Appreciating Fandom at Nishicon 2011

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This past month I had the opportunity to attend an entirely brand-new anime convention in the Netherlands, Nishicon.

Taking place in the city of Haarlem, Nishicon was held in a kind of sports gymnasium, which meant a few things. First, the primary form of seating was bleachers, which given the small con population (though by no means a disappointing turn-out) actually made for very convenient seating. Practically everything took place on that central floor, with workshops and video games being the only exceptions, so it was easy to move from one thing to another. If you were on the main floor, it was essentially impossible to avoid hearing the cosplay and AMV competitions, which seemed more of a close gathering of enthusiasts than the massive arena-filling extravaganzas of a large or even medium-sized American anime convention. When the AMV contest was taking place, every so often I could peer over to the other corner of the room and catch a glimpse of it.

Another feature of Nishicon was the bar and maid cafe, which like “Anime Con” in  Netherlands (and unlike New York Anime Festival) allowed the maids to serve its customers. This maid cafe is run by a different group than the one from Anime Con, and in speaking to one of the head maids I found out that they were looking to differentiate themselves from other maid cafes at Dutch anime cons by providing a more interactive experience. In addition to custom snacks (alongside the standard Dutch bar fare, beer, frikandel, kroket, etc.), they also provided a chance to play card games and board games, as well as provide a shoulder massage which only cost 2 euros.

Speaking of cost, I’ve noticed that Dutch cons seem to provide much more affordable food options than their American counterparts. While a tad pricier than just going to an automat, a broodje kroket (croquet on a roll) cost me a mere €2.50 or so. While I don’t know the exact reason for this, I have to imagine that it’s because every convention I’ve been to so far has had some sort of fully stocked bar attached to it, and they simply charge the prices they normally would. That said, if you’re coming from the United States watch out for the dollar to euro conversion rate.

I bought one piece of merchandise at this convention: a card game called “Manga Manga” (no relation). As you can see from the box, it has Action Power.

Outside of the AMVs and the cosplay, there were no big “events” or panel programming. For me, this is quite unusual, as I primarily spend my normal convention experience darting from panel to panel, with breaks for food and checking out the dealers’ room. As a result, this meant that if I were to enjoy myself at Nishicon, it would have to be at a relaxed, non-goal-oriented pace. In that regard, I think Nishicon was quite successful for me. I was able to play Go for the first time (and lose, naturally). I spoke to people at tables, asking them what they thought of the convention, one of whom mentioned that it’s fortunate for a convention to be located more towards the western side of the country). I found myself at a drawing area (run by the fine folks at mangaschool.nl) next to people I didn’t know, putting to paper whatever came to mind. It was actually the first time in a long while that I’ve drawn that much, and that made me feel good (or bad, depending on how you look at it).

What it all came down to for me was that the “lack” of major events made me participate in the convention the way I think most con-goers in general do. The point isn’t to listen to fans and creators talk about some aspect of anime and manga, nor is it to expect some “thing” out of it. That vital aspect I think people are looking for is the simple pleasure of being surrounded by others with the same passion for anime, and that is something that can be experienced by just sitting around other anime fans. Don’t get me wrong, I love attending Otakon, but I would not have ever sat down there next to other artists (aspiring and otherwise) in order to just relax with pen and paper.

Before I leave off with a barrage of photos, I want to mention something that might make some people feel a tad salty: did you know that Michiko & Hatchin was released in the Netherlands but not the United States?

Year 4 of the Blogging Experiment

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Today marks the 4-year anniversary of Ogiue Maniax, and I thought I’d use this opportunity to reflect on a topic that’s been on the back of my mind for a while.

As those of you who keep up with this blog probably know, I began an academic career focusing on manga last year, and part of the reason I was able to do so is that I’ve honed my ability to talk about anime and manga through my blogging. Now though, the question I have for myself is, has my time in academia affected my blog posts in a way that shows an academic influence?

Seeing as I’ve never tried to write a full-on scholarly essay on Ogiue Maniax with footnotes and elaborations on methodology and the like, I don’t think I’ve changed my fundamental posting style in that regard, but I have to wonder if there are any more subtle changes that have to do directly with academia. The fact that I post much less than I used to and make longer posts in general is probably more attributable to my desire to avoid mental fatigue, but I don’t think it really bleeds into the writing itself. I can’t really think of anything major. At the same time, I’ve found myself less willing to make posts with incomplete thoughts like I used to, which may be a sign.

