James Matthews
Apocalypse Now
Japan’s fascination with the apocalypse can be seen in many cyber-punk anime —from the nuclear blast in the opening sequence of Akira, the massive alien attacks in Neon Genesis Evangelion, or the apocalyptic, world-destroying war sequences in Final Fantasy. The medium of animation is perfectly suited to the apocalyptic genre, since it has no need for special effects or a large budget to effectively wow the audiences with scenes of mass destruction. Yet, why are the Japanese so intrigued by this concept?
Many believe the answer lies in the fact Japan is the only nation to witness an apocalyptic event between man and technology; namely the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Interestingly though, the Eastern ideas of the apocalypse are radically different to the wholesale and exaggerated destruction of the world prevalent in Western religious texts. While Christian views of the apocalypse depict the final struggle between good and evil, punishment for the wicked and ascent to heaven for the good, neither traditional Buddhism nor Shintoism share these or any analogous beliefs.
Full article can be seen here.
Sunday, August 20
Anime: A New Art Form, Not a Childish Hobby
What it Is, What it Isn't
By Trevor Stevens
Aug 18 2006 04:38PM
Anime lovers are called Otaku, which is western for ‘freak’ or Japanese for ‘fan.’ Those that enjoy anime are shoved into that category for no reason aside from the fact that they like cartoon stories. They are seen as childish, immature, and having no real life. This simply isn’t true. There are many reasons that anime is a legitimate art form and “otaku” should be viewed as no different from people who love action movies or love stories..
Source
By Trevor Stevens
Aug 18 2006 04:38PM
Anime lovers are called Otaku, which is western for ‘freak’ or Japanese for ‘fan.’ Those that enjoy anime are shoved into that category for no reason aside from the fact that they like cartoon stories. They are seen as childish, immature, and having no real life. This simply isn’t true. There are many reasons that anime is a legitimate art form and “otaku” should be viewed as no different from people who love action movies or love stories..
Source
Saturday, August 19
Anime draws a crowd, flocking to a land of make believe
Deborah Cameron, Tokyo
August 17, 2006
BY THE tens of thousands they queued, ascended to an Everest in lifts, and arrived, panting, at a pinnacle of popular culture.
It is Comiket, the world's largest market and expo for comics and cartoons, held on the roof of a Tokyo convention centre. Here a grand passion of the Japanese male stands bared.
Comiket goes beyond comics, or anime, as cartoons are called in Japan. It is the most important pilgrimage of the year to the men who descend on the event to buy limited-edition DVDs, collect new games, buy plastic miniature figures, or collect an autograph from a voice actor.
Source
Tens of thousands flock to Comiket
Manga lovers flocked in their tens of thousands over the weekend to Tokyo's Big Sight arena in Minato-ku's Odaiba for Comic Market 70.
While the upper hall at "Comiket" played host to the professional artists, merchandising and game companies' booths, the larger market was held in the two giant exhibition halls. Here, hundreds of amateur manga artists displayed their works to the public.
"I was shocked at how huge it is," said Jamal Rorie, a first-time visitor to Comiket from the United States. "I've been to a few conventions at home, but it easily dwarfs anything we have in the U.S."
Many also braved the sweltering heat to visit the Cosplay Plaza on the upper terraces, where photographers queued up to shout requests for poses at the mostly-female cosplayers.
The event finished with an unexpected bang on Sunday as fireworks lit up Tokyo Bay. They had been previously scheduled for Saturday night, but were postponed due to thunderstorms. (By Roger Hutchings)
August 15, 2006
Source
August 17, 2006
BY THE tens of thousands they queued, ascended to an Everest in lifts, and arrived, panting, at a pinnacle of popular culture.
It is Comiket, the world's largest market and expo for comics and cartoons, held on the roof of a Tokyo convention centre. Here a grand passion of the Japanese male stands bared.
Comiket goes beyond comics, or anime, as cartoons are called in Japan. It is the most important pilgrimage of the year to the men who descend on the event to buy limited-edition DVDs, collect new games, buy plastic miniature figures, or collect an autograph from a voice actor.
Source
Tens of thousands flock to Comiket
Manga lovers flocked in their tens of thousands over the weekend to Tokyo's Big Sight arena in Minato-ku's Odaiba for Comic Market 70.
While the upper hall at "Comiket" played host to the professional artists, merchandising and game companies' booths, the larger market was held in the two giant exhibition halls. Here, hundreds of amateur manga artists displayed their works to the public.
"I was shocked at how huge it is," said Jamal Rorie, a first-time visitor to Comiket from the United States. "I've been to a few conventions at home, but it easily dwarfs anything we have in the U.S."
