Naming her Duck is not a reason to march on Washington.
November 27, 2007
Count Spankula of AnimeJump once joked that if someone raised a stink on the Internet about their fantastic demands for an exclusive box set for Herman’s Head, they would be laughed off the Internet and ignored. But if someone makes a random complaint about an anime DVD, the anime companies tend to scramble to fix their complaint (even if it’s a minor complaint for a distinct minority of the fans). Is this a bad thing? Don’t we want a responsive industry that actually listens to its customers? Are the anime companies actually that responsive or do they just pretend to be? Do they actually listen to what we want or do they just pretend to?
Pleasing the fans, sounds easy right? WRONG. I think over the years American fans have become increasingly more demanding to the point of impossibility for any company to make everyone happy. I’m not sure when everyone got so darned picky. Or maybe the Internet just makes me think everyone is so darn picky. But on the complete flip-side, without so much fan input would we see the releases that we do today?
For one thing no one can ever do anything to make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time. That is one of the major dilemmas of any consumer industry. The minute you decide to do things one way, someone is going to complain why didn’t you do it the way they wanted it. Sometimes you can do things both ways, but is it worth the time and effort? Nine times out of ten any changes cost money. If you want to stay in business, those costs have to be out-weighed by increased profits. The only other reason to incur a cost is to increase overall goodwill of the customer. The other major problem is people on the Internet assume they are the majority just because they find a few other people who share their opinion.
A simple example is the use of honorifics in subs and dubs. In my opinion the simple answer is to use no honorifics in a dub but use honorifics in subtitles. I think it hits the broadest amount of fans of each type of translation. I feel that most people who listen to dubs would either like or not mind as much if honorifics are left out. They want their dubs to be adapted as close to English as possible. I feel that sub fans tend to want a more Japanese feel to their shows and would want the honorifics in their translation. I think it’s an acceptable compromise.
I’m in that sub fan category! I remember when I was watching Spiral and had the subs on I was complaining that they weren’t using honorifics but what was worse was they kept subbing the main character’s name as his first name even though people were using his last name! Hisu informed of Funimation‘s strange two sub tracks. One is a sub of the dub (don’t know why this exists!) and the other is the regular sub track. I was much happier after that!
The problem is when ever a topic like this comes up on the Internet, there will be someone who complains that they are a dub fan who demands that dubs have honorific. There will also be a sub fan who can’t stand companies putting honorifics in their subs. Are these people wrong in liking what they like? Obviously not. It would be silly to fault them for that. Also my preferences are far from gospel. The problem is when they insist that their preference is the only true preference and if their demands are not met they will boycott all companies X’s products. Or attack any one who has an opinion different then their own and insist that anyone who disagrees with them is a misinformed idiot.
Whatever are you talking a bout? The internet is full of calm, rational people.
That is just one example. The infamous sub vs. dub wars still are being fought today despite the fact that the have somewhat calmed due to DVDs being able to have both. People will argue endless about the minutia of translation, while ignoring the fact that translation is hardly an exact science. People will argue for hours on minor packaging details and which extras we do and don’t get.
I was told this story about the Kimagure Orange Road DVD release. The DVD has the opening in the extras section but not at the beginning of each episode. Sounds kind of odd, but it is there, you can watch it, no big deal. Well, people threw a fit! They claimed the company should have been upfront. About what? Once again it’s not as if the opening was gone or the song changed. And AnimEigo had to redo the DVDs because people were in such an uproar. Personally, I don’t know why AnimEigo complied to it. Not to mention that show isn’t some huge seller. But then AnimEigo doesn’t make money anyway.
AnimEigo had been surveying and they saw that most people skipped the shows opening after the first two times they watched a show. So they decided instead of making people skip the opening each time, they would just place the opening on the DVD as an extra. They did not mention that they were doing this, so many people were shocked when they popped the DVDs in their players. That was the main complaint people had, AnimEigo did not tell anyone that they were going to try anything different. People paid $240.00 for a box set and then it was not how they wanted it. Although I had no big complaint about it, I see why people felt a little betrayed. It is an industry standard to place the opening in the front of every episode. I would assume there was some sort of error if the opening did not play on an episode.
Once again, I agree it is odd and an idea they shouldn’t have tried again. But once you realized where it was, was it such a big deal? I think not. Betrayed seems like an awfully harsh word to use.
There were calls to send back the DVDs and to boycott AnimEigo and all their products. I don’t think it was the best idea the company has ever had but it was definitely no reason to stage a boycott. AnimEigo is one of the most fan-friendly companies on the market. Heck they released all of Urusei Yatsura, so they have earned my gratitude. It would take a heck of a lot for me to turn on AnimEigo. Leaving off the openings of one show but still keeping it on the DVD is not enough.
AnimEigo is the only company with enough money to release titles just because they want to. And thank goodness they do! If people really thought about, they would realize that no one else would have released all of Kimagure Orange Road on DVD.
