Category Archives: anime

Move Over, Music

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There was a time when I would download any and every anime song I could find, and scour P2P programs to find the most obscure songs possible, but at some point I fell off that wagon. Maybe it was that eventually songs became so easy to find that downloading individual songs made way for downloading entire soundtracks, and the fear that music would eat up hard drive space left me hesitant to just grab them all willy-nilly.

What ended up happening was that I felt there were giant holes in my song collection, and after a few years of this I decided yesterday that I should start to make up for it. So there I went getting songs old and new, trying to make up for lost time, and feeling out of place with people who download music like they drink water and don’t really have to think about it. It’s also then that I noticed something: silence. The funny thing about this silence is that once upon a time I’d have anime music playing whenever I was at the computer. It was a constant of my internet and anime experience, with Hayashibara Megumi never far away in the song list. What changed? It can’t be that I got tired of it, as I bring my mp3 player everywhere I go. At some point though, j-pop made way for the click-clacking of the keyboard. It sort of reminds me of a change I went through in regards to what I liked to draw on. Before college, I hated using sketchbooks but in college it became all that I used to the point that I even took class notes in sketchbooks.

I’m sure it’s all tied together. Most likely, the more new music I wanted to get, the more music I had, and thus the more I had to simply listen to, but I feel like I can’t really explain why the change occurred.

Monster Design Talk Starring the Hiruken Emperor

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When it comes to monster designs, I follow a philosophy of more disturbing = better monster, and I have specific ideas about what is the most effectively disturbing. The key is not to make something grotesque or to show off the monster’s capacity for violence and destruction but instead to take what is  familiar and twist it into something unsettling. The goal is for the monster to exist on just the other side of the uncanny. As an example, let’s look at the Hiruken Emperor from Xam’d: Lost Memories.

Something familiar to all humans is the anatomy of the human body and the Hiruken Emperor’s is close to that of a human being. It has two legs, two arms, head and torso with organic musculature, but the stiff, unnatural movements combined with its expression-less face make it difficult to discern its intentions. When it’s a machine, this only makes sense. When it’s a living breathing creature, it becomes uncanny.

The Hiruken Emperor also takes the comforting idea of symmetry and distorts it into something jarring. Symmetry is a recurring theme in nature. Most things on this planet have some degree of symmetry, but in the case of the Hiruken Emperor the symmetry is too perfect, and the viewer is made painfully aware of that fact. With such perfect symmetry on such an organic creature, the comfort of natural symmetry is replaced by a fear of the alien.

Taking organs and placing them in unusual areas can further enhance the unsettling appearance of a monster. In the case of the Hiruken Emperor, the eyes are utilized in unusual ways. The Hiruken Emperor has four eyes, and none of them are where they should be. Two large ones are placed roughly at the shoulders, one equally large is above the head, and there is also a smaller one inside the head behind the white mask. It’s this unusual placement of the Hiruken Emperor’s eyes that really make it disturbing. Eyes are also an especially effective part of the body to move and rearrange because of how important they can be in human interaction. Human beings easily reveal their emotions through their eyes. However, the Hiruken Emperor’s eyes fail to exhibit emotion, and the blank, all-consuming stare of the Hiruken Emperor eats into your expectations.

A monster doesn’t have to resemble a human being or living creature in order to be a successful design. Manipulating how much the viewer relates to the monster will also influence the effectiveness of the monster. Making the viewer unsure of whether or not they can relate to the monster will make it even better.

What is Nagi’s Favorite Emulator?

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MAME

Armored Trooper Votoms: Part 3

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In an interstellar war between the nations of Gilgamesh and Balarant, a woman designated “Proto-One” is the galaxy’s first Perfect Soldier. Genetically modified for battle and having her memories artificially placed to give her all of the necessary knowledge to be an efficient killer, she is highly prized as a military weapon and has been prepared for nearly every situation. However, her encounters with a stoic mercenary named Chirico Cuvie provide the biggest shock of her life: the emotion known as love.

