Archive for December, 2007

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Narutaki & Hisui VS. 2007

December 28, 2007

This is pretty self-explanatory, we are looking at what we loved or hated from 2007. There was a lot going on, even with the decline in licenses in the U.S. there were still some great shows released! And Japan hasn’t been letting us down either. Not that is any surprise.

The Harold and Maude Award or Favorite Classic Manga Release:
To Terra
It is so rare to get older, 70′s titles. But I feel it is even rarer to find old shojo titles,
hopefully this will be changing in the next few years. It was nice find a serious, sci-fi story that had a solid story and characters. While looking at real world issues, it doesn’t losing any of its charm coming from the fantastical elements.

Ode To Kirihito
“Ode to Kirihito is moving, tender and engrossing. Also very, very odd.”
—Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman and Anansi Boys
If Neil Gaiman likes it, it has to be good. At 832 pages for $25 you definitely get your money’s worth with this classic Tezuka work. One of Tezuka’s more mature works, it follows the story of a doctor who contracts a disease that makes him more bestial than human. It then becomes his quest to restore his humanity and at the same time is a examination of what makes someone human.

Burn this Book or Worst Thing I Read:
Rurouni Kenshin: Voyage to the Moon
I think I was a bit spoiled because the first translated light novel I read was Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow, and it was well done. This one was either translated horribly or just not good to begin with, unfortunately I will never know. The characters seem odd in prose form; the movements were very stilted and awkward; the fight scenes were boring and matter-of-fact. There seemed to be zero that reminded me of the greatness of the manga series.

Pretty Face
“Rando struggles to be a good “big sister” to Rina as fate conspires to put him in one disastrous situation after another. When pants start coming off, and half-naked women start crawling all over him for the thinnest of reasons, Rando must use all his karate wiles to avoid being exposed as a complete weirdo. Meanwhile, will the mad Dr. Manabe succeed in his plan to remove the last remnants of Rando’s manhood…or will Rando remove Dr. Manabe’s brains with his fist? It’s 7.5 inches of manga heaven!”
-Ad copy for Pretty Face Book 2

I admit I have not read this per-say but all the ad copy for it makes it seem so very bad. It’s like the most messed up shonen romance show premise I have heard in a while. Even Boku to Kanojo no XXX and Midori Days seem sort of cute compared to Pretty Face. Maybe it’s really good but everything about it makes me not want to give it a chance.

Hot, Wet Nobu or Best News of the Year:
Death Note Movies
Death Note movies have been licensed and the third movie (all about L) is coming out in Japan! They may even get a big screen release here in the states. Really loved these two films and am anxious to watch them again and own them for myself! Also can’t wait for the new movie, surely only made because they realized too late that everyone really loved L in the series and not Light. Yay for L fan service!

ImaginAsia getting into Anime
ImaginAsia really seems to understand how to pick up and distribute older and/or niche series and actually make a profit. If anime companies are going to continue to license older series and distribute them on DVD, they just might have to do it how ImaginAsia has been doing it.

DearS Season 2 or Worst News of the Year:
Geneon closes down
Bye, bye Geneon. I for one am very sad to see you go. Especially in mid-release of some good shows! They did a quality job and picked up some beautiful, but not super marketable shows.

Okiku Furikabutte made into anime
I guess it would be too easy for me to pick Geneon’s death as well; so I’m going with Okiku Furikabutte being made into an anime. What I have seen of this show makes it seem like moe for girls. It is nothing but shota yaoi doujinshi fodder and a side order of actual baseball manga. The main character is a useless crybaby and everything seems to be designed to be eaten up by horrible Fujoshi.

Just Shut You Mouth Already or Things I Wish People Would Stop Talking About:
 Nymphet Controversy
Kodomo no Jikan! It is a horrible thing but seriously what else is there to say about it that hasn’t been said yet? Could there be a week gone by where this topic isn’t broach yet again.

Why fan-subbers are saints and heroes
I know that part of the industry’s problems come from their inability and refusal to adapt to the fact that the internet changes everything; but that does not make every fan-subbing group a bunch of faultless white hats and untouchable heroes. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Fan-subbers can be cool and do a service to the American anime community but that does not forgive the bad groups that don’t follow the rules of proper fan-sub etiquette. It also does not mean that fan-subs are only good and that they don’t sometimes hurt American fans on certain levels.

Peanutbutter and Relish Sandwich or Show I Unexpectedly Liked:
Hayate the Combat Butler
Hayate no Gotoku! It just sounded kind of “eh.” But after a friend of mine described the first episode to me, I was laughing out loud, and I had to see it for myself. It’s so wacky and ridiculous that it infectiously makes you laugh. So, while it isn’t some earth scattering series that will change your life, you can bet you will have a lot of fun watching it.

Kekkaishi
I expected Kekkaishi to be a generic shonen fighting show. But I think it takes the tried and true shonen formula, then tweaks it enough to make it something that stands out from the pack. Kekkaishi’s focus on the romance while not making it overbearing is refreshing. Also every episode seems to add to the world and plot without seeming like a stall for time. Then the fact that the female character is not just a damsel in distress or eye candy. Added to them not pulling punches and killing characters. All this and more makes it a very unusual and refreshing show. Too bad no one cares.

