Wahaha: Hidamari Sketch

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With Hidamari Sketch x365 currently airing, I finally decided to watch through all of the original series.

Stupid me, I should have done this sooner.

Hidamari Sketch is the sort of show that is the most supremely difficult to convince others to watch if they aren’t already well-versed in shows of its kind. I’m referring to that dastardly “slice of life” genre of anime, the genre that can make or break someone’s opinion of anime.

It’s the story of four girls attending an art high school who live in the nearby Hidamari Apartments. Though they all live alone, you wouldn’t be able to tell from the way they support and love each other. The main cast consists of Yuno (shy and eager to learn), Miyako (energetic and unpredictable), Sae (mature yet easily flustered), and Hiro (soft-spoken but surprisingly willfull). Personally, it is very difficult to decide on a favorite character. All of them are just so wonderfully endearing that when I try to choose one I recall another very memorable scene from another character and then I’m back to square one.

One thing that constantly bothers me about Yuno is that she sounds a lot like Kinomoto Sakura despite not being voiced by Tange Sakura. I definitely know she isn’t, and I can also recognize the fact that she plays Ran in Shugo Chara, but it can be startling to hear such similarities in inflection and expression. I think if Sakura and Yuno met, they would have a wonderful friendship as Sakura would look to Yuno as a beautiful older sister of sorts.

…Back on topic.

Hidamari Sketch was directed by Shinbo Akiyuki, director of Pani Poni Dash and Zetsbou-Sensei among others. The show has the same sort of self-awareness by viewer and creator as Shinbo’s other shows. However, combined with the mellowness of the daily life of Yuno and friends, Hidamari Sketch becomes more like lucid dreaming, and it’s the kind of dream that while at first you’d prefer not to get up from, you are thankful that you did awaken as it lets you greet another day.

Slice of life is Hidamari Sketch.  It’s funny, witty, pleasant, and emotional, but not once do any of those adjectives overpower the other. It’s a show that, no matter your circumstance, you can use it to unwind. Watch as little or as much as you want, by the end you have no choice but to smile.

Anime Saimoe 2008: Preliminary Affection

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Once again we in the anime fan community are faced with the ultimate contest of the gods, the Anime Saimoe Tournament. Run by a mighty engine that can be a god or a devil, Saimoe pits the anime girls against each other to see who the otaku of the internet deem to be the most moe character of that year.

In recent years, foreigners have been encouraged to vote, and as such an English translation of the rules have been posted, as well as a Chinese one. Just as a warning, the instructions are kind of cryptic (“Voting will occur in the voting location”) so it can be pretty confusing. 2channel uses a rather unusual thread system where posts are locked and archived after 1000 replies, so keep in mind that there is no SINGLE Saimoe thread.

It’s not really feasible for me to keep updating the voting threads constantly, so I’ll leave that to the popular anime forums, unless it really matters to me.

Currently, the tournament is undergoing preliminaries, where voters can choose who among the ENTIRE pool of female characters of 2008 are worthy enough to get into the tournament proper. The most important thing to keep in mind here is that Ogiue’s preliminary round is on July 22nd, 2008.

When it gets near Ogiue’s voting date(s) I’ll further clarify what needs to be done, but keep her in your mind and in your heart.

Armored Trooper Votoms: Part 2

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Armored Trooper Votoms is the story of Chirico Cuvie, a soldier and Armored Tooper (giant robot) pilot who was betrayed by his own military and forced on the run. Previously, Chirico found himself in Uoodo, a city where might makes right and people are very likely not to wake up the next morning. In episodes 14-27 of Armored Trooper Votoms, the AWOL soldier Chirico Cuvie trades the disorder and chaos of Uoodo for the focused destruction in the jungles of Kummen, a country at odds with Melkia. Chirico, a man who lives to fight, finds himself in his natural habitat amidst a civil war.

The aptly titled second part of Votoms, the “Kummen Jungle Wars,” sees Chirico acting as a mercenary for the Kummen government, fighting against a rebellious prince who seeks to prevent his nation from abandoning its traditions and modernizing. As the war progresses, it becomes clear that neither side is “good” or “evil” as is often the case with clashes of ideology as well as real robot anime. New characters are introduced on both sides, some familiar and welcome faces appear, Chirico still uses a Scope Dog, and the Perfect Soldier project which forced Chirico on the run is further along than it’s ever been before. …Or is it?