AnimEigo went above and beyond to fix their miscalculation: they re-authored the DVDs; took back all the old DVDs; and sent out the new DVDs free of charge. Everyone was very grateful but did it really earn them any respect or gratitude? Bandai released a Gundam Zeta box set with spottily translated subs in a supposedly box set only set. Then then released individual DVDs with a better translation even though they said they would never release singles. Bandai refused to set up a exchange policy so the loyal fans could exchange their old DVDs to get the better DVDs.
People get mad but then they chill out and forget all about it. I don’t see too many people boycotting Bandai Gundam releases.
But did it really matter. Did anyone really remember the extra distance AnimEigo went but Bandai did not? I’m sure some people remember. I do. But how many others even care? How many peoples anger really stays after a discussion dies down on a message board. Should anyone really care past that point? Should people hold grudges and gratitude longer than that?
I feel like we are lucky any niche series gets released at all with all the complaining that goes on!
I remember when RightStuf picked up the second season of Super Gals. ADV licensed the first season but it did not do well enough for them to license the second season. Fans kept asking ADV but time and time again they said they were not sure it was a viable license. Then RightStuf announced that they took a risk and got the second season. The whole second season would be in an affordable box set, sub only. There were a lot of appreciative fans but it seemed that there were just as many people demanding they make a dub. There were people who refused to buy the box set unless it had a dub. RightStuf took a risky gamble and went out of there way to save the second season, and they got nothing but complaints. I mean in the end all RightStuf cared about was if they turned a profit on the show but a little appreciation could have been thrown their way.
Well, RightStuf also does the rare “we will only do this if X amount of people pre-order.” But it works for them and we see releases of small or obscure titles. I think it just comes down to a lot of people wanting it all, which isn’t wrong but seems slightly unrealistic. But I have to wonder, for all the complaining, are people actually not buying for those reasons? Some things seem too minor to flat-out refuse to buy for, especially the way things are done today. The only things that seem horrific enough would be major editing, like removal of scenes and/or plot points or completely changing names.
Well, one thing that pissed me off was Princess Tutu; a great niche title. Really an overlooked show that I feel could have gained a sizable fan-base like Utena. Not a break out hit that everybody has seen, like Bleach or Dragonball Z, but a cult classic. ADV decided to translate the main characters name from Ahiru to Duck. It’s not a name change because Ahiru means Duck. ADV felt that since Ahiru is not something one commonly names a child in Japan. It’s not a name word like Rose or Crystal; it’s like naming someone Pencil or Horse. ADV felt that the name would have more effect in English if translated.
Princess Tutu was a rare title indeed and one I had little hope in actually getting licensed. I hadn’t seen any of it but I had heard some good things and I remember Ask John had mentioned in his over view for that year of good titles. But there it was! I admit I was upset about the name change, until we really talked about it and I got the reasoning. I’m not sure, since sales figures aren’t released, how it performed against their expectations. However, I seem to remember some problems with the release schedule of the DVDs, like a loooong break in between.
People on the AnimeonDVD.com forums went ballistic. They whined that ADV was censoring the anime and destroying the artistic merit of the show. There were calls to boycott Princess Tutu and ADV products until they changed the translation. I consider this a major overreaction. It’s not like the made Princess Tutu the next Cardcaptors. I felt even if you thought the translation was not the way you would have translated it, it isn’t unwatchable or disrespectful to the original source material. People took a minor point on a struggling show and blew it out of proportion. The only thing all their protests did was push a niche show further into obscurity. They chased away people who might have otherwise bought the show due the buzz by reviewers.
Although I admit, fan objectives can be good, too. I am glad manga is not flipped! (Vertical get on the ball.) I was ecstatic that Princess Mononoke was released with the original Japanese track and therefore influenced the way all of Studio Ghibli’s works are released. Also, many small series wouldn’t be released without all the fan demand, such as Emma. I guess it is a question of drawing the line.
There has to be a happy medium, I just don’t see anyone taking it. I don’t want anime companies to just ignore the fans. I like the fact that, overall, the industry listens to what fans say. They might not be able to meet every whim but some of them are just impossible or not viable to cater to. On the other hand, many times anime fans have what I consider reasonable demands: good audio visual quality, limited to no editing whenever possible, quality translations, as many extra as possible are simple demands to be met. I wish anime fans were a little more accepting. It does not mean that they should roll over and accept any garbage that is put out there buy a little understanding would not hurt anyone.
Narutaki Currently!
Watching Rose of Versailles
Reading Story of Saiunkoku
Listening to Crescent album- Gackt
Hisu (Brainwasher Detective) Currently:
Watching Tsukihime, Lunar Legend
Reading Parasyte
Listening to Godot-The Fragrance of Dark Coffee
Top 5 dead licenses I would like to be restarted by someone
1. Kodocha
2. Fist of the North Star
3. Black Lagoon
4. When They Cry – Higurashi
5. Dirty Pair TV
Best AMVs I've never seen.
November 21, 2007
The zen master looked on the AMV community and said, “So much potential. But even more wasted potential.” From what I understand AMVs started when people would throw multiple episodes on a VHS tape for fan-sub trading and there would invariably be 5 to 15 minutes of empty tape. To make use of that tape, and make their tapes more viable for trading, they would throw on an AMV or two. Eventually, people began to really like the AMVs, as more that just tape filler, and they became as popular as the shows people were trading for. What does it say that AMV artists back then could put in more effort for something to fill up a fan-sub tape than someone making an AMV today?
