Brave Proles and Brave Pols

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PS: The Perfect Codec Pack for This Show

A Nerd of Circumstances, and Better for It

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As I get set to return to the United States this month, almost a year since I left, I remember my birthday, where I received a copy of Anne of Green Gables. After that, I never managed to read the whole way through, which is something I’m trying to correct now, but rather than feeling any sort of guilt over not reading it all, it makes me reflect on how my habits have changed from being in a different environment.

In New York, I have the most convenient reason in the world to read a ton: the subway. Commuting to Manhattan takes up a good half-hour to an hour (or more) depending on where you come from, and it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up on manga, to read a novel, to draw, and in my younger days, to do homework. Had I still been living in New York City, I know that I would’ve definitely finished Anne of Green Gables. Same thing with my Pokemon games. I’m a long-time fan of the series, but I haven’t even touched my copy of Pokemon Black yet because of how I never finished Heart Gold, and I refuse to leave a Pokemon game unbeaten. This would’ve been a lot quicker if I had that hour or so to and from Manhattan every day, but alas.

So I ask myself a question, “What do you think of your interests when they can be swayed so easily by circumstance?” To that, I answer myself with “Who the hell is keeping count? I’m the person I always was!” Yes, I’ve taken on certain hobbies and pursued them in ways that are in line with where I was living and where I came from. In New York, I have Japanese bookstores to fuel my collection and a commute to utilize them. In Japan, due to the distances of things, I rode my bike extensively and I watched anime on TV. Here in the Netherlands, I’ve got super-powered internet and a short walk to work. Had I grown up in a mountainous region, maybe I would’ve developed a fondness for rock-climbing. All I know is that these things influence how I function as a person and as a passionate fan of media, and I’m fine with that.

A good analogy for how I’m feeling might be how manga has developed as a black and white comics medium. Manga was originally printed in black and white out of necessity. It’s cheaper than full color and thus easier to mass-produce. From that practical limitation, manga grew out, with artists figuring out ways to best utilize their monochrome palette, including strong usages of negative space and creative application of screentones. Yes, if they had the money to afford full color back then, none of this might have ever happened. But it did, and even if manga were to change to full color now, we at least have that background and history to show us that path

Circumstances exist, but what we make of them is part of what makes life wonderful.

The Fujoshi Files 21: Agemaki Wako

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Name: Agemaki, Wako (アゲマキワコ)
Alias: Minami no Miko　(皆水の巫女)
Relationship Status: Betrothed
Origin: Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto

Information:
Agemaki Wako is a resident of Southern Cross Island, a landmass of many secrets, most notable of which is the fact that it houses mysterious mammoth weapons called Cybodies, robots which are so powerful that they have been sealed in the island, trapped in a distorted pocket of space-time. This “Zero Time” is maintained by the presence of four shrine maidens, of which Wako is one. Wako is the last maiden whose seal must be broken in order to free the Cybodies, and the only one whose identity is known to everyone on the island. Unfortunately for her, this makes her a target of the Kiraboshi Juujidan, an organization set on removing the Cybodies from Zero Time, but two of her best friends, Shindou Sugata and Tsunashi Takuto, also happen to have the power to stop them.

Wako is a high school student and member of Yakan Hikou, the school drama club , though the “drama” is more evident in her relationship with Sugata and Takuto, both fellow club members. Wako is betrothed to Sugata, but also feels a strong attraction to Takuto. And yet despite the love triangle and various other trials, their friendship remains strong. As long as Wako has her maiden’s seal, she is unable to leave the island.

Fujoshi Level:
While Wako feels torn between her feelings for Sugata and Takuto, that doesn’t stop her from imagining the two of them together. When given the opportunity, her imagination will drift towards conjuring up steamy scenarios for her two attractive male friends, and though she might deny it, everyone around her knows what she’s thinking.

Why Itou Kaiji is Awesome

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What I’m about to write is pretty obvious to anyone who has seen the life-or-death gambling manga and anime Kaiji by Fukumoto Nobuyuki. That said, I still want to write about what I think makes its titular hero such a fascinating character. Maybe those who haven’t been exposed to Kaiji yet might find a reason to start.

