Category Archives: anime

Manly Slice of Life

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Why should slice of life be purely the realm of cute girls? Why can’t middle-aged men have pleasant day-to-day experiences?

Imagine, if you will, an automobile shop, run by a rough yet kind man and his friends. They’re all getting a bit old, but they would not trade their shop for anything in the world. Every day, between fixing engines and repairing brakes, they take the time to sit around at a small, rickety table discussing anything that comes to their mind. Though they may posture and ridicule each other, at the end of the day they know their friendship is stronger than anything.

It’s slow, it’s pleasant, and it’s manly.

I Can Clearly Hear It, the Galaxy’s Song: Macross Frontier 1-13

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If one were to describe a Macross series, there would be many recurring concepts: war, transforming fighter jets, idol singers, love triangles, culture. However, if one were to describe the feelings conveyed by each series, theywould be hard-pressed to find too many similarities. The original Super Dimensional Fortress Macross feels different from Macross Plus, which in turn has little in common with Macross 7 or Macross Zero thematically. They all exist in the same universe, but they could not be further from each other without turning into Gaogaigar and Betterman.

So it can be mighty confusing when I say that Macross Frontier, or at least the first half of it, feels like Macross.

Macross Frontier is the 25th anniversary celebration of Studio Nue’s Macross, and with it comes a return to the original in terms of pacing, characterization, and the specific balance of love and war and the way they intertwine. Nowhere is this more evident than in  the main love triangle of Macross Frontier.

The “love triangle” has been a constant part of Macross since day one with Hikaru, Misa, and Minmay. Still, I have always found the original love triangle to be the best because it truly seemed like a battle for the heart, a battle whose landscape is transformed radically by war and the circumstances surrounding it. Macross Plus is less about developing love and more about resolving an existing one, Macross Zero’s is wrapped in its own lore, and Macross 7’s you can hardly call a love triangle when it involves a guy who likes a girl, a girl who kind of likes both, and a guy who doesn’t care. In every case, the romantic tension is lacking, a tension which I believe factors significantly into the success of the original.

Macross Frontier’s three main characters, Saotome Alto, Sheryl Nome, and Ranka Lee, recapture that tension. Saotome Alto is an amateur fighter pilot and former theatrical actor. Sheryl Nome, the “Galactic Fairy,” is by far the biggest music idol of the day. Ranka Lee is a young girl working at a Chinese restaurant who aspires to be a pop idol. Mankind’s encounter with the Vajra, a violent alien race so powerful it can easily avoid an Itano Circus, brings Alto, Sheryl, and Ranka together and ties their destinies together.

It all sounds very familiar, but I am in no way saying that Macross Frontier is treading old ground, or that it’s some sort of lazy throwback to time immaterial (the 1980s). Already from my small and deliberately basic description, there are some things which are new and refreshing, particularly in this current age of anime. Unlike previous series, the main characters are all involved in performance in very different ways. There’s also the fact that we have not one but two idols with many years of experience of difference between them, with Sheryl being both Ranka’s surrogate mother (Ranka herself losing her parents at an early age), and her conflicted rival for the affections of Alto. Just like in the original Macross, I cannot bring myself to hate either girl or Alto, and also like in the original, I cannot seem to decide who I want to side with at the moment. I like this feeling. It’s one I’ve enjoyed before, and yet it feels so new.

Macross has always used its continuity as merely a backdrop, unlike say, Robotech, which thrives on it. However, whereas the latest incarnation of Robotech is marred by this devotion to continuity, Macross Frontier’s many, many nods to the past, a live performance of My Boyfriend is a Pilot and a car radio playing Planet Dance being just two examples, fit right in without overwhelming the viewer with backstory. History lessons are welcomed, but are not absolutely necessary, so what you end up having is a series which is progress not for the sake of progress but for making something worth watching and worth remembering.

The suspense is so great I may deculture my pants.

The Beginner’s Anime

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If people ask me what they should show to others to introduce them to anime, Slayers is usually one of my first recommendations. It was one of the first anime I was proud to own, albeit in bootleg VHS fansub form. It was Slayers, specifically Slayers Gorgeous, that I believe got me into anime fandom in a major way. Sure, I loved Voltron as a kid, and I got into Dragon Ball Z as early as 4th or 5th grade, but it was Slayers that told me that Anime is Different when I walked into my high school’s anime club. Slayers was the type of thing you could show to a large crowd and get them all into the moment no matter how much anime they’d watched, which has made me always think of Slayers as a  good Beginner’s Anime. I’m sure you can think of plenty of other titles, like Cowboy Bebop, Robotech, or Naruto.

