Category Archives: anime

Shugo Chara!: No, Seriously, I Really Do Like It

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I’ve talked about Shugo Chara! here in the past, but I feel that I haven’t done a proper job of conveying how highly I think of the series, so I’m here to correct that. I’ve already summarized the basic premise Shugo Chara! in my first post on it, so I won’t really elaborate on that point.

Honestly, I’m almost surprised at how well Shugo Chara! has held up. It’s simply a joy to watch every episode, to see the interactions between the characters, to cheer for Hinamori Amu as she falls in love and teaches herself and others to never give up on their dreams. I mean, who doesn’t want to support a girl who more than anything wants to be herself, only to realize that the “herself” she wants to be has limitless potential? A person can never be too old to reach for the stars, especially when those stars are deep within one’s own heart.

The show is simply very strong on a variety of technical notes. It has a very bright and refreshing artwork with a heavy pink and plaid motif. The humor brings a smile to my face with its charming innocence. The theme songs are catchy and match the opening visuals quite well. The overarching plot is something to watch out for, but on a purely episodic level and everywhere in between Shugo Chara! keeps my attention.

And the characters! I won’t go too much into them, but I will say that it would have been so very, very easy to make a lot of the characters annoying and unbearable. Amu’s sister, fellow Shugo Chara owner Yaya, and especially the Shugo Charas themselves all had the potential to be deal breakers, but they are all very enjoyable characters. Especially Yaya.

Though I do find it odd that the person Yaya wishes to be is a baby. I wonder if she’s maybe an older sister who has to take care of her younger siblings, and she wishes she could live a more normal life at home. I’m probably reading too much into it.

I can safely say that Shugo Chara! is the best Peach Pit series I’ve seen. Yes, more than Rozen Maiden. And yes, especially more than DearS. Shugo Chara! is perhaps the finest modern mahou shoujo series I’ve seen since Cardcaptor Sakura.

Oh, and the best Shugo Chara? Miki, by far. I’m just saying.

My Kind of Moe: Ballad of a Shinigami

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A Mysterious Ancient Force dropped a book into my lap last week. It’s the first volume of “Ballad of a Shinigami,” possibly better known as Shinigami no Ballad, one of the premiere titles in Seven Seas Entertainment’s new line of light novels.

Ballad of a Shinigami is many small stories with one common theme: the arrival of an unusual shinigami named Momo. Unlike her dark and gloomy peers, Momo is a young girl clad in all white, save for a pair of red shoes. Accompanied by her servant, a talking winged cat named Daniel, Momo fulfills her duty of bringing souls into the afterlife, but not without bending the rules here and there along the way.

I have to admit that I was a little worried that it would be a little too cutesy. The dialogue, either by original script or translation or possibly both, is a little stilted and awkward. However, Ballad of a Shinigami turns out to be a very pleasant surprise. The central theme of the novel is change. The characters, no matter their afflictions, possess incredible heart and inner strength. If they don’t, then they have friends and certain other worldly white-clad individuals helping them to change, to accept their pasts while moving towards their ever uncertain futures with heads held high. By the end, I hardly noticed the writing’s awkwardness, as the emotion of it all took over.

It would be so easy for this to be a sweet, cathartic tale, but it isn’t and we’re all the better for it. Momo inspires the people she meets to grow and mature. As a shinigami she teaches people to accept death and pain, a small price to pay for growth and maturity.

When characters suffer and change and progress, it is my kind of moe.

A dream which vaguely counts as anime-related

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I had a dream last night, which I want to share with all of you.

In the dream, I had friends who I told to go to an awesome arcade on Thursday, but they didn’t. So I decided instead to go that following Friday. There, after playing some games and some trouble with my credit card, I noticed that the arcade was connected to a restaurant, and that connected to the restaurant was a Super Smash Bros. Brawl  tournament going on. There, the MC shouted, “Are we here to have FUN?” And the crowd shouted back, “NO!”

I was viewing this from a hidden entrance. I found out shortly after while eavesdropping that this was an entrance people weren’t supposed to know about to keep people from flooding in to play Brawl.