Itou Kaiji can’t hold a job. He’s lazy and greedy and prefers to lash out at the world instead of doing anything to improve himself. He can be a nice guy, but it often comes back to bite him in the ass, making him extremely bitter. Kaiji is, in a word, flawed. But when push comes to shove, and shove comes to deadly knife fight, Kaiji begins to show his full potential. In a desperate situation, Kaiji is brilliant. His mind is sharp and focused, his ability to read others is top-notch, and his desire to survive exceeds all others around him. Amazingly however, this survival instinct does not take away his human compassion, and he is often seen helping the lost and downtrodden. Deep down (and I mean deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down) Itou Kaiji is a good man.

That’s fairly impressive, but I realize it doesn’t sound particularly special compared to any other similar character. What makes Kaiji special though is that not only is he at his very best in a life-or-death situation, but that he is only ever any good at all when his life is in peril. Most other characters like Kaiji will live a sad life, then fall into danger, and then come out of it stronger than before, now fully aware of their potential as a human being. Kaiji, however, shines brightly when backed into a corner, but as soon as he takes a few steps towards the exit, his star diminishes into near-absolute darkness. It’s somewhat of a classic trope to have someone who is only comfortable in a certain situation, the soldier who excels at war but is at a loss in peacetime, the wrestler who captures a devil shark but has to let it go because he has no other purpose in life but to pursue it. Kaiji is like this, but his “ideal” situation is when his life completely and unequivocally sucks ass. Put back into a comfortable position, Kaiji immediately starts wasting his life again.

Inevitably, Kaiji draws some comparison to the other great Fukumoto hero, Akagi Shigeru, who is in many ways his opposite. Whereas Kaiji is a perennial loser, Akagi is an unparalleled genius who is not only smarter than those around him, but can see deep into their psyches and pick them apart psychologically. Both often find themselves in seedy underworld settings, but Akagi almost never makes mistakes, while Kaiji is almost nothing but them. In this respect, they’re about as far apart as you can get, but one similarity is that they are both at their best when their lives are on the line and they risk dying meaninglessly. As Narutaki from the Reverse Thieves pointed out to me though, while Kaiji inevitably ends up in those scenarios, Akagi has to actively pursue them, because he is too intelligent and talented otherwise to fall into them. Kaiji will lose all of his money instantly and rack up a huge debt on top of that. Akagi will strike it rich and then purposely give away all of his money so that he can never rest on his laurels. In a way, I think if Akagi ever knew Kaiji, he would actually be kind of jealous, because Kaiji’s life naturally puts him at the gates of hell, while Akagi has to always find it.

Kaiji is awesome because of how he is capable of representing humanity at its best, but most of the time is an example of humanity at not its absolute worst, but not something you’d present as an exemplar of mankind. There is a flickering spark of inner strength and greatness in him, but it’s his sad fate that it is only truly visible when all other light has been snuffed out.

Now I Know What It Feels Like to Be Cardcaptor Sakura

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Cardcaptor Sakura is by far one of my favorite anime, and I am quite fond all of its characters, which includes its main heroine, Kinomoto Sakura. Back when I first watched the series though, one thing about her struck me as rather odd. In an early episode, Sakura decides to treat herself with some money she’s saved up. You begin to think, is she going to get a doll, or maybe some kind of dessert or candy? How about a nice dress? But no, Sakura’s gets pancakes. And not even pancakes at a restaurant or something, but pancake mix, and she actually gives away some of her pancakes.

I remember thinking, wow, Sakura, you sure have no idea what it means to indulge yourself.

But recently, I’ve been feeling a bit pressured by impending deadlines, and as I struggle a bit to get my work done, I sometimes think of treating myself. Do I go to a restaurant, maybe get a nice bowl of noodles? Or maybe take a trip out to another city, perhaps even another country? No, instead I say to myself, “I’m going to buy some ground beef!” which as you know is like pancake mix, only made of cows. Sometimes it’s chicken breast.

So there I am, thinking that a delightful reward for myself is food which takes time to prepare and even more time to cook, though thankfully I don’t have an older brother’s friend whom I have a crush on who’d be getting like half of my cheeseburgers.

Sorry, Sakura. I understand you a little better now.

Whatchu Talkin’ ‘Bout

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If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past year, it’s that people can enjoy their entertainment for very different reasons, sometimes to the point that they might get offended if you call it “entertainment.” People have differing values outside of the media they consume, and even those who might view anime or manga for similar reasons can have incompatible preferences in the actual titles they prefer. Conversely, people can enjoy the same things for different reasons.

It sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? Obvious, even. But the scope makes it difficult to wrap my head around entirely. The card makers over at Wizards of the Coast created basic personality profiles for people who play Magic: The Gathering (Timmy who plays for the experience, Johnny who plays to express himself, and Spike who plays to prove himself), but that doesn’t account for all of the people out there who don’t enjoy Magic: The Gathering for whatever reason. There’s differing perceptions of what it means for something to be “realistic,” and then disagreements as to whether or not realism is a good thing. Whenever someone says, “Stop being so critical and just enjoy what you’re watching,” there’s an implicit value judgment even when it’s meant to avoid such things; in this case, the value is about not having to sour a fun experience.

So basically, it’s pretty complicated and I could give endless examples of diametrically opposed ways of viewing art and entertainment if I wanted to.

Knowing this, I then ask myself, what should I do about it? Is there anything to do? I can’t say I have any right answers, but I’d like to talk about my current feelings on this matter.

I think that there is no one “correct” way to enjoy media. The person who loves world-building is as valid an audience member as the person who loves mechanical detail, as is the person who values character development, the person who wants to see in his media a desire to improve society or even the person who loves seeing hot girls. However, that doesn’t mean that one should not judge the media they consume or avoid looking at things critically, as the last thing I want is for people to feel it unnecessary to express their own values. I think everyone (including myself) should just keep in mind that because people watch anime, read books, play video games, etc. for what can be very different reasons, and so when people discuss these matters, they bring a lot of assumptions and preconceived notions with them. This can be all right, but without proper clarity it ends up being extremely difficult to talk with someone who has very different values in regards to entertainment, as if you had two people stranded on separate islands trying to communicate by shouting (and also the water is shark-infested so don’t even try swimming).

I guess what I’m hoping for is the acknowledgement that people can enjoy what they watch for their own reasons, but to prevent that from just meaning that any and all discussions regarding artistic worth (or whatever) just go out the window, and I think the key to this is being able to express why you like the things that you like.

Battle, Fever: Genshiken II, Chapter 64

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When last we left the chaotic otaku gathering that is Comic Festival, Ogiue’s past and present were set to collide as Yabusaki and Sue came face to face with Nakajima, Ogiue’s old junior high classmate and the one in some sense responsible for Ogiue’s difficult life since then. While we don’t get the Ogiue-Nakajima confrontation that I expected, Chapter 64 still has a lot to chew on, and it does a lot for all of the characters involved, including Nakajima.

Nakajima (first name Yuuko) introduces herself to Yabusaki and Sue as an old friend of Ogiue’s, made all the more obvious by her Tohoku dialect. Not knowing what to make of each other, they decide to feel each other out, with Nakajima words subtly disparaging Ogiue or expressing mock-wonder at how Ogiue currently is, and Yabusaki not trying to overstep her bounds and say any crass remarks back (Sue is cryptic as always). During the conversation, Nakajima confirms that Ogiue is currently dating someone (Sasahara), and feigns concern in order to tell Yabusaki and Sue about Ogiue’s attempted suicide and how it stemmed from her interest in the boy Makita.

Before Sue can bite Nakajima’s head off, Yabusaki explains to Nakajima that this new information isn’t going to change her opinion of Ogiue at all, and that it’s not surprising that a girl who had a perpetual chip on her shoulder towards her fellow fujoshi and would try to win arguments by leaping out of windows would have some serious problems in the past. She still likes Ogiue as she is. Sue backs her up, giving probably her first heartfelt speech in Genshiken history, though she Sues it up by mentioning the Sasahara x Madarame material that Ogiue had drawn, and that Sasahara had accepted it. Even then, this actually has the effect of making it clear that Ogiue is no longer tied down by her past. At this point, Nakajima chooses to leave, and she barely misses the arrival of Ogiue, or rather, chooses to ignore it. Apparently Nakajima wanted to tell Ogiue about something concerning Makita that would put her at ease, but seems a little bitter that Ogiue managed to carve such a good life out for herself.

Ogiue meanwhile has a 39 degree C (102 F) fever, and is so out of it that she can’t even consciously hide her Tohoku accent. Being in no condition to be outside, Yabusaki dispatches Sue to take her home, where they watch after her until Sasahara can take over. When Yabusaki and Sue (with Nyaako) leave, Ogiue bursts into tears, overwhelmed by the fact that her friends have been so good to her. Sasahara provides gentle support, but also informs her that she can’t attend the rest of ComiFest because of her current condition.

