Category Archives: industry

Aim for the Ace Anime Adaptations Analysis

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The year was 1973, and a young anime studio named Madhouse began work on its first big series, an adaptation of a popular tennis manga called Ace o Nerae! or Aim for the Ace! as it translates in English. Running 26 episodes, it was directed by Dezaki Osamu and had character designs by Sugino Akio, a duo that continues to work together even to this day, including Rose of Versailles, the 90s Black Jack OVAs, and Space Adventure Cobra. They also worked together on every other anime adaptation of Aim for the Ace!

With that in mind, I thought it’d be interesting to just put the openings of each of the Ace series next to each other, if only to see how time, money, and experience have affected the same series over the course of two decades.

1973’s Ace o Nerae!

1978s Shin Ace o Nerae!

1988’s Ace o Nerae 2!

It might be a little unfair to compare openings, but I feel that doing so is a good indicator for seeing how an anime series wishes to be first seen. When you look at the 1973 opening vs the 1978 opening though, you can already see a world of difference. Character designs in Shin Ace are cleaner and more consistent, perhaps at the expense of some of the wild and untamed artwork that characterizes the original. Everything is also much-better animated, with fewer visible shortcuts being taken. Fast forward to 1988 and of course you can see a huge change, brought on by overall progress in anime, an OVA-level budget and changing visual trends in anime (and in real-world fashion). Keep in mind though that unlike, say, Cutie Honey, where each incarnation is done by a different studio and different people at the helm, Ace 2 has the same core team as the first Ace, and what you’re seeing here is direct evidence of how they changed over the course of 15 years.

I think the biggest difference between the original and the later series is that by the time of Shin Ace, the anime is actively trying to portray human figures in a three-dimensional space, and Ace 2 even moreso. If you look at the original TV series, even in the opening it never wants to tell you exactly where the characters are in any given moment. It feels closer to a manga brought to life, for better or worse. In that regard, I feel that the original has a certain charm that the others lack, the kind of appeal that comes from seeing just how much people could do with so little.

Really though, I just think they should have kept the hair from the first TV series throughout each incarnation. That includes the live-action series from a few years ago.

Anipages Talks Kanada (Moreso than Usual)

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Animator Kanada Yoshinori died about a month ago, and as one might expect from the blog anipages, they have numerous articles dedicated to the man’s long and influential career, as well as prior articles from long before his death. The articles are all fascinating, as anipages articles tend to be, and they’re very accessible to even people who may like anime but aren’t very familiar with the people who make them beyond knowing the names of voice actors. I really recommend that you read them.

Of particular note to me personally is that Kanada worked on Zambot 3 and the movie version of Galaxy Express 999, two of my favorite anime ever. The Zambot 3 article on anipages talks about how the show was plagued by poor animation overall (and he’s right; often times the show looked worse than Mazinger Z which came out years earlier), but how you could still see Kanada’s hand in the episodes he worked on adding a level of quality to the production.

Kanada’s style is noted by a wondrous and playful approach to animation, which can be seen in this compilation video someone made of his best work.

Vertical Vednesday August 26, 2009: 4-Panel Manga

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I may be sounding like a broken record by now, but it’s totally worth having that reputation so that I can tell you about Vertical Inc Marketing Director Ed Chavez’s periodic talks on the various genres of manga and other related topics. This Wednesday, Ed will be holding a discussion on the topic of four-panel comics in manga, a genre which includes titles such as Azumanga Daioh, Hidamari Sketch, Lucky Star and K-On! Though I am not privy to any specific conversation topics, often times the discussion includes the history of a particular genre, how it does in Japan, any theories on what makes it work or not work, and then discussion on how it could work better in America.

I’ll be attending once again, and we’ll be meeting at Kinokuniya NYC, located on 6th Ave in Manhattan between 40th and 41st St at 6:30pm until 8pm.

Really, check it out, and contact Ed Chavez to say you’re coming.

Even More Podcast Hijinks: Ogiue Maniax on Anime3000

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Two in a row! Who would have thought?

In case you didn’t tire of my voice yesterday, here I am again.

On this Anime3000 podcast, Hisui from Reverse Thieves, Moritheil, and I discuss the Summer and Fall seasons of anime, mainly what shows we’ve watched and what shows we’re looking forward to. More info at the Anime3000 site.

Ogiue Maniax and the Reverse Thieves Talk Otakon on Ani-Gamers

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A while back I was on the Ani-Gamers podcast along with the Reverse Thieves where we talked about our experiences at Otakon 2009 this past July in Baltimore. There’s some overlap with my written review of the invent, but I invite you to listen anyway and hear us crack wise in Real Time.

This episode of Ani-Gamers can be found here.

Tomino vs Imagawa, NYC vs Atlanta

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Anime Weekend Atlanta has announced that one of their guests of honor will be Imagawa Yasuhiro, acclaimed director of the Giant Robo OVA and the currently-running Shin Mazinger TV series. AWA is running this year from September 18-20.

Meanwhile, New York Anime Festival, running September 25-27, has already announced famed Gundam creator and director Tomino Yoshiyuki as its guest of honor. If you’re a fan of giant robots and you don’t have the time or resources to go to both, this can be a very painful decision to make.