Can You Stop Playing That Please or Favorite Opening:
 “Sha la la -Ayakashi NIGHT” by Saeka Uura
This is a tough one. I really love the song in the Gundam 00opening (it is L’arc-en-Ciel afterall) and also loved the catchy tunes from Lovely Complex. But overall awesome? Guess that would have to the Kekkaishi opening. It was one of the first things that got me curious about the show, so it was good enough to draw me in. The song is really fun and since I have sought out the artist to hear more of her stuff.

“Brand New World” by D-51 (One Piece opening 6)
The opening to kick off the Ennis Lobby section of the Water 7 Arc is an upbeat and fun opening for One Piece. I think the opening really gets you pumped while really encompassing the spirit and flavor of the series. I’m just warning you that the opening is sort of filled with spoilers so if you have not finished Water 7 you might want to hold off on watching the opening.

Wowza! or Hottest Character:
The Men of Saiunkoku
The majority of the male cast from Saiunkoku. Unless they are an old guy, there isn’t a bad face to be seen in the court! And even the old guys were good looking when they were younger. Not only is this series full of historical type drama and romance it also boasts lots of eye candy!

Revy from Black Lagoon
Damn! Revy would probably kill you as soon as you look at her, but who cares? She is HOT. She is a very competent mercenary and the way she handles herself just makes me think that she is a goddess drenched in a gown of blood. She is also built like a brickhouse and that never hurts. In a time of moe, she is the antithesis of helpless and under-aged; she is a breath of fresh air. Or more like a breath of smoky spent shells and cigarettes.

All Those Sacrificed Goats Were Worth Something or Best License Announcement:
 NANA TV
NANA TV series. PERIOD. Awesome story, awesome characters, awesome music. My only really complaint about the series is it doesn’t finish the story since it is an ongoing manga. But it was a delight seeing my favorite characters moving and to hear the music. Any music series is obviously made better by having an anime counterpart.

Honey and Clover
Even though I have mixed feelings about the ending of Honey and Clover, it is an excellent josei manga and a well done anime. We get so little josei in the U.S. that any of it is welcome. Very well done josei is even better. I really want this show to have a vocal fan-base because the more diversity there is in the U.S. market the better it is for fans in general. Hagu is love.

The Micky Rooney of Manga or Best Short Manga:
 Penguin Revolution
I actually wish more series were in the 5 to 7 book range. I am always anxious for a storyteller to tell their story, in a complete fashion, but then to move on to the next great story! I want to say Penguin Revolution, but it hasn’t finished in the U.S. yet and I haven’t read the last 3 books (out of its 7). But I really like the story thus far, combining hilarious capers with a bit of mysticism and romance. Her other series Land of the Blindfolded, also released in the U.S., was along these lines but the mysticism was more prominent.

Wanted!
Wanted! is a collection of short stories by Eiichiro Oda. These were written before he started One Piece. There are 5 different stories including the second version of Romance Dawn that was the prototype for One Piece. It’s an interesting look into how his style and storytelling has developed. You can also see that Oda takes certain aspects and characters from his earlier works that later incorporates them into One Piece.

Sometimes Shipping From Japan is Worth It or Favorite Piece of Merchandise:
 Bandai’s Athrun Zala 1/8 figure
My brand-new Athrun Zala 1/8 figure. It is all mine! MINE! The loveliness of his face made only better by his perfect pose. Okay, maybe I’m bias.

Max Factories’ Fate/Zero 1/8 Saber
It’s Saber. She is wearing a Suit. She has an awesome sword. If you don’t like that then I’m not sure we can be friends.

Here is My Room Key or Favorite Convention Guest:
 Tomokazu Seki
Tomokazu Seki who was at Otakon was so great! He did so many voices and gladly did special parts from the series for the audience. He was super kind and gracious. I almost injured myself getting his autograph and after I go it he even said something that I requested! He was all around an awesome dude who also happens to always be voicing characters I love.

Katsushi Ota
If nothing else, it’s a sure sign that we are one step closer to getting Kinoko Nasu as a guest at a U.S. anime convention. He seemed a likable guy and to be an interesting, well articulated guest. The fact that he gave me two book of DDD just because I was was a big fan was really gracious. And that he took my picture and promised to pass it on to Nasu made my day. I really hope Faust does well here in the U.S.

Mr. John Holmes Award or Best Packaging:
 Beck Box Set
It would have to be BECK. The box for the DVDs looks like a mini-amp! It has some weight to it and the top of the amp opens to put the DVDs in. I just love it. It also came with stickers and all the DVDs come with guitar picks. How fun and appropriate. I don’t buy boxes much anymore unless they have some unique feature and this definitely has that.

