Category Archives: trends

English Karaoke Simply Isn’t Dork Enough

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As mentioned in the NYAF review, I spent friday night having a most excellent time with karaoke. It was karaoke as it should be, full of passion and hilarity and no holding back. Towards the back of the Japanese song-list catalog is a section titled “Anime and Hero Songs” followed by “Game Songs.” I consider this to be the pinnacle of karaoke.

There’s one problem: not everyone can do it.

Sub is a badass manly individual and occasional critic, and I have a relatively extensive knowledge of the sort of anime fitting for karaoke while also being literate in Japanese so I can fudge my way through parts I don’t know. Not everyone has these luxuries, and thus they are denied the full experience.  How does one solve this issue? Do we provide a list of sufficiently awesome songs in English that would be common enough for people to know such as Eye of the Tiger?

What I’d really like is if English karaoke had cartoon theme songs beyond, say, Disney. Get some Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors or King Arthur and the Knights of Justice in there. Sadly, people assume that no one wants these songs and so they end up unavailable.

Some weeks back I searched for information on the singer to one of the most famous cartoon themes, the opening to the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. I looked on the official site of all places, and even it fails to list the actual people responsible for their famed intro.

What to do?

Actually, I know the solution.

Beyond the T-Shirt: Otaku Apparel, or Lack Thereof

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The stereotypical image of an otaku is an overweight or underweight person wearing a t-shirt sporting an anime character on the front and possibly the back. Pants-wise, he’s wearing some kind of jeans or shorts or something. Maybe this is draped in a beat up black trenchcoat in an attempt to look cool. Otaku tend not to be known as very fashionable people unless they’re in the midde of cosplay. One look at anime-themed clothing however, and you begin to realize that it’s pretty much all t-shirts. I think the problem lies not with the otaku’s lack of fashion sense, but simply the fact that there is not enough variety in clothing for otaku to proudly display their fandom.

Uniqlo, with its Shounen Sunday 50th Anniversary, and the recent Pokemon 151, have both been attempts to push this kind of geek apparel into higher fashion, but in the end they’re still t-shirts. You also have the clothes which only vaguely hint at their relationship to anime, and those are fine for what they are, be they from Hot Topic or a super nice Eureka Seven t-shirt (seriously I love those). What I want to see though is clothing that clearly shows its anime roots that can be worn for different sorts of occasions and for different effects.

Why not some polo anime shirts? Why not pull the anime logos and character away from the shirt and towards the pants and skirts and dresses? Then, change up the types of pants. Why not have pair of capris pants with Kenshin on the side or something, for you Hitokiri Battousai fans? Rather than having a Lucky Star t-shirt with a school swimsuit on it, why not have a vest which when buttoned up resembles that swimsuit? You have the Hello Kitty business suit, but why not the Golgo 13 business suit, made to look just like Mr. Togo’s?

I have no intention to hate on the anime t-shirt. I simply lament the sad and lonely state of its existence. If only some kind-hearted designer would take its proverbial rib and create for it an Anime-Clothing Eve, all would be well.

And no, the shoulder bag is not Anime-Clothing Eve.

Enjadening

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At some point, it seem likes most anime reviewers begin to lose passion for their work, provided they had any in the first place. Though we may say something along the lines of, “Why do it in the first place if you no longer like it,” they say that one of the reasons they lose that passion is because they are constantly forced to wade through shows they dislike. They cannot choose the anime they review, and so with every disappointing show they become more and more bitter towards anime. That ocean that once seemed so wide turns out to be polluted.

At least, that’s what I think might be happening.

Aside from a few exceptions, I haven’t really tried to talk about anime on here that don’t really interest me. I mean, it’s difficult to talk about things you find boring, right? And anime reviewers have to do it, be it hell or high school romantic comedy.

In that case, what if I did start reviewing things outside of my interests?

I don’t know if I’ll actually do this. While I have a strong love of anime and manga, to put it to the test like this may be asking too much of me. If I go in, I may come out a different person. I’d like to think there’s interesting lessons to be learned in any anime, good, bad, or decidedly mediocre, but how many will it take before I break, if I do at all?

