Category Archives: anime

Metaphors Strike Like Lightning: Kino’s Journey

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Kino

As stated a while back, I finished watching Kino’s Journey, so I thought I’d lay down a few thoughts about it.

Kino’s Journey is the story of a girl named Kino, whose occupation is “Traveler.”  Being a Traveler entails going from country to country, exploring the world as a whole.  Kino is accompanied by her sentient motorcycle, a “Motorrad” named Hermes.

Kino’s Journey is loved by many, and after having watched it, I must agree that it is a wonderful series.  Each episode is more or less a self-contained story, one stop on Kino’s never-ending on-the-road life.  Each story has some basic metaphors for human thought, behavior, and philosophy, and are meant to show that there are many sides to any one situation.  It has a very slice-of-life feel to it, but unlike so many slice-of-life shows Kino’s Journey is not innocent.  No one is innocent in this world, and nowhere does this contrast stand out more than in the fact that Kino herself carries multiple firearms with which to defend herself.  And she’s a skilled marksman too.

The necessity of her guns alone goes a long way in explaining the central theme of the show: People are not beautiful, therefore they are.

Genchoken: Otaku na Radio

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I apologize for not having posted about this previously. Somehow it always escapes me.

During Genshiken 2’s run, Animate TV WEB did a bi-weekly radio show with Mizuhashi Kaori (Ogiue) and Hiyama Nobuyuki (Madarame), where they discuss various aspects of otaku culture and receive letters from otaku. Topics include “Moekipedia,” “Normal people are weird,” and a Fujoshi corner.

Often times, there would be tricks using the voice actors. One episode had Ogiue fantasizing about Shishioh Guy x Madarame. Another episode had the phrase “Ogiue Chika-sensei.”

Mm.

The last episode actually has the original voices of the Vocaloid mascots Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin.

The official site is at http://www.animate.tv/digital/web_radio/detail_114.html so if you can understand Japanese, please have a listen.

Why I Like Ogiue, Part 2

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Last time I talked about the reasons that Ogiue’s overall character captivated me, but this time I’m going to discuss the path my obsession took, from beginning to end. This might just double as a Genshiken review without me realizing it.

I first discovered Genshiken due to a combination of the Jinmei Juushin scanlation of the first volume and the fansubs for the first series appearing online. Genshiken was great. I loved how it was a somewhat painful look at the fandom, that I enjoyed it and both lamented my own status as anime fan because of it. I particularly liked the Opening, which was so very appropriate for a series about otaku. I showed it to friends, they enjoyed it as well, and many good times were had.

Then I went to Japan to study, and it is there that I found Ogiue.

My first exposure to Ogiue was in the ending credits to the last episode of the first Genshiken anime, prior to my staying in Japan. I think this is probably where a lot of people first saw her. Seeing as she was facing away from the screen, my initial reaction was towards her hair. I worried that her unrealistic hair style meant that she was an unrealistic character, and that it would mark a downhill trend for Genshiken.

Ha.

Anyway, in the city where I lived in Japan, I found a Book Off, and there I found Genshiken Volume 5. I had read previously that the anime covered roughly volumes 1-4, so I figured I could start with 5 and not lose too much. So my initial exposure to Ogiue wasn’t “I’m Ogiue and I hate otaku,” but rather her hesitant reach towards the stack of yaoi doujinshi, Saki waving a hand through her fude, and the tears on her face during the troublesome times of creating their first doujinshi. Of course, above all that the first thing I noticed were her eyes, and as I’ve said in the previous post in this series, I have a, ah, shall we say, preference for those kinds of eyes.

So volume 5 came and went, and then I found out volume 6 was coming out soon. I bought the normal edition because at the time, I was a fan of Ogiue, but I wasn’t a major fan, and I figured, what was the big loss?

Of course, now I want to go back in time and force myself to cut class to obtain it.

While volume 5 had not made me into the Ogiue fan I am today, volume 6 was the catalyst, and it all began with her scene of walking in on Sasahara pulling on Madarame’s necktie. Ogiue’s rampant fantasizing was one of the most wonderful things I’d have ever seen, and still is today. Anyone who talked to me at that time knew how much amazing I thought that one scene was. This isn’t even mentioning how great the rest of volume 6 was, with the disguised Ogiue, the cosplay Ogiue, and of course the graduation of Madarame, Tanaka, and Kugayama. That last one isn’t Ogiue-related but still.