Saiunkoku’s box set case
It’s a classy little box for a very classy show. It is shaped like a jewelry box and it has a ornate red ribbon on the front. I like how it folds open and has the fan-like disk sleeves. It also just looks very nice on a self or a desk. I’m not sure I would buy a box like this for every series I pick up, but it seems very right for this series. It’s a shame that Saiunkoku is in limbo right now. If anyone else picks up the series, I would probably still put them in this box.

Spewing Milk Out of my Nose or Funniest Manga:
 Nosatsu Junkie
Nosatsu Junkie is definitely a shojo romance but it is surpassed by its hilarity. Between the dual personalities of Umi, our male lead, and the serial killer expression that our main character makes whenever she tries to smile and look cute, it is a laugh a minute.

Nodame Cantabile
Nodame is such a fun character that she could be in any manga and just make it funnier. Combine her with Chiaki and it makes comedy gold. They play off each other very well. The best part of Nodame is the characters are real enough that you feel that they could be actual people you could meet. I guess in part that comes from Nodame actually being based on a real person. I’m sure that Narutaki will agree with this assessment almost as if it seemed that parts of Nodame were based on parts of his life.

I know there haven’t been many articles this month. But with the end of the semester, holidays, and whatnot it just wasn’t possible. Next year will be a whole other story! Look forward to it.

Posted in Anime, Conventions, Events, Manga | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

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How can you not see it’s awesome?

December 20, 2007

If you are a veteran world travel, like I am not, then you will know that the menu items on your favorite menus and toppings on some of your favorite foods are quite different in foreign countries. In Europe, people love to dip their french fries in mayo and/or vinegar instead of ketchup. Any international fast food franchise will have a significantly different menu in another country. There will be some menu items that are notably absent in some countries and others that are unique to one country. Heck, in different parts of the same country you will have variations in eating tastes and menu items.

Now, I’m hungry.

What does this all have to do with anime and manga? Well, it just shows that like people consume different foods in different regions they also consume different entertainment as well. There are some anime that are insanely popular in Japan that will never come to the U.S. or horribly bomb in the U.S. because Americans just don’t care for them. There are also some shows that the Japanese don’t care for but are brought over to America and sell like gangbusters. Even though there are anime fans on both sides of the Pacific the tastes in the anime that anime fans have can be wildly different.

As we know, dozens upon dozens of series get brought to the U.S. every year but there are thousands to be picked from. And there is good reason for that in many cases (and in some cases not). A lot of anime/manga are very Japanese, more Japanese than anything we have seen, and it just wouldn’t be appealing for most fans. A lot of these include comedies, which can sometimes turn out to be totally not funny if you aren’t from Japan.

There are a slew of long running anime/manga that have never even come over despite their enormous popularity in Japan. In general, Japan likes long running episodic family shows and Americans want nothing to do with them. Japan also loves sports shows but Americans ignore them completely.

Sports show are huge in Japan! Giant! The only one that seems to have any U.S. following is Prince of Tennis. But then who wouldn’t love a show where you can defeat dinosaurs by using tennis? The Touch series was especially big, it is about baseball, by Mitsuru Adachi. He did a short story series called Short Program which was released in the U.S., quite good. Anyway, Touch was decently long, had 3 movies, T.V. specials, live-action adaptations, you name it! This was an 80′s show so that may account for some of the lack of interest. Captain Tsubasa is another that comes to mind, it is about soccer. This series started in the early 80′s and still has incarnations of it running today! Manga, anime, video games, movies, the works! They can’t seem to get enough. Although this could be attributed to Americans notoriously not caring about soccer, too. Because Captain Tsubasa was translated into many languages in the Middle East and Europe. Some of both these series have been fan-subbed though.

I also remember that Captain Tsubasa has a huge fan following in South America and Mexico. America loves baseball and football but you don’t see Star of the Giants and Eyeshield 21 merchandise all over the place because of the huge TV deals they got to put those shows on Cartoon Network. I’m sure if the U.S. loved soccer we would still not see Captain Tsubasa in the U.S.

Sazae-San is clear the most famous of the huge hits in Japan that has absolutely no following in the U.S. Sazae-san is often the highest rated anime on Japanese TV. I remember that Josh in Japan said that when he lived in Japan the only anime he regularly watched was Sazae-san with his family. Sazae-san started in 1946 in a local newspaper and revolves aroun a housewife named Sazae Fuguta and her family. Much like many American newspaper comics the characters will change with the times but do not age much, like the Simpsons. Even though the manga has ended, and the original manga artist has died, the characters have proven themselves so popular that the Sazae-san anime is still has new episodes on TV today.

Doraemon is one of those perennial TV shows that so many other anime have referenced. Heck, I remember GTO and XXXholic making Doraemon jokes. The cartoon Puri Gorota in Nodame Cantabile is also an obvious parody of Doraemon. Doraemon is a robot cat from the future who was sent back in time to help out his original owners descendant named Nobita. It turns out that since Nobita is such a sad dork he runs up a huge amount of debt for his descendants in the future so they send him Doraemon in hoped that he grows up to be a better man and save the family from finical ruin. Since Doraemon is from the future, he can pull out a large array of hyper-technological gadgets from a pouch in his belly. The gadgets are supposed to help Nobita but they often get stolen by his friends or cause more trouble they they solve. Nobita usually learns a lesson from his adventures making it firmly a children’s cartoon. In many ways, Doraemon is wish fulfillment mixed with a moral lesson.