Many also braved the sweltering heat to visit the Cosplay Plaza on the upper terraces, where photographers queued up to shout requests for poses at the mostly-female cosplayers.
The event finished with an unexpected bang on Sunday as fireworks lit up Tokyo Bay. They had been previously scheduled for Saturday night, but were postponed due to thunderstorms. (By Roger Hutchings)
August 15, 2006
Source
Thursday, August 17
Wired On Doujinshi, The Yaoi Kind
By Jennifer Granick
02:00 AM Aug, 16, 2006
Last weekend saw me squeezing through the crowded aisles of the Mandarake comic store in Tokyo's Higashi-Ikebukuro neighborhood on a quest for a Star Wars comic. Specifically, I was looking for fan-created manga revealing the untold love story between C-3P0 and R2-D2.
I didn't find the 'droid porn I was looking for (though I'm sure it exists), but I did find a romance between Harry Potter and Malfoy, and several shelves of steamy Aragorn x Boromir action.
This is the world of doujinshi, or self-published fan fiction -- a part of a healthy Japanese visual arts scene based on the appropriation and reuse of commercial characters. The booming sub-genre of yaoi (appropriately pronounced "yowie!"), features stories about the homoerotic relationships between two popular male characters in anime, manga and even Western films. The yaoi genre is both commercially and fan-produced.
That it not only exists but thrives is a testament to Japan's relaxed attitudes on copyright, which have facilitated a flowering of both creative and commercial activity. American media companies, take note.
Higashi-Ikebukoro is one of Tokyo's outermost neighborhoods, but it's become a destination for female manga fans because the major manga store branches there specially stock works written by and for women. These specialty shops are six-, seven- and eight-story buildings filled from top to bottom with commercial and doujinshi manga, and tie-in products like figurines, trading cards and stationery. This area has become known as "Otome Road," the female answer to Tokyo's geek-centric Akihabara district.
Source
02:00 AM Aug, 16, 2006
Last weekend saw me squeezing through the crowded aisles of the Mandarake comic store in Tokyo's Higashi-Ikebukuro neighborhood on a quest for a Star Wars comic. Specifically, I was looking for fan-created manga revealing the untold love story between C-3P0 and R2-D2.
I didn't find the 'droid porn I was looking for (though I'm sure it exists), but I did find a romance between Harry Potter and Malfoy, and several shelves of steamy Aragorn x Boromir action.
This is the world of doujinshi, or self-published fan fiction -- a part of a healthy Japanese visual arts scene based on the appropriation and reuse of commercial characters. The booming sub-genre of yaoi (appropriately pronounced "yowie!"), features stories about the homoerotic relationships between two popular male characters in anime, manga and even Western films. The yaoi genre is both commercially and fan-produced.
That it not only exists but thrives is a testament to Japan's relaxed attitudes on copyright, which have facilitated a flowering of both creative and commercial activity. American media companies, take note.
Higashi-Ikebukoro is one of Tokyo's outermost neighborhoods, but it's become a destination for female manga fans because the major manga store branches there specially stock works written by and for women. These specialty shops are six-, seven- and eight-story buildings filled from top to bottom with commercial and doujinshi manga, and tie-in products like figurines, trading cards and stationery. This area has become known as "Otome Road," the female answer to Tokyo's geek-centric Akihabara district.
Source
Wednesday, August 16
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi (2006)
Now let's talk about another event anime of the year, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. This anime first serialized in novels by Nagaru Tanigawa then very popular anime in middle of 2006 took the world of anime fandom by storm. Why and how it become so instantly appealing to viewers is matter of academic conjecture but it can summarize that few popular anime memes that used by it is very effective. First high proportion of female characters with stereotypes which is instantly recognizable to anime fans. Haruhi is a tsundere stock character, Yuki is silent, Rei Ayanami (Evangelion) type of mold and Mikuru the busty doormat girl. Second, typical sailor school uniform with high cut skirt then followed by various costumes from bunny girl suit to maid. Third, the anime even caters to fangirls and yaoi in shape of Itsuki the ever smiling male student. Four, the implied romantic between all principle players in the story, even Itsuki-Kyon angle. With all these popular stock characters in play, it is a good start for successful anime hook for audience. Then the story throws in most often used genre in this setting, from time traveler to alien-human interaction having a discourse with things like for example a space battle scenario ( a nod to Legend of Galactic Heroes), murder mystery (another tribute to Detective Conan or Case Closed) and sports anime. On top of that, a brilliant (or retarded, depending on your view) scrambled order of episodes to catch viewer's attention to find out more and more about the anime. It is a clever gimmick and admittedly it adds a strange charm to the otherwise already well planned anime. But what gives the anime strongest charm is inclusion of the very normal and down-to-earth Kyon who is doing fourth wall narration and voice of reason while reacting to various antics of the characters around him especially Haruhi.