From my own admittedly biased self-examination (as if there is any other kind), I wonder if I don’t let my academic influences enter into my blogging enough. Sometimes I argue things primarily out of passion, and I find myself making assumptions every so often that would probably get hit with a flurry of criticisms in a more rigid setting, which makes me ask if I shouldn’t be reining it in a little bit, researching more vigorously for my blog posts. That’s not to say that every post should be that way (the Fujoshi Files for instance wouldn’t work in that regard), but maybe I should be holding myself to a higher standard.

So I want to ask my readers who’ve been with me for a while, do you find my writing has changed in a manner which reveals my increased academic leanings? If so, do you think it’s something to watch out for, or perhaps something worth encouraging? Is there something about the blog that you like more now, or perhaps something you miss and would like to see more of?

In any case, thank you for these four years. It’s been great walking with you.

The Fujoshi Files 30: Kifujin-senpai

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Name: Kifujin-senpai (貴腐人先輩)
Alias: Chief (チーフ)
Relationship Status: Single
Origin: Tonari no 801-chan

Information:
Kifujin-senpai is a woman well into her career. Working at 801-chan’s company as her boss, Kifujin-senpai subtly revealed to 801-chan her true form as fujoshi. Though often asked by her parents to settle down, Kifujin-senpai remains single and devoted to her fujoshi lifestyle. She has even once said that the only things needed in life are homos and cats.

Of 801-chan’s acquaintances, Kifujin-senpai is actually the most hardcore fujoshi she knows. This is quite a feat given 801-chan’s friends and acquaintances. Where others might limit their imagination to overall gestures, Kifujin-senpai takes into account every gritty facet with extreme detail. And where plenty of others can manifest their fujoshi sides in the form of furry little critters, Kifujin’s alternate form borders on the Lovecraftian, a many-eyed purple beast that can grow without end with countless numbers of flailing arms, surrounded by a dark, ominous aura.

Fujoshi Level:
In addition to every other detail listed above, Kifujin-senpai is recognized as being so powerful a fujoshi that 801-chan for all of her delusions and obsessions is actually frightened of becoming an otaku on par with Kifujin-senpai. She is one of the ultimate forms of fujoshi that others dare not touch.

Thoughts On the Pervasiveness of 4chanspeak

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Since its inception, 4chan has generated a peculiar set of vocabulary. The term “weeaboo,” now synonymous with “japanophile” and “wapanese,” was born out of a word filter designed to mitigate usage of the term “wapanese.” Often times extreme and intentionally insulting, 4chan is also known for appending the suffix “-fag” to almost every word possible, to the point that its origin as a homosexual slur almost becomes a generalized slur. How else would you explain the usage of the term “straightfag” to denote someone who is annoyingly heterosexual?

Though it is convenient and perhaps comforting to think of terms such as “weeaboo” and “moralfag” as isolated elements of the 4chan userbase, 4chan-isms have permeated the internet to the extent that people who have never even loaded a 4chan page are using these phrases. I saw one such thread on a reddit video games thread, where after throwing around a bunch of classic 4chan terms, proceeded to ask what /v/ is  (the video games board on 4chan).

Personally, when it comes to my writing and even my online chatting, I prefer to keep the usage of 4chan-isms to a minimum, because I feel that they 1) have too much baggage that requires unpacking and 2) are overly broad when I tend to prefer a bit of precision in my sentences. I also prefer that other people do the same, though I don’t mind seeing it pop up every so often, especially for flavor. On the other hand, overuse of 4chan-isms to the extent that thoughts are conveyed using almost nothing but them can not only be difficult to read but causes my mind to kind of gloss over what they have to say.

However, given the sheer amount of 4chanspeak users out there, I find it increasingly difficult to write off what people have to say solely because of their excessive 4chan-sisms.  After all, if it has become so ubiquitous, if there is an entire generation of internet users who think this to be the normal way to speak online, then it is more than likely that very smart and insightful individuals who communicate primarily through such terms exist. While I can criticize them for using terms which probably have better alternatives, I cannot deny the possibility that smart things can be said in a “inarticulate” fashion. Not only that, but if someone feels most comfortable describing their feelings using 4chanspeak, who am I to judge? If someone says, “I got NTR’d and might become a suicidefag,” and actually means it, then maybe I have to just understand that sentence as being their way of expressing a hurtful situation and to take that seriously.

Burning Out On Quality

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A while back I wrote a post about mitigating burn-out when it comes to consuming anime and manga, advice that had the caveat of me never having actually burned out, which means that I’m either very qualified to talk about it or not qualified at all. Recently though, I was in a situation where I had trouble watching anime, and I feel like I learned a lot from it.

I’ve been watching a lot of science fiction-themed anime, series full of ideas about how the future can/will/should be, not necessarily heady stuff but enough to make a person think a fair amount. However, even though I like everything I’m watching, one day I just suddenly had this strong desire to not continue, like my brain and eyes were telling me that they would refuse to process that information meaningfully if I tried to watch more. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, until I could hear my own thoughts more clearly.

