I Know the Secret of Ranka Lee

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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.

Genshiken Region 2 DVD Box Covers

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I ordered the one on the right, which is the OVA collection.

However, seeing as how the two sets match each other so well, I’m really tempted to buy season 1 even though I already have it in Region 1 Form.

I also have the last two DVDs of Genshiken 2 coming as well. I’m kind of sad though that the box covers for Genshiken 2 are significantly different from these aesthetically. Still, they fulfill the ever-important task of “having Ogiue on the cover.”

EDIT: For reference, here are my Genshiken 2 dvd boxes.

That damn Yoshida

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During the New Year months ago, Eureka Seven character designer Yoshida Kenichi posted an Eureka-themed New Year’s Card on his personal site.

I looked at it back in January, not thinking much of it, only noticing that Eureka looked kind of young in it.

Recently, I revisited the image and realized that I’ve seen this Eureka somewhere else…

The Eureka Seven Movie.

So it seems Yoshida dropped a hint on us months in advance and no one, myself included, realized it.

That bastard.

My Eyes, I Can’t See

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She can melt her own sword with her hotness

That is my reaction to catching up on over 100 chapters of Bleach.

You see, because when you get that much Bleach in your eyes it

Anyway, I actually started reading Bleach about 2 years ago and kept up with it pretty well, but the day my first external hard drive died was the same day I downloaded a ton of Bleach manga, and it left me with sort of a sour taste. I basically abandoned the series shortly after the Soul Society Arc.

So here I am, all caught up, and the series seems to be gearing up again after a fairly nice, if shaky conclusion. The only problem, I realize, is that much of the comic for the past 100 chapters or so has felt very meandering. When you read in big chunks, time passes pretty quickly, but then I realized just how long it would have been had I been doing this every week. It’s kind of daunting when you step back and think about it.

Maybe it’s the fact that the humor more recently hasn’t been as strong as some of the earlier chapters (BOHAHAHAHA), or that because Ichigo and Rukia weren’t together for most of it that I didn’t get to see the strong interplay between the two that attracted me to the series in the first place. Actually, those two are kind of related, aren’t they?

Speaking of Rukia, she’s one of those unusual characters who always looks hotter in official art than she does in any fanart be it Japanese or American (see above). I don’t know what it is, but a lot of people who draw her don’t seem to “get” what makes her attractive, though they will work fine with Orihime, Yoruichi, Rangiku, Nemu, and practically the entire cast, but not Rukia. Rukia’s appeal lies in her eccentricity combined with her knowledge and naivety. She’s aggressive, but not as if she’s trying to compensate for being small, and there’s always a sense that she follows her own unique internal logic. Not to mention the nice eyes, and you know I’m a fan of nice eyes (see primary character theme of this blog).

Will I keep up with Bleach now that I’m all caught up? I don’t know. It is kind of fun to just wait a bit.

The Fujoshi Files 5: Ohno Kanako

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Ohno Kanako

Name: Ohno, Kanako (大野加奈子)
Alias: Kannazuki Yohko (神無月曜湖)
Relationship Status: Dating
Origin: Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture

Information:
Ohno Kanako is a member of the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture aka Genshiken at the prestigious Shiiou University, and is quite possibly the first willing female member to join the club since its inception. Ohno spent much of her childhood living in America and thus has a firm grasp of the English language, something shared by fellow female member Kasukabe Saki. While Ohno had previously visited both the Anime Society and the Manga Society at Shiiou University, she ultimately decides to stay with Genshiken due to their understanding nature. Although very nervous at first, Ohno slowly gains confidence in herself, eventually becoming a surrogate fujoshi older sister of sorts to Ogiue Chika and ultimately becoming the fourth Chairman of Genshiken after Sasahara Kanji steps down.