While Chapter 63 was just filled with all sorts of goings-on, this chapter which concentrated mainly on Yabusaki and Sue vs. Nakajima was no less dense, with information both overt and somewhat subtle and examples of really fascinating character psychology from all sides. I think that Ogiue to some extent is still afraid of her past catching up to her, and it warms my heart to see her friends defend her so vigorously and from the heart. It’s actually unclear just how much if anything Ogiue overheard, or if she was even aware in her fever-induced haze that Nakajima was standing there, but either way Ogiue’s tears showed just how much she (correctly) values her friends. It’s not quite the close on Ogiue’s chapter that I had predicted would happen, but it’s still a resolution of sorts, and I’m happy with that.

Sue makes an Excel Saga reference this chapter (“Hail Ilpalazzo!”) While she’s sometimes hard to believe as an American anime fan, this is probably the closest she’s gotten to feeling like the real deal outside of her initial “Anta Baka?” She also seems to be a very good judge of character, as she immediately notices some bad vibes coming off of Nakajima, kind of like Shizuo from Durarara!.

This chapter is also the first time we got to see Ogiue’s original debut scene in the manga from the perspective of Yabusaki and the other girls in the Manga Society. If it wasn’t obvious that the glimmer in Ogiue’s eyes was the result of her coming to terms with her inner demons and beginning her relationship with Sasahara (and not, for example, a stylistic change), this makes it crystal clear by showing Ogiue from Volume 4 with her eyes colored the flat black that used to characterize her.

Things start to get interesting when we read the lack of glimmer as signs of some kind of long-standing inner turmoil, as Nakajima’s eyes resemble Ogiue’s in that manner at certain key moments, particularly when mentioning anything troubling from Ogiue’s past, after which they revert back to normal. We actually don’t know much of anything about Nakajima, and this makes me wonder about her life since her years in junior high with Ogiue. Being a fujoshi (you don’t attend the first day of ComiFest just to torment an old friend), Nakajima may have had to hide that aspect of her life as well, and has been jealous of Ogiue all along, whether it was Ogiue’s ability to get a boyfriend back in junior high, or now with her life as a professional manga artist, where she has a strong group of friends and a supportive boyfriend. Suffice it to say, I think there may be some kind of trauma in Nakajima’s own life that she has yet to resolve for herself. She doesn’t seem like an entirely bad person, as shown by her interaction with her friend Shigeta (first name Mina), who was with her last year when she spotted Ogiue at ComiFest. Shigeta seems more level-headed, but there’s not much to go on, so I’ll reserve any judgment on her.

Trauma is just one possibility. Nakajima’s eyes during those moments could also be a reference to that creepy stare she and her posse laid on Ogiue back then.

What did Nakajima want to tell Ogiue about concerning Makita? It can’t be anything bad, as the reason Nakajima decides not to tell her is that she doesn’t want to make Ogiue’s life any better than it already is. If I had to fathom a guess, I would say that Makita actually did not transfer away because he found himself reading a comic where he was getting it from behind by his best friend, but for some unrelated reason. Does this mean that Makita actually will make an appearance again at some point in the comic? I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I am open to the possibility.

The chapter ends on Madarame, who is feeling not as excited about ComiFest as he thinks he should be. Is it a possible sign that he’s growing old, the beginning of the end for Madarame as otaku? That might be the case in a certain sense, as Angela seems to have him in her sights.

How do you feel about Americans, Madarame, particularly one who like both girls and boys?

Kaiji Season 2 Truly is MAX

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You Tell Them, Announcer!

Go to Akihabara, Get Genshiken Post Cards

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Monday, May 23rd is the release date for Volume 10 of the Genshiken manga, also known as Genshiken II, Volume 1. To celebrate, various anime goods and bookstores in Akihabara are including exclusive post cards with drawings and a thank you from the author Kio Shimoku. The card you get with your purchase of Genshiken Volume 10 will depend on which store you give your patronage to.

Just in case this needs a warning, there’s a lot of Hato in provocative outfits, and some swimsuits and such as well.

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And Then He Bunker Rushed Shabranigdo

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(Don’t worry, this is from last season so it isn’t a spoiler.)