Doraemon is a cute enough show. It also doesn’t have an engrossing appeal to ever need to be watched over again, which is fine. But that doesn’t exactly mean it should be wrapped up and brought to the U.S. It also isn’t hysterically funny either. It is kind of slow and has a lot of word-play. It is something you watch with your kids and maybe you laugh, too. Also Japan loves cute mascot characters so Doraemon takes the cake.

Detective Conan is another well loved long running anime and manga in Japan. Jimmy Kudo is a 17-year old prodigy and often helps to police solve cases much like Encylopedia Brown. After helping solve one murder case he is attacked by an employee of the mysterious Black Organization and injected with an experimental poison. The poison was supposed to kill him but instead it regresses him back into a ten year old. Since the Black Organization thinks Jimmy is dead he takes the name Conan Edogawa and enrolls in elementary school. He helps his friend’s father, Richard Moore who is a detective, help solve cases while he tries to track down the leaders of the Black Organization and find a cure for his condition. Most of the episodes are Conan solving some mystery that either Richard Moore has become involved with or some problem that his friends have gotten involved with. Every few episodes Conan finds some lead with the organization but usually he ends up just as in the dark as he did at the beginning of the case.

Yay, Detective Conan! I have seen very little of this series but detectives always attract me, it’s like bat radar. I would really like to see this series released as brick sets, it is the only way it seems worth getting such an insanely long series. I would watch like the Japanese do, sort of, by watching a few episodes now and again. The problem with shows like that is you seem to lose the U.S. audience because you have to purchase it and you don’t just get to tune in randomly to it.

The main problem with Conan is it’s a kid show so it is sort of hard for people to wank on about how super deep it is (not that it stops them from doing it with other shows) but it can be rather bloody and violent which make it unsuitable for children according to U.S. standards. The paradox sort of keeps it from getting any mainstream appeal in America.

Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo (Kochikame) is the longest continually running manga in Japan and the longest running Shonen Jump manga. I know: A Shonen Jump property that is popular in Japan that has not be brought over here. It sounds like a lie but it’s true. Kankichi Ryotsu is a lazy, money grubbing otaku police officer who spends almost as much time coming up with silly plans as he does doing actual police work. I have heard that some people consider Ryotsu the Japanese Homer Simpson. There is also a large cast of Ryotsu’s fellow police officers who either help with his plans or try to foil them. There are two reasons why we won’t be seeing this in American anytime soon. The first problem, the art has been somewhat modernized but still has an unshakable old school style that most American fans don’t care for. Second, many of the plots revolve around Ryotsu trying to get rich by taking advantage of the latest fad in Japan. I assume a lot of the time even if you don’t fully understand the fad the jokes are still funny but it’s still a big hurdle for a lot of people.

Let’s not forget those few shows that slip through Japan without much interest and then get a huge reception here in the U.S. The biggest examples I can think of are Trigun, Berserk, and Big O, which then got a second season because of U.S. desire. While I like all of these shows, I have to wonder if they were really noticed because they were marketed well (Trigun especially had lots of merchandise) and also because they just had fewer shows to compete with in the states. I mean with a hundred new shows going on each year in Japan you can be lost in the shuffle. I also think that the success of these shows domestically, made a lot of people take a second look in Japan. Shows seem to stay in the minds of American fans longer.

In general, U.S. audiences like darker, action shows which generally only have otaku appeal in Japan. Hard seinen with very mature plots and little or no fantasy seems equally unpopular. Gritty or fantastic shonen seems the most popular genre of anime in America. Trigun, Berserk, and the Big O are all prime examples of that. Shows that are darker than most shonen but not as ponderous as some more mature seinen. In Japan, they tend to like either light-hearted shonen or very hard seinen depending on the age of the viewer.

I sometimes wonder how episodic shows would do if they were only released on DVD in Japan. They might fall to the same place as the U.S. but luckily for them that is not the case. Like was said earlier a lot of the shows have so many Japanese-isms that it could be difficult to translate and also might not translate into anything coherent. I think anime fans are interested in Japanese culture but not to the extent of many of these shows. Someone made the example using Seinfeld, a very American show, while some of the humor translates many of it just comes from the things we know as Americans and can’t really be duplicated. So while it was a huge success here in the states, it wouldn’t translate into big ratings in Japan.

Top 5 shows I love but the average anime fan does not care about
1. Master Keaton
2. Kekkaishi
3. Urusei Yatsura
4. Galaxy Angel
5. I’m Gonna Be An Angel!

