like the way that homunculi take the form of failed human transmutations and the fact that the philosopher’s stone is made out of people. My mom likes dark things in general. Why is this one surprising? Liking anime is surprising enough, but she likes the first series more than she likes Brotherhood. That is where the difference lies because I am a Brotherhood guy. Oh well, still not a bad choice.

2). Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Is this one a shocker? Maybe not after I told you that my mom likes dark things. This is an anime that I had my mom watch online because I knew that she would like it. Obviously, she enjoyed the whole criminal coverup thing. I enjoyed this series, but my mom was marathoning it. I had to pick up dinner two nights in a row while she was watching it. Why is this surprising? Horror anime is kind of hard to swallow for anime fans. I can’t really see a lot of them appealing to a western audience, but my mom really likes watching murder.

1). Mirai Nikki

I am surprised when anime fans say that they really liked this series. Yes, it is a quality anime, but it is really fucking intense. My mom watched this because it was a murder game and she definitely liked it more than I did. I tend to care about fictional characters way more than you should, so there were a lot of things in this that bothered me. Not my mom though. She could eat a meal peacefully while watching an episode. Why is this surprising? Well, even my mom was a little taken aback by the rape in this series. Not that it really bothered her, but people in the States aren’t really used to such adult things in animation.

• Comics
  

This is the section that is full of stuff that my mom introduced me to. Although it may not be that surprising when a dad likes comics, it certainly is when a mom does. I am not trying to be sexist, but the comic book community wasn’t very female heavy when my mom was growing up. I guess that is why everything on this list should be surprising, but the specific comics will really get you. Once again, here is the top three in order of surprise factor, rather than interest level.

3). Thor

Thor is one of my mom’s favorite Marvel heroes. I guess I could have put the entire Marvel Universe on this list, because I am a DC fan. A house divided. The whole mighty god thing is what pulled my mom into the comic. Why is this surprising? Well, it isn’t like this is Spiderman or X-Men. Thor may be an Avenger, but the solo comic may not jump out at people. On that note, my mom was very upset about the Thor movie. Her opinion is a pretty common one. Good actor choice, but bad writing. I don’t know many people who thought that movie was up to par with the other Marvel movies.

2). Aquaman

Let’s be serious here, the internet is to blame for the Aquaman hate. The guy is the King of Atlantis with a bunch of really cool powers. Super strength, the ability to control sea creatures, and the ability to move freely in the water. There is a lot to like about this guy. The Justice League doesn’t let just anyone be a member. Why is this surprising? Even though Aquaman isn’t as ridiculous as the internet makes him out to be, it is not like he is super popular. He is my mom’s favorite DC hero and that is where we differ. I prefer Flash and Green Lantern.

1). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

My mom is the kind of person that still has the old school Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comics. Growing up, my mom always made sure that I was awake to watch the cartoon on Saturday mornings because she was going to watch it too. A lot of people don’t even know that the turtles are comic book characters. That is one of the things that my mom taught me. Why is this surprising? As a comic, the turtles aren’t a part of the big two. Although, you don’t have to be a part of Marvel and DC to be a quality series. I think my mom started reading this series because she likes turtles. I am not joking. It is not that I don’t like this series, it is just that my mom loves it.

• Manga

My mom doesn’t read manga, so we are just going to skip this one.

• Movies

Who doesn’t like movies? When it comes to this section, I am basically going to be covering movies that you wouldn’t imagine watching with your mom. My mom isn’t the biggest romance person, so I have never had to sit through anything like The Notebook. Thank God. I like romances, but not that. So here is the top three movies that my mom likes more than I do in terms of surprise factor.

3). Silent Hill

My mom loves the Silent Hill movies. Well, except for that 3D one, but that was just stupid. The best way to express why my mom likes this series has already been explained in the anime list. My mom likes dark things. Horror is her favorite movie genre and that is both good and bad. Good now because I enjoy the movies. Bad back in the day when I watched things like Poltergeist and The Thing back when I was in like third grade. Seriously, do not show children movies like that. Why is this surprising? My mom doesn’t watch scary movies for the sake of being scared. Honestly, I have never seen my mom get scared while watching a movie and that frightens me. Thus, my mom obviously likes this series more than I do.

2). Lord of the Rings

My mom read a lot of books growing up. Her favorites were fantasy books and that is why she is watching Game of Thrones right now. I just want to say that comic and fantasy fans have won. Mike and I talk about how we are getting so many movies that people just didn’t get in the older generations. My mom was thrilled when Lord of the Rings was hitting theaters because that was her favorite series growing up. Why is this surprising? Once again, the fantasy scene hasn’t always been full of women that weren’t paid to be there. My mom was so excited for this movie series that she made me read the books before I watched the movies. Although she did enjoy the films, she uses her almost encyclopedic knowledge of Lord of the Rings to talk about what it was missing. This dedication is what puts her interest over the top.

1). Green Lantern

This movie was not well received. Why is that? Well, they spent almost no time on the planet that they created, Ryan Reynolds is not a good Green Lantern, and Hal Jordan isn’t the most popular Green Lantern as it is. That being said, my mom liked it. She said that it captured a comic feel in an era of films that have to be gritty reboots. Why is this surprising? Someone actually like this movie. It is clear from my tone how obvious it is that my mom liked this movie more than I did. Basically, my mom just said that it was fun to watch.