Most likely, if I do decide to begin this self-experiment, I won’t say specifically which reviews are part of it. That would be up to the readers to determine.

Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun and the Mystery of Moe

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Slayers is a 90’s anime series which arrived in a time before moe became a commonplace word. The most recent series which began airing this year, Slayers Revolution, is extremely faithful to that era of anime. So faithful, perhaps, that it can be jarring when put up against the other shows surrounding iSlayers Revolution at the moment. It is with this contrast that I began to wonder about the character of Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun and how, in her very 1990’s anime characterization, she is not quite moe as we know it today.

Young and cute with a bit of sexiness.

Honest and kind, but overly naive.

Tries her best but is often clumsy.

On paper, Amelia seems to be an obviously fall into the “moe” category in its most obvious and stereotypical sense. And yet, something doesn’t add up. While she has a lot of endearing traits similar to those of characters such as Arika Yumemiya (My-ZHiME) and Nono (Top o Nerae 2), Amelia is somehow different. She is not a character easily called moe, and her immediate loss in round 1 of the first Anime Saimoe’s main tournament says she was popular enough to get there, but not popular enough to overcome others.

Just to make things clear, I believe moe to be a personal, subjective thing. It is okay to moe over Amelia. What I mean when I say she is not quite moe is that she is generally not viewed as a “moe character” despite being so similar to characters who are.

One possibility is that while it’s possible to enjoy her character, feel empathy for her, and even perhaps become infatuated with Amelia, it’s much more difficult to feel sorry for her. Amelia is the confident princess of a powerful kingdom. She is skilled in diplomacy and magics both offensive and defensive. Her personality flaws are in sort of a no-man’s land, where they’re real flaws (and not just ones to make her cuter), but not so detrimental so as to turn her into damaged goods. She has both a gentle side and an agressive side, but it could never be mistaken for the ever-popular tsundere category.

I do not have the answers, but I believe that with a careful study of Amelia’s character, we can begin to unravel the clues explaining why anime has increasingly made this turn towards moe as she sits on the precipice between two worlds.

The Sexiness is Galaxy

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Macross Frontier seems to have a certain portion of the Macross fandom in a dangerous state of conflict, as they see both good and evil in this 25th Anniversary celebration of Studio Nue’s most famous work. Fanservice, of the T&A variety, fanservice, designed to get men (and possibly women) in a tizzy, it’s the subject of much discussion on forums and chatrooms. Some people feel it would be a better show without things like Sheryl’s exposed bosom or Klan’s alternating forms.

I think it’s a mistake to though say that the fanservice in Macross Frontier necessarily detracts from the show, as much of the fanservice is done with a sense of style and taste, and it’s not easy to mix with taste with tastelessness. I think the absolute best example so far, in so much that it got me particularly hot under the collar, is the hospital scene with Ranka and Sheryl competing with each other by singing to Alto. No actual T or A was present, but just the implied message of the two pop idols vying with each other for the affections of one man makes that scene perhaps the most sexually charged scene to date. Now that’s what I call fanservice.

And then there are all the people who wish they would get away from relationship drama and go back to more fighting. Don’t listen to them.

Observations Concerning Dub Openings

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I’ve recently become interested in examining modern (mid-90s – present) dub anime openings to see how they correlate to the notion that children have very short attention spans that are gradually decreasing as time passes.

Note: If you’re looking for a point or thesis, there really isn’t any. All I present here is possible evidence.

I began by comparing dub openings to their original Japanese counterparts. This has nothing to do with quality of music (or lack thereof), so you won’t find me making any comments regarding the actual themes.

YOHOHO HE TOOK A BITE OF GUM GUM.

Okay, last one. I promise.

Aside from the difference in length (the common 1 minute, 30 seconds in Japanese openings is hardly ever reached), the biggest difference I’ve seen is in the rate at which imagery will flash on and off the screen. In the English openings, there tends to be a much higher rate of changing imagery.

I give as an example a Yu-Gi-Oh opening in English, and one in Japanese. They are both the “second” openings, but keep in mind the English dub has fewer openings overall. To keep from having the different songs influence you, I suggest turning down the sound.