Actually, I don’t even know if anyone else besides me uses the term “Beginner’s Anime.” Pushing aside that fact, as well as the fact that people are different from one another and that there is clearly no universally acceptable standard for introducing anime to others, the term “Beginner’s Anime” implies that there are anime out there which may be too much for initial viewers, that there is a sort of conditioning or familiarizing that must occur before a fledgling anime fan can be introduced to the Good Stuff, distributed by some shady-looking guys in trenchcoats (hands up, you know who you are) in dark areas. Is it the way stories are structured? Is it the cultural differences and symbolism, the most prominent and perhaps infamous examples being the sweatdrop and the nosebleed? Is it a matter of attention span? This could go on forever and I doubt there’s an answer.

When I examine myself, I am not the anime fan I used to be. Sure, there’s a lot of factors both inside and outside the realm of anime which have influenced me and my watching habits, not least of which are the increase in availability of anime itself and the fact that I’ve simply gotten older, but I have to wonder what could have been. What about the time period I was in? I mean, the president of the anime club at the time was so proud of owning all of Cowboy Bebop that he could not wait to show it to us. It was the very beginning of the digisub age, when Napster was picking up steam and of course buying bootleg vhs fansubs was still a viable process. What about the fact that this was an anime club, a relatively social experience? Anime clubs are a dying breed today, and having a good social experience through anime may become less and less of a requirement. I even remember that when I took over this anime club a year later after the previous president had graduated, I noticed a sudden increase in the number of girls in the anime club. And then I tried to show them Serial Experiments Lain. As it  turns out, Lain is not a very good Beginner’s Anime, at least not as a social experience.

It’d be all too easy to say that every anime is a potential Beginner’s Anime. I mean, there’s a grain of truth to it all, but that sort of open-ended statement reduces the significance of all of the factors  outside of the anime-fan-to-be and the anime being watched. There are clearly some titles that succeed more than others at bringing in new fans, and I think it deserves research.

You’ll probably be seeing this topic again.

The Legend of the Running Yuno

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As some readers might notice, I finished the original Hidamari Sketch anime only a few days ago in order to prepare myself sufficiently for the new season, Hidamari Sketch x365. It turns out that nothing would have prepared me for x365.

It is Hidamari Sketch to the extreme, but in the most soft and pleasant way possible. Because it’s Hidamari Sketch after all.

Supposedly Shinbo received huge sums of money because of the DVD sales of Hidamari Sketch (thanks Japanese otaku consumers), and with that giant pile of cash, which I assume was given to him in either some sort of non-descript briefcase or a giant sack with a prominent dollar sign, he made a money bath and rubbed it all over his body.

After those 10 hours, he went and created eye-exploding animation.

I am not kidding, if you haven’t seen the new season and you’ve watched ANY of Hidamari Sketch, I recommend checking it out.

Every time I go to watch another show I find myself gravitating towards Hidamari Sketch x365 episode 1 just to watch the animation again.

In fact, I think I’m going to do that right now.

A new legend is born, and she is…Running Yuno.

Also Sleeping Yuno and Jumping Yuno.

(Guest starring Upside-down Miyako).

You’ve got a lot to learn before you beat me. Try again, baka inu!

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YOU GET OGIUE

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Wahaha: Hidamari Sketch

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With Hidamari Sketch x365 currently airing, I finally decided to watch through all of the original series.

Stupid me, I should have done this sooner.

Hidamari Sketch is the sort of show that is the most supremely difficult to convince others to watch if they aren’t already well-versed in shows of its kind. I’m referring to that dastardly “slice of life” genre of anime, the genre that can make or break someone’s opinion of anime.

It’s the story of four girls attending an art high school who live in the nearby Hidamari Apartments. Though they all live alone, you wouldn’t be able to tell from the way they support and love each other. The main cast consists of Yuno (shy and eager to learn), Miyako (energetic and unpredictable), Sae (mature yet easily flustered), and Hiro (soft-spoken but surprisingly willfull). Personally, it is very difficult to decide on a favorite character. All of them are just so wonderfully endearing that when I try to choose one I recall another very memorable scene from another character and then I’m back to square one.

One thing that constantly bothers me about Yuno is that she sounds a lot like Kinomoto Sakura despite not being voiced by Tange Sakura. I definitely know she isn’t, and I can also recognize the fact that she plays Ran in Shugo Chara, but it can be startling to hear such similarities in inflection and expression. I think if Sakura and Yuno met, they would have a wonderful friendship as Sakura would look to Yuno as a beautiful older sister of sorts.

…Back on topic.

