The Generation Gaps in Taste in Anime Fandom

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While anime fandom in the United States is old enough that a literal generation gap is possible, though that is not quite what I mean by the term. When I say generation gap, I mean the difference between waves of fans that have appeared since anime first gained popularity back in the 70s. The biggest indicators of these gaps, I believe, are the statements that will give away how they feel about themselves relative to anime fandom, such as “all these new shows are terrible compared to older ones” and “I won’t watch any show if it looks too old.” But why is it that the fandom resorts to such statements about their interests and how they compare to different times in the life of this hobby?

Speak to an anime fan of any age, and ask them why and how they got into anime. Most likely, you will get an explanation of how the anime they first watched differed from whatever else was on tv. I will give you my own example. While I watched Voltron and other such shows as a kid, I first discovered anime as coming from Japan in the form of bootleg Dragon Ball Z tapes a few years prior to it airing on American television. What stood out to me about DBZ relative to other cartoons I had been watching at the time was first the fighting, second the serial nature of the show, and third the idea actions had consequences. Characters could DIE (and then run around and have dead adventures and come back to life later, but they were still officially dead). In a time of only “cartoon” violence, I got something I wouldn’t call realistic, but rather much more weighty. The universe hung in the balance, after all.

Now, the reason I’m giving this example is to begin to show that I believe that this generation gap in anime fandom has not only to do with physical age, but also that anime hits us hardest during periods when we are most emotionally and mentally receptive to it. It is during these times that I believe people have a hunger for entertainment which satisfies them, and this is the basis of peoples’ nostalgia for certain times. Anime fandom in the 70s grew out of science fiction and fantasy fan scenes, out of Star Trek and Star Wars, and the first big shows were things like Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers. These fans were receptive to it because it was similar to the types of shows they enjoyed beforehand, but it also flipped their worlds upside down with stories and themes that went beyond other forms of fiction they had been exposed to at that point. When Dragon Ball Z rose in popularity in the 90s, I strongly believe that kids had a reaction to it similar to my own. It affected their world, introduced them to new ideas. Same thing goes for people discovering Sailor Moon around the same time. And Pokemon. And even Love Hina.

The conflict occurs because the values which affect people have changed, and why anime fans of one generation can have difficulty with fans in another. While the values may have changed, the strong feelings towards the anime which they fell in love with means that each generation feels strongly about the shows which got them into it, and where feelings are concerned, misunderstandings arise, because when you attack someone’s favorite anime you are essentially attacking what they believe in, what makes them feel good about life. It’s easy to joke about not taking anime so seriously, that chill out it’s just a cartoon, but it is also easy to see why and how people can be affected by not just anime but any form of fiction or storytelling. And because these feelings are so strong, it makes other periods of anime pale by comparison because they are not easy to relate to on an emotional level. To give an example which is not necessarily generational, take a look at the Robotech and Macross fandoms. Robotech’s appeal is that it presents three series as a single cohesive universe with a unified theme. Macross’s appeal is that very different stories take place within the same universe, giving a variety of themes and subjects. Different values, different fanbases (though of course there’s plenty of crossover).

Older anime isn’t good precisely because it looks old, and seemingly exists in a time far gone and surely these shows could not possibly be better than the ones that have influenced a fan’s thoughts. New anime can’t possibly be good because it fails to tackle the themes which a fan finds most important. Those are the essential feelings.

Now, one thing I should point out is that it’s certainly possible to have multiple periods of increased receptiveness towards anime. By my count I’ve had at least 3 or 4 (the most recent being the era of Genshiken and Eureka Seven). Perhaps the people who say every show they watch is the best show ever do so because they are in a current renewed state of fandom, instead of simply being standard internet-style exaggeration.

Seeing why people become anime fans, I think, will result in a lot less misunderstanding.

The Fujoshi Files 2: Tamura Hiyori

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Hiyori

Name: Tamura, Hiyori (田村ひより)
Alias: Hiyorin (ひよりん)
Relationship Status: Single
Origin: Lucky Star

Information:
Tamura Hiyori is a student at Ryouou High School in Saitama Prefecture. A friendly and sociable girl, Hiyori has no problems making friends. Despite her age, Hiyori is a doujinshi artist and member of a popular circle which has even sold at Comic Market. A very enthusiastic artist, Hiyori frequently comes up with ideas for new comics but often forgets them just as easily, which is a continuing source of frustration for her. While not obviously a fujoshi at first sight, Hiyori has a tendency to (almost) accidentally blurt out phrases which betray her true status.

Fujoshi Level:
Hiyori frequently uses examples from real life to inform her work. Most notably, her two female friends and classmates, Kobayakawa Yutaka and Iwasaki Minami, who have a very close friendship with each other, have become a recurring subject and inspiration for many doujinshi. Unlike many fujoshi, Hiyori’s draws more than just boys’ love pairings, as shown in the example of Yutaka and Minami. However, she rarely ventures outside the theme of sexually charged pairings, which perhaps says more about her status as a fujoshi than anything else.

Why hasn’t there been another Evangelion?

