Author Archives: sdshamshel

Honestly, I Decided to Watch It Because of Nazuka Kaori: Soul Eater

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Famous for her role as one Miss Eureka of the State of Gekko.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something seems a little off about the Soul Eater anime. I haven’t read the manga, so I can’t really compare, but it’s like all the pieces don’t fit quite right together. I can see where they wanted to go with the visual style and the overall light-heartedness of it all, but it’s just not jiving at this point.

But let’s cast that aside as we talk about Tsubaki the Girl Who Turns into a Chain Scythe.

I’ve only seen one episode with her so far, and though I can’t really call her my favorite character at this point, her gentle nature and excellent design make her a definite one to watch out for (not to mention the voice). I can back this up of course with visual evidence.

The Rational Male Companion

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Few characters can impress me as much as the Rational Male Companion. These are the characters who are frequently well-acquainted with headstrong women, and though they may not have the guts or the power to rescue damsels in distress, they seek to provide understanding and kindness for the women they hold dear.

When Yoko finds herself stranded in the land of the Twelve Kingdoms, betrayed by everyone she ever trusted, It is the half-man/half-rat/non-ninja Rakushun who proves to her through his gentle and inquisitive nature that there are still good people in the world. Linn Jinto is not the brightest or the strongest man in the Abh empire, but his close friendship with Lafiel exhibits his sincerity and empathy, as well as his subdued sense of humor. Dominic Soleil does not even have the benefit of an entirely sane love interest, but his persistence and use of his own personal strengths (intelligence-gathering as opposed to Giant Robot Fighting) are indicative of his complete devotion to Anemone.

It really doesn’t have to do with the Rational Male as much as it has to do with the fact that he is someone’s Companion. They forge deep bonds with their friends and lovers, a bond tempered by the kind of self-confidence one can only find by being comfortable with oneself, accepting one’s own strengths and weaknesses.

Why I Like Ogiue, Part 4, or Being a Man who is a Fan of Ogiue

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As I stated in my previous post, I spoke to the Ninja Consultants at New York Comic Con, and among the topics we discussed were of course Genshiken and Ogiue. Erin pointed out to me that, as far as she knows, the majority of Ogiue fans in the US (or at least in the New York area) are female, and being a male Ogiue fan is kind of an exception.

Ogiue being more popular among girls than guys makes perfect sense, actually. Female anime fans would of course relate to the fujoshi that is Ogiue. It’s all obvious, with hindsight.

And yet, this fact didn’t really hit me just how rare a breed I am until Erin mentioned it. And I know that there are other guys out there who like Ogiue, just not as much as me, which I’m sure is a huge shock. The real point though is that it seems like not many of them are big, big fans of Ogiue, at least not compared to the number of girls who are.

What makes Ogiue stand out to me so far above other characters is the fact that I’ve been very fond of her every step of the way. From her brash, one-armed introduction to the club, to the revelation of her psuedo-real-life fantasies and denial of such, to her gradual softening and then hardening, to her acceptance of herself and her relationship with Sasahara, I was pretty much a fan from day one as anyone who’s read this blog will know.

And all along, I’ve been evaluating Ogiue from the perspective of a male otaku, not that I can evaluate from any other. And of course, I’ve also been doing this with every character I see. I don’t plan on talking extensively on gender roles in anime any time soon, but it just leaves me thinking about my position among anime fans at large, half of whom are female.

New York Comic Con: An Incomplete Con Report Because I Will Probably Forget Most Things

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I went to my first New York Comic Con this past weekend. I normally prefer less city and commute-based conventions, but it was still a pleasant experience over all.

I’ll avoid the hanging out with friends talk, but I’ll just say I hung out with various friends and it was good times for all.

I saw the Lucky Star dub. Some voices were weaker than others, and Wendy Lee still sounds like Wendy Lee, but they tried very hard with this dub. I think the dialogue sounded a lot more natural than I was expecting, which was a big plus. Kogami Akira felt pretty spot on, Shiraishi Minoru not so much, and the pronunciation of Shiraishi was a little painful. Overall though, not a bad dub at all.

I got to meet the fine folks over at Ninja Consultant Podcast and got to be interviewed, which was a great experience. We talked about various topics, including but not limited to Ogiue. Keep up with their podcast, and you might just get to hear how incomprehensible I am when I speak. By the way, I’m a 35 year old balding man and my name is Gerald Rathkolb.