Named “Fyana” by Chirico after an intense encounter in the anarchic city of Uoodo, they eventually escape the planet together at the end of the civil war in Kummen. There’s no time for a honeymoon however, as they are immediately abducted by an abandoned spaceship that seems hell-bent on reminding Chirico of his bloody past. Episodes 28-39 of Armored Trooper Votoms trace Chirico and Fyana’s lives as they both begin to figure out who they really are. We also get to see the other side of the war for the first time as the Balarant military makes its appearance.

I’ve criticized the romantic side of Votoms in my previous two reviews, but their time aboard the mysterious spaceship improves that aspect tremendously. You’re never really sure how they ended up in love, but now that they are, they love each other in a way that two soldiers unfamiliar with emotional response only can. The “Deadworld Sunsa” arc of Votoms is very different from the first half of the series, as it lets the viewer truly see for the first time the relationship dynamic between Chirico and Fyana. Previous mention is made of Chirico’s past as a “Red Shoulder,” but it is only now that we are given the knowledge that to be a Red Shoulder is to be a member of the most ruthlessly efficient and barbaric military group ever known. As both Chirico and Fyana are biological engines of death and destruction, it appears that their tacit understanding of each other despite barely knowing each other only brings them closer. Chirico is willing to fight to the death for Fyana and vice versa, and woe is the enemy who ends up in the targeting sights of either one.

The forced trip to Sunsa gives us the opportunity to see space battles in Votoms, and just as the tactics of warfare must change from city to jungle, so too must they be modified for a zero-gravity environment. Votoms isn’t exactly trying to be a 100% accurate depiction of inertia as it applies to fighting in space, but it does a good job of showing how both Chirico and Fyana must handle enemies that can come from any angle, and later battles on Sunsa show tremendous creativity without dispeling the realism that Votoms is known for.

Like the previous two arcs of Votoms, Deadworld Sunsa can be treated as a stand-alone series, but part 3 has far more connections to the underlying plot that drives the entire show. New characters introduced give the viewer a better understanding of the Perfect Soldier program and the nature of the Red Shoulder platoon. Old friends and enemies reappear, though not necessarily where you expect them. In every case, they impact Chirico and Fyana in myriad ways. By the end, the desire for the truth is what will compel you to keep watching.

Checking Out the Bandai Entertainment-Sponsored ImaginAsian TVAnime Block

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ImaginAsian TV is a cable network devoted to asian shows. It has Korean reality shows, Chinese dramas, Indian music videos and, to no one’s surprise, anime.

Back when ADV launched its Anime Network, one of the criticisms leveled at it was that the network was dub only. Well here with ImaginAsian TV we have what seems like a dream come true. Subtitled anime! On TV! It’s great until you remember that the anime industry isn’t doing so hot at the moment.

The shows they’re airing are My-HiME, Scrapped Princess, and Planetes, among others. They couldn’t have chosen these shows out of a hat. My suspicion is that out of all of the Bandai Entertainment properties, these are probably among the ones that have sold well. They’re also probably good for both the American TV viewer who happens to be channel surfing and the anime fan who’s dedicated enough to look for anime, but not aware of bittorrent or willing to go out and buy dvds, at least not without sampling first.

I really only had the opportunity to watch My-HiME, and despite having recently watched My-Otome S.ifr, I had forgotten that My-HiME actually looks really good. Like the current Sunrise show Sora o Kakeru Shoujo, My-HiME simply had good production values, and that makes it an eye-catching show. The same could be said of the other shows on there, now that I think about it.

ImaginAsian TV isn’t by any means a widespread thing so in the end its audience is limited, but it really feels like a sign of progression for anime, even if it’s not one that will lead to big profits for those involved.

Otacrates

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Based on a number of factors, from columns in anime magazines to forum posts, from knowing people both online to talking offline, I realize that when it comes to understand the larger trends at work in something we might call “anime fandom,” all I know is that I know nothing.

There may have been a time when those willing to discuss anime are the ones driving the industry, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore. That’s just how it is: the casual will always outnumber the hardcore, and there’s nothing wrong with this. I have a relative who reads manga and watches anime with some frequency, but I doubt I would ever see him discuss it on a forum or go to an anime chatroom. When you go to a con, what you’re seeing are those who are dedicated enough to make the trip, and it’s not even necessarily a dedication to anime so much as it is to the trip and the event itself.