A chain of things have led to this blog. The first was the Answerman’s column where he talked about AMVs. That led to two podcasts about AMVs on the Ninja Consultants responding to his column. That then led to Narutaki and I looking up stuff on AMV.org. After all of that, we came to several conclusions: one, the signal to noise ratio of AMVs is quite high; two, there are a whole bunch of really good songs it seems nobody uses; and three, leaving subtitles in your video is more rampant that it should be.
I really enjoy AMVs, I think they are a fun way of expressing your fandom. In recent years, it has become increasingly easy to make such tributes. Of course, along with that you get more and more junk and it becomes harder to sift through it all. We were randomly looking up songs that we thought would make good music video and noticed so many that weren’t there! Something about there being 1000 videos using the same song drives me crazy, when there are tons of songs out there.
I remember a long time ago, Ask John had a column about AMVs. He speculated that, where as the Japanese express their love of an anime with doujinshi, Americans use AMVs. That was interesting enough to stick with me years later. I will point out one thing that was wrong with the article. The Japanese make AMVs but they tend to call them MAD movies. They also tend to include more visuals from Eroge games than in the U.S. Surprise surprise.
I guess that makes sense, I mean we know how huge the doujin community in Japan is. I look forward to an American doujin community growing to such numbers. They are completely different ways of showing fandom though. One is continuing the story or a fantasy about what could have happened, where MADs/AMVs are using what has happened and reflecting upon it. And of course, the Japanese community didn’t have the tape trading aspect that really created the AMV.
IMHO, MADs show a cross pollination of fandom between the East and the West. We borrow and adapt from each other all them time. How long before we have our own doujinshi conventions? How long I ask you?
It has become really easy to make an AMV. That means any punk can do it now. It used to take a large amount of technical skills, time, and effort to make AMVs. Now that you can get video digitally and edit video digitally, it opens the floodgates of who can make AMVs. This is good because it lets anyone make AMVs, so artistic people who might have been thrown off by the large amount of audio/visual knowledge required to make old style AMVs.
I HATE HATE HATE people who use video with subtitles for their AMVs. It’s super lazy and it usually means your whole collection is made up of fan-subs. If you own the DVD, it is a simple matter of not having subtitles on your AMV. If you only have fan-subs, or it is a show that can only be found fan-subbed, then someone had to have the raws to make that fan-sub. All you have to do is a little searching to find the raws. And if for some reason you can’t, you can still edit out the subtitles. All in all it’s just plain laziness that makes people leave in subtitles. Either do it right or don’t do it at all.
Well, you do have to rip your DVDs on to the computer so that is kind of a pain. But I agree that do it right, at least technically right, or don’t bother. But why should you? You can just slap together your Nate video, put it up on YouTube, get 7354628 hits, and all your friends will tell you how amazing it was. I think most people aren’t trying to be awarding winning, they are trying to be internet popular.
I hate you internet.
But what I think makes a music video memorable is pacing and movement. Everything else is just technical skill, which you need to have, but if you don’t know how to tell a story then I don’t think it has any power. Matching the timing, speed, and pace of a song to a show creates a sense of unity, like you can’t imagine that song without the video afterwards. Songs and movies both have a beginning, a climax, and a resolve; I want to see that in an AMV. And movement within the picture, how do I explain myself. How a character moves or the camera moves should be reflected in the music, as if to say what is going on in the video has created the sound. I don’t know if that made sense.
I remember my first anime convention, and subsequently, my first taste of AMVs. It is a fond memory and I saw a video I will never forget. West Side Bebop. If it isn’t obvious, it is Cowboy Bebop set to West Side Story, with really great lip-syncing and perfect comedic timing. This was shown at the only Anime Expo NY and won Best of Show and Best Comedy. I have never found it to watch it again. It is listed on AMV .Org but it is not available to watch. Other than that I don’t really have a list of AMVs that I love other than Hold Me, Princess Tutu and Ordinary Day, Escaflowne. I have a bad memory but this has spurned me on to start saving the ones I loved.
I can’t remember what the first AMV I ever saw was. I’m pretty sure it was something Mr. McGraw (one of our frequent readers) showed me, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was. I do remember being impressed with the AMVs at Anime Boston 2004, the only time I went. In particular this one. They were really good. I hear that Anime Weekend Atlanta is where you go to see all the really impressive AMVs because that is where all the masters go to thrown down.
The AMV Hell series I really love for one reason: it protects us from jokes going on too long and therefore no longer being funny. They are usually on the screen just long enough to be funny and not wear out their welcome (with a few exceptions).
I think the one AMV we saw at Otakon this year sums it up best. Someone tried to do Gangster’s Paradise to Cromartie High School. When we saw it on the list everyone who went to Otakon was giddy with anticipation for how it would turn out. The problem was it seemed like a great idea but in execution it was just boring. Maybe if someone else had done the video it could have been hilarious, but I think it would have worked in the AMV hell format. Just play the song long enough to make sure people realize it’s Ganster’s Paradise and that the show is Cromartie get your laugh and move on to the next joke.