It was around this time that I finally accepted myself as an otaku. I had been walking to school, and the only thought I had was, “How would I make SRW animations for Zambot 3?” Then I stopped myself, realizing that if this was the highest priority in my mind, then what could I be other than an otaku? It’s not something I proudly declare or aspire to be, it’s something that I simply am. These feelings of discovery and change I believe coincided with my discovery of Ogiue such that her impact became that much more significant.

Volume 6 was done, and I began turning directly to the actual Monthly Afternoon serial magazines to get my fix. I think somewhere around this time, I was in Akihabara with Shingo from Heisei Democracy and Kransom from welcome datacomp, and I completed my back catalog, with volumes 1-4 and the official Genshiken guide book.

My memory is a little hazy, and I don’t remember if I bought Genshiken volume 7 while I was in Japan, or while I was back in America, but eventually I had to return home, and began simply importing issues of Monthly Afternoon. Volume 7 came out, and it was once again incredible, further cementing my love for Ogiue’s character.

Then, in the final chapter, seeing Ogiue so very happy, seeing all she had gone through, and most of all, seeing her as one extremely sexy Kaichou, it was about as satisfying a series ending as I could have hoped for.

Except it wasn’t over.

For those of you who’ve read Del Rey’s releases, the way I and anyone else who kept up with Monthly Afternoon was a little different from the way you did. After the contents of Volume 7, there was originally just enough content for one final volume, so we thought it would be an 8-volume series. Imagine our surprise, then, when we found out that Volume 8 would contain two, new, never-before-seen chapters, and that there would be a Volume 9! It was a good day for Genshiken fans. On top of that, they were releasing a Drama CD, with Ogiue! If Ogiue had a voice, surely that meant an anime would be on its way! And of course, I wanted nothing more than to see an animated Ogiue.

The new content of Volume 8 had me floored. I remember sitting in a Chipotle, eating a burrito with Genshiken volume 8 in hand, my jaw wide open as I read

“Our date’s not over yet.”

And then Volume 9 was practically all new content, and once more I read the ending.

Truly, it was a good time.

It needs to exist

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A Kenshiro dakimakura.

One side will have him getting ready to do Hyakuretsuken, and the other side will be TENHA NO KAMAE.

“You are already asleep.”

An odd discovery

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I was looking through family photos, and I noticed something peculiar.

One of my brothers, at the age of 2, had a Daitarn 3 t-shirt.

If it wasn’t for me becoming a horrible anime nerd, this would have forever remained a mystery.

THE END (not really): Genshiken 2, Episode 12

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In an effort to create an ending for the series despite the same time frame in the manga being only the beginning of what is yet to come, Sasahara’s job search was expanded on in previous episodes as well as this one. It’s a painful journey and one I can relate to.

Sasahara, after a hard fight and a reality check from Genshiken members past and present, manages to get a job as an editor, and he talks to Ogiue on the phone. How does Ogiue feel about it?

Wait what was I talking about again?

Oh right, the best Christmas present possible. Thanks, ARMS!

Genshiken 2 DVD 1 Arrived

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That was FAST.

It came with the box, and a drama CD. The DVD itself is nothing special, with two episodes and some basic non-credit intro/outro extras and such.

The big selling point is the Drama CD though, because Sasahara Keiko is actually in it and is essentially the main character of the Drama CD. I am glad to see that they haven’t totally forgotten about her.

I may translate the drama CD at some point, but don’t hold your breath. I’ll at the very least try to write up a summary for it though.

If Moe is to Survive, Compromises Must be Made

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Moe is associated with lolicon largely because Moe is about weakness, and little helpless girls are about the easiest way of conveying moe.  We’ve seen this trend before in American comics, only it was about gruff manliness and it was called 90s EXTREEEEEEME.  What better way to show that someone is a real man’s man than giving him 8 guns and arms the size of a buick with veins everywhere?  What better way to show a girl has her weak side than by making her weak physically AND emotionally?