To understand what anime fandom as a whole is like is probably the key to success for anime companies in the US, so I’m not going to even pretend to answer when many others with more information have probably tried. This is more a personal reminder that as much as I study and discuss and enjoy anime and its fandom in one or two or even a thousand directions, there’s still infinite angles.

Ogiue Maniax on Answerman

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I submitted a response to Anime News Network’s (new) Answerman and it got published. Go there if you want to read yet another story about me relating to Ogiue.

I really enjoy this new Answerman, Brian Hanson. He brings a level of positivity and sincere respect for his readers and anime fans in general. Really good stuff.

East Coast Tokyo Baby Where You At: Hands-On with Tatsunoko vs Capcom

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Yesterday, thanks to a heads up from Sub, I got the opportunity to play Tatsunoko vs Capcom. Now, I’m nowhere near good at fighting games though I’ve played more than a few, so you won’t see any insightful comments on strategy and metagame and what-not.

Instead you’ll just see me talking about how awesome Gold Lightan is.

Ready for it?

Gold Lightan is very awesome.

I hear he’s not so good in actuality, but I really don’t care. Ryu threw his Shinku Hadoken at Gold Lightan and the Big G was all, “Whatever man,” and totally chopped him in the face. I also tried characters like Roll and Tekkaman (while narrating), and overall it’s exactly what I wanted out of TvC: A really faithful crossover.

Characters move how they should. When Casshern jumps back, he does the HIBIKE TATAKAE KUDAKE flip from the opening. Chun-Li’s Spinning Bird Kick is animated with grace and glory. As per the theme song, both Gatchaman characters have the Science Ninja Phoenix for supers. Sadly, Casshern does not have access to Friender Jet.

I tried playing Marvel vs Capcom 2 in college just against the computer, and I couldn’t even get past the 4th opponent. The game was confusing beyond belief. While TvC is cut from the same cloth, it also doesn’t seem nearly as visually distracting which I can only put down as a positive.

All in all, a great time and a good game, especially when I pretend Gold Lightan is a giant golden Mario and stomp on people like they ain’t no thang.

As a reminder: Gold Lightan? Awesome.

I also played Arcana Heart for the first time. It’s going to be the start of another post, but not the kind you might expect.


Make Way for the New with Super Robot Wars K AND GODANNAR SERIOUSLY WHOA

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Super Robot War K has been announced for the Nintendo DS, and the lineup consists almost entirely of shows that have aired in recent years. While it’s kind of sad to not see some of the old guard there, it’s also a big deal that they would include shows like Koutetsushin Jeeg, Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu and even SHINKON GATTAI GODANNAR.

Those of you who know me might know that there have been two series I’ve really wanted to get into SRW: Eureka Seven and Godannar. Eureka Seven made it in with Z, now Godannar has its chance to shine.

Godannar is a seriously good show to put in SRW due to the fact that all of its robots are AWESOME. You won’t run into the problem of having useless units from the series taking up space or having missions where you’re forced to use them be unpleasant. Every single one is supposed to be able to carry its weight.

The list so far (who knows they might reveal more later)

Mazinger Z
Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu-
Koutetsushin Jeeg
Zoids Genesis
Shinkon Gattai Godannar!!
Shinkon Gattai Godannar!! Second Season
Gun x Sword
Haja Taisei Dangaioh
Overman King Gainer
Soukyuu no Fafner
Cyber Troopers Virtual On Marz
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E.73-Stargazer-

SHINKON GATTAI GO

GO GO GO

-ING TO CHINATOWN TO BUY THIIIIIS

Inconsistency in Iconographic Character Design and the Aging Audience Mind

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It was winter, around New Year’s one year when the Naruto anime in Japan aired an episode that acted as a set up to the long-anticipated Sasuke vs Gaara fight in the Chuunin exams. During this episode the characters were all terribly off-model, and not just for a few frames as the internet so likes to point out, but throughout the entire show. Taking a gander at the ending credits, it was very clear that this was some animation studio’s E team working on it. It was New Year’s after all and the New Year is a big deal in both Japan and Korea.

As a college-age student, I was not the primary audience for Naruto, as much as all college-age fans of Naruto might like to believe. Now, thinking back to my own childhood and knowing some of the things I’ve learned about animation, I have to wonder if I would have been so keen to pick up on inconsistency in character design, and if it would have mattered to me at all.