Posted in Anime, Editorials, Fandom, Manga, Overlooked Series, Overlooked Shows | 2 Comments »

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New York Anime Festival 2007

December 12, 2007

Hisui and Narutaki’s NYAF schedule

Friday
Del Rey Panel
ImaginAsia Panel

Saturday
The Art of Reviewing Anime Panel
Katsushi Ota Q&A
Kobun Shizuno Q&A
Viz Media Panel
Otaku USA Panel
Unicorn Table Concert

Sunday
Vertical Inc. Panel
State of the Manga Industry
State of the Anime Industry

This was the first anime con in NYC since 2003, but nevertheless I had high hopes for NYAF. They were planning far in advance; they got the Javits Center; the schedule was up almost a month before the convention; and they were advertising. However, this last one was a bit worrisome, NYC is a big place and if everyone in it who likes anime shows up at a con you can expect a freakin’ crowd. Their projected numbers were around 15,000, I am eager to see what the actual was. Unfortunately for them, it didn’t seem that busy. It is not that I want to be squashed between otaku all day but for how big this con seemed like it was going to be, it wasn’t.

Without a doubt, this was definitely a professionally run convention. There were no major schedule changes and everything ran as smooth as silk. Even Otakon at it’s best did not run as smooth as NYAF. I think it could be argued that it ran a little smoother than Anime Expo. I have only gone to Expo once and it was very well run the year I went, 2006, but they still made things a little bit difficult and obtuse. They also had a bunch of schedule changes and mix-ups. So not matter what there is something to be said for professionally run conventions.

Saturday at NYAF, which is always the busiest day at most cons, seemed like a Friday at any other big con. When something like AnimeNEXT gets a crowd like that, it seems fine because they are smaller cons and have smaller expenses. They don’t need as many people to make back their money. Doing anything in Manhattan is expensive. I too wonder if this is the last we shall see of NYAF. First year cons almost always have a low number of attendees, so maybe they will wait and see if this con will grow. If given an chance, I’m sure that this con will grow but it has to be given that chance. According to this, BAAF had 3,500 people during its first year in 2001. Then again, BAAF 2001 was a much smaller affair from what I remember of it. Still, it was a convention that grew in numbers and scope as the years went on. BAAF did occur at another time but it still shows that even in NYC it takes time for a convention to grow. I’m also not really sure what exactly killed BAAF. I have heard several stories but they were more rumors rather than anything close to factual evidence.

Friday started out well for me, I got there around 2:30 since I had silk-screening in the morning. I met up with Kohaku to wander this new experience. The first thing that struck me was how the dealers room was set-up. It was very similar to comic cons and there was a lot of free stuff, which is always a plus. There weren’t too many people so navigation of the area was fairly simple. The entire convention was in a relatively small area but had very wide hallways.

I missed Friday because of work (and the fact that I accidentally FedExed the print out of my ticket to one of our clients). I guess on Monday there was a very confused guy opening up an overnight package. I showed up at around 6:30 to see Narutaki and Kohaku getting out of the convention.

The dealers room was definitely set up like the New York Comic Con when it was at the Javits Center. I don’t remember this convention having more free stuff than any other anime con. But maybe that is because I’m a moody loner that ignores other people where as Narutaki and Kohaku are normal functional human beings. I remember the comic con was pretty packed but things still moved nicely most of the time thanks to the large hallways.

It was also the best day to talk to industry people since there wasn’t a whole ton going on and they weren’t overwhelmed with questions yet. We chatted with Mike Bailiff (I think) from ADV and also Chris Oarr. We also talked with quite a few people over at the newest addition to the manga market, YEN Press. And as per usual, talked with the people from Del Rey as well. Del Rey certainly made a lot of acquisition announcements for the coming year, of which included a light novel of XXXholic and the manga of Gankutsuou.

I’m curious to see what the XXXholic light novel reads like. It was great potential to either be very good or very bad. XXXholic can be very episodic so a random story in the middle is not anything that would be obtrusive. I have not heard anything about the Gankutsuou graphic novel but historically any manga based on an anime is weaker than the original work.

ImaginAsia, I wanted go to to see how the classics were doing. I really wanted them to be going well! And thankfully they are, thanks to the sets being really nice and them being shown on their cable channel. They also have a block of programing that is all Geneon titles, I had to ask what was going to happen to that with the recent news. They said it would remain as is, and they have hopes that Geneon isn’t completely dead yet. I also spoke to them after the panel and asked about Rose of Versailles. I thought I was going to hear the usual about it being expensive, and the creator is problematic. But she told me that the biggest obstacle right now is Riyoko Ikeda wants the manga released first! Well, bring it on people!

Well did they not say that Riyoko Ikeda was not a super crazy lady but she was a super crazy lady who also wants the manga released first. Also Geneon still seems to be in an odd undead limbo between being fully dead and just half dead.

The dealers room, the industry booths, and the artist alley were one big mish-mash. I can’t really find a reason for this, except to possibly just fill the room to make it seem bigger. But after some searching you could find everything you wanted. And of course the dealers room did hold some gems. But this is not really my priority at cons.

