Death Note — "The Anime Cinematic Masterpiece."

  Author: Oluwagbenga Michael Adeyeye (Alias: ATOM G)

Note: Beware of spoilers and a darn good read!!

In the Otaku (lovers of all things Japanese anime) realm, it is believed that the top three anime series are; Naruto, One Piece and Dragon Ball.

Many lovers of anime have, however, expressed their discomfort with the placement of these three series on top of the list. Some would rather have a series like Bleach or Hunter x Hunter at the top of the list, but if you ask me, I'll say I stan Death Note most of all.

In my opinion, Death Note should occupy the No. 1 spot on top of the all best anime's list.

I know that this choice could very much cause a civil war amongst my fellow anime-watching couch potatoes, but I’ll only retract my statement when the ‘One Piece’ series is completed (and we all know that’ll take a lifetime).

While I stubbornly refuse to eat my words, before you readily bite my head off, hear me out on why Death Note deserves the spot 1 on that list:

Death Note is the complete package; an ideal mystery series:

● It had the right amount of intensity; there was some hardcore action and criminal investigation; and we had the craziest experience with Yagami and his ideology for maintaining balance in the world— I can already see my AoT fellow fans nodding their heads.

Death Note is one of the very few anime series that defied the laws of ‘superhero-ing’—assuming that was act as a gerund, lol 😂— where we’d have the good guy working alongside certain like minds who commit to his mission.

You know, fight the bad guys, try to change them or simply bring them to book—at least that’s what the protagonists in animés like ‘My Hero Academia’ did throughout the series—till it ended up seeming monotonous. 🫠🥲

But in the Death Note, when protagonist, Yagami, got hold of the tool of justice (a Shinigami’s notebook which granted him the ability to kill anyone whose name was written in its pages), we witnessed a psychotic attempt at restoring world order and erasing all traces of evil in the world— more like the fire-brigade approach. And that, that is what keeps your blood pressure levels at the peak; first, out of fear over what has become of the gentle and ambitious protagonist that was introduced at the opening of the movie and second, of an inexplicable euphoria in anticipation of the next episode and what happens there.

I wonder if this isn't the embodiment of mystery itself.

Unlike many heroes who had that kind of power at their disposal, he didn’t really care about striking a balance between good and evil—he didn’t subscribe to all that “Yin and Yang” crap that Master Oogway kept talking about in Kung Fu Panda—this guy was set out to obliterate all possible evil.

He literally had no measure for the punishments he dished out. Every criminal who is capable of being named was simply, and pleasurably, snuffed out of existence.

Another interesting thing about Death Note was the intellectual rivalry between Yagami and L (whose real name was Lawliet).

Even without the Death Note, Yagami Light showed that he was indeed a force to be reckoned with as he is what can be readily referred to as an outlier. His mindset was just exceptional.

He had barely gotten into college when he was going against a master detective after he had already begun creating his perfect world under the alias of Kira. He was indeed a diabolical foe and it was even crazier because he managed to justify his methods, so much so that I, being more of a pacifist than a revolutionist, was also convinced that he was in the right.

To reach the peak, Light sacrificed everything; his social life, family, dream to become a cop like his dad, all measures of morality and even his own life.

He was a conman and master manipulator, strategist, detective and a truly disturbed young man with a insane dream of singlehandedly establishing and maintaining law and order.

Yagami Light’s reign of blissful terror was brought to an end as a result of his self-absorption, ever-growing god complex and underestimation of his foe’s successors; Near and Mello.

Some of the saddest parts of the series was when L was killed, where Captain Yagami died and the end; where Yagami died.

Ultimately, the series wasn’t as hardcore and as shonen like Naruto and Bleach but it’s a top-tier mystery/psychological thriller. Trust me, the characters will definitely leave a dent in your mind.

Till today, I totally support Light’s approach. And oh please, don’t judge me; especially AoTs fans—we all know that you still support Eren Jaeger after he proved that he’s capable of genocide, and not even as clean as Yagami’s methods.

I can only look forward to any other series that'll blow my mind away like this one did, but in the interim, I'll bask in my daydreaming about the fantastic scenes in Death Note.

Arigato Gozaimasu.🤪🙏

'The Cat's Out of The Bag'

 We don't give our parents nearly enough credit. Why am I mentioning this first? It's not a very long narrative, so let's get started.

I recently tried my hand at playing "house" — which was a failed attempt, by the way, because after two days, I wasn't having it anymore. I adopted my younger sister's cat and was so excited about it, I even went as far as ordering him a personalised collar and shopping for grooming materials. There was this unexplained joy at the thought of getting a pet and I looked forward to it.

This is where the story gets funny, I sent him back to my sister after two days. Hahaha, funny? I love Stitch (the cat's name) but he was a different level of obligation I wasn’t entirely prepared to take on. I took my sister up on the offer without thinking about it thoroughly and as much as the idea of adopting "a baby"— as I called him— was fun, the obligations of a cat mum was not something I wanted to fully assume. 

Although he was cute to carry and play with, ensuring my apartment stayed kempt while making sure he wasn't maimed or bruised and seeing to his overall needs were all so much to handle. 

In a way, living all by myself for the most part of the years since I started college has gotten into my system so much that it's now a part of my personality. I love my space and being alone, I love the quiet and serenity that comes with having a small space that's like a haven filled with my favourite things; from books, to music, to movies and my favourite snacks, my apartment is the one thing I'd miss when I'm eventually done with college. In a way, it has helped me to be more in tune with my inner self and has sort of, affected how I relate with people. I’ve had no need to explain my mood, forcefully socialise or talk to anyone when I don't want to and doing things differently forces all that from me as I'll have no choice than to relate, socialise or explain why I'm not interested in talking, if I'm offended because I'm not talking or if I'm familar with the latest trends— lol, like I care 🙄. To be honest, I love the distance, I embrace the distance. Why? I can't tell, yet.