I have seen a lot of people use the opening song of the series for a music video. What? Doesn’t that seem like a total cop out? Clearly that song already goes with the theme of the show (unless you are like Berserk or NaruTaru. ) So exactly what kind of thought went into that choice? In fact, it seems like many people don’t think about song and show, they think I like this song and I like this show but not the two together. I think you see this a lot with romantic pairing videos.
Well every review of NaruTaru always mentions that the super cute happy opening totally does not let you know what a messed up show that is. Test Tubes. ;_;
GAH! DON’T SAY IT! IT STILL HAUNTS MY DREAMS!
BTW – the best romantic pairing videos are of pairings that don’t exist in any way what so every, except in the person who made the AMVs mind. I’m not talking about ones done for comedic effect. I’m talking about videos made to show that clearly Yomi has an undying love for Osaka (and your an idiot if you don’t see it too).
Or random yaoi pairings that you see only in fan-art and dojinishi but someone thinks it would be good to make a video about those characters. Even though they clearly have no interaction like that in the show at all. So they just keep showing moments of them talking.
I would really like to see more videos using older songs. Maybe it is just the age of people making them but I’m not old or anything. I think there are lots of songs that would make amazingly funny AMV’s. I mostly think in terms of comedy ones. I’m not really sure why that is, perhaps it is just easier to come up with a funny song pairing than try to make a very serious one that doesn’t come off as lame. I would also love to see more musicals/Broadway songs used but that requires great lip syncing abilities.
Your statement seems right on target about people not using older songs. Fandom has become increasingly younger so that probably means that as long as that trend continues the trend of not using older songs will continue as well. One of the main problems is any community is usually going to have certain common musical preferences. This does not mean everyone in the anime community listens to the same music. Far from it. But I’m sure if you could somehow read every anime fan’s Myspace page I’m sure some artists would appear ad nauseum. That is why you see a million Linkin Park and Weird Al videos. Oh and if I understand correctly, there is some very good software that greatly aids in any lip syncing efforts. It would take more work than others songs but I think it would easily be worth the effort.
Deadman’s Curve by Jan&Dean for Initial D would just crack me up. A lot of people probably don’t know this song. It is from the early 60′s and it’s about street racing, but it has such a wholesome bouncy sound. Most Initial D videos I see use some euro-beat song and really that isn’t making an Initial D video. It’s not that they aren’t good, but the show itself is one giant euro-beat music video so it doesn’t seem to require much effort. My Boyfriend’s Back by The Angels for tons and various shows all mashed up together. When I thought of using this song, I thought that surely someone already had! It is the perfect song for some hilarious butt-kicking wish fulfillment. Lots of characters popping up from all kinds of shows with choruses of girls singing. Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams or Juke Box Hero by Foreigner for BECK Mongolian Chop Squad. The story doesn’t quite fit but I think it has the spirit and someone could make it work.
I think Who Could It Be Now? by Men at Work would make an awesome Welcome to the NHK video.
I think I may try my hand at an AMV one of these days. The power of a good AMV is to ellicit an immediate reaction whether it be joy, laughter, sadness, suspense. They can convey the feelings of a show in a compressed version which can feel overwhelming. What a show takes to give you a feeling, maybe 26 episodes or whatnot, someone is trying to give you one or all of those emotions in a matter of minutes. Or they are trying to make you laugh, and I love to laugh. There is nothing better! So if an AMV can accomplish one of these two things, then I can appreciate it.
I will be rooting for you but I know I don’t have the patients to do something like that.
Narutaki Currently!
Watching Bamboo Blade
Reading Bleach
Listening to X-Japan
Hisu (Brainwasher Detective) Currently:
Watching Genshiken 2
Reading School Rumble
Listening to “disarm dreamer” by Aki Misato
Top 5 AMVs I have watched recently
5. Urban Ragnarok, Metropolis
4. Best of You, Various
3. Getting Away with Murder, Death Note
2. Two Towers Requiem, Final Fantasy IX
1. Sweet Revenge, Gankutsuou
Size does matter.
November 16, 2007
I think we have all experienced a show that made us say, “That took too long to do what it needed to do.” Most clearly evident in shows that have filler, like many Shonen Jump titles. And on the flip-side I’m sure we have all wished a certain series was longer (because 7 seasons was just not enough of Ranma for you!).
Well how many times have you also felt that, “Boy that ending sure was rushed.” I think pacing is a form of art that is not always supremely executed by the Japanese. I’m sure the rather harsh time restraints and budgeting of anime (or TV in general) leads to some unevenness in story and plotting, but I don’t think the blame lies solely there. I have seen OAVs and movies which theoretically have unlimited time constraints and they have had major pacing issues.