I did not buy much this convention most because it was so close to Christmas. I did find it odd that they combined the dealers room and artist alley into one as well. I did pick up a neat Gundam doujinshi where they remade Azumanga Daioh strips with Gundam characters. Any doujinshi with Domon Kasshu and his glowing King of Hearts in a Azumanga strip is worth the price of admission.

The Art of Reviewing Anime panel was rather uneventful, but it did reaffirm my beliefs about the AnswerMan being jaded. I don’t think it’s impossible to work in the industry and still be a fan. Daryl from AWO was there to and it was rather amusing to see him and the AnswerMan saying the completely opposite of the other. But the Katsushi Ota panel was wonderful! Thank you Del Rey for bringing him. He is the editor of Faust which Del Rey announced they would be releasing parts of. It is a light novel anthology series that has illustration accompaniment. This will definitely be an experiment here in the U.S. and I’ve very excited about it. I asked him about digital distribution and he said there was something big coming up later this year that he couldn’t talk about.

Jaded? The tomb of a Chinese Emperor is not as jaded as Zac Bertschy. A noir gumshoe is not as jaded as Zac Bertschy. The fact that he did not light up cigarettes to put them out on members of the audience was somewhat surprising.

Well if nothing else, Katsushi Ota provided me with the highlight of the con. Kinoko Nasu who writes for Type-Moon (games like Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night) also has written for Faust so you know I was at this panel. I like the idea of light novels in general so I was probably going to go anyway, but once I found out they might be announcing some works by Nasu, I was there in a flash. Faust seems pretty interesting. They have a collective mix of authors and artists working on the book. We will only be getting selected parts of the Japanese Fausts but as long as we get Garden of Sinners, DDD, and see their CLAMP artwork I’m happy. I asked Ota what his impressions of Nasu were and he gave me both an amusing story and a definite insight into the man. That was awesome. I also thought that their boxed line of books looked nice.

I am always interested in more light novels being released, since I’ve such a big reader, so this is a dream some true to me. Ota seems to be smart, insightful, and has a desire to bring creative people together into projects. Anthologies haven’t been bigger sellers in the U.S. but I hope this turns that around. It will have short stories and also excerpts from longer works.

At the end Katsushi Ota gave me the first two books of DDD and then took my picture with the books and promised to send the pictures to Nasu himself. WIN! That is the second Japanese creator that now has a picture of me. Without a doubt my favorite part of the convention.

The Guest of Honor was Kobun Shizuno. At first Patrick Macias asked him about how he became a director in the anime industry and what he though of the industry in general. Then Shizuno showed a pretty long clip of his newest show, Cross Climber. It seems to be about a full immersion virtual reality MMO with a sinister secret purpose. Then a bunch of people asked him questions about the Evangelion movies that he could not answer. The most interesting part was listening to how Shizuno worked his way through the industry to become a director. I sort of wished the people from the audience had asked him some more interesting questions. I did like that someone asked him a Princess Nine question. That show does not get enough love.

You are kinder than I was. I was practically leaping from my seat in outrage at the crappy questions. Two questions were not about his OWN work but about Ginax works. This man is a director, not a film critic, you shouldn’t be asking what he thinks of other peoples’ work. Not to mention there was only time for about 5 or 6 questions so them being wasted was quite a frustration. After this panel we also man into Dave and Joel from Fast Karate and talked with them a bit.

I had never heard of Unicorn Table before they were announced as the musical guests. But I am always up to hear some J-pop! So the concert was something of a high priority for me, and I wasn’t disappointed. There were 10 or 11 songs, which was more than I could have hoped for. We pushed our way to the second row and enjoyed quite a show! We survived the otaku stink for nearly an hour and a half. Although, I wasn’t crazy about her solo songs in the middle, the entire band was the best part. They really got the crowd up and cheering. There was even a raffle at the end, they gave away a t-shirt, a DVD, and a small bag.

Unicorn Table was pretty fun, although my favorite part was when the guitarist and the bassist just started to rock out while the main singer was changing costumes. I stayed away from the madness at the front of the concert and enjoyed myself in the back. I also have no need to be around stinking touchy-feely otaku.

The panels were all industry run and this was my biggest complaint. I really like a mix, I always go to many industry panels but I also like things about older anime or some aspect of anime. I hope this can be remedied next time around. The best things were the state of the industry panels where people from all over got together for a round-table of what’s been going on in the last year. As can be imagined, the anime one had a lot of what if’s and what can be done. It was really informative.

I’m not sure why they did not have any fan run panels. I admit when fan panels are bad they are very bad but they also could have had some good fan runs panels. It might be that as a professionally run convention they did not want to take the risk of a non-guest/nonprofessional run panel. Excluding fan run panels cuts down on your poorly done panels but also excludes a good many interesting panels that could exist.

It was really interesting to hear the two state of industry panels. The manga panel was happy talk and full of what are we going to do next. The anime panel was full of what can we do to pull ourselves out of this mess. Both panels talked about digital distribution. The manga panel speculated on why they were doing so well and how they could keep up their success. On the anime panel, they discussed why sales were down, what they could do to counter it, and what their hopes for digital distribution were. John O’Donnell, from CMX, definitely stole the show during the anime round-table. His answers/tirades were insightful if a little harsh.