Moving along, I started this article with how we don't give our parents enough credit and this is me just fully realising and experiencing how being a parent feels. Not that I've not had to take care of anyone else but a cat. I mean, I have nephews and a niece who are left in my care whenever I'm home but I've never really had to think about how to provide for them, all I ever concerned myself with was making sure they were bathed, fed and didn't make a mess. With Stitch, it was different. 

I wasn’t just making sure he was clean— which he does on his own by the way,— but also fed and didn't go turning the room upside down. I didn't know if I'll be able to always provide meals for him because I'm still a student, but more importantly, I was worried about his health, about how to train him and keep him indoors because he is so energetic and always wants to play— when all I've ever known how to be is an indoor person and wouldn't want him to be any different. I worried about coming home to meet my apartment in disarray and having to reassemble my things each time. 

If anything got damaged, there was nothing to be done, he's a baby, he doesn't understand. I thought about the time I had to put into distracting him from being too curious about everything. The strain, the stress, I just couldn't deal.

 Not to be a spoil-sport but cats are very independent animals and this is why I thought we would be a good match but after this experience, I have come to the conclusion that that cats are independent is a cliché because all cats aren't the same and this applies to people as well. While some are independent, others prefer the excessive show of affection and attention and I wasn't ready for such. 

Not to say my experience is anything close to what a parent goes through but it was after this, I understood how stressful being one must be. Parents do not only rely on their biological connection to train a child, they care for a child in all areas of the child's life and see to the upbringing of the child through all the stages of development. 

In a nutshell, the sacrifice that goes into parenting is not one to be trivialised, really, because no one just knows how to be a parent. It is through trials and errors, making choices you believe to be right and putting in the efforts to nurture the child, among other things, that sets one on the path to being a true parent. 

That said, to the parents and intending parents out there, I'm sending you my love and best wishes. The world wouldn't be where it is today without y'all and I thank you for always coming through and being there for us.

Without further ado, I'm signing off today to be back here soon. I leave y'all with a few songs on my playlist that you should really listen to, if you haven't already;

• ‘My Kind of Brown’ by Johnny Drille

• ‘Driving in the Rain’ by Johnny Drille

• ‘Am I wrong’ by Nico & Vinz

• ‘2 Much’ by Justin Bieber 

XOXO

PCOS: A cause of Infertility?

Are your periods regular? Have you been putting on a lot of weight lately?

Or do you just have excessive acne? Why am I asking these random questions? My guess is, you're confused. 

Ever heard the term, "PCOS?"

No? Yes? Maybe? Hahaha. PCOS is an acronym for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Sounds different, ugh? Bingo! I've captured your interest. 

Now that we've gotten here, I'm sure you want to know all about it and I'm happy to tell. Grins

What is PCOS?

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal imbalance caused by the ovaries (the organ that produces and releases eggs) creating excess male hormones called Androgens. 

If you have PCOS, it simply means your ovaries produce unusually high levels of Androgens.

As a result of this, people diagnosed with PCOS often have irregular or missed periods, excess acne, unpredictable or no ovulation at all, etc, and this (anovulation) may cause small cysts (fluid-filled sacs) to develop on the ovaries.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is quite a common condition and up to 15% of women of reproductive age have it.

What Causes PCOS?

ANDROGENS (MALE HORMONES)

I know I've already mentioned earlier that excess release of the male hormones (Androgens) is a major cause of PCOS. But how?

Experts have confirmed through several studies that high levels of androgen also called "Male hormones" prevent the ovaries from releasing eggs — that is the process known as Ovulation. Lack of ovulation leads to irregular menstrual cycles and it may also cause small fluid-filled sacs to develop in the ovaries. Furthermore, high androgen levels can also cause excess acne and hair growth in women.

INSULIN RESISTANCE (IR)

Another major factor that causes PCOS is Insulin resistance (“IR”). Insulin is the hormone that helps regulate the sugar level in the blood. With IR, the body cells don't respond normally to insulin and this causes the sugar levels in the blood to rise abnormally. Because glucose or sugar cannot be absorbed easily by the cells, glucose builds up in the blood. This could eventually lead to Type 2 Diabetes if not immediately treated.

Since the body no longer responds normally to insulin, it builds up in the body and triggers higher androgen levels which causes PCOS. 

Additionally, obesity (being overweight) can also increase insulin levels and make PCOS symptoms worse.

Lastly, people with PCOS tend to have chronic low-grade inflammation and it can be exacerbated by an unhealthy lifestyle that includes smoking, poor dietary, alcohol consumption, sedentary behaviour, stress and weight gain.

Symptoms Of PCOS

The most common symptoms of PCOS are:

• Irregular or missed periods.

• Abnormal hair growth. 

• Excess acne. 

• Obesity. 

• Infertility. 

• Loss of hair.

• Cysts. 

Etcetera. 

The major risks of PCOS are:

• Infertility or Subfertility.
• Diabetes.
• Lipid abnormalities.
• Cardiovascular risks.
• Obstructive sleep apnea.
• Endometrial cancer.

However, not all women diagnosed with PCOS will develop these conditions but they are possible long-term health risks associated with PCOS.

How is PCOS treated?

According to my research, PCOS can be treated based on symptoms, medical history and other health conditions. Treatment can include medication, lifestyle changes or a combination of both. Best consult a physician.

It is also important to note that a person can only be properly diagnosed with PCOS when a physician tests her physically through the use of an ultrasound scan, a pelvic exam, and blood tests. Also, a physician can ask about your medical history, family medical history and symptoms when making a diagnosis.