Author Archives: sdshamshel

Because he asked so nicely: Help a guy fulfill his anime-themed Master’s Thesis

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In my previous post, I got a comment from a guy named Dirk, who said,

“Hi, my name is Dirk, I live in Brussels, Europe, and I am doing a research to get my degree in psychological studies. I am in my last year at the “Université Libre de Bruxelles” ( U.L.B.). My research is about the look we people bring upon Japanese animation, depending on the culture we live in.

To be able to do this study, I will need the help of people and anime sites out of Europe, so I can compare these populations. I am asking you here if it would be possible for me to add a link on your site, where people will be linked to a site (in English) were they will see an extract of a Japanese animation, and then they will be asked to respond to a questionnaire. Do you think this could be possible? If “yes”, how should this link look like (for instance, what size should it have?)

I already got like 140 European responses, but only like 8 Asian ones, which is close, but not quiet enough for a research…;o) I hope you can help me to improve this :o)

If you want to have a look at the website, the address is : http://www.toba.lu/memoire”

So here it is. I’m all for people researching anime and trying to find out real information about it, and this post is to give it a little more visibility.

Go, take the poll. Let us find out more about the anime fandom.

The dance of moe

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I believe that the appeal of moe is derived from the viewer and not the product. The basis of moe is in a person’s own feelings of doubt, insecurity, and empathy. Not necessarily that they are full of doubt and insecurity, but rather that they are very aware of its power.

Moe does not always address these feelings head on, but it frequently refers to them in its characters. Even the strongest characters are somehow weak, and weakness is okay for not only the characters, but also the viewers, is the message I believe moe gives.

I don’t think moe is the complete removal of reality and the real world because even the most simplistic of moe addresses the inner feelings of people, and emotions are a world that to any person are more real than the world surrounding them.

Hot Damn

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Tama-nee.

Hot DAMN.

Popularity on the internet vs Popularity at cons

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I’m always caught a little off guard by the disparity between popular anime on the internet and at conventions. Shows I thought would garner more cosplay, Gurren-Lagann, Rozen Maiden, among others, are always on the backburner compared to the stalwarts such as Naruto and Bleach. I mean, it’s obvious why, with Naruto and Bleach being enormously popular, but back at Otakon 2007 one series that surprised me with its popularity was Ouran High School Host Club.  Is it because the manga was released here? Did the fansubs just manage to reach an audience which normally wouldn’t have bothered too much with it?

I’m a fan of Ouran myself (Fujioka is the superior Haruhi), but I wonder if there’s a way for me to truly sense the pulse of the anime fandom.

I’d probably have a lucrative job if I could.

New Slayers!

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So the anime which I consider to be THE gateway anime is getting a new tv series, and this makes me quite glad. I’ve seen almost every incarnation of Slayers so far, so I’ll be looking to keep up my track record.

My first hope is that they finally introduce Dynast Grausherra and Deep-Sea Dolphin properly into the Slayers anime universe.

My second hope is that the series is called Slayers Boxer, and that the crew will get some kind of airship.

Nena Trinity may get all the love, but here’s a real woman

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You’re a spineless, pale
pathetic lot
And you haven’t got a clue
Somehow I’ll make a man
out of you

(I know exactly how you feel, Patrick!)

Lena Sayers Love Fest: My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ OVA 1

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It is no small secret that the character designer of the HiME series, Hisayuki Hirokazu, loves loves loves the character of Lena Sayers. She is like his personal mascot, equivalent to how the creator of Shaman King feels about Kyouyama Anna.

So watching S.ifr OVA 1 and seeing just how much detail and emphasis has been put on making her as awesome as possible leads me to believe that he’s having a lot of influence on this particular series.

My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ is a prequel to My-Otome detailing the adventures of Lena Sayers Yumemiya, mother of Otome heroine Arika. There’s a few surprises, mainly that Lena is using an activation gem completely different from the one we’re familiar with. We also get to see the previous owner of the gem that Sara Gallagher uses in Otome proper. The animation is quite good, the character designs are strong and sexy, and it’s pretty much everything you’d expect from the HiME series at this point, only with tons of Lena love being poured in.

The other adjective I would use to describe it is “Boobariffic.” Lena has quite a pair of assistants, and it’s easy to see why Arika herself developed so much between Otome and Otome Zwei.

Genetics.

Then we have no choice but to create it!

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15 minutes in Maya.

The spring season is sneaking up on me

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Is it almost March already?

I feel like the winter season only just begun.

Let me explain

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Shugo Chara! is getting serious and yet somehow remains lighthearted. I am continuously pleased with just how well this show is going. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Shugo Chara! is exactly what I was looking for in an anime, and it really stands out among the other shows airing right now.

Actually, I just made this post for that screenshot.  Yaya isn’t even my favorite character but man this was totally worth it.