I feel like this was a small con that seemed bigger because of the industry involvement but really it wasn’t anything like Otakon. A small con dressed up in big con clothes. Then again, it was its first year and also it is the winter…in NYC, not exactly the most inviting scenario. I also feel like it should have gone on longer into the night. Panels running till 8 or 9 at least and showings till at least then if not later. We know they could do it since the concert went on till almost 10. Overall, I had a good time and learned a lot. It wasn’t the best time I’ve ever had at a convention but I look forward to another one of these, if there is one.

I like having a con basically in my back yard. I’m sure I would fly halfway across the country to go to NYAF, but I will definitely take a subway ride again next year. It was not my favorite con but I had a good time and it did everything I need a con to do. I was never at a real loss of what to do; there was always something interesting going on. I sort of wish I had had some more time to see some of the movies they premiered on the big screen but there were too many good panels. Too many good things is never a real problem. It proves that a for profit convention can be done in an acceptable manner. If NYAF takes what they did this year, and grows, it has the potential to be one of the big name East Coast cons. I look forward to seeing how things turn out next year.

Posted in Conventions, Events, NYAF | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

h1

Are we on the cusp of revolution?

December 4, 2007

Justin Sevakis recently wrote a rather interesting article that was posted on Anime News Network. He basically states that the only people who can save the anime industry on both sides of the Pacific are the companies of the anime industry on both sides of the Pacific. DVD sales are way down and there is no appeal you can make to fans to keep them from downloading fan-subs. The only tactic to fight the prevalence of down-loaders is to make their own affordable downloading alternative. Anything else will result in a continued downward trend in sales for American anime companies. The anime companies have to stop blaming the down-loaders and start doing something to give them an attractive alternative.

I agree with many point of his article, but I can’t agree with everything he says. I totally agree with the fact that the Japanese have to embrace digital distribution over the Internet. The music industry was forced into it kick and screaming and they got nothing out of waiting so long. They could have had much greater profits if they had just embraced the idea in a reasonable manner. The anime industry seems to be doing the same things. No one can stop piracy. What you can do is minimize its effects and give people a superior or more convenient product and sell it at a reasonable price.

This article makes a lot of sense. Anime fans are some of the most up on technology fan-bases, just because of the general age range. So you have to use the newest technology to reach them. However, I think it is a mistake to not appeal to fans to look inward about what is going on. I agree that the anime industry is the one that has to do something about it, they have to change, but I don’t think it is right to excuse greedy, impatient, and over-demanding fans that want everything for nothing. There needs to be big changes, on both sides of the fence.

The main problem I see is that the Japanese companies are extremely hesitant to embrace any sort of change. If the American companies can’t convince them to change their minds about downloadable episodes, then there will be no downloadable episodes. When an American company licenses a show from the Japanese, their licenses always clearly state how and where a title can be released. As I understand it, except for a few rare cases like Death Note, the Japanese are dead set against letting their shows be downloaded online. American companies aren’t exactly racing to make downloadable shows super affordable but at least they seem rather interested in the idea.

Ask John pointed out that there are streaming methods of watching anime in Japan but they are blocked internationally. And that is the biggest issue, American fans want to watch what Japanese fans are watching right now and who knows if that will be possible anytime soon. American companies have started streaming and there is are already 10 series available on iTunes. Steps are being taken, good steps, but that doesn’t equate to watching anime fresh off the presses (well you know what I mean).

My main problem with the article is that it seems to imply that if you put an affordable download out there you will stop anime fans from downloading fan-subs and get profits back where they need to be. I think this might well be a faulty assumption. There is a certain segment of the anime community that has and always will refuse to pay for anime. If you could download a whole 26 episode series for a dollar, it would still be too much for them. These fans are almost nonconvertible and not worth talking about. The main problem is without some fear of getting in trouble for downloading fan-subs I think many anime fans will stick with their free alternative because it’s cheaper and, for the most part, quicker.

I have been wondering the same things. Is a $1.99 unreasonable, no. They even have entire 26 episode seasons for under $40.00. Sounds like exactly what the doctor ordered. People on the internet are talking about $0.25 an episode. Sorry but that is insane! Even legitimate network shows don’t sell for that cheap. So, how do you get people to want to pay for something they can get for free? Well, you have to convince them that what you have is better. It is like bottled water. Which I don’t buy, but tons of people do, it is a big business. Companies have to get people to believe fan-subs are inferior again.

Fan-subs on anything popular are out on the Internet within hours of being played on Japanese TV. The quickest speed subbers are often sloppy and unprofessional in their translations, but quality subbers only take a few hours to a day to put out a more professional sub. Can the industry really compete with that rate of subbing? Any fan-sub group that I can think of is a group of amateurs. That does not mean that they cannot do a good translation job, nearly as good as their professional counterparts, but it does mean they are free from certain restrictions and bureaucracy that a legitimate translation would involve.

