Category Archives: trends

The Tsun to Dere Ratio

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For better or worse, tsundere are an increasingly common character type in anime, and as stated by the illustrious Shiraishi Minoru, they generally come in two flavors: traditional tsundere who are tsun and slowly become dere, and modern tsundere who switch between tsun and dere frequently. As one might expect from referring to the latter as “modern,” that type of tsundere is more common these days.

This isn’t about discussing which one is better or worse though. What I wonder about is why there has been this shift in the first place. I don’t think it’s as simple as otaku wanting instant gratification or that their attention spans are getting smaller, though those things could actually be happening. Could it be in its own way a fight to make more female characters with an aggressive side to them, or an attempt to soften aggressive characters? Maybe the answer lies somewhere in the middle, as any fan of tsundere will tell you that the appeal comes from the combination of the two sides, though I think they will disagree on specifics.

In thinking about the appeal that the tsundere has for viewers of anime, the notion of risk/reward comes to mind. With a modern tsundere, it is very obvious when a character is acting “dere.” The first instance of the switch from tsun to dere happens very early to establish it as part of their character. For a more traditional tsundere, the switch happens much later. The traditional tsundere also tends to be less abusive towards their love interests than the modern variety. Do you get strong love after much effort, or do you get a strange, convoluted love regularly such that you’re not sure if the girl is interested at all?

In looking at traditional vs modern tsundere, their specific appeal is actually pretty different. A traditional tsundere can be won over by a guy through sheer effort. Even if she doesn’t like him at first, the guy tries so hard to be the man for her that she is moved by his genuine interest in her. It appeals to the nerd in the sense that what they lack in good looks or charisma they can make up for in passion. A modern tsundere however is more like a girl who is secretly shy, a girl who is afraid to admit that she like a guy. This is more for the guy who believes that maybe, just maybe there is a girl out there who likes him but neither side is brave enough to initiate conversation.

Effort vs Potential.

Time vs Space.

Part of the Culture: Identifying Oneself Relative to an Industry

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There is a way to play multiple games on a Nintendo DS on just a single card. Many people have utilized such a device, and I hold no ill will towards them for doing so. None at all. However, when asked why I don’t use one, my immediate response is that “it hurts the industry.” Now, if you were to pressed me for more details, my response would be that I am afraid that if I have this magical multi-game device that it will remove from me my will to actually buy the games. After all, the complete game is right there readily available for me. I’m afraid that even good games will end up not being bought. Of course, I had to relate this to my status as an anime fan, and the fact that there ARE some shows I liked which I haven’t bought (though I intend to at some point).

The important question here, though, isn’t about whether or not I or anyone should be buying games individually. The question I want to ask instead is, at what point did I place myself in the position that I am relative to the anime and gaming fandoms? At what point did I stop becoming simply a consumer (or not) who looked out mainly for myself, and screw the companies if they can’t stop me from getting what I want for free?

Perhaps the answer to this lies in another, older question: What makes someone a fan? I’ve criticized anime fans in the past for lacking a desire to pursue anime’s history. My stance has always been that it doesn’t matter how much anime you’ve watched or are capable of watching as long as you have the desire to pursue it. If you watched a show and you like it, try to find the shows that inspired the staff. Or if you read a manga and like it, try to read other manga by the same author. That sort of thing. Looking at my words, I realize that this is simply desire for more people to be fans of anime history and not just anime. So I’ll try to find a new answer.

What makes someone a fan?

If a person is emotionally invested in something, then they are a fan. It’s an answer that is perhaps too simplistic, but I think it’s a good starting point. Going back to myself as an example, I think it’s because I’m a fan that I feel concerned for these industries. If the US anime industry were to collapse tomorrow, I have little doubt that I would still be able to find what I need, but that isn’t the point. Wanting to see anime and manga succeed and continue to succeed, be it in America or Japan, I feel strangely connected to the industry.

And this is no surprise, as I’ve shown that I do have an emotional investment in anime. I mean, I have been writing this blog.

What happens when a popular manga becomes a late night anime?

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“If it’s late at night then it’s geared towards otaku” is an argument that gets tossed around fairly often, even by myself.

But then there are examples of anime adapted from popular manga that end up showing at midnight or later. Nana, the most popular shoujo manga around, had an anime adaptation with an 11:30pm time slot. Glass Mask, one of the most popular shoujo manga of all time, aired at 2:00am with its 2005 remake. In the case of Glass Mask, the fact that it is not hip and modern (though the manga is still running!) may have contributed to this late-night airing but I still do find it unusual.

Assuming that late-night really DOES equal otaku, is it possible for a manga with general popularity to be turned into an otaku-targeted anime?
However, if we were to assume that late-night DOES NOT necessarily mean the show is meant for otaku, just how difficult is it to get a decent time slot on the Japanese air waves?

