Nowhere to Go But Everywhere: Kinnikuman

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I’ve recently been reading the Shounen Jump classic Kinnikuman (literally “Muscleman”) by the creative duo known as Yudetamago. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be “transparent.” A transparent work, as I’m using the term, describes something where you, as a reader, are able to see the creative process used in creating the series, and in that sense Kinnikuman is the most transparent manga I have ever seen. Plot points and important climaxes are revealed with little prior warning, and the reader isn’t given much time to parse any logic, which is good because there never is any.

The basic premise of Kinnikuman is that it’s about a bumbling oaf named Kinniku Suguru trying to be a superhero. It starts off as an Ultraman parody, but as the comic progressed the creators got into pro wrestling so, “Hey why not!” they said. “Let’s turn the whole comic into a wild and crazy version of pro wrestling where people wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people!”

One of the later villains in the series is named Sneagator. His name is a portmanteau of the words “sneaker” and “alligator,” and that’s exactly what he looks like. But he also reveals that he has the ability to shed his skin and turn into different reptiles, such as snakes and lizards, and according to Sneagator he can turn into the most terrifying reptile of all, a frilled-neck lizard! Except this frilled-neck lizard can SPIN ITS FRILLS LIKE A BUZZSAW.

But that’s not even Sneagator’s true form! In fact, I think I’ll let the images do the talking.

Yes, his true form is THE FOOT OF A TYRANNOSAURUS REX. Now consider that the whole series is like this. You can pretty much tell that every single moment in Kinnikuman had its creation preceded by at least one of its authors saying, “Wouldn’t it be cool if _________.” Repeat this for 36 volumes.

You might think I’m complaining about its lack of structure but I’m really doing quite the opposite. This transparency is the charm and primary strength of Kinnikuman. Oda (One Piece) and Toriyama (Dragon Ball) have both been lauded for understanding what boys like and want, and appealing to their senses, but they both have a level of self-control and an idea of what would happen at least as far as the current arc. Series such as Pyuu! to Fuku Jaguar are crazy and frenetic, but you can tell that the jokes are planned out well, that there’s a method to the madness. Kinnikuman has none of that sophistication and doesn’t really need it. On top of that, it’s about as extreme as a series like Violence Hero Riki-Oh but unlike Riki-Oh it’s still definitely meant for children. Kinnikuman is unique among its peers.

Seriously, check it out if you want to see the kind of wonderful Shounen comic that just can’t survive these days.

Emotional Investment: An Introspective Un-Rant

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Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. Maybe from even your own mouth.

“Yeah the show seemed like it was well done, but I didn’t feel emotionally invested in it.”

Emotional investment, by nature of the words used in it, should be and is always a very personal thing, and yet the entertainment we read is supposed to do this for not just one person but many people.

This isn’t a topic that is terribly complex, the idea that people will enjoy shows that resonate with them better, but it always feels like such a dangerous thing to say that a show lacks that emotional connection. Is it your fault? Is it the fault of the show? Is it a fault at all? If not, how can any production compensate for something like this? Is this why in the end, art is art and science is science, and while there’s plenty of overlap some things are “just because?”

And then you have the other side, where people feel emotionally invested in a story. The setting, the characters, something about this piece of fiction you’re looking at strikes a chord deep down inside of you and you wonder how anyone could not like it. So when that story is attacked or trivialized by another, it feels like a personal slight, and saying that a show was unable to pull you in emotionally can sometimes sound like the ultimate insult to a show even if it isn’t meant to be.

There’s no real conclusion to this, no grand point I’m trying to make, I’m just using this post to collect my thoughts and record them as they are.

(SUNSHINE)^2

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There’s some spoilers here, so I recommend those of you with an investment in Naruto and don’t want to ruin your experience turn around immediately.

Continue reading →

Mazin is Go

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2ch rumors abounded a while back that Imagawa Yasuhiro, famous for his work on the Giant Robo OVA, was being taken off of the upcoming Mazinger anime. It’s now been proven otherwise, but with the new announcement also comes a new title for this update to Nagai Go’s most famous giant robot: Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-Hen or True Mazinger Impact!! Z-Arc. The “Shin” by the way stands for “True,” so like the Shin Getter in Armageddon and not the Shin as in New Getter.

Now, prior to this announcement, we all thought that the new Mazinger anime was gonna be based on Z-Mazinger, i.e. Mazinger with a Greek mythological influence, and it was touted as such. And even before then, there were interviews with Nagai where he talked about how he wanted to finish off the Mazinger saga he never could back in the 70s due to various difficulties. And now we have what looks to be a total original Mazinger Z remake. What a crazy journey for this show!

But then you notice that last crucial part of the title, “Z-Hen.” Hen means volume or compilation, I translated it as (story) arc, so I think the potential implication is that after these 26 episodes are up, we might get a 26-episode Great Mazinger series, and then possibly more and it actually might finally close out the Mazingers forever. Or until the next remake.