They aren’t exactly free of it, but they over look it. You can watch just about every new show out this season and no one else can give you that. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. That seems like the only way for everyone to win in this situation, but even if that were feasible, which I don’t think it is, that would take a lot of comprise on both sides of the Pacific.

For a legitimate release, companies would have to pre-license a show sight unseen. They would also have to arrange with the animation studio to get the raw episodes to match the release schedule of a fan-sub group. I’m not sure that without great effort that would be at all possible at this time. If you don’t do that, then a legitimate release will always lag months behind a fan-sub release. That means there are going to be a bunch of people who will take whatever comes first or at least close to first. Lots of times people will download a horrible fan-sub just because if comes out a few hours earlier than a good fan-sub. Those same people will be more likely to download, watch, and refuse to buy a superior legitimate release.

The whole thing comes down to timing and money. Fan-subbers don’t risk any revenue by picking up a dud that only 100 people download but an anime distributor does. And you can’t really blame them for not wanting to do that. The thing that has to happen is for Japanese companies to take up the fan-subbing banner. They would have to release decent (not great, just understandable) subtitled episodes available internationally the next day after it airs on TV. And it would have to be streaming for free with advertisements. In my opinion, that is only thing that can compete. And quite frankly, I don’t know if that is enough. Not to mention that fan-subbers get their raws from Japan, people in Japan uploading. If they want to chomp down on fan-subbers the people they have to look at are the raw uploaders, not the fan-subbers for the most part. If raws continue to appear on the internet, someone is going to fan-sub them and someone is going to watch them. In my opinion, everything really falls into the hands of the Japanese companies. The American anime industry can kick and scream but at the end of the day all eyes are on Japan for turning this around.

The other thing is, I feel on a certain level, one of the reasons people started using legitimate music download services like iTunes was the fear of being sued. I think a lot of people would still be downloading music if it were not for the waves of lawsuits that came out when the RIAA was taking on Napster. There are a large group of people who would pay for legitimate downloads but only if they felt they might get in trouble if they downloaded fan-subs. Does the industry have to crack down on fans to get them to buy legitimate releases or will it just breed a large amount of ill will. Japan seems to have started to crackdown on fan-subbers and scanlators in Asia but how long until they start suing people in America. Should they even try it?

Well, the whole music thing blew up because it was so highly publicized. For weeks you couldn’t go a day without hearing something about Napster and the lawsuits. And even though it was a bit of a red herring, people did feel like it was something they could really get in trouble for. Because you couldn’t turn your back without someone talking about it. And there were even those bunch of young kids that got in trouble. I think if the anime industry were to say throw the whole thing into the limelight, it might make some sort of dent. However, I don’t think anyone cares quite frankly. They would have to get the big guns, like movie studios to join the fray. But then what does that do to the market? I think everyone is being a scaredy cat. They are worried that fans will be mad, and they will be, but I think they will get over it. A bunch of people will say they will never watch anime again, some of them really won’t, but I think most fans are fans because they love it not because it’s free. I mean people still buy music don’t they? I think the industry would also have a better idea of their consumer market, knowing how many people are really out their buying.

After a lot of things I’ve been reading, I have to wonder if fan-subs are really the biggest issue. A number of places now have written that the largest amount of fans prefer dubs. Where does that leave them in this fight? They clearly aren’t the crowd watching fan-subs exclusively. They are the ones buying the most DVDs. So exactly what does fan-subbing have to do with them? I think that the split between fans who prefer dubs and those who prefer subs must be closer than what we’ve been told. For so long is has been said that subbies are the minority, but that can’t be true. Or perhaps we are just the crowd buying (or not buying) niche series. And what about the booming manga market? Doesn’t it seem that many fans have been pulled over to their side? In Japan, there isn’t as much competition between anime and manga but in the states they are opposing forces. I think fan-subbing is a huge issue but there have to many other factors leading to this downfall.

I feel this is a complex issue that has so simple answers. Nothing will stop fan-subs. Nothing will 100% be so cool that everyone will give up free easily accessible anime. Nor do I think DVDs are a dead format for anime as well. Heck, there are still people who collect and trade vinyl records. As long as there is some benefit to an old media, people will still use it. The problem is, the anime industry is dragging their feet. Just because the downloadable episodes are not a perfect fix does not mean it’s not something that need to be done for the health on the industry. If something is not done and soon I think we shall see a significant shrink in the output.

Narutaki Currently!
Watching Glass Mask
Reading Banya the Explosive Delivery Man
Listening to Porno Graffiti

Hisu (Brainwasher Detective) Currently:
Watching Future Police Urashiman
Reading Samurai Deeper Kyo
Listening to Rinbu Revolution by Okui Masami

Top 5 shows I watched fan-subbed and then happily bought after they were licensed
5. D.N.Angel
4. Innocent Venus
3. Paradise Kiss
2. Revolutionary Girl Utena
1. Berserk

Posted in Anime, Editorials | 3 Comments »

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