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Evangelion is an anime which resonated with the Japanese population because it accurately captured what they were feeling at the time of its broadcast. Probably for similar reasons, this is also why it resonated with fans around the world. It materialized feelings.

Now, I think the reasons why there has not been another Evangelion, in the sense of a title which transcends the normal/otaku divide and causes a lasting emotional influence on the public at large are many. I feel that the otaku community may have gotten more insular. I feel that the animators respond to this by trying to cash in easily on things like moe. When the shows DO try to resonate with their audience, there is resistance and backlash. Perhaps a show has the power to reach fans far and wide and affirm their feelings has been shown, but it was put in a bad time slot. I do not fault anyone for doing any of these things, and it may be a sign that there is simply too big a diversity of opinion among people now for a show to hit on the level Evangelion did. Blame everyone and blame no one.

So what’s the answer to my question? Perhaps that for an anime to affect people on such a large scale again, there has to be large scale events affecting Japan in the real world that the normal person and the reclusive otaku can feel in their daily lives.

Publisher’s Weekly Interview with Kio Shimoku

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You can read it here as well as buy it on newstands.

Reading this brings me joy because Kio Shimoku rarely speaks, and on top of that, it confirms many longstanding theories I’ve had regarding both Genshiken and Ogiue, such as Genshiken being about portraying otaku as human beings who think and feel and cry and love.

To feel that I accurately understood the important themes and particularly the themes surrounding Ogiue fills me with great joy.

Thanks to Anime News Network for this information, and kransom for bringing it to my attention.

Armored Trooper Votoms: Part 1

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This is a review of episodes 1-13 (or was that 14?) of Armored Trooper Votoms.

Armored Trooper Votoms is the story of a soldier gone AWOL named Chirico Cuvie. Chirico is the pilot of an “Armored Trooper,” essentially a giant robot used for military purposes, but without any of the flash or style of a Gundam or a Valkyrie. Having found himself an unwitting accomplice in a conspiracy to attack a friendly space station, Chirico is betrayed by his fellow soldiers, but not before discovering their most important secret: A mysterious, expressionless woman inside a capsule and the target of capture by his former allies. Barely escaping with his own life, Chirico runs into a higher-up in the military, a man named Rocchina, who believes Chirico’s accidental treason to be anything but. Chirico is tortured mercilessly, but manages to escape and ends up in a city of scoundrels and gangs not unlike the entire planet in Hokuto no Ken. That city is named Uoodo.

In Uoodo, Chirico manages to make some friends, though none of them are by any means innocent, given the nature of Uoodo. Chirico must deal with a corrupt police force while still running from the military who believes him to know more than he actually does. As Chirico tries to survive, he begins to learn the secrets of the mysterious woman he met at the space station, referred to as the “Prototype,” and the viewer is shown that the conspiracy that got Chirico running for his life in the first place runs much deeper than anybody ever suspected.

Armored Trooper Votoms, as I mentioned, has giant robots, and not fancy ones at that. The result is that, while the action is not exactly completely realistic, it has a very gritty feel to it. An Armored Trooper is not made of super alloys, it does not have any fancy weapons or serious technological edge. It is basically a tank with legs. In fact, Chirico frequently switches Armored Troopers because the previous one got wrecked beyond repair in battle, though he prefers a specific type called the Scope Dog. In one battle, his Scope Dog was taken down by heavy fire from people on foot and in cars and helicopters. They are far from invincible, and this is the basis of the combat in the show.

As for the plot, this is what is meant whenever someone says that you have to give a Sunrise mecha series chance to set up, that they generally have a 13-episode test. This entire first part, aptly entitled the “Uoodo” arc, is ALL setup for what’s to come. I can feel it, I think anyone watching can feel it, the whole point of this first part is to set up the characters and the basic setting, and to establish what is “normal” for the show so that the show can then be turned on its head. These first 13 episodes for the most part feel fairly episodic. They sometimes revolve around Chirico’s friends trying to strike it rich, or Chirico escaping from danger, or a combination of the two, but along the way hints are dropped and characterization is expanded. My only complaint is that the show has a very Tomino-esque way of introducing relationships, which is to say unrealistic and rushed in order to make a plot point. Other than that, the show is on its way to success.

I have been set up. Now it’s time for the show to begin knocking me down.

PS: One amusing aspect of Votoms I should mention is the next episode previews, which are usually serious expositions of what will happen to Chirico. Best of all is that they all end on some extremely dramatic and cryptic message of what’s to come. The one that stands out in my mind is “NEXT TIME, CHIRICO DRINKS HIS COFFEE BLACK, AND IT IS BITTER INDEED.” It kind of makes the show hard to take seriously sometimes, but that’s okay.

Ogiue Lexicon

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I realized that there may be a few terms I use when discussing Ogiue that may not be familiar to some people. So I thought I’d clear up at least one or two of them.

fude: literally meaning “paintbrush,” this is a term used to describe Ogiue’s normal hairstyle. Also frequently referred to as “fude atama” or “paintbrush head.”

getting a little warped: translated in the Del Rey English translation as “getting carried away.”

Anata no Tonari: “By Your Side.” Ogiue’s Mugi x Sen doujinshi that she sold at Comic Festival.