Hidamari Sketch was directed by Shinbo Akiyuki, director of Pani Poni Dash and Zetsbou-Sensei among others. The show has the same sort of self-awareness by viewer and creator as Shinbo’s other shows. However, combined with the mellowness of the daily life of Yuno and friends, Hidamari Sketch becomes more like lucid dreaming, and it’s the kind of dream that while at first you’d prefer not to get up from, you are thankful that you did awaken as it lets you greet another day.

Slice of life is Hidamari Sketch.  It’s funny, witty, pleasant, and emotional, but not once do any of those adjectives overpower the other. It’s a show that, no matter your circumstance, you can use it to unwind. Watch as little or as much as you want, by the end you have no choice but to smile.

Anime Saimoe 2008: Preliminary Affection

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Once again we in the anime fan community are faced with the ultimate contest of the gods, the Anime Saimoe Tournament. Run by a mighty engine that can be a god or a devil, Saimoe pits the anime girls against each other to see who the otaku of the internet deem to be the most moe character of that year.

In recent years, foreigners have been encouraged to vote, and as such an English translation of the rules have been posted, as well as a Chinese one. Just as a warning, the instructions are kind of cryptic (“Voting will occur in the voting location”) so it can be pretty confusing. 2channel uses a rather unusual thread system where posts are locked and archived after 1000 replies, so keep in mind that there is no SINGLE Saimoe thread.

It’s not really feasible for me to keep updating the voting threads constantly, so I’ll leave that to the popular anime forums, unless it really matters to me.

Currently, the tournament is undergoing preliminaries, where voters can choose who among the ENTIRE pool of female characters of 2008 are worthy enough to get into the tournament proper. The most important thing to keep in mind here is that Ogiue’s preliminary round is on July 22nd, 2008.

When it gets near Ogiue’s voting date(s) I’ll further clarify what needs to be done, but keep her in your mind and in your heart.

Armored Trooper Votoms: Part 2

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Armored Trooper Votoms is the story of Chirico Cuvie, a soldier and Armored Tooper (giant robot) pilot who was betrayed by his own military and forced on the run. Previously, Chirico found himself in Uoodo, a city where might makes right and people are very likely not to wake up the next morning. In episodes 14-27 of Armored Trooper Votoms, the AWOL soldier Chirico Cuvie trades the disorder and chaos of Uoodo for the focused destruction in the jungles of Kummen, a country at odds with Melkia. Chirico, a man who lives to fight, finds himself in his natural habitat amidst a civil war.

The aptly titled second part of Votoms, the “Kummen Jungle Wars,” sees Chirico acting as a mercenary for the Kummen government, fighting against a rebellious prince who seeks to prevent his nation from abandoning its traditions and modernizing. As the war progresses, it becomes clear that neither side is “good” or “evil” as is often the case with clashes of ideology as well as real robot anime. New characters are introduced on both sides, some familiar and welcome faces appear, Chirico still uses a Scope Dog, and the Perfect Soldier project which forced Chirico on the run is further along than it’s ever been before. …Or is it?

The fighting in Kummen is different from Uoodo, where it was usually cops vs thugs vs Chirico. Instead, Chirico in his mercenary role frequently acts as part of a mechanized platoon, following orders and occasionally giving them. The enemy, being much weaker than them, relies on guerilla tactics and hiding in plain sight in order to confuse the government’s soldiers and weaken resolve. The battles are intense and gritty without much posturing, lives are easily lost, and Chirico continues to wage war in what is basically the Votoms equivalent of a Zaku, a Leo, or a KLF: a rust bucket without many special features other than the strength and skill of the pilot within it.

The only real fault of Votoms is the way it handles romance, as it does so in a very Tomino-esque hammer-over-the-head manner. The origins of romance in the story of Votoms can make it hard to swallow, but don’t let it distract you.

Though the Kummen Jungle Wars arc ties into the greater plotline of Votoms, it can be considered its own self-contained story of a country at war with itself, where tradition and progress are forced against one another to determine the future of the nation. Watching just these 13 episodes alone can be satisfying enough, and if you’re unable to watch the Uoodo arc, the show was courteous enough to throw in a recap episode. At the end of Kummen, while a lot of questions are answered, far more are brought up, and there’s another 26 episodes to go.

Don’t Think I Forgot About the 4th of July Either

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You can help me celebrate the fact that THIS IS USA, as opposed to JAPAN.

Today, on this Independence Day, I order you to  act like an American Anime Character.

-Remember to replace simple Japanese pronouns and random words with AMERICAN ones.
-Blond hair isn’t necessary, but it can often help.
-If you have trouble gaining acceptance, claim that you are in fact Half-Japanese.
-TALK AS LOUDLY AS POSSIBLE.

If you’re still not up to the task, I instead ask that you observe Americans in the wild.