I need to watch something ultra dumb.

And so I did, not knowing how long it would be until I could restore my capacity to watch so much science fiction. In the end, it only took a day away from those shows for me to feel the urge to keep watching, but it taught me a valuable lesson that seems so obvious in hindsight: You can have too much of a good thing.

Often the picture of anime burn-out seems to be that someone who just watched too many bad shows and can no longer handle the bottom-feeding tropes which populate low-tier anime, but I think that a more fundamental aspect of such burn-out is just monotony. Much like eating the same food day in and day out with no variety, even the most delicious of meals can lose their flavor, especially if you’re not naturally predisposed to liking them. Also like food, the level of variation needed to keep things interesting varies from person to person. With anime, I find there are shows that I can become quite fond of with little effort, shows that I can watch just about any time, but for other shows, I find I need to put a bit of myself into the show. As a result, sometimes I find myself unwilling to watch another episode because I can sense that my mind is “exhausted” and will not give me an accurate impression, and just pushing and hoping to power through that mental blockade can end up doing more harm than good.

And so, I have much gratitude for ultra dumb shows. Sometimes they’re just what I need.

Ogiue Maniax Headed to Nishicon 2011

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To partially sate my persistent curiosity about the anime fandom in the Netherlands, I’ll be attending Nishicon tomorrow, November 13, in Haarlem. As far as I know this is the very first Nishicon, and I’m interested in seeing how it debuts. The only other fledgling conventions I’d been to otherwise were New York Anime Festival and New York Comic Con, and those are quite different in scale for a variety reasons, one of which is that the NY cons are professionally run exhibitions.

In any case, I’ll be there for probably most of the day. You can find me by speaking Dutch and observing my blank stare.

The Evangelion Pilots, Represented in Combat

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I’ve been revisiting Neon Genesis Evangelion lately and have come to appreciate it in ways that I hadn’t before. While I always found the show to be especially good at showing the deep-seated fears and emotions within the characters to the point that they feel almost tangible, I’ve begun to take note of how well the characters’ words and actions exemplify their personalities.

One example that stands out in my mind comes from Episode 19, the famous episode where EVA-01 goes berserk and eats the enemy angel, Zeruel. When Zeruel descends upon Tokyo-3, it is first met by a barrage of artillery fire from Asuka and her EVA-02, just weapon after weapon after weapon, with Asuka getting progressively angrier until she is defeated. Rei then appears, her EVA-00 missing an arm, and charges at Zeruel with a powerful bomb with the plans to detonate it at point blank range. Later, right before Zeruel can attack the staff of NERV, Shinji bursts through and engages in melee combat, then loses power, then goes berserk. What I’ve come to realize is that the way each character fights in that scene represents them incredibly well, acting as more than just a visual spectacle.

Asuka is always looking to prove her self-worth, particularly as a pilot and as compensation for her traumatic childhood, and her desperation mounts increasingly as more and more weapons are deployed by the EVA-02. This loud, brash display of firepower is Asuka.

From the way everyone else reacts to seeing Rei carry the N² Mine, it is clear that no one knew of this beforehand, which means that the idea is entirely her own. Rei, who constantly questions whether or not she is human at all, has very little regard for her own life.

Shinji fights with a form of desperation different from Asuka’s, and as one of his core traits is a vague sense of self-identity, Shinji’s close combat perhaps shows his desire to gain an identity through the piloting of EVA-01. This also differs from Asuka because Shinji is not looking to prove himself, but rather to find himself. It might also be possible to say that the berserk scene itself shows Shinji’s tendency to be pulled along, though I’m not sure about that one.

I think the best indicator for how much this particular moment in Evangelion represents the inner feelings of its characters comes from a comparison to the redone scene in the second Rebuild of Evangelion movie. In it, Mari replaces Asuka in EVA-02 for the film’s iteration, and the fight begins in a similar fashion, with EVA-02 surrounded by firearms which Mari initially uses one after the other. However, the scene itself feels remarkably different. Mari uses each weapon more slowly and deliberately, never really reaching the intensity that Asuka did in the TV series, and after only a few decides to run in up close with a melee weapon. The method Asuka used is something only Asuka can do; it would not reflect Mari’s character.