To help you with your dilemma, try asking yourself the following two questions.

Question 1: Do you love Gundam?

Question 2: Do you love G Gundam even more?

Vertical Vednesday July 29, 2009: Light Novels

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To the otaku in the New York City area eager to learn a thing or three about the media we love so very much, I must inform you that there is once more a “Vertical Vednesday” tomorrow, July 29. The topic? Light novels, something that has had a great degree of difficulty penetrating the US market, partially due to how they tend to get bunched in with the manga section. It’s a subject I personally do NOT have much knowledge on, so I will be eager to listen, and if you’ve never heard Vertical Inc. marketing director Ed Chavez speak about manga, etc. in person, then you owe it to yourself to attend. I’ll let Vertical explain it better.

Once again, the plan is to meet at the Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya in Manhattan, located between 40th and 41st St on 6th Ave at 6:30pm. From there, we may move to a different location, so get there on time! Also, this time we will have special guests Ronald Kelts from Japanimerica and possibly Ioannis (Yani) Mentzas, editorial director of Vertical.

Seats are limited, so if you plan to come, RSVP Ed Chavez one way or another.

July 8th Vertical Vednesday: Sports Manga

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Vertical Vednesday, courtesy of Vertical Inc and Ed Chavez, is back for another informative around. This time, the topic is a genre of manga that doesn’t achieve much success in America for a a number of reasons, Sports Manga.

Sports Manga has a very long history and some of the most beloved titles in Japan are sports-themed ones, such as Ashita no Joe, Touch, Attack No. 1, Ace o Nerae!!, Kyojin no Hoshi, and even Eyeshield 21. Also, given my previous experiences with Vertical Vednesdays, if you attend you’ll get the chance to chime in on what YOU think are the steps to getting Sports Manga accepted more readily in the US by both regular folks and manga readers.

Like last time, we’ll be meeting up at around 6 to 6:30 at Kinokuniya on 6th Ave between 41st and 40th in Manhattan, and then depending on the size of the group will either stay there or find another location nearby to sit.

Topics covered so far in previous Vertical Vednesdays are Seinen, Josei, and Yankii.

Saki Tacos: Yes This is the Best Promotion

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In a move I would have been angry about if no one ended up doing it, Japanese taco chain Taco Derio has decided to start using the face of this year’s most popular taco enthusiast in Japan, Kataoka Yuuki from Saki. Order at a Taco Derio and you can get a Yuuki-themed tray mat to show off to your friends and co-workers, and score hot dates with taco-loving ladies. The mat, by the way, says, “With Tacos Power, Victory is a Cinch!”

For those who don’t know, Saki is a manga and recent anime about girls who play Mahjong and possibly definitely like other girls, a one-two punch that few dare to attempt. In it, Kataoka Yuuki is a supporting character, voiced by Kugimiya Rie, who is a strong and aggressive player despite her diminutive stature, and is mostly characterized by her love of tacos. So great is her taco addiction that she cannot play at full strength unless she has a steady supply to keep her going.

To put it simply, this is an awesome idea and everything that I want out of anime cross-promotions. Code Geass and its Pizza Hut angle was great and all, especially with all the imagery of CC chowing down on pizza, but that was practically built in during conception. It’s almost cheating, in a way. But with this, Yuuki was originally from a manga and so the tacos thing was designed not so much to promote tacos but to add an additional moe aspect to Yuuki (as if the cat belt wasn’t enough already).

It’s not quite as extreme as the rise in sales of left-handed basses caused by the popularity of K-On! or the increase in tourism to one Japanese town due to Lucky Star, but it’s a step in the right shameless propaganda direction. And there’s no propaganda like shameless propaganda.

I’m going to end off on a personal message directed at something significant: Akikan.

You totally missed the boat! Why didn’t I hear of any soft drinks sporting Akikan characters, or custom Akikan flavors that are just the older flavors with new names, e.g. Akikan Cooler?

For shame. Learn your lessons from those mahjong-playing tribades and try again!

V! V! V! Vertical Vednesday

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Combine, 1 2 3. 4, 5, Shutsu-

Anyway.

Another Vertical Vednesday is taking place tomorrow, June 24th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. The plan is to meet up at the NYC Kinokuniya on 6th Ave between 41st and 40th in Manhattan, and afterwards depending on the size of the group and availability of seating, we will either stay at Kino or move to another location.

For those of you unfamiliar with the whole deal, Vertical Vednesday is where Ed Chavez, Marketing Director of Vertical Inc. (publishers of Black Jack, Guin Saga, To Terra, among other works) takes out about an hour to discuss with a group a topic related to manga. Ed is possibly the most knowledgeable person I have ever met in regards to manga, and if you want to learn something new then this is an ideal opportunity.

This week’s topic will be Yankii, or a specific type of Japanese delinquent often seen in anime and manga and specifically parodied by Cromartie High School. Sometimes spelled “Yankee” as in the case of “Yankee-kun to Megane-chan,” but it actually has nothing to do with Americans or dressing up like Americans.

Incidentally, did you know that the English name for Yankee-kun to Megane-chan is “Flunk Punk Rumble?” at least according to the Singapore release?

Man that name is weird.