English

Japanese

As you can see, the dub opening is just a lot more frenetic, eager to keep your attention with rapidly changing colors.

I next focused my attention on Pokemon, as it is perhaps the most famous of all dubbed anime for children. Interestingly, the English opening is actually not that much faster-paced than the Japanese one in terms of imagery. It’s certainly slower than the Yu-Gi-Oh opening and both of these shows are 4Kids shows (or at least Pokemon was back then).

English

Japanese

But what about the idea that children’s attention spans are getting shorter? I took a look at every dub opening of Pokemon, and I noticed that over the years the Pokemon openings have actually gotten shorter.

The first few openings were 1 minute long.

Then it dropped down to 45 seconds per opening.

Now, the most recent openings have been 30 seconds apiece.

I know the examples I provided were primarily from 4kids, but keep in mind that the most recent Pokemon openings were dubbed by the Pokemon Company itself, so it’s not something exclusive to them. There’s also the realization that a lot of kids watching Pokemon today were not even alive when the series began airing in America. Just what has spurred this diminishing of time devoted to Pokemon openings? The Yu-Gi-Oh openings (including GX) are 1 minute long. Is it because the show is meant for a slightly older audience?

Many questions indeed.

OP/ED OP/ED

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The opening credits, or intro, of a staple of TV and animation. it’s a combination of sound and image designed to inform the viewer and pull them in. it is basically a commercial for the show you are about to watch with the secondary effect of giving credit to the people who are responsible for the show. The ending credits continue to list names of all the people who work on a show, and though it is not always the case, especially on American TV, it can be used to leave the viewer with a certain feeling. Japanese animation is of course no exception, but somehow anime has become what I think is the standard for openings and endings. There’s something special and different about the openings of Japanese animation compared to the animation of the rest of the world, and I’d like to know what it is.

I don’t think it would be too farfetched to say that a significant portion of anime fans love, welcome, and even expect the shows they watch to have good opening and ending credits. It’s the reason why fansubbers try so hard with their ridiculous karaoke effects. It’s the reason why I’m going to Otakon to see JAM Project. And I believe that it is a common factor in turning people into anime fans in the first place.

Anime openings can cause budding otaku to go, “Wow, this is different and good!” It’s not like non-Japanese cartoons are without good or memorable openings. I bet you there’s plenty of people out there who at least have a cursory knowledge of the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme, or children (and adults) who could sing the Kim Possible opening as well. And while one can argue that anime openings have “better” music, it’s not like anime is without its repeated-title-shouting-style intros (see above concerning JAM Project, or should I say, its individual members).

Perhaps it’s simply a matter of professionalism. Not only is there an industry trying to make money off of it, but musicians, at the very least on a surface level, appear to approach these songs as if they were any other pieces they’ve performed. Directors are hired on specifically to direct the openings and endings. People’s livelihoods can depend on whether or not the opening credits are a hit with the audience.

I’d like to think that the root cause of the culture of successful openings and endings is passion and respect, but it’s an overly optimistic view of things. I just know that there’s something which makes the openings and endings of anime different and better.

PS: I haven’t even begun to think about dub openings and how they factor into all of this, though I’m sure that shouting, “It’s time to D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-DUEL!” will get a reaction out of people

PPS: I lied, this isn’t really an opinion or an editorial.

Various Thoughts Concerning American Cartoons in Japan

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I recall at some point someone (possibly me) asking my high school Japanese teacher what animation she watched as a child. I think everyone was expecting an answer like Tetsuwan Atom or Candy Candy or something, but her answer was “Tom and Jerry.” She was apparently quite fond of it as a child growing up in Japan.

American cartoons have a long history in Japan, what with Tezuka idolizing Walt Disney, but today we’re at an interesting point in this cartoon exchange. Rather than American cartoons inspiring Japanese ones, or Japanese people being “secretly” responsible for American cartoons, both countries are well aware of the other’s creative exports, with anime becoming a fairly common word in English (is it that Pokeyman stuff?!), and American cartoons making their way to Japanese cable.

