Category Archives: manga

The Fun of Collaborative Top 10 Lists

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Or Top 20, 50, 100, etc.

Anime and manga are full of these things. There’s lists in Shounen Jump series ranking the popularity of their characters. There’s Saimoe, which is essentially one giant list. Every forum in every language devotes some time to getting together to compile a list of most (and occasionally least) favorites. I like looking at these things, but it’s not just to see how high my favorites place, though I’m always pleased to see them do well. The real point of looking at lists is to observe any trends that may be happening, even if it’s trends simply among a very vocal minority.

You can infer all sorts of information from ranking lists. Take a look at the Top Anime list on My Anime List. It says a lot about the people who bother to participate in My Anime List. Gurren-Lagann right now enjoys the #1 spot with a lot of people having viewed it. When you remember that not only was it well-regarded during its fansub days but that it also recently finished airing on Sci-Fi Network it makes a lot of sense. By comparison, when you look at the high ranking from Legend of the Galactic Heroes in contrast with its relatively low number of viewers, you know it has a loyal fanbase. Those who bother to watch it at all come away astounded. When a very old work or character places high on a list, you know that something is up and this one is probably going to be fondly remembered for a long time.

The real fun though is from the inherent drama that comes from trying to make lists. There’s always tons of passionate arguing as people defend their characters with sweat and tears. Even if you don’t look at the arguments which precede or follow the list, the list iself is like a condensed summary of all the debate and hair-pulling that may have happened.

Dragonball: Evolution Trailer is More Disappointing the Second Time Around

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Let’s face it, the Dragonball: Evolution trailer is exactly what we thought it would look like when he saw the words “Dragonball” and “Hollywood” together. That darkish color scheme, that voiceover, that trying-hard-to-be-cool-and-relevant feeling, it’s all there just as it was there in our minds. No one should be surprised. Disappointed yes, but not surprised.

When I first watched the trailer I wasn’t paying full attention and there was a scene where a vehicle transforms. Originally I heard Goku say, “Boom,” and I thought, “Hey that’s a pretty clever reference to those comical clouds of smoke that said “BOMB” in big block letters whenever anyone used a Capsule Corp. Capsule in the original material.” Maybe there was an inkling of hope after all.

But no, he actually said, “Cool.”

I’m still gonna go see the movie anyway.

And then hope that James Marsters manages to pull a good performance out of it, like Raul Julia as M. Bison.

A Never-Ending Journey

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Headfuns

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Playing Yu-Gi-Oh the Manga Way

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There’s Yu-Gi-Oh the manga, which begat Yu-Gi-Oh the trading card game. Yu-Gi-Oh as a TCG has a ton of rules and cards, and the game is enjoyed by many, but you always get that impression that what’s happening in the real life TCG isn’t quite lining up with what’s happening in the original comic or its anime adaptations. The disparity comes from two points. 1) In the original stories, the cool strategies are always played at vital moments to add tension and 2) the cards in the actual TCG are based upon cards whose powers were simply made up by the author without concern for balance or those silly things that a game needs to actually be competitive. The solution then is to make a system to play Yu-Gi-Oh the Manga Way. Best part is, you don’t even need Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

Two players have their imaginary decks with the minimum amount of cards necessary a draw the right number of cards. Use whatever rules you want, but they have to be established ones, like Battle City or Duelist Kingdom for example. When they play a card face up, they declare it to be whatever they want. If they play a card face down, the card in play is not actually determined until it’s flipped up. This means it can essentially be anything before it’s revealed. The same goes for the cards in your hand. They can be anything until the cards are actually shown. Of course this means if there’s any cards if one player has that forces the other to show their cards, then the identity of those cards becomes locked in place.

Still, with the ability to make cards whatever you want, the game could quickly become unplayable. The key then is that every time you do something drastic, it takes away from the amount of “miracles” you have. A miracle is basically believing in the Heart of the Cards, or in the will to victory, or using the power of Plot Devices. It’s the meter you have for pulling off the most ridiculous moves possible and turning the whole match around, or even just coming back a little from a disadvantageous position. The more powerful the turnaround, the more quickly your miracles deplete. If you’re out of miracle power, then you’re victim to your opponent’s. Playing longer, more complex miracles that use multiple cards will not cost as much as playing single game-changing cards though. And there’d be a way to build up meter as well, possibly by taking hits and allowing yourself into a disadvantageous position, or to simply let things happen as they should.

Manga-style Yu-Gi-Oh becomes a game of rationing your “luck” while being faithful to the canon you’ve established for each individual game. Do you press your luck early on? Do you wait until you’re low on life for a big comeback? Do you perform small miracles consistently in order to keep in an advantageous position? Do you trick your opponent into using their miracles at the wrong time?

I’m sure this game isn’t actually balanced but I can pretend it is.