I saw Freedom. In unrelated news, I sure do want some Nissin Cup Noodles. I also attended Grant Morrison panels, and though I’m not really a huge fan of his work (just because I don’t read much of his work), his scottish talkings about made both panels very entertaining. Oh yeah, Seven Soldiers was awesome so I guess I am a Grant Morrison fan after all. I also attended a Tokyopop panel, and there as I watched the slides come on screen, I realized just how much Tokyopop gears towards shoujo and bl now. I feel like it snuck up on me without me realizing it, and now it’s too late.

I attended the Giant Robot Rumble panel, where I got to explain what an Absolute Terror Field actually is, as well as correcting the people who thought one robot was Aphrodai A when it was actually Dianan X. Thanks to this, I was considered a nerd even among nerds. Yes, I am that pathetic. PS Steve Yun please make me a judge next time. Sadly I had to leave early, so if someone can tell me who won, that’d be great.

By the way, Optimus Prime does not lose to Roy Focker/Fokker, at least not for the reasons given. Saying that Roy’s in a plane and Optimus’s mobility is limited is not an argument when Optimus REGULARLY FIGHTS ROBOTS WHO TRANSFORM INTO FIGHTER JETS.

I actually did not buy all that much, which is okay by me. I bought an autographed copy of David Lloyd (artist of V for Vendetta)’s new book, Kickback. The artwork is really up my alley. I took one look at it, and I was sold. The other thing I bought was a 20 minute backrub. It was actually worth it because it helped me take on the 90 minute TM Revolution concert.

And oh boy what a concert it was. TM Revolution has incredible stage presence, and his singing is solid. The most prominent feature of that concert though was the screaming. The loud, fangirl (and boy) screaming, which I partook in on a number of occasions. He covered all of the SEED songs and Heart of Sword, and a few others. By the way, my ears are still feeling the effects of that concert.

I was sitting behind TM Revolution’s Japanese fan club. Before the concert started, and as fans waved signs and hooped and hollered and asked TMR to marry them, I asked the Japanese fan club girls what they thought of America.

Needless to say, they were impressed.

Holy Crap: Super Robot Wars Z

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The series being included!

New series in italics, awesometacular joygasms in bold.

Overman King Gainer
The Big O
The Big O Second Season
Zambot 3
Daitarn 3
Xabungle
Z Gundam
Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Gundam X
Turn A Gundam
Gundam SEED Destiny
Mazinger Z
Great Mazinger
Getter Robo G
Grendizer
God Sigma
Aquarion
Eureka Seven
Orguss
Gravion
Gravion Zwei
Baldios

Seriously this is like…holy crap. Words can’t describe it.

Ninja Consultants, TM Revolution

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Whooooooo.

The race against time in importing japanese manga

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If I go to a Japanese bookstore and the book is actually physically there, then it costs less than asking the bookstore to import it from Japan.

This isn’t unexpected or surprising, but it makes me think that with any given manga series I’m going to have to keep an eye out on Japanese releases so I can buy the volumes without any extra shipping fees.

A tricky thing, this timing.

Exciting New York Comic Con Panels

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…which ones are they?

Seriously, I’m not sure where I’m going. The plan at this point is to wander from panel to panel like a No(r)mad.

Though I do recommend seeing the showing of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. I’ve seen it once already so I’m probably not gonna do a repeat, but it’s a movie everyone should really watch.

Inazuma Initial Impressions, Spring 2008

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Soul Eater:

Seems decent enough. I like the art style though some of the continuity between scenes seems a little off. The thing that stands out most to me is that the main heroine’s voice actor is very inexperienced, and according to Anime News Network she has no other roles. If I do continue to watch, it might just be to see how she progresses as a voice actor throughout the series.

Macross Frontier:

Looks like they’re trying to make this anniversary count. It’s said that every Macross show is purposely designed with a different theme and feel in mind, and though the first episodes draw some parallels to earlier Macross anime, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki:

Brash, arrogant loli catgirl for a primary heroine. Yeah… I’m not sure if I’ll be sticking with this one.

Misleading Shojo Beat Cover Blurbs Annoy Me

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This happens fairly often, but one instance in particular that I remember comes from a recent issue.

On the cover, it mentioned something like “Top 10 Shojo Manga,” and I thought, hey, this sounds neat. It seems like they’re going to rate the top 10 shoujo manga of all time or something. Are they going to base it on popularity in America? Popularity in Japan? There are a number of small differences after all (the popularity of Fruits Basket, for example). I opened it to check just how they were going to approach this topic.

I could not find anything close to what they claimed. I don’t even remember what exactly it said, but it was certainly not what the cover claimed. It seemed to just cover whatever it is that they were showing in the magazine already, with maybe some blurbs about anime or live-action adaptations.

I hoped to find some opinions on titles in the shoujo hall of fame. I got nothing in return. Bleh.