When you take a girl and make her defining traits just her weak points, that becomes her whole character.  It is easy, yes, but I would dare call it lazy.  Why bother actually creating character flaws when you can just make someone pure and perfect and helpless?   As with 90s extreme, I feel moe, as it continues to exaggerate certain specific features, as more try to take advantage of it with half-hearted attempts, will receive a backlash.  Some might welcome the backlash, that’s okay.  But for those of you who do like moe, you’re going to have to accept that certain changes have to take place.   Rather than the moe character, we must have the character with moe traits.

We already have these characters among us.  They are the ones who we CAN see as competent, but as with all humans they are not perfect.  They have emotional problems, doubts, and fears.  I believe people like moe in the first place because it allows us to relate to a character on a very emotional level, that our feelings are understood by others, and manifested in characters.  I believe it is a common fear among otaku and dorks in general that those in normal society are “perfect” and never have to deal with the same issues that they themselves face constantly.  Moe characters if they are too extreme are too far-removed from reality, and thus lose their significant impact.  If instead a moe anime uses more “normal” characters, but show that they have the same issues that otaku face, then we have more than just a marketing tool, we have something that can motivate otaku to move forward, to come to a greater understanding of others.

Genshiken, Season 3?

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UPDATE 1/23/2013: ANNOUNCEMENT OF A NEW GENSHIKEN ANIME

No, this is not an announcement or rumor for a 3rd season, so please don’t misinterpret the title of this post. Instead, this post is about the possibility of a 3rd television series vs another OVA series.

As we sit here, one episode away from the end of Genshiken 2, those of us who have read the manga know that there is so much more to go through, including what is the most important plot development in Genshiken. It’s already been set in motion throughout season 2 (and even emphasized more heavily when compared to the manga). Of course, I’m talking about Sasa x Ogi.

I really think there is still enough content for another television series. We still have two entire volumes that have been untouched, we have a few stories that were skipped in Genshiken 2 (namely Keiko taking the Shiiou University exam), and we also know that Studio ARMS is not above creating new content or extending existing scenes and doing a good job of it.

If we do get an OVA though, obviously the most important thing it needs to cover is the Sasa x Ogi climax, and that alone provides enough content for two half-hour episodes, if not three.

Why I Like Ogiue, Part 1

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I think perhaps it is time I talk more specifically about Ogiue. I mean, I’ve talked about Ogiue in the past before (in case you haven’t noticed), but now is the time to begin discussing the topic of WHY I like Ogiue. I’m referring to this as Part 1 because it’s inevitable that I’ll have more posts on this topic. For Part 1, I am going to focus on my emotional response to Ogiue’s character.

I have always described Ogiue to people as possessing True Moe. Now, I know moe is hard to define, as is truth, but Ogiue is a character I care for deeply because I feel a connection to her plight, her interests, and her progress from self-hating fujoshi to fujoshi girlfriend. She speaks to anyone who has ever been concerned that their otaku nature excludes them from any sort of conceivable romantic relationship, and that includes me. We all have doubts as human beings, but Ogiue’s doubts are very similar to my doubts and to see her overcome them eventually, it’s inspiring, it’s life-affirming, and really, if it were possible, I would give her a hug whenever she needed one. She is someone to whom I can relate, but she is someone else entirely. She’s also a fictional character, but even though she’s not real, her concerns are realistic, and they affect me in such a way that she’s always somewhere either in the front or the back of my mind.

Ogiue is in my opinion the most beautiful and attractive character ever, and the reason why her presence hits me so hard with respect to sex appeal is that, while a lot of her physical and personality traits are things I’ve always liked, such as tomboyishness and having the hottest eyes ever, Ogiue also possesses many traits which I never realized I liked until I read Genshiken. Her harshness, her softness, the way she wraps her doubt in a facade of hate, her problems taking criticism, her tendency to let her imagination run away with her her spurts of creative energy, and yes, even her body type all make her incredibly attractive, but it’s not because of those traits that Ogiue is beautiful.

No, those traits are beautiful because Ogiue possesses them.