Finally, are there any examples of otaku-oriented manga becoming popular anime?

We Are Iron Men

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Japanese and American comics have been cross-pollinating for a few years now, and it becomes easy to forget that once upon a time the two creative worlds lived in relative isolation. It’s all the more impressive, then, when common themes occur from stories which are decades old. One such example is the comparison between one Tony Stark and one Kaneda Shoutarou, two characters who are associated with the term “Iron Man.”

Tony Stark, hero of the Marvel Comic and recent film “Iron Man,” is a weapons manufacturer who dons a suit of armor to protect the world when he is made to realize that he can do far more good preventing war than being responsible for it. Kaneda Shoutarou, hero of Tetsujin 28 (Iron Man 28, aka Gigantor) is a boy who fights crime with the help of a remote-controlled metal giant, a remnant of Japan’s desire to defeat America in World War II created by his very own father prior to his death. Both characters are faced with artifacts of war, and both characters choose to re-invent their tools of destruction to try and achieve peace.

It’s not surprising that two stories which utilize an “Iron Man” would have such a similar theme of trying to learn from past mistakes, even when applied to different cultures. When speaking of periods of humanity, the Iron Age is always most closely associated with mankind. Golden, Silver, Bronze, and other such precious metals speak of easier, more innocent times, and neither Stark nor Kaneda have quite that amount of luxury. Iron, more than any other metal, is associated with forging and bending to human will, after all. That said, I should point out that their respective comics debuted in what amounts to the Silver and Golden Age of comics, respectively, in their native countries.

Why I Like Ogiue, Part 4, or Being a Man who is a Fan of Ogiue

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As I stated in my previous post, I spoke to the Ninja Consultants at New York Comic Con, and among the topics we discussed were of course Genshiken and Ogiue. Erin pointed out to me that, as far as she knows, the majority of Ogiue fans in the US (or at least in the New York area) are female, and being a male Ogiue fan is kind of an exception.

Ogiue being more popular among girls than guys makes perfect sense, actually. Female anime fans would of course relate to the fujoshi that is Ogiue. It’s all obvious, with hindsight.

And yet, this fact didn’t really hit me just how rare a breed I am until Erin mentioned it. And I know that there are other guys out there who like Ogiue, just not as much as me, which I’m sure is a huge shock. The real point though is that it seems like not many of them are big, big fans of Ogiue, at least not compared to the number of girls who are.

What makes Ogiue stand out to me so far above other characters is the fact that I’ve been very fond of her every step of the way. From her brash, one-armed introduction to the club, to the revelation of her psuedo-real-life fantasies and denial of such, to her gradual softening and then hardening, to her acceptance of herself and her relationship with Sasahara, I was pretty much a fan from day one as anyone who’s read this blog will know.

And all along, I’ve been evaluating Ogiue from the perspective of a male otaku, not that I can evaluate from any other. And of course, I’ve also been doing this with every character I see. I don’t plan on talking extensively on gender roles in anime any time soon, but it just leaves me thinking about my position among anime fans at large, half of whom are female.

First is the Worst, Second is the Best: Tower of Druaga and GONZO’s Digital Distribution

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GONZO has thrown down the gauntlets and has enlisted the help of real live fansubber(s) to distribute its anime to the English-literate world with near-synchronized-with-Japanese-television releases of its new show, Tower of Druaga. As such, there are two important things to talk about: the possible benefits and consequences of this new distribution method, and the content of the show itself.

While GONZO would not exactly be my first choice as the pioneer company (such as Geneon), I applaud GONZO for doing this, though I think they should excise Crunchy Roll like a nasty boil. It’s not the kind of site that I think any animation studio should be associated with, and it may come back to bite them in the ass. As for the actual distribution method of Official Subs on Youtube and Other Places, I feel that even if I personally do not buy the show, I have been exposed to the series enough to begin making a decision, and that is very important to me as a consumer and as a fan. The other thing is that I really have no motivation to pursue higher quality fansubs when I am being provided episodes, translated, straight from the studio much faster than any speedsubber can manage. I don’t know how much of a loss GONZO is taking on this, but if their goal was to beat out the fansubbers, they’ve done so rather effectively. On top of that, the subs are actually quite good, and do not suffer at all from our fears of Engrish.

The actual show is surprisingly entertaining, as nothing in the show seems to quite make sense a la Haruhi Episode 1. While I suspect there’s going to be some shenanigans regarding what’s fantasy and what’s reality, the real highlight of this first episode is how terribly contrived the main character Gil’s idea of an epic tale is. It points out the main flaw in a lot of this sort of entertainment, as well as the fact that D&D games do not translate well to actually compelling stories because everyone will want their limelight in a D&D game, while in a story there should only be one protagonist at a time. It makes me wonder if GONZO is somehow also poking fun at itself and its reputation for plots which fall apart due to contradictions and hasty decisions.

