Category Archives: anime

Voting has begun

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Midnight (in Japan). The hour is upon us.

http://changi.2ch.net/vote/

JLPTToo Much?

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The Japanese Language Proficiency Test, or JLPT, or 「日本語能力試験」 (I’m writing this down so I finally remember what the damn test is called in Japanese), is a test given once a year so that those who study Japanese may get proper certification to show that, yes, they know *this* much Japanese. 4 is the easiest, requiring only basic Japanese education, while level 1 is super crazy difficult and you really shouldn’t try it.

I have been aiming for the JLPT2, which is the “business” level, and described on the official site as…
Level 2: The examinee has mastered grammar to a relatively high level, knows around 1,000 kanji and 6,000 words, and has the ability to converse, read, and write about matters of a general nature. This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 600 hours, which is equivalent to completing an intermediate course.

Passing Score: 240/400
Writing-vocabulary: 35 min
Listening: 40min
Reading-grammar: 70min
Total: 145min

And looking at the material required, I can’t tell if I’m in over my head or not. I’m pretty confident I could pass the level 3 without too much trouble, but I might be in a situation where the level 3 is too simple and the level 2 is too difficult. Also, because I haven’t been regularly exposed to normal Japanese since leaving Japan three years ago, I fear my listening skills have deteriorated significantly.

That said, the weirdest thing is that upon checking out some sample tests, I found the reading comprehension to be easier than the isolated vocabulary section. This goes against everything I’ve ever experienced with foreign language exams.

In the meantime, I’ve been trying to master all ~1000 kanji required for the test, and the result is I’ve been making weirder and weirder tricks for remembering certain words.

極, or pole, I remember because it sort of looks like Souther, the Pole Star.

憎, or hatred, I remember because the right side looks kind of like Optimus Prime, and the left side looks sort of like a cannon (yes, I know it’s a version of the heart radical), so “Megatron hates Optimus Prime.”

Every time I do something like this, a baby probably dies.

Ogiue’s Saimoe 2008 Second Preliminaries: August 1st

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Ogiue is among the many characters in the first round of second preliminaries for Anime Saimoe 2008. She has some stiff competition ahead of her, so if you truly believe Ogiue to be the Moest then you should take some time out of your day to vote for her on AUGUST 1st, 2008 which to many of you will be JULY 31st, 2008 because Japan is in its own timezone.

The official voting area is located on 2channel on its Voting Board, usually labeled something like アニメ最萌トーナメント2008 投票スレRound＃＃.

The threads close automatically at 1000 posts or if they exceeed I believe 512kb so watch out.

To learn how to participate, please consult this earlier post detailing the steps needed in order to cast your vote in Saimoe.

Oh, and for those of you who are waiting for the main tournament, all I will say is that if you do not vote for Ogiue here, then she will have no chance of getting into the main tournament.

Oh, and Hyuuga Hinata’s up too, though shounen jump characters never really stand a chance, which is a shame.

Filler is Not the Iru: Shugo Chara Thoughts, Yet Again

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It’s recently come to my attention that a lot of the viewers of the Shugo Chara anime are disappointed at the amount of “filler” in it, especially when compared to the manga. I do not see what the fuss is all about.

I have not read much of the manga, so I do not have that basis for comparison, but I find the show at its current pacing to be very satisfying. Some episodes advance the overall plot, while others are fairly episodic and resolve themselves quickly. Either way, I get a delightful 20+ minutes of Cool & Spicy, and really, as I’ve said before, I wouldn’t mind at all if the entire show was episodic.

Are people upset about diverging from the manga too much? The Cardcaptor Sakura anime took a lot of liberties with the source material. If you compare the Clow Decks of the manga and anime, the anime’s Clow Deck is practically triple the size of its manga counterpart. That is a lot of added material! The character of Li Meiling didn’t even exist in the original manga.

People are even complaining about Shugo Chara getting a second season, for fear of even more filler. Worrying when a good show gets more episodes is ridiculous. This is par for the course for magical girl shows. Considering recent examples of other magical girl shows which got extended, I see no harm. Pretty Cure only got better when it became Pretty Cure Max Heart (I know there are other Precure series, but they use completely different characters), and Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Gyu! is just as good as the first Futagohime series.

I see no reason to despair. More Shugo Chara is good. Shugo Chara at its current pace is good.

Once Again, Ranka Lee Proves to Be a Formidable Opponent

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Angelic Marathon

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As anime conventions consider what to put in their video rooms, I think one good idea would be to come up with a specific theme for a room which can cover a wide range of anime from every decade. This will provide a firm foundation for anyone who watches, and I am faithful that the show lists generated will be nothing but the cream of the crop.

For example, why not a video room devoted to Angel anime? And by that, I mean anime with the word “Angel” in their titles.

A sample list would look something like this.

-Angel Sanctuary
-Angel Cop
-Galaxy Angel
-Burst Angel
-Angel’s Egg
-Angelic Layer
-A Cheeky Angel
-Steel Angel Kurumi
-D.N.Angel
-Angel Blade

As you can see, the possibilities are limitless.