Giving Shounen Jump Fans the Bird

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Weekly Shounen Jump is celebrating its unbelievable 40th anniversary, and as part of the festivities Shounen Jump has all-new episodes of three of its series. By downloading their own proprietary media player, you can actually watch these episodes subtitled for free until January 2009. One of the titles is One Piece, another is Letter Bee (which I know nothing about). I’ll get to One Piece and Letter Bee’s exclusive episodes another time; this is all about perennial favorite Dragon Ball.

Akira Toriyama’s most famous work is by far the most popular Shounen Jump properties of all time, its worldwide success is rivaled by few other. This is made all the more impressive by the fact that there hasn’t been any new Dragon Ball anime for a long, long time. Even in America the final episodes of GT aired years ago. But some would argue that at some point the Dragon Ball series took a bit of a detour and lost some of its original spirit. Among these critics might be Toriyama himself as this new Dragon Ball anime special feels very much like a return to form, and it’s written by Toriyama too. “Yo! The Return of Son-Goku and Friends!!!” is like a combination of everything that made Dragon Ball popular throughout its incarnations rolled into one.

The story is about Mr. Satan opening up a new hotel to celebrate his victory over Majin Boo and inviting Goku and Friends over for a sumptuous banquet. Some new characters show up, stuff blows up and things get eaten. Really, the story is just a flimsy excuse to get everyone together and for chaos to happen, and it’s the type of chaos which combines the fighting of Z with the humor of the original. Kamesennin is back to wearing his old turtle shell and making lewd comments towards Chi-chi, Goku powers up to Super Saiyan just because, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance but not really. It’s just a single-episode adventure dedicated to the fans and it really shows.

The most notable addition is the introduction of Vegeta’s little brother, Tarble. I’ll let the pun sink in for a second before I move on.

Man, Toriyama.

Tarble would be a spoiler except he’s right there on the front page and in the character descriptions, so he’s fair game. Tarble was sent away long ago by King Vegeta because Tarble lacked any sort of fighting prowess. Having avoided much of the events of Dragon Ball, Tarble even still has his tail. With the existence of Tarble now revealed, it just makes me think that every time Vegeta said something like “WE ARE THE LAST SAIYANS IN THE UNIVERSE KAKARROT!” he was murmuring under his breath, “exceptforthatotheronehrmrmrmr.”  Well Dragon Ball was never super big on maintaining canon anyway so it’s no big deal. It’s just another way of humanizing Vegeta just a little because you’d have expected him to fly over to Tarble at some point and punch him in the face for being so weak. Then again, Vegeta might respect the fact that Tarble tries to fight even when he sucks at it. I’m thinking too much about this, but how could I not when I now know that Vegeta is also Reinhard Von Lohengramm?

If you’re a Dragon Ball fan, I really don’t have to tell you to go watch this, but go watch this. If you’re not a fan of Dragon Ball, or you’re the kind who complains about powering up taking too long, keep in mind that this is just one 20-something minute episode and there’s no time to waste on powering up excessively and standing around. There isn’t even an deserted area in the middle of nowhere to fight and blow things up in! There’s only Mr. Satan’s hotel.

Poor, poor Mr. Satan.

The Final Week Before Destruction

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Language Destruction that is.

As a reminder once again, December 7th is the day of the JLPT for everyone around the world for all levels. This is also the final year that the JLPT will have only 4 levels. Much like how I went to the final Comic Revolution, I find myself inadvertently a part of history: Japanese-related dork history.

I feel much more confident about my kanji than ever. Studying piece by piece every day, even small 20-minute run-throughs on the train and then refreshing my memory over the past two or three weeks seems to have helped a lot. Improving my kanji has also of course improved my reading comprehenshion, and that’s the section that worries me the most for the JLPT2 because it’s simply worth the most points. You can live or die by the reading comprehension. Still not completely confident in it yet, but I didn’t expect to be. I’m getting more out of those wine explanations in between chapters of La Sommelière though.

Listening can still be tricky just because the listening section intentionally tries to deceive you. Listening to anime? Insufficient. Listening to Japanese news programs? Too difficult. Listening to radio shows by voice actors talking about stuff? A compromise of sorts.

Grammar is better, still not great. Finally have a good handle on Wa and Ga particles.

Here we go. One week left for just one chance.

Teaching Japanese People French Profanities: La Sommelière Volume 2

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You know a woman is passionate when she eats dirt for fun.

With her soil-sampling quirks and love for wine La Sommelière Itsuki Cana continues to adjust to life in Tokyo. Last volume found our intrepid wine-serving heroine working at L’espoir, which is a French restaurant and certainly not some kind of creepy boat. Naturally, Cana is still helping others work through their respective problems by conveying messages via wine where words simply fail.

I should point out two mistakes I made in the previous review, and you just saw one of them. I had previously spelled her name as “Itsuki Kana” thinking that “Kana” written in katakana was just them being cute. But no, Ms. Itsuki actually has a foreign name, and it’s a reference to the place where Jesus turned water into wine. The next mistake is that I didn’t say where she was from, and the answer is France. Cana is Half-French, Half-Japanese with a biblical name.