What hints of Genshiken’s status do we get from the Kujibiki omake?

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A third post on this simple 3-page omake. Unlike the first post, there will be spoilers here, and this isn’t exactly fair game like the anime or manga, so this is your warning.

Ohno is waiting in the club room in a Yamada cosplay outfit. Ogiue, with hair down, comes in accompanied by Sue. Ogiue questions why Ohno seems to just be cosplaying for no reason, and Ohno in turn laments the loss of Ogiue’s fude. Ogiue says that she can’t wear her hair the way she normally does when she’s at work, which is fairly often these days. Ogiue then asks why Ohno is cosplaying as Yamada when she normally cosplays as the Vice-Chairman, and Ohno says it’s because the Vice-Chairman’s voice actor changed. Ogiue, switching her hair back to normal fude mode, asks how Ohno could be so tired when Ohno hasn’t even been looking for a job, and Ohno nonchalantly mentions that she’s actually postponing her graduation for another year. Ogiue accuses of her of purposely delaying her job search, which Ohno weakly denies. Ogiue tells Ohno that Madarame is the only super senior that Genshiken needs, to which Ohno replies that that’s not quite what Madarame is. Then Sue chimes in with

I’M IN DESPAIR! JAPANESE PEOPLE WHO CAN’T SEEM TO EVER GRADUATE HAVE LEFT ME IN DESPAIR!

Ogiue remarks that her despair is a little too valid. Ohno then says that Kuchiki will be gone by next year, implying that it’s a good reason to stay. Ogiue says she’s rather he leave sooner. Sue mentions that she’d like to see Madarame cosplay as Zetsubou Sensei. Madarame sneezes.

Now…

What can we learn from this?

First, is that this chapter clearly takes place after the events of volume 9. Ogiue’s un-fude hair is a direct reference to an image of her in volume 9 where she questions whether or not to have the fude at job interviews.

Ohno’s Yamada cosplay is from Kujibiki <3 Unbalance, instead of the normal series, and the implication is that this takes place in 2006, and Genshiken the manga has always been pretty good about maintaining its timeline. Sasahara, Saki, and Kohsaka all graduated in 2005. Further reinforcing this is the mention that Kuchiki will not be there anymore next year. So clearly this means that the Ogiue we are seeing is, in fact, Chairman Ogiue.

YES. Oh man, how I wanted to see Ogi-kaichou. Thank you, Kio Shimoku.

Sue is in Genshiken, and these events take place after her appearance at the beginning of Volume 9. I think that she has fulfilled her dream and is studying at Shiiou University. Her Japanese has improved considerably, as her remark that Madarame should do Zetsubou Sensei cosplay is not a direct quote or reference, but rather just her speaking normally, if with an American accent. Congratulations Sue!

Ohno delaying her graduation means that Ohno and Ogiue graduate the same year. I’m sure that was part of her plan.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Zetsubou of Socks are Really Itchy

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So with season 2 having just begun airing in Japan, it’s about as good a time as any to review Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.

Simply put, this is a good series.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is the story of a harshly pessimistic and cynical teacher, the titular “Mr. Despair,” Itoshiki Nozomu, and his student, Fuura Kafuka, who can put a genuine positive spin on anything. Their interactions with each other, the other students in the school, and their environment at large are approached in multiple layers of dangerously effective meta-humor, like getting a heart attack from Azuma Kazuma’s ultimate croissant.

Akiyuki Shinbo, the director of SZS, has a very distinct directing style which is evident in pretty much everything he does. You will find in Zetsubou Sensei a keen awareness of the anime as an anime, as an image projected from a television screen (or some other type of monitor). This applies not only to the strong use of flat colors as well as the placement of objects within each scene, but also to the characters and personalities. The characters could easily be thought of as gimmicks: Optimist, pessimist, anal-retentive, cell phone, fujoshi, hikikomori, on and on and on. I, however, believe it is better to think of them as character traits in their purest forms. Watching a character in Zetsubou Sensei is like chewing the coffee beans right in your mouth.

For me, the example that stands out most is the anal-retentive Kitsu Chiri’s perfectly symmetrical hair. It is a representative of her desire for symmetry in everything, and when shown on screen close-up, Kitsu’s hair becomes negative space and the split turns into a vivid shape on a flat plane. The split hair is quite literally symbolic.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a show I feel I can appreciate on a very artistic level, but it also satisfies my simple desire to watch an entertaining show. I look forward to Season 2.

By the way, if I had to choose: Kafuka, Kitsu, and Fujiyoshi in that order.

Kujibiki Genshiken: A Supplementary Image

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Yeah, that is wonderful.

Kujibiki Unbalance Omake: (A little) MORE Genshiken! A Review

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Volume two of the Kujibiki Unbalance manga was released in Japan recently, and the extra at the end is a 3-page comic starring Ogiue, Ohno, and Sue. I won’t spoil too much because I know Kujibiki Unbalance is being released in America soon, but I will say that it satisfied my desire for more Ogiue, if temporarily.

You Sue fans will get a kick out of this too.

Also, Ohno fans.

So really, everybody wins.