Remembering Japanese Particles, the Anime Way

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I’ve realized recently that whether consciously or unconsciously I will think back to anime and manga titles to discern whether or not I’m using a specific particle correctly in Japanese. It’s a semi-handy reference that can put into context just how these mysterious 1-2 syllable creatures affect the meaning of a sentence, as well as a reminder that English and Japanese don’tquite match up.

As for some examples…

トップをねらえ！！
Top o Nerae!!
Aim for the Top!!
Initial instinct might be to go for “ni” but here’s something to make sure you don’t do that.

マリア様が見てる
Maria-sama ga Miteru
Maria Watches Over Us
The ever-tricky “ga” particle, this at the very least tells you that when the sentence is this short, ga is correct over wa (は）.

魔法使いに大切なこと
Mahoutsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto
Things That Are Precious to a Mage
Two particles in this one. Ni meaning  “to” doesn’t just apply to going places as you probably learned in beginner’s Japanese, but has a similar effect overall. Here is also a demonstration of how to use a “na” adjective such as Taisetsu, and the reason it’s called a “na” adjective by some teachers in the first place.

So there it is. Keep in mind that I’m advocating this method 100% or calling it truly useful for learning from scratch. However, I assume a lot of people reading this are already anime fans, and it can be useful to have that context without being corrupted by just hearing the stereotypical anime words like “baka” and “sugoi.”

Also keep in mind that English translations of titles often have to sound good as well, so they won’t be super exact.

It’s Like a One-Show Crossover

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Ultraviolet Code 044 is the new anime by acclaimed anime team Director Dezaki Osamu and Character Designer Sugino Akio. It is based on Ultraviolet. Yes, THAT Ultraviolet.

It also has some of the most wildly varied character designers ever, as if they do not belong in the same show.


This is the heroine. She looks modern, in a sort of Ghost in the Shell: SAC kind of way.


This is her scientist friend. Well, he looks considerably different but still fairly moder-


…


Uh…


I don’t even know anymore.

Saimoe 2008: Ogiue fails to make it past First Preliminaries, moves on to Second Preliminaries

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While Ogiue garnered a decent number of votes (212), she failed to make it into the top 9 for her preliminary day. Ogiue placed 12th overall for her initial group, which means she qualifies for the second preliminaries.

I was hoping Ogiue would get in on the first try, but I also have to keep in mind that 12th place is significantly better than her placing last year, which was 20th place.

Ogiue failed to make it to the main tournament last year, so I am hoping at the very least for her to get that far. From the looks of things she already stands a much better chance, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

FIVE-TONE SHADING, or A Perspective Which Lacks Perspective

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By now I assume a good number of you have seen Paul “Otaking” Johnson’s fansub angry docurant. This is not about that. This is about his exceedingly idiotic post on what makes anime look good.

In his comic/tutorial, Johnson here first showcases how the anime of the 80s is superior to both western cartoons and modern anime because of the level of shading and detail used. He can have his own opinion on what looks good. That’s okay. My issue is with the fact that his opinion lacks perspective.

fivetoneshading

The problem here is in the examples he gives of GOOD-LOOKING 80s/90s ANIME versus UGLY MODERN ANIME. On the good-looking side is Top o Nerae!, the original Record of Lodoss Wars, Gunnm, and Macross: Do You Remember Love? On the bad-looking side is Naruto, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist.

Hmm, wait! Something seems odd here…

Top o Nerae!: OVA
Record of Lodoss War: OVA
Gunnm: OVA
Macross: DYRL: MOVIE

Naruto: TV Series
One Piece: TV Series
Fullmetal Alchemist: TV Series

All of the examples that Johnson gives here of GOOD-LOOKING ANIME THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SURPASSED are shows with HIGH BUDGETS and short productions, whereas the examples he gives of modern anime, where the SHORTEST show is Fullmetal Alchemist at approximately 50 episodes, are all television programs, with Naruto and One Piece having run for much longer. On top of that, the 80s were a much more prosperous time for Japan in general, so it is no wonder that anime would have more budget. OF COURSE those shows would have more complex shading.

Even then, this is not the only faulty point with Johnson’s FIVE-TONE SHADING rant. Johnson acts like it is MODERN ANIME which has cheapened itself to the point of using such simplistic, “Disney-esque” shading (and he’s already a dumbass for using “Disney” like it’s a bad word), when in fact the entirety of anime has been against him all along! By saying that five-tone shading is the only visual style that really matters, you invalidate the entirety of the 60s and 70s in anime. According to this, Rose of Versailles is worthless visually. So is Gundam. So is Tiger Mask and Kinnikuman and Voltes V and so many other shows because they lack multiple-toned shading and that sleek look which permeated 80s OVAs.

Even worse, the 1980s disagree with Johnson, where shows such as Votoms and Zeta Gundam also lack shading on everything but backgrounds. Hell, Johnson posts an image of Misa from Macross: DYRL as an example of SUPERIOR anime aesthetics but fails to acknowledge the fact that the ORIGINAL MACROSS TV SERIES had simplistic shading on par with shows like Fullmetal Alchemist.

It’s one thing to have a preference for certain styles, but it’s another thing entirely to tout one’s position using an “us vs them” mentality. There are no “good old days” of FIVE-TONE SHADING and to believe that it existed is to be delusional.