According to Craig McCracken, Spongebob Squarepants is a huge success in Japan, doing much better than his own Powerpuff Girls, which necessitated the creation of Powerpuff Girls Z to try and appeal to the Japanese market better. South Park has also found some popularity, and it makes me wonder if the appeal of South Park and Spongebob in Japan is the absurdity of their characters and situations.

I used to joke that I would start subbing “The Boondocks” into Japanese at some point. A lot of the humor of Boondocks, like South Park in its later seasons, is very political, using the (relative) innocence of children to illustrate a point about society, so I thought it’d be amusing to try and translate this aspect for a culture that is not intimately familiar with race relations in a country with so much history and diversity in this regard.  Suffice it to say, I was shocked when I found out that Boondocks had in fact been dubbed into Japanese. Still later, the second season of Boondocks was moved from a Korean studio to Studio Madhouse, one of the most famous animation studios in Japan. To what extent were the people watching on Japanese cable able to understand the deeper meanings involved in Boondocks? While I don’t really have an answer, I can’t help but wonder about this every time I hear Riley say, “Niigaa.”

Cartoon Network has its own station in Japan, and through it many old classics are brought to Japanese viewers, as well as newer shows such as Teen Titans and Samurai Jack, two shows which are inspired by anime to varying degrees. A more recent show to come out in America and to hit the shores of Japan is Ben 10, the cartoon by Man of Action about a 10 year old boy with the power to turn into different aliens who fights menacing aliens with the help of his grandpa Max and his cousin Gwen (pictured above). As far as I can tell, Ben 10 is not widely popular but it does have its fans, and some have even drawn fanart. Not surprisingly, it seems as if most of them are primarily fans of Gwen before anything else. I get the feeling it’s because she is surprisingly moe for a western cartoon character. Some call her “tsundere,” though something about that description doesn’t quite line up. Maybe a new term is needed.

“American Tsundere?”

Misunderstood Shows

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Well-known shows tend to gain reputations, good or bad, that dictate how people view those shows. Often times, these reputations are deserved, but there are some instances where the general impression of that show is primarily because of a lack of understanding. Two easily misunderstood series that come to mind are “Hokuto no Ken” and “Lucky Star.”

These examples, Hokuto no Ken and Lucky Star, don’t have to do with whether or not I think a show is good or bad. I like Maria-sama Ga Miteru but I can generally understand why some people don’t like it and their reasoning tends to be justified. Dragon Ball Z is another one where the reasons behind its popularity/anti-popularity tend to be very transparent. I don’t think the same thing applies 100% to either of the two titles.

Hokuto no Ken is one of the most popular shounen series of all time and the archetype of the shounen manga that we know today in the form DBZ, Saint Seiya, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and so on. Its most famous feature is most definitely the various methods through which Kenshiro causes severe cerebral (and bodily) hemorrhaging in his opponents. While this image is certainly not undeserved, it’s also the leading cause of why people are mystified as to its popularity. Some people even mistake it as “silly” or “comedic,” not understanding that the real appeal behind HnK is the way in which passion is imbued into every single situation. The 90s release of the Fist of the North Star movie in the US by Streamline Pictures is partly to blame for all of this, as the movie pales in comparison to the original manga or the tv adaptation. Kenshiro is not just a skilled assassin, he is a compassionate human being who fights for the downtrodden and wishes to save the world, and it’s this conviction which carries the entire story. Exploding heads are merely there to display Kenshiro’s amazing power, which certanly impresses the boys reading it, but also is contrasted with his kindness and humanity.

Lucky Star is sometimes called the “Anime Version of Family Guy.” The problem here is that people do not see beyond the use of references and into the differences in the way humor is delivered. Lucky Star almost never uses non-sequiturs in its jokes, and most of the time the jokes are either observational or involve some sort of set up. The references used, no matter how obscure, relate strongly to the situation at the time, rather than employing the cut-aways that make Family Guy famous and derided by Eric Cartman. As to why Lucky Star is popular, references alone would not be enough as plenty of shows for otaku employ references. The real reason why Lucky Star is popular is that it’s an incredibly self-aware show. It knows otaku are watching and it does more than wink and nod, it outright asks fans to interact with the show itself.