The fighting in Kummen is different from Uoodo, where it was usually cops vs thugs vs Chirico. Instead, Chirico in his mercenary role frequently acts as part of a mechanized platoon, following orders and occasionally giving them. The enemy, being much weaker than them, relies on guerilla tactics and hiding in plain sight in order to confuse the government’s soldiers and weaken resolve. The battles are intense and gritty without much posturing, lives are easily lost, and Chirico continues to wage war in what is basically the Votoms equivalent of a Zaku, a Leo, or a KLF: a rust bucket without many special features other than the strength and skill of the pilot within it.

The only real fault of Votoms is the way it handles romance, as it does so in a very Tomino-esque hammer-over-the-head manner. The origins of romance in the story of Votoms can make it hard to swallow, but don’t let it distract you.

Though the Kummen Jungle Wars arc ties into the greater plotline of Votoms, it can be considered its own self-contained story of a country at war with itself, where tradition and progress are forced against one another to determine the future of the nation. Watching just these 13 episodes alone can be satisfying enough, and if you’re unable to watch the Uoodo arc, the show was courteous enough to throw in a recap episode. At the end of Kummen, while a lot of questions are answered, far more are brought up, and there’s another 26 episodes to go.

Blasphemy is Kawaii

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Thank you, Hinamori Yahweh.

Don’t Think I Forgot About the 4th of July Either

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You can help me celebrate the fact that THIS IS USA, as opposed to JAPAN.

Today, on this Independence Day, I order you to  act like an American Anime Character.

-Remember to replace simple Japanese pronouns and random words with AMERICAN ones.
-Blond hair isn’t necessary, but it can often help.
-If you have trouble gaining acceptance, claim that you are in fact Half-Japanese.
-TALK AS LOUDLY AS POSSIBLE.

If you’re still not up to the task, I instead ask that you observe Americans in the wild.

Buy Strike Witches: You Can Call this a GONZO Editorial

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GONZO’s new tv series Strike Witches has begun airing, and GONZO, as it did with Blassreiter and Druaga, is putting the show online with a good translation for the enjoyment of English-speaking anime fans. It’s an mp4 file, approximately 200mb, with hard-encoded subtitles. It’s even free of Digital Rights Management shenanigans, which is a big plus in my book.

Unfortunately, what I’ve heard is that someone has put the episode on bittorrent.

I will acknowledge that it’s iffy to put money into a series you haven’t watched yet, but GONZO is trying hard to reach out to us in the English-speaking anime fandom, and to piss away their good will just makes us look terrible.

If you don’t like Strike Witches, or are afraid of watching yet another GONZO series, then feel free to ignore it. I’m not expecting people to buy something they don’t have any interest in, but if you think you’re going to enjoy it, I ask that you at least try it out.

One thing to keep in mind is that you have 14 days to download each episode so you can’t really wait until the series finishes. That said, this also means you can perform a 3-episode test. I’d also normally say that you could possibly wait for the DVDs if you want to support them with your wallet, but there’s a high probability that Strike Witches DVDs will never see the light of day.

You can purchase episodes of Strike Witches via Bost TV for approximately $3.00 US. Keep in mind you have to spend a minimum of $10 in order to buy the points necessary, which is kind of annoying, but that has less to do with GONZO itself and everything to do with Bost.

Episode 1 Review
Strike Witches is the story of a squad of young and powerful soldiers augmented with technologically advanced armored weaponry in order to combat the alien menace known as Neuroi. Its protagonist is Yoshika, a girl with a strong dislike of war whose father died during the conflict. However, a chance meeting with an old friend of her father’s puts Yoshika in a position she never expected.

All in all, Strike Witches is very cute, awfully fanservicey, and  well-animated. The main appeal is that its important characters are basically Mecha Musume. It’s a simple show that is clearly targeted towards otaku, so don’t expect it to be any more than what it tries to be.