Then, in a seamless transition which happens only in dreams, I was watching an episode of the Simpsons.

…with guest star Nagato Yuki.

The Simpsons were under house arrest for bootlegging movies. Homer shouts, “THEY’RE CALLED VCDS!!!”

Luckily, Yuki has a plan. She has a robot marge distract the cops, while the Simpsons and Yuki are camoflauged to blend in with the fence. Yuki falls down, but tells the family to keep running.

Sadly, this is where I woke up, so I do not know how this episode ends.

Con Identity

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I have been to very few cons, and I can hardly call myself a “con-goer.”

Hell, I can list the cons I’ve been to easily: Lunacon 2002, 2003, and I think 2005. I-Con 2003. Otakon 2006 and 2007. Tekkoshocon 2006. PAS Spring Anime Fest once or twice if that counts. New York Anime Festival.

That’s my entire history with cons both anime and non.

In my sparse experience though, I go to cons for mainly two reasons: panels and friends. I don’t think this is too different from other people, though there may be some disagreement as to which panels are worth the time. I prefer industry panels with Japanese guests, such as artists and directors. Probably my favorite panel so far was Otakon 2006 where the director of Madhouse whose name I keep forgetting despite promising not to was a guest. I try to stay away from cosplay and amv’s because they’re not really my thing, but I have nothing against them.

With what amounts to similar groups of fans going to each and every con, I begin to wonder what separates them, aside from geographical location. Why are the big cons the way that they are, and how do they differ from each other? I know some cons are considered big cosplay cons, and others big amv cons, and others are purely professional.

I find myself planning on going to Otakon again this year, without fully knowing the guests. Is it maybe becoming a habit? I’m not exactly sure what appeals to me about Otakon after all.

Understanding the “Emotionless” Anime Girl

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I’ve heard it all before, about how otaku like the quiet, blue-haired anime girls because they’re empty dolls onto which fans can imprint any sort of fantasy on them. It’s supposed to be a selfish fantasy that speaks nothing of REAL women.

And this is wrong.

The first step to understanding the “emotionless” anime girl is to realize that they’re not emotionless at all. More important than the quiet distance that they usually provide is the evidence of emotion that appears. Because they are so quiet all the time, any actions they take are that much more significant. They may even say that they’re unable to feel anything, but when evidence proves otherwise, it fascinates the viewer, who gets a brief glimpse at what the character may really be all about.

Ayanami Rei’s stern reaction to Shinji holding that pair of broken glasses.

Eureka’s simple comment that Renton is “interesting.”

Nagato Yuki contributing to the defeat of the Computer Club.

Vanilla H’s anything and everything.

And of course, Hoshino Ruri discovering her childhood.

If someone wants a blank slate to fantasize over, the truth is that any character will do. But fans who love the “emotionless” type do not do it out of some desire for an everywoman, they do it out of the desire to see what this specific girl is all about. More important than imprinting an image onto the character is striving to find out what the character is all about.

PS: As I’ve said in a previous post, I don’t count Kawazoe Tamaki in this category. She’s just a quiet girl who wears her heart on her sleeve.

My dream restaurant?

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She also likes takoyaki you know

An anime-themed restaurant of course.

But I don’t mean just people cosplaying or there being posters on the wall and anime music playing. Hell, I don’t need any of that.

What I mean by an anime-themed restaurant is that the food is anime-themed. And by anime-themed, I mean the food is taken straight from anime.

Hagu’s pumpkin mint ice cream. Usagi’s curry-that-doesn’t-look-like-curry is okay too. Fresh taiyaki served in a winged backpack.

If you have a large family, get one of the large meals. Choices are Luffy, Lina and Gourry, and Saiyajin.

Oh, and you can Kuga Natsuki any food for free (mayonnaise).

If only I had the money, I would totally do this.

Oh, and of course you can order the Ogiue special: Average-tasting food with some ikura sushi on the side.

Where are all the fat chicks?

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In the works of anime and manga, that is.