I’ve recently had the opportunity to watch many episodes of the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, the one that began in the 80s and ran for close to a decade, and it was then that I realized that for the Shredder, nothing was ever actually consistent. There was the helmet, the claws, the cape, the overall outfit, but from one shot to the next the thickness and curvature of the helmet would change, the arm guards would just do whatever, and it looked like each scene was drawn by a different person. And they probably were! But I didn’t really notice, or at least not that I can recall. I remember sometimes the Shredder looking more awesome than other times, but that’s about it.

World Events licensed the Japanese robot anime King of Beasts Golion and Space Musketeer Bismarck, and transformed them into Voltron: Defender of the Universe and Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs respectively. Both shows were popular enough with kids that they ended up creating extra episodes from scratch. Without the guiding hand of the original Japanese companies though, the shows just did not end up looking the same.

If you look at a lot of cartoons animated in Japan in the 80s for American audiences, such as Bionic Six or Galaxy Rangers, many of the openings are much more visually impressive than the actual episodes. Of course, openings being superior in quality to the show they precede should not be unfamiliar territory to anime fans.

Decades before Voltron and Bionic Six, the anime 8-Man was brought to America as 8th Man. At Otakon 2008, Mike Toole in his panel “Dubs That Time Forgot” pointed out that in the custom American intro for 8th Man, the character design used for the titular character didn’t even resemble the original Japanese design beyond a basic level.

Now, I watched both Voltron and Saber Rider as a kid but as I was very young at the time I barely remember anything about them, aside from the fact that smaller robots combining into a single mighty robot was the best idea ever (see also: Transformers, Gobots). Did I catch any of these extra episodes? I really don’t know. As for 8th Man, I wasn’t even born yet. But somehow I don’t think most kids were angry that the show tried to trick them into believing two different designs were the same character.

Kids need only a few iconic things to identify the character. With Shredder, it’s a mean-looking metal helmet ninja guy (something you can also see in the more recent TV series). With Voltron, it’s some people in color-coded outfits and a robot with lion heads for limbs and a sword that blazes. With 8th Man it’s a giant 8 on his chest.

I’m not asking whether companies right or wrong to rely on these aspects and hoping kids wouldn’t notice the difference, or whether or not they insult children’s intelligence by doing so. And I am not defending inconsistency in animation or saying that it is totally okay to just forget what your own characters look like. At the end of the day, Yashigani doesn’t help anyone, and there are times when characters are so off-model that they break even the important iconic features of a character. What I am asking instead is, what is and should be prioritized when it comes to presenting a character to children? And then, how does this affect media for older people that grows out of these preconceptions?

American superhero comics were once the domain of children, and it’s there that you see the strength of symbols and in characters. An S on the chest, a blue outfit with red cape, and a confident stance, and you’ve got Superman. Individual artist differences don’t matter as much as getting the basics of Kal-El down. But then over the years superhero comics became more and more geared towards adult readers, as they are today. Since then, the practice of having different artists and writers on the same character has become a staple of the genre, but now with this older readership this practice is celebrated. It is touted as one of the unique features of comics, where for better or for worse an Alan Moore Swamp Thing-level revamp can be conceived and then taken away months later, but with the record that the same character has many different approaches both in terms of story and subtle visual changes.

And now we have anime which, like comics, started off in the realm of children and grew to encompass adults, adults who were once those very same children. And then when watching anime for at least a certain subset of adults (otaku) became more commonplace, anime started gearing towards them to a certain degree, and with every passing year we see more of this. Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics talks about how he considers of the great strengths of manga to be its use of characters as iconography, which I’m extending towards anime as well. But how has icon usage in character design changed if at all in this journey towards adulthood?  One of the long-standing strengths of anime I feel is the way in which it provides material for adults to enjoy even within children’s shows. Is more consciously consistent (or intentionally inconsistent) character design a higher necessity when the target audience is older? Is an older audience what’s needed to truly appreciate a Shinbo-style unorthodox approach to a show? These questions don’t necessarily need answering, but I feel they may lead to finding out parts of the truth about how anime and its audience interact.