I have to think that with such a large repertoire of shows they can’t get it right all the time. Quite a few OVAs are used to wet the appetite so you will buy the manga. Or there have been those few instances where OVAs were basically made for existing fans of the manga, as a little bonus, such as the Angel Sanctuary OVA, the Tokyo Babylon OVAs, and the Here is Greenwood OVAs.
BTW – I felt that some of the better Ranma stories like the Musk Dynasty, Konatsu, and Saffron never got put in the anime.
Of course, there are many reasons for it. Especially with shows that are running closely along side a manga. While most longer running series, I think, would benefit from taking a break between season, marketing doesn’t see it that way. They are afraid of being forgotten or out done by a new show in the coming season. So instead you can end up with filler, that many times is pointless, boring, or worse, just plain bad. I shake my fist at you D.Gray Man and your last 20 episodes!
It seems like all in all filler does not necessarily have to be bad. I mean, if you like the characters and their adventures, some more of their tales should be just as good. It just turns out most of the time filler is useless, annoying, and takes time and budget from the better written main plot line. I did like the G8 filler arc from One Piece. Many people consider the Black Rose Arc from Utena as filler and that was awesome. But I have seen countless other filler arcs and they have mostly been weak sauce. For some reason, when other writers take another person’s creation it just always seems like they are missing some vital point that brings the other person’s creation to life. I’m not sure there is some tangible element to it but it just seems off.
Well, I also think that how many filler episodes you get in a row can really determine whether or not you are okay with it. Like one here and again, is fine and can be fun or funny. But when you are looking at 10 or 15 in a row, it starts to get painful. The ideal would be, if you have to have filler, to intersperce it within episodes that have plot. Cutting back and forth between filler and plot. Lots of American television series do this to build suspense and it seems to work a little better.
If certain long running anime could take season breaks, it might definitely help them. There would be less need for horrible filler. Each season the original would manage to have time to build more of the story. It works well enough in the U.S. with TV shows. I’m sure that some people will tune back into One Piece or Detective Conan if there were some repeats for two or three months. It might also lead to less recap episodes in certain series. I won’t be too harsh towards Japanese TV executives because sometimes a certain tactic that works in one country, may utterly fail in another. Maybe they have tried similar strategies in the past only to find that people flee a show on hiatus like rats leaving a sinking ship.
Then there are shows like Detective Conan that are very episodic in design. Maybe a few overlapping episodes, but for the most part you can tune in every week, or once a month, and still know what is going on. These are clearly the ideal for television.
Well all the mega major shows that have been on TV forever tend to be like that. Crayon Shin-chan, Sazae-san, and Doraemon are all the same way. They are always shows that have family appeal because there are the only shows that are going to get the ratings to survive that long. Otaku shows can’t usually sustain an audience as well. Or at least that is the conventional thinking.
And obviously ratings have a big factor after the series has started. Although, this doesn’t seem to be as much of a problem unless you are in a super good slot. Like all the otaku shows that air later at night seem to keep plugging away regardless.
Many times a you see a series drag because it has to be a certain amount of episodes. I remember figuring this out while watching the first season of Magic Knight Rayearth. The last five episodes, roughly, are the same episode over and over again. Talk about frustrating! And you commonly see a deterioration of animation right along with it. Of course, that is a budget issue.
Well the last episodes of Evangelion are famous for people talking with their hands over their mouths to cut down animation costs. There are also a bunch of shows that have spectacular openings and good to spectacular endings but shoestring budget middles.
My preferred length is right around the 13 episode, half season mark. It is long enough to tell a small story, develop attachments if there aren’t too many characters, and wrap it up without feeling like it went too fast. I also feel that it is just a nice manageable number. And for me it usually can be watched very quickly. That is not to say I don’t enjoy a longer series. Because for the most part, I feel studios have a handle on how long a series should be.
I think that I feel 26 episodes is the best amount of time it’s just really easy to mess up 26 episodes. I feel 13 episodes is greater for smaller stories. There have been plenty of 26 episode shows that should have been shrank down to 13 episodes shows to cut down on some of the fluff. But I think a well done 26 episode show is ideal. It has enough time to stretch its legs and really tell a meaty story but not enough time to wear out its welcome. I feel 13 episode shows are best for shorter or simpler stories. I think the Giant Robo OAVs clearly show that some giant robot anime might be more accessible if it were a little shorter.
I think the most important things is for a show to do the most it can with the time it’s given. I will stick with a series if it goes on 200+ episodes like One Piece and I won’t complain about a two episode OAV if they entertain me. All too often short OAVs seem rushed or frantic while longer series seem to have unnecessary filler that makes a series drag when it should be getting to the meat of the story. The ideal length is always just enough episodes to tell the story that needs to be told. No more and no less.
Narutaki Currently!
Watching Hayate no Gotoku!
Reading Dragon Eye
Listening to Pocket single by Ai Otsuka
Hisu (Brainwasher Detective) Currently:
Watching Gaint Robo
Reading Tista
Listening to Asterisk by ORANGE RANGE
Top 5 Favorite OAVs
1. Gaint Robo
2. Rurouni Kenshin
3. Record of Lodoss War
4. Bubblegum Crisis
5. ROD: Read Or Die
Lost in the shuffle.