Note: This isn’t a feminist or anti-feminist post or anything like that, so don’t expect a deep philosophical argument about the injustices of a male society/the overpowering feminazis.

I understand that society, be it Japanese, American, or otherwise, tend to have standards on beauty, and that there are even wildly differing opinions within each society, but I was reminded today by a figure drawing and anatomy book that there’s a strong emphasis on slender beauty. Not overly slender to the point of health problems as is is the case with supermodels, but an emphasis on remaining trim. I also understand that it’s an anatomy and figure drawing guide and probably wants to emphasize the musculature of characters as a guide to the reader, but my issue isn’t with how to draw books.

As much as I am fond of the anime ladies, I do not think that the styles associated with it are so static and impossible to adjust that overweight women cannot be portrayed as beautiful, which I think is clear is a common motivating factor for the appearance of female characters in any sort of entertainment. Perhaps my fondness for Ogiue, a thin female character, does not make it obvious, but everyday I see plenty of very attractive women with meat on their bones but don’t necessarily have the voluptuous hourglass figures of Ikkitousen or Witchblade, which some people will claim as being “close enough.” I also understand that overweight women, while present in Japan, are not as common as elsewhere, and that even the standards for being considered overweight can change drastically from culture to culture. My mother once told me that when she was young, she didn’t know people could ever become heavier than about 140 lbs.

I also cannot believe that all Japanese men prefer the thin woman to the thick one. I have no numbers to throw around, but probability (and the release of certain adult titles) suggest that there is a fanbase out there. More importantly though, even if there isn’t much of a contingent for this body type, anime and fanart in their ability to idealize the feminine form most certainly are able to make a larger woman attractive to otaku.

And I refuse to believe that the idealization involves simply making them thinner.

Oh, Exia! You had it in you all along!

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Step aside, Lacus Clyne. Your ridiculously powerful basement Gundams that you just happened to have lying around don’t belong here. It’s time for Gundam Exia to show how it’s done.

That is, by turning into Gundam F-91.

But in all seriousness, Gundam 00 continues to be remarkably clever and fresh. Rather than replacing a now inferior unit with a superior one, which usually ignores the fact that four to six months is certainly not enough time for any sort of significant research and development, or discovering yet another earlier prototype, Gundam 00 pulls a unique twist on an old hat of the giant robot genre: the mid-series upgrade. As of episode 22, the Gundams of Celestial Being have had their limiters removed, allowing them full access to the GN Drives’ true power. This only happens at the climax of episode 22, so it’s impossible to see the full extent of their potential, but it’s not a difficult guess that this will give Celestial Being a fighting chance against the hordes of counterfeit GN Drive-powered mobile suits being fielded by the world’s governments.

I have a lot of respect for Gundam 00 because of this development. The show presented what is probably a worst case scenario for Gundam pilots, to have their technological edge completely neutralized by giving everyone else a Gundam. Suddenly, mass-produced units are no longer the typical cannon fodder we all know and love, but a substantial threat. Nor do they have weaknesses such as a lack of human pilots in the case of the Mobile Dolls of Gundam W. To turn the standard armies into such significant threats, and to breathe life into them through introducing the viewer to just a handful of characters like Patrick and Soma, it gives the impression that maybe, just maybe, that every pilot has a story worth telling.

UNLOCKING FULL POTENTIAL is almost as old a concept as the mid-series upgrade in giant robot series. I can think as far back as Daimos as an example. But Gundam 00 is different, not necessarily in concept but in the fact that the air of conspiracy surrounds this development. We now have not one, not two, but THREE independent figures working towards the goals of celestial being from behind the scenes. Wang Liu-Mei, Alejandro Corner, and now Aeolia Schenberg have positioned themselves as complete wild cards, and so the upgrade simply for the sake of increasing power to fight the enemy is not so cut and dry. If Aeolia Schenberg’s true goal isn’t to eradicate war, if this is all a deception disguised as a charade masquerading as an untruth, then Schenberg’s objective I can only begin to imagine. Maybe some kind of survival of the fittest mentality, but determining it by whoever doesn’t blow themselves up.