The Causes and Effects of Closely-Released English Manga?

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While looking in the bookstore the other day, I saw that the English version of Mousou Shoujo Otakukei (otherwise known in the US as “Fujoshi Rumi”) had its second volume out.

Then I noticed that the Japanese release of Mousou Shoujo Otaku-kei is only up to Volume 3, though obviously the story has progressed further at this point in the actual Comic High.

I wonder then, just how often is this happening nowadays? How often is the English release of a manga only 1-2 volumes off from the Japanese release? It seems like a really weird position to be in, though in many ways beneficial.

This also brings up another question: How many manga these days are being licensed within only 1-2 years of the original Japanese release? Doesn’t it seem a little too soon? Not to knock Mousou Shoujo, but it never seemed like the HOTTEST NEW THING straight from Japan, though I have to admit that it’s gotten better.

This also makes me wonder if part of the reason manga does well where anime DVDs don’t is that, in some cases, the releases aren’t that far off so people don’t miss out on too much?

Actually, it’s probably because you can immediately look at a manga in the store to gauge whether or not it’s worth buying on a per volume basis, while DVDs have no such luxury, as even netflix has to be an active decision rather than just “browsing for anime.”

Do Not Over-Japanese Your Translation

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That is to say, I have developed a new pet peeve: Seeing manga and anime translations which try to make the dialogue more Japanese-sounding.

I don’t remember exactly where I saw it, but I recall seeing an English-released manga which translated one girls scream as “Kyaaaaa!” This is common, of course, except for one problem: She didn’t say “Kyaaaaa!” in the original Japanese text.

I don’t mind honorifics in translations or anything like that, but when you go out of your way to add things which weren’t even there then it is a step too far.

Go! Fan-Subtitle!

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The Japanese anime industry is gearing up to take down the multi-headed vicious death beast of death that is internet fansubbing.

I’ve spoken before on how I personally feel towards fansubs and my status as an anime fan, and I just have to wonder how much the anime industry expects to save by stopping fansubs and demonizing them.

Legality aside, fansubbing is basically free advertisement for a show, and despite my general optimism towards shows I must say that not every show is a keeper or is going to be one that people at large will want to archive for generations. I’m not sure what they’re trying to accomplish, as it seems awfully near-sighted, but I can just picture myself (and most likely others) simply not buying a show AT ALL because I never had the chance to fall in love with it.

Over the past 12 months or so, I can probably count on two hands the number of manga titles I’ve bought in English: 3 volumes of To Terra, Sexy Voice and Robo, and hell I forget the rest, but the point is that I’ve read far many more manga and I didn’t even do it with scanlations. I utilized the dastardly method of Reading Them In the Bookstore. And these aren’t even throwaway titles but legitimately good ones. Why? Because 1) these things tend to be incomplete prior to reading them and 2) I do not have limitless pockets. Why did I buy To Terra without sampling it? Because I’ve been wanting to read it since I found out about it Manga! Manga! and since I downloaded a Japanese raw of the Toward the Terra movie from WinMX freshman year of college.

New shows won’t have that luxury.

The Theatrical Nature of Anime

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American movies and television in general involve very little soliloquy as one would see in theater. I’ve been told before that if a movie or television series has a person talking to himself that it’s not considered good. After all, movies and television aren’t theater, right? Also, internal monologues used as voice overs are apparently a no-no as well.

With this in mind, I watched Gundam 00 Episode 24, and watched as Setsuna F. Seiei spoke to himself, alone in a room, for about five minutes. And I liked it that way.

I’ve known for a long time that when comparing anime to American entertainment, there are some things which are very different. I’ve thought of plenty of possibilities: plot, character archetypes, story progression, even simply visual aesthetics, but upon seeing Setsuna speak to himself, I came to realize that perhaps anime relates more closely not to television or film, but to theater.

I suspect that it may partially have to do with anime often times being an adaption of manga works, where still images and word bubbles work together to provide greater amounts of information, where internal monologue or long exposition are almost necessary to truly get what’s going on with a character, perhaps due to manga’s relationship to written text.

Another similarity I see involves the criticism of the Sunrise-style 52 episode shows which take 13 episodes to develop into their true plot. The criticism leveled at this method is that it takes too long to get anywhere, which I think may say more about attention span of viewers than anything else. This reminds me of Shakespeare’s plays which can go on for 3-4 hours in one sitting. And yes, I have found myself dozing off during them as well, despite the fact that I didn’t necessarily find them boring. Count me among the guilty.

I realize that I like the theatrics of anime, be they melodramatic 70s shoujo or a more down to earth style of storytelling such as in Honey and Clover. Not that I don’t like other forms and methods of storytelling, even the American style, but  I really wouldn’t have it any other way.