November 10, 2007
Certain fashions are timeless and others are only products of their time. Jeans are always fashionable but bell-bottoms are very much a product of the 70′s. Anime can be the same way. Certain shows are classics and forever will be. I can’t see a time when people won’t be talking about Evangelion, Akira, or Castle of Cagliastro in anime fandom. Other series seem to be all the rage, necessary viewing for anime fans, and then disappear from consciousness like they were never released at all. Some shows fade because they lose their novelty factor, others fade because the genre they are in falls out of favor, and some seem to fade for no other reason other than people don’t like older shows.
Oh, so many shows, so little time. It seems that American fans hang on to shows a lot longer than the Japanese do. So it comes as no surprise that so many series get swept under the rug. Most people are looking for the newer, better thing.
Now on to those who were once giants but now have been humbled by time.
Ranma, Ranma, Ranma. Where do I begin? Ranma 1/2 is the story of a tough guy martial artist who, after falling into a cursed spring, turns into a girl when splashed with cold water. Much like Midori Days, it’s one of those shows with a premise that so easily could be used for some bizarre hentai but is used for only slightly ecchi situational comedy. Ranma’s father has promised his long time friend, Soun Tendo, that Ranma would marry one of his daughters and carry on each families martial artist style. The Tendo family decides that Ranma should be engaged to Akane, the youngest sister. Due to a general distaste for boys and a series of unfortunate events (and Ranma being a ego-maniacal jerk) during their first meeting, Ranma and Akane’s engagement starts off on a bad foot. Their relationship never seems to improve as dozens of aspiring fiancees and would be rivals show up to complicate their fragile relationship. There is lots of comical martial arts fighting combined with situational school comedy and cold-water changing mix-ups.
Ranma 1/2 was, at a time, Viz’s flagship title in the U.S. It seemed like the show everyone had an opinion about. Love it or hate it; everyone had seen some Ranma 1/2. There were those people who loved it and thought it was the best thing ever. And those people who hated it and wished the people who loved it would shut the heck up about it. It was constantly cosplayed, fan-fiction boards were flooded with Ranma stories of all types, and almost every list of favorite characters had someone from Ranma on it.
I had a friend at the time who was big-time into Ranma. I saw a lot of it through her and luckily our local video store carried quite a few tapes of it. It seemed to be like one of the first shows, along with a couple of others on this list, that had such a huge cast of characters it was almost impossible not to find one you liked. That was the real magic in it I think.
You can still find fans of Ranma 1/2 but most of the hardcore fandom has moved on to other shows and most people only speak about it with a distant nostalgia (or a dry contempt). All of Rumiko Takahashi’s major works seem to illicit this type of reaction, but I think Ranma is the epitome of this syndrome. Urusei Yatsura came around when there was less of an anime community, so it made a smaller impact because there were less people in anime fandom. The Inu-Yasha manga is still ongoing in Japan and the American fandom has not totally died down. So it doesn’t fall in this category yet. I myself actually like Takahashi’s characters even though they are usually utter jerks. Most people tend not to like Ranma 1/2 because it’s extremely long. It also has a habit of dressing up the same jokes in slightly different clothes. For some reason, I really like Takahashi’s series but your mileage may vary.
My tolerance was rather short. I still really love the OVAs and the movies. But could I sit through 7 season of Ranma? Hell no. I think your ability to do so really has to do with whether or not you liked Ranma, himself. I find it difficult to watch a show if I can’t atleast tolerate the main character. However, I tend to think all of Rumiko’s main works run too long. That is the fault of the editors no doubt.
I think this sums it up best.
Fushigi Yugi is a harem anime for girls. Okay, it’s more than that but lets not ignore this fact. Miaka Yuki and her friend, Yui Hongo, are ordinary girls who get transported into a fictional world contained in a magical book called The Universe of the Four Gods. Miaka soon learns that she is the priestess of Suzaku. The duty of the priestess of Suzaku is to find the seven celestial warriors and summon the god Suzaku. The problem there is a rival nation that worships Seiryu is trying to stop Miaka from summoning Suzaku and will doing anything is their power to stop her.
Anything includes trying to kidnap and rape her 40 times. Because I swear this child is helpless.
Fushigi Yugi was one of the first and one of the biggest break out shojo anime back at a time when the only titles that were being brought over were shonen titles. It was definitely not the first shojo title released in the U.S. either commercially or through fan-subs, but it was still a majorly influential. The old story goes that t Karen Duffy can in many way be considered the person who most helped Fushigi Yugi become the juggernaut that it was. Her fan-subs supposedly almost single handily created a fan-base for Fushigi Yugi in the U.S. No matter how it started it was the tremendous fan-sub fan-base is what got American companies interested in the show. It was definitely a show that came to be licensed in the states with the help of fan-subs. It most probably would have eventually come over to the U.S. but it come over when it did because fan-subs made English-speaking fans aware that such a show existed.