Oh, and Aeolia Schenberg is one smooth bastard. Aeolia would perform a mental and strategic Tiger Driver on Lelouch and Light at the same time, from what I can tell.

All of this, and it isn’t even the season finale yet! Damn, Gundam Ooooh.

N-No Money…?

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There’s some blame placed on anime fans for driving the industry down with our bittorrent and illegal downloads and scanlations and all that.

There’s one thing I think that is being ignored, and that is that some of the people, including myself, may want to buy certain series, but we simply do not have the financial means to do so immediately after a new book or DVD comes out.

I understand that some people will use any excuse not to pay for their anime, but what I’m talking about is people such as myself who are willing to buy a series, but because they tend to be a rather hefty financial hit, we have to make sure that everything is okay. This is what I use fansubs for, to gauge if a series is worth buying, and though I may not have the money to pay for it immediately, I keep it in the back of my mind that yes, this is worthwhile and if everything aligns correctly I will be willing to buy it.

I just bought Sexy Voice and Robo, which arrived today. I’d been planning on getting it for about two years now, and it’s not like I didn’t want it, but the circumstances happened to be just right for me to purchase it now. In the case of the Zeta Gundam DVD Box, the lack of the proper openings and ending was a huge hit for me, because I love those themes. I did not go out of my way to find an excuse not to buy it. Rather, I did not want to shell out the $200 on a substantially less than perfect release. Further than that, I did not want to spend $200 on a flawed DVD set in order to maybe hope that they’ll some day release it with the proper openings. I really can’t afford to buy the same series multiple times, and I can’t help it.

We as fans are not bottomless money pits. Not all of us anyway.

(And yes, the title is an Ogiue reference).

Summer Days with Coo: The Actual Review

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A feature-length children’s animation, Summer Days with Coo follows the titular Kappa who finds himself orphaned and displaced 200 years from his time. His father, shortly before dying at the hands of a samurai in the Edo period, warned him to never become friends with humans, so when Coo is found by a young boy and adopted into his family, the transition is difficult for everyone. Human development for the past two centuries has replaced the traditional Kappa habitat of swamps and rivers with concrete and buildings. The hardship of realizing that he may very well be the last of his kind pushes Coo and his human family to change each other for the better, and despite the bitter sadness leaves everyone better off in the end. After the starkly depressing nature of 5cm per Second last week, Summer Days with Coo is a remarkably uplifting tale of a young child who, despite the difficulties presented to him, is able to make strides that his ancestors never did.

As one might expect, Summer Days with Coo has a strong environmental message concerning human interaction with nature. The movie’s stance on environmentalism can be summed up in the following quote from the movie: “Humans control the land, and they control the sea, and they will some day control the sky as well, but in exchange they will lose their souls.” Coo’s transition into our modern era, combined with his pursuit of other Kappa who may still be alive, is a reminder that we as humans must take careful considerations about our actions towards not just the environment but each other.

That’s not to say that Summer Days with Coo is entirely a tale of the environment. Each of the family members have their own distinct wants, needs, and ways of interacting with others. The father is a salaryman working for a television company, but is a child at heart who is even more excited than his son who found Coo in the first place. The mother is a housewife who runs her home with both humor and dignity, knowing all of her family members better than perhaps they know her. The daughter, only a few years old, is a bratty girl whose genuine approach to life and endearing immature selfishness are expected and yet still easily accepted. Finally, the boy finds himself having a crush on a quiet classmate who is being picked on by other girls. His inability to handle his own feelings leads him to make fun of her as well. One of the side-plots of this movie concerns their interactions and the progress they make as friends.

Overall, this movie was simply very pleasant to watch. The only flaws I’ve seen is that occasionally the acting and dialogue seemed very stilted, and there were moments where the artwork had a somewhat noticeable drop in quality, though nothing that really detracts from the movie all too much. As a children’s movie and more, it is a very engaging piece of fiction, as its roughly 150 minute run time did not phase me at all. More importantly, it did not bother the children watching the movie either, which I think is the best seal of approval for it.