This anime is about a normal student which only known as Kyon to audiences ( so audiences can insert their own name I suspected) encounter with 4 really strange people in his school. 3 very beautiful girls with different personalities and 1 handsome pleasant boy entered his life with a force of tidal wave and take Kyon to unwitting places. Haruhi is center of his roller coaster ride, an impetuous and bored female classmate. She is claimed by other 3 people that she is holding key to human singularity as she has ability to create reality as she pleased. When you have impetuous plus bored plus godlike ability, something funky will definitely happen. Which it did. For 14 episodes, viewers are subjected to Kyon's often exasperation of her antics and his discussion what is reality or not with out-of-the-world factors weighing on his mind in the process. Story wise the anime is fairly mundane but what makes it noticeable is scrambled ordering of episodes and no holes barred narration from Kyon which gives this anime an unique flavour.
Rating 8
Art
Now I only will comment on one scene of the anime which clinched my attention very well. The concert. Yes, the scene where Haruhi has to stand in for absent members of band in school festival is a highlight for me. If viewers look carefully, Haruhi hair become progressively wet from sweat of singing and her mouth movement is accurate to the lyrics of the song. Not to mention the guitar play is largely in sync with the song. This is a very impressive set piece scene by itself and deserve many viewing for sheer details of the art mastery. Bravo Kyoto Animation.
Other than that, the anime art is sufficient to convey what it needs to convey.
Rating 8
Sound
Haruhi insert songs used in concert scene are very catchy with “God Knows” and “Lost My Music” by Hiyano Aya the voice actress of Haruhi. The OP is standard whereas the ED “Hare Hare Yukai” is enhanced by infectious dance choreography by characters of the anime. The BGM of the anime is sufficient to accompany the mood of the show, not overwhelming it or underwhelm by it. The highlight of anime sound department is the insert songs by Hiyano Aya which quite talented and unique.
The Japanese voice acting of the series are excellent, each characters represented by voice actors and actresses who suitable for the role. Especially Aya Hirano who has a commanding presence in this aspect, her characterization of Haruhi is spot on and voice of Kyon also complimented her audacious aspect in the anime.
Rating 7
Presentation
This anime ability to be different from other animes of the season due to unsual setting and technical mastery of the Kyoto Animation. The anime also make sure of its success by using all popular character stock to catch anime fans attention and popular memes like bunny girl costume to make anime fans happy. However, the anime decided to be episodic madness and did not really try to address the impasse between Haruhi and Kyon can frustating to some viewers. Someone complained that anime resolution is a pathetic ponytail hair which really did not push the story anywhere at all. As I mentioned in my comment, the anime appeal is Haruhi's impasse and inability to solve her issues then she decided to make her environment responsible for her dissatisfaction of her life. Perhaps some people who complained in this manner miss the point of the anime. Haruhi never meant to have any conclusion and her constant rampage with her issues is crux of the anime.
Perhaps not.
This anime deserve a viewing for standalone comedies and subtle brain teaser but any expectation of it have any conclusion should be cautioned as it did not really go in that direction. As for me, this anime has a fascinating discussion on human ascendancy and singularity; a rather humorous debate on order versus chaos, nature of man's nothingness and alienation, the absurdity of humanity and why are we here type of dilemma posed by Haruhi herself. It is decidedly non-serious in look but actually the topic discussed here is very pertinent and personal indeed.
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi is unusual anime but a ride worth to enjoy at least once.
Rating 7
Monday, August 14
Why Haruhi is so popular?
Haruhi main strength is her impasse and many fans love to see her on this constant state of impasse. Once she resolved or move forward in her life, it will not be "Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi". Her total obliviousness to human emotions also adds to the appeal too for most people.
That is why some people disliked the anime despite the appeal, it did not really progressed in terms of character development. You can say most of anime fans are self indulgent and Haruhi hits on that spot so it becomes the hottest anime around. The self indulgence flag is proudly hoisted by Haruhi and SOS Brigade like the Marines in Iwojima Mount Suribachi.
That is how I see it.
The review on this anime soon.
That is why some people disliked the anime despite the appeal, it did not really progressed in terms of character development. You can say most of anime fans are self indulgent and Haruhi hits on that spot so it becomes the hottest anime around. The self indulgence flag is proudly hoisted by Haruhi and SOS Brigade like the Marines in Iwojima Mount Suribachi.
That is how I see it.
The review on this anime soon.
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