I think it is up to us fans to try and accurately convey what a show is like to new viewers. I know it isn’t easy, and I personally find it difficult to explain most anime to people because the way stories are set up tends to be very different from how stories can be summarized in the American culture of which I am a part. Professional attempts tend not to fare much better either after all (the Chobits manga ad, for example). I just hope that people are able to like or dislike a show for actual reasons rather than simply misunderstandings.

Fan-generated Fiction as some call it

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I recently listened to the Ninja Consultant podcast concerning the sexualization that occurs among fangirls, and the fact that this has become more prominent in recent times, with not only yaoi becoming a common sight at conventions but also modern works such as Dr. Who and Avatar: The Last Airbender being consciously aware of this fanbase. The topic of fanfiction comes up in the discussion, which is to be expected given that fanfiction and fangirls practically go hand in hand, but it reminded me of the fact that at the beginning of my own internet-based fandom I too was into fanfiction.

When I first began using the internet, my first fandom was a NiGHTS into dreams fanfiction site. I loved the Sega Saturn game to death (and still do), and I sought out other fans of NiGHTS. It was there that I found a site called “Nightopia on the Net” which would later change its name a few more times. It was here that I not only discovered other people with a passion for NiGHTS, but also stories that expanded upon the few plot details we were given as players of the game into a rich and vibrant (at least in my young eyes) universe. I’ve never read the Star Wars Extended Universe books, but I suspect the feeling was similar to anyone who is a fan of those, a feeling that the world given to us in these initial stories is so vast and unexplored that one can’t help but wonder what else is out there.

At some point, a few years down the line, I read fanfiction less and less. By this point I had been checking out fanfiction from various sources based on all sorts of series and would even actively seek out more unusual titles and concepts. Something in me began to sour, and I could no longer take fanfiction until I almost stopped reading it entirely. Back then, my reasoning was that I disliked the stories being produced for my fandoms, feeling that more than any sort of technical errors the problem was that the writers did not understand the characters. The characters’ actual personalities as displayed in their respective shows were nothing like the personalities displayed in fanfiction, and I asked (no one), “What’s the point of using these characters if you’re not going to actually use them?”

As mentioned in the Ninja Consultant discussion, it seems as if some works these days are simply there as fan fodder. Characters are given basic traits which appeal to the “shipping” side of fandom, and fans are free to ignore or cultivate any “evidence” as to whether or not their “One True Pair” could thrive. Setting aside any original creators’ desires to actively engage this line of thought, by all rights these are the people who are responsible for me leaving fanfiction in the first place.

But really was I, and am I, all that different?

Why do people enjoy pairing unreasonable characters together? To put it simply, it’s because they find the pairing to be hot. No big mysteries there. It’s what makes the Zutara pairing in Avatar so popular: a conflict of emotions, the fire/water dynamic, the idea that “if only they would get together, they would be great.” Of course, the conflict comes from actually getting them together.

Is there something wrong with this? Wanting to dive deeper into a world, to prove through fanfiction that there is so much more to a story, one can say that trying to find deeper subtext in the relationships presented is its own form of exploration. Hell, I can somewhat relate to making unreasonable pairings. I have a rather straight-laced friend who I would like to see date girls that would be all over him 24/7. Why? Because it would entertain me to no end.

Perhaps there is a threshold, and it is crossed when fans begin to believe that their opinions constitute the truth about a work, or even what should be true. This isn’t about creator’s vision vs spectator’s vision or anything of that sort, but rather to what extent people and groups begin to believe their own hype. Other than that, I think people are free to believe in whatever they want.

Even then, such a statement borders on the idea that there’s such a thing as a “right” fan and a “wrong” fan, and really, even if I find certain fans or their reasoning distasteful, I am just one person and I am not a judge of fanfiction. More importantly, I am not a judge of the heart.

After all, as Sasahara once said to Ogiue, no one can stop you from liking something.