As for Rei and Shinji, their changes highlight more of a subtle shift in character, a fundamental part of the new films. Rei, just like the original, attempts to defeat Zeruel by detonating a bomb at point-blank, but in this version Rei takes the time to push Mari and the EVA-02 out of the blast radius while thanking her, showing that her actions do not simply stem from doubting her own humanity but from also affirming the humanity of others. Shinji’s fight is initially similar, but as I once mentioned in my review of the film, Shinji never loses control, the “berserk” EVA-01’s actions conscious and deliberate on the part of Shinji. While he still seeks his own identity, he is able to set that aside to save Rei, establishing a stronger identity in the process.

I’d like to actually end by talking about Mari once more, because as I was making this comparison I realized the role she plays relative to the others in terms of their relationship to the Evangelions. Asuka pursues self-worth, Shinji self-identity, and Rei a connection to humanity, but Mari seeks pleasure in the act itself. She revels in being an EVA pilot in and of itself, with no seeming underlying motivation except perhaps some strange desire to experience life to its fullest. Her “bestial” fighting style, even before she activates the actual “THE BEAST” mode, is indicative of this. That Evangelion is able to cut to the core of its characters in even its action scenes makes it truly impressive.

The “Nervous” Visual Style of the Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Manga

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Last week I wrote a post comparing the Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai anime and manga (neither of which are the original source material) and showed that I have a clear preference for the manga and its visual style. I gave image comparisons to try and show exactly what I meant, but while some readers got it, I noticed that others were still confused as to why I think the manga looks better, especially because of how “rough” the art is in comparison to the more “stable” designs of the anime. Because of that, I’m going to elaborate on why I find the visuals to be more interesting and more aesthetically pleasing so that even if people disagree with me, I think they can see where I’m coming from.

Let’s start with a visual aid, the first panel in Chapter 19. This time, I’m using an untranslated version of the manga because the points I’m making don’t have anything to do with what Sena is saying, nor does it have a mirror scene in the TV series. I want to emphasize that I do not think the anime should necessarily look just like the manga. This is just straight-up analysis of the manga without having to compare it directly to the anime. If you want more of that, you can check out JP’s response to my comparison.

Sena is cropped from the chest up in the panel, and we can clearly see that she has large breasts, but the thing that stands out most in the entire panel is her expression. She’s blushing heavily, her eyebrows are furrowed in an unusual manner, her eyes are to the side, and her index fingers are touching each other, all indicating that Sena is quite nervous. You can tell that as she’s talking, she’s in an uncomfortable position for whatever reason. That nervousness takes absolute priority over the fact that she has a nice body, and so it becomes the most noticeable thing about her in that panel.

While the line quality of the manga doesn’t approach Robert Crumb levels of jittery, it still creates an interesting sort of tension in the comic. The “sketchiness,” as I’ve seen some people refer to it, results in characters and environments that indeed make the art look “incomplete” if you associate completeness with firm inks and closer pursuit of anatomical correctness in the hands and such, but that mildly quivering line also makes the entire comic feel like everything does not quite fit comfortably within it. When it comes to a series all about people with generally very dire personality flaws,  the fact that the art looks somewhat uncomfortable in its own skin in itself contributes to the sense that the entire series is about people who have trouble making friends. Their nervousness bleeds from them, through the panels, and into the very “texture” of the comic itself. At the same time, it still sticks to fairly conventional character designs to emphasize the cuteness of the girls such that element is still definitely there. It’s just that some of the cuteness also comes from the “instability” in the art style because it shows that they themselves are a little (a lot?) unstable.

I hope this did a better job of helping people to understand my point of view, but if this has only made you more confused, don’t hesitate to ask me more questions in the comments.

The Fujoshi Files 29: Odango-chan

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Name: Odango-chan (お団子ちゃん)
Alias: J-chan (Jちゃん)
Relationship Status: Single
Origin: Tonari no 801-chan

Information:
Odango-chan is a friend of 801-chan’s along with BL-chan and a regular attendee of their “fujoshi meetups.” Not much is known specifically about her taste in anime and manga or her personal life, except that she appears to not be quite as far down the rabbit hole as her fujoshi compatriots.

Like her friends, she can produce an alternate form representative of her true love for BL. Unlike the others however, that form has undergone more changes over time, most notably the symbol on her forehead, which resides in its current form as a “J,” but has previously even been blank.

Fujoshi Level:
Little is known about Odango-chan’s exact fujoshi level, except that she has definitely been in the game for a long period of time.

Ogiue Maniax on the Webcomic Beacon Podcast

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I was a guest on the Webcomic Beacon, a podcast dedicated to (you guess it) podcasts. As a follow-up to my post Explaining Decompression in Comics, we discuss the concepts of compression and decompression in comics, what they mean and how they’re used, and how you could potentially use it in your own work. Have a listen and leave a comment, either here or there.

Webcomic Beacon #208: Decompression vs. Compression in Comics