Genshiken DVDs, R2 Only

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Also included is the Genchoken CD on the lower left. The OVA box also came with this delightful image.

I am pleased.

Though based on that post from a few days back I’m sure you knew that already.

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.

Doing this Brooklyn Translation Makes it Difficult to Concentrate: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series (in Japanese)

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Little Kuriboh’s Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series, where one man acts out the roles of (almost) every character with surprising skill and summarizes the absurdity of the English version of Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters,  has become quite an internet phenomenon. You are probably aware of this, but one thing that you may not be aware of is that it has reached back to its original source, as one Japanese fan has subtitled Little Kuriboh’s work and put it online. You can also see it on Nico Nico Douga under the names 遊戯王要約シリーズ or 4分でわかる遊戯王アニメ.

What is fascinating about this first of all is that we get to observe the other side of the fansub mirror. Normally, even the Japanese subtitles for English shows that we see are professionally done.

What’s even more interesting is observing how the translator makes various attempts to localize the translation just enough for the Japanese speakers. Characters’ names are in Japanese, but the subtitles point out that “Jonouchi” is speaking with a “Brooklyn Accent.” Characters’ unique speech is kept intact, as Pegasus, according to the subtitles, still speaks in random Engrish and says “de~~~su” a whole lot. “Super Special Awesome” is just “Super Special.”

And of course, one of the big challenes is puns and wordplay, and the guy does surprisingly well. One of my favorite examples is his translation of the famous line from the “evil” Kaiba, “You don’t stand a GHOST of a chance,” said by characters who are ghosts or at least resemble them. Translated literally it doesn’t make much sense.

The translation the subtitler went for is “勝利のチャンスは「霊」だ” (Shouri no chansu wa rei da). It literally means “The chance of you winning is “a ghost.”

Here’s the fun part: the word used for ghost is pronounced “rei.” There’s another kanji with a pronunciation of rei, 零, which means “zero.”

In other words, “The chance of you winning is zero.”

So bravo, Japanese Yugioh Abridged subtitler. Your wordplay kung fu is mighty indeed, and I bow to you.

Skin-deep Personality: Thoughts on the Categorization of Anime Girls

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As anyone who reads this blog would know, I like girls in anime, and I like moe. However, there are times when even I question the kind of conversations that arise from talking about female characters and what effects they’re having on fans.

Growing up, I was taught various lessons on beauty, namely that inner beauty trumps simple appearance. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “It’s the inside that counts.” Adages such as these shaped the idea that while physical beauty is more prominent in society, emotional beauty, personality, and character are considered to be deeper aspects to admire. While I do not discount physical beauty in people be they fictional or otherwise, this idea of personality trumping looks is something I still believe in. In anime, especially with the current prominence of moe, something which I think is much more personality-based, with moe visuals derived from personality, this seems to be the case.

However, with the increase and proliferation of moe terms, it can sometimes feel like character traits are no different from physical traits. Calling a character a tsundere becomes not much different from calling a character a busty redhead. Personality can become just as simplified as appearance and turns into something very immediate, very at-the-surface, and easy to fetishize. Liking a character for their personality becomes just as shallow as liking someone because they have nice legs.

Sexualization isn’t the thing that bothers me. Rather, it is that the type of sexualization that can occur as a result of this categorization of traits makes it difficult to see if someone actually genuinely likes a character or not. If I ask someone why they like a character, and they say, “Because she’s a shy twintail tomboy meganekko,” then I myself wonder, “Is that REALLY why you like them?” If an entire conversation is spent simply throwing out these categories as descriptions in lieu of actually talking about the characters, it can give the impression that these characters are undeveloped and shallow. Maybe they actually ARE that shallow sometimes and it’s all in good fun, but it still creates the feeling in me that personality becomes just another facet of a character to get gratification from, rather than something to cherish on a deeper level.

This is I assume a personal thing, and I don’t expect others to necessarily feel this way. I’m not faulting anyone for doing this, nor am I criticizing the existence of otaku vocabulary, as I do this myself pretty often. Still, there’s this gnawing bit of doubt that can occur when I see it when I think a real dialogue or discussion should be occurring.