Also, Kabuto Kouji has a new voice actor. Much as I wish the great Ishimaru Hiroya to take the title role again, I’m fine with getting newer blood as well.


You’re Looking at a Man with BUSINESS – LEVEL Japanese

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Seriously

Test results for the JLPT came in yesterday.

I passed, barely.

But I still passed!

What this says to me is that I did just the right amount of hard work, not so much that it took away from other activities, but not so little that I couldn’t make it. In a way, I’m lucky, but I also know that those months of reading little kanji cards on the train and studying with friends was validated.

And I thank you all for letting me talk about my trials and tribulations of learning Japanese, and not asking me to just talk more about anime.

I guess for now the jlpt category will lay dormant, unless I am insane enough to go for the level 1.

Maybe I am. Who knows?

The Otaku Diaries: Helping Otaku Learn About Themselves

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Hisui and Narutaki over at the Reverse Thieves have an interesting project going, which they’ve called the Otaku Diaries. They basically want you, John Q. Otaku, to fill out their anonymous survey so that we can learn things about otaku beyond the trappings of anime and fandom. And you know me, I’m always a fan of these sorts of projects. Hisui and Narutaki introduce their own project better than I could, so I’ll let them do the rest of the talking.

We at Reverse Thieves are looking to do something a little different.

We are proposing a project called the Otaku Diaries. We are looking for people who consider themselves anime fans to participate in an anonymous survey. It will be profiling the lives, loves, and losses of these individuals and how their hobby has related to shaping them. We will also be looking for patterns as well as differences in the cases. We are looking for diverse people who are not afraid to get personal, questions will include topics like prior relationships, profession, and sexuality.

This survey is about a story, not about numbers.

If you are interested here is how it is going to work. Send us an email at otakudiary@gmail.com with a brief description of yourself include your age, sex, and location. No names need be exchanged and your anonymity will be protected, create a separate e-mail account just for this survey if you wish. If you are selected to participate, you will be given a case # to which all your answers will be attributed. After all the data is collected we will be doing several blog posts about the results.

We hope to start at the end of February, depending on the number of responses.

Thanks!

I’ve already filled out and sent in my survey! And you want to be cool like me, right?

Fighting Lena Sayers is Like Fighting Five Anime Characters at Once: My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ OVA 3

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Yes, she’s still Lena Sayers of course, and this time packing the Blue Sky Sapphire.


But she’s also Sänger Zonvolt.


And Hurricane Polymar.


And Asuka Eiji (Pilot of the SPT Layzner)


And even Kinnikuman!

And I haven’t even shown you all of the fighting that goes on in this episode.

Yes, Plot Stuff happens in the 3rd OVA of My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~, aka the Lena Sayers Power Hour, and it’s all well and good, but the entire episode is just one continuous fight scene after another. If it’s not Lena fighting robots, it’s someone else fighting robots. If it’s not ships exploding it’s meteors getting rocked. In that regard, the episode really delivers, and just like the previous two OVAs you can really tell that a lot of care was put into it, especially in regards to lovingly rendered nipples and split kicks. Hey, that’s Otome for you. Probably the most significant thing that you find out in the third episode is that Lena is perhaps a little too powerful for her own good, and also that Shiro is further HEAVILY IMPLIED to be Lena’s future husband and father of her child. And who can blame him? If Lena Sayers is even remotely smitten with you, you GRAB THAT OPPORTUNITY AND NEVER LET GO.

Overall, it’s been a fun OVA series and everything I expected from a HiME series at this point, except the ending is incredibly open-ended… only it isn’t because I already know Lena Sayers’ ultimate fate. For some, cute girls fighting is not enough to carry a show, for others that’s all they really want or need. In the end, My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ is very well-executed Girls Fighting, and I mean it. You won’t see too many better sci-fi/fantasy mega fights. Take out of that what you will.

Maybe a Ninja

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I Do Not Envy the Staff of Before Green Gables

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Before Green Gables, known also by its Japanese title Konnichiwa Anne, is a prequel to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Anne of Green Gables (Akage no Anne) anime. It’s even being done by the same production company that did the original. Obviously with the show a month or two away by this point I have no way to actually judge it, but what I can say is that its predecessor is a tough act to live up to.

If you look at the staff for the original Anne of Green Gables anime, you’ll perhaps see some familiar names, and none more familiar than “Miyazaki Hayao” and “Takahata Isao.” That’s right, this anime was made by the team that would go on to form Studio Ghibli. Sure it was back when they were younger and less experienced, but I really do not envy the current staff.

Perhaps they can benefit from the fact that it’s a 30th anniversary and many people today would be too young to remember the original. In any case, I feel like no matter how the show ends up I want to do my best to not constantly compare the two works. You know, despite this entire post being all about the comparison.

Getting You Kicked Out of Your Hotel is Merely a Sign of Affection

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“Encountering a durian for the first time is not unlike encountering someone with an overbearing personality; the strong odor and strange taste are like a “facade” to protect a most delicate and delightful character.”

With that we can conclude that durians are, in fact, tsundere.