• Television

Television is something that is common for parents to like. That is why things like Game of Thrones and Vikings will not be on this list. Yes, they are shows that my mom loves and I enjoy them as well. However, there is a more surprising bunch of shows that have to make the list. What am I referring to? Cartoons. More specifically, Nickelodeon cartoons. as a person that was born in the early 90’s, Nickelodeon really killed it when it came to quality television. My mom watched a lot of these shows with me and that is why I have a top three of cartoons in interest order this time. They are all pretty surprising, so I will just give my mom’s top three.

3). Angry Beavers

That is a nostalgia attack for me. I really liked this show, but it did rub me the wrong way at time. I remember this horror episode where this thumb thing tried to mess with their brains. That was pretty creepy, but my mom loved it. Did you know that they are playing this show again on Nicktoons? They are and my mom has a good number of episodes recorded. Why is this surprising? The odd nature of this show could throw off some parents. How often have your parents looked at you with derision because they couldn’t understand the cartoons that you were watching? Well, my mom likes this show because of the crazy shit that happens and because they are beavers.

2). Invader Zim

Invader Zim is one of those cartoons that was before its time. It got cancelled to the outrage of a small group of fans. It has recently gained a pretty large fan base because its dark and ridiculous nature appeals to people today. I liked it growing up because my mom had gotten me used to crazy shit. Why is this surprising? This was that show that parents didn’t like. The over the top episodes just weren’t accepted. However, that is how you get my mom to watch a cartoon. She would say that it was much better than the mind numbing stuff that they make you watch when you are really little. I might love this show, but my mom adores it.

1). Hey Arnold

Hey Arnold is a great show, but you might be wondering why it is so high on the list. From everything that I have said before this, one could only assume that my mom only likes crazy shows. Well, my mom likes quality as well. She has always been a fan of having kids shows with meaning. Episodes like the Pigeonman one and the Christmas special about the Vietnam War had the kind of depth that my mom was looking for. Why is this surprising? At this point, anything without a horror element should surprise you. This is one of the few things that gets my mom based on the characters, rather than the story. Helga was her favorite because she didn’t take crap from anyone. I love Hey Arnold, but this is my mom’s favorite Nickelodeon cartoon.

• Video Games

Time for a very interesting section. Some parents do play video games, but they are usually pretty simple things like solitaire, bejeweled, and anything on Facebook. My mom is the kind of person that would get pretty interested in things that she bought her kids growing up. This was fantastic because I own almost every gaming console that has come out during my lifetime. The thing about my mom is that she gets really hardcore when it comes to video games. I can’t stress how frustrating it is to get a new game and not be able to play it because my mom calls first dibs. I can’t really say no because it usually isn’t my money that I use to buy the games. Oh well, here is the top three based on surprise factor.

3). Pokémon

The picture for this section refers to my mom’s favorite game in the series. Do you know what sucks? When your mom is better at a video game than you. She might not be better in a battle, but she definitely knows way more about EV and IV training than I do. Heck, a good portion of people who play the games don’t even know what that is. Why is this surprising? Pokémon is a game that people think is for kids. It is surprising enough that I play the game at the age of twenty-one. My mom basically just likes the pokémon themselves. It has been nice growing up because my mom would always buy every version of the game. Mostly because she wanted her own copy. Seriously Game Freak, give us multiple save files.

2). Jade Empire

Jade Empire is an RPG for the Xbox. It really didn’t sell well, but I blame advertising for that. The game is great and I know a lot of people who would enjoy an eastern style RPG that doesn’t take eighty hours to complete. Why is this surprising? This is an RPG for the Xbox. A handheld game is one thing, but parents that play on consoles just seems out of the ordinary. My mom really enjoyed the story to this game. It had that nice eastern feel with technology that makes you think of Leonardo da Vinci. That just sounds cool. I only played through this game twice, while my mom went through the game like five times.

1). World of Warcraft

Now that is an odd game for a mom to be playing. I used to play World of Warcraft. I think I stopped after the first expansion because the game was filled with too many kids at that point. Making a game easier does not always make it better. Why is this surprising. If you are not surprised to hear that my mom played World of Warcraft, then you need to come back and read this when you have all of your mental faculties in tact. My mom liked this game for the same reasons that most people liked it. This is by far the best MMORPG out there. Why does my mom like it more than I do? She tried it out again when the pandas came out. Even I wasn’t that interested.

Final Say:

My mom likes some very interesting stuff. As a Mother’s Day post, this was meant to be positive. Having a mom that liked Pokémon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Fullmetal Alchemist just made for a great life. We still have a lot of stuff to talk about because these aren’t simply the interests of a child. My mom understands very well that I should not be outgrowing these things. Instead, I should be appreciating them in a far more complex way now that I am smart enough to understand everything that they have to offer. It is a little rough at times though. My mom likes really intense stuff, so she doesn’t understand when I am reacting to a drama or something like that. I can’t cry when a character dies or my mom calls me a bitch. Oh well, it could be worse. I love you mom.