This is such a cool story because it shows the power of fan-subs, in a positive way. I’m sure it has been exaggerated but it can’t be denied that Fushigi Yuugi would never have been what it was if not for the tape trading community. This also put Yuu Watase’s work on the map here in the U.S. Her and CLAMP were the first big shojo manga-ka to gain a following when the manga industry just started up.
This was a show that had a distinctly shojo feel but borrowed enough shonen elements that it had a decent crossover appeal. Despite it’s male fans it should obvious that Fushigi Yugi had a largely female fan-base. In many ways it was a good bridge for all the girls who wanted to watch something else from Japan after Sailor Moon. Since Miaka Yuki was in many ways an ideal self insertion character and was surrounded by a harem of good looking guys, of all stripes, it is no surprise that it quickly gained a female following. The internet was flooded with shrines devoted to any and all of the Celestial warriors, and most of the other male characters form the series. Even the villainous Nakago had a large fan community. It seemed like every girl in anime fandom had watched Fushigi Yugi and would always try to get the guy in their circle of fandom to watch it.
We can thank Fushigi Yuugi for a number of things. Firstly, it was a more mature shojo title than Sailor Moon. It dealt with more adult relationships, sex, betrayal, and death. It also made girl otaku realize, what Japan knew all along, the appeal of the bishonen. Yuu Watase couldn’t draw an ugly guy to save her life. For most this was a somewhat new flavor to the mix. It also did really well in the manga realm and this kick started the shojo manga crazy that has never quite picked up in anime form here in the states.
Now it seems that U.S. fandom has mostly turned against Fushigi Yugi to the point where it is often considered a good example of what is wrong with certain types of shows in anime. Most people seem to talk about it as if they can’t see why they would have ever liked a show like that. It is a show that contains quite a few cliches, a long some would say overextended plot-line, and a good number of people would punch Miaka in the face if they ever met her in real life. If nothing else I know Kohaku still loves this series (and still loves Tasuki).
Well, as a fan-base grows older it seems easy to look back and question your tastes. I was never a fan of this show myself, I had the first two VHS tapes and that was about as far as I got. I read a bit more of the manga. Yuu Watase, still has a huge following, but you don’t really see that in anime. Since, I believe most of her series aren’t animated. I think this skews the idea of why it is looked at with contempt. Quite frankly, series with characters like this are still very popular in shojo manga. You might not see it anime wise, and you won’t see male fans picking up on it anymore. Fushigi Yuugi’s crossover appeal, in my opinion, was product of its time. There wasn’t that much, it was a new concept, and people didn’t have the same expectations. So to say completely useless female heroines surrounded by pretty guys is not popular, would be a mistake.
Slayers was a insanely popular comedy series in the U.S. back in the day. Slayers is set in a D&D fantasy universe with a decidedly farcical slant. Lina Inverse is a sorceress supreme who much like a D&D character wanders around fighting bandits and looting them for treasure. During one of the bandit hunting expeditions she runs into a handsome, but somewhat dim, swordsman named Gourry Gabriev and his legendary Sword of Light. They begin traveling together due to Goury’s want to protect Lina and Lina’s desire to get the Sword of Light. Along the way they usually run a foul of some major demon and reluctantly foil their nefarious schemes. They are eventually joined by the stoic chimera, Zelgadis, and the justice otaku, Princess Amelia. Most of the movies and OAVs are prequels to the TV series that involve Lina and her rival/traveling companion Naga the White Serpent. Although there is usually a very serious overall plot-line, the general tone is always comical and everything is tinged with parody and sarcasm.
Hey, you totally forgot Xellos! That secret keeping priest! And where would the yaoi doujinshi community be without him? Slayers is a show that there was also lots of fan-fiction written about as I recall. And I also saw many sites dedicated to pairings from this show. As my previous statement suggests, they weren’t all canon. I distinctly remember a site that was trying to convince people that Zelgadis and Xellos were clearly in love.
Next you going to say Trowa x Quatre is not canon.
Slayers seems to have had a major effect on the Japanese fantasy anime market by the sheer fact that it spawned dozens of similar comedy fantasy shows. Even the anime Rune Soldier, which is set in the Record of Lodoss world, uses the same comedy/drama formula. It seemed to be a show that was used much like Record Of Lodoss War to draw in people who were familiar with RPGs but knew nothing of anime. Other people went to Slayers after watching Record Of Lodoss War, more fantasy and were not thrown off by Slayers comical bent.
Now here’s a series I can really get behind; hilarious slap-stick comedy combined with almighty power! Plus, there is very little, good fantasy anime. I think that is why both Slayers and Lodoss gained a really large legion of fans. I was and still am a fan of both shows. I am always shocked that there isn’t more like these two shows with the plethora of RPG video games out there. Oh, and as a side note: all the songs were all a lot of fun! I always liked that about the show.
As far as I can tell most people just don’t watch Slayers anymore mostly because it’s old. It still has somewhat of a following, proven when Tokyopop thought of dropping the novel series. They got a massive write in campaign that seems to have saved the series for now. Funimation picked up the TV series with a savior license but I’m curious how well that is doing for them.