Ohno has very unique taste among fujoshi, one that resulted in her being ridiculed by many friends: A passion for middle-aged and retirement-age men  that is matched only by Ohno’s love for cosplay. Ohno participates in cosplay events so often that she has to maintain a schedule. Her cosplay is so successful that she has become the main attraction of Genshiken’s booth at school festival. It is for these reasons that Ohno forms a friendship with Genshiken member Tanaka Souichirou, an avid costume designer, but it is their care and understanding for each that leads them to start dating.

Fujoshi Level:
Ohno is mainly known for her love of older men and her cosplay. However, all of that pales in comparison to the fact that Ohno will actively attempt to transform her friends into fujoshi and reinforce ones who already have taken the step. Though only implied, it is clear that Ohno introduced yaoi to her young friend Susanna Hopkins at a rather early age, creating a dangerously powerful female otaku in the process. It is this active corruption of the youth of America that earns Ohno Kanako a remarkable place among fujoshi.

O-G-I-U-E

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Since starting this blog, I have been linked to and referred to a number of times by people looking for things related to Ogiue. Maybe they want to talk about how great Ogiue is, or maybe they’re just mentioning Ogiue for the hell of it.

I have noticed a recurring problem in that people tend to misspell Ogiue’s name, most frequently as “Oguie.” It’s an easy mistake to make and no one should feel bad for not spelling her name correctly. Ogiue’s not an easy name, what with its triple vowel action, and the only reason I can do it without thinking is because I write the name constantly.

Ogiue Ogiue Ogiue Ogiue.

I want to come up with some convenient rhyme or mnemonic device to help people never forget, but that’s probably not happening. I before U except something something something.

Not happening.

Instead, maybe it’s better if I break it down this way.

Ogiue is written with two kanji, 荻上. 荻 is Ogi, 上　is Ue, so as long as you can think of it not as one jumble of vowels but as two separate words joined together, it should be fine, I think.

Ogi.

Ue.

Dio Brando is an English Vampire Who Grafted His Head on his Arch Enemy’s Body

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He is not Muslim or representative of Islam, as some would claim, and it’s not something that’s difficult to figure out if only people would do research into Dio’s character.

For those who don’t know Dio’s backstory, and are only familiar with him through his famous catch phrases “WRYYYYY” and “THE WORLD” and don’t even know that Dio even sometimes says “WRYAAAAA,” here’s a brief synopsis. Dio was a young boy adopted by the wealthy Joestar family, and began a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with the son of the household, Jonathan Joestar. In their adult lives, with Dio pretending his hardest to be on good terms with Jonathan, Dio discovers an ancient power which turns him into a powerful vampire. After suffering defeat at the hands of Jonathan and what appears to be his demise, Dio reappears many years later to antagonize Jonathan’s great-grandson Kujo Jotaro, now armed with the body of Jonathan Joestar himself and a powerful time-stopping “Stand” or spiritual apparition called “The World.”

Dio believes himself to be the greatest thing since sliced people, and is incredibly arrogant and full of himself. He in no way represents anything having to do with Islam, and in fact based on Dio’s character the only reason he’d be reading the Qu’ran would be to mock religions. He would say something along the lines of, “These fools worship a God they cannot see, when I already walk the Earth!”

…Which is a whole different problem, but it has nothing to do with Islam being a religion for super villains.

Let us start… from the Beginning: Complete Genshiken 2 Ogiue Tohoku-Ben collection

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What’s old is new again.

The first step is sometimes the hardest: Starting a new series

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It’s happened to me quite a few times, and I’m sure that it’s happened to a lot of people too.

Why is it that sometimes starting a new show can be so difficult? There’s nothing holding it back, there are no prejudices against it, many times I have the show in my possession specifically so I can watch them. And yet, I will start episode 1, then pause it a few minutes in, then walk away or ignore it, and then close it and say “I’ll save it for later.”

It happened with Yamato (which I’m still not finished with) and most recently it happened with Round Vernian Vifam. After much struggle, I finally got through the first episode of Vifam, and am poised to keep watching, but it’s amazing how resistant I can be to new things even when I want new things.

By the way, expect some Vifam reviews in the future.