Volume 2 of La Sommelière expands greatly upon the supporting characters, comprised primarily of Cana’s fellow staff members at L’espoir. In one chapter, Cana finds herself acting as a mediator between the restaurant’s chef and her estranged mother. In another chapter, an innocent lie forces the waitress Minami into assuming the role of Sommelière, with Cana there for backup. New characters are also introduced, namely THE MOST RENOWNED WINE TASTER IN JAPAN MINOSHIMA RYOUICHI. Not only is he THE MOST RENOWNED WINE TASTER IN JAPAN but there’s some antagonism between him and L’espoir’s supervisor, and on top of that Minoshima has a connection to Cana’s past.

Volume 2 also begins the trend of having special bonus chapters in each volume showing what Cana’s life was like in France.

The artwork in Volume 2 is consistent with Volume 1, emphasizing the beauty of people and wine of all shapes and sizes. Minami the waitress is drawn particularly well here; with a drunken Minami looking incredibly cute. Cana meanwhile is as gorgeous as ever, with stylish new outfits in addition to her already snazzy Sommelière uniform. Panel flow puts great emphasis on the emotions and wine, and adds to the romanticism of the whole situation. There’s only one small nitpick with the art, and it has to do with one particular image where it looks like Cana’s head was cut out and the body drawn awkwardly around it. It’s only because the rest of the art is of such nice quality that this error stands out.

Volume 2 of La Sommelière is really more of the same as in Volume 1, but that’s exactly its selling point. It’s a romantic portrayal of a girl from two different cultures who brings love and understanding to those around her through the power and majesty of wine. Characters old and new bring with them ideas as to what it means to enjoy and recommend wine, and the volume even ends on an interesting note that leads directly into Volume 3.

Merde!

Thanks, Anime

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It’s an interesting time in anime, and there’s plenty of stuff to be grateful for.


Thanks, Anime, for providing affordable DVDS of series loved by all types of otaku, from Gurren-Lagann to Ouran High School Host Club to Aria and beyond.


Thanks, Anime, for making strides to becoming more accessible. Strike Witches isn’t what I’d call a show I’d recommend to others, but I commend GONZO for putting itself out there. And while some of you may have made a few missteps, like Sony with your super-expensive PS3 episodes of Xam’d, I’ll still be there to buy the DVDs.


Thanks, Anime, for having an incredible season this year with something for everyone, with fine work in practically every genre and sub-genre. With this, I have no regrets.


Thanks, Anime, for your plans to give us an Ultimate Crossover Pretty Cure Movie that we’ve been waiting for since Max Heart ended. I look forward to the 11-girl Ultimate Crossover Pretty Cure Finisher. It’s also thanks to this image that I realize that the more athletic Precure girls have tanner skin. You learn something everyday.


Thanks, Anime, for slating a Professor Layton Animated Movie scheduled for 2010. I’m not even kidding.


And finally, Thank You for an incredible year of Ogiue, JAM Project, good friends, good opportunities, and so much more.

If Only We Could Become Fans of Moderation

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Dave Merrill recently posted a survey and history of the seedy, unwashed, giant underbelly of anime fandom in the US. In it, he gives examples, taken from various anonymous contributers, of the people who are often referred to as “that person.” Each anecdote leads me to be grateful that I did not turn out to be the one to take others down through ill personality or whatever, but at the same time I find myself reflecting upon each description. I can see a bit of myself in pretty much every person described, but I also realize that it’s because of the fact that I can only see “a bit” of myself in them that makes all of the difference.

I can relate to the guy who carries his video game consoles with him to every meeting. I can see a person bringing his precious consoles along constantly, hoping for someone to say, “Wow, is that a Neo-Geo?” And then the person would gladly pull it out and a good time would be had by all, and they’d think that console-carrying guy is pretty swell. But then if console carrier never has the initiative to simply propose that they play some of his games, then he’ll still be waiting passively. When presented with someone like this, we’d probably say something like, “Get some confidence, chum.” Lack of confidence and drive is a hallmark of dorks everywhere, after all. It’s dangerous advice, however, when you consider the example of the guy who gives out his own Inspector Gadget porn to everyone.

Inspector Gadget Porn Distributor is what can happen when you tell someone with deep shame that it’s okay to be shameless, that it’s okay to be confident in what they do. The problem isn’t that he draws the images, it’s that it becomes the singular focus of his interaction with fellow anime fans. I believe that not only fans but people in general should not be defined by a singular purpose, as no person is that devoid of depth. And yet, are fans not defined by their obsessions, their ability to take things further than others? How far is too far? It’s a strange dilemma in that we have to learn to constantly set and then break our own limits.

I know that it sounds weird for the person who writes Ogiue Maniax, a blog with obsession in its very title, to be talking about things like tact and reservation, but I think it’s the combination of obsession/devotion and desire for variety in me that has brought me to this place. And while I don’t have the confidence to say that I have the patience or ability to help those fans who are truly in need of an awakening, what I can say is that I hope we can all help to moderate each other.