Well, I just saw them on the best sellers over at Right Stuf, so that is atleast something. It is true the style and animation look a bit dated. I really think that is the only thing holding it back. Comedy can be universal and many times timeless. I think Slayers is that way, since it is mostly physical comedy.
I will forgo making the overused joke about Cowboy Beobop spoilers and the sexual orientation of certain members of the WWWA and jump right into what the Dirty Pair is about. Kei and Yuri are jack-of-all-trades trouble shooters for the intergalactic World Welfare Works Association. Code named the “Lovely Angels” they are both famous and infamous in the organization. Famous because they they have a perfect success record in the organization and solve the hardest cases, uncover the most obtuse mysteries, and untangle the most byzantine of webs of deception. Infamously called the “Dirty Pair” because almost of of their missions causes a horrific amount of collateral damage. Each episode is self-contained and there is no real need for continuity so they can be watched in any order.
The Dirty Pair was based on a series of light novels by Haruka Takachiho, the author of Crusher Joe. It spawned the anime which was a sleeper hit but went to included a series of OAVs, movies, and a alternate universe series called Dirty Pair Flash. It was also very popular back in the day in the U.S., too. The Dirty Pair was so popular an American comic was produced based on the anime. Toren Smith and Adam Warren wrote and drew an English version of the series with their own take on the characters. The term “girls with guns” was coined for Dirty Pair and made the genre popular with U.S. fans. In fact, certain apocrypha states that Burn Up! became popular in the states due to fans of the Dirty Pair looking for a similar show. The popularity of Burn Up! in the America lead the Japanese to make Burn Up W (Not that the Dirty Pair should be held responsible for Burn Up W).
I remember renting the movies quite a lot. The series is full of big, exploding action but also has comedy thrown in the mix. Also you have two really bad ass female characters and it never felt like the fan-service was over the top enough for anyone to be offended. I assume the popularity of the show also went hand in hand with the Bubblegum Crisis following.
I don’t know why the Dirty Pair has fallen out of favor with US audiences. I feel other than slightly outdated (but still nice) animation there is nothing for modern fans not to like about the Dirty Pair. It has enough eye candy of beautiful girls and heart pounding action for the guys, strong female characters for the girls, and comedy for everyone. I guess really the reason the show fell out of favor was the fact that the genre itself fell out of favor.
80′s character designs. Is the pure and simple reason.
BTW, I feel shows like Noir and Gunslinger Girls are not Girls with Guns series despite what Wikipeida might say.
Now, the show we can blame everything that came afterwards for, Tenchi Muyo. This show was big, big…mega big. It was on television! And there was so much merchandise you could have drowned yourself in it. There are about 10,000 different sequels, movies, books, etc. Yes that is right, Tenchi brought us harem anime.
If Tenchi Muyo did not start the harem anime genre, it at least is the most popular of the first harem anime. The story revolves around Tenchi Masaki, who is quite the average ordinary boy, except for the fact that his grandfather is the owner of a Shinto temple. One day, he goes into the forbidden cave on the temple grounds and accidentally releases Ryoko, a space pirate sealed in the temple long ago. After stopping her from killing him, Tenchi gets Ryoko to warm up to him. But before they can get to know one another, Ayeka and Sasami, two space princesses, come to capture Ryoko but end up falling in love with Tenchi. A ditzy space police officer named Mihoshi also comes look for Ryoko, and happens to fall in love with Tenchi. The genius mad scientist Washu also comes by and, if you haven’t already guessed, falls in love with Tenchi. Eventually an evil bishonen from space comes, who does not fall in love with Tenchi (except in doujinshi) and they have to fight. The plot is a little different in the television series, but you get the picture.
I was quite a fan myself. I had never seen a show like it before. What was that saying you told me Hisu? You will forgive the first one? I’d say that is true, I haven’t found a harem anime worth watching since. Once again, we are seeing a large cast with a lot of different personalities, so it is easy to find someone you like. It is mostly situational humor with mixed in serious parts.
Despite my somewhat tongue in cheek overview of Tenchi, it’s a rather enjoyable show and rather easily accessible. The characters in the Tenchi are fairly iconic and seem to have had imitators and homages to them for years now. For some odd unknown reason, I really like Mihoshi in the original OAVs. I’m not sure why.
My feeling on why shows fall out of favor is, that is the cycle of entertainment. In general, nothing in that industry lasts forever. And if it does, it is a classic. Very few shows are going to fall into that category. To me, for something to become classic, it must bring something new to the table. It should show us something different, make us think in a new way, or make you feel like you’re watching anime for the first time. They aren’t supposed to come along everyday. But that doesn’t mean if it isn’t classic it isn’t worth watching.
Narutaki Currently!
Watching Story of Saiunkoku
Reading Nosatsu Junkie
Listening to Aya Ueto
Hisu (Brainwasher Detective) Currently:
Watching Hellsing Ultimate
Reading Clamp no Kiseki
Listening to Life is Like a Boat by Rie fu
Top 5 shows that got me into anime
5. Demon City Shinjuku
4. Tenchi Muyo in Love
3. Akira
2. Record of Lodoss War
1. Ninja Scroll
